Airborne

by Constance Sharper

  “That’s cool. How intense in the relationship?” Avery hated herself for asking but the details would be important if she had to form a plan.

  Leela held a hand to her heart and swooned.

  “Geez, Avery. I’m not that close with him yet. We just started dating. I’ve barely kissed him.”

  “Good.” Avery was relieved but quickly added, “Jumping into that too fast is always trouble.”

  “Tell me about it. I’m ready to kill you for keeping secrets. How come everyone in the school knows about it but you haven’t told me?”

  Avery paused, wondering if she’d missed something.

  “What do you mean?” She was almost too afraid to ask.

  Leela put a hand on her hip and lifted a single index finger.

  “Word on the street is that you have a new guy.” She said waggling the finger.

  That comment made Avery stop in her tracks.

  “Wait. What?”

  “Cassie from the third floor said she saw you with this tall brunette kid that doesn’t even go to school here. She’s been telling everyone you got busted sneaking out to see him.”

  Avery’s jaw dropping, she turned her head away to hide her reaction. The clock in the center courtyard rang with the daily reminder her probationary curfew was approaching, but Avery ignored it to press for more answers.

  “Wait, is that all she said?” She asked. She knew absolutely that Cassie was referring to Mason. There weren’t many tall brunette guys at Mayweather, much less one that didn’t go to the school. More so, Cassie even knew it was the night that Avery got busted after curfew. Avery panicked.

  What else did Cassie even see? Maybe the girl had looked out the window at the wrong time and had seen Mason’s wings in all their glory. Mason hadn’t exactly been hiding and Avery had been screaming to attract attention. Avery pinched the bridge of her nose and tried not to lose control of herself. Wings weren’t exactly details that would be left out. If Cassie saw something supernatural that night, that should have made the gossip chain too, right? The logic wasn’t full proof. Maybe Cassie did see something but thought that it was too unbelievable. She could have been in the same state of doubt that Avery was in now.

  Leela crept closer in the spare moment.

  “What else would she say?” Leela’s need for gossip apparently completely overshadowed the awkwardness of their fight.

  “Nothing. It wasn’t anything.” Frazzled, Avery shook her head. “You know Cassie’s stories are half crap.” She added as an afterthought.

  “Then what exactly did you get busted sneaking out for?”

  Avery had forgotten to fill in the technicalities. She weighed her options. On one hand, she could sound absolutely insane with the harpie story that Avery wasn’t even sure she believed. On the other, she could lie. Avery struggled with the options. Leela knew her too well to outright lie but she wouldn’t drop the crazy idea about harpies either.

  “I did get sneaking out to see a guy technically.”

  Leela’s smile widened and she bounced from foot to foot, waiting for the scoop. Avery made a pained face.

  “But it definitely wasn’t a date. He just brought me my assignment card from the office and I got caught up talking. We didn’t want to get caught so we walked outside and then... then I snuck in and Morrison caught me.” Avery said.

  “Ohh. Was he cute? I’m not a big fan of tall guys but he sounds cute.”

  “No. Turns out he was kind of a jerk. Mostly a jerk. Anyways, I’m sure I won’t see him again.” Avery confessed, thinking back on it.

  “Aw! That’s a shame. Double dates would have been awesome.”

  So awesome, Avery would have to hang herself.

  “Yea, crying shame. I’ll have to pass on that.”

  They’d been lingering outside for awhile now and it had began to get cold and dark. Most other students had left the courtyard, hurrying indoors, and left the place quiet. Avery finally realized what time it was.

  “It’s almost seven.” She said.

  Leela’s smile didn’t diminish but she did glance towards the clock in the center of the courtyard.

  “Yea, you’re gonna get in trouble if you get caught. Better book it home. I’m gonna go to the library now, but maybe we can raid the dorms kitchen tonight and talk about boys?”

  For the first time, fairly happy, Avery nodded. “Absolutely. See ya at ten.” She said.

  Leela took off down the right path, opposite of Crepuscule dormitories. Avery waited until her friend’s figure disappeared in the darkness before turning down the path home.

  “Shit.” She exclaimed to herself and paused mid-step. Glancing down at her empty arms, she swirled back toward the hall. In the rush, she’d forgotten her books. Quickly, Avery turned back and jogged back towards the classroom building.

  By the time she had backtracked to the stone steps of Callaway hall, the lights had been turned off and the building had gone dark. The unusual silence was just enough to make Avery hesitate by the door. No one was allowed here after hours but if she was alone, she wouldn’t get caught. She tugged on the cold iron handle until the door creaked open. Inside, the hallways were draped in darkness. The alcove windows let little of the moonlight inside.

  Avery knew the building well and memory guided her effortlessly down the hallway. She took a left at the intersection and headed to the last room on the right. Her shoes clicked on the tile and the sound of every step she took filled the entire hallway.

  Reaching her destination, she pushed the heavy door to her classroom open. Inside, that darkness was worse and the shadows gathered thickly in the corners. Avery crept forward, careful not to catch her foot on some unseen obstacle while making her way to the spot where her books waited.

  Just as she reached her them, a chill raked down her spine. Before she even moved, the door slammed shut. Heart skipping a beat at the sharp sound, Avery dropped her things and glanced around the room. It was too dark to see anything.

  “Hello?” Her voice broke. She couldn’t help it. Her feeling of unease tripled within the minute and she didn’t ignore it. “Nathan, I swear if this is you, I will kill you personally.” She whispered without force in her words.

  Taking a deep breath, she crept back for the door. That’s when everything happened in a second. Something hit her, hard. Losing her footing, Avery fell backwards and bounced off the floor. The lights snapped on and someone else was in the room. She never got to move away because rough hands snatched her and guided Avery to her feet. Before she could even gargle in shock, what met her eyes made her freeze.

  In front of her there stood three people. Their tall bodies pushed their heads against the roof and their outstretched wings crowded out among them. Harpies—of that Avery had no doubt, but these harpies were different. Their wings were grey and tattered with ripped feathers hanging like they were ready to fall. Over their chest they wore bronze plates etched with gothic spirals. The two harpies standing at the edges of the group were men. Both had bulging arms, sharp jaw lines, and scrappy hair. In the middle there stood a girl and though she didn’t look nearly as large as her companions, the men gave her a wide berth even in the cramped room.

  “What do you want?” Avery’s stuttered out though she dreaded the fact that she already knew. Mason had said that people would be coming from her in only a matter of time.

  The woman watched her carefully. Almost a full minute went by until, finally, she spoke in a catlike voice.

  “I know you have it here. Mason wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have it.”

  Wanting to play dumb, Avery went for the basic.

  “Who is that? And what are you?” She added the second question as an afterthought.

  When she first saw Mason, she was much more concerned with the wings and danger than the names and identities. On that train of thought, she tried to channel as much real emotion as she could like shock and confusion. These harpies were freaky looking enough she didn’t have to act.
/>
  “I don’t care to answer your foolish questions.” The woman ticked off with bitter superiority.

  She lashed out and caught Avery by the arm. Somehow knowing, the harpie pulled Avery’s injured hand forward and looked straight for the black bruising. The harpie even smiled like she’d been expecting it.

  “Cut it out” Offered the male harpie on the left. “We don’t need the girl.”

  “No for if we are mistaken, the magic is destroyed. We take the human.” The female harpie announced after a second of thought.

  “And then?” He prompted. They clearly wasted no time with decision making.

  “And then? Then we kill her.”

  Five

  Without waiting any longer, the male harpies grabbed a hold of Avery and hoisted her to her feet. They knocked the desks out of the way, sending the tables up against the wall to shatter with a thunderous bang. Partially dragging her, they made their way for the exit. They burst through the first door and went out into the hallway. Avery’s eyes searched desperately. The halls were as dark and empty as she’d initially left them. She let out a breath of disbelief. There had to be a janitor somewhere. Why couldn’t anyone hear the clatter?

  The harpies kept on toward the final door. Avery rapidly understood that once outside, the harpies could take her up in the air and any chance to escape she had would be gone. She immediately began to struggle.

  “Help!” She shouted. “Help me!”

  People should have heard her screams in every dormitory on campus, but if they did, she’d never get the chance to tell.

  “Shut up.” The male who held her growled and gave her a vigorous shake.

  They smashed through the exit door to the Hall and dragged her down the steps. The temperature dropped and it had begun to sleet. Avery’s feet slipped on the icy front steps. The harpie tried to yank her up to keep her in place but Avery didn’t put her feet upright beneath her. Then luckily, the harpie didn’t find the point in dragging her. Loosening his grip, he let her fall back to her knees.

  Avery’s looked for help, but the outside was just as desolate as inside the Hall. Hope threatened to leave her until her eyes landed on the front office in the middle of campus. The lights remained on. Someone always had to be there. Fueled by desperation, Avery went for it. Surprise working on her side, Avery jumped to her feet and as soon as her boots met the ice, she ran.

  The biggest harpie was clumsier than the rest and he made a wild futile grab. Avery dodged away from it, bounding off the last step. They chased but the sound of footsteps thundering behind her only drove Avery to run faster.

  “Company!” A screech rang out from behind. Avery didn’t get a chance to understand before impact knocked her back off her feet.

  “Come on!” The familiar voice made Avery snap her head up.

  “Mason!” She recognized the harpie with a surge of relief. Without a second more of greeting, he snatched her up in his long arms, kicked off the ground, and sent them airborne.

  Feet abruptly dangling, she panicked. His arms had her under the shoulders but the grip wasn’t a sturdy one. He flew upward and cut a sharp left. The world spun, blurry with his aggressive flying. She saw the white topped trees one moment and the stars in the night sky the next. The movement kept her barely aware of their pursuers’ exact location but she could hear the high pitches screeches as they chased.

  A shadow flashed in Avery’s peripheral. In an instant, that shadow became a harpie and that harpie sprung for them in a bounding motion. Mason lurched back, legs kicking up to counter the attack. Mason’s embrace loosened as he fought and that’s when the attacking harpie lashed out. The harpie’s talons missed Avery, apparently aiming for the interior of Mason’s wings. The attacking harpie made his target with a sickening crunch.

  Shaken backwards, Mason staggered in the air and accidently dropped her. Avery screamed before she fully realized she was falling. Her world swirled in a mass of white and black coloring. Then she saw the grassy ground below her approaching at full speed.

  Her breath left her and heart clenching, she braced for impact. Just before she smacked the ground, a hand tore at the back of her shirt. Plummet slowed, she landed in a rolling thump instead. Mason fell to the ground besides her in a crouch.

  “The forest. They can’t follow you there.” Mason roared. “Go!”

  Avery didn’t think. Bounding to her feet, Avery just fled.

  ***

  Snapping back to the present, Avery shuddered while remembering exactly how she’d arrived to this moment. The Band of Thieves had chased them into the forest and she hid with Mason wounded at her side. Mason and Avery had been quiet, waiting for the harpies over head to pass, and using the precious moments to regain their strength. It had finally gone silent and stayed silent for some time.

  Avery snuck a glance at Mason. He looked worse than ever. Crimson soaked his feathers and his skin had turned a pale white. Surprisingly though, he looked completely conscious and sharply aware.

  “They know we’re here but they’re regrouping to come up with a plan.” He whispered raggedly.

  “What do we do?” Her voice began to wane on her. Forcing herself to swallow, she leaned forward and repeated herself. “What should we do?”

  The dense forest had slowed the other harpies down as they were unable to land with the trees packed so closely, but they’d hurry in on foot shortly. Avery knew they had little time left to escape.

  “We need to run. I can’t fight them on the sky with a bloody human on my back.”

  She agreed, not willing to take another plunge to the ground. When he sat up, her eyes flickered to his wing. The red gash had begun to close but still raw, they risked that running would make it open again.

  “Can we even do it?” She asked.

  “Yes, but Avery,” He said pointedly. “Listen, you need to stay with me this time. You can’t run away again.”

  “I know.” She made a face, more offended than she should have considering she’d run from Mason once before. Circumstances had drastically changed and she repeated herself. “We’ll stay together.”

  Hearing what he wanted, Mason nodded. Avery suddenly went still, hearing a sound just a few feet away. She listened for it again. The forest always made some noise. The wind would rustle the leaves and the snow would weigh down on the branches until it plopped on the ground. Small forest creatures would run over the wood and scratch at the bark. Holding her breath, she listened for something out of the ordinary. Then she heard it--the unmistakable crunch of leaves and twigs that meant something heavy treaded over the forest floor. And it was coming their way. Trying not to whimper at the horrifying realization, she turned to him.

  “They’re in here. We have to go.”

  Without a word, he gripped her elbow with his tight claws and pointed north. She didn’t budge. Breath still held, she only focused on crackles and pops growing closer.

  “We move, they hear us.” She reminded him.

  Nodding sharply, he finally leaned in until his lips brushed her ear.

  “We must run. And when we start, we cannot stop.”

  Then he held three fingers in the air that were just visible in the very faint light. Taking the unspoken message, Avery readied her muscles for all it was worth. The tell tale sign of steps grew close and now Avery could tell there was a number of people. The mix of noises from all around the forest scattered her attention. They were surrounding the area. They were closing Mason and Avery in.

  Mason’s fingers dropped, one at a time, at an agonizingly slow pace. When the last one fell, the pent up energy in her muscles exploded. They sprinted forward, tearing through the woods quickly. A tree came between them and they split up. Just as Mason slipped from sight, an unseen grip lashed out and caught Avery’s shirt. Before she even realized it, the fabric wrenched her back and sent her twirling into the dirt. Eyes snapping up through the wave of vertigo, she spotted another harpie. One of masculine males leered down at her.

/>   “Don’t touch me!” She screamed but he grabbed for her anyways. The harpie’s claws whipped out and caught her shoulder, lifting her off her feet. His grip was tight enough he could have snapped her neck but he only let her dangle. Avery choked and thrashed. Pain shot through her body. His grip tightened. Eyes closing, hot fear washed through her veins. He was going to kill her, Avery thought. This was it. She readied herself for something that never came.