Chapter 7, Welcome to my World
Ben returned a moment later, and then walked them out the door. Robinflight was not hyperventilating now, he felt more like…angry, but he didn't know why.
"See you around-," Ben began, but Shadowflight interrupted.
"ROBINFLIGHT! RUN!"
Robinflight whirled around, his body on alert.
"DUCK!" she screamed. He ducked low, flattening himself to the ground, as shadowed creatures swooped over him, on tattered bird wings.
They had come back.
Timers.
Shadowflight grabbed his hand, yanking him up. All this time, Ben watched, stunned.
"Behind you!" she told her son. He whirled around, sinking his teeth into the shoulder of a Timer. A groan left it and it sunk to the ground.
"Murder!" Ben gasped, "Who are these thugs?"
"People!" Robinflight gasped, "I mean…mutants!" He whirled around, ready to attack another, and then stopped.
Someone was standing at the edge of the parking lot.
"Who are you?" he called. All he could see was a shadow.
The person walked foreword, coming into view.
"Selena? What are you doing here?"
"The voices-they said." Selena whispered.
"In your head?"
"Yes."
She grabbed a Timer by the neck without looking at it, throwing it to the ground.
A Timer ran up to Ben, holding its gun to its face.
"Ben, get out of here!" Robinflight shouted at him.
"No, I need to help you! This is an attack! Let me get the police." He pulled out a cell phone.
Robinflight made a wild dash for him, but a Timer grabbed onto his back and started scratching him hard.
"Nice work, scratching post," it hissed.
Robinflight made a lunge for Ben, and missed as the Timer pulled him back.
"Don't…call…the…police!" He gasped out. Ben looked up, "No, I'm sure they can handle this situation." He began to punch in a number.
Fury engulfed him. He tore his wings from underneath his shirt, ripping the talons across the Timer's face. He bounded foreword, grabbing the cell phone. The only problem was, Ben held onto it.
"GIVE!" The fourteen year old boy bellowed.
"I'm afraid that I must call the-,"
Robinflight bit his arm so the phone dropped onto the ground. Without a moment of hesitation, Robinflight pounded it into the pavement with his foot.
"I don't understand…" Ben muttered.
There was a sharp bang that rang around the city, with an answering thock. The Timers had fired at something and hit their target.
Robinflight abandoned Ben, trying to see what was going on. Timers were everywhere. He spotted Shadowflight, unharmed but—
"SELENA?" He bellowed.
No answer. Robinflight ran foreword. He spotted blood on the sidewalk, a whole dark wash of it. Dropping down, he scanned it. Human blood. Timer blood was pinker.
Robinflight grabbed a Timer by the neck, ignoring Ben's: "Release that man, Robinflight!" and he hoisted the wolf man up.
"What did you do to her, you scurvy scoundrel?" Robinflight whispered into its face, holding his claws up to its neck.
"Me? I-I didn't! Not me!"
"Well you saw didn't you?" Robinflight hissed, twiddling the claws slightly.
"No! I didn't-I-,"
"DO NOT LIE!" he bellowed, piercing the claws in. The Timer squeaked with fear and started shaking.
"NO! I did see, I mean. Yes, she was shot, that's all…"
"I'm glad for your help," Robinflight sneered, dropping him to the ground.
Robinflight's breath echoed loudly in his chest. He looked around.
Selena had been shot, then she had disappeared. There was no helpful trail of blood to show where her location might be.
"Where
are you?" He bellowed, "SELENA?"
There was a second
gunshot, but this time is was Robinflight who felt the pain. A bullet
scored into his face, splattering blood all over his body. More
bullets followed the first. He dropped down and crawled foreword,
hiding in the grime.
"Robinflight?" Ben gasped.
Robinflight turned on his side, lying against the ground, to stare at him. Another bullet shot into his upper back. Barely able to move, he fixed his anguished, furious face on Ben.
Anger grabbed him, when he saw the clean man, not a bloodspot on his body, and his pale skin smooth and white.
Robinflight brought a trembling hand to his face; found it covered in blood and grime. How could Ben look so elegant, while he was so dirty, so injured?
"What has been happening?" Ben asked, with wide eyebrows.
Gritting his teeth with effort, Robinflight said in a forced voice.
"This is my life. Welcome to my world."
