Six nights later...
The orange sun loomed over the sky, beams of light shined down through the thick leaves of the dozens upon dozens of tail foliage we flew past. A safer option than openly soaring above them, risking the attention of any bandits looking to make some money (or whatever they want from their victims). Matthias was in front, leading our small group, while Cato remained behind.
It's tiring, constantly lifting your arms up and down while also accounting for wind speed, the direction you want to go in, and making sure you have enough space when you get closer to talk to someone so you don't flap your wing in someone's face, but unless you wanted to be well acquainted with the trunk of a tree, you had to do it. At least I don't have to worry about refueling like a jet plane (Food's very different from oil, I can hunt for food, I can't mine for oil). Eventually, we exited the forest, entering an area filled with rolling hills and lush green vegetation. It was a welcome change of scenery, yet I was still worried for our safety.
We couldn't glide right above the grass, multiple predators would spot us and snatch us up and have us for lunch. Matthias, albeit reluctantly, agreed to fly relatively low to the ground. Better safe than sorry, although those were the words of someone who quickly died after they adopted that mentality.
"How much longer?" Cato wearily whined. Me and him were starting to become tired, while Matt, who'd never admit that to anyone, urged us to move onward.
"Those owlets aren't going to wait around forever in Aggies, you know. The quicker we get there, the quicker the Guardians can rescue them!" He shouted to us, and Cato quietly groused while panting.
"Why did I ever agree to this?" He rhetorically questioned to himself.
We went over two more hills, and suddenly, I heard wings beat in the air from behind me, and they weren't Cato's. I peered behind me, and my eyes widened in terror as I saw another, larger black crow tailing us. It made no moves to attack us, strangely, yet I was still out on red alert.
"Um, Cato, check what's behind you." I told him, who gave me a weird look before doing so.
"Oh cool, another crow! Would you happen to know where my parents are?" He asked the other corvid flying beside him, who merely remained silent as the night itself. They shot daggers at me and Matt, and I returned the favor.
"Cato, get away from it now!" I quickly ordered him, and he complied, probably because of my authoritative tone.
"What's going on back there?" Matthias's voice was filled with anxious trepidation. Just then, more and more crows came practically out of nowhere, and in an instant, they were out for blood. My heart pounds in my ears loudly, afraid that one of my friends could perish right in front of my eyes.
No, not this time. These fuckers want to die so much, I'll grant their death wishes. No more running away!
I felt a deep need to save what I loved most in this new world. I could never live with myself if I failed, I couldn't let anyone else die, not on my watch. A bright flame ignited inside my soul, fueling the fight within me. I swiftly maneuver myself over to a crow flying beside me, raking my talons across its body. It tried to slash my eyes, but I dived down to gain speed rapidly, and then I throttled back up and delivered a strong blow to its right wing, crippling the avian.
When I witnessed Matthias being ruthlessly pecked and clawed at, my mind just snapped in righteous fury. No one, no one, hurts him on my watch.
"Get the Hag away from him!" I let out an animalistic screech, my vision turning blood red as I dash over to the two crows. I plant my talons into the skin of the first wicked bird, and I throw it at the other crow, knocking them both out of the air.
I rush to Cato's aid, tackling the bird, momentarily causing it to lose its balance, giving Cato enough time to regroup with Matthias. It soon recovers, and we trade a few blows. It reopened my wound on my leg, although the pain was erased by pure adrenaline. Using my wing, I uppercut the crow, and then I head butted it for good measure.
I look around for any more crows looking to harm me and my friends, but it seems like the rest of the had backed off, either out of respect or fear. They flew off to tend to their wounded, and we settled down on a piece of rock outlooking the sea of Hoolemere. Some sort of natural archway had been formed on it, something Soren definitely knew the name of.
My breath trembles as I try to cool myself down, my body shaking from the ordeal. Thankfully, only I received the brunt of their attacks. My two friends fared much better than I did.
"Are you okay, Alex? You're kind of… bloody everywhere." Matthias worriedly exclaimed.
Now that the rush of the natural painkiller had worn off, I did feel the effects of my injuries. my head felt like it was split open, the bandage on my leg had been ripped to pieces, my leg was burning up, and overall, I felt like complete shit. Nothing entirely new, but still, not good at all.
"If the Guardians are real, I'm sure they can fix you up. Just, stay with us until we get there, Alright?" Said Cato, and I barely nodded yes.
"So, that's the Sea of Hoolemere, right?" I slowly mutter to them, hoping that these Guardians had some Tylenol, double strength, OxyContin, and a shot of Morphine. Maybe some propofol to go with it.
"Yep, it's even bigger than I thought it would be." Matthias looked on in wonder.
"It was foretold that there'd be more trespassers on my shore, much like the others before you three." Said an unknown voice, scaring the bejesus out of poor Matthias.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" I painfully shouted to the mysterious entity.
"It was foretold you'd say that." Out of the shadows came a spindly creature, with spines all over its back. It had blue face paint, and it walked around with a native styled staff, using it like a crutch.
I think it's an echidna, but not red with white gloves, oh god no why'd I put that image in my brain.
"Who are you?" Cato curiously asked the enigmatic newcomer.
"It was foretold that you'd ask my name, but I am only called "The Echidna". As it was foretold long ago." Answered the mammalian being, who apparently loved to say the word "foretold".
"Oh come on, I know who he is. He's the echidna who guides us with his spines! Just like my Ma always told me." Matthias proclaimed with a simple smile.
"'T'was foretold the small screech owl would know of the legend." He then pointed to me with his staff, sporting a look of restrained annoyance.
"'T'was also foretold a certain Tyto would aggressively defend his flock from my crows."
"Why the Hag would you send crows that tried to kill us?!" I asked, mortified that he would do such a thing to someone, no less children.
"It was also foretold that the Tyto would ask me such a question, and as such, I will answer. They were a test, to determine whether or not you three have the resolve to carry on, the camaraderie needed to venture beyond this island. Much like the ones that came before you." He turned his back to the sea in front of us.
"We need to get to the Guardians, can you tell us how?" Questioned Cato.
"In order to reach the Tree housing the Guardians of Ga'hoole, use my spines as a guide, and keep between the Whale's Fin and the Eye of Glaux. Never go outside those stars." The echidna slammed his staff, gazing at the three of us. "Now Go!"
Cato and Matthias looked at each other in hesitation, shifting uncomfortably to themselves while I wondered what the hell was an Eye of Glaux, and where the hell was the Whale's Fin in the sky.
The echidna sighs, and I'm guessing Soren and the others must have came before us and acted the same way, judging from the animal's reaction.
"'T'was foretold that the party of three would hesitate, The strands of fate have already intertwined between you all, and with more time, they will only strengthen. Each one, with a role to play." He turns to Matthias. "The healer, with the body of a child, and the most purest of souls."
"Hey!" Matthias was obviously too offended by someone calling him small, and or tiny, to recognize the compliments, although the echidna didn't care. I mean, it's true. He faces to Cato.
"The wanderer, searching far and wide for something he has already found." The crow craned his head quizzically at the echidna, but said nothing. Finally, he turns to me.
"And lastly, the other stalwart defender of his group, who carries a heavy burden on his wings."
No kidding, why don't you try protecting your loved ones from vicious crows and red eyed mongrels?
"You've made it this far, supporting each other. So go, look to the sky... And fly." His wizened smile gave the two the courage to continue, Matt and Cato setting off into the vast reaches of the ocean. My injuries I sustained during the fight were problematic, but I was determined to go with them. Before I left, Daniel popped into my field of view.
"It's the homestretch now, how's it feel?"
"I want to go to sleep, in my own hollow, and not worry about anything." I tiredly whisper to him.
"T'was foretold that the Tyto would waste time talking to his scroom friend!" The echidna seemed to be able to see Daniel when nobody else could.
"Just go, I'll be right here next to you." The blue eyed bird pushed me, and I got the memo.
I stepped off the island, tiny drops of blood left behind on the rocky edge. I meet up with the two, Matthias doing acrobatic moves in the air in joy, and Cato was smirking at the screech owl's theatrics.
"Remember, when your wings are weak... ...your spirits done... ...and you've flown as far as you can... ...you're halfway there!" Yelled the echidna as we embarked on our journey once again.
"What did he say?" Cato wondered out loud.
"Who gives a rat's ass, let's go!" I flew in front of the two, the prospect of getting a good night's rest and the assurance of the children's rescue from Aggies was all I needed to keep going. Unfortunately, our enthusiasm soon turned into panic.
We flew and flew for what felt like a millennia. The calm ocean we saw before we set sail was slowly replaced by the roars of vicious, and powerful waves from below. A chilling shower washed over us, and even with a third eyelid, we were nearly blinded from the heavy droplets of cold water. A storm was brewing, and we were caught right in the middle of it.
My wings grew heavy, like they were shackled with twenty pound lead weights. My head was absolutely pounding, I wanted to puke out my innards but nothing would come out, the pain was so horrible. Yet I had to keep going, no matter what. I'm not going to sink down into the depths of the ocean, I'm not going to leave all my friends behind.
I've already done that once. I don't plan on doing it again.
"I think we're in the mist! The tree must be on the other side, I know it!" Matthias's voice came out muffled, it was like when I was back on the hospital bed, dying in front of everybody. Like being born again to my new parents, and almost dying in a blaze of agony. This time, I'll make it out, I have to. Not just for me, but for Matthias, for Cato, for Soren, for every kind man, woman and child I've ever known in this world.
"I've been in one storm, and I survived. I'll survive this one too! My family's out there, and I'm not dying today!" Exclaimed Cato, determined to get through this disaster. It must have taken all of his integrity to not freak out and go yeep into the water.
"Alex… what's wrong with your wing?!" Matthias cried out, and I looked over to my right, and a thin sheet of ice had formed. My heart dropped, just like I did in an uncontrollable descent down to the waters below. I flap my other wing to keep myself aloft, a desperate, and useless attempt at escaping death himself.
Is this really how it's going to end? All of the pain and suffering, the laughter and joy I shared with my friends, cut short by the wrath of nature in its most primal form?
The sound of rushing wind would be the last I would hear before I hit the surface of the ocean. That's what I thought what would happen, but what happened next was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes, letting Morpheus take me away from the world. And it was so spectacular.
A majestic white owl, wearing an ornate golden helmet, the same kind I once saw a long time ago. Back to where my journey began, it had saved me. Just like she did a long time ago.
