Boxed In
2-1
I woke with a groan. Sleep last night had not been peaceful, my dreams alternating between mocha-coloured flesh pressing against mine and skinless monsters trying to claw my face off.
As I sat up, blinking at the murky grey light that was filtering through the dirty windows, I was a little surprised to find Madison already awake and poking at the remains of the fire with a bit of wood. For almost the entire time I'd known her, Madison had always been a late riser.
Realising I was awake, she gave me a flat look, dark rings under her eyes standing out in the pale morning light.
"Good night?" she said pointedly, glancing at Aisha.
My cheeks flushed hot while my gut roiled with shame and guilt. Looking away from Madison, I glared at the window. The mist was still thick outside, and I suspected it was going to rain at some point.
The silence between us stretched on, the tension growing until I could stand it no more.
"I —"
"Don't," Madison snapped. "Just… don't."
"Oh for — What do you want from me?" I hissed back, my temper finally getting the better of me.
"I thought that was pretty fucking clear! I've only been throwing hints since day one!" Wrapping her arms around her chest, Madison gave me a big watery-eyed look that quickly morphed into a sneer. "Or am I not suitably tragic enough for you!?"
"Suita— You made my life hell!" Jumping to my feet, I stalked forward, glaring down at her. "You, Emma, Sophia, you ruined my life!"
"That was —"
"Stop talking," I growled. "You keep trying to apologise, as if you think telling me you're sorry and giving me excuses will somehow make up for everything or give me back everything you took from me. You blame Emma and Sophia, trying to frame this like you were the lesser of two evils, like you were just another face in the sea of people who made my life miserable. Well guess what, Madison? You're fucking not."
"I —" Madison leaned back, her eyes wide and ears pinned back. The dark, angry part of me, the part that was more animal than human, relished her fear. It wanted nothing more than to gut her with my claws and leave her to bleed out on the floor.
Thankfully, for both our sakes, I wasn't going to let it.
"No. Shut up. You don't get it. I had to deal with my best friend turning against me, taunting me with things I told her in confidence during sleepovers and turning my best kept secrets against me while Sophia knocked me around. I might have been able to deal with that, but you, you were the one who got everyone together, organized the entire female student body against me.
"When you joined up with Emma and Sophia's little clique you brought your entire social life with you and suddenly it wasn't just them I was dealing with, but the entire fucking school! Without you I could have maybe picked my life back up, found some new friends, maybe had something resembling a normal life even with Emma and Sophia at my throat. But then you stole that from me. Why? Just because you wanted to stay popular? Just to make sure that those psychopaths wouldn't elude your social circle?"
"I'm sorry," Madison said, whimpered, her voice wavering as she fought back tears.
"I'm sure," I snapped, spinning on my heel and walking away. I barely noticed Aisha staring at me as I passed her and went further into the building. I needed time to clear my head.
##
My walk through the building didn't do much to improve my mood, and when I returned to the others, Madison was staring out of the windows, and Aisha was carefully heating some leftovers on the coals, struggling a bit from her missing arm.
We ate in silence, the atmosphere between us tense. It was almost physical, a smothering fog that filled the room and sucked the taste out of the food.
In an effort to distract myself, I poked at my PRT body armour. The chest protection was ruined, the ceramic plates smashed and the fabric shredded. Even if I wanted to wear it, one of the shoulder straps had been torn.
'Guess I'm going without.' Leaving the armour in a heap on the floor, I called for the others, and we made our way outside.
After days of wearing my armour, it felt strange to be without it, almost like I was walking around topless or something. Yet at the same time, it felt good to finally be free of the weight, and I stretched my back just to enjoy the freedom.
"We need to head right here." Aisha pointed down one of the roads. "Then left at the end of the block. After that, it should be a straight run to the hospital."
"Alright, let's go."
The fog was ever-present as we walked, but it gradually thinned as the sun rose, and a faint breeze carried with it the smell of the ocean, but it wasn't enough to lift our mood.
Madison hadn't said a word since our argument. She lagged behind us, her eyes fixed on the pavement in front of her. I refused to look back, slow down or say anything in turn, though I caught myself occasionally checking on her in reflections on the few unbroken windows.
For a while, Aisha made a show of ignoring the atmosphere, walking just ahead of us both, humming a tune and an exaggerated sway to her hips. "Y'know," she called out, "there used to be a great Chinese place along here. I'm pretty sure they weren't even an ABB front!"
"Really?" Madison muttered, really paying attention while I 'hmmed' in response.
"Yeah, they had this guy behind the counter, he was short, but always willing to give free stuff if you flashed him a bit."
"Oh."
"I see."
Stopping, she glared at us both. "I swear though. Last time I did it, he popped a tent so fucking big I'm suprised he didn't tear his pants."
Not getting any real answer, Aisha huffed and turned on a heel. "Y'know, you two are a real pair of chatterboxes."
Speeding up, she stomped her feet a bit until she was far away enough that her annoyance was clear, but still close enough that we could reach her if anything happened. The city wasn't safe, after all.
After that, we continued on in silence, not even bothering to stop for lunch, only taking small sips of our water as we walked.
Unfortunately, the long walk and lack of distractions meant I had nothing much to do but think. About me, Madison, Aisha, everything.
Last night with Aisha had been amazing, and part of me hated that I'd not let her keep going. Even now, there was a gentle heat between my legs that pulsed every time I looked at her, my eyes following her legs until they found where her tail met her spine and the way her rear swayed when she walked.
I'd think about walking up behind her, bending the small girl over some rubble and tearing her clothes off. Then Madison would cough or kick a stone and the guilt would return.
I didn't regret what I'd said to her. For almost an entire year, she'd helped Emma and Sophia ruin my life. Then I'd found her in the bath, struggling to pull her head above water as her body transformed.
Ever since then, the hate I'd felt toward her had cooled somewhat. It was still there, but it lacked the heat it had once had.
Sighing to myself, I pushed the thought aside as we clambered over a collapsed building, and I caught a glimpse of Madison out the corner of my eye, the muscles in her arms flexing as she pulled herself up, then rubbed her hands on the front of her armour in an effort to clean them.
The whole mess left me conflicted, and I didn't know how to reconcile that.
##
The silence between us continued for the rest of the day. The fog slowly lifted above the buildings as the day wore on.
It was sometime after noon when we finally rounded an abandoned high-rise and saw the hospital in the distance.
Like the safe zone where we had stayed the night, the hospital was circled by improvised walls. Cars had been stacked roughly one on top of the other to create a wall over ten feet high, with scrap metal bolted to them for reinforcement.
Where the wall crossed the road, a large metal gate seemed to have been improvised from the side of a shipping container.
There were people on top of the wall, but unlike the safe zone, these ones were wearing police and PRT uniforms and, even at a distance, I could see more men among the guards.
"Oh thank god," Aisha muttered, hurrying forward, forcing Madison and me to keep up. "Any more of you two an—"
There was shouting ahead of us; the guards were waving, and some were even pointing guns in our direction. Grabbing Aisha, I pulled her back against me, fearing they would open fire.
High above us, hidden by the fog, something screamed. It was a long, high-pitched wail that bordered on painful, and I glanced up to see dark shapes diving towards us.
"Run for the wall!" I pushed Aisha forward, glancing over my shoulder to check on Madison.
The guards were waving to us as we sprinted forward, and shadows fell over us. Gunfire split the air, but it wasn't enough to stop whatever was chasing us.
The hairs on my neck rose, and I threw myself forward, flaring my wings by reflex, and fire raked across my back. Moving too fast to stop, my attacker carried on forwards, crashing into the ground.
Hitting the ground myself, I looked up at the monster that had attacked us.
It was human-ish, with the hips and torso of a woman, but its lower legs were vicious claws. Its upper body was a mess of torn skin, bone-like spikes, and large feathered wings. A once-human face had split down the middle, torn apart by a malformed bird head.
Drawing itself up to full height, it let out an ear-piercing screech that was answered by two more from high in the fog, and Madison charged past me, her hands wreathed in flames as she tried to tackle the monster.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed myself up. The movement sent waves of fresh pain through my back, and I looked over my shoulder to see the thin flesh of my wing had been torn apart and blood was quickly staining my top.
A shadow passed over me, and I looked up to see more of the creatures diving towards Madison, a flock of smaller bird-like creatures following their wake.
Pushing the pain away, I spat a torrent of fire at the monsters. The lead monster was moving too fast to dodge, and my fire clipped a wing, knocking it off course and sending it crashing to the ground. The other twisted, pulling out of its dive while the smaller creatures turned to fly at me.
They looked like dart-shaped birds, the beaks and wings razor-sharp as they slammed into me.
Grunting, I shielded my face with my claws, trusting the thicker scales of my forearms to protect me. Behind us, I could hear shouting and gunfire as the guards attempted to drive the larger creatures away.
We were trapped. Out in the open, we were easy targets for the flying creatures, and we couldn't run without exposing our backs to the monsters.
The flock of dart-birds came round again, turning to dive at me, and I sent another jet of flame at them. Dozens of them fell to the ground, their bodies charred, but the flock seemed unperturbed.
"We need to get out of here!" Madison shouted, her opponent having taken to the air again.
"Move backwards towards the gate!" I called back. "Use fire to keep them away!"
"Where's Aisha!?"
Looking away from our attackers, I glanced about, but I couldn't see her. Shit, had one of the birds got her, or had all this noise attracted something worse?
The moment of inattention cost me as the bigger monsters dove out of the sky, both of them aiming for me. I turned, ready to spit fire, but it was already too late: I didn't have time to hit them both.
A body hit me, knocking me aside. I saw a brief glimpse of Madison's determined face, then the first monster slammed into her and drove her into the ground. She screamed as the bird flapped its wings, rising into the air with Madison hanging from its claws.
With a wordless scream, I ran after them spreading my wings and jumping into the air. How dare they take her from me! Pain shot through my back as my ruined wing failed to catch air, and I dropped back to the ground.
Lost in a haze of pain and anger, I saw that the monster I'd burned was struggling to rise. The fucking thing was still alive.
Running forwards, I dove on top of the creature, grabbing it by the throat and raising my claws to gut it like a fish.
"No! Don't kill her!" A girl screamed. I looked around to see the gate was open; a dozen people were running forwards, and just ahead of them was a girl in a tattered white robe with red accents.
I snarled, not willing to listen, when one of the guards raised his gun.
"Shit, she's feral! Panacea, get back!"
Aisha faded into view behind the man, pressing a knife against his side. "No," she almost purred. "We're just really fucking pissed off… right Tay?"
Lowering my claws, I nonetheless kept my grip on the monster's neck. "Why do you need it alive?"
Moving quickly, Panacea knelt by the creature and put a hand on its shoulder, ignoring my question. After a moment, she shook her head with a sigh and I barely heard the mumbled 'it's not her'.
The creature let out a soft breath, then went still. Without looking at me, Panacea stood and walked away, back towards the gate while the guards circled me and Aisha.
"Let him go," one of them barked at Aisha. He was wearing a PRT uniform that was dirty and torn but his badge had been polished to a mirror shine. "Identify yourselves!"
"Dragon," I said, standing up from the now dead monster. "Echo-Romeo, nine, nine, six, buttercup."
Most of the guards just looked at us in confusion, the code obviously meaning nothing to them, but the PRT man stared in shock.
"Really? Where… what…" he shook himself, visibly pulling himself together. "Guns down, these two work for Dragon."
"Sir?" the man Aisha was still holding said, shooting his commanding officer worried looks.
"Let him go, Aisha," I muttered, walking towards the gate.
The knife vanished up her sleeve, and she walked past her former hostage with a friendly smile. When I drew level with her, she stepped closer to me.
"You okay?"
"Where the fuck were you?" I hissed, not looking at her.
"Hiding!" she hissed back, her ears flat against her head. "What the fuck was I supposed to do, throw rocks at them?"
Shooting her a warning look, I kept moving forwards. Those monsters had gone east, towards the coast. I needed to do something about my wing, then I was going after them. Madison was tougher than she looked, and I had her scent. I just had to hope she could survive until I could reach her.
Now that I was aware of it, I could feel the 'dragon' inside me, and it was roaring in anger. How dare they take something that belonged to me!
##
Madison gripped at the leg that was holding her aloft as the ground fell away beneath her, Taylor and the hospital shrinking in the distance. Fire circled her hand, but she dared not use it. She was too high up; she knew she couldn't survive the drop.
"Put me down!" she screamed, thumping her fist against the creature's leg and making it squawk, but its grip only tightened on the flak jacket that had saved her life. By some miracle, the monster's claws hadn't gone all the way through, and it was lifting her by the jacket.
She was painfully aware that it likely wouldn't hold for long.
Glancing down again, she considered her chances. Some of those rooftops were higher than others, and the monster was flying in a straight line. She wasn't sure where they were going, but Madison had a good idea what would happen when they got there, and she didn't like it.
Watching an approaching roof, Madison readied herself, and with a muttered "God save my little broken body," she lashed out at the monster's leg with all the strength she had.
The monster screamed as the leg burst into flames, releasing its grip on her.
Madison's heart was in her mouth, the sound of rushing wind filling her ears as she fell and the roof shot up to meet her.
Hitting the flat tarmac, she felt something in her chest pop as she bounced, curling herself into a ball to shield her head and neck until the world stopped spinning. After what felt like an age, she slowly uncurled, her ribs singing little trills of agony on her nerves.
Looking up at the darkening sky, she could see the monsters circling overhead, but they made no attempt to chase her. She almost laughed. She was still alive!
"Hah, take that you oversized vul—" With a crunch, the roof dropped out from under her like a trap door, and she fell into the darkness below.
AN: Chapter written under commission NaGeL.
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Beta by: Phoenix0995