Chapter Five: The Midnight Special
"...Shine a ever lovin' Light on me …"
Bald Eagle circled around her target a few more times before returning to the Diamondback APC. Her scouting mission had the data she needed, so she backtracked to the location of the vehicle and proceed to land on top of it's hull, knocking on the hatch a few times before it opened and a friend greeted her.
-Did you find it?- Père David's Deer asked popping out from her hatch, Collared Peccary popped out from the driver's hatch.
-I did, it's a really large group of derelict Human vehicles, just like Rhyo told us- Bald Eagle confirmed with a thumbs up.
-Your eyesight is as good as your butt- Collared Peccary said checking under Bald Eagle's skirt, making the Bird blush hard.
-Don't stare!- Boomslang's voice came from inside the APC.
-Hopefully this will be our last stop on this bridge, I can't wait to reach Kyoshu Island, Piggy take us there- Père David's Deer told Piggy as they closed their hatches and the Diamondback started moving, Bald Eagle sat and kept her eyes on the target.
The AI on board the APC, Rhyolite, encouraged the Friends to scavenge another convoy from the doomed Human Expedition into Japari Park, telling them that was likely it contained food for the Friends, medical supplies against the infection dubbed "The Hunger" by Rhyo and batteries to keep his APC running.
The Diamondback quickly reached its destination, Père David's Deer instructed Collared Peccary to stay with Rhyo just in case they needed to make a quick getaway. The Friends were concerned about Fenrir following their trail and it was better to be prepared, just in case the worst came to happen again. The full moon in the sky felt like a bad omen.
Narwhal took Père David's Deer to investigate the bigger vehicles on the center of the derelict group of Human vehicles, The Deer was checking on the list of descriptions of the stuff they needed, provided by Rhyo, as Narwhal stood as a guard.
Boomslang and Bald Eagle where given the simple task to find anything smelled or looked edible and round them up for inspection, drawing a circle around the smaller vehicles around the large ones, when they caught a whiff of a sweet scent.
-That smells so nice, could it be?- Boomslang wondered.
-JUICE!- Bald Eagle exclaimed happily as she stopped holding hands with Boomslang and flew ahead of the Snake to check.
The two of them had found a vehicle that harboured mostly food as well as drinks of all types inside of it, they cheered in joy of being resupplied as their Japari Buns stock were starting to get low, no type of rationing could reduce the hunger that the Friends felt every single day due their stress and anxiety.
-What was that?- Boomslang asked Bald Eagle as she heard a scary noise nearby, it sounded like claws against concrete.
-That noise… That's a bad noise…- Bald Eagle whispered to Boomslang as she focused, ready to attack in self defense.
The sight that greeted them wasn't pretty, they saw what looked like a Friend crawling to them. Her claws scratched the concrete, to move forward as she was missing the bottom half of her body, the thing saw them and actually spoke up.
-My legs… Have you seen my legs!?- Cheetah asked in a wail.
-How is she still alive!?- Boomslang asked before panicking.
-HOLY SHIT!- Bald Eagle cursed as she prepared to attack the thing, seeing it lunge forward growling in anger, she was met with a barrage of feathers that just made her miss her mark.
-Come one Boom, move your ass, go!- Bald Eagle said as flew holding onto Boomslang hand to get her out there, looking back to see if that thing was chasing after them, the sight of it crawling fast after them made the Bird blood turn ice cold.
-We need to call the others!- Boomslang cried as she started to walk on her own, but as she looked back and saw the thing chasing after them, she started to feel sluggish as her heart was beating so fast she couldn't keep going due to the terror.
Was this going to be how it ended for her? The Snake wondered thinking about how Maltese Tiger was now dead, but that wasn't the end. She saw the Bird dive in and try to hit the monster that looked like a Cheetah Friend at point blank with a swarm of feather like projectiles, sadly this had almost no effect and the Monster pounced on Bald Eagle and started to wail on the Bird, who was helpless against such a vicious onslaught.
As she saw this horrifying scene in what seemed to be slow motion, something snapped in her and she pushed onward to save Bald Eagle. She felt a burst of Sandstar flow between her hands and she hit the enemy with it, as the Fiend looked back at her surprised, she pushed her off with with a backflip tailwhip, as Narwhal had instructed her to do. Bald Eagle was unconscious, her headwings had been brutalized and she passed out from the pain and shock of it, this made Boomslang furious, how many more times would the Bird have to stand up for her when she invited her into this adventure? Never. Again.
-You have "The Hunger", you are not a Friend anymore!- Boomslang sentenced as the thing that was once a Cheetah was the same as Fenrir, it intended to feed on her Bird Friend, their bloodthirst overwhelming all that they once were before.
-My legs… Have you seen my legs!?- Cheetah wailed sadly.
Cheetah launched herself back at Bald Eagle but Boomslang was easily able to intercept her and keep her off the Bird with a few well placed kicks, it was as if her Wild Release weakened the enemy defenses but Cheetah assault continued. This wore down on Boomslang, that while able to hold the line for awhile, she was starting to get exhausted, her breathing was falling out of sync, but she wasn't going to let Cheetah lay her claws on Bald Eagle ever again, no matter what, no matter the cost.
-To Hell with you!- Boomslang said kicking back Cheetah once more, but this time she misstepped, losing her balance.
The Fiend was quickly to capitalize on this and wasted no time striking Boomslang's face with her claws, the Snake held back from screaming in pain, just like Bald Eagle did, but now she was blinded. She couldn't see anything and thought this was going to be her end, but then she felt something push Cheetah off her and then she heard a familiar voice calling to her.
-Hang in there Boomslang, I'm still not out of it- Bald Eagle said standing up, unable to fly but standing behind the Snake.
-Are you okay?- Boomslang asked as she leaned back and felt Bald Eagle hold onto her with her arms below her armpits.
-Lean on me and kick as hard as you can, NOW!- Bald Eagle barked to Boomslang who reacted on instinct and kicked in front of her with both legs united, feeling she had hit the evil Cheetah really hard, Bald Eagle was being her eyes now.
Boomslang still blinded by what she guessed was her own blood, as she felt a painful open wound on her forehead that kept bleeding as she tried to stand keep her balance and try to regain some semblance of vision. Luckily for the Snake, Bald Eagle was up again, ready to play The Hero, covering her.
-You won't get the jump on me again!- Bald Eagle said as she summoned feathers, aim solely at Cheetah's eyes, forcing her to defend herself and thus be easily repelled by the Bird's torrent of feathers and pushed away by Boomslang's tail swipe.
-She almost got me there, thanks Captain- Boomslang took a deep breath to focus and blushed a bit, just realizing what she said sounded like a flirt, it was not the best moment for it.
-My legs… Have you seen my legs!?- Cheetah wailed angrily.
-You see that trashed vehicle there?- Bald Eagle asked as she pointed out a vehicle flipped over to its side, Boomslang nodded in response understanding the Bird's plan entirely.
Cheetah launched herself into them once more, but was meet with Feathers that funneled her down in such an angle that Boomslang kicked her upfront, the Snake then nailed her down with a tail swipe that left her stuck in the vehicle Bald Eagle pointed up, the Bird then stuck the beast there with a swarm of feathers that clipped all through her arm left arm.
-Boooyah!- Bald Eagle celebrated as she saw her plan worked.
-Her rambling about her legs is gonna drive me insane, what can we do, should we finish her off?- Boomslang who kept trying to stop her bleeding, but the blood kept flowing.
-Beurk! Fait Chier- Père David's Deer cursed as she entered the scene with Narwhal gasping behind as she got to see the thing.
-You two ran into an Infected Friend and managed to best it, very impressive!- Narwhal clapped for the wounded Friends.
-We got lucky- Boomslang said before Bald Eagle could brag about them "heroically" putting a stop to Cheetah's rampage.
-You are hit bad, I need to disinfect that and bandage your head wings, it's going to hurt- Père David's Deer addressed Bald Eagle who then started to cry silently, the stress and shock of her "clipped wings" situation finally landed on her.
-Headback to the APC, I'll finish off this Fiend- Narwhal said wielding her Spear as she looked at thing, still struggling to release itself from its bonds, it started to chew on it's own arm.
Père David's Deer lead the two wounded Friends back to the APC, as she looked back and saw Narwhal demonstrate some of her incredible hidden power, though Jinmengyo had hinted her that her Disciple had some tricks up her sleeve this was a little hard to believe. As they reached the Diamondback, Père David's Deer ordered Collared Peccary to go help Narwhal haulback all the valuable assets they had found up for grabs, the Pig left a bit concerned for the injured but since the Deer was fairly calm, she knew they would be alright and head off.
-It's been awhile since I've done actual medicine, I could have just showered you in my healing sparkles but the infection is of serious concern, are they in the clear Rhyo?- Père David's Deer talked to both of them as she made Boomslang lay down on her back on a table while Bald Eagle sat closely besides her.
-They are in the clear, but you should still disinfect their wounds, just make sure malignant growths of any kind are averted- Rhyolite told Père David's Deer after a short scan.
-Alright then, you go first Boomslang, show me your forehead Enfant- Père David's Deer said as she grabbed a light source and put it right onto the Snake's face, whom closed her eyes and pulled up the bangs of her hair, quite unsure about all this.
Before Boomslang knew it, she was sprayed with some liquid that burned like hot molten metal when it entered her wound, unlike before this time she just spit a really ugly curse in pain.
-Oh my Gods!- Bald Eagle yelped in surprise blushing red by the ugly words coming out of Boomslang's mouth, whose tail was twisting in pain, the poor Bird looked scared as Père David's Deer looked at her with sadistic eyes behind her mask.
Bald Eagle's screamed in pain so loudly that it could be heard from outside the Diamondback, before she could fully recover she screamed again as Père David's Deer smiled sadistically while she started to bandage her forehead, to keep her Head-Wings safe until they were strong enough to be healed directly. Bald Eagle was a sniffling mess, she tried to play tough but that just hurted too much to keep quiet, this was honestly not being a good day for her, but all suddenly improved as as her bandage was done. Bald Eagle felt Père David's Deer holding onto her and suddenly giving her a french kiss, her soft lips soothed her nerves and brought deep sense of comfort to the Bird, who responded the kiss a bit by hugging Père David's Deer, much to the Deer's surprise.
-Hey now, don't be thirsty- Père David's Deer giggled as she was amused by Bald Eagle being disappointed the kiss ended as quickly as it had started, the Deer easily broke from Bald Eagle's embrace, as the poor Bird feeling a bit light-headed.
-This is the worst day ever- Boomslang hissed angrily red-faced as she shamefully couldn't turn her eyes away from the kiss.
-Hehehe…- Bald Eagle giggled and drooled a bit quite satisfied.
-I'm gonna go help those two bring back what we found, you just sit there and rest, okay?- Père David's Deer told Boomslang and Bald Eagle as she was about to leave.
-Wait!- Bald Eagle called Père David's Deer as she was leaving.
-We found food, juice and more around the area we fought Cheetah, be sure to get all you can!- Boomslang pleaded as she could go with her but decided to stay behind as told to.
-I will but if I know Piggy, she must has sniffed out the food already, I'll be right back- Père David's Deer poked her tongue and waved to the pairing as she left them all by themselves.
-That was so damn nice~- Bald Eagle sighed dreamily pushing Boomslang over the edge, the Snake screamed in pure anger.
Bald Eagle was confused about why the snake glared at her so angrily, Boomslang was tearing up and puffing her cheeks at the Bird and eventually broke into tears looking down, the sudden burst of emotions from the Snake left the Bird utterly confused.
-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!- Boomslang bawled as tears flowed from her eyes and she was resist the urge to beat herself up.
-It's okay Boomy! I did what I thought was the right thing to do and I don't regret my actions, they will heal and I'll be able to fly again, don't beat yourself up over something I did willingly!- Bald Eagle said as she felt tears falling from her eyes, turns out that deep inside, she was still hurt about the fact she wouldn't be able to fly anymore… at least for awhile.
Boomslang rushed into hug Bald Eagle, the Bird embraced her and sank her head into her chest and started crying until she felt better, the Snake patiently waited for her to recover. Eventually Boomslang blushed as she felt Bald Eagle was burying her face more fervently against the chest area of her hoodie, but she didn't mind and let her rest against her chest, whatever was needed to comfort her like Père David's Deer Kiss, she wasn't going to let the Deer one up her with the Bird.
-We are back! Oh fuck, turn back, this is a mood killer- Collared Peccary greeted the pair, who immediately separated with both blushing hard and looking away, which only made the Pig a bit sad they returned too soon and ruined their moment.
-They had enough time to be comfy together, now put those food supplies on the corner, on the opposite corner but the medical supplies- Père David's Deer told Piggy as she handled Rhyo's batteries and Narwhal behind her brought the fuel tank.
-Please put the fuel and batteries in the places instructed, they are very valuable and sensitive equipment- Rhyolite repeated to the Friends who answered to him in demeaning fashion.
-What did you do with Cheetah?- Boomslang asked, who was curious but couldn't look back then to see what happened.
-I just send her all the way down to the Ocean, vehicle included on top of her, she shouldn't bother us or any other Friend ever again- Narwhal smiled satisfied with her work.
-About that… I have a few questions I want to ask, in private later on- Père David's Deer addressed Narwhal, playing a bit with the ribbon on her hair, the Cetacean blushed stoically.
-You sure you don't want just to hit on her while I'm not looking!?- Collared Peccary pointed at Père David's Deer.
-Piggy this is actually important, get the Diamondback rolling, we are way behind schedule!- Père David's Deer clapped her hands and Collared Peccary jumped behind the wheel.
-You'll have to make this up to me later, you heard!?- Collared Peccary yelled back, not keen on being bossed around, at least without been given the proper amount of time and affection.
-Narwhal, could you sit with besides her for now? Just make sure he doesn't do anything silly, I still need to give this one her medicine- Père David's Deer pleaded the Cetacean for assistance, to make sure Piggy didn't crash the Diamondback.
-Right away- Narwhal saluted and left to sit besides the drive, actually engaging with a conversation with Collared Peccary.
Père David's Deer breathed deep and tried to reorganize her feelings, treating injuries always brought bad memories for her but this time, she had to reward this one with something beyond her usual "bonding french kiss". She had to do something actually meaning for her, beyond comforting her through pleasure, so she wouldn't refuse her healing draught.
-Bald Eagle you were very brave today, you are truly a "Captain" in my eyes now, one that leads from the front!- Père David's Deer said as she grabbed a Marker from her backpack and used it to draw a big Star on the forehead of Bald Eagle's bandages, the Bird smiled at her happily, not sure what to say.
-Sadly now I'll need you to drink this, so you can sleep and thus, recover faster- Père David's Deer continued talking as she look for something on her backpack, showing the Bald Eagle her "medicine", which seemed to be stored in a baby bottle.
-Really!?- Boomslang lifted an eyebrow totally unamused.
-Couldn't you store it in a less childish container?- Bald Eagle asked almost holding back a giggle, then she gasped in shock when she took a closer look at the liquid inside of the baby bottle, it was dark green and it had a very viscous texture.
-You are gonna drink that?- Boomslang asked a bit disgusted.
-Am I going to drink that!?- Bald Eagle asked very disgusted.
-It has sedative properties, that will help you sleep through the pain and help you recover faster, you want that don't you?- Père David's Deer tried to bargain with Bald Eagle, who reluctantly grabbed the baby bottle and put the nipple close to her mouth, it smelled terrible too, but she forced herself to drink it, it was the most bitter thing she had tasted in her life.
-Slow down! You need to drink it slowly, or you'll end up getting bad side effects from it, gulp it down bit by bit- Père David's Deer had a bit of sadistic smile as she instructed Bald Eagle to drink more slowly, Boomslang horrified at the sight.
Bald Eagle tried to void herself from her senses, as she felt them protesting and complaining about the healing draught she was mechanically chugging down slowly, when there was nothing left of it she felt her entire body shuddering in disgust.
-You did it, Mon Enfant- Père David's Deer held the bottle and steadied Bald Eagle who suddenly felt soft and fuzzy, the Deer helped her lay on her least injured side, the Bird felt her eyelids grow too heavy and quickly fell asleep, with a smile in her face.
-She looks so cute when she is sleeping- Boomslang said before covering her mouth, blushing as Père David's Deer passed by her, just winking and poking her tongue at the Snake, as if agree with her silently before speaking to her.
-You too did well today, specially defending her when things turned ugly, why don't you take care of her while she sleeps?- Père David's Deer asked the Snake whose far turned red but nodded fervently, the Deer left them together once again and joined the two Friends in the front seats, who were having a hearty conversation that Père David's Deer listened to them.
Alone with Bald Eagle again, Boomslang tried her best to hold back her feelings but shed a couple of tears that she quickly brushed away, giving into her desire to hold Bald Eagle in her arms. The Snake carefully cuddled up to the Bird and snuggled her from behind, Bald Eagle's long silky hair made Boomslang tail tense up as she took a deep breath, her scent was becoming familiar enough to her to feel a deep calm around it.
Before she realized it had happened, Boomslang had fallen asleep snuggling Bald Eagle, with a very big smile on her face.
Rhyolite's Diamondback APC rushed onto its next destination.
Kyoshu Island and the Accursed Sandstar Volcano awaited.