When I reached the southern side, it was dark and quiet. The night lights weren't much of a help. After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I walked around a bit and found the exact spot where the massacre occurred. It was surrounded by the yellow tape. Shadows of the bodies of victims were still left.
I bent under the yellow tape and started walking through the area of massacre. For now, the bodies were just people whom I think just died trying to escape. They weren't so badly injured.
However, he smell was starting to turn from bad to worse. Even through my past experiences, the smell of death was still unbearable. I covered a hand over my nose and mouth, breathing in small amounts each time.
The bodies sustaining the injuries just got worse as well. Ripping seemed to be inflicted mainly at the stomach areas, hardly the legs.
I took another step forwards and felt my foot slide under. I gave a yelp and fell backwards, stretching my arms out to break my fall. My hands landed on something soft and wet. I didn't need to think to know what I had just landed on.
However, I wasn't heeding on what I was sitting on. I was staring back at several pair of glittering eyes. I was close to spilling out my stomach contents.
They were feasting on the dead bodies now. Internal guts were spilled everywhere and blood was flowing like streams. The blackbirds were eyeing my very, very closely. They were about four metres away. I could try running, because that's what my instinct tells me. However my mind was telling me to stay.
I lifted myself a little off the ground with my hands. They didn't move, yet. Very slowly, I inched my knee towards my body, my boot keeping a firm, friction-ed step on the ground despite the blood.
In the distance I heard a faint car honk and using it as a que, leapt up from my position. Instead of the common birds flying off, I think they took me as another target and flew towards me, giving craws to alert the others.
I ran. Their wing beats were loud and clear, not to mention advancing. I still had a fair distance to my car and the short burst gave me a sudden stitch. It was eternity before I saw it in sight. Another five steps and I would have reached but there were another set of blackbirds perched silently on my car.
I cursed under my breath. How the hell did they get there before me? Or, then again, they could be another flock…
"I see you came", an all too familiar voice said from above.
I glanced up at a tree and an obvious shade of grey in the shadows dropped from the thickets.
"What is the meaning of this?" I growled.
"What's the meaning of what?" He asked back, walking up.
"Don't act stupid. You managed to control an entire flock of birds and you tell me you don't know what's going on?"
Height shrugged and crossed his arms. "I'm not doing anything bad. I'm just placing the right order of who's the predator and prey."
"I never knew humans were prey. I'm used to seeing the birds just fly off when someone approaches them", I scoffed.
"That's what you all think. They fly because they're too good to be handled. We're the rulers of the sky. Do you think we'll fear them?" Height frowned, clearly insulted by my remark. I intend to get this over and through.
"Well you have to stop this. You can't just send them to kill every time. The police will start to shoot them down."
"We'll fight for our rightful place in society."
"What do you intend to do, seriously?"
"Believe 'I'm ruling this place'."
"You're insane. You're no different from that jerk who turned us into what we are", I raised my hands as if in defeat and backed against my car, hardly bothering about the perched birds. "You go do whatever hell you want. You can try all you like"
I turned around and tried to open my car door when his hand grabbed my wrist and made me turn to face him.
"I'm not done with what I've said." His piercing sapphire eyes kept me shocked. "You're going to be by my side."
I glared at him and flicked his arm aside. "There'll be no way I'm helping you, Height. You can go aim for your own fantasies by yourself."
"I'm not going to let you go Ran, not again."
I paused. Suddenly a sense of guilt and remorse flowed through me. All I felt was a deep pain aching in both my mind and chest. My hands fisted against the cold metal of my Porsche.
"What do you mean?"
Height turned away from my gaze, down to the ground.
"Height, answer me-" A sudden sense of fear struck me in my blood. A familiar form of anxiety I experienced only twice, but deep enough to remember clearly. The black birds behind me suddenly took off and I shielded my face from their beating wings.
"Have you finally made up?" A voice asked. I opened my eyes and I saw Height standing in front, thus sandwiching me between his body and my car.
"Didn't you have enough the last time?" Height asked with a grin. A really evil and cruel sort of smile that sent chills down my spine.
Ahead, a lone human figure stood. The same person I saw in front of the flower shop.
"Let's see, killing off two of my pack? Job well done. But that's not good enough", the stranger smiled.
From his back, six of those beastly creatures came out snarling.
"If it weren't for him, the other two will be dead", an arrogant reply came.
"You'd better just back down, my dear Height. The other one's way more important than you."
Gee. I didn't know whether to be afraid or flattered.
"Run off with your tail between your legs, Fang, if you don't want your pack to be extinct."
I think that ticked of the 'Fang' guy. He hunched over and growled the same way the others were. "I'll make you eat your words, Height!" He roared at the name, which came out as a howl. The rest advanced, charging on just their hind legs.
"Height! Get in the car!" I yelled, but I was too late.
Height was running towards the pack as well. My mouth dropped open in horror when five of the wolves pounced on him, trapping him in a ball. It didn't seem to hold him down though, because he burst through the crowd and flew upwards.
"Height!" I yelled again, but the fight continued. I didn't know what I should do, but all I knew was I had to help somehow. I started running towards them when Fang intercepted and grabbed me by the arm.
I turned around and tried to hit him, but missed. He pulled one of my legs and I fell back, the air knocked out of my lungs when my back hit the ground. I started feeling a little dizzy and had hardly any time to react when I felt myself get picked up again.
"You may want to cease retaliation. It would very much cause less pain."
How contradicting, I managed to think at the back of my head. He was lifting me with a single arm and my feet weren't even touching the floor which made a little harder to lift my leg. I did it successfully though, crashing my shin directly at Fang's temple.
He dropped me and roared in pain, shaking his head and I made my break away. My wings sprouted from under my coat and I used my car as leverage, running up the front and jumping off the hood. I heard a few scratching and bumping noises and glanced over my shoulder, barely processing the fact that a wolf had its jaws open.
Somehow I recognized it was Fang. He took a clamp out of my left calf and I immediately lost my sense of balance, crashing to the ground. I held back my cry, clenching my jaw shut. My leg pulsed as I felt my lower jeans getting soaked. I turned and glared at the wolf which was advancing, talking his own sweet time. In the background Height was still fending off the pack, meaning I have to deal with this alone…
"Aya!" I heard and my head snapped up. From the rustling of leaves, I picked out a figure before a line of glitter shot towards Fang, rounding itself around the thick scruff.
"Yoji?!" I blurted. Gods, why is he here?!
The line tightened and pulled the beast away. I knew how it was going to end. It was the blonde's signature move. In a few seconds Fang was hung from a tree by the wire. I sort of pitied him a little as he struggled to free himself.
My attention shifted when I felt an arm slip under and pulled me up. I yelped when I was draped over a firm shoulder, an awfully sharp shoulder jabbing into my side. It got a little worse when the blond started running.
"Yoji what the hell are you doing here?!" I barked, wincing at the pain at my leg.
"Well what do you think? I followed you here, that's what", I heard him say. He sounded really pissed.
"Put me down!" I ordered, elbowing him in the middle of his shoulder blades.
"Shut up! You've got a hell lot of explaining when we get back!" He snapped again.
What.. oh shit. I just noticed my wings were out and clearly visible. Crap, crap, crap…
"Kudou put me down!" I hissed again. I got no answer.
The wolves were out of sight. None of them were following. We were out of the restricted zone and site of the killings. Yoji finally put me down when he stopped in an alleyway, panting from exhaustion.
I settled against the wall, careful not to lean on the wings. I kept my vision away from the blonde, chewing my lip in awkwardness. I was staring down at the ground instead, a little close to the other's blood stained boots.
"Okay, start explaining", he said.
"Yoji, it's complicated okay?" I randomly said. Actually, it wasn't.
I saw his feet shuffle the ground and a pair of hands grabbed my shoulder, shaking me a little.
"I don't care. What's with this?" He pointed to the brown wings. "And the other guy with white ones, not to mention those wolf-like attacking you."
I took the courage enough to look into his emerald eyes. My brows knitted a little when what they were showing me was anger, shock and fear. I turned away, taking a deep breathe.
"It's Darnell. He's the cause of this", I forced myself to say.
woot yay an update never though i'd finish this phew Xx