Here's a new chapter for y'all. I'm going to save the next chapter until I find a good name for this guy (You'll know who I'm talking about once you finish reading this). if you think you have a really perfect name, you can suggest it, and if I want to use it, i'll give ya credit in the next chap. How's that sound? Exciting? No? well, it was worth a shot. -shrugs-

The dog poured on the speed, and it suddenly occurred to me that dogs don't run that fast. And they don't have that kind of look in their eyes, or quite that set to their jaws.

It snarled, closing the gap between us, and I shot directly sideways, covering my face with my arms and landing expertly on my feet.

There was the thick, heavy sound of two things colliding, and I peeked through my arms, ready to snap out my wings and take off.

I realized that the dog was much larger than even a regular Mastiff, and there was a feral look in its eye.

And smack between us was another dog. It was deep brown and considerably smaller, and yet somehow it had the presence of being much more powerful than the mastiff.

I shrieked as the smaller one lunged and sank its teeth into the other's neck, and I jumped into the air. I landed in a tree, assessing the situation. I would need to get Ryan out of here and somehow evade the mastiff until I could escape.

I scanned the area, and then icy panic steeled in my stomach.

Ryan was gone!

I mean, I had only known the guy for what, fourteen hours? Regardless, I felt responsible for his safety now. I'm clingy like that.

I flitted from tree to tree in panic, and didn't really mind when I heard a jogger scream and more dogs barking at the sight of the two duking it out below.

"Ryan!" I called, wondering whether he had just run away. If the dogs hadn't done it, then it was certainly my wings.

The smaller, quicker dog gave a sharp bark, and I nearly jumped out of the tree when I realized that the mastiff was down for the count.

My eyes widened at the sight of the hulking mass of fur, with blood spread out like some sort of sick full-body halo around it. Its eyes were glazed over, and it lay perfectly still. I looked at the smaller dog, and held my wings high, ready to launch myself from the tree and escape.

The dog and I stared into each other's eyes, and I was frozen to my branch. The dog wasn't lunging yet. The excitement of battle had left its gaze, and the dog seemed calm. Much calmer than I was, anyways; images of myself tearing straight upwards and out of the park flashed in my mind.

Then it sat down, and I tensed.

An odd retching sound came from its throat, and I stared wide-eyed as it began talking.

"Madeline, you're going to need to get down from there." It said in a distinctly male voice. And I fell right out of that tree.