{28} Hush, Howl
Sapphire
I leaned back against the seat, jaws ajar. My eyes widened as the talons curled down and practically began carrying the car with it. But because it was weak, the roof was torn off. Rosy slammed the brakes, causing the wheels to squeal in protest.
“QUICK! GET OUT OF THE CAR!” I heard Z2 exclaim as a loud squawk came above us. I shielded my face with my arms as something hard slammed against the back, causing the car to shake. The blow was stricken so hard it made the glass windows break into shards.
A scream.
I opened the door and ran out. Though I found myself tripping over something and falling hard onto my knees. I slammed against the asphalt road and gasped as the blow hit my arms. I rolled onto my back, feeling my eyes widened as the gigantic beast turned to look at my direction.
I started crawling away onto my back and a minute later, struggled to stand up from my position. I almost tripped again, but I managed to keep my balance and run a few meters before I was tackled back onto the ground. The weight behind my back was a big burden, including the fact that I was starting to feel something sharp pierce me by the spine.
“Sapphire!” I heard someone exclaim, which is obviously Rosy. I struggled, barely moving.
There was a fierce revolving of engine and a voice came after. “Let her go, Adrian!” I froze at the sound of his voice. “It’s me who you want!”
Darren.
There was something that gripped my shoulder, forcing me to stand on my feet. I gasped. Turning my head, I saw talons. Eagle-talons that were slowly penetrating my flesh, making my face twitch in agony. I felt something warm and gooey trickling down my arm. I only winced when I saw blood.
“Let. Her. Go.” Each word coming out from Darren’s mouth was emphasized, each dripping with venom and threat.
I turned my head once more and saw Darren trembling. His hands were balled into a tight fist, and his eyes were practically throwing daggers at my captor. I can see his veins bulging from his skin, a sign that he was really angry.
I’ve never really seen him angry before. All the time he was sweet and caring. Now, he looks . . . deadly. He’s really someone you don’t want to piss off. You’re dead if you are on his bad side.
The bird was taunting him. His talons were digging deeper, making tears fall uncontrollably from my eyes because of so much agony. His grip was tightening and his strength was immeasurable. I can feel myself crushing under his hold.
In a brief minute, Darren shifted into his wolf form and attacked the Ave behind me. He tackled him, sending both of the rolling onto the ground. At the same time, the Ave’s death grip—literally—upon me was released and I felt to the ground on my knees, my uninjured hand clutching my bleeding shoulder.
Steps pattered towards me and I was suddenly helped up on my feet. Rosy and the other girls were careful not to touch my injury in the process. They gingerly helped me to stand up, but I was clueless on what we are going to do. All they did was assist me on going by the side of the road and watch as the two battle for victory and dominance.
“Goodness, are you okay, Sapphire?” Aunt Farris asked as I nearly collapsed.
I nodded my head at her and glanced down at my palms which I used to stop the profuse bleeding. It was stained with blood. My own blood.
“You’re bleeding,” Z1 said.
I glanced worriedly at the fight currently ongoing between Darren and that Ave. My brows were twisted into a worried frown as I spotted the Ave scratching Darren’s hind leg with his talon, tearing off some skin.
I instinctively moved forward, but someone stopped me and pulled me back.
Darren attacked in return by taking a few steps backward and lunging for the bird’s neck, despite of the injury he acquired. I gasped silently as I saw him sink his teeth, drawing blood out of the flesh.
“God, I can’t look.” I heard Rosy mutter.
“Are you kidding me? This is a live Twilight episode.” Z2 sarcastically remarked.
“Darren isn’t Jacob.” Rosy countered.
“Sapphire isn’t Bella.” Z2 retaliated.
“And there are even no vampires! They don't even sparkle like Edward.” Rosy huffed.
“Girls, stop it! Calm in your places. This isn’t the time to be kidding around.” Z1 scolded. “Do you have any first aid kit? Sapphire’s wound seemed to never stop bleeding.” She pointed out.
No matter how funny their bickering was, I can’t seem to smile. Not with a fight lively occurring in front of our eyes. I seemed to have some ambivalence. I cannot determine which emotions I’m going to show.
The snow gently gliding down from the dark clouds made the mood even gloomier
“There is one in the back of my car. But I left it.” Rosy quipped. We all looked at her expectantly. “But I am hell not going to get it!” She raised her arms in mock surrender.
“I do have one in mine. I’ll get it.” Z2 volunteered, scanning her environment. Darren seemed to be driving the Ave away from our position, so Z2 took the advantage and dove forward her crashed car.
Her trunk was pretty much twisted into an undefined angle. The once sleek ride was now a bumpy one. Not to mention, the blimps were worse than I thought. The car was pretty much damaged into an unimaginable way.
Z2 tried pulling her trunk open, but it was stuck. “Man,” she muttered. “I saved years for this damned junk.” She began muttering incoherent things. But seeming that her trunk-door was stuck, she gritted her teeth and exerted some force. Within a minute, she pulled off the broken door and threw it feet away.
I was amazed.
“Werewolf has its perks.” Rosy murmured beside me.
“Who said she was a werewolf?” Z1 asked, making all of our heads to snap towards her direction. “Zoe is an Ave.”
“What?!” Both Auntie and Rosy asked in shock.
“How?! I thought she was Daniel’s cousin!”
“She isn’t,” she responded. “It was a cover-up story. Zoe is Adrian’s mate. She left with us the same time we escaped from the territory.”
“What the . . .” Rosy trailed off.
It was the time when Zoe came back, holding a medical kit in her hands. “Here,” she said, extending her arms and handing it to Rosy. “What?” She squeaked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Her question wasn’t answered when there was a loud crash that was sounded in front of us. Darren had fallen exactly into Zoe’s car, and it wasn’t really a pleasurable sight to see. He actually crashed through the hole in the roof and landed inside. We all gasped as a reaction as the Ave landed on the ground, just a few meters away from the car.
The Ave looked at our direction, his eyes gleaming with a challenging look. His talons pierced through the body of the car, making Rosy scream in surprise. The bird seemed to smirk at her reaction because he started pushing the car towards the cliff.
Darren appeared to have lost his consciousness.
My heart began thudding inside my chest. I forgot that the car lost one tire. It was screeching against asphalt road as the bird tauntingly and slowly pushed it towards the cliff-side.
To my knowledge, there is a balcony-like shape of rock after that steep slope connecting it to the road. By the end of that, it was water. The mountain stands between land and ocean. This means once the car falls off that layer of rocks sticking out of the cliff-side, it goes straight into the water. And the water even has rocks standing in it.
Memories started rushing back to my head. Tears started welling from my eyes. I can feel my heartbeat’s pace accelerating each passing second as the screech continued to drum in my ears.
My breathing was starting to get ragged and I felt something inside me explode. Out of sheer desperation, I screamed. “Darren!”
Everybody looked at me in pure, utter shock.
