8. Rescued
1033 Words
A scream caught in Harley’s throat as she watched the c*****e unfold in front of her. She was stock still, frozen in fright as the man—Silas—went through the crowd of men, knocking them down like toy soliders. Blood shot through the air, painting the warehouse as if a kid was flinging around paint.
The men didn’t stand a chance. They fired their guns at Silas, but he was quick on his feet, dodging the bullets like he could read the men’s eyes and know where the bullets were coming from. He was graceful as he jumped over people, breaking their necks as he went with barely the touch of his hands.
Harley was awestruck. She was scared, frightened, to the point she thought she might pass out. She crawled backward though she couldn’t get out. The exit to the warehouse was directly behind the pile of bodies building up as Silas plowed through the charging men.
The couple of minutes seemed to drag on for hours. Though it ended as quick as it began, Harley’s heart was still thudding as it had before.
Silas slashed another man’s throat. The man Karl ran to the door. He just grabbed the handle when Silas appeared behind him in an instant. He wrapped his arm around Karl’s neck and lifted him off the ground.
“Please!” The man cried as he begged. His weak hands clawed at Silas’ arms. The long sleeve shirt protected his skin though Harley doubted that Silas would be affected by the pity assault.
Silas laughed. “I don’t made deals with worthless souls.”
He squeezed his arm until Karl’s eyes were almost bursting from his head. Harley gave a whimper, trying to look away, but for some reason she couldn’t. Karl struggled as his air was cut off. His legs kicked out. He twisted and wiggled. Slowly he became too weak to even do that. Then, the pressure became too much and something broke in his throat. Blood gushed out from his mouth and splattered over the concrete floor.
Silas dropped him like a bag of rocks. Karl’s body hit the floor. His lifeless eyes seemed to almost look straight toward Harley. She turned away and immediately puked. She gagged as the sour taste of food and stomach acid filled her mouth.
Heavy footsteps of boots echoed in the large space. The silence filled her with dread. She sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, clutching her hands to her chest. She stared at the floor with blurry eyes, not wanting to look up as Silas came closer. She could feel him right beside her. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw his boots and the silver chains hanging down from them. She shook with fear.
He crouched down.
“I’m not going to kill you if that’s what you think.”
She flinched. That was exactly what she’d been thinking. While her survival instincts were telling her to run from the monster now covered in blood, she couldn’t get herself to move from the spot she was now in.
She didn’t notice she was shivering until then. She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking as an ice cold chill fell over her.
Silas tsked. “I forget how fragile humans are.”
He swooped down and wrapped his strong arms around her. She tried to get away from him, but he was much stronger. He swept her off the ground, lifting her into his arms in the bridal position. She didn’t have the strength to fight him then. He cradled her to his chest. His warmth was inviting. It combatted the chill going through her. Her teeth chattered as she tucked her arms into the space between them. The moment they touched his clothed skin, it was a massive relief.
“Hold on tight,” he said. She could feel the vibration of his voice traveling through his chest.
Her eyes were barely staying open when she looked up. Gigantic black wings exploded from his back. The feathers were thick and almost as large as her forearm. Her eyes widened as the wingspan was even bigger than Silas. They looked like they could engulf both of them and maybe still have room for others.
They fluttered in the air until they came to a resting position. Silas turned and walked toward the warehouse doors. He didn’t bother avoiding the piles of blood that trailed along the floors. The pile of bodies was an even bloodier mess. As they past it, Harley closed her eyes and took steady breaths. The smell of copper was heavy in the air. She couldn’t avoid it even if she wanted to.
Silas kicked the doors open. They slammed into the walls. The wind was howling as they stepped outside. It was like they’d been sucked into the eye of a tornado. She could barely see because it was so dark and the wind whipping in her face blinded her even more that she couldn’t really open her eyes unless she wanted them to instantly dry out.
Silas’ wings started to beat. They fluttered, raising and then falling slowly until they picked up so fast that Silas’ feet picked up off the ground.
Harley then realized what he meant when he said to “hold on tight”. She grabbed onto his shirt, pressing further into his chest until she couldn’t be any closer. Her heart went right into her throat. She could feel it drumming in her ears and in her head. It hurt, turning into a headache that she couldn’t ignore.
The ground soon became further than the sky. They were flying. They were actually f*****g flying and Harley couldn’t quite wrap her head around that.
The warehouse became a dot in the distance. The wind no longer affected them as they rose so high in the sky that everything started to look nothing more than miniature toys. She closed her eyes once more. She sought after the safety of Silas’ chest, pretending that none of this was happening and hoping that she didn’t just make the biggest mistake of her life trusting him.
- Writer
