Wings of Paper - Chapter 7

Alex was afraid to drive, and I was afraid to ride in the van with her. In fact, I was about to suggest that we could simply walk, as we were about fifteen miles out from the edge of the Darkness. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Sammy moaned. 

Sadie shoved him away. “Puke on someone else, not the princess.” In all fairness, my stomach wasn’t exactly handling the ride well and I rode in vehicles on a daily basis. 

“I’m doing the best I can,” Alex shot back. The van lurched forwards and Alex slammed on the breaks, sending Hiro careening into the seat in front of him. The driving had been this jerky the entire trip. 

“Here, fasten the seatbelt like this,” I said, showing Hiro, Kenzie, Sadie, and Sammy how to clip their seatbelts. The last thing we needed was injuries due to a car crash. 

Although Alex’s talent was slowly getting better, she was still not confident in herself. We rounded corners slowly and everytime the van started to pick up steam she would slam on the brakes again. 

“Uh, guys,” Sadie whispered, her eyes wide as she pointed behind us. We were moving steadily at the pace of a snail, and honestly we would’ve been better off walking. 

“What?” Kenzie groaned, exasperated. Besides Alex’s terrible driving, we had also stopped for three bathroom breaks since leaving Ambercliff nearly an hour before. We had raided the shops and salvaged as much as we could, piling it into the back of the van. 

“There’s someone following us,” Sadie answered. I turned around, expecting to see a lonesome traveller. 

There were about four figures shrouded by a misty dark veil, as well as a larger shape trudging along behind them. “Alex, drive!” I shouted. These figures weren’t running yet they were keeping up quite well, if not gaining on us. 

“Grab weapons,” Kenzie ordered us. We all bent over, reaching for whatever we could find. My fingers grazed the hilt of a sword but suddenly the van lurched forward and the weapon slid out of my reach. Quickly, and stupidly, I unclipped my seatbelt and reached for the blade just as Alex screamed. 

The next few seconds were a blur filled with screams and pain. My head slammed into the seat in front of me and I blacked out for a few seconds, groaning when I sat back up. 

My arms and legs were bleeding from various scratches, probably because of the broken glass of the windows. My sword was nowhere to be seen, but luckily I was unharmed. My first thought was of the others. Had they been crushed? Killed? Or… 

I felt strong hands grab my shoulders from behind, and I couldn’t break free of their grasp no matter how hard I struggled. Thick rope was wound around my wrists and ankles, rendering me incapable of movement. Someone stuffed a gag in my mouth before finally I was spun around. It was the figures from the mist, but they weren’t normal travellers. 

These were Dark Warriors. 

As for the large shape I had seen behind them…

A large, dark furred bear twice the size of any normal creature shook against the chains on its neck. It snarled loudly, its nose twitching as it seemed to take in our scents. Obsidian claws maybe four inches long sprouted from the paws, sharp as blades. 

“Put him with the others.” The voice was high, nasally, and definitely feminine. I turned my head to see a woman with skin as dark as the night sky brandishing a sword at the others. Cobweb like hairs sprouted from her head, hanging just below her shoulders. She sent a glare my way when she saw me looking and I felt myself being dropped to the ground. 

Rocks dug into my spine as I rolled, trying to gain a better position. I hit something beside me and was surprised to discover it was a body, though warm. Sadie’s terrified eyes stared back at me, her mouth somehow free. 

“Hold still,” she whispered, her voice low. I watched in horror and amazement as her golden blonde locks began to grow towards me, the hair spiraling at my face. I winced as the hair brushed my cheeks and slithered around the back of my head. Suddenly, my gag fell away and the hair retreated into Sadie’s head. “An elvin trick,” she smiled at me. 

I nodded a quick thanks and Sadie’s hair went to work on the bonds on her wrists. Meanwhile, I distracted myself by tugging at the ropes on my wrists. I read once that if you keep your hands in fists when being tied up it gives you slightly more wiggle room than flat palms. Luckily, my captors had actually forced my hands into fists and I managed to one hand free with only a slight abrasion on my wrists. 

I set to work untying my ankles when a shadow descended upon me. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” I wasn’t even given an opportunity to answer because the woman grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and pressed a knife to my chest. The blade was wickedly sharp and I sucked in a breath, pulse pounding in my ears. 

The woman grinned at me, before pushing me into the hands of one of the men. He gripped me tightly by the arms, and I felt like the circulation was already being cut off. Now the woman was staring at me with intensity but also curiosity that sent shivers up my spine. She smiled even wider when she saw the numerous cuts on my arms. 

“You know, she said we have to bring him in alive, but none of the others,” the woman smirked. “I think if she doesn’t kill him I’d like to keep him.” 

These words weren’t meant for her men, I realized, they were meant to intimidate me. She wanted me to be scared of her so I wouldn’t attempt anything, not that I could. I was weaponless and helpless. 

For a second I wondered if maybe I could simply imagine this woman and her goons to be gone. But when I opened my eyes again she was still there and snickering. 

“She warned us about you. Said you were clever,” the woman snorted, rolling her eyes. “Obviously she has very high expectations of you - maybe too high.” The woman was careless with her blade and she nicked a tiny scratch on my neck. I clenched my jaw, determined not to give her any reason to kill me or injure me more. 

“Said he’d be strong, she did,” the man holding me scoffed. “Said he’d be smart.” 

Obviously these people weren’t seeing me for who I was - or maybe they were. I shut the thought down. I had gotten this far, hadn’t I? 

“He is smart,” someone behind the woman shouted. Something slammed into the woman’s head, and I realized it was the flat of a blade. Sadie stood in front of me, sword in her hand, her chest breathing heavily as she offered me a smile. 

The man behind me dropped my arms and I dove away, reaching for the woman’s knife. The man lunged at Sadie, who leapt aside and swiped at his feet with her sword. He cursed as he fell backwards and I didn’t wait to see if Sadie was fine or if the others were able to move. 

I lunged towards the nearest man but the woman grabbed my angle causing me to fall. I pulled myself into a roll before stabbing wildly with my knife. I managed to scrape the length of her arm and she let out a small yelp. I took the opportunity to attack again, this time bringing my knife down on her chest. At once she dissolved into mist. 

Someone kicked me in my already throbbing head and I spun around and stabbed the blade into the man’s foot. He toppled forwards, nearly crushing me but I managed to scramble out of the way in time. 

In my escape I rolled towards another fallen man and stole his sword before leaping to my feet. I immediately locked into battle with one the men, maybe the one I had stabbed in the foot. I still wasn’t the best at sword fighting, but over the past days I had learned how to block and attack pretty well. Within minutes the man was gone with the wind. 

That left the last man if he hadn’t been taken care of and the- 

“Bear!” Alex screeched, and I ducked instinctively, which was good because the creature swept a claw over where my head had been just moments before. 

It’s teeth were bared (pardon the pun) and it charged towards me. I knew a sword would do no good against it unless I stabbed it in the right place, but suddenly my brain stopped working. 

Kenzie shoved me out of the way just in time to avoid getting trampled. She let out a loud, warbling call and charged straight at the bear. 

Her swordplay was marvelous and she stabbed in the areas that would most greatly injure the bear - the face, the neck, and the limbs. “Luke!” Kenzie shouted. “Help me!” She sounded desperate despite her cool expression. 

I had no idea what would help in this situation so I sprinted towards the bear, sword raised. It growled as Kenzie’s sword drew more blood from it. The bear roared, and without hesitation I swung my sword, slicing the bear’s eye. It wailed in pain which gave Kenzie an opportunity to stab at its stomach. 

Dark blood poured from the wound, but the bear wasn’t dead just yet. It thrashed wildly, one of its claws slicing a nasty gash in my shoulder. I gave a small yelp before pressing my hand against the wound. It came away wet with blood and my shoulder stung. 

Kenzie brought down her sword hard on the bear’s head and there was a sickening thud as the blade hit bone. The bear roared once more and fell silent, collapsing into a pile of ash. 

I turned slowly, wincing in pain as I looked around for either everyone on our team alive or another enemy. I spotted Hiro and Alex quickly, both of them tied back to back with dark rope. Hiro was awake, but he had a cut on his forehead and Alex’s nose was bleeding. 

Then I saw Sammy a few yards from them and directly in front of him was… 

“Drop the weapons,” the remaining Warrior ordered. His face was dark (literally) and grim, and in his arms was Sadie. He was holding her hair with one hand, a sword against her throat with the other. 

Kenzie’s sword clattered to the ground and I let my fingers release my own weapon. Sammy was seething, his chest rising and falling heavily. I could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. The man grinned. “The boy,” he gestured to me with his head. “Will come with me. None of you will follow us, you will turn and travel the opposite way. Either that or I kill this girl.” 

He was obviously smarter than the other men had been. That wasn’t a good thing. 

Sadie’s eyes were wide and she was trying not to cry, judging by her red face. 

Suddenly, faster than I could register, Sammy ducked, rolling on the ground and grabbing his sword before leaping to his feet. 

With a slice incredibly accurate and impossibly fast, Sammy stabbed the man holding Sadie straight in the chest. The man gasped, teetering backwards as he released Sadie, who flocked into Sammy’s arms. He wrapped her in a hug but shoved her aside just as a blade came flying towards them. 

Sadie and Sammy tumbled to the ground simultaneously, Sadie relatively unharmed. As for Sammy… 

“Sammy!” Sadie cried, scrambling towards him over the shattered glass from the car. 

He gasped for breath, blood blossoming from his chest. The sword had struck him in the ribs, cutting through his skin before falling to the ground. His eyes were glassy and suddenly I felt Kenzie’s presence at my side. No, I didn’t want to talk to her. I wanted Sammy to live, not die. 

Kenzie grabbed my arms, forcing me to face her. I choked down tears, I didn’t want her to see me cry. “Luke, you can fix this,” Kenzie told me, voice solemn. “Use your imagination and fix this.”

“It won’t work,” I began to protest. 

Kenzie pressed a finger to my lips. “Do it or die. I believe in you.”

That seemed like ample motivation so I sighed. Focusing on the second set of words, I pictured Sammy’s wound healing, the blood seeping back into his body and the skin mending together. There was a small gasp from Sadie followed by sobbing. I kept my eyes close. 

“Luke, open your eyes,” Kenzie cried. I didn’t want to but I peeled my eyes open anyways. Sammy’s wound was nothing but a long and jagged scratch now, and although his eyes were closed his chest rose and fell with steady breaths. 

I had saved him. 

I didn’t know who was the most surprised, but the moment of shock ended when Alex cleared her throat. Her and Hiro were still tied up. 

I left Sadie and Kenzie with Sammy now that he was stabilized and made my way over to Alex and Hiro. Using a particularly sharp shard of glass, I sliced the ropes holding the pair of them. 

“What exactly happened over there?” Alex said, crossing her arms. 

“Sammy, uh,” I began. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to explain what had happened. Alex tapped her foot, reminding me she was still waiting. I sighed. “All that matters now is that we’re all alive.” 

“And unharmed,” Hiro added, stretching. He raised an eyebrow. “Unless someone was injured.” 

I rolled my eyes. “You saw part of what happened, I assume.” Hiro nodded. “Sammy was injured, but now he’s fine. Can we just move on? We’re on a tight schedule and…” My voice trailed off as I cast a sideways glance towards the ruined van. 

With a trashed van and an unconscious Sammy we wouldn’ t be going anywhere soon. 

We had time to spare so Kenzie suggested we salvage what we could from the wreck and she also bandaged my throbbing shoulder. Sadie swept up the shards of glass with some of the van’s dented metal so we could crawl through the wreckage. 

Although Alex managed to scavenge some food and weapons most of our stuff was crushed. Sammy was still unconscious and we had no way to transport him, though we had plenty of creative ideas. 

At first Hiro and I tried to lift him but with my injured shoulder and Hiro’s dizzy spells we couldn’t risk dropping him. Sadie fashioned a makeshift sled out of one of her dresses and some sticks. However, the fabric ripped easily and we weren’t sure how long the sticks would be able to support Sammy’s weight. 

With nothing else to do except wait Alex decided to give me some more sword fighting lessons. It quickly became clear that we were too exhausted to do much of anything and after organizing our supplies for a final time Kenzie recommended we get some sleep. 

Despite my heavy eyelids, sleep did not come for me. I agreed to take first watch Hiro while the girls slept. 

Sadie was too nervous to leave Sammy alone so she curled up at his side and fell asleep relatively fast. Alex made herself a bed out of a blanket and her jacket on the opposite side of the road. 

Meanwhile Kenzie curled up at Hiro’s side, her head on his lap as she drifted to sleep. I noticed Hiro absentmindedly raking his fingers through her hair. 

My chest panged with loneliness but also the thought that Hiro and Kenzie had gone from enemies to friends. She seemed nicer to him than anyone else and Hiro seemed bent on protecting her. They made a sweet pair, but I almost wished I had someone to share with like that. I glanced at Alex, still lying a few yards away. If she didn’t get home safely I would ruin any chance at having a real friend. 

Hiro was quiet, something that really surprised me. In my stories he had always been an exuberant person with a loud personality and a need to be the center of attention. Now he seemed changed and I didn’t think it was the Darkness. 

“Were Kenzie and I really supposed to be enemies?” Hiro asked me at last, his voice low as he traced a finger over Kenzie’s forehead. 

I shrugged, unsure of what to say. “At first that was my plan, but I’m realizing now that you two make a good… pair.” I didn’t want to say couple, the word felt wrong on my tongue. “I couldn’t force you two apart now, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

It was Hiro’s turn to shrug. “When I first met her I thought I was going to have to kill her. Now I think I would kill for her.” 

Oh. I didn’t realize that the two of them were that close, and I was at a loss for words. 

“Do you think she would die for me?” The question was soft, almost tender. Hiro seemed embarrassed to have said it, but it was fair to ask. 

I nodded. “I’m sure she would. Both of you want to protect each other, there’s nothing wrong with that.” There’s not, I told myself. It’s perfectly reasonable to want to protect someone with your life. 

But then why did it feel so wrong to see them like that? 

“Death would be preferable to the Darkness,” Hiro decided. 

I shrugged. I didn’t think the Darkness would harm me, after all, I wasn’t fictional like the others. Alex and I probably had the best chance of surviving this, despite our - no, my - lack of experience. 

But I didn’t want to seem selfish or arrogant so I remained silent. Hiro made a few more half-hearted attempts at conversation, commenting on the sky and on Sammy’s condition. 

I ignored him for the most part, my mind still racing to find a way to kill Dee. We had a while to go still, Dee was in the center of the Darkness which was still miles away. Yet I still needed to be prepared when we would meet. 

Sammy stirred a little while after, but he didn’t wake. I found myself drifting off at last and by morning our camp was already packed. 

With bags on our shoulders and hearts set in stone we began our journey into the distance where the Darkness roared like a wave that would consume all. My sword hung at my waist, reminding me of the responsibility I had. 

I wouldn’t let Dee win.