Species Unknown [Book 1: Aves]

TWENTY-FIVE

WE KEPT WALKING for what felt like hours. It was well past dark now, and I could barely see an arm's length ahead of me.

By this point, Elias had caught up to me. His broad frame followed closely beside my own as we made our way through the forest. His wings were slightly prickled from his unease at our situation, but he remained alert, his wide eyes continuously glancing anxiously between the trees surrounding us.

The forest was chillingly silent. As far as I could tell, the crunch of dead leaves beneath our feet was the only audible sign of movement. There were no rustling bushes, no chirping birds, no howling wolves, nothing. With each careful step disturbing the eerie silence, the doubtful thoughts swirling in my mind grew louder.

Why is the forest so damn silent?

Did I misread the map?

Maybe we should have stayed by the car?

My head spun as my mind kept conjuring up more thoughts that made me question my decision. We had been walking for hours and it was clear that we weren't getting anywhere. It didn't help that my body was still sore from the crash. It seemed like all we were doing was drawing attention, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

Pain and exhaustion was wearing me down, and I found myself walking slower. With each passing tree, I wondered how much longer I could keep going. Perhaps it might be best if we just found a place to stop for the night.

I turned to tell Elias my thoughts, but before I could open my mouth to speak, he froze. I stayed silent, simply watching the sharp line of his jaw clench as he surveyed the forest ahead of us.

Talking careful steps, he positioned himself in front of me, spreading his wings to shield me from whatever threat was ahead of us.

All of the sudden, a sharp metallic click echoed from the trees just beyond where we stood.

Looking over his shoulder, I watched in awe and horror as Elias reacted immediately, his face morphing into a scowl. He let out a guttural sound unlike anything I had ever heard as his hands clenched and unclenched, elongating his fingers into long black talons, ready to attack.

As if in response, I saw a flash of light followed by a loud bang. I jumped when the tree we stood beside exploded with a crack, sending a spray of bark in the air.

Quickly, I whipped my head back towards the sound of the bang. Amidst the dark line of trees, I could see what looked to be a floating yellowish light illuminating a wide set figure. As the figure approached, I could make out what looked to be an old fashioned gas lantern that swayed in one hand, and the silhouette of a gun pointed right at us in the other.

"Take one more step and I'll put a bullet between your eyes!" The voice shouted from up ahead. It sounded gravelly, but it had a hint of something else I recognized.

I didn't have time to figure out what because, before I could take my next breath, Elias launched himself forward.

"Elias no!" I cried, barely missing his arm as I attempted to stop him. I watched helplessly as the figure raised the gun to aim at their quickly advancing attacker.

I shut my eyes, awaiting the sound of another bang. Instead, I all heard a weak yelp.

I opened my eyes to see that Elias had reached them first. With one taloned hand, he held the figure up by the arm, digging his talons into their wrist until they were forced to drop the gun. I watched as it hit the forest floor with a soft thud.

Immediately, I rushed over to them. With the lantern still clutched in their hand, I could now barely make out the figures face illuminated by the light.