Wings in the Dark

  The creature tore through the sky, directionless and terrified, driven only by instinct. It darted past towering structures it didn’t recognise, under a sky that wasn’t its own. All it knew was that it had to survive, no matter what.

  A city guard stood at the top of the Great London Wall, a rifle in hand. She had been told of some flying creature that had gotten loose from somewhere, the details were hazy. All she knew was that she was to shoot it on sight. She sighed to herself, this was the most exciting the job had ever been, and she still wasn’t likely to hear or see anything. Such was the life of the city guard, an occupation that was largely for appearances' sake. In truth, any problems that arose were largely handled by the military, while she stood on her wall, trying her very best to look important.

  Suddenly, a loud “SHRIEK” shattered her eardrums as she dropped her rifle, desperately trying to cover them.

  “AARGH!” She yelled.

  Her eyes snapped shut in pain, but she forced them open quickly enough to see the creature in the distance. She scrambled to pick up the rifle, fumbling with it in her hands as she aimed and fired.

  BANG BANG!

  She missed both times; years of inactivity had all but destroyed her sense of aim. Desperately trying to reload, she looked up to see the creature once again, now far closer, flying right towards her at full speed, a look of terror on its face. She aimed to fire again, but it was too late.

  THWACK!

  She was hit, falling off the wall where she had been stationed for so long. As she lay bloodied on the cold, hard ground, the last sight she saw was of the creature flying away into the night.

  John had been mooching around on the University grounds for the last few hours. The buildings were all closed now, but for the dorms, so he didn’t have anywhere else to explore until the next morning. However, he didn’t want to spend the night with his abrasive roommate, so he was content to remain outside for a time. The place was largely silent; he had heard some music coming from some of the dorm buildings, but they faded into the night as he walked past; he knew he wouldn’t be welcome at any party.

  He sat on a bench and looked up at the full moon in the sky. It still glittered beautifully despite the technological alterations it had gone through over the last ten years. He wondered how long it would be before the stars themselves were altered as well.

  In that moment, he felt a certain peace, one he hadn’t felt in a long time. Thoughts of the insults he’d endured and the creature faded away in his mind, as he took a moment just for himself. Things weren’t perfect, but he knew he would be able to get through them. He had been through worse. Whittaker had given him a validation earlier that he’d scarcely had beforehand. His teachers in school never truly encouraged him; they seemed almost to resent his intelligence. Whittaker was the first person he spoke to who seemed to genuinely appreciate it, despite her smug tone and the part where she released a cyborg bat thing into their plane of existence. He hoped dearly that she would follow up with him tomorrow; he really thought there was some kind of bond there between them.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  He sat there for a few more hours, he could’ve stayed all night until a cluster of rain clouds rolled in and dampened his enthusiasm, both figuratively and literally. Sneaking back into his dorm, he found Peter fast asleep, his face tense, fists gripping his bedsheets like he was bracing for something. John hesitated. For the first time, he felt a flicker of pity; something was clearly troubling Peter, even if it didn’t excuse his earlier cruelty. Maybe, in the coming days, they could talk. Try to find some kind of understanding. John knew there was more to him than met the eye.

  That said, in the present moment, he was definitely snoring too much for comfort. John sighed. He dreaded the night ahead, filled with snorts, wheezes, and the occasional involuntary honk.

  He opened up Whittaker’s book and began reading through the chapter on the Diamond of Eruki, amusing himself by imagining the look on the publisher’s face when Whittaker told them they were going to have to update with details of the giant bat that lived inside it!

  Whittaker hated talking to Inspector Gunderson, it reminded her of speaking to her father. His stern eyes and thick eyebrows pierced her soul every time he gave her another rant.

  “Can you not control your little experiments, Whittaker?” He ranted furiously, pacing behind his desk like a caged lion. “You tinker away at some mystic crystal, and I’m stuck working at 3 in the morning!”

  “I’m sorry,” Whittaker said dryly, “I should have known a giant bat was going to come out of the portal and keep you up all night!”

  “You opened a portal to another world, you should have been ready for anything, Gunderson said, pointing his pipe at her sharply.

  A uniformed officer came into the office where they were sat, placing a file onto the Inspector’s desk and looking solemn.

  “She died, sir… before they lost her, she described something flying towards her… pretty sure it must have been the creature we’re after.”

  “Excellent deduction,” Gunderson sighed, shooing the officer out of the room.

  The atmosphere was more solemn now, Whittaker felt a trace of shame, which stilled her tongue for the moment. Her hands twitched, and her teeth chattered ever so slightly.

  Gunderson snarled. “One of the city guards has died because of your experiment, Whittaker. I guarantee, if we can’t kill it, if it kills anyone else, you can look forward to imprisonment for the rest of your life… regardless of your status. Understood?”

  Whittaker sighed. “I think you underestimate my status if you think that’s possible.” Her tone softened. “But yes… I swear, I will destroy this creature before it can hurt anyone else. One death is too many already.”

  “Glad we’re on the same page,” Gunderson said, lighting his pipe and blowing smoke into Whittaker’s face.

  She didn’t flinch, but the shame gnawed at her.

  The creature hid in a small cave, it didn’t know where it was or where its family was, but the cave at least gave it some sense of familiarity. It knew that people were chasing it, knew that it was in danger. It only hoped that it could avoid them long enough to find a way home.