When Blackbirds Fly

Chapter Twenty Three

One look at the winged beast in front of me and I know that we won't be able to beat this thing alone. Even with Ian, Zero, and Audrey's cool powers, I doubt we'd get very far. Breathe. I tell myself. Breathe. You need to think your way out of this one.

"Merle!" Zero shouts to me. "You need to hide! We can handle this!" I shake my head. My eyes must betray how afraid I am because his soften. "It'll be alright. We can do it. I've got this, remember?" He slips off his ring, activating the hidden scythe.

"Plus, Audrey has her cards," he adds. Audrey flips a few between her fingers, just for show.

"DON'T FORGET ABOUT MEEEE!" Ian screams. "AWESOME FIREBALL DUDE, BRO!" He juggles his fire, dashing past Zero with his tongue sticking out. I laugh gratefully, knowing that he's doing this for me.

"Merle, you've got to believe in us." Audrey places her hand on my shoulder, still running beside me. "I know it seems like we don't stand a chance, but we have to try." She doesn't say it out loud but I understand the double meaning behind her words anyway. There's no other way.

"Okay," I say, my voice shaking. I don't want to lose anyone. Audrey squeezes my shoulder. I look at Zero and he nods at me. Ian gives me a thumbs up, grinning. I smile weakly back at him. Turning around, I find shelter behind a tree. Hands shaking, I grip the sides and peek out from behind it.

Zero and Audrey glance at each other before moving around either side of the dragon, flanking it. Ian charges it straight on, wielding his blue flames. I have to admire how they move together as one, their unspoken thoughts melding together to form a silent plan.

Letting out a battle cry, Ian hurls a blazing inferno at the beast in the air. When the fire licks at the dragon's sides it turns around and snorts. It takes in the three of my friends with its beady eyes. I almost gasp aloud when it lands on the ground; the thump shakes the whole forest.

Audrey sends two jokers flying at the creature's eyes, and they almost make it, until the dragon whacks them away with its tail. So it's smart too. Zero cuts at its ankles, hoping to make some kind of damage, but to no avail. Its scales are as hard as rock.

I feel it in my gut when he gets a tail to the stomach for his trouble. I almost shout his name but think better of it. Audrey keeps targeting the dragon's eyes, which would be a good plan if the darn thing wasn't so intelligent. Eventually, instead of dodging the playing cards it just decides to attack the poor girl.

Audrey is sent flying backward when the best stamps its foot down. It didn't even touch her. I think incredulously. That's how strong it was. I try to resist the urge to run after her, to make sure she's alright. I know that I shouldn't. I can't. Because the second I draw attention to myself could be my last. But I can't let my friends die either.

My heart skips a beat when I hear Ian yell a curse. I hate myself for turning around. What I see makes me more worried than before. Ian is pinned to the ground beneath the dragon's foot, struggling helplessly. If I didn't know better I'd say that the dragon was enjoying it.

Luckily, Zero is back on his feet. He runs over trying to get the creature's attention back on him. It works for now, but I don't know how much longer this can last. This is the only way, repeats in my brain, over and over like a mantra. This is the only way.

My brain starts going in multiple directions at the same time. I'm watching as Ian blasts the dragon in the face. I'm watching when he jumps back to avoid a blast of the dragon's own fire. I'm watching as Zero is clutching his stomach, still in pain from the tail whack. But I'm also thinking and waiting. I'm imagining my body twisting and turning, forming into something that isn't me but is.

I'm feeling as feathers cover my flesh, from head to toe. I'm concentrating on the beak sprouting from my face. I'm entranced as the world gets smaller and smaller, my head rising above the treetops.

Later on, my friends tell me that I was bigger than the dragon. Taller than the forest itself, like nothing they'd ever seen. But in that moment all I could think about when I spread my wings was that I was free. Free as a bird. 

Word Count: 798

And so Merle's bird form is revealed :)

ALSOOOOO

HAPPY/MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYBODY! 🎄

-RS <3