Only A WishWritten by: Udon T.E. And Abigail K.T.

Chapter 19: Canis Alatus

hapter Nineteen:

[]CANIS ALATUS[]

Walking with my Spirit Dog next to me, I felt a sense of courage. Having something so large and strong next to me made me feel powerful. As we walked, I noticed our steps were naturally in sync. When my left foot moved, so did hers, and left, too.

When we neared the building containing the kennels, I struggled to remember my locker number, because I rarely used mine anyway. After a second of thinking, I moved towards locker 26.

'Kori, your locker number is 38. Not 26.' Hunter said, giving me a puzzled look.

"How'd you know that?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

'I can access the thoughts and memories you might have forgotten' The striking sound of Hunter's voice said.

Even though she couldn't talk, I was glad that didn't stop us from communicating. I walked down a couple of rows before reaching 38. I entered my locker code, which was saved on my handy high-tech wristband. "Ugh, my life would be such a mess without all this technology. Then again, my life is still kind of a mess." I say, my shoulder hunching sarcastically. We stepped inside the large kennel. Even if I jumped, I bet I couldn't reach the ceiling, but if I got a boost from my wings I could probably make it. "Ok here's the drill, Hunter you stand here and I'll scan you. Then the kennel will be a perfect fit for you." I said, leading the large dog onto the marked area. A small buzzing noise followed as the kennel scanned Hunter.

Before the scanner stopped, the door slid closed, apparently not sensing me. I just shrugged thinking that I would just manually open the door later. The scanner stopped, and a blur of mumbled words came out of it. All I could hear was:

[]...zz... err...o....zzz...[]

Quickly, Hunter positioned herself over me, just in case. I noticed how hot the room was, and that Hunter had started panting.

"When did it get so warm in here?" I said, sweating. I clicked on my helmet, and cooler air started pouring into my suit. It was still much warmer than usual, as my suit's coolant was partially broken.

"My god, why is it so hot?" I said sticking my tongue out, even though Hunter couldn't see my face.

'Kori, I've never agreed more to something you have said.' Hunter said, panting quickly. "Okay, Hunter, how do we get out of here?" I say looking at my Spirit Dog.

'Now is one time I wish I was an actual spirit, like a ghost that can pass through walls.' Hunter's breath was quickening.

"Yeah well you're here, and quite solid. So we need to find a way out." I said, already starting to sweat. Hunter went to the large, fake dog igloo in the corner, attempting to fit herself fully in the shade.

"Wow Hunter, really helpful," I say, teasing.

'I'm sorry, it's... Just.. So ...Hot"

"Hunter, just hang on." I extended my wings, their full structure reaching almost half the large kennel. I shoved my wings downward and jumped at the same time, launching myself into the air. Smacking a ceiling panel, I tried to flap my wings a few more times, but they uselessly hit the ceiling. Giving a final shove, I fall back to the ground landing on my knees. The ceiling panel barely budged. I tried the same thing again, only this time, I took out my knife, aiming it upwards. Fwoosh! The dust under me scattered. I cut a small hole in the ceiling, pushing off the floor one last time and wedging myself through the small hole.

"Hang on Hunter," I said, looking back at Hunter, lying down still panting.

'..I'll be here'

I hurried through the small air ducts, wings cramped behind me. 'I'll be a Xenatrian dust bunny by the time I get out of this' I thought to myself. I stopped to sneeze, whacking my elbow beside me. I'm not the most limber person. If only I were Pyri, she's so graceful it kind of hurts to compare us. I usually just blame it on my wings though. Under me, I heard a quiet bark. "Stella, it's ok. It's just a spider." A voice below me said. I knew that voice, it must be one of my friends. It sounded vaguely like Pyri, but my heavy breathing and the constant flow of air around me made it nearly impossible to hear.

"Hello?" I called.
"Pyri? Is that you?" I shouted.

"Yeah, this is Pyri. Who's up there? And are you ok?!" Pyri yelled back.

"Yeah, I'm fine but Hunter isn't. Can you go to Kennel, uh... 36, and manually unlock it from the outside? I'll meet you there." I said.

Stumbling back to Hunter, I dropped down out of the vents. As soon as I reached the ground I tossed some of the dust off my hair by flipping it forward, then backwards again.

Pyri stepped into the kennel right as I was kneeling next to Hunter. "You okay" I was asking, softly poking Hunter. Hunter responded with a small grunt. "Kori!" Pyri said, running over to me and Hunter.

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Thank you for reading!

This chapter came in at a whopping 874 words!

Xx Abigail :)