Winter's Wings (Book 1 of the Winter's Series)

Chapter Fourteen: The Predator

We circle each other, analyzing each other for weaknesses. We take turns throwing punches and dodging. It would seem as if we are evenly matched, but that's an illusion. I know that I'm outmatched. He breaks the routine and lunges forward toward me. I dive left to avoid his metal arm and roll on my hands to push myself back to standing. I ready myself for his next advance. With the window at my back, I can make a break for it. But I'm not naive enough to think that he didn't notice my positional advantage. I need to distract him somehow, and keep his hands off of me. If he grabs me, I'm as good as dead.

I keep my knees loose by bending them in case I need to dodge quickly. My hands are at the ready to deflect his punches or make punches myself. I study his movements carefully, anticipating his attacks. The moonlight reflects off of his metal arm casting a brief blinding light in my right eye. He acts on that distraction to close the distance between us. His hand finds itself around my throat. He applies ample pressure to both of my carotid arteries, depriving my brain of oxygen rich blood. My head begins to throb and I can hear the sound in my ears. I claw at his hand but it's useless. So I plant my feet on his chest and push, trying to force him to let go.

He knocks my feet off of his chest, I swing my right foot to squarely hit him in the groin. His grip loosens and I fall to the ground. I waste no time in sweeping my leg into the side of his ankles, knocking him off his feet. I jump up and sprint for the window. Just as I'm about to attempt to break the glass, he grabs a fistful of my hair and jerks me backwards into him. I drive my elbows back trying to hit his ribs hard enough to do some damage.

He lets out a hefty grunt as I make contact with him, I let myself drop and push myself back into between his legs to pop up behind him. I scan the floor for my gun as quickly as I can. I see it near the glass door and make a dive for it. The cold metal sits securely in my palm and I aim for his shoulder, the non metal one. I fire off a shot and see him stumble forward. I turn my aim to the window and pierce the thick glass with the bullets. It isn't shattered but it's compromised enough, that my body would easily break it on my way out.

He recovers from the shot rather quickly and seems to be more angry about it than in pain. I need to get past him now if I want to make it out. His back is still to me and I roll away from his line of sight. Staying low to the ground in a crouched position, I use the shadows to my advantage. His night vision isn't as good as mine, nor are his senses. Although the room is silent and any kind of sound can be heard, he can't track me based on my heartbeat, like I can him. If I stay hugging the shadows, he can't find me. While we are both highly trained in stealth, because I have enhanced hearing I have taught myself how to move in complete silence. I fight for inches toward the window. Once I get to a certain point, the shadows will no longer offer me safety.

I keep my eyes trained on him and keep my breathing under control as to assist in my goal of complete silence. He begins to walk towards the shadows in search of me, and I move closer to the windows. His back is to me and I use that mistake to close the distance between me and the window. I crash through the glass and free fall for a few seconds before unfurling my wings and lifting upward. The sound of gunshots ring in the air, and white hot lightning sears its way into my back, nipping my lung. The feeling is accompanied by my left lung beginning to fill with blood. I try to gain distance between myself and the assassin shooting at me.

Another gunshot echoes in the night sky, and after a short delay a bullet carves a path in my lower back narrowly missing my spine. My altitude begins to drop quickly, his next shot paralyzes me. I don't even feel the impact of the bullet as it lodges itself in my spine. I drop from the sky at a frightening speed, luckily there's an abundance of water below me to break my fall. The cool water encompasses my damaged body, swallowing me whole. I claw at the water, trying to make my way to the surface, but I can't move my body. I watch as the surface grows farther away from my paralyzed body. As I sink deeper into the black abyss, the muffled sound of a motorcycle engine grows louder. He must be coming to make sure the job is done.

I close my eyes and wait for death to greet me. Instead I feel someone grab me and pull me with them to the surface. I keep my eyes closed and feign unconsciousness. They push down on my chest and force air into my lungs. I sputter and cough up water, gasping for air. I lock my eyes onto the face of my rescuer. It's not the Winter Soldier, It's an agent from the desert. He was with the red head. I remember him vaguely.

"I need you to pull your wings in." He says checking over my blood soaked body.

"I can't move, I think I'm paralyzed at least for the moment. My body can't heal until the bullets are out. I can't feel anything, my arms or legs. He's coming for me."

"Who's coming for you?" He asks whilst catching his breath.

"HIM." I say desperately. "The Winter Soldier. We need to leave. NOW." He nods his head in understanding before picking me up and getting on the motorcycle. He folds my wings around me and secures my body against his before he speeds off. The wind chills my soaking wet body. I go over the events in my head and realize that I must have dropped the gun when I fell into the water.

The stress I was under begins to fade away and fatigue takes its place. If I could feel anything, I would feel myself trembling. The fight was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. The sounds of the city are deafening next to the roar of the engine. I wonder what it looks like to bystanders. A man with a winged thing in his lap, too large to be a bird but too bizarre to be anything but a bird. I fight the fatigue for as long as I can, but in the end it's useless.