Free flying

new

The wind whipped at my face and a constant chill hit my back where my shirt was ripped. I dropped slowly to the level of which Caleb was running, then landed stumbling with momentum. He was a bit far back from where I was , and I continued to jog across the sandy ground. He sprinted forward to me and I slowed myself down, finally meeting up with each other.

"hey.... Alex... need a .... rest?" he huffed.

"Do you?" I ask, and he nods, slightly. We head to a cave open in close to where we have been running, and rest in there.

"Going to do some exploring, you can rest here, if you want," I say and he just collapses on the floor. I walk around the cave finding a tunnel that I squeeze into. It expands quickly and turns out to be an underground cave. I see movement near the edge of the cave and I pick up a sharp rock, holding it tightly. I hear a scratching on the stone floor, and I hear something behind me. I spin around , and see the flash of movement again.

"who are you?" I ask, the thing moves again, to the left of me. I turn to face the movement, following where it goes. Behind me a feel a sharp shove and I fall on the floor, my cheek gets cut on the rock. Pain throbs from the area, I try to get up, clutching my cheek, but I feel a quick shove again, then a punch in my stomach. My head hits the sharp rock again, this time it lands further up my cheek, close to my eye. Pain shoots from the cut, if this was a Lapica, I will be dead. But I couldn't be, no yellow eyes in the darkness, and it would kill me straight away. I seems small girls face come up to me as she pins me down.

"What are you doing here?" she says ,a mix of angriness and fright in her voice.

"Exploring, checking the cave out," I say, and easily flip her off me, but she quickly is on top of me again. I was now on my back, she pressed down , my wings hurt as they get squished.

"Alex?" Caleb calls. "You okay?"

"More of you to get me?" the girl presses harder on me, and I threw her off, and start to the opening.

"Alex?" Caleb calls again. He pokes his head in the opening, and spots the girl as she grabs my feet, trying to pull me back.

"Girl, I don't know who you are, but I wont hurt you, nor will she, please, let her go," Caleb pleads and grabs my hand and pulls me through. "Alex, what happened to you?"

"Nothing," I say.

the girl comes out of the opening, and punches me in the face, her fist moves faster than I can see it.

"Nothing, huh?" she says.

"Girl, whats your name, I'm Caleb," Caleb says warmly, and holds out his hand. Trust Caleb to ask what everyone's names are. "unless you wish to be called girl all the time." The girl stares skeptically  at his hand and shook it.

"Hello Caleb, I'm Mirtha," she smiles.

"Alex," I say.

"Isn't that a boys name?" Says Mirtha, scowling.

"No, its can be both genders, and why did you punch me, and shove my face into a rock?" I ask, glaring at her.

"You came into my cave, with a rock, I simply defended myself."

"Now Mirtha, do you know what age you are?" Caleb said uneasily, trying to break the conversation.

"I'm eleven,ish," she says.

"Well, I'm fourteen," says Caleb

"twelve, I think," I say and Caleb and Mirtha look at me with a are-you-serious look.

"You look, older, like I dunno fifteen?" Caleb says, staring me down.

"So Mirtha, can you do something, out of the ordinary?" I ask.

"what can you do?" she snaps. "Something lame like, extra long age, attracting mates, self heal?" the last guess sent a sad look fall Caleb's face.

"I can fly," I say and make my wings snap out, but don't make them fully extend for the small cave. Mirtha just stares at my white underneath of my feathers. "What can you do?"

"I'm fast, real fast," she demonstrates by going straight out off the cave, making her look like a small blur, shooting across the desert. She runs back, in hand, three lizards and a pile of sticks, and places them on the floor.

"Roast lizard for lunch, by the looks," Caleb laughs.