Colossal, towering, isolated cauliflower-like clouds projecting skyward that looked like a textbook ghastly picture from Severe Weather 101 – that was where my captor was taking me.
Blistering lights leaked from the curly edges of the darkened mass of condensed water vapor. Deafening noises rumbled after the flashes. The unstable air generated deep, rapid, upward motion in the atmosphere. I felt the rush of the harassing wind whipping my face and body as we climbed higher and came nearer to the menacing thunderclouds.
Balls of lightning robbed my thoughts away from Neal Gordon and from my possible doomed fate. These floating, illuminating spheres that occur during thunderstorms are a rare phenomenon according to physics, I recalled.
I caught a good glimpse of them as the flying creature skillfully maneuvered into the cumulus clouds. Some globes of lightning stirred fast, others moved slowly, while a few were staying stationary. I noted several were quite; others were producing hissing or crackling noise.
Their brilliance lasted for seconds to minutes. They disappeared either slowly or suddenly; either quietly or with a loud bang. No definitive photographs have ever been obtained of ball lightning, nor have any official accounts been made of it, therefore its veracity in scientific circles had been questioned.
The only source of information on ball lightning has come from eyewitnesses accounts. Thus, they remained a mystery on Earth… but, here… they lavishly displayed their bizarre show. Mixed emotions of admiration and apprehension filled my heart.
We were behind the thunderclouds when I looked up at my captor. I tried to figure in my head a way how to fend for myself, despite the fact that all I could perceive from my position at that moment was its avian form.
Soon enough, we reached our destination. The creature tossed me lightly to the rocky ground. I stumbled when I landed and hurriedly crawled on my hands and knees to get away, but the winged being caught me again instantly.
“You were hard to find, Allayna Jones!” The creature loudly said as it picked me using its right talon and whisked to turn me facing him. I wriggled hard to free myself but its strength and weight pinned my body to the ground.
“I-it’s a human-animal hybrid…” I stammered under my breath. My eyes widened when I finally gazed at the being.
He looked like a falcon-headed man depicted in museums as Horus; and if not for the absence of pschent from his head, if not for the talons that were immobilizing me, and for the huge feathered wings, he would exactly look like the ancient Egyptians’ national patron god.
I thought my heart skipped beats when he stooped down partly, reached for my cloak and peeled it away. Suddenly, he flew straight up carrying me again. But, he just hovered a few meters above from where we were.
My hope started to fade as he expertly flipped me around several times. He was inspecting me closely and thoroughly, and when he seemed satisfied, we gently landed back to the ground.
I froze. My mind has only a fraction of second to decide on whether to flee or to fight, but run away where? and fight with what? We were on a rock slab that was twice as big as a basketball court, and it soared high from the ground like a skyscraper.
Finally, my reptilian brain kicked in and motivated me to pick a fist-sized rock nearest me. I boldly held it in my hand like a champion baseball pitcher, as if the weapon of choice would help turn the odds in my favor.
“Who are you? How do you know me?” I bravely demanded for answers through my shaking voice … My body quivered, but I readied my stance. I am not going down without a fight – I told myself.
“I was bonded to you, the moment you were conceived.” He boldly declared.
My jaw dropped in bewilderment as I mumbled slowly, “No shitting way… Horus is my soulmate?” No wonder I didn’t have any boyfriend or suitors when I was alive. My prince charming was way freaking supernatural – I brooded over as if a big question mark was etched in my forehead.
The creature tittered lightly and said, “I can read your mind”. He was about to say something more but, three bolts of lightning struck the ground a couple of yards behind him. He turned around to see what was going on.
Three more winged beings emerged when the flashes stopped. They walked towards us and their features became apparent as they got nearer. Except for their armored breasts, the slight differences of their height and for their ornaments’ colors, they all looked similar to him. And now, from one, I got four problems.
“Why are you here?” My captor asked.
“Reinforcements!” The shortest of them replied in a guttural voice. They simultaneously stretched out their wings then tucked them quickly as they walked towards us.
That was my chance. He was distracted, so I quietly put down the rock, and grabbed my cloak from the ground. I clutched it and wrapped sneakily each of my hands with ends of the varanus’ cloth. I backed few steps slowly, then sprinted with all my might towards the nearest cliff and jumped!
The wind streamed on my face as I plummeted down. I got to find Neal Gordon – I told myself as I embraced the cloak tightly. I tried hard to balance my body as I waited for the perfect timing to release the cloth… and thus, making it my parachute. I knew that it was a very dumb and risky idea, but I didn’t care.
The strong current of air flicked me over. I was now facing the crag. Then, I saw my captor diving straight towards me. He aligned his body and speeded.
I curled myself, trying to minimize the air friction against me. Gravity will pull me down faster this way - I reasoned and maybe, with the struck of luck, I could get away.
I was on that fraught position when suddenly something snatched my feet. I was upside down and was swiftly flying up. I bended my neck and I saw that another hybrid caught me. I thought I was going to pass out as he spirally jetted up at high speed.
He hung overhead when we reached the top and laid me gently. I dragged myself away but failed. I was too dizzy to stand up. My “soulmate” immediately arrived few seconds later and hurriedly came to me. He picked me by the arm and planted me up.
The newest “man-bird” was the largest in the group. In fact, he looked like a proud mighty eagle in the company of the smaller falcon comrades. The four hybrids placed their right fist in their breast, kneeled in one knee and chorused, “Hail Primus!”
“What an extra-ordinary Terrigenus Animus.” He said in a deep toned voice, looked at me intently and nodded to them.
“T-terri… whaaat?” I somehow managed to ask in a croaked voice before I vomitted. The feeling of helplesness and extreme anxiety compelled me to empty my stomach. I felt helpless. The events around me were getting more perplexing. Fighting or escaping was not an option for me anymore…
YOU ARE READING
THE GUARDIAN
General Fiction(WARNING: Some chapters have adult/mature scenes/content. Minors are cautioned.) What will you do when you wake up today, and then realize that you're dead? How will you survive if you find yourself in an unforgiving dangerous unfamiliar place? I am...
