The man below with the gun looked up at me with a pale, fearful face. He wasn’t the one hit however.

The burn mark in the grass had traveled right over the obviously younger of the two. Perhaps a deputy… He was laying on the ground, the burn clearly going from the grass, and over his torso. A still activated flashlight illuminated the grass where it fell.

I stared numbly at the young man, his clothes even caught fire. And he wasn’t moving.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!” the elder screamed, once again raising his pistol and firing wildly. I flapped my wings forwards and dove backwards, propelling myself away. Bullets kept buzzing by as I somersaulted into a dive.

More red and blue lights began lighting up the area below as more police cars arrived. More police began swarming the area as they stopped. I got another good look at the man’s burnt body as I sped overhead. I suppressed a shudder as I turned back towards the darkened area of the trees.

I flitted down into one of the taller trees in the area, settling onto a thick branch. It took me a moment to realize I was breathing heavily. I tried to calm myself but the thought of a burnt and fallen police officer undid what little calm I had left.

“What did I just do?!” I asked myself as I put my forelegs over my head.

“Shut up!” I shouted. “This isn’t a game! I…” I gulped. “I killed that man…” I fell stomach first onto the branch. Arms once again clutching my head. “What’dIdowhat’dIdowhat’dIdo…” I moaned.

“I!” I raised my head. “AM!” I stood up. “NOT!” I reared backwards “LUNA!” I shouted, crashing back downwards into the branch, which cracked… And broke… With me still on it.

I let loose a high pitched yelp as I fell… Which was too short of a drop to actually try and use my until recently useless wings. I landed with a grunt.

“Ow…” I groaned.

“Fuck off.” I grunted as I picked myself up. Crushing weight in my soul notwithstanding, nothing felt broken… Just bruised.

“I heard it over here!” someone nearby yelled. My head snapped up so fast I almost got whiplash. In the distance beams of light, which were obviously flash lights and maybe car headlights, browsed back and forth, searching.

“Fuuuuuuck…” I whisper groaned as I hopped away into the woods.

“There it is!”

“Really?!” I cried at no one in particular. Shouts followed me as I bounded through the trees, looking for an opening in the treetops to escape. Wasn’t used to using wings but hey… If they came in handy then they’d probably become a useful tool.

… I just considered having the damned things for the rest of my life didn’t I?

The crack of a gunshot brought me back to the chase.

“Shit!” I shouted as I felt the bullet disturb the air next to my right wing. Thankfully I didn’t feel a searing pain so they must’ve missed. I bolted into a thick grove of maples, trying to put as many things between me and my pursuers. I dove behind a tree.

“Where’d it go?!”

“Spread out! It can’t be far!”

“Can’t believe I missed!”

The beam of a flashlight passed by the tree I had hidden behind. When it passed by I snuck a glance on the opposite side. There were quite a few of them. I couldn’t get a count because there were silhouettes in the beams, which might’ve hidden more behind their sources. I ducked back behind the tree, heart pounding in my chest.

“Don’t…” I whispered.

“Not now.” I begged.

Using methods I developed over a lifetime, I drowned out the true monster’s voice with what equated to static… But I could still hear her.

When my chasers eventually moved past I spread my wings and took flight, taking care to try to be quiet. Unfortunately the canopy proved to be too thick to fly out of, so I was forced to stay trapped in the grove with my hunters.

I landed quietly on the thickest branch I could find, making sure I stayed in the shadows. Below I could see the figures prowling between the trees.

I needed to get out of the woods. I needed to get away before I started to listen to that seductive voice.

I shook my head to clear that thought away as I crept along the branch towards the trunk. The plan was to climb the tree, tunneling my way through the leaves, and make a get away when I got to the top.

“There it is!”

It was a nice plan while it lasted.

I quickly scrambled up further up the tree as I heard shouts begin to gather directly below. The wood below exploded in small bursts.

“Shit!” I growled as I half pulled and half flew up the tree. More shouts from the base of the tree.

“Don’t let it fly away!”

The branches began to thin dangerously, and I began to bat away leaves desperately, branches bending in a worrisome manner the higher I went. Until suddenly I ran out of tree to climb.

The Moon shone high above, its silvery light painting the countryside in a pearlescent glow, only marred by the surprisingly distant village lights. Trees took on an almost metallic sheen as the Moon was covered by a small wispy cloud, not nearly enough to fully cover, but made a majestic sight.

My awe was stopped suddenly by another bullet flying upwards, centimeters from my face.

“Running running running!” I chanted, extending the wings at my side and flapping down as hard as I could. The men below continued to shout as I darted away. No more shots rang out as I gained altitude. “Gotta get high enough that they can’t track me…” I grunted between wing beats.

The shouting grew more and more quiet until all I could hear was the whip of the high altitude wind. Starting to pant, I leveled out of my climb, did a few more flaps before stretching my wingtips out and locking the limbs to glide. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and I didn’t want to be several thousand feet up just to get a cramp, pass out, and fall to my death. So I took the out while I could and caught my breath as I glided.

“Yeah? Why should I care about what you think? I get it, you’re bloodthirsty. Get over yourself.”

The voice must not have had an answer to that because it stayed silent. Inwardly though, I was freaking out still. Never once in my… Well, in my human life that is, did I ever think I would kill someone. It was always something other people did. Something soldiers and murderers did. I mean sure, I considered it. But never as a “Yes, I am going to” More like a way to while my time away during particularly hard days. Did that make me evil? I hoped not. But would I not be biased in my own favor and justify literally anything as long as I was cast in a good light?

“Of course I remember. It was a good show.”

“What was-” I stopped mid sentence. “The gardener analogy.”

“They rip it from the soil. Stem, root, and seed.” I finished.

I thought silently for a moment.

“You’re perverting my own logic against me.” I stated. “By ‘ripping out weeds’ I give into your demands more and more.”

"Is it not better to overcome an evil nature through great effort?"

Next Chapter: Chapter 12 The Shelter Estimated time remaining: 17 Hours, 6 Minutes