DANGEROUS INK
By Jonathan Hyde
Chapter III: A Convoy of Angels
My captor tossed the bone it was working on off the ledge and ambled towards me. I had been lying on the ground on the ledge for a long time now, waiting for the creature to finish its meal and go to its next course: me. The body it ate was one of a female human, but other than that I couldn’t bear to lean more. I stared at the beast as it came closer. If I had believed in god, I would have prayed my heart out right then. But praying wouldn’t save me. I jumped to my feet and made for the cave.
The creature’s scaly arm grabbed at my feet. I felt the blood oozing from my still open cuts. The arm didn’t budge to my constant pounding, and my foot soon slipped into its grasp. I was dragged back onto the ledge. The creature pinned me against the wall farthest from the cave entrance. I felt water pouring down my face. I wiped away the tears, but new ones took their place.
* * *
I felt like I was going to die for the third time in my life. If it wasn’t for the horrible time I had spent in the cave, or lying on the floor of the that ledge, or the trauma from getting stabbed, or from the reawakening of the fact that everyone knew was gone, I might have stood up and taken my last stand then, in the face of the cruelest creature I had ever met. But it was this moment of weakness that, in the end, saved my life.
* * *
“A human!”
“Over there!”
“There’s a muncher to the fore wind!”
“Ready to dive!”
By this time I opened my eyes, burning with tears, to see where the new voices were coming from. I saw them, flying in formation. They were beautiful humans, all women. Wings sprouted from their shoulders, as long as they were tall, and I couldn’t help believing they were angels. The leader, who had done much of the shouting, was the most beautiful, with long, brown hair, and the most remarkable eyes.
I tried shouting through my tears. “Help me! Over here!” I couldn’t realize that I was jumping and screaming with all my energy, and I couldn’t care less. The winged creatures were now circling over our heads, and approaching quickly. I dug my nails into my captor for the last time. While it barely winced, it gave me time to dodge under its chubby legs.
They were over my head now, approaching me. Their white cloaks brushed against my face. I could feel all the tears stop, and my hope raised. The leader issued one last order.
“Get the boy!”
Whether from the creature, or from exhaustion, or from the joy I got from knowing I would live, I blacked out.
* * *
“Get him some of that water.”
The sound of the winged creature’s voice woke me up from my trance. I pursed my lips as water poured into my throat. It revitalized my senses, and I found myself being carried in a giant basket, which I saw being carried by a trio of the winged creatures. Their leader and another creature; a mouse with a beak for a mouth; which was perched on the leader’s shoulder, were the only people accompanying me in the cart.
“Hello, I’m Veronica. You’ve been asleep for an hour now. You’re not from here, are you? Oh yeah, this is Milly. He won’t say anything. We can speak freely now, if you want.” Veronica was even more beautiful up close, and her words echoed with truth and kindness.
“Hi, I’m John. What… um…,” I wondered if asking questions would be disrespectful, and quickly stopped.
“You can ask questions, John. You’re actually quite an honored guest here. Even Milly agrees.” The little creature chirped in agreement.
“Where are we?” I quickly spat out.
Veronica’s response was quick and sure. “We’re near the border of where the mountains and plains meet. We’re a ways off yet, but we’ll be there soon.”
More questions poured out of me. “What was that you saved me from?”
“A muncher,” she replied, “one particularly horrible creature in the mountains. They stuff themselves on the meat of their victims.” She saw the expression on my face and laughed. I couldn’t resist laughing along. “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about munchers now. Get some sleep, okay? And if you need help, call me or Milly or any of the other Commena (that’s us). We’re all good people. Trust me.”
With one glance at Veronica’s amber eyes, I fell asleep. Nothing could harm me now. I was in the presence of good people. As it turns out, I was right.
