We were flying ahead, making sure it was clear of any Specials. I flew like Superman, if you will, with Cati on my back with a special blanket wrapped around her so it made her to invisible.
"Third?" she asked. We hadn't spoken for several hours, other then to report back to Lith. We recently found out she had fallen asleep. She did really need it… with those wounds… my train of thought trailed off as Cati started playing with my hair.
I wore goggles when she did not. Her night vision was better then mine naturally, but nearly as good as Lith and Darvire’s. It was near dawn anyway. The horizon was red with light.
"Hm?"
"What does your face look like?"
"You'll find out later," was my automatic response. My eyes flickered over the landscape, searching for ill hidden foes.
"Why don't you want me to see it? Is it ugly? I don't think it is..."
I chuckled, "No. It’s not that..." I sighed. "It’s... complicated."
Cati huffed. "Well, it can't be more complicated then the situation we are in now. Let’s recap, shall we? First, we capture a rouge vampire, hailing from a rebel group, to only find out he knew Lith and Tied with her, which I still find mind boggling because it took years for me and Lith to Tie. Then, Lith suddenly wants to become a Traitor, and just DITCH the Specials, just to help out this guy. Lith get's seriously hurt, and then we find out Darvire is some serious, highly dangerous royal vampire—that he’s from a whole different RACE. In the process we're dragged into it, getting deeper and deeper into this thing, and finding out that this organization is bigger then the Speicals thought to believe. Now we're on the run of our lives from the whole Specials gang, meeting up with people we don't even know. If that ain't complicated to you... then I don't know what is!"
I lifted the goggles and I rubbed my tired eyes. "Oh... fine. I trust you."
"Well, heck yeah you should."
"Where's Lith and Darvire?"
"Some many miles behind. Like 50 or so. Closing on 45. geez that guy can move fast." she tightened her grip she had around my neck. "What are you planning to do?"
"Just finding a spot..."
It was then a sudden flock of birds flew up from a tree below, into us, squawking.
Cati cursed. "What was that for?" she said after the flurry of feathers had passed us "Don't birds usually SLEEP at night?"
I nodded, suddenly worried. "Yeah."
A vicious screech filled the air.
"What—?!" Cati started.
Two figures, tinted green from the goggles, flew up out of the trees, cawing, screeching, and hissing.
"The Harpies!!!!" I yelled.
The Harpies were a set of girl twins, Mea and Lea, granted with the power to fly... with a set back. Their arms grew feathers, becoming wings, their voices scratchy and bird like, and their lower legs changed into bird legs. The Mistress took them in, and made them wild women fighters with scary sharp claws coming out of their wings and feet. Deadly beauties that fought from the sky. They had to live off Special campus, guarding the surrounding area because of their blood thirsty demeanor made them a threat to their colleagues. Both had pall skin, and green and brown feathers that covered their arms, chest, and thighs. Tattered, has-been skirts were wrapped around their waists. Both had luminescent green eyes, long, preened, brown hair, and mouths filled with razor sharp teeth.
"Awe man! Can’t they ever take a break?!" Cati groaned angrily. It was scary angry too, like she was ready to rip off their mutated heads. Unexpectedly she leapt off my back and at the nearest sister. "DIE YOU UGLY DUCKLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she screeched, pounding at her head with a fury of fists. The Harpy retaliated my hissing and trying to claw at her face. They plummeted to the ground, through trees and branches as the sister was unable to fly when fighting with a Cati on them.
"CATI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed. I started to dive after them when the second sister slashed at my face, nicking my chin. She swooped out of view, to crash into my back, making me dip toward the trees. I yelled and lashed out at her. She swerved out of view, to kick me in the side. I need to get an advantage! So I shot straight up into the night sky to spot the flying devil. The Harpy looked around, confused. I took out my sword and dove. She saw me at last second and shot out of the way. I managed to hit her side. She screamed and shot at me, talons slashing. I parried her clawed hands and tried to finish her off.
Now don't get me wrong; after the Specials, I was done with killing things... but when you're in the fight of your life for you and other.... you just have to make those kinds of decisions. Almost like dog-eat-dog, but more like, if one of has to die, it’s going to be you.
I swooped below the Harpy. She turned and dove at me. I quickly flew to the side, slashing my sword at her as she passed. And succeeded. She screamed the most awful scream I've heard in ages as I took off her hand. It was like someone dragging finger nails across your eardrum. I took the advantage of her pain to cry a battle yell and take the finishing blow. I hit a spot that I knew would kill her instantly, her lifeless body fell towards the earth, hitting of what seemed every branch possible, nor the thud her body made as it hit the ground.
The ground.
Cati.
Oh. My. Gosh.
"CATI!" I exclaimed and took a nose dive towards the ground. I stumbled as I touched down. "Oh, Cati, Cati, Cati… Where are you?!" I looked frantically around, looking for the bodies... NO. not Cati's, the Harpy bodies... Cati wasn't dead--she couldn't be dead... "Oh no… no… no!" I moaned when, in the goggles, I saw a lump of what looked like a body in underbrush. I swept the bush away.
It was only a log.
“Cati…”
Abruptly, something tackled me from the side and held me to the ground. I was about to attack it when I realized it was sobbing into my usable chest. “Stupid, stupid boy!” she said, “why are you invisible?! Why?!” she was hysterical with sobs. “When I saw that body falling, I thought it was you, and how I would never see you visible and alive… you stupid boy!” The next words were too chocked up in her cries. I too, realized, I was crying, if silently. I discarded my goggles. I clutched Cati close and just laid there with her, savoring the sent of her hair, and the dip of her body as she clutched to me. I thought I had lost her, and now I realized that is how much I care for her and her for me, even if she couldn’t see me. How I would miss her if anything happened to me. How much it would hurt both of us.
If one of us were to die, she would deserve to see me how I truly am before that to happen. I thought with a big huge suck up of shame and misery.
Slowly after the tears subsided, I quietly asked, "Cati?"
“Yes?” She hiccuped.
“I think you surely, truly deserve, with out a doubt, to see me un-invisible. If one of us were to… you know—happen like something similar to tonight… I just want you to remember what I looked like…” I took a breath, “I’m just… afraid…”
Cati kissed my cheek. “The worse I can do is laugh. You’re an idiot to think I’ll drop you like a sack of potatoes if you have a birth mark the shape of a pineapple on the middle of your forehead or something. Don’t you think I already like you for who YOU are? If I was in it for looks, you’d been a goner.” I looked down at her beautiful face glowing in the moon light, the streams of ceased tears still twinkled on her face, and at those beautiful blue eyes searching for my own. I caressed her check with the inside of my hand. Her face softened and leaned her head into my palm.
I didn’t deserve her. But yet she chose me…
Cati’s eyes widened, put both hands on the ground beside me, and leaned back to look at it to get a better look. Slowly, pigments of my skin started to appear; like a liquid filling in an unseen container. My hand gradually filled out. The color drifted, making out my wrist, then the black sleeve with silver lining, moving up my arm, to my shoulder, then down my side, reviling my chest and waist covered in my combat suit, then thighs, legs feet, moving back to the other side of me; back to the other arm, hand. The black color moved into a skin color as it reached my neck, to the back of my head, uncovering the color of my hair, and slowly filled out my face, from the sides towards the nose.
Before I even finished, Cati grabbed my head with her hands, and pressed her lips against mine for a short wile. Crying to hard to do much more then that.
When she let go, she pulled me into a hug. “Thank you…” She whispered into my ear. She kissed below the lobe of my ear, then said, “Thank you thank you thank you…”
She was crying again, but I’m pretty sure it was for a different reason.
