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Chapter X

ARCHANGEL

Ex

Had there not been an arch and a few trashcans along the side of it, I was sure I would've taken a bullet for Hunter.

Luckily for us, the bullet only grazed the corner of the arch, yet there was a small chunk of it missing now. I kept Hunter against our only cover while we heard those men grunting while they fiddled with his car. From my side, I could hear him sobbing against his knees while shaking violently; I could tell that he wasn't used to this sort of thing.

"Not so fucking brave now are you, you fucking shit!" I heard one of them shout. Probably the guy with the gun.

I felt my wings begin to stir once again. As much as I wanted to tear through the coat and face them head on, and use my wings to strike fear into them, I had to protect Hunter at all costs. If they laid a finger on him or worse...two things would happen. First, I would never be able to forgive myself if he got hurt. Second, I would tear them limb from limb and show no mercy doing it. But I couldn't risk anything yet, not since I had someone's life on the line. Especially since this was someone I liked. The problem was, they had a weapon and I didn't, even though my body was a living breathing one.

Over the wall, I could hear one of them open the door to the car while the others apparently kept watch. Hunter continued to sob right beside me, and I could understand why. Not just anyone could handle having their car broken into and almost being shot along with it. Whoever these men were, I was gonna make them pay.

What puzzled me was that they didn't come after us. We just knelt right behind the wall, hoping for a chance to attack them, but they didn't even make a move on us once they shot. Two more doors opened, so I figured they were already inside trying to spark the engine. My memory eluded me. Could they even get the car started without the keys? We saw there for what felt like hours in the cold as they tried to get the car started, and I felt completely powerless since one of them had a gun and I didn't. I'd be fighting an uphill battle I was for sure I was gonna lose if I wasn't careful.

Finally, I heard a terrible noise. The engine hummed to life, and I could hear those men start shouting with joy. It would only be seconds until they took off, so I knew I had to do something or else Hunter was going to lose his car. This time, I let my instincts take over.

Quickly, I slid off the coat and handed it to Hunter, spreading out my wings to their full extension. "Take this, its cold outside."

"Wait, what're you doing?" he sniffled and sobbed, holding the thick coat in his arms.

I heard the tires screech against the road, signaling that they were heading off. "I'm gonna teach them a lesson."

Before he could stop me, I jumped and beat my wings roughly against the air and took off into the sky. I quickly rose higher and higher until I was well above street-light level, searching for a white Equinox. My eyes darted from one street to the next while I searched and searched, looking over any white cars that were possibly his. Finally, I saw it speeding down the road, passing from lane to lane while also causing disruptions within traffic. The way they were driving, I could see that if I didn't stop them soon, they were gonna get themselves killed in a crash or possibly worse.

Though I was fine with them getting hurt, or possibly killed, I wanted to keep Hunter's car in once piece. That meant, I was going to have to play this smart instead of letting anger take over.

I dove forward on the street and gathered speed, extending my wings out so I could glide form one side to the other. I still felt warm while cold air rushed past my body, which was a good bonus from being genetically altered. I beat my wings against the air and gathered speed, helping close the distance between me and them as they made a sharp turn, but I followed intently.

Careful so I didn't get caught, I stayed close to the shadows and followed at a safe distance. It was better to keep a safe distance from them rather than initiate a street chase where I would probably be fired upon. The last thing I needed was to damage the car, so I was going to have to play it safe for the time being despite my anger towards them.

They made another sharp turn to the right this time, nearly colliding with a car coming from the opposite direction. They were probably paranoid that the cops were coming after them, but, much to their luck they weren't, but I was something they were going to fear more than coppers. They changed from one lane to the next without any regard for anyone else's own safety, and I saw them almost make contact with other cars while they drove at high speed down the road, taking another sharp turn as they barely avoided one of those metal trash cans along the corners.

This is bad, I thought to myself, following them as I rounded the corner. They were reckless and dangerous. Clearly, they showed no sign of remorse or safety amongst others which meant I had to end this before things ended up getting bad.

Once they were near the outer rim of the crowded and busy city, I flew lower and thought about how I was going to go at this. I couldn't damage Hunter's car could I? I didn't want him to be without a vehicle, but I saw one way I could do this without causing serious damage while also forcing them to pull over.

Hopefully, Hunter would forgive me for this. I beat my wings against the air a little more forcefully, propelling me forward. While letting my anger towards them take over, I was able to concentrate hard enough to where I could camouflage myself with the night. I looked myself over and marveled, unable to grasp how I was able to use the full extent of my ability without realizing it, but I didn't care about it too long.

I neared the car as quickly as I could, noticing that they hadn't seen me yet, but I doubted they would ever. I was basically invisible. Flying a little lower, I flew close to the one of the tires and extended one of my foot-long claws and swiped it along the flexible rubber, slashing the tire and backing off just as the air began to escape. The car fell onto the side with the ruined tire and started to swerve from left to right while I watched the driver try to regain control of the crippled vehicle. I eased up on my speed and watched as the car slowed to a stop near a half-caved in store. I dropped down and started to run at them, still masked in my own invisibility while the night acted as my shield. I watched as they exited the car and ran down the sidewalk in a panic. They had already pissed me off, so I thought a little payback was in order. This wasn't just for my own amusement, even though it kinda was, but mainly because they nearly killed a friend of mine.

Bashing my wings against the air, I soared high into the sky and directed myself forward towards where they were running. As I crashed to the earth, I realized they still had a weapon and I didn't, which still put me at a major disadvantage. I groaned but had no other choice. I opened my wings and eased up on my landing enough but still landed with a loud thud, revealing myself to the group which seemed to frighten them a great deal.

I saw the wolf first and drove forward just as he pulled out his gun, missing the shot and smashed my fist against his muzzle and send him skidding a few feet away. The other two bolted and ran while their friend, now bleeding from the nose, struggled to get up and follow behind them. He was lucky I didn't hit him harder else I was sure he would've been knocked out, though I could've hit him hard enough to kill him. I had the power to do it.

They ran as fast as they could in a frightened panic. Seems they weren't very smug now that they had a genetic freak chasing them down. I could've just let them run away since I now had the car back, but I wasn't going to risk them stealing another one. That would be my fault more than anything. I walked towards them as quickly as I could, making sure they could see the person who was about to make their lives a living hell once this was all over. I watched as they all ran into an alley we had passed previously half a mile down the road, yet they failed to realize that it was a dead end. This was the perfect, not to mention the only, opportunity to snag them and teach them a lesson about how not to mess with a seventeen-year-old genetic mess.

I jumped and glided over to the ally in order to cut them off, using one of the metal trash cans on the side to help block their escape. All three of them stared at the brick wall at the end of their rope before turning around to meet my furious eyes. I had both wings fully extended just as a way to strike a little more fear into their bodies. The scarfs around their faces had been pulled down and I saw their jaws agape, but I found it hard to determine if it was fear or awe. I assumed both nonetheless.

_ _ Letting out a low growl, I stared them all in the eyes. "Way to fucking go." I cursed at them. "You managed to piss off the last person in the world you would ever want as your enemy."

The otter, who seemed to be closer to the wall than his friends, exclaimed. "Stay the fuck away from us, you hear? Bruce, you're the one with the fuckin' gun?"

The wolf, who I figured was Bruce and also the guy I had caused to bleed, nodded. "Y-yeah." He stammered.

"Then fucking shoot him, you shit!" the otter shouted.

"Go to hell, Cain!" The wolf shouted and produced his gun.

Before I could even move, he shot. I suddenly felt this searing pain shoot throughout my body, causing me to howl while I was forced to fold my left win in for safety. I grunted as the blood began to seep from the wound, forcing me to wince while the guy who had shot stood there in pure shock. I used this as my opportunity to strike even while my wing twitched in intense pain.

I used my right wing and dove forward, quickly catching them off guard while they shouted for their wolf friend to fire again. This time, he missed his shot by a great margin and gave me the perfect chance to strike. I rolled forward and slammed my fist right into his face a second time, sending him flying into the wall on his right. While he sat almost motionless, I focused on his other two partners, who seemed to be frightened of me. That was good. They had every right to be fearful of me.

This was going to be far too easy, I thought to myself while one of them charged at me. He managed one punch right onto my side, yet I had dealt with swings harder than that and grabbed his hand, twisted it backwards and pulled him into the air, throwing him onto the ground with a loud thud. His companion closed his arms around my arms in an attempt to hold me down. I hissed as I felt the wound of my wing begin to bleed a little more, causing me to grunt while I pushed against him with my good wing and send him stumbling backwards. While he was lost in a daze, I turned around and kicked him square in the jaw, moving with such speed that I was able to swing around again and land a few more punches to his stomach then kick him once more in the chest to send him hurling into a pack of trash cans. I had a feeling I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore since I made sure he wouldn't move for a while.

The wolf who I had slugged earlier was fumbling while trying to get back on his feet. I noticed that his gun was closer to man than it was him, so I knelt down and grabbed it, pulling the cartridge out and firing the remaining bullet into the air. That was one last problem I wouldn't have to worry about, yet I still had a damaged wing which meant I wasn't flying home.

Right when he was back on his feet, I grabbed hold of the collar of his coat and pulled him up, staring him dead in the eyes. He was scared. I could see the fear in his eyes. Normally, I wouldn't find a lot of pleasure in seeing him suffer, but I guess this was a circumstance I could afford.

I let out a low growl. "If you ever try to pull a fast one on someone, I will make sure you suffer even more before I kill you. Do you understand me?"

With a quick nod, I finally knocked him out and grabbed his friends. Since I couldn't walk around in public with my wings out, especially since one was damaged, I took one of their coats and covered myself up, grabbing the waistbands they used for theirs and tied them up to make sure they wouldn't escape. While they sat there, I fumbled through their coat pockets and found a phone and immediately called the police. Surely, they would be here in about ten minutes or so. Though I was outright furious, a part of me had to retain my will and not kill them. No, I couldn't resort to their petty levels of crime. There would be no satisfaction, no reward, no feeling of pleasure. I would inevitably feel terrible and regret myself soon after this was over.

I couldn't let adrenaline fuel me this time. One of them groaned as he tried to bring his head up and move, only to find his hands and legs tied together, yet he couldn't move much on the account of his injuries. The dragon, whose name still remained a mystery to me, looked at me while I knelt down next to him and stared him in the eyes.

"Wuht happund?" he mumbled while his lips lazily fumbled through the words like a swollen mess of flesh.

Sighing, I grabbed his chin and brought his dazed head to my eyes. "Don't worry about it. Cops will be here in a few minutes to detain your asses."

With that, I let go. His head dropped but while I turned and walked away, he said something else to me. "I...nevuh wunted dis."

I was inclined to stop where I was to hear him out. "What do you mean?"

He groaned, still trying to regain consciousness. "Muh frunds...they wunted to do thus...said it wus gunna be...fuhn." He still looked out of it to me, though I found it hard whether or whether not to believe him.

For all I knew, this guy could've been the one to come up with some sort of sad story in case they were caught. He could be lying through his...half chipped teeth, yet I couldn't be certain. The way I could tell people from right and wrong didn't prove useful right now. It was hard to even tell if he was talking out of his ass or if he was telling the truth. If he was speaking of the latter, I was going to need a little more information.

I knelt down next to him again. "Elaborate." He seemed out of it, so I slapped him across the face. "Stay with me. E-lab-or-ate. What do you mean they wanted you to do this?"

He blinked several times and groaned, shifting in his place. "Said we were gunna...have fuhn. I just wunt alung wuth it." He grunted and shook his head. "They prumused...good time."

"Doesn't sound like a good time when you're breaking into cars," I scoffed.

He tried to shook his head, but he ended up shaking his whole body instead. "Didun't know. They...threatuned to call cops if I backed out. I didun't want to...I swear, but I didun't wanna go to jail."

Just then, he began to tear up whereas his friends were still out cold. I saw as the tears swelled up in his eyes and began to streak down the side of his face, eventually falling onto the cold floor beneath him. He sobbed and hiccupped while I had him sit there like a little kid in time out. This guy was easily my age, if not at least a year older, and he was crying his heart out right now. What if he just made a bad call and was paying for his crime now? The problem was that he could still be putting on an act, and I had no time to figure out if his words were nothing but true, and I was angry at that.

Damn it! I was running out of time! I had a crying teenage dragon right here who could be telling the truth or telling me a lie and cops were on the way to apprehend them. I racked my mind for possible answers but, even from a far distance, I could hear the sirens getting close. Against my own judgement, I took the guy's phone and immediately started typing a number into the contact list then put it back into his pocket.

"Whut...a-are you doing?" he stammered, which probably sounded even worse with a mumble.

I sighed and tucked the phone back into his pocket. "Doing something stupid and bold at the same time." I groaned, noticing the sounds were getting closer. "If what you're saying is true, call this number once you can think straight and speak English. Not much else I can do."

Standing back up, I turned and started to run out the alley. "Thank...you!' He shouted from behind, and I almost stopped that time but I had to get going quick or else the cops would think I was one of them. If things ended up the way I had intended, I could hopefully help that dragon out. If he decided to call the number, I would find him much saner and figure out if he was speaking the truth from earlier and either side with him or go against him. Either way, I was gonna have to hope for that call if he even wanted my help or not.

Still having control over my cloaked ability, I walked away in the night and blended into the darkness as if I wasn't there. Two problems came about this, though. The first was that I was extremely far from home. The second was that I only had one good wing since my other had been injured. Thanks to the cold weather, I figured the blood had stopped but it would be a few hours until my wing was useable again. I just remembered I could've used his phone to call for...Nevermind. I just realized Hunter's car was back there. Once I had put myself a good distance between myself and the cops, I also figured I could've gotten a ride home in a cop car. Though that would be embarrassing, that could've been a possibility since I hadn't actually done anything wrong. The thing was, I wanted to stay away from that area and not get caught up in that mess again, and I didn't want to get a ride home in a cop car anyways.

Unfortunately, I had to pull up the collar of my coat and bear with the cold until I got home.

About an hour into my walk back, I realized how far away I was from home and it was getting colder. I should've been able to resist it for a longer period of time, yet I found it harder to keep walking. Had it been because I had lost a bit of blood with that one gunshot? Or was it because I had burned off a great deal of energy chasing those men down? Either way, my body was fighting the cold right now, and I was starting to feel the war within me losing.

I breathed in warm air onto my palms and rubbed them together while taking large steps while also trying to keep as much left over warmth within me from escaping. I found it much more difficult half an hour later once my body began to shiver crazily. How cold was it getting? Zero degrees? Maybe I was exaggerating, or maybe it was getting colder. Either way, I didn't like my chances during this ordeal. I honestly didn't want to freeze to death and that be the end of me. What a horrible way to die. To think, I was the culmination of almost three decades of work, and I would die on the side of a road because of the cold.

No, I refused to accept that reality.

I clenched my fists and pressed on, trying my best to ignore the cold and keep as much warmth within me from escaping. Every little bit was precious, and I was stingy right now when it came to warmth.

Considering I was barely within the inner city, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to get home until morning. Hunter's house was easily several miles away yet the cold made it feel like it was a day's journey there. A part of me wanted to just find the nearest dark alley and spend the night there, but I remember something Alexander and Blake told me a long time ago during one of those winter tests. Never fall asleep during cold weather, or else you may not wake up. Though I was sure the sun would provide me with warmth in the morning, I honestly didn't want to take a chance like that and gamble with my life.

Without warning, my leg buckled and forced me to fall on my knees and cough while I forced myself back up. I groaned while I used the nearest wall I could for support, finding my legs wobbling while I stood there for a few moments trying to regain my thoughts.

"God...damn it," I cursed, coughing as my body fought against the fatigue amounting within me. "I thought I was passed this hurting crap a week ago."

Apparently I wasn't. That sore feeling slowly began to return to me, and I knew staying out here would be a bad thing for my health.

Suddenly, the sound of a car engine caught my attention. While using the wall as a sort of prop, I looked behind me and saw a pair of bright lights begin to pull up, and I soon found out that it was a limo. "I've gotta be seeing things." I mumbled to myself.

Okay, I might've said that but the smell of gasoline and the sound of that engine changed my mind. It was all too real, all too familiar, and I knew that this was my best chance for help.

Still, a part of me wanted to stay apprehensive about his. The person inside that car could be some sort of kidnapper or murderer or something, but I found myself at a loss once the vehicle stopped right there beside me. I squinted and saw that the windows were as black as the night sky. Carefully, I prepared myself for whoever stepped out of there.

The window then rolled down and I felt my heart skip a beat once I saw the face inside. It appeared to be a white dragon who was also sporting a clean cut white suit in contrast to the all-black car. He stared at me with light blue eyes and threw a warm smile my way that made my body shudder.

"Hello, Alexander," he greeted me in a very casual baritone voice.

I felt all the blood in my body turn cold." H-how did y-you..." I trailed off, unable to even complete my sentence.

He chuckled and rolled down his window a little more. "Why, you're friend Hunter told me you'd be you'd be out here, right Hunter?"

"Hey Alex!" Hunter called from the seat akin to the dragon's own.

I wanted to throw up right there.