Maleki:

The creature circled with wings that beat like fierce spring winds. I had not seen it approach, but its home was no mystery. In this wasteland, the only vertical objects were the pale-barked trees that had shadowy openings. This winged monstrosity surely came from one of them that I had passed. There were few trees, and yet there was a lot at the same time. With nothing else in this leveled oblivion to look at, they caught my eye quickly. What stared back felt like a hundred ominous eyes.

Miko slid off my shoulders with a careful thud. I no longer possessed the energy to lay him gently as I did before. Two painful months, and I was still unsure of how close I was. All my wounds burned and throbbed with a pain unlike any other I have felt. Old wounds opened up from the constant movement, occasionally leaking blood down my arms and back.

Surviving this creature was not even a contemplation. I did not know what it was capable of, but it would either kill me or I would kill it. If I made an error, my suffering would be over, but I would not welcome it. Any remaining energy I could muster would be used for this fight, and if I didn’t pass out, I would keep moving. The process was both complex and slow, yet simple. No skips, tricks, or mental prowess would dig me out of this situation. All I could do was dig my heels into the rough black dirt and keep moving forward until I woke again to do it all over. A hell dedicated to me. A life around Miko but without him while I slowly wither away.

The beast made another pass with its mighty wings and thin, stick-like legs. It was fast, but I got a quick glance at the colour of its wings, a pearl white that almost blended in with the trees. With what little energy remained in my body, I stood tall — as tall as I possibly could. My scythe leveled out my posture and allowed me to form a defensive stance that could prod forward with the bottom or swipe down with the blade. The sound emanated from the creature was a gurgling, scratching hiss that mixed together like a bird and a snake. What landed in front of me was a strangely accurate depiction of what my brain had imagined when I heard the sound. It was equal parts bird and snake, with thin black legs that ended in a forked foot with three talons. The wings had stark white feathers that sat above black tufts of fur. However, the torso and remaining areas of the creature were covered in light brown scales that shone brightly in the sun. Its head was covered in scales that formed over the base of the skull and around the snakelike eyes but came to a pointy beak that you would see on a woodpecker. The winged beast lived in a horrifying middle ground between two creatures I was well aware of, but the creepiest trait was the abnormally long neck that bobbed in a slithery motion as it sized me up. Had I been out here long enough for it to see me as food? I knew I was growing weak, but if these things are getting courageous enough to stand directly in front of me, it must mean they can see how tired I truly am.

Sharp red eyes analyzed my flesh from six feet away as the thing debated its hunger against my strength. Another bizarre thing was the shape of its wings. The part of the wing that would be compared to the bone between my shoulder and elbow was normal for a bird, but the wing bone after the elbow joint was arched back and much longer than the rest of the body. Father had many stories of beasts that used to frighten me when I was younger, and unfortunately, I remember this one’s warning song. “The Strix — with legs like sticks — deadly kicks — picks flesh from bone with teeth that licks.” The story was always exaggerated with clawing gestures before he swooped one of us up like a bird would a mouse, carrying us into the air as we laughed and screamed.

Stolen novel; please report.

Before I could settle on the first good memory I had pulled in a long time, the Strix pulled its head backward and stabbed its wings into the ground to allow it to lurch forward. This move allowed it to generate force and speed quickly without taking off into the air.

I stepped backward lazily with one leg, providing me with enough room to drop my shoulder and dodge the attack. The slithery neck weaved left and right in an attempt to find a new weak point in my stance. I was being conservative on my stamina, but if I played defense for too long, I could meet the same outcome as being overly offensive. For now, I would wait for a prime opportunity to appear where I could act with little wasted effort, but that would need to be before I got torn to shreds.

Air sprawled out around the wings of the Strix as it sliced through the distance between us and nearly reached my arm. My scythe fell to the side without moving the bottom snath that connected to the ground and intercepted the attack with only a light graze against my skin. A small line of blood dribbled down my arm. These feathers lining the outside of the wings must be sharp like razor blades to cut through my skin that easily. The beast attempted several more of these swift attacks to overwhelm me and nearly did, but as it lurched forward to deal the finishing bite and throw me off balance, I kicked the bottom of my scythe and slammed the pole side deep into its scaly chest, and sending it flying backward. Miko may be the smart one, but I know some things, too, one being that if you want to fly — your bones have to be hollow. This doesn’t mean you aren’t dangerous or can’t generate a lot of force, but even with scales, your body is not as resistant to opposing forces. Even knowing that fact, I had to be careful — beasts didn’t follow the laws of man, so it was equally as dangerous to misjudge my opponent on comparisons to simple animals; the Strix was a lot more than its dividends.

My attack did nothing in the way of scaring it away or removing my audition as the role of a meal. If I wanted the Strix to go away, it would need to be injured or dead. I have to ensure I don’t die first since ties in nature aren’t a win. I’ll still die if I get too hurt just from fighting this thing. With that in mind, I picked up the pace and started my own onset of blitzing attacks. The metal blade on my scythe glimmered in the sun as it swirled forward at the winged beast with fierce passion. Circling to the side of it, I swung hard using my hips and attempted to damn near tear the thing in half, but it used its wings to push back and avoid the blow. I exhaled three deep breaths in a hunched form while carefully watching my opponent. The tiny cuts it delivered against my arms burned intensely as this trial’s effects dug into the wounds. My head pounded from the waste of energy; I had gone well over my reserves, but my body hadn’t realized that since it was busy fighting to stay alive. Plus, I already tired myself out carrying Miko before the Strix attacked. Wait…Miko…

I had circled around to cut the beast off, but now there was distance between Miko and me. The Strix had come to a similar conclusion as it shifted its head and eyes between us. While I was defending myself, Miko was a free meal. Those red slits in the Strix’s eyes turned away from me as they darted to my defenseless brother, who slumbered on the blackish-brown dirt. As far as weapons go, those wings were comparable in speed and sharpness, but at an extended length, they didn’t match my scythe. Knowing that — I gripped the bottom of my scythe like a spear — dashed forward with a big step — set my heels into the ground, and swung the blade over myself. Fangs unhinged above my brother’s arm, but before they could connect, I cut clean through the scaly torso of the Strix. The beast made a clicking sound before accepting its death and falling to the side.

Before I could double-check our surroundings, my eyes went black.