CHAPTER 23: ON THE RUN

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“There she is! Shoot ‘er!”

  The sound of two gunshots rang in Aeris’ ears as she tore through the alley. She didn’t feel the sting of their bullets which she took as a good sign. She ran as fast as she could through the snow, doing her best not to look back at her pursuers. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. One slip, one wrong turn, would mean the end.

  “She’s headin’ fer Dill Street.”

  “Cut her off!”

  Aeris stumbled as she quickly made a left turn into another alley. It was bad enough to be completely lost, but the deep snow only made her attempt to escape more difficult. The snow left tracks for the hunters to follow, and the constant threat of slipping on ice was nerve-wracking. The freezing air didn't help; the longer she ran, the more difficult it became to breathe. The only comforting thought came from knowing her pursuers were having the same problems.

  Despite the cold air and snow, her legs and lungs felt as if they were on fire. Her side where she had been hit before stung from exposure to the cold air. She felt her blood trickling down her body from the wound. Tired and losing blood, she would be in trouble if she didn't lose them soon.

  Aeris looked up at the grey sky. The snow had slowed to a slow and steady flurry, no longer coming down hard enough to mask her escape. There was a chance she could get away if she moved fast enough. She began to spread her wings, but feeling them brush against the walls, quickly snapped them close to her body. The alley was too narrow to spread her wings properly. Besides, even if the alley were wide enough, she couldn’t fly, they would shoot her down in an instant, but on foot, she left tracks in the snow, signaling where she went.

  Aeris looked around at the various frost-covered windows. Most of the buildings in the area were abandoned. There had to be an open window or door somewhere. She needed a place to hide and rest, even if for a little while.

  “I got ‘er!”

  Aeris cried out as pain radiated through her left flank and she heard the loud blast of the rifle. She lost her balance and fell on her side in the freezing snow. She cursed her carelessness and for thinking the clutter in the alleys would serve as a sort of shield. These men were likely trained hunters. Such a simple trick wouldn’t work on them.

  She looked up at a nearby building. Her vision was blurry from the pain, but she saw a large hole in the wall several feet above her. Ignoring her pain, Aeris quickly climbed to her feet and launched herself at the opening in the side of the building. Her leg screamed in protest, forcing another cry as waves of white-hot pain shot through her side. She hit the side of the building, hanging precariously from the edge of the opening. She dug her claws into the floor as she desperately scrambled to find a foothold. Two more shots rang out, striking just above Aeris' head before she finally managed to claw her way inside.

  Her lungs felt ready to burst, her leg and side throbbed, and she was certain she lost a lot of blood. She was finally able to stop and rest, but the sounds of the men breaking-in below had already begun to echo throughout the building. Aeris looked down at the satchel around her neck. All that mattered was that they didn’t get what they were after, but her pursuers weren’t slowing down; staying still was a death sentence. With a loud groan, she struggled to her feet. Her heart beat rapidly as she made her way toward the stairs. With every step her muscles cried out; especially that left hind leg. Aeris ignored the pain as best she could; it was either walk or die, and she didn’t want to die. Her best option was to get to the roof. With her ice, she could block the door and keep them at bay until the snow could provide enough cover to fly away.

  Climbing the stairs was even worse. Aeris had no choice but to put weight on her injured leg. Every step felt as if a hot knife were being shoved into the wound. She ground her teeth against the pain. They knew she was inside, but they didn't know where. As long as she didn't make a sound, they would have to search the entire building for her, or at least until they found the trail of blood she likely left behind.

  When she finally managed to reach the top of the staircase, she spun around and exhaled, covering the stairs in a sheet of ice to slow them down. She took another breath and prepared to tackle the next flight. No time to rest. The ice would slow them, but it wouldn’t stop them. Upon reaching the summit of the next flight of stairs, she covered that stairwell in a sheet of ice as well before climbing the next set. It was an endless cycle of pain. Several times she felt lightheaded and nearly lost her balance, but the thought of escape kept her upright. She didn’t bother to count how high she climbed; she was too focused on not making a sound. But the building didn’t look that tall from the outside; it wouldn’t be that long before she reached the top. She reached the top of yet another flight of stairs and prepared herself once more to tackle the next set. She swore under her breath upon learning the stairwell leading to the roof was blocked. Old pieces of furniture had been piled on the stairs; it would take too long and make too much noise to clear it. On top of that, Aeris could make out pieces of the ceiling or wall beyond the make-shift barricade.

  Aeris frantically looked around the room for a new escape route. It appeared she had taken refuge in an abandoned warehouse, but it looked as if it caught fire, or something blew up in it. Most of the debris-covered floor was coated in snow and ice, the exposed brick walls were bare except for the large holes where the snow blew through and the ceiling had more holes than the walls.

  Aeris quickly made her way towards one of the holes in the wall. She could see another large warehouse just across the street. If she flew there unnoticed, she may find a place to hide and recover her strength. The dragon looked down, noting the several men standing in the street below. She couldn’t go that way; they would easily see her and shoot her down.

  “She went this way. I swear when I find that stinkin’ bitch…”

  Aeris felt as if her heart had stopped, they caught up with her already! She quickly ducked behind what she assumed was a piece of the ceiling leaning against the wall nearby. Flight was out of the question. She could try to fight back, but even without her injuries, she didn’t know the first thing about fighting, and these men were trained hunters with guns.

  “Ha! Yer just mad ‘coz she caught you off-guard,” a different man said. “Shoulda been payin’ attention. But on the bright side, the scratch on yer face is an improvement.”

  “Shut up!”

  The footsteps became louder. There was no doubt about it; the hunters were here. Ignoring the pain in her leg, Aeris curled into a ball as best she could. She tried her best to breathe as quietly as possible. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as it beat furiously against her chest. Aeris took several quiet, deep breaths. She had to keep quiet and to do that she needed to be calm.

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  “I don’t see nothin’.”

  “Keep your eyes peeled, she’s here.”

  Aeris closed her eyes so tightly, she began seeing spots. Her heart pounded faster in her ears. She hoped with every fiber of her being for them to give up and go away.

  “Hey, check this out.”

  Aeris’ snapped her eyes open as her heart jumped into her throat. She readied herself as the footsteps signaled their approach. If she were lucky, she could catch them off-guard. She doubted she could last long against well-trained mercenaries, but she wasn’t giving up without a fight.

  “…It’s blood.”

  "It leads to this openin'," the hunter suddenly came into view as he walked up to the hole in the wall and looked down. Aeris curled up even tighter. She stopped breathing entirely. All the hunter had to do was look to the right and she would be exposed. Death was only a few feet from her.

  “Think she jumped?” the merc standing by the opening asked.

  “Not a chance. Our guys on the ground woulda seen ‘er.”

  "Well, she ain't here an' this blood trail lead right outside. Where else she go?" The hunter walked away from the hole.

  Just as the hunter disappeared from view, Aeris noticed a second hole in the wall on the far side of the room. She could easily see another large hole in the neighboring building not far from it. If she moved quickly enough she might make it. At least she could if it weren’t for her leg.

  Aeris looked back at her wounded leg. What she saw nearly made her faint. There was a large gash in her leg exposing pink flesh where her scales should have been. Blood flowed freely from the large wound, painting the lower half of her leg crimson. Aeris looked down and saw her blood pooling on the floor. Some of it was even slowly flowing beneath the chunk of ceiling she hid behind. Her breathing quickened. They were going to see it, most of the floor was covered in snow and ice, so there was no way they wouldn't notice the red blood on the white snow. Aeris strained her ears trying desperately to hear over the howling wind blowing next to her. Maybe the men hadn't seen it. Maybe they already left.

  Just faintly, she could hear the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. They knew she was there and were trying to sneak up on her.

  She turned back to the hole in the far wall. She wouldn’t make it with her leg in the condition it was in. But fighting wasn’t a better option; even if she managed to take those two, more were waiting for her downstairs if they weren’t already on their way up. Aeris once again looked down at the satchel. There was no other option, it was either die fighting or possibly die running.

  Aeris kicked off the ground as hard as she could, shooting out from behind her hiding place towards the other side of the room. The men yelled to fire. Bullets grazed her side, but she kept running. The pain in her leg grew beyond intense, causing the edges of her vision to blur, but she gritted her teeth and ignored it, her gaze fixed on the other building. The booming sound of a rifle echoed throughout the room. Aeris flinched as the bullet nicked the side of her face.

  She reached the large hole and, summoning every ounce of her strength, jumped towards the building on the other side. There was another sharp pain in her side followed by a loud boom as she flew through the air. She quickly tucked her head and wrapped her forelegs around the satchel. She landed on her unhurt side, gritting her teeth against the pain as her body slid across the icy floor. If she wasn't in so much pain, she would have started laughing. She made it to the other side! Now all she had to do was find another way out before they caught up to her.

  Suddenly Aeris felt weightless, and the high ceiling moved away from her. She looked down in shock as she realized she had slid through a hole in the floor. It felt as if time had frozen around her as she racked her brain for options. The area was too cramped to use her wings to slow her fall, and with her leg, she couldn’t land on her feet. All Aeris could do was wrap her body protectively around the satchel and wait for the inevitable.

  With a loud crash, Aeris hit the floor and debris below. She let out a roar as intense pain, even greater than before, shot through her body.

  Her vision blurred, her lungs hurt every time she tried to breathe, her entire body was wracked with pain. She could barely move. Already she could hear the hunters downstairs, forcing their way into the building. It wouldn’t be long before they caught up to her again. It was over.

  Aeris opened the satchel. Thankfully none of the eggs inside were broken. With her last ounce of strength, she crawled into a nearby corner. They were coming to take the satchel from her, but she couldn’t let them have it. She promised to keep the eggs safe no matter what. Aeris tried to stand up but her body had enough; pain shot through her wounded leg and with a loud cry, she fell back on the floor.

  Her breathing came in short, ragged gasps. She had no strength left. But she couldn't afford to give up now. With another effort, she somehow managed to force herself into a standing position. It didn't make much difference; she couldn't run anymore let alone get away.

  Aeris lifted her head and looked at the stairs. She could hear the men running. It wouldn’t be long now. She looked down at the satchel again. She swore she would die before giving up the eggs. And she intended to keep that promise.

  Aeris lifted her head and looked at the stairs. She could hear the men running through the building. It wouldn’t be long now. She opened the satchel and carefully pulled out one of the eggs. Her chest ached as she ran her claws over its rough surface. She placed the egg on the floor. Her heart began beating in her ears at a furious pace. Her legs shook, whether from fear of what she was about to do or simply from weakness caused by blood loss, she didn’t know.

  There’re no other options, she told herself, When he catches me, he’s going to take them anyway and force me to make more. He won’t take me alive—I’ll bleed to death soon anyway. But I can’t leave my eggs to him…I won’t.

  With a deep shuddering breath, she looked up at the ceiling and pressed all of her weight onto the egg. The egg shattered with a sickening squishing sound that made Aeris reel and left a loud ringing in her ears. The blood and amniotic fluid of her unhatched child felt like acid on her scales and paws, the pain more intense than her gunshot wounds and the injuries sustained from the fall. She felt something soft beneath her claws, making her feel sick. She dared not look down, knowing she would lose the nerve to keep going.

  The voices were getting louder. She reached into the satchel and took another egg. After taking another shuddering breath, she pressed on it. It broke just easily as the first. Aeris felt the contents in her stomach rise into her throat. Her paws itched and burned as the fluids seeped through her scales into her flesh. She felt lightheaded. It felt as if a hand had wrapped around her throat, cutting off her air supply. She wasn't sure she could go through it again.

  But I have to. If even one survives, he wins. I can’t. I can’t watch him take this egg away. She regained her balance and reached into the satchel one last time.

  Her legs shook worse than before. Her vision blurred and the loud ringing in her ears drowned out all other noise. Gripping the egg tightly, she swallowed the bile building in her throat and smashed it between her claws. The sound of the third egg breaking pushed her over the limit; all the bile that had built up in her throat broke through to the surface. She turned away and threw up on the floor. After emptying her stomach, she fell back against the wall, her entire body shuddering from what she had done.

  The hunters entered the room. They each looked horrified when they saw the eggshells and dead baby dragons on the floor. Aaron forced his way through the group. He took one look at Aeris and grinned, but his smile quickly fell. His face turned red. His lips pulled back into a nasty sneer, and he ground his teeth together. “Do you know what you’ve done?!”

  Aeris looked her master in the eye and smiled.

  Aaron’s face went livid with fury. He snatched a rifle from the nearest hunter and pointed it at Aeris.

  The boom of the rifle echoed throughout the room as Aeris felt something strike her side. There was no pain. She had just murdered her children. Nothing else compared to the pain she felt now. It didn’t matter what he did to her. Her master had just been denied the one thing he wanted.

  And that was all that mattered.

  “You—”

  He fired the rifle again. Aeris could feel her blood pouring freely down her side and nothing else. It felt warm, reminding her of slipping into a warm bath.

  “—useless, worthless, pathetic—”

  The rifle’s muzzle flashed again. The strength in her legs failed her and she collapsed on the floor.

  “—fucking lizard!”

  Aaron fired the rifle one last time. Aeris felt nothing; not the bullet she knew was tearing through her body, not the blood she knew was pouring from each wound, and not the cold warehouse floor she rested on.

  Aaron threw the rifle to the ground and shouted something she couldn’t hear. The only sound she heard was that of her slowing heartbeat. A smile crept across her face. Her former master shouted again and stormed away. The hunters turned and began to leave the room.

  Aeris’ vision faded to black, and she knew no more.