Aria IX - Pain

Aria tended the fire as the glow of sunrise began to show over the horizon. She gave the small blaze a final poke, sending a few stray sparks into the air. They danced against the lightening sky before fading out and blowing away on the lazy breeze. She stood outlined against the sunrise, chewing on the remains of last nights dinner and gazing off across the meadows.

Only a few days had passed since leaving Keesha and Sasha, but to Aria it felt like a world away as she trekked her way across the dangerous terrain. These lands closer to the cities were typically safer, other than the small groups of robbers and thieves that made their living attacking travelers. But now she was going further into the wilds. It seemed strange to her that in the past she had travelled these lands many times never concerned for her own mortality. This was different. Her purpose, her responsibility ate at her confidence and made her more wary than any time before.

Ready to move on, she threw sand on the fire and collected up her belongings. Her familiar swords with their well worn pommels poked up over her shoulders and her heavy pack reminded her of the long path ahead. Gently she picked up the still sleeping Pixie from her bed in the crook of a low branch and headed out across the meadow. The grasses were still low this early in the season, the ground soft. She set a brisk pace for herself, scanning her surroundings constantly for any sign of danger. Pixie dozed on her shoulder, her limbs twitching occasionally as her body responded to something in her dreams.

As the sun grew stronger in the sky and warmed Aria’s skin, Pixie finally awoke. Slowly stretching herself out, she peered around as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the morning.
“Where are we.” She asked.
“I’ve been walking about two hours Iome.” Aria replied simply. “Can you go up and have a look around, tell me what you see?”
Pixie shot her an angry look and jumped off her shoulder, buzzing upward on her delicate wings while muttering dark obscenities. Aria kept moving forward, striding into the sun, shooting the occasional look upward to the faint dot that was Pixie doing her reconnaissance. I gave her perverse satisfaction to know that her little friend was likely still cursing and swearing up there. Finally she lost sight of Pixie as she flew forward out of her sight.

She heard Pixie coming back before she saw her, the peculiar buzz of her wings giving her away. She landed on a branch just ahead of Aria, plopping down and gasping for breath. Aria took the pause to drop her pack and stretch, loosening the tight muscles of her back and legs. Looking back she was surprised to see how much ground she had covered. Her body felt strong. The scent of the fresh grasses was strong in her nostrils and the spring sun warmed her dark skin, just as the light breeze cooled it.

Pixie spoke as her breathing returned to normal. “There is one of the big roads that crosses our path ahead, it doesn’t look used. After that is a huge forest and it looks like there was a small city that is almost gone. I didn’t see any people or smoke, it should be safe.” Finished with her missive she flopped down onto her back. Nodding as she listened Aria donned her pack and adjusted the straps. Aria picked up the exhausted pixie and laid her down on the pack, then resumed her brisk strides that carried her ever further east.

Just past mid-day, Aria saw the long even rise of the roadway ahead of her. It seemed like a good time to take a rest, before having to cross the open and potentially watched terrain. Pixie had woken from her slumber, and flitted about as Aria doffed her pack and rummaged through it for some dried fruits to eat. She sat down and handed Pixie a dark sweet piece and peered through the foliage at the nearby roadway. She had seen many of these types of roads, many lanes on each side with a broad green space between them. Many abandoned vehicles dotted the pavement, left where they had run out of fuel many years before.

There was no sign of life, everything was quiet and tranquil. There was no reason for anyone to be in this area as the roads were rarely used because of the risk of attacks. After finishing her snack, Aria packed up and took a quick nap. It seemed she had barely dozed off when she woke to Iome tugging at her ear.
“Wake up lazy.” She said to Aria grinning. Obviously afternoon suited the Pixie much more than mornings.
Aria quickly turned her head and snapped her teeth at Pixie, earning herself a rude gesture from the tiny creature.
“You had better hope I never get that hungry.” Aria chuckled.
“I’m going to work my way across.” She said, pointing out her path. “You get as high as you can and stay clear of any trouble.”

After securing her gear, Aria began to slowly pick her way through the denser brush that lined the approach to the roadway. There were some faint animal tracks, but it seemed like animals had not been using them for some time. Most of the way through, the growth stood higher than Aria could see over.  She slowly picked her way along, pausing to listen for any movement nearby. After crawling through the ditch, she peered over the edge of the road, looking each way across the flat expanse of pavement. The way was clear, the day bright, and visibility extended for miles.

Aria slowly stood up and moved forward across the road. The fear of being so exposed wasn’t quite counterbalanced by the security of her swords, but she kept one hand lightly on the hilt for the comfort it provided. As she crossed Aria paused behind some of the derelict vehicles, rechecking the horizon for signs of movement. Getting caught out here by the army would likely be fatal. Starting to move confidently forward, she skirted around an abandoned bus, then suddenly stopped. The side of the bus that she couldn’t previously see was ripped open, as if an explosion had pushed the metal outwards. But it wasn’t the damage that froze her in place, it was the nest of Angels sleeping inside.

She stood there, paralyzed by indecision and her stomach knotted in fear. Sweat began to run down between her breasts. She knew she should run, but for the first time in her memory she was unable to act. Her fear of failing her task was undermining her confidence and usual fearless approach. Finally her body began to respond and she backed up slowly, her eyes glued to the bus as she moved away as quietly as she could. Her body trembled as she took each slow step. A stray piece of metal was her undoing. It caught her heel as she tried to step backwards, and Aria fell onto her back, her pack hitting the ground with a loud crash.

For a moment everything was silent, Aria to stunned to move. Then sounds began to emerge from the bus, the ominous sounds of bodies moving in the dark interior. Realizing she had no choice, Aria jumped to her feet, and began to sprint for the far side of the road. She had come too far across to turn back now. The sounds of movement had become the sounds of pursuit, as heavy hooves pounded into tarmac behind her, the gap closing rapidly. She thought about drawing her swords, but it would be much harder to run. Lungs burning, she ran for her life across what seemed like an endless span of cracked ancient pavement. The first one reached her when she was within a dozen yards of the dense brush of the forest.

High above, Iome looked down in horror as the pack of Angels ran down Aria and swarmed around her. She could see her long time friend fighting like mad for her life as the creatures attacked her like a pack of wild dogs. Aria had managed to get one sword freed, and Pixie heard the screams and bellows as the flailing steel bit into skin and bone. The howls of pain soon turned to howls of victory as Iome watched them finally disarm and pin down a bloody and battered Aria. Daring to fly closer, Pixie could see that Aria was unconscious as the feral Angels ripped away her clothing with their wicked claws, leaving long tears in her flesh that seeped dark blood. Iome felt a cold detachment fog her mind as she went into a state of deep shock, unable to accept that this was the end of her closest friend. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she watched the mighty winged creatures fight over their turn to violate the limp corpse of what was once Aria.

Unable to continue watching, Iome turned and drifted away on sad wings…