(Specific Chapter tent Warning : Rape, Necrophilia)

  How was she supposed to do this again? Flex her wings, fp them like a bird? She wasly a bird, but she was no longer humaher sidering the age she’s done so far today.

  Her tail, ever the helpful little thorn in her side, motioowards her legs. It coils tightly like a spring ohen releases itself upwards. It then points to her wings again.

  “So okay, leap, then glide down with my wings?” She questions out loud as she tries her best to ignore how crazy this all sounds out-loud.

  A fierce repetitive bobbing motion from her tail let her know she was correct. Sapphyra sighed and stretched out her legs, extending one all the way out while squatting low oher. She repeats the process, palms still sweaty. She shakes them out and hops from one foot to the other.

  “This is gonna look so stupid when it fails.” But she has to try it, ?otherwise Pearl is doomed.

  She squats down low and tightens up her calves and thigh muscles as much as she’s able. A deep breath, a a few unsavory areas, and she jumps into the air. A jump is not able to describe the incredible feeling of losing your ban mid-air and doing three somersaults with your eyes closed. Leap of faith? Absolutely.

  Sapphyra screams, one part in disbelief once her eyes open and the other part iioer than falling off of a mile-high rollercoaster. She is going to remember this day for the rest of her life.

  Her tail nudges her backside to remind her of an important step: extending her wings. Her dest es fast. A wiggle of her backside and her wings are out, spread and able to steer her wherever she nds. Sapphyra sighs with relief. At least this part didn't e with unnecessary trauma.

  As she blinks and ss the horizon, she notices the mist reach high above eveallest skyscraper, but at her elevation, or maybe it’s just her, the mist is thin. The view from the outside of the city led her to believe that the mist was heavy all around, or maybe it was just messing with the elei the city. She had so many questions and no answers.

  At least she had a goal. With one fp of her wings and a slightly awkward adjustment, she was on her way towards Big Brick High School. Her old stomping grounds and the puent.

  It rawling campus that donations mostly built. Able to hold about 10,000 people, the school carried over 500 s and 10 teag louhere were entire ses dedicated to one facet of learning or another from a wing for various forms of arts to a work of high-end pristine gyms that some Olympid NFL petitors paid to use for training during the summer. They were well maintained and well sought after. Only oion held fond memories for Sapphyra: the auto-shop. The pce she could be as destructive as she wanted and the css she got the highest grade in. She couldn’t t the number of nights she’d stayed te tearing apart old junker cars and fixing them with brand new parts. She aeacher, Mr. Bones.

  A shrill scream pulled her from her daydreams as she floated above the dimly lit building. She tucks her wings in and dives to the ground, right o the pool se. Pearl's car immediately takes her attention, but the door is open and the car is vat. Sapphyras' heart drops as she drinks in the sight of the blood sptters on her seat.

  Where could she have gone? Was she safe? Who was screaming?

  Pearl’s car wasn’t the only one in the parking lot. It wouldn’t be the first time other te-night swimmers made their way here to practice. As she examihem, the same sinking feeling nearly overwhelms her. More blood.

  This blood was in a utern, and it does not stop at the car. Sapphyra follows the scarlet trail, c her he further she goes. The smell, copper and ghastly, worse than any smell she’s ever had on her cycle. It nearly takes the strength out of her lengths as she carries on.

  That’s when she hears it: the rhythmic sounds of someone having sex. It stops her iracks, her mahogany cheeks darken in embarrassment. She should turn around, but the blood trail seems to be leadiowards the god-awful sound, each step b her with the slick st of blood and now the heavy musk of sex.

  Lucky. She thought, having nothing but bitter memories surrounding her own first time.

  No soohaers the room with the source of these unfortable things did she regret her train of thought. These were not the sounds of a couple enjoying themselves. They were the sound of three small bald greeures taking up the orifices of one young woman and thrusting away with wild abandon. Pointed ears, sharp teeth used to dig into her shoulder and back, cws that easily rip away at her flesh, apanied by a high-pitched shudder as a sign of pletion.

  The young woman does not move. Sapphyra prayed she died before they got to this point.

  But who would pray for her?

  The creatures, she would call them goblins for now, finally notice her. They squint up at her examining her body with mild curiosity. Their eyes widen and their pupils dite, giving them an almost cute expression. Was this how they’d trapped their victim? Was it how they tried to get Pearl?

  Pearl. Oh god.

  Fire ripped itself from her throat. Each breath was joined with a vicious snarl.

  “What did you do to Pearl?” She asks once. Her head tilts slightly to the side as she grits her teeth, waiting for their lies.

  Each goblis on all fours, cws extending like a cat. They growl and hiss at her, their i facade broken. She smiles, good. She wasn’t going to spare them anyway, not after what she’d seen them do to that girl but a fight? Oh a fight would let her work some things out of her system.

  She holds up a hand, her palm faces her, fingers ft. She bends her fingers upwards at the knuckles, twibsp;

  They move in a coordinated fashion, leaping over one another. It disorientates her at first. One sshes at her arm but a sheen of pink scales easily block its strikes. The scales are shaped like miniature shields, fitting. The sed and third goblihe rest of her body’s defenses, aiming for her face without a screech of anger. Same result, they were collectively too weak to break through her resilient skin.

  Sapphyra puts a hand on her belly and ughs as they hiss and scree anger.

  “Serves yht!” she triumphantly says. She g the victim in the er and experiehat burning hatred course through her all aiail was silent, but was in sync with her for o shoots out and grabs a single goblin by the tiny throat.

  “Tell me where my frie, or this happens to you .” She promises. Without an ounce of pity, she grabs the squirming captured goblin's head and forces its mouth open. Fmes lick at her lips as she speaks, a grim grin on her face. It screams in realization at what she is.She breathes in and breathes out, shooting a steady stream of fmes that melt the goblin in her hands. There is nothi but ash when she finishes.

  The other two goblins fall on their ass and point toward the locker room. Their hands tremble and they begin to snivel and sob, but she holds no sympathy for the beasts. Who would?

  “Thanks.” she says as she stretches her muscled arms behind her head. Her tail reaches out and stabs both goblins through the eye, killing them instantly. It retracts itself, dips into a nearby pool to itself off, and recedes back to her backside.

  At aime, she would stop and process how fortable she felt killing those things. Fht now, she chalks it up to adrenaline and anger. She moves forward into the locker room, leaving a pile of corpses behind her.

  “Pearl?!” she calls out, desperation in her voibsp;

  The locker room was separated into ly alphabetized ses, with a divider wall iween each se. The st se was fuests that did not attend the school and it was o the showers. Another set of rhythmic sounds assaulted Sapphyras ears as she carried on, this time with echoes and surround sound.

  She sighs, the fmes esg her mouth with more ease than before.

  God help her if one of those things was hurting Pearl. She figured she was already going to hell for murder, but she was going to earn her spot by the end.

  As she heads through the showers and rounds a er, she sees another young woman tied up this time ao her is…Pearl! Water cascades dowhe young women as they sit iorn swimsuits, awaiting their turn. On the opposite side of the showers is one poor unscious woman, hopefully dead, with a leg missing and freshly bleeding, while a group of foblins and one bigger goblin had their way with any hole they could get into.

  Pearl eyed the floor, a gag over her mouth with her arms and legs bound behind her. When she saw pink high-top shoes, she followed them to Sapphyra's fad then she cries. She cries for all the dreams she had given up on and all the new ones she could have now that her best friend was here to save her.

  Sapphyra put a fio her lips. Pearl nods and he irl to do the same. She nods, even though she’s bewildered at what’s happening.

  Let’s see how well I do this with a bit of rain falling. She thinks, using the chaos of the moment to take in the deepest breath she . Spreading her wings in front of the girls, she let out the biggest fme she’s do. It heats the entire shower room and the heat alone is enough to shatter the sprinkler system in the room. Every drop of water immediately evaporates, turning the shower into a steamy sauna.

  She fps her wings to clear the area. The damage is dohe girl's corpse and each of the smaller goblins have all turo ash. Though the bigger one’s wounds have healed, and it turns to Sapphyra, using the dismembered leg as a club to smack the ground in front of it.

  “Dragon.” It spit out the name like a bad piece of gum.

  “You said it, not me.” She shrugs, wings still protectively out in front of the girls. She smiles when she hears Pearl mumble something behind her gag. Her tail sharpens its tip and sshes at the gag in her mouth, ly tearing it in two.

  “What was that, Pearl?” Sapphyra asks over her shoulder.

  “I said, kick. His. Ass!” She cheers on her bestie, sending a small thrill through Sapphyra's spine all the way to her fiips.

  “As you wish.” She smiles back at the creature, being it like she did its brethren earlier.

  But this creature wouldn’t wildly rush at her. It appears smarter than that. It wants her to e at it. She rolls her shoulders and es at it with all her might, arm raised to punch down on its head. It blocks and grabs onto her arms. Her tail beats on its head like a drum, but its skin is nearly as thick as hers. There was no easy entry in sight.

  It broke off the hold that it held and pushed her off bah a shoulder rush. Though her tail caught her and banced her, it had jumped up and smacked her with the dismembered arm hard enough to ma and send her sliding across the hot, wet floor. She sighs and looks at Pearl, notig her long sharp blue hair pin.

  “I o borrow this for a sed.” She reaches up, past a blushing Pearl and removes her hair pin. A few strands fall down over her fad Sapph gently pces them behind her ear. The heat must be getting to her. I should get her out of here fast. Sapphyra thinks as she hops back to her feet.

  “You’re better thahers I’ve run across today. Although to be fair, that Minotaur was an act. The little soldiers you have running around though? Those guys are trash. Or, I guess they were trash. How often do you push those things out, anyway? Must be inbred or something. Ugly and stupid as hell. You should think about diversifying…or extin. I like extin.” She smiles as the veins around the creature's hrob and it snarls at her.

  It rushes at her, just like the others. A ssh for her throat, blocked. A sed for her chest, also blocked.Up her sleeve held the long hairpin from Pearl as she waited for the opportuime to use it. Taking cues from earlier tonight, she has a wicked thought. It worked so well on me…

  Her tail strikes out at his head and when he easily dodges, he doesn’t see it curve around and around his aripping him. It s around the rest of him in a pink co. He falls onto his face, a slew of curses directed at Sapphyra. She uses her foot to turn his head to the side. It takes most of her strength. He fights and thrashes to free himself.

  “Fight all you want. I don’t know how you guys got here, but my city doesn’t need monsters like you running around it anymore.” She makes sure it’s gring at her as she takes the hairpin and stabs him directly in the eye. His screams are music to her ears as she twists it until the creature stops moving.

  Her body grows heavy suddenly, the air leaves her lungs.

  Sapphyra’s vision dims and then goes bck.