Chapter Text
I sprint away, terrified.
The hunters shout to each other, reporting where I am, how fast I’m going, if I’m phased or not. An arrow whizzes past me, digging itself deep in a tree. My fear spikes by a couple notches. Obsidian-tipped weapons. Now they only need to catch me.
Starting to gain control of my fear stricken mind, I dare to look back. The shock from seeing they’re only a mere twenty yards away is almost enough to knock me off my feet. I phase, and run through the trees instead of around. The hunters' calls become more panicked, and I calm down. As long as I’m phased, they can’t see me, and it’s easier to flee.
Of course, every awesome advantage has some terrible downside.
I see the hint of a wall through the trees, then am horrified to see a huge, fifty foot obsidian wall appear in front of me. I can’t phase through obsidian. The hunters don’t need to see me to kill me, and my phasing does nothing against their obsidian weapons.
Cries of victory come from the hunters. “Show yourself, poltergeist!” someone shouts, and the rest of them start yelling their own taunts. I skid to a stop before the tall boundary, then turn to face the hunters. There’s practically another wall of them. I can’t imagine any way out of this.
I should just unphase. I’ll die anyway, it would make it quicker, I think.
Fighting my thoughts of staying hidden, I unphase. The people from my old village have now joined the wall, and they laugh as they see the ghost that’s been haunting them for the past nine years. It terrifies me, but I’m also infuriated by it.
Slowly and timidly, I reach behind me and pull out the worn down stone sword I’ve always had. When I was alive, I must’ve died with it, since it’s something that phases with me. My shaky hands hold it in front of me, but the villagers’ and hunters’ laughter only doubles.
One of the hunters steps apart from the crowd, sword in hand, and I can’t help but step back. My back bumps into the wall, and I quickly take two small steps forward, swallowing my fear. The hunter snickers and beckons me closer.
I know he doesn’t have any good intentions, so I stay still as a rock, eyes wide and my translucent skin paler than usual. He gestures again, and gives me a crooked smile, as if everything was okay. The crowd has quieted somewhat, looking forward to the show coming up.
The hunter keeps his hand held out as I inch closer, awaiting whatever doom fate holds for me. My hands are gripping my sword so tightly my fingers accidentally phase around the edges. The stress makes it hard to not drop the weapon.
“Here, take my hand, I’ll help you out of this mess,” he says. I gulp, knowing this can only lead to something bad. Could anything be worse, though?
I let go of the sword with my left hand, and cautiously put my hand in his. His green eyes flash with some emotion I don’t understand. At first he only smiles reassuringly, but then closes his fingers around mine and kicks me hard in the stomach. My knees give out and I clutch my one free arm over my chest, as the hunter punches my face hard .
Strength has left me to the point where I couldn’t even phase. He proceeds to let go of my arm so I drop to the ground, then kick me again and again. The crowd is now cheering, chanting “Down with the ghost!” over and over.
It takes me a couple seconds to realize the beating has ceased. I meekly roll over my curled up form, to see a man in a long brown trench coat, black cape, and a green and white hat with his hand on the hunter’s shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, and his hat hides his eyes.
The hunter turns to face him. “What do you want? You want a turn too?” he asks. I just barely see the man’s eyes peek out from the hat’s brim. They meet mine, and they’re kind, ocean blue in color. For some reason, I know he won’t hurt me. He turns his head so the hat blocks them again, then his mouth opens to reply.
“You sick fuck ,” he says softly, so only the hunter and I can hear.
Then he straightens his shoulders and looks up, and the cape shifts as two enormous black wings emerge, spreading to their full length of more than twenty feet. The crowd’s cheers quickly turn to shrieks and shouts of fury.
He launches a punch at the hunter, sending him to the ground with a jarring impact. The man then spins around and forces his wings to slam together with power, sending a gust of air knocking many of the audience off their feet. Others scatter, running into the forest, while a few come at him. It’s eerie how easily he knocks them out and defeats each one.
The fallen hunters quickly get up and run away as the man spreads his wings wide, and I can’t tell if his wingspan is bigger. I can’t see his face, but I imagine his expression is scary.
“You all deserve to burn! We’re people too! How can you find entertainment in our suffering?!” he yells into the trees. The birds silence for him, as if respectfully giving their distant relative a chance to speak.
The young man stays there for a couple of seconds, as if looking for challengers, then turns and faces me. I do my best to push myself away, for fear that he might want to hurt me, but he only folds in his wings and takes a knee.
His hand reaches into one of his trench coat's pockets, then pulls out an apple and holds it out for me. “Hey mate, what’s your name?”
I stare at the apple, trying to decide if it was poisonous or not. I’m practically starving from running through the woods and phasing, and the apple is ripe and looks delicious. It doesn’t take much time to decide the fruit was worth the risk.
“Wilbur,” I say, and take a big bite out of it. Oh, it’s scrumptious. The sweet flavor bursts in my mouth, and a trickle of juice drips down the skin from where I bit it. I don’t hesitate to eat it again, truly realizing just how hungry I was.
“Ok Wilbur, I’m Philza, or Phil. Whatever you want. Mind if I call you Wil?” he asks. He has blonde locks of medium length that curl around his face, and I pause to think about it, but I don’t see the harm.
“Sure,” I reply.
“Well Wil, I don’t know how long you’ve been in hiding, but you don’t have to anymore. You don’t need to run from the hunters. I swear I’ll do my best to keep you safe, because everyone needs a home.”