Barry couldn’t believe his ears. He might have been woozy and short of breath from the pain coming from his legs, but he was rather sure he’d heard the nameless woman rather clearly. “What do you mean ‘why’!? Did you not hear them eat that girl!?”

His words rang out, making the winged monster flinch and shrink further.

“Why should I let you get out of here?” The tanned woman arched a brow, rolling her eyes. “I might have a collar, but I am no slave to humans.”

“Humans? What?” He scowled. “You’re not human?”

As soon as he’d asked, he took a moment to look her over again. The sculpted muscles, the dark skin, the frayed wild black hair. Nothing about her was out of place, not in the way the monsters were. No fur, no feathers, no tail or weird parts.

“Did you miss the glowing hands?” She raised her hand. A dim greenish light flickered around it before dying instantly. “Are you really that dense?”

“I don’t- I’m not from here, ok?” He shook his head in frustration. “We were going on a school trip, then we crashed into this nightmare. We were looking for help!”

“Tough luck, I don’t help humans.” The woman shrugged, laying back against the wall and closing her eyes. “Doesn’t matter anyway, your girls aren’t going to come for you, and mine’s likelier to stumble her way into a trap than successfully track something through the forest.”

Barry frowned at her, tightening his fists. “I’m not from here. I don’t know what you are, and I don’t know where we are.”

“You said that already.”

“It’s true.”

“Mhm, you’re an off-worlder, and I’m the Great Sage.” She waved her hand and snickered. “If you’re an off-worlder, then you should be able to handle something as meager as a hole.”

“I don’t…” Barry looked up at the lip of the hole, then down at his broken legs, and the slight oddness in their bend. Worst of all was the throbbing pain that kept needling the back of his head, threatening to explode forth the instant he moved. “How the hell could I get out of this?”

“You’re the off-worlder, or so you say.” She snorted loudly. “Use your strange powers or whatever. I’ll wait.” Crossing her arms, she kept her eyes on him, unamused.

The young man grimaced, looking up at the lip of the gap again. His gut clenched, and he frowned. Did people not from this world really have some strange power? Did it apply to him as well? His lips thinned, mind racing. He reached upwards, glaring at the edge of the hole now. It was too far up for him to climb, but maybe…?

Nothing happened.

The woman with the skin the colour of dark chocolate rolled her eyes. “Or maybe you’re just a human.”

“I am human,” he said with a scowl.

“Then there you have it.”

“But I’m not from here,” he continued, clutching the phone and showing it. “Where I come from there aren’t any of these… ferals, monsters that look like women.”

She waved her hand at him, turning to her side and leaning away. “You clearly come from a coddled up hole, I don’t care.”

Barry’s mind exploded with a million insults, but not a word came to his lips. As if someone had cut the connection between his mind and his mouth, the young man could only throw his hands down and slam against the earth beneath him. A suppressed cry came right after as the sudden gesture brought an incredible amount of pain out of both his legs. A deep whimpering breath followed, and Barry covered his mouth and shouted into his palm.

The woman all but ignored him, turning her back his way.

Panting, exhausted, and shivering, Barry lay down on the ground, staring up at the dark hole above. The screen on the phone was turned off. The world was plunged back into darkness. The only company was the stabbing pain that throbbed just above his ankles, like shards of glass had been embedded into his legs. Moving made him want to scream, but remaining still did not help any as his heartbeat alone was enough to send tiny prickling pain up his legs.

The young man figured he should try falling asleep- maybe that way the pain would go away. Maybe the dog would come for him and he just wouldn’t wake up.

But the attempt was short-lived when he heard a soft whimper next to him. And just like that, he couldn’t focus anymore. Barry waited a second in silence, then two, growing tense. Another soft whimper.

With the push of a button, the screen came back to life, and the hole was no longer so dark. His eyes shifted towards the third occupant of the whole. She was the monster that had soft brown wings for arms and was currently using them to cover her whole body and hide her face. Another soft whimper left her, and the young man hesitated.

After a pause, he glanced over at the dark-skinned one. She had turned her back to him. So he spun back to the feathered one and reached out. Slowly, he touched her feathers, making sure to be gentle.

A slight shriek followed as the girl recoiled away, shrinking and tightening into herself. Barry could only wonder- how large was she? The creature looked smaller than her wings might have otherwise suggested. “Shhhh…” He whispered, reaching into his left pocket and dragging out the crumpled wrapper with the leftover food from his last meal.

His stomach reminded him he’d not eaten for a while. How long had she been out? A sigh and a shake of his head. Barry opened it. Half a sandwich. “Hey,” he called out to the creature, caressing her wing. It was covered in dirt, but it was so soft…

The creature flinched again, becoming very still when he caressed her wing again.

“Hey,” he reached out, half a meal in his hand. Damp crushed bread and ham. Barry placed her down in front of her. With his focus turning downwards, he realized her feet were also not human. They were talons, covered in yellowish scales. They were sharp, each nail longer and thicker than his thumb.

His heart skipped a beat. This girl could gut him in an instant if she wanted. Quietly, he leaned away a bit, laying on his back again. Nibbling on his half of the meal, Barry could only fight against the fear that clutched his chest.

When the glow went out, the whimper returned.

Without a word, the human turned the light back on, his finger fiddling with the screen to avoid it from going out. His eyes flickered at the winged creature that remained so close to him, and then at the dark-skinned woman who kept so very still. What else could he say? What else could he do? The pain clouded his thoughts and shortened his breaths. The fear kept his gaze flickering back to those sharp talons on his neighbor.

And despite himself, he couldn’t help but think of Mark and Veronica.

A spark of despair clenched his gut, piercing him through like a sword and hurting more than the throbbing legs. Tears came unbound to his eyes. Was he disgusting enough that someone would just throw him to his death like that? What had he done wrong?

The sound of ruffling startled him. He opened his eyes and glanced over at the monster. The sandwich half he’d left on the ground was gone. The creature had peeked at him over her wing, brilliant blue eyes peering at him with an angelic soft face that was full of crumbs and dirt. Her gaze moved from him to his phone, then back to him. Her wings still remained tight, covering her body, but she’d relaxed.

Barry had forgotten to flick the screen. The light went out. A startled whine followed.

When he turned the light back on, the girl’s eyes locked onto the screen and on him, her face unreadable other than the wide blue eyes.

The young human could only sigh, looking at her. “Hey.”

She opened her mouth and a slight trill came out, a sharp little melody that bounced against the surrounding dirt. Then she closed her eyes and lowered her head. Her shoulders relaxed, and her head lowered back into her wings. Within minutes, she’d started breathing slowly.

It wouldn’t take Barry much to fall asleep, either.