The Red-Winged Black Bird

"Let's add this to our collection."

Kent ordered the guard bees to land, putting others to the ground, before they got hit by the three enormous birds in front of them. One of the birds tried to stop the guard bees but Kent swiftly flew towards the enemy with her lance pointing to the enemy's heart. The bird noticed it and flew backwards, dodging Kent's attack.

When the guard bees successfully put the others on land, they immediately set out to help their queen where they fired poisonous arrows to the flying giants, but as expected, they were dodged easily.

Alex looked at the battle above, amazed but worried to his classmate's safety. "We should help her." He said.

"How?" said Gloyd, his eyes were bulging, expressing extreme worry to their classmate who's in battle.

"I don't know, but we should. We can't risk another life." Alex replied.

Alex bit his lip, thinking of another way to help their classmate.

"Let Kent lure the enemies to the land, so we can help her. At least it would be within our range." Ivan suggested, which Alex knew was not a bad idea.

But as they witnessed the battle above, Kent seemed to be of no desperate position to be on the losing side as she danced gracefully above the sky attacking her enemies. She's sort of enjoying it instead. "She's smiling." Maeje said, looking above.

"Yeah." Everyone agreed.

"But still, we need to help her." Alex said.

Alex cupped his hands on his mouth and shouted, "Kent, lure the enemies below so we can help you!"

Kent heard Alex and went to his plan, she immediately flew downwards and the three enormous bird followed her, expectedly.

"Let's go. And be careful." Alex muttered.

Everyone scattered, running, circling their enemies, weapons in hand.

Their black spikes from Jay's own transformed body became a twin blade that is sharp enough to pierce a flesh. They reached out to the enemy, trying to deal a strike. But lost. The enemies were big and agile and it's impossible to focus on a target that is flying.

"Kent, lend me one of your guard bees. I have to get closer." Alex suggested.

Kent nodded and commanded one of his bees to be with Alex, where it immediately followed and carried Alex by its feet.

"Be my wings." Alex said to the bee.

The bee let a shrieking sound and flew Alex towards the enemies.

"Scatter them." Alex shouted.

With her lance in her left hand, Kent summoned a crossbow in her right and fired countless numbers of arrows in between the enemies, which she expected would be dodged. Alex then flew towards the other, separating the two. The remaining bees chased the other one, dividing the enemies.

Great battle happened where everyone exchanged attacks. Kent successfully managed to pierce one of the birds' wings where it fell to the ground. "Nice one!" shouted Gloyd, and immediately ran towards the fallen enemy. Kent chased after Gloyd to deal the finishing strike when the fallen bird's black eyes suddenly turned red, where it let out a massive shriek that made everyone turned numb. Alex fell from the ground, but the guard bee secured him. Where the guard bees were forcefully unsummoned as Kent lied on the ground, paralyzed.

"W----What i----s t---this?" Kent can hardly move her mouth, but still managed to talk.

She saw the fallen bird trying to stand, as it was aided by the other ones.

Alex could not move; his muscles were not in pain but they can't also be used either. His eyes continue to function, leaving a horrendous scene as he witnessed their classmate Kent being captured by one of the birds using its enormous feet.

Alex tried to shout, but his mouth couldn't. he knows he needs to help Kent but he can't move. He rolled his eyes, checking his other friends who were also on the ground, but they're helpless, too.

No! Kent! Comeback! We need you! Tears were streaming down his eyes, making it the only movement in his entire body as he witnessed Kent getting farther and farther from them. How can we be so helpless? We thought we could defeat it! How can this happen? How did it turn out this way? Thoughts gathered in Alex's mind, while he's still lying on the ground, helpless. I want to die, he thought, unfair. Alex's eyes soon gave up as it became heavy where it soon closed and gave him sleep.

--------

"No!!!!" Alex shouted.

"Are you okay?" said Gloyd who can now move and was attending the fire they have set.

"Kent? Where's Kent?" Alex said, panicking.

Everyone bowed their heads, looking wary. "We also witnessed how she was captured. We can't move that's why we can't do anything." Ivan said.

"How could this happen?" Alex started to cry. His hands were knuckled on his head, as if he was getting a severe headache.

Maeje moved towards Alex, "Alex, it's not your fault. We don't know that that bird was capable of making its enemies numb. We were careless."

"Ignorant." Darline whispered.

Everyone looked at her.

"We are ignorant in this world." She added. "We lost because we don't know what our enemies are capable of. We can't take precautions if we don't know their abilities."

"I agree." Gloyd said.

"This isn't the past world where knowledge was written in books and can be surfed through the internet. We have to experience and study them ourselves in order to know how to deal with those." Gloyd added.

"Like a child, waiting to grow up." Ivan added.

Alex looked above, it's dark now and the moons are now in the sky, brimming with light.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. Kent is a valuable asset to our survival. She's a great leader and a great classmate. Just like Christian, who is also captured." Alex explained, hissing as he sobbed.

"We can't also find Noel. We are on our own now." Ivan said.

The circled around the fire and started to eat fruits and fishes who they caught before Alex woke up.

"We have to eat and rest for now, let's exchange rest hours as I take the first turn to guard." Ivan said.

Everyone agreed and they started eating.

"Do you think Kent's still alive?" Maeje asked.

"She is. I know she is." Alex assured.

"The enemies, did you observe anything?" he asked his classmates. A sudden change of atmosphere enveloped the remaining team as they shared ideas and thoughts about the past battle.

"A big black bird, with a pattern of red on its wing, their eyes are black and just before they let out a numbing shriek, it changes it red first. That's what I observed." Ivan said.

"And that sound – a "Conk-a-reeeeeee!" sound. Did you remember it?" Gloyd added.

"I do." Alex replied. "But I don't know what that meant. It's common for birds, in our past world, to have different sounds." Alex added.

"Not to a Red-winged black bird." Ivan said, his eyes brimmed with excitement as he remembered what he read on an article before.

"These birds are common in the marshlands! How did I forget that?!" he exclaimed. "You see? These birds let out that "Conk-a-reeeeeee!" sound, it's innate to them. And that reddish pattern on their wings, they're males! All three of them."

"And what does have it have to do with us?" Darline asked the excited Ivan.

"Everything!" he answered.

"It means that-"

Ivan couldn't finish his sentence when Alex said something that might be an evidence of Kent's possible safety.

"They wanted to mate." He said.

"Yes!" Ivan exclaimed.

"No wonder Kent was the only who got captured and left us alone on the ground." Gloyd said.

"Ivan, you said that males have reddish pattern on their wings, right?" Alex asked.

Ivan answered yes.

"Then what was the females pattern look like?" he added.

"Females have crisply streaked dark brownish overall, paler on the breast often show a whitish eyebrow." He replied.

"It's way too different with Kent's color!" Gloyd exclaimed.

"How could they have mistakenly treated Kent as a female bird of their kind?" Maeje said in disbelief.

"Extinction." Ivan answered. "I am ignorant in this world, but it should be. Those birds might be the last species of their kind and was desperate to reproduce. They might have considered Kent to be a host to their own children."

"Just because she has wings?" Darline said. Still couldn't believe what happened.

Ivan nodded.

"I'm not sure though, but one thing's sure. Kent's alive. Kent can summon strong soldiers. She knows that those birds' screams can numb a target, she can deal with it if she can move again." Ivan explained.

There was silence, a sign of relief. Happy? No! they were elated! The theory might be wrong, but it's not impossible to be the right one either. Alex thought that, one way or another, it always turned out, that they're lucky, fortunate to be the ones who always end up getting second chances of being alive. Christian's disappearance and even Kent's. both are alive, they just have to be saved. And no matter what happens, we will save them at all cost.

They rested with their smiles on their faces. They scheduled time for guarding and were fortunate that no eartheaters, nor other monsters came to devour or capture them as they witnessed the sun shone making a new day. The grabbed their weapons where they decided not to wait for Noel and go to save their friend Christian immediately and next, Kent.

Alex looked at the blue, cloudy sky and considered the day not just an any day but another hope.