You Got This!

The moments before the Griffin flew away and chased after Aaron were all a jumble to Sofia. The beast was relentless in its pursuit, but it was sloppy, and rarely hit its mark. Instead, it crashed into buildings and slid down the muddy road more than once.

Ana was guiding her through the streets, but the beast crashed into the building she ran on top of, and the roof crumbled under her feet. People screamed and wailed as Sofia ran at breakneck speed.

"Stay away from us, Drifter!"

"You cursed us all! We're doomed," they screamed at her.

She ran as fast as she could, trying to lead the beast away from the buildings and the people.

She reached an intersection and heard excited squeals. She chanced a look at the street to her left.

The five lost Branded were crossing the street, trying to be as quiet as possible. Sofia skidded to a stop and turned their way.

"Run! Get away!" she screamed.

They looked at her and their pupils widened. The Griffin slid through the road behind Sofia as it tried to take a sharp turn. It screeched as it crashed again, and broke more walls.

"Get away!" Sofia screamed at the kids.

She took a look at the road the Griffin slid through. That was the road she was supposed to take. She only had one more street before she could turn and meet Aaron.

'The monster will see them if I leave them alone here,' she thought, her eyes darting between the kids and the street behind her, expecting to see the Devil at any moment.

As if on cue, the beast growled and walked into the street, its red eyes planted on the kids beyond her.

It roared, sending shivers down Sofia's spine. She clenched her fists and let her newly acquired energy run through her. She grunted and her muscles bulged. Her thighs grew triple their original size. Her torso and arms grew as well.

She felt taller, and stronger than ever.

She ran for the beast, but before she could land a hit, two spears lodged themselves deep into its back legs. It wailed in pain then reared, flailing its talons at Sofia.

She slithered underneath the beast and punched it as hard as she could in the stomach. The beast got propelled backward, rolling over the muddy street.

Two soldiers ran to the intersection. They shot the beast one look, then turned to Sofia.

"Drifter! Are you trying to destroy the town? The bridge's that way!" One of them screamed, pointing a finger at the road that intersected the street.

"Help the children reach the fort, I got this!" she said through gritted teeth.

They noticed the Branded behind her, huddling together in fear. Their frowns softened, and they hurried toward the kids.

Before they could reach Sofia, however, the Griffin got back to its feet and lunged forward. It rammed the two soldiers, slamming them against walls, as it charged Sofia.

She planted her feet on the ground and met the beast's charge. Her gigantic arms wrapped around the beast's beak then she squeezed as hard as she could. The beast struggled against her, trying to claw at her with its talons.

She swept her arms to the right, and slammed the beast against a wall.

"Go! Get the hell out of here!" Sofia grunted at the kids.

They whimpered at her. The beast whined and struggled against her grip.

"Now! I can't hold it much longer!" She said.

"She helped Sylvian," a kid whispered.

The others nodded.

"Go!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

The kids retreated and disappeared in a small alley.

The Griffin shook its head and threw her aside, plastering her against a wall. She groaned as she hit the ground, fueling her muscles with more Mana as she stood.

"That all you got?" she asked, grinning at the beast.

It grunted then slapped her with its wing. The feathers hit her, then a gust of wind propelled her aside. She fell on the mud and rolled over it, unable to stop her momentum.

The beast stomped on her, locking her under its sharp talons.

She roared and tried to push it away, but the beast was too heavy for her. The Griffin looked her in the eyes then screeched, showing sharp teeth underneath its pointy beak.

She frowned and directed a right cross at the beast's beak. Its head veered aside on impact, its claws slowly detaching from the ground. Sofia tried to push the beast again, but it quickly recovered and crushed her further on the mud.

She pounded at the beast's foot, but it didn't seem to feel her blows.

It screeched at her, dripping saliva all over her face. She struggled against it once more, but the beast was too heavy, despite all her muscles.

'Is this it? Am I gonna die? Eaten by a monster?' Her mind raced. Fear slithered through her, shaking her belief.

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized her muscles were deflating, and her vision blurred.

A raspy voice laughed in her head.

"You thought you could save yourself? You thought you were strong?"

His voice always came to her in situations like these, crippling her even further.

The beast screeched. She winced as it further crushed her rib cage, trapping wind inside her.

The Griffin got so close to her she could smell the stench of its breath. It clicked its beak, ready for its meal.

"Sluts like you deserve to rot in hell!" Her father's words came to haunt her again.

She wondered, ever since the day they summoned the witch, if she died and went to hell.

She shook her head. 'I won't give that asshole any more power over me. If I have to die, then I'll die with dignity, fighting as I should,' she thought, determined.

She clenched her fists, and summoned the energy within her. She could feel it, dormant inside of her. Yet, she couldn't summon it. 'Why wouldn't you obey me?' she thought, frustrated.

The beast sniffed her hair. Its grotesque tongue licked her, leaving sticky goo behind. Sofia prayed for her new powers to pull some miraculous feat, like it did before in the woods, but she didn't feel it stirring. It just stayed inside her, calm as a lake on a windless day.

Then an explosion rocked the sky. Sofia and the Griffin looked up to see a strong red light shining above, like a flare. The beast growled then flew away.

She let out a sigh of relief. Whoever made that light saved her life.

'Aaron!' she thought as she got to her feet and ran toward the fork.

Soon, the road curved and she saw the beast running at full speed toward the bridge. A few houses to her side hid the bridge from sight. A loud explosion came from behind the houses, and the ground slightly shook.

She cursed under her breath and doubled her speed.

When she reached the bridge, she saw Aaron on his knees, blood flowing out of his back. The Griffin stood before him, walking slowly his way.

It limped as it approached him, and one of its wings was missing. The smell of burnt flesh invaded her nostrils.

She frowned. 'What did he do?'

Aaron tried to get up, only to fall back down, his head bowed.

He looked defeated, exhausted. By the amount of blood flowing out his back, he didn't look like he had much left in him.

"Aaron!" She screamed from the other side of the bridge.

The beast was getting dangerously close to him. It licked its beak every two other steps, its eyes red and trained on him.

She crossed the bridge at full speed, hoping she could reach him on time.

"Then what?" her father's voice rang in her head, spiteful. "You'll only drag him down with you to hell!"

She shook his voice away and crossed the bridge.

She knelt beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Aaron?" she shook him.

Blood immediately smeared her. 'What do I do? What do I do?' she thought, her heart racing.

His head slowly turned to her. His eyes were half closed, unfocused.

"Sofia?" He gave her a weak smile. "You made it!"

She glared at the approaching beast. "Can you move?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I can barely talk."

She looked at the bridge, hoping the village soldiers would come to their rescue. All she saw was the smoke and rubble the Devil left behind.

She stood and faced the beast, jaw fully contracted. She shot Aaron a quick glance. "How do you do it? Your mana, I mean, how do you access it quickly? I still have more fight in me, I just don't know how to reach it."

Aaron fought his weak knees and stood. "Sofia, no, run! Let me be the bait. The others will come to your rescue later."

"That's a man for you! Now run and hide, that's all you're good for anyway," her father's vicious snarls rang in her head.

She glared at him. "I'm not leaving you here!" she said through gritted teeth. "We're done running!"

He met her gaze, and for a moment, she thought he would protest again.

He nodded. "Alright, no more running!" He shot a look at the approaching beast. It looked at its limits too, tired and injured. "Focus on what you're going through now, and how you want to solve it. That's how it works for me."

She took a deep breath and focused on their impending doom, on how she could fight the Griffin. Her Mana stirred, but didn't respond to her calls.

Aaron stood next to her, fighting his shaky legs. He shot a glance at the main road, and the fort up the hill.

"Looks like no one's coming, but I will stand by you, til the end." He turned to her and gave her a warm smile. "You got this!"

The Griffin reached them. It sniffed at Aaron's bloody shoulder and at Sofia's hair. It screeched then stood on its hind legs, aiming its sharp talons at them.

Sofia delved deeper into her fear. She feared she'd die. She feared she'd lose Aaron, the only thing she had of her old life. She feared more innocent people would die on their account.

She wouldn't allow that. She wouldn't die after they fought so hard to survive. She wouldn't give that witch the satisfaction.

Her heart whirred to life, like a newly oiled machine.

"Don't second guess it, just push through your fears, you're almost there," Aaron said in a low whisper.

She opened her eyes and faced the beast. Her heart sped up even faster. Heat spread all over her body, made her toes tingle and her ears burn.

The beast howled and brought its talons down.

Sofia raised her arms to shield them from the upcoming attack.

She clutched the beast's claws with both hands and stopped it in its tracks. It didn't hurt, nor did she feel the weight of the beast pushing against her.

The Griffin growled and shifted its hind legs as it pushed with its sharp claws. Sofia grunted and pushed harder.

"There you go," Aaron said, a faint smile on his face.

Sofia's skin glowed as she squeezed the beast's claws. Her muscles grew in size, cracking the earth beneath her feet.

She felt the energy pulsating through her veins, emanating from her heart. She pushed it all toward her fingertips and screamed, shoving the beast away from them.

The beast whined as it landed awkwardly on four legs.

It roared, scratched the ground with its talons, leaving deep gashes behind.

Its eyes turned to Sofia, red, squinted.

Then it charged.

"I told you, S, you got this!" Aaron said then collapsed.