“Oh, quit being so modest. You’re a gryphball star! But, It’s good to see you though,” Isabell said with a smile. Thyra walked over to Isabell and bumped her forehead with the other gryphoness in greeting.
“Good to see you too. Sorry for not visiting as much as I wanted to over the past weeks. How’s the wing?” Thyra asked.
“Good! Docs say it should be fully functional by the end of the year. I hope it’s good to go by Christmas,” Isabell said and looked over to her bound wing. “I’m feeling much better now, but they want to keep me for a couple more weeks for tests and physical therapy. They’ve been kicking my ass. I feel like I’m training to become an athlete.”
“Well that’s not too awfully far way. Let’s hope so. You know you’re invited for Christmas dinner,” Thyra said with a smile. Isabell returned the friendly greeting and hoped off the couch.
“So, about Anfang,” Isabell said. The mood shifted as Thyra looked into gryphoness’ purple eyes. “This guy, Daniel, knows about him.”
“What all does he know?” Thyra questioned.
“He’s the one that found him alive, but I’ll let you two talk. You’ve only told me a little about your past with Anfang, but I think this guy knows more than what he’s leading on,” Isabell said and started walking towards the door. “I only talked to him for a couple minutes because his family was in the room.”
Thyra followed closely behind as they exited the room and walked down the hallway. The humans did not seem to be bothered by Isabell as much as they were with Thyra, as she was easily twice the tiny gryphonesses size.
“Did this Daniel mention anything about how he found Anfang?” Thyra questioned as they made their way to the elevator. Thyra pushed the button and sat before Isabell, waiting for a response.
“No. I could tell he knew what I was talking about, but as I said, his family was present at the time.” Isabell said. They entered the elevator and rode it up to the next floor. “I don’t think he really wanted to talk to me about it, but he might talk to you since you knew Anfang personally.”
The floor they stepped out onto was empty save for a couple of press members standing by Daniel’s room door, all talking to the nurses. They suddenly stopped their conversation as they noticed the gryphonesses approaching them. One of the press workers, a young man, ran to them before anyone else could.
“You’re Thyra, right? What do you know about this recent gryphon assault and how do you feel it impacts your community?” He shouted before holding the recorder in front of her beak. Thyra took a step back and looked up at the news reporter with wide eyes.
“I-I don’t know who this gryphon is, but I feel he shouldn’t be represented as a criminal until questioned for his actions,” Thyra responded without thinking.
Isabell perked her eartufts and looked over at Thyra in surprise as members of the on-site security team started to push the press back.
“Thyra, Thyra! What do you mean! He clearly killed police officers! It was caught on camera,” the press man called out as he was escorted away with the others. Thyra simply bit her beak down and decided to remain silent until they were alone.
Isabell looked over to Thyra and nudged her gently. “See? I told you that you were famous.”
“More than I thought. I just want to get this over with and hopefully save Anfang,” Thyra responded and knocked at Daniel’s door.
“Come in,” a voice said behind the door.
Thyra turned the knob and entered the hospital room. Daniel had the bed propped up and was sitting up straight, facing them. He immediately stared at Thyra and she looked back at him curiously, seeing recognition in his eyes, but more than just that.
His jaw worked. “Thyra, I…”
Both gryphonesses stopped at the entrance and watched Daniel as he struggled for words. Thyra could see tears forming in his eyes.
“I never meant for any of this to happen,” Daniel began and Thyra was intrigued. Someone she never met was apologizing to her, but she could not tell why. Daniel took a deep breath and stared directly at her. “I never wanted to hurt you, or cause any harm.”
“What are you talking about?” Thyra asked, feeling the tension building in the room. She approached Daniel’s bedside with Isabell and sat next to him.
“Isabell told me about how you knew Anfang in the past. I had no clue. I… I was just following orders. Trying my best to slide by and make a living. But…” Daniel stopped for a minute and looked away.
Thyra grew agitated at Daniel beating around the bush and clicked her beak. “What do you mean? What do you have to do with Anfang? I thought you were just a victim!”
“No… I met Anfang the day before he attacked me. We… how do I start this?” Daniel took a deep breath with his eyes closed, and then looked over to Thyra. “I used to work for the Gathering. More specifically, Bishop Matthew.”
Thyra’s hackle feathers ruffled on end and her eartufts folded flat against her head. She raked her talons along the tiled floor and moved closer to his bed. “You worked for that asshole? You better choose your next words carefully or I’ll pull your larynx clean out.”
Isabell’s feathers fell flat and she took a step back, not knowing what to think. It was a shock seeing Thyra in such a rage. Daniel sighed and looked directly into her bright green eyes.
“Please, just hear me out,” Daniel pleaded. “You have every right to be angry. Yes, I worked for that bigot. He offered me more money than my family and I’ve ever had I-. We were able to get out of a bad situation in Atlanta and start a new life here. But, I had no clue what he was, and what he was planning.”
Thyra took a deep breath. “Fine,” She said with a readjustment of her wings. “But my threat still stands. I’m tired of Matthew and all his self-righteous bullshit.”
“And so am I. He tried to kill me. Well… he sent Anfang to kill me,” Daniel began. Thyra raised an eyeridge at his comment. “Let me start from the beginning. I was first hired to be Matthew’s right-hand man. Carry out his day-to-day business, or what I thought was normal business in my line of work. Then he had me put surveillance on you and your husband, but it wasn’t enough. Next thing I know, he had me infiltrating a gryphon rights group hangout to capture a lost gryphon.” Daniel paused and let the information soak in for a moment. “If only I had known what we would find. Anfang… he’s insane.”
Thyra’s head spun as she shook her head. “When I knew Anfang, he was a lot of things, but he wasn’t insane. He was just confused and lost!”
“Maybe, but the very first thing he did when we freed him was kill my best friend. I watched him die while Anfang taunted me about it. Called him food and a plaything,” Daniel said before wiping away tears. “Nothing more than flesh to be eaten.”
“No, he wouldn’t do that.” Thyra shook her head in disbelief. Her heart denied what she was hearing but her head told her that Daniel had nothing to lie about.
“But he did. That night I told Matthew I quit. Then the next day I’m sitting in that diner and suddenly Anfang’s rushing after me. He toyed with me. He laughed at my pain. I shot him multiple times but my bullets didn’t seem to do anything.” Daniel continued to recount the story to her, describing the scene and watching her reaction. “I don’t know who you knew back then, but he’s not the same. He’s a murderer, and he enjoys it.”
“No! That’s not him!” Thyra shouted in anguish.
Daniel lifted up from his bed and winced, holding his chest. “Thyra, I’ve seen people like him in Afghanistan. He’s a monster!”
“He was just confused and-and he must have been under the control of Matthew!” Thyra screeched out with tears rolling down her face. Isabell wrapped a good wing around Thyra to pull her into a hug, but Thyra pushed her away gently. “He’s not a murderer! He just doesn’t know any better!”
“I hate to be the one that tells you this, but…” Daniel looked over to the window and froze. Thyra followed his eyes to the window and saw a brown flying object fast a
pproaching.
She had no time to question what she was seeing, as the window of the hospital room suddenly shattered with a burst of glass. Thyra closed her eyes and felt glass shards scrape across her face. Her adrenaline spiked, her heart beating hard in her chest.
Thyra opened her eyes to see the ghost of her past standing before her, covered in bleeding wounds from the glass, the leathery wings that were new to her spread wide. His eyes were crazed like a feral animal’s as he glanced at her before looking to Daniel sitting on the bed. She opened her beak to shout, but it was too late.
The great beast leapt, and was on top of Daniel before she could think to move. Blood splattered the white linens with a dark hue as Anfang tore his talons into Daniels throat.
It happened so quickly, all Thyra could do was shout out as she watched Anfang throw his talons to the side, painting the walls with a crimson splatter. The sound of Daniel gurgling on his own blood filled Thyra’s eartufts as her muscles buckled, feeling frozen in time and space. Moments went by and the inside of the room went to a silence, the only sounds Anfang’s heavy labored breaths.
Thyra stared at Anfang in shock and watched as his crazed green eyes met hers once more. Then something changed. His pupils turned from senseless slits into something more sentient. He paused and closed his wings as recognition and cognitive thought came back into his eyes. He stared at the gryphoness before him.
“Th…Thyra?” Anfang slowly spoke out in a rough voice. He climbed off of the corpse. “Is…is you?”
The deformed gryphon made his way to the ground, not daring to take his eyes off of her. She opened her beak to speak, but her voice was lost. Tears formed in her eyes and streamed down her face as she saw him for the first time. Saw him for what he had become.
“I….I missed you,” Anfang said as he approached Thyra. She took a quick step back as he reached out his talons dripping with blood towards her face, and Anfang frowned. “What wrong? Not happy to see Anfang? I missed you, Thyra. I missed you so much!”
“Anfang! W..why!” Thyra shouted as she finally found her voice.
Anfang pulled his head back and folded his single eartuft, confused by her response. “Why, what?” He reached for her again.
Thyra cried out and slapped his foretalons away. “Why did you kill him!” she shouted. “Why did you kill all the police? Why are you here?!”
He pulled his talons back and sat before her, shocked that she had not greeted him with open arms. “I…I had to.” Anfang’s eyes glossed over as tears formed in his own eyes. “Thyra...”
Anfang searched himself for a moment, looking lost in his own actions. Suddenly, the door was kicked open and multiple officers filled the room. Anfang quickly turned his head and hissed, fanning his leathery wings as they pointed their weapons at him.
Both Thyra and Isabell screamed and fell to the ground just before the sound of gunfire filled the small room, causing their ears to ring. Thyra looked up only for a moment to see Anfang launch towards two officers, and strike them down with one foul swing. The distant sound of screaming filled the hallways as Anfang screeched loudly and looked at Thyra one last time. He extended his foretalons and looked at her with pleading eyes.
“Please… Please come with Anfang, he begged.
Thyra shook her head and saw the disappointment in his eyes. Anfang frowned and jerked his head to the entrance as more police filled the door. He hissed and turned his back, running towards the broken window and leaping out of it with a strong beat of his massive wings.
There was more gunfire as the police fired after him. Then the room was quiet besides Daniel’s heart monitor ringing a flat line in the air. Thyra looked around the room, absorbing the carnage that had happened in the past minute. Her eyes were wide with horror upon seeing the blood splattered around the room, and looked down to her own crème colored chest decorated with red. Police, security and nurses rushed into the room, but none made more than a cursory attempt to check on Daniel. It was clear that he was dead.
Thyra found her breath and screamed in horror, collapsing on the ground. It was too much for her to handle. Isabell wrapped a wing around her and slowly led her out of the carnage, leaving the rest to clean up the mess.
***
Confused, hurt, and cast away, Anfang flew away from the one that he had been certain would understand him. Their conversation would have to wait.
He did not dare look back as he beat his wings hard, getting away from that place. He felt tears fall down his face, but not because of physical pain. What he felt was something new altogether. His heart ached and it confused him. It angered him.
Anfang looked down to watch multiple police vehicles rush down the street towards the hospital and heard the thundering sound of a helicopter in the distance. Matthew had warned him of these helicopters, as they were quicker than he was and could track him in land and air. He quickly dove into the woods and found a high tree to take shelter in.
The birds around him squawked and fled from the tree as he found a good purchase on a thick branch. His heart thumped hard in his chest, and his breathing was labored, yet he remained as still as he could. From afar, he could watch police rush into the building and the surrounding woods as they frantically searched for the attacker, but they would never find him.
He rested in the tree, replaying the images in his head of Thyra. She had looked completely frightened by the gryphon she saw before her. He clicked his beak against the fangs protruding out the sides of his lower muzzle in agitation and confusion.
Why was she so frightened? How could she find his actions wrong? He had been raised to kill. The men in control of his life had made it clear to him that was his reason for living, and he felt no remorse for the ones that he had murdered. Violence was nothing more to him than natural feeling, yet the sight of Thyra’s eyes confused him.
Anfang remembered his innocent early days with Thyra, realizing that she had tried to teach him the good aspects of humanity, and what it meant to choose between right and wrong. Regret for his actions started to creep into his heart. He had lost that part of him long ago, but Anfang began to realize what Thyra’s eyes had been telling him. For the first time in his life he felt remorse for his actions.
The gryphon screeched in a mixture of psychological pain and confusion. His talons tore into the tree trunk as he realized what he had done. He had killed someone that he knew nothing about besides a name. Anfang remembered Daniel’s speech the day before, begging for mercy because of his family. He didn’t understand what it was like to have a family but knew he had taken Daniel away from his.
Anfang realized that he could not live this way, obediently killing others for those in command. He wanted to change, for Thyra. Perhaps if he could find her, she would understand.
The sirens grew silent after several minutes, and multiple cops began to leave while large vans with numbers pulled up to the hospital. Anfang watched people pour out of the vans and start setting up cameras in the parking lot. They grabbed humans walking out of the hospital and started to talk with them in front of the cameras. Anfang waited patiently for the commotion to die down, but then something else caught his eye. Thyra was walking out of the hospital.
Anfang came to his feet on top of the branch and watched as Thyra swiftly strode by the multitudes of people gathering around her. She didn’t speak to them, but took to the skies and flew right above the treetops where he was hiding. He had to chase after her.
He ran along the ground for a short time until he was sure he was out of sight of any camera crews. Then, with a quick check of his surroundings, he jumped out of the trees and beat his wings hard to follow after Thyra. She rose higher into the sky, with Anfang slowly gaining on her.
For the first minute, Thyra did not notice. He was a noisy flyer, but the wind whipping by her face was even louder. As he approached closer, he shouted.
“Thyra!”
Thyra’s body froze in midair as she turned her head to see him following
after. The same fear that he had seen before returned to her eyes, and immediately she dove. Anfang cursed under his breath and tucked his wings to follow behind.
“Thyra! Please!” Anfang called out again. Thyra flicked her wings open and curved back up into the sky. Anfang forced himself to follow, but she was much more agile and quicker than he was.
After making a sufficient distance, Thyra turned around and hovered in the air. “Stop!” she shouted as loud as she could.
Anfang flared his wings and forced himself to stop as requested. He hovered, flapping his wings hard to keep himself afloat, but found it extremely difficult. “Thyra, I..”
“No! You don’t get to talk right now!” Thyra interrupted. “You were dead! You were gone out of my life, and now…” Thyra choked on her words now, tears streaming down her face. “Now here you are. A murderer! I don’t know where you came from or where you have been, but ever since you’ve been back it’s been nothing but pain!”
“But… You my friend, Thyra! I do these things to find you!” Anfang called out into the wind. His lungs ached with each deep breath and his wing muscles burned deep into his back. He could not keep this up for much longer.
Thyra’s eartufts pinned back, not knowing what to ask next. She was just as confused as he was. “What do you mean you did all this for me?”
“Matthew! He tell me I kill for him and he bring me to you! But I found you! I not need him!” Anfang spilled out.
His wings began to buckle as he started to lose altitude. Thyra noticed his struggle and slowly turned her back to begin gliding once again. But she was not running. She seemed to really stare at his leathery wings, looking over her wingshoulder, reluctantly inviting him to fly next to her.
Anfang evened his body out with a couple hard wing beats and quickly caught up to Thyra. She kept a short distance from him, but seemed to want to hear him out.
“When did you get those wings?” Thyra asked, still looking them over as if they were an illusion.
“I not know. I wake up one day and they there. Much pain for days,” Anfang responded.
The Gryphon Generation Book 2: A New Era Page 25