right through her skin to the muscle and bone. Crying in agony, she felt the creature draw her back towards it.
‘NO!’ she howled.
Suddenly Pegasus veered in the sky. They were heading straight for the side of a building. In the instant before they struck, Pegasus maneuvered his wings and turned so the creature and his entire back end smashed into a large window.
The window exploded with the impact. Shards of jagged glass cut into the back end of the winged stallion. Soon Pegasus’s blood flowed, making his back too slippery for the creature to cling to. As it recovered from the brutal impact with the window, it started to lose its grip. The monster released Emily’s leg and struggled to remain on the stallion.
Seizing the moment, Emily reached back and started to pry the creature’s fingers away from the stallion’s flank. Raking its claws down the Pegasus’s legs, it came away from the stallion and fell down to the ground twenty storeys below.
‘Emily, are you all right?’ Joel called.
Emily didn’t want to tell her friend about her leg. ‘I’m fine. But Pegasus is bleeding!’ She shouted over the wind at Joel. ‘We have to land.’
‘Not here,’ Joel cried. ‘Look!’
In all the fear and excitement, Emily hadn’t had time to think, let alone notice that Pegasus had lost a lot of height and changed direction. They were now flying up 5th Avenue, only eight or nine storeys high. Despite the blackout, there were thousands of tourists out on the famous street, most of them pointing up at the winged stallion soaring in the sky above them.
‘Higher, Pegs, you’ve got to fly higher!’ Emily cried.
Clinging to his mane, Emily could feel Pegasus trying to force more height out of his wings. But it wasn’t working. They were steadily losing height.
‘The park,’ Joel cried. ‘We can hide in Central Park!’
Emily was in too much pain, and far too frightened for Pegasus to have truly felt the terror of actually flying on the stallion’s back. Let alone on a broken wing that had barely had the chance to heal. Now she clung to his mane, praying that they would make it to the safety of Central Park.
‘Come on,’ Emily coaxed. She could see the rise of trees in the distance. ‘Just a little bit further and we can stop!’
As Pegasus struggled to stay in the air, Emily could see they were now only a few storeys off the ground. She looked over to his broken wing and could see a spread of red growing on the white feathers where the break had been. The bones were coming apart.
Glancing forward again, they reached 59th Street. Central Park was on her left.
‘Go into the park, Pegasus. We can hide in the trees!’
Pegasus veered over the park. But the strain was too much for his broken wing. As they soared over the open sheep meadow, his wing finally gave out. The bones snapped completely. They started to fall out of the sky.
13
Emily awoke in terrible pain. Her back ached, her shoulder was badly bruised and her leg was on fire.
She heard voices and felt something wet on her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw a large pink tongue licking her cheek. She moaned weakly.
‘Don’t move,’ a man’s voice said. ‘I’m just finishing with the bandages.’
Focusing her eyes, Emily saw a young man in soldier’s fatigues working with Joel on her leg. Joel was holding her ankle in the air while the soldier started to wrap pieces of cloth around the bleeding wounds. Her jeans had been cut off at the knee. She could see the deep gouges in her skin and heavy bruising from the monster’s brutal grip. Behind them, a young woman was tearing up a tablecloth and handing the pieces to the soldier.
Pegasus was resting on the ground beside her. A large plaid picnic blanket was covering his wings. He licked her face again.
‘I’m all right, Pegs,’ she said softly as she lifted her hand to stroke his muzzle.
‘What happened?’ she asked weakly, wincing in pain as the first knot was tied on her
‘NO!’ she howled.
Suddenly Pegasus veered in the sky. They were heading straight for the side of a building. In the instant before they struck, Pegasus maneuvered his wings and turned so the creature and his entire back end smashed into a large window.
The window exploded with the impact. Shards of jagged glass cut into the back end of the winged stallion. Soon Pegasus’s blood flowed, making his back too slippery for the creature to cling to. As it recovered from the brutal impact with the window, it started to lose its grip. The monster released Emily’s leg and struggled to remain on the stallion.
Seizing the moment, Emily reached back and started to pry the creature’s fingers away from the stallion’s flank. Raking its claws down the Pegasus’s legs, it came away from the stallion and fell down to the ground twenty storeys below.
‘Emily, are you all right?’ Joel called.
Emily didn’t want to tell her friend about her leg. ‘I’m fine. But Pegasus is bleeding!’ She shouted over the wind at Joel. ‘We have to land.’
‘Not here,’ Joel cried. ‘Look!’
In all the fear and excitement, Emily hadn’t had time to think, let alone notice that Pegasus had lost a lot of height and changed direction. They were now flying up 5th Avenue, only eight or nine storeys high. Despite the blackout, there were thousands of tourists out on the famous street, most of them pointing up at the winged stallion soaring in the sky above them.
‘Higher, Pegs, you’ve got to fly higher!’ Emily cried.
Clinging to his mane, Emily could feel Pegasus trying to force more height out of his wings. But it wasn’t working. They were steadily losing height.
‘The park,’ Joel cried. ‘We can hide in Central Park!’
Emily was in too much pain, and far too frightened for Pegasus to have truly felt the terror of actually flying on the stallion’s back. Let alone on a broken wing that had barely had the chance to heal. Now she clung to his mane, praying that they would make it to the safety of Central Park.
‘Come on,’ Emily coaxed. She could see the rise of trees in the distance. ‘Just a little bit further and we can stop!’
As Pegasus struggled to stay in the air, Emily could see they were now only a few storeys off the ground. She looked over to his broken wing and could see a spread of red growing on the white feathers where the break had been. The bones were coming apart.
Glancing forward again, they reached 59th Street. Central Park was on her left.
‘Go into the park, Pegasus. We can hide in the trees!’
Pegasus veered over the park. But the strain was too much for his broken wing. As they soared over the open sheep meadow, his wing finally gave out. The bones snapped completely. They started to fall out of the sky.
13
Emily awoke in terrible pain. Her back ached, her shoulder was badly bruised and her leg was on fire.
She heard voices and felt something wet on her face. When she opened her eyes, she saw a large pink tongue licking her cheek. She moaned weakly.
‘Don’t move,’ a man’s voice said. ‘I’m just finishing with the bandages.’
Focusing her eyes, Emily saw a young man in soldier’s fatigues working with Joel on her leg. Joel was holding her ankle in the air while the soldier started to wrap pieces of cloth around the bleeding wounds. Her jeans had been cut off at the knee. She could see the deep gouges in her skin and heavy bruising from the monster’s brutal grip. Behind them, a young woman was tearing up a tablecloth and handing the pieces to the soldier.
Pegasus was resting on the ground beside her. A large plaid picnic blanket was covering his wings. He licked her face again.
‘I’m all right, Pegs,’ she said softly as she lifted her hand to stroke his muzzle.
‘What happened?’ she asked weakly, wincing in pain as the first knot was tied on her
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