It was another normal day, bizarre dreams aside. Unfortunately, without the dreamlike haze, work only became more tedious. As he typed away at his computer, Daniel's mind drifted to his overnight experience. Unlike other dreams that quickly faded on waking, it was still vivid in his mind. A dream was a dream, though, and work was work.

  At some point in his day, he was distracted by the buzzing of his phone. Daniel pulled it out of his pocket. Seeing an unknown number on the screen, he put it on the table and ignored it until it stopped ringing. It was probably another spam call, but just in case-

  Not even half a second later, it started ringing again. Daniel got out of his office cubicle and headed towards the bathroom, before answering the phone. If they called back right away, the chances that it was a spam call were low, though not 0. As he answered the call, however, he realized that his inaction was a mistake.

  “DANIEL, YOU CHEAP BASTARD, WHY DIDN’T YOU PICK UP THE FIRST TIME!?” A shrill voice yelled.

  “Petra? What is-” He asked incredulously.

  “WE NEED YOUR HELP, IDIOT!”

  Over the phone he could hear something crashing.

  “Ok, where-”

  “Petra, can you pass me the phone- Can you hear me, Mr. Daniel? We’re by the Church at Carson Street. We’re heading in the direction of your apartment... Petra’s wings haven’t grown in yet, so we really need your help-”

  “AND BRING THAT GOD DAMN THING WITH YOU, ALRIGHT!?”

  With Petra’s spirited yell, the call cut out. Daniel stood frozen for a second or two, before springing into action. He turned his computer off, sorted his papers, and looked for his manager. The bookish brown-haired man looked up as Daniel approached, confused.

  “Daniel, what is it?”

  “Sorry, I have to clock out early.” He said, and then turned away.

  “Wait Daniel, what for?” His manager said hurriedly.

  He thought for a moment.

  “Family emergency.” He answered.

  The harried supervisor couldn’t do anything but look confused as Daniel left the building. The young man took the stairs two at a time, only to stop at the bus. He looked at the schedule, and the next bus was coming soon, but not soon enough. Daniel frowned and dialed the most recent number in his contacts. The call connected almost immediately.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Daniel, are you close!?” Michael asked breathlessly.

  “Uh, about that, the next bus is going to be here in 8 minutes...”

  At that he could hear Petra scream something he didn’t understand.

  “So what the hell do we do now...” Michael hissed desperately.

  Thinking quickly, he tried to remember the area between the Carson Street Church and his apartment. Somewhere around there was the park that he used to walk in. He didn’t quite remember why he stopped.

  “If you see Glassbird Avenue, go down that way, all the way to the end. There’s a big park over there, lots of trees. Should be enough to hide in for a while.”

  “Ok, we’ll meet you there-” Michael said, after “Watch out for ice-”

  The phone call cut suddenly. Daniel stared at the phone in his hand, before pocketing it. He could only wait at the bus station impatiently, hoping that he’d get there on time.

  As soon as he arrived on the 25th floor, Daniel rushed to his apartment. He quickly opened the door, eyes scanning for the creature. On seeing it was him, it poked its head out from behind the kitchen counter it was hiding behind. Daniel sighed in relief and approached it hurriedly.

  “Hey, I need you to come with me.”

  It seemed apprehensive, but willing to follow. Daniel turned to leave the apartment but stopped at the threshold. It was daytime now, and he didn’t want anyone seeing the creature. He quickly grabbed an appropriately sized cloth bag and opened it on the floor.

  “Can you get into this?” He asked the creature.

  It cautiously stepped inside, and as soon as its whole body was inside, Daniel picked it up by the straps and threaded his arm through it, carrying it on his shoulder. The creature’s head emerged from the cloth bag, staring at him curiously, its proboscis leaning against his arm. But Daniel didn’t have time to explain, as he exited the apartment and locked the door.

  The elevator call felt longer than normal, and as he waited impatiently, Daniel couldn’t help but look at the creature under his shoulder. It was rather calm given its situation, which was helpful. But it still wasn’t particularly inconspicuous.

  “Sorry, Tabitha, but I need you to go invisible right now.” He said under his breath.

  After a moment the creature complied, and the proboscis poking against his arm slowly faded, followed by the rest of its head. Daniel exhaled the breath he was holding as the elevator arrived. He was down on the ground floor within a minute, and he stalked off towards the park at a fast power walk.

  He arrived at the park, breathing hard and sweating a little, but the cool autumn air helped him calm his head. He looked around, finding nothing amiss at the entrance to the park. Although he couldn’t see it, he could feel the creature’s proboscis turning to and fro. It seemed that it was also looking around. He thought back to Michael’s cryptic hint. Watch out for ice, what did that mean?

  And then he heard a large crash, as a pillar of ice rose above the treetops.

  Daniel frowned. Well, that made things simple. Thankfully, the park was mostly empty, so he could release the creature without worry of being caught. He opened the bag and dropped it close to the floor. The creature flapped its wings and hovered out into visibility; eyes trained on the ice pillar.

  “Let’s go.” He said to it.

  It nodded and followed Daniel, as he walked towards the ice pillar.