Page 242 of Nobody's Girl

Okay, I have to get this straight. Who gets married in an abandoned, old-as-hell church that’s falling down? Also, who wants to take the vows my Ally has? She was never one for this type of thing.

My Ally is sweet and innocent. She’s not some theater major with a penchant for BDSM. Then this fucking guy comes along and suddenly she is?

No way! I’m not buying that!

I can’t remember how I came to be in a cage with a lion pushing it around, but I did. Ally saved me and her new husband, then it all went dark. And now here I am.

The scene in front of me is surreal. I’m at the back of a crowd of red, hooded, cloaked people, trapped in this clear box, which is raised on some type of platform.

It’s night time. The only light comes from a massive fire in the middle of the congregation. Why I’m here is a mystery.

God, please don’t let me be a sacrifice!

The last thing I remember was hugging Ally, then she turned around and I saw her red panties.

On that note, when I held her to me, she reacted. She’s not over me, not by far. As a matter of fact, I feel closer to her than ever. I wonder what happens if she’s married but decides to dump him to be with me?

“We are here to witness the new Phoenixes' rebirth. You are all witnesses to the change of power,” the complete asshole who officiated my Ally’s wedding says as he rises from nowhere up into the air.

Seriously! Who or what is this old dude?

The red-clad mob in front of me begins to chant something I don’t understand. After three minutes of the mind-numbing chant, thunder rings out, shaking my glass cage.

I didn’t see any lightning!

The old dude shouts out, “Your Phoenixes are here. They have served this planet for over a century. Their time has been served and they are free to go home.”

The cloaked audience stops chanting and falls to their knees. Throwing their arms up in the air, they say, “Praise be to Our Creator.”

Okay! This is a new kind of nuts!

A horrible shriek sends my hands to my ears.

Hey! I’ve heard that sound before!

That day, at Ally’s. In the woods. I heard the same exact sound.

Thank God the roof of my cage is also clear and I can look up into the night sky. The moon is full and there are two shadows which continuously move in front of it.

Shit! Those things must be huge!

The crazy people in front of me change their weird chant to something else. Two bright beams of light come out of the ground in the distance.

The chanting is faster and I can see something moving in the lights. A tall pole comes from each one. I watch as the poles ascend into the air. My heart has stopped.

My Ally is tied to one of the poles, her small, bare feet on a tiny platform. A silky, white dress hits her at her ankles. Her head hangs at her chest. She’s unconscious.

I bang against the glass wall of my cage, but no one turns back to look at me. My Ally’s new husband is strapped to the other pole. He’s also unconscious, but he seems to be stirring.

If I make it out of this alive, I swear I’ll kill him!

This has to be his doing! He was in a cult and dragged my precious Ally into this crap!

The poles with their tiny platforms rise high into the air. Another shriek alerts me to the fact the enormous creatures are much closer than before. And now both Ally and Eden are fully awake.

My God! What is she thinking? Please don’t let her be afraid!

Now I can see very clearly as the things fly over me and the crowd of freaks. They’re enormous blackbirds.