Saphora: vol.1 Retention (The Athena Universe) Read Online Free PDF Page B

safety of being in Fran’s arms, under her watch. Of course, that wasn’t real safety.  Not from a man with a gun. But Saphora was frantic. She didn’t know where else to turn, or where else to go, except to the only person she trusted would do her no harm after listening to what happened.
    After running for about a minute, and getting deeper into the woods, Saphora began to lift herself into the air. She was doing so hurriedly, causing her limbs to flail with the fluctuation of her distraught concentration. She ended up running into a tree, so to speak, and wrapping her body around the branch she hit. She coughed from the impact to her diaphragm and gagged for air as she tried to keep her grip on the branch. In the mists of the chaos of her cracking psyche, Saphora felt her eyes begin to well with tears at the stress of the trauma. Her chest heaved in a sudden sob. Why didn’t I listen to Fran? she thought hysterically, blinking away the forming tears. This was too much. What was happening to her? Why?
    She lif ted herself up on the branch with uneasy limbs, and steadied herself to leap into the air. But during the moment of takeoff, that same bone cringing cry struck her ears, and her hands immediately went to cover them. Her concentration was nearly shattered as she screamed and fell to the ground with a crackle and a thud. The air left her lungs once again, and she curled into a fetal position. Her hands gripped the thick grass of the ground as her lips parted to wheeze and force air into her crumbling lungs. Again she coughed, desperate to inflate them as she lifted herself back onto her knees.
    She couldn’t fly. And the zoo was over an hour away on foot. The tears began to well again. What if she couldn’t make it to the zoo before he woke up and came searching for her? She turned her body to look behind her. Thankfully, there was no sign of Tebias’ recovery, if there was one to be made. Her head jerked back in its previous direction with a sudden sense of ambition, filled with the desperate hope that she had the time to get away. But now that she feared flying, she would have to rely on other methods of getting to the zoo in a timely fashion. Feeling her lungs recover, she stood once again, and started running in the direction that she needed to go. And while doing so, she dug into her back pocket to reach for her phone once again. She speed dialed Fran, and waited for her to pick up as she rushed through the scattered trees, trying to get to the open road on the other side. Fran picked up on the third ring.
    “Hi, honey. You finished doing you-“
    “Fran , he’s real. I saw him! He’s … He’s …” she breathed as she ran, being careful not to let the phone slip from her grip. “He said he was hunting me, Fran. A tree fell! I fell when I was flying, Fran, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said in a slurring cry into the phone, nearly tripping over herself. Fran shook her head, stopping in the mists of her walking and pressing her index finger into her other ear so she could hear her better. The man who was walking with Fran slowed to a stop as well, turning back and seeing the look of distress on her face. They were on their way to the iguana exhibit. Fran pressed the phone against her ear; there seemed to be static interference.
    “Wait – What? Saphora, honey, slow down. I can barely hear you. What are you saying?”
    Saphora groaned, pushing her free hand against a passing tree to give her a bit more speed. She gave a quick glance behind her as she ran, to see if Tebias had begun to follow. He hadn’t, but the combination of her turning and hurried movements caused her to trip over an uplifted root and tumble onto the ground. She grunted uncomfortably, dropping the phone and tumbling a few feet forward.
    Fran’s eyes narrowed and then widened when she recognized the sounds of movement of pain. She bent over herself, pressing the phone to her ear in worry.
    “Saphora? Saphora!” Fran