Amber and May ran through the park, trying to take cover under some of the trees in anticipation of the winged creature's next attack.
Amber fired a few arrows at the creature while it was still in the air, but it was able to evade most of them while the ones that managed to make contact didn't even leave a dent.
After another ear piercing screech, the creature began its descent.
"Here it comes!" Amber warned as the creature dived into the trees, chopping them down with its large, razor-sharp wings. "May, get down!"
It closed in on her before attempting to grab May with its long talons.
"Ahh!" In a state of panic, May tripped over a branch and fell to the ground, gliding against the soil.
"May!!"
May, in response to Amber's warning, put up her shield, protecting herself against the weight of the creature's attack.
"AGH!" she groaned in agony as its heavy talons pressed against her shield, its weight increasing gradually.
"Get away from her!!" Just as the creature was about to impale May with its beak, Amber shot its left eye with a flame-tipped arrow, which managed to pierce into its head this time.
"SCREEEEECHHHHHH!!!!!" The creature screamed in pure agony, letting go of May as it began to fall back.
"May!" Amber rushed to her side, quickly helping her up as she moaned in pain. "Are you alright? Is anything broken?"
"I-I don't think so. My armor is quite durable, so I think I'll be alright."
"SCREEEECH!!"
There it was again; the creature let off a terrifying shriek before ascending toward the sky, allowing time for May and Amber to recover.
"Thank you for saving me, Amber… I'm sorry for being a burden." May lowered her head in shame.
"You don't need to be sorry for anything. It was because you held out long enough that I was able to find that thing's weakness."
May and Amber retreated under a tree, resting as they each tried desperately to catch their breaths.
The park around them was full of destruction; there were several holes dug into the ground, fallen trees scattered around, parts of torn hedges sprinkled all over, and even the fountain was completely destroyed.
"So, what do we do now?" May asked.
Amber took a moment to think to herself about how to exploit the weakness she discovered.
"If we can find a way to take out its other eye, then maybe we can win. But we just need to figure out a way to distract it."
They each took a moment to think.
"Ah," an idea suddenly arose in Amber's mind. "I think I've figured out a way to take that thing down."
"Really? What is it?"
She looked May in the eye and said…
"How fast can you run?"
May tilted her head while blinking rapidly in confusion.
"... Eh...?"
…
About two minutes later, the winged statue flew down toward the park, hovering over it while searching for May and Amber half blind.
May emerged from the tree she hid under, approaching the center of the park before nervously looking up at the sky.
"Umm... How am I supposed to say this?" she whispered to herself before taking a deep breath.
"H-Hey, you stupid bird!" she yelled. The creature instantly turned its head to face her with its menacing glare. "Y-Yeah, I'm talking to you! Umm…"
Do I really have to say this? she questioned herself as she began to blush with embarrassment.
Nevertheless, she continued.
"I-I'm not sure what kind of bird you are... but if I were to take a guess... umm… I'd say you look pretty chicken to me!"
There was an awkward moment of silence that seemed to drag for an eternity.
"Oh, and, umm… I could go for some fried chicken right about now!"
"SCREEEEEECH!!!"
The bird didn't seem to appreciate that insult.
Oh, crap! May broke into a rapid sprint, as the statue began to chase her from behind.
As she ran, she made her way toward the right side of a tree, where Amber was waiting atop its thick branches, hidden by the leaves.
It's getting closer! May thought as she looked back at the creature, who was drastically shortening the gap between them.
Once May had just passed the tree on its right side, she dived to the left, into the creature's blind spot.
Puzzled by where May had disappeared to, the creature paused, frantically turning its head around to search the area.
"UP HEAR, YOU STONE-FEATHERED FREAK!"
From within the tree, Amber fell onto the creature's back, piercing the sharp point of her dagger into its right eye.
"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!!"
"WOAH!!" With both eyes gone, the creature desperately tried to shake Amber away, but she still managed to hold on, tightly wrapping her arms around its neck.
"AMBER!" May screamed as she witnessed the creature take off with Amber still riding on its back.
Amber held on to the creature for dear life as they continued to fly high up into the air, and through the clouds before diving back down toward the park.
"HEY!! OVER HEAR!!" May yelled at the creature, as it suddenly began to fly closer to the ground again, while darting toward her.
The abruptness of its movements made Amber lose her grip completely as she fell from the creature's back, rolling into the ground before turning her attention to May.
"MAY, LOOK OUT!!!" she yelled, but there was nothing she could do.
May stood her ground, shield in hand, as she braced for impact.
"No!"
She closed her eyes to prepare herself for the devastating blow that was to come, but nothing followed.
No impact. No sound. No pain.
"Huh?" May questioned as she slowly opened her eyes to see the creature stood idly in front of her as if it had just reverted back to being a normal statue.
"W-What's going on?"
"May!" Amber yelled while rushing over towards her. "You're okay!"
She hugged her tightly before returning her attention to the statue.
"Any idea what happened?"
"I'm not exactly sure. It was about to attack me, and then suddenly it just... stopped."
"Well, at least it's over, I guess," Amber said, sighing with relief.
But just as she began to let her guard down, the statue started to shake vigorously.
"What's happening!?"
"I-I don't know." The statue slowly floated upwards as a bright blue light began to shine through the cracks on its surface.
"Get back!"
Amber and May started running in the opposite direction, diving into the ground as the statue exploded into many different pieces.
"Woah!"
Some of the stone pieces flew right over them, spreading across the park in a wide range.
Once Amber looked back toward the statue, there was nothing left–nothing but a small blue orb that shone brightly.
"You…"
The orb danced around for a moment before flying off into the distance, and fading out of view.
"I-Is it over now?" May pleaded, looking around nervously for anything that might have been lurking around.
"Yeah..." Amber replied. "I think it's finally over."
She and May let out a sigh of relief as they picked themselves up from the ground.
The snow no longer fell from the sky, but then a roaring sound of thunder erupted as they watched a tall beacon of light flaring upward in the distance.
"What was that?" May said, nervously looking toward where the flash of light had emerged from.
"I don't…"
"Hmm?"
Noticing her voice sounded strange, May quickly turned to Amber.
Her eyes then widened as a feeling of panic surged throughout her whole body.
"A-Amber…?" she stuttered, unable to come to terms with what she was seeing.
Amber, who could no longer move her legs, felt a disturbingly cold sensation begin to envelop her entire body from the ground up.
She gazed at the palms of her hands, watching as they slowly began to crystalize into an icy blue.
"A-Amber, you're–"
"May… I need you to listen to me." Amber spoke calmly, so as not to frighten May any further. "The next time you see Wolf and Snapper, tell them something for me, okay?"
A tear drop began to fall from May's eyes, and upon noticing this, Amber rubbed her cold thumb against her cheek, clearing the wet trail as her lips moved for the last time.
"Amber…" May whispered, as she clasped her palms around the crystalized hand that caressed her face, silently crying before the frozen image of her beloved friend.