Heroic Measures (continued)

Keeping his eyes on the staggering figure, Walter dashed across the street. He dodged four pedestrians, two bicyclists and, only barely aware of it, a pickup truck that had decided to race the changing yellow light at the intersection.

Closer to the scene, he realized that dust was thicker here than it had appeared from across the street. It was thinning, but still made visibility much poorer than he would have liked. He considered that he should have waited a little longer before continuing his pursuit, but then his quarry might have gotten away.

The dust ahead swirled and, to his right, Walter he saw a figure moving fitfully through the haze. It stumbled over some obscured debris, then pulled itself upright and kept moving. Walter could not tell whether it had seen him or not. Unless it possessed avian eyesight to match the wings, he guessed that it had not. He was having enough trouble looking through the settling dust without being in the middle of it.

The figure made its way to the perimeter of the building, pausing in the shadow of one of the remaining outer walls. Walter thought he heard it coughing. It was not a deep-sounding cough, making him think that it probably came from the winged creature he had been pursuing. Slowly, he moved in closer, trying both keep an eye on his footing, and be as quiet as possible, despite the layers of uneven debris underfoot.

He was successful, coming within about five yards of his target, when his foot slipped on what had seemed to be a solid and stable piece of lumber. It snapped under his weight, causing him not only to stumble, but also issuing a sharp crack that penetrated the noise around them.

The figure froze for a moment, performing a very accurate imitation of cornered prey. It looked in Walter’s direction, but he could not tell whether it actually saw him or not. Nevertheless, it bolted, heading along the wall toward the street that ran behind the building.

Walter swore, mumbling, and took off after the creature. He stumbled several times, having trouble keeping his footing on the uneven debris, made finally made it to the area of the outer wall where he had last seen the creature. He stared down the short pathway and then broke into a renewed run.