It only took thirty minutes to fly back to Kansas City. I didn’t want to leave my car at my dad’s, but it would have taken longer to drive back home. I didn’t want to think about what was happening at the tower because thinking about it would only slow me down. My arms were getting tired from carrying Taylor, but I couldn’t exactly just leave her somewhere.

            As I got close to the tower, I heard gunfire and the sound of explosions. Then I saw it. Moving towards the building was something I never thought I would see. It was a giant man as black as charcoal. His eyes burned with fire, and he had six arms. There were tanks around him, firing from all directions, but everything seemed to bounce off. He was wielding an ax and was swinging it towards his attackers.

            “Angel, how are you supposed to take him down? He’s massive!” Taylor asked. The truth was I didn’t know how I was going to be able to subdue him. If tanks couldn’t even make a dent in him, how was I supposed to? Landing in front of the tower, I let Taylor down. Looking up in the sky, I saw both Joey and Mandy were already assaulting the giant. I wondered where Esme was, but I didn’t have long to think about it before a car came flying in my direction. The next thing I knew, it came to a complete stop just a few inches from me. Looking down, I saw that Taylor was holding it. Then she released it as it fell to the ground. Luckily there was no one nearby.

            Seeing that Taylor was safe, I took to the sky. I needed to help the others. It was because of me that this thing was here. Why was it so vital for me to unlock my real power? And what was my true power? It wasn’t like I had chosen this. I wasn’t born with these powers, so how was I supposed to know how to unlock them. With my thoughts swimming, I barely had time to dodge the ax that swung past me. Clearing my head, I summoned my bow. Pulling energy from my surroundings, I formed an arrow and fired it at the giant. It almost looked like a shooting star as it flew before piercing its shoulder.

            “Nice shot, wolf girl,” Mandy said as she flew by. Then she threw an orb of dark energy at the giant. It snarled as the sphere made contact with his body. Joey sent daggers of light from his wings at the creature, earning another snarl as he tried to swipe at him. Enraged, the giant picked up another car and threw it in our direction. Mandy and I dodged it, only for it to crash into one of the buildings behind us. The sound of people screaming in pain echoed throughout the street. Focusing on the giant, I summoned another arrow, aiming for his eye. As I released the arrow, the giant brought his giant ax in front of his face, and the arrow vanished against it.

            “Vessel of the goddess Lunaria. I have been sent here to persuade you to reveal your true power. Give my master what he wants, or I will be forced to make you. Defeat me here or live with the knowledge that you allowed lives to be lost,” the giant said in a voice that threatened to shake the ground beneath. I tried to figure out how to unleash this so-called power, but I couldn’t. I was going to let people down, and people were going to die because of me. The thought of it was so painful.

            As the giant swung his ax again, it connected with another building, cutting it in half. I watched in horror as it split in two and crumbled. More screams rang out as the building fell. More innocent people who were being hurt and killed for something that I had no choice in. Why did I have to go to that stupid party? Why did the wolf goddess have to choose me? I didn’t want to be a hero or a goddess. I just wanted to be a normal girl living out her life. Taking her girlfriend out on dates. As the thoughts poured in, I fell to the ground. There was no way I could do this.

            “ANGEL, WATCH OUT,” I heard Mandy yell as she flew in front of me. She summoned a barrier just in time, as chunks of the building came flying at us. I watched as it crumpled against the barrier and fell to the ground, causing a massive tremor. “You need to get your head in the game, dear. We can’t let this thing destroy our city,” she said before dropping the barrier. She was right. True powers or not, we needed to stop him. We needed to save as many people as we could. Picking up my blade, I flew into the sky. Concentrating my energy into the blade, I flew at the giant. I brought it down against the arm, holding the ax, and pushed down with all my might.

            The sound of metal against metal rang through my ears as the blade penetrated his arm. The giant howled in pain as my blade cut through his arm. It fell to the ground causing the ground to shake around it. He quickly grabbed the end of his arm, as black blood poured out of it. “YOU LITTLE BITCH, I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT.,” he declared. For just a moment, it felt like there was a chance that we could win. Mandy flew in and summoned a giant ball of fire, throwing it at the giant. This was rewarded with another howler in pain. The giant tried to swing at Mandy but just missed her as she flew another fifty feet in the air.

            As I readied another arrow, the giant reached down and grabbed his ax with one of his other hands. He then charged at me, ax raised in the air. Just as I released the arrow, his ax connected with one of my wings. Searing pain coursed through my body as I watched my wing fall to the ground. I screamed out in pain as I began to fall to the ground. So, this was how I was going to die? As the ground grew closer, I felt someone catch me. I was barely aware of who it was as I writhed in pain. I felt my body be placed on the ground, though I was scarcely aware of it. I could feel my blood begin to cover me.

            “Angel, your wing!” I vaguely heard Taylor say as she rushed to me. I tried to move, but the pain had all but taken control of me. I watched helplessly as the giant continued his rampage. I watched as my friends tried to fight him off. I felt so helpless, so useless. Why was I given these powers if I couldn’t protect the ones I loved? If I couldn’t save the people around me? Why hadn’t the goddess helped me? If I was her vessel, shouldn’t she have stepped in to help? I laid there as the thoughts ran through my head. Then I saw someone run up to me from the corner of my eye, I couldn’t quite make out who it was.

            “Oh my god. Angel, my sweet girl. Your wing. There is so much blood,” I heard my mom’s voice say, though I couldn’t see her. Then she sat on her knees in front of me, pulling my head into her lap. For just a moment, I forgot all the pain. Just feeling her holding me brought some comfort to me. If I was going to die, dying in her arms wasn’t a bad way to go. I could see the sadness on her face. I never wanted to make my mom cry. I slowly reached up to touch her face, despite the pain shooting down my spine. For a moment, I saw her smile. But then, just as quickly, her face changed. And then I saw it. A pole sticking out of her chest.

            “MOM,” I yelled as I watched her body slump beside me. Looking behind where she had been sitting, I saw the giant grin. At that moment, all the pain turned to anger. Something inside me snapped. As I slowly pulled myself off the ground, storm clouds moved in. Lightning began to strike all around. Slowly I lifted my remaining wing. In a split second, a rod of lightning struck my wing, sending a surge of energy through my body. Instead of pain, it felt like my body was healing. Another bolt struck, and I could feel the energy building up as my rage grew. Then I felt my body begin to change before.

            My body began to shift to my full wolf form. But it didn’t stop there. As my rage grew and the energy from the lightning built up, my body began to grow. In a matter of moments, I was nearly as tall as the giant. And then, I felt her. I could feel the goddess’ presence. I felt my wing begin to regrow as my body continued to change. And then I heard her speak. The time has come, child, for you to realize the full extent of your power. Now destroy this beast.

            As I stood there snarling at the giant, he grinned. Brushing his matted black hair back, he said, “Well, this should be fun.”