Glancing back, Mattie saw Nick swooping higher and higher with powerful wingbeats. She tried to fly faster, but could only go so far before her wings protested by sending needles of pain through the muscles that connected them to her body. Adrenaline heightened that threshold but not enough: it wasn't long before he'd caught up, and grabbing at her, smothering her with his wings in spite of her cries... 

They were plummeting, just like when Jacob plucked her out of the sky. This mental comparison increased both the volume and frequency of Mattie's screaming, as well as intensifying her struggling. But with no drag and Nick's weight making them both, once again, gravity prone, the fighting was useless. Just after one more time yelling her throat raw, they hit the ground––Nick first, and then herself. 

Although she allowed herself to be extricated from Nick's painful grasp on her, her nostrils filled with a scent that was familiar, and not in a comforting way. It was in a way that made her already-racing heart thud away as if her pulse was imitating that of a hummingbird's. What was it? Who was it? 

Slowly, propping herself on her elbows so as not to get up too quickly, Mattie looked up from the bloodied asphalt. Her forearms were scraped up from landing. Her bad wing felt like it was on fire right now, and every time she inhaled it got worse. 

[i]This isn't possible.[/i]

She unfocused her gaze, refocused it, stared in horrified disbelief as Jacob––yes, Jacob––approached her. She spat a gob of bloody spit on the ground and huffed as she heaved herself into a low, awkward crouch. Out came her teeth again, their sharp points making a clear visual warning for the man not to get closer (not that anyone listened to cues Mattie gave, whether physical or verbal).  "G-get away. Get away from me!" Her voice was scratchy. The words blurred together. Her stupid head played the scene over and over again: one moment airborne, the next terminal velocity. Claws ripping up delicate muscle fibers. Cold, dark water plunging over her face, and into her eyes––her mouth––her lungs! 

Whether it was a cause of physical injury or emotional response was unclear. What was clear was that Mattie had passed out again.