The typical grocery store was two minutes away from Sam’s house.  Their neighbors could walk to it and back comfortably, as long as they didn’t have long shopping lists.  Unfortunately, Sam’s family just couldn’t be ‘typical.’  Her dad had jumped into the health food bandwagon before it was even finished being built, and he’d never gotten off.  If she was going to bring groceries back for the family, it had to have good ol’ TJ’s brand on it.

That store was close to ten minutes into the city, well outside their quiet residential district.  Thankfully it wasn’t a big store, so grabbing everything on Mom’s list (plus the garlic and basil that had run out without Mom noticing) took all of five minutes.  Sam was out the door with her purchases and heading back toward her car when the first screams started.

First one person, then three, then a dozen came sprinting around the corner, fleeing like chickens from a fox.  Sam had to jump aside to keep from being run over by the terrified crowd, her eyes shooting up in the hope of seeing what had everyone so spooked.

A giant, malformed pigeon shot out from the adjoining street, crashing into a man and driving his body to the ground.  When the abomination pulled itself up, the man didn’t move.

Cold panic shot through Samantha’s veins.  A hundred people were running past her, away from the nightmare come alive.  Men and women, shoppers and workers, from middle school to middle age, everyone was running.  Everyone who wasn’t already lying still on the pavement, at least.

[i][color=FF4500]‘The hell?’[/color][/i]

Partly, she was guessing where these monsters could have come from.  Partly, she was angry at the entire damn populace.  Her sister was at home working hard, waiting for her to get these groceries back so she could eat a decent meal after a hard day of practice on what had been a day off for all these people.  And now she was going to be late.

The pigeon turned toward her.  Maybe not her specifically, but it was chasing the crowd that was even now flowing past her.

Samantha dashed to her car, dove behind it, and threw her bags into the passenger seat.  As soon as her hands were free, she was pulling her phone out to dial the emergency line.  She was already planning how to report this in her mind--and her fingers stopped when she realized it would come out as, “Please help, bird-monsters are killing people.”

[i][color=FF4500] ‘Proof first, then?’[/color][/i] she decided.  Carefully, Sam peeked out from behind her car.

The pigeon-thing crashed into the next car over, pecking at the roof to try to get at the person inside.  Sam flinched, but lifted her phone with shaky hands to snap a picture.

Then a man in full-native cosplay jumped at the monster, tomahawk swinging down viciously.  Sam’s eyes shot open--then even wider when the man’s tomahawk, and then the man himself, fell right [i]through[/i] the bird.  He picked himself up with a huff, then cast his glance around until their eyes met.

A shiver ran through Samantha’s entire body.  This was going to be trouble, she already knew it.

In a blink the man was beside her.  [color=B8860B] “You would fight?”[/color] he demanded, holding out his tomahawk.

Sam shook her head.  The dude may be a ghost, and ghosts can’t die; but she had no such insurance.  She had seen the body earlier.

He frowned beneath his wolf-pelt hat.  [color=B8860B]“You would die, then?”[/color]

Sam shook her head even harder.  The whole point was to [i]not[/i] die right now.  That pigeon that was raising a racket a second ago would… Why was it quiet?

[color=B8860B]“Choose.  Fight, or die?”[/color]

Instinct drove Sam as much as the question did.  She jumped forward, one hand closing around the tomahawk’s shaft and the other reaching toward the man’s shoulder, just as the pigeon’s beak came down on the cement behind her.  The man was just as ephemeral as when he struck the monster; but the weapon she felt, the shaft firm in her hand.  As she passed through him, she tucked herself into a forward roll, feeling the hard pavement against bare shoulders and back before coming up on her feet.

She turned to face the monster, weapon in hand.  The tomahawk was gone; instead she held a sword, the blade slightly curved at the end, in both hands.  Two beast-hide gloves wrapped partway up her forearms, ending to reveal a series of tattoos adorning the rest of her arms.  A sudden weight around her hips told her she was wearing pants with a belt, and several things were tied onto it.  Red hair the color of autumn leaves blew out behind her.

All of this Sam didn’t have time to think about.  The bird-person-thing was flapping its arm-wings, kicking up air and preparing to lunge at her.  Sam lunged first, her blade slicing forward into the creature. She felt the weapon connect; then the monstrosity vanished like smoke, wisping away into the air.

[color=B8860B]“We fight,”[/color] came the man’s satisfied voice from behind her.

Sam spun around.  [color=FF4500]“Yes, I fought the thing.  With… whatever all this is.  Where did this sword even-”[/color]

[color=B8860B]“No.  We [i]fight.[/i]”[/color]  The man pointed back up the street.  Two more of the abominations had come out from the adjoining street, their heads twisting left and right to find the prey that had fled ahead of them.

Sam stared at the creatures, stunned.  [color=FF4500]“Okay, seriously, what the hell?”[/color]

[color=B8860B]“We fight,”[/color] the crazy warrior reiterated.  The mutated pigeons had found the people fleeing further down the street and were taking wing, eager to take more lives.

[color=FF4500]“Fine!  But AS we fight, can you please tell me what’s happening?!”[/color]  Sam screamed as she ran into the street between the two parties, sword up and ready.