Ray laid Cletus and Abby down on the roof of a downtown apartment, on chaise lounges he had pilfered from a balcony a few floors below. The owner of the absconded lounges protested through the glass doors, too terrified to confront the floating demon directly. He contacted the local authorities who assured the frightened citizen they were already well on the case.
Abby was the first to stir, blinking slowly back into consciousness, her focus resolving on the news helicopters wheeling overhead.
“Where are we?” she shot to her feet.
“I don’t know,” Ray replied.
“What are those things?”
“My guess is some sort of primitive hovercraft.”
“Primitive?” Abby looked at him askance.
“Fair enough.”
Abby stepped to the lip of the roof, looked out and gasped, “It’s a city of towers.”
“Yeah, it’s great. I can get great air, here. I can practically fly.”
“Are we still on Earth?” Abby goggled at Ray.
“I can only assume. The two inhabitants I saw looked human, but then there was this big bug and these screaming, electromagnetic constructs.”
Three police helicopters roared in and hovered low around the rooftop.
“Get on your knees and place your hands behind your head,” one of the choppers shouted.
“What’s all this racket,” Cletus grumbled in his sleep.
“Grandpa,” Abby knelt down, “Get up, something's happening.”
“Get on your knees and place your hands behind your heads, now, or we will open fire.” the chopper shouted louder.
Ray rolled his eyes, “C’mon. We’re at ‘open fire’ already?”
“This is your final warning.”
“Fine,” Ray shot his hands out toward the chopper and it began to wobble and then dropped like a brick a that recalled it was a brick.
The chopper crashed to the street and burst into flames that licked up the side of the building.
“Oh shit,” Ray muttered.
The remaining two helicopters began firing on them. Abby hurled a fireball that impacted with the chopper's tail severing it. The chopper spun, collided with the other and they fell toward the rooftop. Ray sheltered Cletus and Abby as he braced for an impact that never came. The choppers were help suspended above them. The chopper crews looked at Ray, faces twisted in confusion. Ray shrugged back and shook his head. The choppers drifted aside and alighted gently on the ground below. Above them hovered the Starcrossed.
“Let’s hear it for Luna’s tractor beam technique,” Wolf’s voice blasted from the PA, “Director Raphael.”
“Director?” Ray frowned.
“Not director. Just Raphael. Anyway, get up here. We’ll discuss things then.”
“Who are you?”
“Wolfram Jones.”
“Never heard of you.”
“You wouldn’t have yet.”
“Yet?”
“Just get in.”
“And why should I trust you?”
“Well, there are about twenty three heavily armed members of the local human constabulary currently huffing and puffing their way up the steps. You trust them more?”
“I don’t trust either of you,” Ray grabbed ahold of Abby and Cletus and soared off the roof.
“Cut me some slack, man,” Wolf yelled through the PA.
The Starcrossed chased after Ray as he bobbed and weaved down the narrow corridors of the Center City streets, the wings of the ship coming inches from the buildings on either side.
“Do you know what the fuck you’re doing?” Cheryl pled from the passenger seat behind Wolf, clutching the cushion.
“Best pilot in the galaxy, man,” Wolf replied.
“Sure you are.”
“I let him have that one,” Luna said, “I’m the best sniper though.”
“You wish,” Wolf stuck his tongue out at Luna, the ship grazed the stone facade of a skyscraper.
“Watch where you’re going,” Cheryl the back of Wolf’s seat.
“I got it,” Wolf said.
Sophie giggled at Cheryl.
“Just you wait, Fischer.”
“Ray?” Wolf said through the PA, “If you don’t trust me, I think we someone you will. Sophie, introduce yourself.”
“If he doesn’t recognize you why would he recognize me?” Sophie asked.
“Because he stalks your family,” Wolf replied and stabbed his finger at the PA mic.
“Oh, uh, hi Ray,” Sophie stammered, “My name is Sophie Fischer…”
Ray sheared to the left and made a U-turn.
Wolf yanked the stick and the Starcross shot straight up and rotated 180 degrees, then shot back down another urban canyon.
“I think he needs a visual. Luna, dear” Wolf sang, “Take Grammy Sophie topside.”
“What? Topside?” Sophie yowled.
“C’mon, Soph,” Luna said warmly, “It’s easy. You just have to get used to the mag boots.”
“We’re still moving, really fast,” Sophie protested as Luna took her to the lift.
Cheryl giggled at Sophie.
***
Luna and Sophie emerged on the top of the vessel taking stiff, tentative steps as the mag boots snapped to the surface. Sophie held her arms out and stepped away from Luna.
“This isn’t that bad,” Sophie shouted over the rushing air, her black hair whipping over her face, “Really windy though.”
“Just be careful,” Luna hollered back, “It might get bumpy.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Get his attention.”
Sophie nocked her bow and fired a light arrow between Ray’s wings.
“We’re not duck hunting.”
“You said get his attention.”
“Not in a way that could lead to accidental death.”
“I’m a pretty good shot myself.”
She let another arrow fly that sailed through Ray’s line of sight, inches from his face. He wheeled back around and Abby fired off a volley of fireballs at Sophie and Luna.
***
“Oh, what now?” Wolf grumbled as the vessel shook from the impacts.
“The girl dangling from his right claw is throwing fire at us,” Cheryl replied.
“Fire, huh?” Wolf squinted through the glass at the red-haired girl, throwing fire as she swung from Ray’s talon, “Curious.”
Wolf stood and began walking out of the cabin.
“Where the hell are you going?” Cheryl yelled, wildly gesticulating toward the flight controls.
“This has got to end before someone gets killed. Take the stick, Cher. ”
“What? Are you kidding?”
“Yeah,” Wolf snorted, “The computer has helm control. Computer, try to get under Director Raphael.”
Wolf grabbed a rifle from the gun locker and ascended the lift.
The Starcrossed flew low, inches above the roofs of the cars in traffic below. It swooped under Ray, Wolf took aim and fired. A dull, low pop was heard and Ray fell to the surface of the Starcrossed.
“Wolf, what did you do?” Luna darted to Wolf as fast as mag boots would allow.
“Concussion bolt,” Wolf replied, “Let’s get them inside and restrained before they wake up pissed off.”
Comments (0)
See all