Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Flying for Fools Part 2

Chleo turned from Will to stare at the ship. Did they use Dancing Lava like she did, and if so where did they find so much? Disappearing was a cool trick. She wondered if they used the same technology that Mic did in his birds. He promised to show her how, and she was looking forward to making him keep it.

“I did use the same technology,” the fashionable man said smiling at her from the ramp, “but I won’t be able to teach you anything unless you come join us.”

“Mic.” She smiled a greeting, taking her first step toward the ship, how crazy was that, and the crew standing inside. The ground shook throwing her off balance. She over-corrected and toppled over.

Scrambling to her feet, she exchanged a quick look with Will. They took off for the ramp as it swayed in the window. Mic disappeared through the back as the others rushed to find something to hold onto. The ramp began to lift as another rumble rocked the tower.

“No,” Chleo shouted. They were their only way out. Another rumble knocked her off her feet. She looked for Will. He was still up forcing his legs to pump over unsteady ground. The ramp rose more as their world tilted and swayed. Was this what it felt like to be in a tower when it fell? She scanned the room for Mops, but he was gone. Only the unconscious guards were left.

She forced herself to her feet, tracking Will as he went. Almost there, he just needed to… jump. He slid to a stop at the edge. She saw the fear tensed across his shoulders. He wouldn’t jump.

Merk bumbled his way down the ramp, slipping and sliding to the edge. He grabbed a metal hold on the ship with one hand and held out the other. Will shook his head. Merk yelled something Chleo couldn’t hear. Will shook his head again. More cajoling, more head shaking, he wouldn’t jump she wanted to yell, but she wasn’t close enough.

She put her head down and focused on balance. All the newfound strength in the world, and bad balance would kill her. By the time she made it to Will’s side, the ship was out of sight. Her mouth dropped, this couldn’t be it. The tower shook again and she forced herself to fall backward. At least, she could balance enough for controlled falls. Maybe she’d master staying on her feet by the time the walls crashed in.

The ship careened by, a sizable object shooting down the ramp and through the window. It slid to a stop next to her. The hover board. She hopped on, forcing it into the air. What she thought was normal pressure, was decidedly not. She shot to the ceiling.

Restricting every movement, she was able to lower it to Will’s side. “Maybe you should drive,” she said scooting to the back.

“Are you sure? You’re better at maneuvers, and it looks like we may need-” A deep resounding crack vibrated up through the stone interrupting him.

“I’m sure. Get on,” she urged. He did.

They zoomed out of the window as the tower crumbled behind them. Chleo spared a moment of pity for the guards left behind. She hoped Mops got out all right.

Something that sounded like firecrackers sent off a sharp patter below them. She didn’t understand until Will started weaving. Gunfire. They were shooting at them. Will weaved and darted trying to find a safe path to fly.

“I still think you should be piloting,” Will shouted back at her after trying a move he was never able to master at the pond. He pulled out of it, almost knocking Chleo from her seat. No one fell, and he avoided the last round of bullets. She considered it a success.

“Trust me, you really don’t,” she shouted back trying to hold on without cracking the wood beneath them. Another spurt of bullets split the air to their right. Will peeled off to the left and spiraled them into a dive.

“Nice.”

“Thanks.”

How were they keeping up? It didn’t take long for Will to fly them over Main City. Following the path they took from the ground would have been impossible. They were traveling too fast for steam wagons and nothing went faster on Luna.

“Uh, Chleo.”

“Hold on, I think I’m onto something.” She didn’t want to lose her train of thought. If they weren’t on the ground then they had to be-

“Chleo,” Will shouted more urgently. She lost the idea.

“What?” She resigned herself to deal with whatever he needed first.

“We’re losing altitude.”

“Wha-” She stopped herself. They were sinking. She watched Will pump the pedal, and still, they sank. She shimmied back trying to make enough room to open the flap and look inside. It had to be a leak.

~*~*~

It was a leak. Will ground his teeth as another patter of gunfire split the air behind them. Chleo should be piloting. She was much better at this type of flying than he was.

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The wooden panel bumped against his back as she tried to find a way to keep them from losing more Dancing Lava. She hissed behind him. He caught her shaking a hand out of the corner of his eye. “Are you ok?” he yelled over the wind wishing he had his cap and goggles. His ears were cold, and his eyes kept watering.

“Yeah,” she grumbled pain lacing her voice. “This would be a lot easier if I had my belt.”

Will felt a pang of sympathy. First her parents, then Timekeepers, her belt felt like salt on a wound. Was there anything this week wouldn’t take from her? He turned the board seconds before the familiar sound of bullets peppered them. Him, this week wouldn’t take him.

The wind shifted. It softened, no longer blasting him in the face. That couldn’t be right. They sank farther, almost level with the buildings. The wind surged again.

Above them, a ramp came into view. Will would have sighed in relief if whoever was following them had stopped shooting. They hadn’t, and he was running out of room to maneuver.

“Grab my hand,” Merk yelled, reaching down from the ramp. The ship couldn’t fly lower without risking a crash with a roof. Will tried. He stretched as far as he could, lifting himself as high as possible without rocking the board. It wasn’t enough.

The leak still flowed, and they sank lower between the buildings. Gunfire sounded behind them, and he swerved. The board sank faster. They were hit.

The buzz of Chleo’s watch zipped by his ear and straight into Merk’s outstretched hand. He held fast and started to reel them in. Another patter of gunfire sounded to their side forcing him to careen out of the way. Merk glared at him.

“Sorry,” he shouted back.

“To the side,” Chleo muttered out loud. It was her thinking voice. Suddenly, the chain she used to take out more guards than he’d care to admit slashed through the air to their right. Something smashed then sparked. “They shimmer,” she shouted to him.

Drones, like Mic’s birds… that was how they were keeping up, then. He searched the air for anything resembling a shimmer.

They were almost to the ramp when he spotted it. “10 o’clock,” he shouted, and the chain rattled past his ear. Smash and spark, it was a direct hit. Only a few meters away, they would make it.

The air shimmered to their… everywhere. Chleo’s chain clanked and spun smashing everything it could in front, but there were too many. The ones in back had free rein to pepper them with bullets. He listened to them clink off of Chleo’s cloak as Merk yanked them into the cargo bay.

The ramp began to close. Will watched Merk sight in the first few with what looked like a gun. He blasted five apart with… light?… before it latched shut.

“You two alright?” he asked turning to look them over. Will turned to check on Chleo.

She stared down at her board, eyes blank, as the last wisps of purple liquid leaked out. As it rose it cooled and fell to the floor. He couldn’t spot any injuries.

Will checked himself, no extra holes, no visible blood. His arm was stiff and ached with more than a little pain. Apparently, jerking around on a hover board wasn’t the best way to heal a gunshot wound. Still, it could have been worse.

“Sorry for the delay,” Merk said after checking them over himself. “We had some technical difficulties.” At their blank looks, he tried again. “We were hacked.” Will blinked at him. From Merk’s reaction, Chleo did, too.

“Oh for the love of Lux, someone took over our computers, and we couldn’t fly anywhere. Mic fixed it, and left them a nasty surprise where their tracker was supposed to be.” He gave an evil little grin. “We should be in atmo by now, and they’ll be none the wiser.”

“Who?” Chleo asked.

“Hm?”

“Who took over your com… commuters? No one on Luna would be able to. We don’t know what they are.”

“Computers,” Merk corrected off-hand. “It was… well, it was an old acquaintance.”

Will’s brow furrowed at Chleo’s flinch. He was just happy they were in one piece, and from the little he understood in Merk’s explanation, safe. She nodded toward Merk as if she expected his answer. Will couldn’t help but wonder again what had happened to her in the lab.

Merk shook his head and grumbled about lunas not knowing a flame from a light switch. “Follow me,” he said heading toward the back of the room.

Will turned to Chleo and watched her try to pull her gaze away from the dead hover board. In a borrowed cloak with neither belt nor goggle in sight, she looked different, familiar but out of place. She straightened her shoulders, turning to meet his eyes. Uncomfortable, the word stuck to her like heated Dancing Lava. She looked uncomfortable. He took her hand. Together they turned to follow where the Neon led.

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