The Missing

by Kate O'Hearn

  A second punch put a fist-size hole in it. Jake reached up and started to pull at the edges of the broken safety glass. It was coming apart in tiny pieces—but with the car wobbling on its damaged wheel, his arm and wrist were knocked against the breaking safety glass and cut to ribbons. But Jake didn’t feel the pain or care about the blood. All that mattered was getting out.

  Aurora reached through the hole. “Jake, take my hand!”

  Just then the Mimics in the front started shouting in their own language and the driver turned another corner sharply. Aurora’s arm was badly cut as she was thrown to the side. But despite her wounds, she held on to the car.

  “Aurora!” Jake cried. He increased his efforts to break the glass. Lying down on his back, he used his legs to start kicking at the window.

  Pegasus was just above the car and swooped in close to keep Aurora from falling off. When she was righted again, she reached in for Jake.

  Just as she touched him, the Mimic in the passenger seat turned and pressed its hand against the cage. A tendril shot past Jake’s head and struck Aurora’s arm. The reaction was instantaneous. Aurora’s eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed.

  When the car turned another corner, her limp body rolled off the trunk of the car and onto the street.

  “Aurora!” Jake cried.

  The police car directly behind them was able to swerve to avoid hitting Aurora, but the car behind it didn’t have time and struck Aurora, running her over, before it crashed. The third car continued its pursuit.

  Above them, Pegasus looked back at Aurora in the middle of the road and hesitated, then turned back to Jake again.

  “Pegasus, go to Aurora!” Jake shouted through the hole in the glass. “Save her!”

  When Pegasus hesitated again, Jake renewed his efforts to break more of the glass and get out. When he put his head and then shoulders through, he heard the Mimic call, “You are not going anywhere, spawn!”

  Moments later, a tendril touched him, and the weakness struck. Jake couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. His last sight was of Pegasus flying behind the police car before his vision faded to black.

  33

  THERE WERE TOO MANY TITANS and Olympians to safely enter the plant at once. Instead Astraea held up the ring and called, “Take us to the large parking lot outside the Reynolds Specialty Steel plant in Westward Junction, Detroit, Michigan, Earth—nighttime.” The Solar Stream opened, and the large gathering of prisoners started to run into it.

  Astraea traveled beside Zephyr. Darek was on Astraea’s other side, and Belis was directly behind her. When Astraea looked back at the snake, she was surprised to see Angitia sitting on Belis and riding him the same way she rode Zephyr. She tapped her friend on the wing and pointed to Angitia.

  “There is something seriously wrong with that girl!” Zephyr shouted into Astraea’s ear.

  Astraea laughed and patted Zephyr’s neck. She looked around at the immense gathering of Titans and Olympians around them. She realized that Finan and Nanif were still draped around her grandfather’s neck. When they arrived at the plant, she planned to use the ring again to get them safely home.

  Looking at everyone, Astraea felt a profound sense of relief knowing that they had so many fighters ready to take on the Mimics. Her eyes scanned the large gathering, searching for her brothers. But she couldn’t see them as there were just too many people blocking the way.

  Arriving on Earth, Astraea stepped free of the Solar Stream to discover the ground had changed completely. It was covered in white and the air was much colder. Just ahead of them, there were many vehicles with flashing lights. The loading dock doors to the plant were wide open.

  Shouts and screams were coming from inside. Astraea looked back at the others and immediately noticed Belis. The snake was black and hissing. That could mean only one thing.…

  “Mimics!” Astraea shouted. “There are Mimics inside!”

  Despite not having weapons, the Titans and Olympian prisoners charged forward and into battle.

  Astraea saw that some of the humans that had been brought against their will to Titus were charging forward with the Titans—joining the fight. Others were running away from the area.

  “Wait, please!” Astraea cried after the departing humans.

  “Astraea, leave them be. They are home!” Hyperion shouted. “Come!”

  Following behind her grandparents, Astraea, Zephyr, and Darek ran forward to the building, and into a nightmare. Inside there were Titans and Olympians holding weapons and charging at what looked like humans in strange uniforms. But when a centaur struck one of the uniformed humans with an arrow, they started to melt.

  Across the plant, Shadow Titans were fighting with other Shadows. While behind them, the Solar Stream opened, and more Mimics and Shadow Titans arrived.

  Belis was sliding through the gathering, biting any Mimic he came upon. Angitia was still on his back, struggling to hold on to the snake’s slippery scales.

  When a tendril shot out of a Mimic and struck her, Angitia went down. This enraged Belis further, and he became unstoppable. Astraea watched in disbelief as the snake moved quickly through the plant, able to distinguish between Titan, Olympian, human, and Mimic. Everyone but the Mimics were spared the snake’s rage.

  Just in front of her, a middle-aged woman in a black uniform was holding up a weapon, but her hands were shaking as she watched the battle unfold. A Mimic charged at her, and just as a tendril shot out of it, a Titan knocked the woman away and took the tendril in her place. He went down before her.

  Astraea drew her venom-covered dagger and joined the fight. Entering a run, she sped past Mimics, slicing them lightly with her blade. That was all it took to bring them down.

  Across the floor, she saw Tryn and his sister. They were each holding armfuls of venomed swords and were distributing them to the new arrivals.

  As the fight intensified, the floor became slippery with Mimic goo. Some Titans that were still wearing sandals slipped in the residue and were instantly rendered unconscious when they fell. Others would then pull them free.

  Astraea was unsure how long the fight went on. But eventually the Solar Stream closed, and no new Mimics or Shadow Titans arrived. With only those left in the plant to fight, the Titans and Olympians were able to quickly dispatch them and pick up their controllers for the Shadow Titans to stop the ferocious hollow warriors.

  A hushed silence filled the room when the last Mimic fell. Those left standing helped moved the unconscious Titans and Olympians away from the danger of touching any residue. Others gathered whatever they could to start clearing away the dangerous mess.

  The Detroit Titans and Olympians greeted the new arrivals loudly and with much emotion. Some families were reunited, and there was excitement in the room.

  After a few minutes, the human police officers emerged from their hiding spots. Their eyes were wide as they stared at the assorted Titans and Olympians. Each officer had a radio on their side that was blaring information.

  Finally the female officer who was nearly downed by a Mimic came forward. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she had put her weapon away. “Excuse me,” she said with authority. “Would someone please tell me what just happened here? What are you? Where did you come from, and what were those things that looked like police officers?”

  Tryn came forward first. “My father is human and from Earth. He was a CRU agent.”

  There were gasps from some of the officers who recognized the name of the secret government agency. Others didn’t react at all.

  The officer came up to him. She frowned as she inspected his silver skin. “What are you?”

  Tryn sighed and looked back at the large gathering. “Well, unless you know mythology, you won’t understand. But these are Titans and Olympians. And me? I’m what you might call an alien. But we are not hostile. However, those creatures that looked like your officers are very hostile. They are spreading throughout the universe and are invading and taking over wo
rlds. We are here”—Tryn swept his arm back to include everyone—“because we are fighting them. We call them Mimics. They have plans to invade Earth once they finish the takeover of our worlds.”

  Another officer came forward. It was a young man with a mix of fear and anger on his face. His wide eyes were staring at everyone, including the large gathering of centaurs. Then he saw Zephyr and gasped. “You’re Olympians?”

  “And Titans,” Tryn said.

  “So—so you came here to invade us first?” he demanded.

  Tryn frowned. “No! We are here to regroup, so we can go back to our worlds to fight them. We are not your enemy. We are going to defend Earth as much as our worlds.”

  “This is insane,” the officer said. “Why should we believe you?”

  A voice that Astraea recognized called from the group. It was the clown. “Because I’m Jason Carpenter from Brooklyn, New York. I’m also known as the Great Mr. Bo-Bo the Clown, and I’ve seen what those monsters the Mimics can do—up close and personal. They’ve been abducting people from Earth and taking them to their world, Titus, to distract the Titans while they took over. It was working too, until this kid figured it out.” The clown pointed to Astraea. “Come here, kid.” When Astraea did, the clown put his arm around her. “She’s the reason I’m back home. Why a lot of us humans are home again. Believe me, I wanted to hate these people, and at first I did. That is until I saw what was happening and what they were up against. What we’re all up against. These Mimics are bad news—really, really bad news.”

  “Why should we believe you?” the younger officer demanded.

  “What? Are you blind?” the clown cried. “Didn’t you see what just happened here? How that unconscious Titan just saved this cop from the Mimics?”

  They all looked over to the Titan who had taken the tendril for the policewoman. He was slowly coming around and holding his head.

  Then the clown continued. “Those Mimics looked like cops. But to do that, they gotta touch the original cop to copy them and learn what they know. Somewhere out there”—he pointed through the loading dock doors—“your police buddies have been hurt by them. If I were you, I’d start looking for them and stop worrying about the Titans in here. Trust me, those creatures ain’t our friends. Now that they’re here on Earth, we’re in trouble big-time!”

  Astraea started up at the clown in disbelief. She’d guessed he would be one of the first to run away when they made it back to Earth. Instead, he’d charged in here to fight the Mimics.

  “Thank you for staying,” she said to him.

  “Don’t sweat it, kid. Those Mimics really got me mad. Now that they’re here, too, we gotta work together against them.”

  Astraea looked around the room. She could see Tryn and Triana. Her father was among the unconscious who were slowly recovering. Not far away she saw Cylus and Render with their bows. But she didn’t see her mother or Jake.

  “Tryn,” she called. “Where are Jake and my mom?”

  “They took him,” Tryn said. “When the Mimics got here, they looked like them—” He pointed to the police. “They said they were going to take him back to his family. After that, the Mimics were exposed, and things went crazy. By the time I got downstairs, he was already gone.” Tryn looked at the officers. “Was it your people that took him?”

  The female officer shook her head. “I don’t think so. We were called here to find an abduction victim and his captors. We were told to expect trouble, but I never expected any of this.”

  “Somehow the Mimics arranged all this,” Jupiter said to Astraea. “They are more clever than I imagined possible—which makes them much more dangerous. We tried to fight them, but they got away with Jake. Your mother and Pegasus flew after them, but we haven’t heard anything since. That was some time ago. I fear something might have happened. We must organize a search party.”

  Astraea’s eyes went wide with fear. Jake taken and her mother and Pegasus missing? “Wh-why? Why would they take Jake? We have to find them!”

  “We do not know why, but we will find them,” Jupiter said.

  The female officer held up her radio. “Pegasus. I know that name from stories. Aurora, too. Are you saying that is who is out there?”

  Astraea nodded.

  “Wait,” another officer called. “What about that horse?” He pointed at Zephyr. “That’s Pegasus right there, isn’t it? It’s white and has got wings just like the stories say.”

  “What?” Zephyr cried furiously. “Did he just call me Pegasus? Everyone stand back. I’m going to stomp that dirty human into a puddle!”

  “Zephyr, calm down,” Astraea said. “This isn’t the time. Mom, Jake, and Pegasus are missing!”

  An officer at the back of the group came forward. “I’ve been listening to reports on my radio. There’s been a big police chase through the city. They said there’s a flying horse and a winged woman chasing a police car. It’s turned into a battle with a lot of property damage. The woman was struck by a car. Now the winged horse is fighting anyone who comes near her.”

  “What?” Astraea cried. “That’s my mother. She’s been hurt?”

  The officer turned up the radio, and everyone could hear urgent voices calling updates and asking for orders.

  Suddenly a voice over the radio shouted, “Unit forty-nine, stand down, stand down. That stallion is destroying everything! We need backup. Someone call in the military before that crazy horse brings down a building!”

  Zephyr pushed through the gathering and ran up to Astraea. “Get on. We’ve got to rescue Aurora and save Pegasus!”

  “I am coming too,” Jupiter said. He looked at the officer. “We are here to help Earth. But have no illusions: if your people harm Pegasus or Aurora, you will have me to answer to! Now tell your people to leave them be.”

  “They won’t listen to us over the radio,” the female officer said. “But they might if we take you there.”

  Jupiter nodded and turned to Astraea. “You and Zephyr head out first. We’ll be right behind you.”

  When Astraea climbed up on Zephyr, she asked the policewoman. “Please tell me, which direction do we fly?”

  “Uh, um, downtown,” the officer said. Then she pointed. “It’s that direction.”

  “Wait, I’m coming too!” Tryn called.

  Astraea looked at him. “Where’s your skateboard?”

  “Upstairs. There’s no time to get it.” He looked at Zephyr. “Can you carry us both?”

  “Yes. Now shut up and climb on!”

  34

  THE GATHERING PARTED AS ZEPHYR charged forward. She was barely out the loading dock doors when she leaped up into the air and spread her wings.

  Tryn was seated behind Astraea with his arms tightly around her. Behind them, the police were running out of the building and to their cars. Astraea looked back and saw Jupiter and Pluto among them.

  “They’re all coming with us!” Astraea called.

  “I don’t trust the police,” Tryn said. “Their duty is to Earth. They have Jupiter and Pluto now. If they try to keep them as well as Aurora and Pegasus, it will turn into a deadly battle.”

  “They wouldn’t dare,” Zephyr said. “But if they do try it, I will stomp everyone there. This time I mean it!”

  “Me too,” Astraea agreed.

  They flew in the direction the officer had directed. But with the snow coming down heavily, visibility was limited, even with their Titan vision.

  Zephyr was flying at top speed and keeping low as they flew over the rooftops. Ahead was the blazing glow from the lights of the city. Astraea had never seen anything like it before. But even the beauty of the city didn’t matter, as fear for her mother obscured every other thought.

  “She’ll be all right,” Tryn said reassuringly. “Your mother is strong.”

  “But what if they’ve hurt her?”

  “Then I’ll stomp them for that, too!” Zephyr called.

  Astraea turned and looked back at Tryn. “Why do you thin
k they took Jake? What do they want with him?”

  “I don’t know,” Tryn said.

  “Maybe Jake wasn’t their only target,” Zephyr called. “They might have wanted Jake and Nesso together to understand their relationship and discover how Jake and Nesso communicate.”

  “Why?” Astraea called.

  “How should I know,” Zephyr replied. “It was just an idea.”

  Zephyr’s words sent a chill down Astraea’s spine. She was horrified to imagine Jake and Nesso in the hands of the Mimics. What would they do to them? The thought was too terrible to consider.

  “There!” Tryn called. “Look at those blue and red flashing lights. Those are the like ones that came to the plant. They are the police.”

  “Look how many there are!” Astraea cried as she saw a whole long street filled with flashing lights. A lot of people stood around watching what was happening. Astraea strained to see her mother in the madness.

  As they got closer, the crowd stared in shock. “There’s Pegasus!” Zephyr cried.

  Pegasus was on the street, rearing high with his wings open. He was surrounded by police. Their weapons were drawn and pointed at the stallion.

  “There’s Mom down on the ground!” Astraea cried. Her mother was lying on the wet snowy ground in front of Pegasus. One of her wings was at a bad angle, and there was red staining the snow. The stallion was kicking to keep the humans away from her.

  “Mom!” Astraea choked. “She’s not moving. Why isn’t she moving?”

  “She must be hurt,” Zephyr called. “But we’re going to save her.”

  “How?” Astraea called. “Look how many people and police officers are there. How are we supposed to get her?”

  “I have an idea,” Tryn called, then pointed. “Zephyr, please land on that roof over there.”

  Half a block from where Pegasus was rearing over Aurora, Zephyr touched down on a large, empty roof. Tryn and Astraea slid off her back.