"Are you out of your mind?"
"Do not fear. I will catch you."
"I'm not scared! Who said anything about being scared? I just have a healthy attachment to all my limbs, and I believe they feel the same way about me. If--"
"Stop stalling!" said Saoirse.
Phoenix let out a sigh and took in a deep breath. Let's go, champ! Phoenix threw one leg over the side of the truck and steadied himself as Saoirse drew in closer. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the truck shuddered underneath him. Breathing out slowly, he swept his gaze towards Duke, who still wrestled with the controls.
Phoenix looked ahead of him and saw Saoirse's outstretched hand. The space between them might as well have been the pits of hell. She offered sanctuary. She offered life.
A black tail erupted from the sand like Lucifer himself. It smacked the bike, knocking it sideways. Saoirse tried to right the handlebars so the bike pointed straight, but Phoenix knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was a lost cause.
"Saoirse, your hand!"
Phoenix threw half his body over the side of the truck and made a grab for Saoirse's hand. He felt her iron grip close around his hand as he caught hold of her. His muscles strained with the effort of keeping her from falling into the darkness. Phoenix felt like he was going to tear in half; one hand gripped the truck and his body bridged the gap to where Saoirse was suspended from the other.
He needed to throw her inside. He yelled in frustration, anger, and effort, tossing her back inside the truck. He lay in a heap on the floor, his heart threatening to explode, his body covered in sweat.
Phoenix looked at his hands in awe. What he had just done... It should have been impossible. It didn't make sense. He didn't have the strength–nor the speed. But... Witnessing the earlier events in slow motion...and now this... Something was definitely going on. And he knew who would give him answers to his questions.
"You okay?" Phoenix asked, looking over at Saoirse.
She panted like an Olympic sprinter. She looked across at Phoenix and nodded slowly.
Phoenix's gaze lingered on her wild eyes, dazzled with excitement, and moved down to her lips, parted as she sucked in oxygen. They kept moving down to the lines of her throat, so sleek and elegant. His gaze continued all way down to her parted jacket that showed-
"We should get moving," said Saoirse.
"Huh?"
"We should get moving. Staying here means certain death."
"I think being on here is now our only option," Phoenix said. He looked towards the cockpit and noticed it was empty. Where had Duke gone?
Shit.
He wanted to pay that fucker back for everything that he had put L through, but it seemed the little weasel had abandoned ship. Phoenix saw a hover bike speed off into the distance with two people on it. That was a problem he would have to deal with later. They had other things to worry about.
"Can you drive this thing?" Phoenix asked.
"I can operate most vehicles. This one seems simple enough."
"Good--"
Phoenix pulled Saoirse down as a hover truck sped past them, firing at the pair. Plasma flashes and bolts zipped over their heads as they ducked for cover. The light display they offered reminded Phoenix of fireflies on a summer night. The truck sped past, continuing on its journey towards the lights of the city.
"Drive," Phoenix said, moving towards the back of the truck. He manned the gun turret and looked down at the buttons in front of him. Numbers and odd shapes. Buttons he wasn't sure of. Should he touch them or not? They taunted him.
"Err.."
"Problem?" Saoirse shouted over her shoulder.
"Well, not a problem per se. More of a misunderstanding of technology."
"What?"
"I don't know what any of these mean! What do I push for it to go boom-boom?"
"There should be a handle in front of you; use that to move the turret. Next to it is a big red button. Press that to fire. Simple!"
"Easy for you to say," Phoenix mumbled.
He moved the turret, trying to lock onto the vehicle way out in front of them.
"Keep her steady!"
"Would you like to drive? Seeing as you mastered the gun controls so easily," said Saoirse.
Phoenix began to respond but swallowed his reply. He squinted through the sights once more. He wanted to make this shot count. He took a deep breath, and his hand began to descend towards the red button.
That was when the sand exploded and a monstrous head sailed up through the air, swallowing the hover truck in front of them whole.
51
L walked behind Freyan, whose senses they were using to avoid the enemy. He told L he had sneaked in and avoided guard after guard because he could pinpoint where each one was. Once he was in the building, finding L and Kai had been only a matter of time.
"You could have at least knocked out a few guards, so our task wasn't so hard," said L.
"I am a Bloodless pacifist. I can't harm, only heal and cure," said Freyan.
"I am a man of Soul, my sand brother. But I still want payback. Revenge. My hands itch for it," Kai said.
L told him, "Kai, I say this with all love, but when the fighting starts I think it's best if you don't get involved. Fighting was never your strong point."
Freyan held his hand out for everyone to stop. Turning his head left to right, he didn't make a sound. Closing one eye, he studied something that neither Kai nor L could see.
"What are you doing?" asked L.
"I have placed micro-cameras around this building. It allows me to see while remaining hidden. It appears the few guards stationed around this building are not the most vigilant. That works in our favour. But still something troubles me," said Freyan.
"What should trouble you, is that you're so white you literally glow in the dark. How are we ever going to manage to escape when you shine like a desert beacon?" L asked.
Freyan stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look back at her. She couldn't decipher his expression. "That is not what troubles me."
"Well, it should."
"No. What troubles me is that I have not seen the mercenary known as Rustem. I would assume that he would be stationed here," said Freyan.
"My capture was just a ploy to get Phoenix to act. He doesn't want me or Kai. He wants Phoenix's head. That's why we must get to my ship, so we can save everyone. Once we are safely on board, everything will be all right," L said.
"How can you be so sure? One ship doesn't change the outcome of anything. One ship is just that. One ship."
"Freyan, Freyan, Freyan," L said, patting the Bloodless on the shoulder with each word. "It is more than a ship. It is so much more. It is my masterpiece. It is my joy. It will change everything."
"Shit!"
There was nowhere to go. There was no way to escape. The monstrous scaled body encompassed their whole view. They couldn't avoid it. They couldn't swerve around it. It seemed as unmovable as the ground they hovered above.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
They were going to hit it. They were going to crash into it, and there was nothing they could do.
Phoenix watched the massive black body approach in slow motion. He looked all the way up towards the head and saw the horror that was its mouth. The wide circle had acted like a vacuum and simply sucked the other hover truck in. Large barbels hung down on either side of its head, moving of their own accord. No eyes. No nose. Just a body and a mouth. The ultimate killing machine.
It was beautiful, in a way; awe-inspiring.
Phoenix let out a sigh and looked up towards the stars. Distant lights winked at him with the mischievous allure of adventures yet to be had. People yet to see and women yet to please. Creatures like the dust worm that would boggle his mind. Places where diamonds were as common as sand.
He would miss all of that if he died here. All that would be missed if he didn't figure out a way to survive.
When has life been anything other than alway
s surviving? When has it ever been easy?
Phoenix felt the sides of his lips twitch. Would he have it any other way?
Something nudged his consciousness. What was that noise?
Phoenix saw Saoirse yelling something at him. It came to him muffled, slowed, like a tape player with dying batteries. Why was she in such a panic? What was the urgency?
Oh. They were about to hit the giant dust worm and die.
That would panic anyone.
"Pho... Phoen... Phoeni... Phoenix!"
Phoenix once again felt what he could only describe as cold water trickling from the back of his brain down to his spine. As it did, the events around him came rushing back into focus.
"Stay on course!"
"But we will hit--"
"Just do it!"
"Phoenix, we'll hit that thing!"
"Saoirse. Do you trust me?"
"No!" Saoirse said with a shake of the head and a wide-eyed stare.
Phoenix tipped back his head and bellowed in laughter. "Then I need you to start! Stay on course. Full speed ahead, beautiful--"
"Don't call me--"
"Don't change course. Keep her steady!"
Saoirse looked over her shoulder at him, lips pressed thin, eyes screwed almost shut. She gave him a single nod then turned back to the controls.
Phoenix hoped this would work. He hoped that his foolhardiness would pay off.
Shit. What other choice do I have?
His finger hovered over the fire button, waiting until they were close enough. He waited until he knew the worm wouldn't be able to turn.
His mouth was dry, his palms sweaty. His heart echoed a beat. Once. Twice. He held his breath until there was no escape for the worm–or them. This had to work. It had to.
"Argh!" Phoenix slammed his finger down and held it pinned to the dashboard. The gun turret kicked and bucked backwards with the force of the shells it expelled. The blinding flashes emitting from it looked like dying stars in the darkness. Again and again, shells were vomited from the barrel and launched straight and true towards the worm's dark flesh.
Phoenix tried to keep his aim as true as could be. He looked on in grim determination as the shells began to punch a hole through the creature. Each shell helped blast the pathway for them a little wider, a little deeper.
A shriek that made Phoenix's blood run cold erupted from the worm and echoed over the sands.
They were closing in on their target. The hole Phoenix had created didn't appear to go all the way through.
They had to make it.
Phoenix brought his eye to the sight and adjusted. He fired again.
As they approached the black hole he had created, he swallowed. He couldn't see the other side. And the creature was collapsing back down.
Into the valley we go!
"Keep her steady," Phoenix screamed.
He kept his finger pressed against the fire button as they entered into darkness. He couldn't tell if they were moving or not. He couldn't tell if they were alive or not.
As the hover truck moved through the worm, like a boat through the rivers of Hades, Phoenix held his breath.
Then they were out.
Starlight from above greeted them like lost friends. As they erupted from the body of the worm, Phoenix eased his finger off the button and breathed a sigh of relief.
Phoenix looked around at his surroundings, disgusted at the sight. Lumps of worm meat covered the interior of the truck, coating it with slime. He pulled a piece from his shoulder and pulled a face as it left white strings of slime behind. He dropped it to the floor where it slapped wetly against the metal.
"What did I tell you, eh?" Phoenix said, smiling at Saoirse.
The look she gave him pinned his soul to the wall.
"Are we not alive?" he asked.
Saoirse said nothing as she wiped slime off her face.
"I saw an opportunity and I took it, Saoirse. That's what all great leaders do. A thank you wouldn't go amiss."
Her nostrils flared. She turned around with a flick of her hair and made a beeline for the city lights.
52
Phoenix surveyed the city gates as they approached. They were wide open–blasted open by some sort of weapon used to gain entry.
That's not good.
A noise to Phoenix's left drew his attention to an approaching bike. He turned the gun turret towards it but saw a green hand wave his way in panic.
Phoenix kept the gun aimed at the approaching bike. A grin split his face and he fired at the bike, aiming so the shot went wide, and heard a yell of fear ring out in the desert air.
"Hey! Hey! It's me. It's me, Phoenix. What the shit? Y'all blind?" Plowstow yelled.
"Plowstow, is that you?" Phoenix said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Who the fuck do you think it is?" Plowstow said, now riding beside them.
"Well, you never--"
"I ain't heard a peep out of none of you! No one holocomed old Plowstow to see how he's doing, no one came to my rescue when I was outnumbered fifty to one. I bet I didn't even cross your mind."
"Fifty to one," Phoenix said with a raised eyebrow.
"You don't believe me? Ask that she-demon you got with you. I saw her riding the opposite way when I was asking for help."
Saoirse held her head high, nose in the air, and didn't turn round to speak to Plowstow. "If you can't handle two to one odds then maybe this crew isn't for you."
"Two to one?" Phoenix said, his eyebrow still raised.
"Err... Well, you know... Err... With so much action going on, plasma bolts flying back and forth and the like, you can see how folk can get confused. And...and..." Plowstow allowed the sentence to die in his throat as his orange plaits flapped in the wind.
Phoenix turned his gaze back towards the city. All was silent. All appeared peaceful. But he knew what they said about appearances.
"Keep an eye out for any movement on the top of the walls."
Saoirse and Plowstow both nodded. An eerie calm rolled out from the city. The silence spoke volumes of what was about to come.
As they closed the distance, the ball of tension in Phoenix's stomach grew. No shots had been fired but he knew that something wasn't right.
"Right. We've taken out most of Duke's men but not all. Plus we still have Rustem to deal with. Everyone stay sharp. Everyone be prepared," said Phoenix.
"The destination?" Saoirse asked.
Phoenix once again looked up towards the approaching walls and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "No matter what we do, we must first take care of Duke and Rustem. The only place we're sure to find them is at that warehouse."
"Phoenix, I'm all up for revenge and all, but ain't it easier to just skip town and run?" Plowstow asked.
"Do you always want to be looking over your shoulder? Are you okay with always wondering when the next shot or knife in the back will be coming? Do you really want to live a life like that?"
"That's the only life I know," Plowstow whispered.
"Then maybe it's time for a change." Phoenix cast his gaze sideways at Plowstow and wondered if the Orcian would turn tail and run. It didn't really matter at this point; no matter what happened, Phoenix was in it till the end.
All was quiet as they made their way through the city gates. Nothing stirred. Nothing moved.
Phoenix's gaze darted back and forth but he couldn't see their enemies. He knew they were about. He could feel it in the itch he got at the base of his skull.
These fuckers are going to make it hard on me.
The city streets were empty of all life as they hovered forward. Metal shutters protected shop window after shop window. The floating light orbs were all switched off, casting long shadows for itchy trigger fingers. Even the souls who called the alleyways their home seemed to have all disappeared.
Wind kicked up sand from the main street and blew it their way.
"Where is everyone?" Plowstow asked.
That was when
the shots started to descend from the heavens.
53
"Take cover!" Phoenix didn't know where the shots were coming from. He ducked low inside the truck as blast after blast hit the side. "Saoirse, get us the hell out of here!"
Phoenix was launched backwards as the truck sped forward. Plowstow darted ahead of them, riding through back alleys and taking corners too sharply. Phoenix ducked once again as a plasma bolt hit inches from his foot.
Left. Rooftop. Ducking behind a chimney-looking structure.
Phoenix spun the gun turret around and sighted the target. Firing a shell towards his attacker, Phoenix smiled as most of the roof was blown up. Rubble rained down on the street below.
A plasma bolt from his right scorched the dashboard near his hand. Swinging the turret towards the oncoming shots he saw a face peek out from behind a window.
Phoenix aimed, fired, and the window was no more.
Saoirse took a corner hard, tilting the truck almost on its side. Phoenix felt thuds under the vehicle that shook it. Black smoke began to billow from the back.
"Do you want the good news or the bad news?" Phoenix asked.
"Does it matter?" Saoirse shouted over her shoulder.
"Well, the good news is we're harder to see. The bad news is we're trailing black smoke, and I don't think this baby can take much more."
"We are nearly--" Saoirse cried out in pain, clutching her arm close to her body.
"Saoirse! You all right?"
"Fine," Saoirse ground out through gritted teeth.
Phoenix wanted to ask if she was sure but thought better of it. He knew it would only distract her and piss her off. He needed to clear a path towards their goal. Turning the turret from left to right, he unleashed a hailstorm of return fire. The barrel bucked and kicked out its revenge, and Phoenix aimed for anything that appeared to be a threat. The barrel glowed red hot and the smoke pouring out made it look like a cigarette on a cold winter's night.
He held his fire for a moment and scanned the rooftops and alleyways for hidden threats. There didn't appear to be any but Phoenix wasn't to be fooled so easily.
Stranded: (Space Outlaw 2) Page 16