Page 123 of Sky Song
“I’m trying to.”
“That’s right.”
An uniformed peacekeeper dripping with gear ran past their rider. More of peacekeeping troops came - landed, dropping silently from the sky.
Where was he? Where…
He emerged from around the building, wearing a tattered biohazard suit, and jogged toward them. It was the first time Cricket had seen Lyle run, and she was momentarily transfixed by the agile and swift way with which his heavy body moved. Thankfully, he didn’t seem disoriented. He was alive. He was fine…
There was a shout and a cluster of peacekeepers split off from the main group and ran in interception. One raised a weapon, and Lyle abruptly threw his arm back, firing once. The lead trooper’s head… exploded. The body fell to the ground, tripping the one behind.
A moment of stunned hesitation seemed to have gripped the rest of the peacekeepers just like it did Cricket. This man on the ground had just died. It was not a game.
Ren cursed quietly.
The moment passed.
The pursuing group snapped back into action and ramped up their chase. They started shooting. Two riders took to air and hovered above.
An extremely unwelcome realization visited Cricket. “They know we’re waiting for him.”
“No shit. He’s running towards us. Prepare to haul ass - we’ll go in that direction. Turn!”
She already had their rider in motion, aligning her trajectory with Lyle’s as he ran toward them in a wide arc.
She popped open the hatch. Caught a zap of a peacekeeper’s gun with the inside of the door. She swerved and screamed as the paneling melted, filling the inside with a sour smell of burning chemicals.
“Hey, my hearts, you nearly ran me over,” Lyle fell into the open door and yanked it closed.
“I’m sorry! Are you hurt?”
“Nah, I’m okay.”
She drove across the grass, aiming for the parkway leading away from the city center.
“No, go to the pike!” Ren shouted. “Faster!”
She laughed, and of course it came out as hysterical as she felt. “Thanks for the hint, Captain Obvious. The rider’s throttling my speed because I only have the basic privileges.”
She could feel Lyle’s eyes on the back of her head. In the mirrors, she saw the peacekeeper riders coming up from behind on the ground, sliding forward, surrounding them. A message through a loudspeaker ordered them to stop.
Lyle’s large mutilated hand landed on top of her trembling one that clutched the steering wheel. “We’re going up,” he said. “I showed you how, remember?”
Cricket nodded although at this moment, she remembered nothing.
He made a quick work of the plastic panel covering up the control. “Never mind the system test. Just deploy.”
“Yes, okay. The radar. I look at the radar, right?”
“That would be ideal.”
“Okay, okay.” She looked at the screen and saw two shapes above her - the airborne peacekeeper riders. “What about them?”
“They don’t expect you to take off, and it’s our only advantage.” He spoke slowly to her, as if she were dim. “Aim in between them, right about here.” He drew a line with his finger on the radar, and she adjusted their position as he indicated. “One more thing, my hearts.” His hand lightly squeezed hers. “We have to take off fast. Okay?”
Nodding her head, she gripped the yokel.
“I better wear a seatbelt,” Ren muttered and she heard the click of a restraint.
