by M. O. McLeod
“It might happen, as soon as the Phantoms are off the streets,” Jackie replied.
The girls were sweating it out in their towels and robes in one of the dry sauna rooms of the Tower. It had been five days since Jackie had brought the Phantom in for questioning. It had been two days after when the Phantom had given some of the gang’s information up, and by the fourth day he was singing like a canary. Jackie didn’t even have to lift one finger. Kurma suggested the bunkers in the basement and that was all it took. No food or water had done a number on the Phantom and he rapidly changed his tune. They starved him out and turned him over to the RAID of the north who were putting together a sting operation to eliminate the Flesh Hound Gang.
As the girls left from the sauna room and dressed, they made their way up to the helicopter pads outside where five seats had been placed by the security guard, Michale.
“I hope we didn’t miss anything,” said Jackie peering over towards the east. She took her seat and opened her umbrella.
“We should have popped popcorn,” Chelsea added on.
“It’s too cold for that,” Rimselda voice shook as she shivered in her seat. “Let them hurry up already.”
“Hold on now,” O’bellaDonna spoke up. “I came out in the rain to see a show. You know, the whole nine!”
Jackie laughed and said, “Let the fireworks commence!”
Rain splashed against Kurma’s rain boots as she walked from the helicopter pad to the edge of the Tower. She Raptored her eyes and looked east. The RAID’s commander had told her that on the sixth day the Flesh Hound Gang would be no more. Today was the day and Kurma didn’t know what to expect. She walked back to her friends and took a seat.
Within minutes Kurma heard the sound of a whistle. Her attention automatically went eastward where she saw the tiniest pellets dropping from the sky. The rain blurred her vision but she saw the impact of the bombs and heard them too. Kurma could see the fire rise in the sky from downtown Alexandria.
“Will you look at that!” screamed Jackie. She pointed to the fire ball that exploded on the east side of the city.
O’bellaDonna shouted, “Light em up boys!”
The fire ball rose against the rain and formed a huge angry orange cloud over the east. Smaller explosions came from that way but none compared to the first bombing.
Chelsea clapped obnoxiously and smiled at Kurma. “Hopefully no more Phantom problems from the east, right?” she asked Kurma.
Kurma sat quiet, however, and didn’t respond. She only prayed for her brother. Allie lived in the east with Santino…on the upper side nonetheless, but still in the east. She only hoped that the bombings had not reached them. Kurma stood up and walked to the elevator doors leading back into the Tower. She had seen enough.
***
The thunderstorm had passed but the hail storm continued and rained down chunks of ice the size of quarters on the Raptors. Few people were out by the AirTrains station leaving from the west into the heart of the city and further up north where humans still remained in control.
That morning the girls were hunting down the 33rd’s, a gang of Phantoms that controlled the west side all the way up to mid-town. The 33rd Phantom gang was a bit tougher. The gang’s main operation was transportation. The few cabs that still operated and the stations that remained open were prime targets for the Phantom gang.
The Wessex Fairground station was the starting point for Kurma and the BlueK’s as they made their way over the token gates. The station agent sat wide eyed and frozen as the girls passed by the agent’s bullet proof booth. Kurma put her finger to her lips and signaled for the station agent to remain quiet. The 33rd Phantoms were right behind the Raptors after they had picked up their scent. Kurma knew they were being followed into the AirTrains tunnel. She only hoped that the Phantoms would follow them up to the platform where the Raptors would have the upper hand…Phantoms couldn’t fly, but all the Raptors could.
A pounding interrupted Kurma’s thoughts as she crouched down in an empty corridor with the girls. The station agent screamed as the gang descended down the flights of stairs, causing a horrid echo off the tunnel walls. The gang went right for the station agent’s booth. They banged and pounded on the glass until it shattered making the station agent scream even more hysterical.
“We can’t just let her get eaten,” yelled Chelsea. She was up and out of Kurma’s way before Kurma could get a tight grip on her.
“Chelsea!” Kurma screamed. But Chelsea was already ahead of the group. “O’bellaDonna and Jackie run up to the platform and try and lead as many Phantoms after you. Stick to the plan.” Kurma unfolded her body and ran after Chelsea. “Catch that damn train!” she yelled back to them.
Rimselda ran after Kurma and transformed most of her human self into her Raptor body, bringing with her the daggers that she loved so much. She watched as Chelsea pulled the station agent from the rumble. The Phantoms were in frenzy over the smell of the Raptors but they couldn’t get pass Kurma who was already slicing left and right.
“Get her out of here, Chelsea!” Kurma yelled as she stabbed a Phantom through the face.
Chelsea kicked off the ground and brought her magenta striped wings to their full span. “Hold on to me,” she instructed the terrified station agent. “And don’t let go!” The station agent immediately wrapped her arms around Chelsea’s torso. Chelsea’s wings kicked up so much air that the current knocked some of the Phantoms to the ground. She made a grand exit up the stairs and out the station, leaving Kurma and Rimselda to battle the last of the Phantoms.
“We have to make that train, Kurma!” Rimselda yelled over the commotion.
Kurma was being pinned into the wall but she still heard Rimselda and fought with all her might as she battled three Phantoms at a time. She broke away and ran full speed for the stairs leading up to the trains. “Rimselda, move it!”
“I’m right behind you!”
The girls ran up the stairs since their wings were too big and both girls heard the trains announcing the closing of the doors.
The top of the platform had an Arial structure with shelters lining the walkway and seats for the commuters. The platform was usually crowded with hundreds of people coming and going into the downtown area but as the winter deepened and the Phantoms numbers continued to grow, the Wessex station stop was a ghost town. Only one train was at the platform and Kurma could see the conductor’s head out the window trying to figure out what the holdup was.
As Kurma and Rimselda dashed onto the train they saw several dozen Phantoms make the train as they did. “Shit, that was close,” Kurma said out of breath. The train slowly began to speed up as Kurma took a seat out of breath.
Rimselda noticed the hanging devices that people usually held as the train moved. She struck the metal pipe with her hand over and over until it broke off and forcibly stuck the pipe into the handles on the doors.
“Good thinking,” said Kurma. “How long do you think that bar will hold before the Phantoms are able to break through the car doors leading into this one?”
“Longer than it will take us to radio the police our location.”
Kurma pulled the walkie-talkie out of her coat pocket and turned it on. She looked to Rimselda who looked back at her with concern in her eyes.
“They just better be at the next station like they agreed upon,” Rimselda said.
Kurma clicked the channel button and spoke into the microphone, “This is BlueK one, do you copy?” The girls listened as the radio came up with static. Kurma tried again, “Come in police unit delta.” But there was only the sound of static and stretches of silence.
A bang came at the car’s door which made both girls jump at the same time. Phantoms pushed up against the train's glass door with teeth barred. Rimselda and Kurma looked at one another with fear in their eyes.
Mercephany
Chelsea flew northeast up to the Tower of K and made sure to stay lower to the skyline so that the station agent could
breathe. Chelsea could feel the lady shivering from the cold but the lady held on. Must have a strong upper body, Chelsea thought to herself. She flowed with the rough wind current as her hair whipped about her face. There was some slight turbulence but neither she nor the agent made a sound as they flew through the city, undetected from down below.
The city was at a standstill. Before, there was always traffic in the city of Alexandria; the lights never went off in the mega-city. But, as Phantasm spread, the city had begun to collapse in on itself. Only the north remained a beacon of hope for the human’s sake. Chelsea looked north and saw the tall buildings that stood on that side of town. She saw how the skyscrapers looked whole and strong against winter. Chelsea could feel the warmth rising off the protected section of the north even as the wind of the storm beat upon her.
Chelsea landed roughly onto the roof of the Tower. She had no clue where to take the station agent and hadn’t thought to ask her. The first thing was to get to safety and it just so happened that the Raptors were in the possession of a safe house. Kurma would not allow the woman to remain there but the least Chelsea could do was offer a hot cup of tea to the lady. Kurma would never have to know that any other humans had been in the Tower.
The lady loosened her grip from around the Raptors stomach and peered up against the hail and wind into the face of her savior. The girl had massive pink and magenta wings with streaks of black on them. The color stood out against the steel-colored mist that consumed the city. The station agent saw how the gray scales glinted on her face and the greenish fur caught the mist of the storm. The eyes-she had never seen eyes the color of glassy black look back at her like that. The agent thought of them as pitiless. She didn’t see any daggers that she had heard so much about. All in all, the Raptor didn’t look like much in comparison to her; not the humanistic appearance that she gave off, but the true Phantom that she was. Mercephany whimpered and cringed as she let herself be ushered into the Raptors lair, a place that no Phantom had ever been before.
***
Mercephany noticed how quiet it was down in the state-of-the-art kitchen. She hadn’t heard a soul or seen a shadow move, other than the Raptor and herself.
“I never got your name,” she said.
The Raptor replied, “Chelsea.”
Mercephany watched as Chelsea made the two of them tea. She quickly darted her eyes around the room and noticed the white walls and imagined what color they would be if the Raptors blood ran down them.
“No Mercephany, stick to the plan.”
Chelsea looked up confused, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Nothing,” Mercephany quickly laughed it off. “They call me May, by the way.”
Chelsea nodded and smiled, “Cool.” She handed the mug to May and stood in an awkward pose. “Not much goes on down here,” Chelsea said of the kitchen. The room was so spacious and empty she could hear herself breath. She sipped on her tea and noticed May didn’t. She had this weird feeling about the lady but she didn’t know what it was about her.
“Pretty scary out there, huh?”
Mercephany responded, “Scary for a lot of people.”
“You still go to work?”
She nodded her head “Yep.” Mercephany noticed the makeup on her wrist was smearing a bit so she shifted the mug in her hand. “The family still has to eat you know.”
“Wow, that’s crazy,” Chelsea said. “I can’t believe there are people who still come into work to do payroll at a time like this.”
She shrugged her shoulders, “Yeah.” Mercephany didn’t want to offer up any more information than was necessary. She was here to infiltrate the Raptors home. She was willing to put her life on the line for the Phantoms cause. No more small talk.
“Who all lives in here?” she asked, deflecting the conversation.
Chelsea felt the vibe again, there it was. She squinted her eyes at the lady named May. Who was this woman and why was she so calm right after being attacked by Phantoms. “A couple of people live here in the Towers.”
“Can you show me around?” Mercephany asked. “I have heard so much about the infamous Olivares Tower.”
Chelsea put her cup of tea down and said, “No one from the outside is allowed to have a look around.” She surprised herself. Chelsea was always the friendly one out of the girls, well, more so after Nina was killed. But at the same time, being friendly to a stranger from off the street may not have been the best move, especially since Kurma didn’t want anyone in there from the start. “Is there somewhere I can drop you off at?”
Mercephany cut her eyes at the Raptor girl. Maybe she should have played up the damsel in distress a bit more. Lord knows her boyfriend warned her about her chilly personality. She couldn’t help that she was a no nonsense kind of person. Her only move left was to bum rush and overtake the girl. That wouldn’t be a problem. “I actually live on the other side of the barriers in the north,” she lied.
Chelsea snapped her fingers and smiled for the first time. “That, I can do.” The quicker she got this lady out of the Tower the better. “You don’t mind hanging on to me again?”
“No,” Mercephany responded. She did mind though. The smell of the Raptor was overwhelmingly intoxicating and she hadn’t eaten in over a day. She was using all her restraint to not tear at the Raptors face. The pain from her newly pulled rows of teeth brought her to reality. She was expected by the leader of her Phantom gang to gain access to the Raptors home, not to eat the Raptors. That last part would happen as soon as she reported back. “Let’s get a move on it,” Mercephany grinned and tried her best to be nice.
Chelsea headed for the door, turned and said, “Follow me.”
“Are we going out the front doors this time?”
“We never go out the front doors or the back,” Chelsea explained. “Why even use the orthodox way when you have wings like mine?”
Mercephany’s face contorted and her top lip formed a sneer that she had to fix. The Raptor girl had already started off without her, missing her struggle.
“It’s so pretty in here,” Mercephany said as she eased behind Chelsea.
“Yeah, there are so many neat things,” Chelsea responded. “I have never lived anywhere so fancy before.”
She snuck glances into different hallways that she could run down and flights of stairs that she could run up. Mercephany just had to get away from this Raptor girl so that she could find out more about the Tower. “I mean the architecture is really amazing.”
Chelsea turned a corner and headed towards the elevator. “It’s so cool living in here; we have all the new stuff.”
Mercephany made a dash for it. She snuck down the opposite hallway as Chelsea voice drawled on and on about something. Mercephany only wondered how long it would take the little girl to realize that she was no longer listening.
Chelsea pressed the up button for the elevator. She looked at her reflection coming off of the bronze elevator doors and ruffled her wavy blonde hair. She stepped even closer and smoothed her eyebrows down. Chelsea was so wrapped up in herself that she forgot all about being a host. She noticed how quiet it was and realized that she was all alone in the corridor. She turned and looked about, but saw no station agent.
“No, no, no, no, no.”
She ran left and right, and then stopped. Chelsea ran in a circle two times before the realization sunk in; the station agent was somewhere in the building. Her heart skipped a beat as she ran off at full speed through the Tower. Chelsea’s golden colored hair fluttered as she ran, and her green eyes became even bigger as she searched for the missing lady. She tripped on her own feet, fell on her hands and knees, and called out in frustration as she tried to calm herself. She would get into so much trouble if she didn’t find the woman. Chelsea screwed her eyes tight and thought of a way out of her mess. Where would I be in a huge Tower like this? But Chelsea’s mind went blank and she racked her polished nails through her hair out of frustration.
�
�Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Chelsea stood up slowly, smiling to herself. “I must have forgotten who I was,” she said as smacked herself on the forehead. Chelsea Raptored her eyes and concentrated on the walls of the Tower. Her black and white vision blurred a bit but then cleared out as the walls of the Tower gave way, allowing her to see through the building. It was as if the entire Tower had become a 3D glass house of sorts. Chelsea looked up and saw the ceiling, then the beams of the ceiling, the insulin in between the beams, then the inside of the next floor up. She quickened her pace and searched for the outline of May’s body in the Tower. Four floors down and heading for the basement…there was the station agent. Chelsea didn’t care why the lady had snuck off or when she had done it; all she knew was that May had to go.
“I got you now,” said Chelsea.
***
Mercephany followed her nose. That was the one thing on her that she knew wouldn’t fail her. Not the inch of makeup caked onto her face and arms, not the hideous wig that covered her bald head, nor the fake eye contacts that made her look more human. Her nose was real and at that moment it smelled the scent of a human. The entire time of being in the Tower she had been fine. She hadn’t smelled anything other than the smell of a Raptor. But as Mercephany rushed down the flight of stairs the smell only intensified.
She kicked down the door and came upon a man who sat in a chair looking startled. She looked around and saw computers and camera screens showing rooms of the Tower. Mercephany must have stumbled upon the security room; yet, all she could think of was food. Her instincts took over and she ran for the guy who was already aiming his Taser on her.
The security guard backed away and aimed for the lady, hitting her square in the chest. She slowed down a bit as she felt the volts race through her body, speeding her heart up. Mercephany bared her teeth at the guy but realized that that was pointless since she only had her humans one’s left. Oh, how she hated being human. Mercephany yanked the metal pincers from her skin and felt her blood seeping through her shirt.
“So you want to fight, do you?” Mercephany hadn’t had a good fight since before becoming a Phantom.
“No, please, no,” Michale pleaded.
But it was too late. Mercephany lunged out and felt his hands smash her face in as she wrapped her long arms around his body and pulled him closer to her mouth. She could almost smell the fear as she drew him near.
