by S. T. Boston
Reaching the front door he slid the key into the lock, it offered some resistance but with a little more than the usual pressure required the lock slid back. Glancing over his shoulder Adam swung the creaking door open and went inside. Musty and stagnant air assaulted his nostrils, dust motes danced chaotically in the small yet powerful phone light. Swinging it around the lounge the furniture cast hectic shadows against the cold walls. Adam flinched as the hat and coat stand briefly looked like the shadow of a man, skulking in the corner. He felt on edge, like a thousand eyes were on him, studying his every move and he wanted to be ready in case someone was hiding in that empty darkness. He half expected someone to be sat there in the blackened, musty-smelling lounge, waiting patiently for them to arrive, but of course no one was. The place was empty, and as silent as a crypt.
Chapter 11
“Seatbelt!” Lucie prompted urgently as Oriyanna slammed the Mini's passenger door shut, before she could grab the buckle, Lucie had the Mini in reverse, gunning the engine the small car jolted backward, causing Oriyanna to plant her palms against the glove-box in order to stop from being sent through the windscreen. As Lucie selected first gear and planted her foot hard down on the accelerator Oriyanna felt herself thrown back into the seat, with the belt in her hand she finally managed to click it into the receiver. With her spare hand, Lucie tore her apron over her head and threw it into the backseat as the car sped away.
Lucie slammed the Mini Cooper down the small concrete ramp which led out of the car park. The front of the car hit the tarmac with a loud scrape that made her grit her teeth. She was a little precious about her beloved car that she called Mavis, Mavis the Mini. Sam always ripped her about that one but she didn't care, the car was one of the few new vehicles on the road, it had cost a small fortune but the cash packages that had been arriving with the seemingly never ending list of targets for Sam to deal with were more than generous and had seen them through some very rough times a lot more comfortably than the average person. Now, with a stranglehold on oil supplies and the ever familiar site of petrol pumps out of service, Lucie wasn't too sure how much longer she'd actually be able to use her most prized possession. Although it was a hybrid, it still needed a certain amount of fuel to work. Despite her love for little luxury, it was a luxury that she loved she'd gladly have given it, and the money up to have her husband out of harm's way. Tough though as it was, she'd accepted that being married to a guy like Sam would mean the odd sleepless night filled with worry, he was who he was, and after all, that's who she'd fallen for.
Glancing in her rear view mirror Lucie felt her stomach plunge with dread at the sight of a pair of headlights bearing down on her, ramming the car from second to third she flicked her eyes between the mirror and the rev counter, as it redlined she knocked it into fourth, “We are being followed,” she said urgently, taking one hand off the wheel and gesturing behind her. Oriyanna spun around in her seat and looked sternly as the lights kept coming.
“I feared there would be more than one of them,” she said hastily, wondering if they were the same team that had been responsible for the atrocities back at the house in Greenwich not half an hour ago. Placing a hand on Lucie's shoulder she said in a calming voice, “Just try to relax and concentrate on the road.” Lucie felt an instant wave of relief wash over her, both her now husband, Sam, and her brother had told her how this Oriyanna girl could influence people, she'd found it hard to believe, hell, the whole story was hard to believe, but here she was living it, and yes, she definitely could ease a worried mind, faster and better than any bottle of wine.
Lucie powered the bright red Mini Cooper down Eltham Hill, in her panic instead of keeping left and taking the A20 out of the town she went right, toward London. There was no time to turn around, the car on her tail was now much closer. Her little Mini Cooper was not what you would class as slow, but there were plenty of faster models out there.
The burnt out shell of Blackheath Sports Club flew past, the building had gone up in flames one night, shortly after her brother and Sam had returned home, although a good few miles from the family home they'd seen the black plume of smoke rising into the night sky with an eerie orange glow at its base, like a small toxic sunrise. With the car rapidly speeding toward the Thames, London's financial district rose up from the opposite bank, all of the looming structures dark, silent and almost brooding. The days of being able to leave lavish lighting on to highlight a buildings beauty were long gone, only red aircraft warning lights blinked solemnly to themselves at each building's peek, even these would be turned off soon, no aircraft were permitted in an out of any UK airport after one AM.
As the pursuing car drew closer the driver slammed the full beams on as if to highlight the fact that he was closing in on his prey. The blinding light caused both Oriyanna and Lucie to shield their eyes from the reflection that bounced painfully off the vehicle's mirrors. Desperately, Lucie took one hand off the wheel and pushed the rear view mirror up and toward the roof lining; it helped, but not much. Before she could grasp the steering wheel again the car behind slammed into her rear bumper, and the seatbelt saved her from reeling face first into the steering wheel. With a shriek of terror she wrestled with the car, it mounted the kerb and the passenger side hit the railings of a pelican crossing, sending a hail of sparks into the air. Heart hammering like a drum in her chest she finally got it under control, “Do something,” she yelled at Oriyanna, “Can't you make them stop?” It seemed a silly thing to say, Lucie realised this as soon as she said it, but it was the kind of pointless and panicked drivel that comes out when a person's under pressure.
Oriyanna was sat, running the options through her head as best she could. Sliding the Glock from her waistband she unclipped her belt and twisted round in her seat. The dazzling lights made it hard for her to see, but what they did do was give her a point of reference to shoot at. It was pointless asking Lucie to cover her ears, the gun was silenced but at this close range it would still be uncomfortable. She raised the weapon and fired two steady shots at the aggressing car, level with where she guessed the windscreen would be. Before her finger hit the trigger guard on that first shot the rear windscreen shattered with a deafening crash, the bullet powered through the glass, relentlessly seeking its target. It slammed into the pursuing car's bonnet, kept going and tore a hole in the coolant bottle. It was a wound that would prove fatal for the vehicle, but not immediately, for now it kept coming. It was hard to tell under the beam of those dazzling lights but Oriyanna felt sure the second shot found its target and punctured clean through the windscreen, but still the car powered on, relentless and seemingly unstoppable.
Lucie heard both shots, even with the silencer, the usually soft-sounding Pffft of a gun going off seemed much louder. She felt an immediate ringing in her left ear, however, she still heard her rear windscreen shatter and smash. “Hey – my car!” She cried, again a natural reaction, although she did love Mavis, she'd trade her for their lives in an instant.
The pursuing car veered violently left. There were not many vehicles on the road at this time of night, but there was an unfortunate guy on a battered old Vespa scooter, innocently going about his business. The chasing vehicle collected up the small, slow bike, scooping the rider onto the bonnet, then over the roof before depositing him toward the hard ground. Lucie swerved as the 125cc bike, the kind that Sam often scoffed at as being a Chicken Chaser, went spinning and tumbling down the road, followed by the rider who only had a winter coat, jeans and trainers on. “My god,” she shrieked, “That was my fault!” Oriyanna ignored her, the car was almost level with the rear driver's side window. With both engines screaming the two vehicles careered down a short slope and into the Blackwall Tunnel, the O2 arena, now a dirty white and unused monument of the old world, sat above them as they disappeared under the Thames.
“Slow down a little,” instructed Oriyanna, climbing onto the rear seat. Thankfully, the tunnel had its lights on, bathing the car in a strange artificial orange g
low. There was no time for questions, Lucie did as instructed. The car behind drew closer, until the front passenger window was level with the rear seat of Lucie's Mini. Before Oriyanna had time to put her plan to play the driver slammed the car left, colliding with the rear quarter panel in an attempting to fish-tail the Mini. Oriyanna heard Lucie shriek over the sickening sound of metal hitting metal and felt the Mini begin to snake uncontrollably down the road. The rear tyre hit the high kerb sending them the other way, split second by split second the car lost more and more purchase on the road while Lucie threw the wheel left then right, inanely trying to gain control. Oriyanna glanced out of the shattered rear window, the pursuing car broke suddenly and ducked in behind them, narrowly avoiding a collision with the rear of a 4x4. It was now or never. Trying to account for the weaving of the Mini, Oriyanna got into position, rested her arms on the parcel shelf and fired, squeezing off round after round until the clip ran dry. The bullets left the gun and slammed through the front windscreen of the chasing car that she could now see was a BMW. There was no time to tell if the shots had found their target, the mini slid sideways, past the point of recovery, she ducked into the rear seat and rammed her feet against the opposite side of the car, jamming herself in. Over the sound of the chirping tyres, which echoed and bounced off the tunnel walls, she heard Lucie scream. The mini smashed up the kerb, hit the tunnel wall and flipped over, the wall prevented them from going into unforgiving tumble, instead the car slid down the road on its side, metal screaming against tarmac. As the car lost speed it eventually tipped onto its roof, where it stopped, rocking back and forth for a few seconds, steam pouring out of the tortured engine. Releasing her legs Oriyanna fell onto the roof, Lucie was in the driver's seat, held upside down by her belt, her long brown ponytail swinging like a rope over her face. Reaching over, she touched her on the head and instantly knew she was alive. There was no need to feel for a pulse, she could feel her life force. There was no sign of blood on her pale blue sweater, or on her legs below the line of her pencil skirt.
Leaving her wedged where she was, Oriyanna wriggled her way out of the rear window, splinters of glass biting at her legs and falling into her hair. The pursuing car had also crashed, though not as spectacularly as they had; it had front ended the tunnel wall and pirouetted a few times, leaving a series of rubber snake-like marks dancing down the road. Small splinters of the tunnel's wall tiles were embedded in the grill, the BMW badge hung from the bonnet, cracked and broken. Studying the car briefly she noticed there was a nice head-shaped bulge of glass protruding out of the anti-shatter windscreen, it seemed that whoever was behind the wheel had failed to secure their seatbelt. Very close to the mound of head-shaped glass were the bullet holes, sporadically peppering the spider webbed windscreen. Oriyanna covered the fifty yards fast, looking around her she saw the 4x4, which had caused her plan to falter, had skidded and stopped around a hundred yards or so further back down the tunnel. The occupants, a young man and a woman, were both out of the car and stood gawping down the tunnel toward them, trying to take in the scene of utter chaos. Sensibly, they were choosing not to approach. Reaching the BMW, Oriyanna wrenched the driver's door open, the guy behind the wheel looked in his late thirties, blood was gushing from his head, but nonetheless small wheezing groans came from his lips. His colleague had been on the receiving end of two bullets, Oriyanna knew in an instant that he was dead; one shot had obliterated his left cheek, his eye socket had collapsed and a gooey white mess leaked down onto his blue shirt. The second round was in his chest. She could see the exit wound, the bullet had passed cleanly through his body and the seat, before disappearing into the rear backrest. Oriyanna unclipped the driver and pulled him free, she placed her hand on his head, it felt sticky with his blood. She closed her eyes and concentrated, once inside his head she had a very quick poke about before releasing him, “Earth-Breed,” she muttered to herself, there was no time to learn more, or find out if these men were in the team she'd already encountered tonight. She positioned her hands in a cross on both sides of his face, and twisting her arms quickly back around she snapped his neck with one swift movement. From somewhere down the tunnel she heard a horrified shriek, the couple in the 4x4 had obviously seen her kill the guy, and not knowing the full story were rightly shocked. Leaving the body she ran toward them, only too aware that she still had Lucie to deal with. “He was dying,” she called out as she approached them. “I had no choice, he was in a lot of pain!” The male who'd been driving was pretty well built, and as she approached he must have taken it for granted that Oriyanna posed him no threat due to her size, a major underestimation on his part. He halted his attempt to get safely into his vehicle and stood his ground, glowering at Oriyanna as she rushed toward him.
“I think you ……” he never had a chance to finish his sentence, Oriyanna drew her Glock on him, reached up and grabbed him by the throat with far more strength than should have been possible for a girl of her stature. The man let out a surprised cry of fear as she slammed him into the side of his car, this was not her usual style, but time was short and they needed some new wheels.
“Don't move!” She shouted, pinning him against the driver's door and fixing the gun to his forehead. The woman inside started screaming; thankfully the door was closed, muffling her cries. With her hand on his neck and the gun pointed in the general direction of his brains, Oriyanna looked him directly in the eyes. The moment she had him she let the gun fall to her side, she hated showing aggression to innocents like this but she was in a pinch and needed to get things sorted, fast. Fixed on her deep blue eyes, the male was lost. Oriyanna felt his thoughts, his fear and she hated herself for it. I am not going to hurt you, she said, inside his head. Just walk away, leave the car, it's ok to leave me the car, just give me the keys and walk away. She released her grip, instantly the guy snapped back to full consciousness, he opened the door, took the keys from the ignition and handed them over.
“Mike, what the fuck are you doing?” Screamed the woman, who Oriyanna could now see was a redheaded girl in her late twenties, freckles bridging her nose as if someone had flicked a paint brush at her. Oriyanna caught her eyes and smiled, the red haired woman fell to her gaze as easily as the guy had, before Oriyanna even looked away she opened the door and got out, silently she made her way to the back of the car and joined her boyfriend. The pair then held hands and walked away as if out for a Sunday stroll.
Oriyanna felt like she'd left Lucie in that car for an age, in reality it had been no more than two minutes. Time was short and any moment the authorities would be here, and by then they needed to be gone. Firing the engine, she sighed with relief to see that the 4x4 was in fact an automatic, she'd driven manual Earth vehicles before but felt much more at home with what she liked to think of as a push and go. Once back at the stricken Mini she parked the white 4x4 next to it, jumped out and forced Lucie's door open. Adam's sister was still out for the count, her breathing had turned deeper, more rhythmic. Oriyanna unclipped her belt and slid her out of the car, she lifted Lucie's slight frame easily into the other vehicle, laying her on the back seat she belted her in to prevent her body rolling off the seat. Checking the clock on the dash she knew they'd have plenty of time to make Wiltshire before curfew time. Not worrying that she was driving the wrong way through the tunnel, Oriyanna span the 4x4 around, which had a badge on the back that read Juke, and sped away from the scene. Not far down the tunnel were the couple she'd just carjacked. Amazingly, they offered her a polite wave as she drove by, which made her smile, Earth-Humans were so easily influenced, they really needed to evolve and unlock the rest of their brain power.
As the Nissan Juke broke out into the night, next to what had once been known as the Millennium Dome and after that the O2, she bounced the large tyres over the kerb and onto the correct side of the road. She didn't know exactly how to get to the meeting place, but she knew the general direction and that was good enough for now. Reaching the A2 she saw blue lights heading for the tu
nnel, no doubt on their way to deal with the mess left behind by the brief battle that had taken place under the Thames, the second mess she'd left in her wake in under an hour.
Ten minutes later, with Lucie still out for the count on the back seat of the Juke, Oriyanna swung the 4x4 into a petrol station, jumped out and looked in confusion at the array of different fuels on offer. Many of the pumps had OUT OF USE signs on them. In frustration she took a cursory glance at the back seat, almost willing Lucie back to consciousness. Not sure which to go for she popped the filler cap, and with relief she was met by a small sign on the rear of the cover the read, 'Diesel' printed on a red sticker. Two of the pumps displayed the same word on an identical red background. Not stopping to consider her options any further, she jammed the nozzle into the opening and began to brim that tank, thankful that this station actually had a couple of working pumps. Tapping her foot impatiently on the ground she watched the litres roll by, painfully slowly. The six Euro a litre price tag didn't bother her in the least, she had no means to pay and as soon as the pump clicked off she slammed the filler cap, jumped back in the driver's seat and wheel span the vehicle off the forecourt. A few minutes later she reached the motorway, being completely unfamiliar with the layout of the multitude of roads that criss-crossed every county on Earth she relied on her sense of direction and took them right, heading west. As she rushed across the darken countryside, mile by mile London slipped further into the distance. She lost count of the number of times she glanced over her shoulder at Adam's sister, despite all that lay ahead she felt a pang of excitement at the thought of seeing him again. Even though her life had spanned many years, more years than even the oldest person on Earth could fathom, the last two and a half Earth years seemed such a long time ago. She found her mind wandering back to the day he'd left. She'd wanted to go with him, take the trip back to Earth by his side, but there had been more pressing matters at home that required her immediate attention. Craft were being despatched for the invasion of Sheol on a daily basis and the council had no intention of letting her take a trip back to the planet that she'd almost lost her life trying to defend.
