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Greetings, my dear readers!
A while ago, I posted a story that was part of a flash fiction event called "Ready to Fly". It was a very fun story unlike any I had written before, because it was basically had me as myself acting as the main character, though with a different name. I used locations that I actually work in as the setting of the story, and just changed names of people and places for privacy's sake.
Anyway, I left the story off on a cliffhanger and had some requests to continue it. Now, after all these months, I've finally written a Part II.
Though this story is not one I would ever try to publish as a book, it is a fun distraction from my novels. I foresee it being a five, maybe six part story by the end. We'll see how it goes. Since it isn't one of my main projects, this will not be updated regularly, but I'll probably write it spontaneously as the inspiration hits. For now, I hope you enjoy....
READY TO FLY
PART
II
*
* *
Ready
to fly... ready to fly...
the words echoed uselessly in my head. Troy didn't bother waiting
for my answer. Seeing that I must have gone into some form of shock,
he steered me to the passenger side of the vehicle and pulled me
inside.
“There
are no seats!” I exclaimed, my mouth finally working.
“No,
you lie on it like on a sport bike,” Troy demonstrated on his own
side.
“Oohh!”
Understanding dawned and I straddled the peculiar seat. Lying on my
stomach, the seat tilted upward slightly, and despite my initial
expectation, was quite comfortable. As soon as I was down, the glass
roof snapped shut over our heads, catching my hair as it sealed.
“Good
grief!” I squeaked. “Keep your hands in our pockets kids,
unless you wanna wind up like Darth Vad-”
My
ill-timed joke was cut off as another gunshot cracked the glass
beside me.
“Hang
on!” Troy shouted. I could feel the car lifting off, tilting
toward the sky. My stomach dropped and my heart thudded with
adrenaline. Jesus, please protect us... I prayed silently. I gripped the armrests tightly and kept my eyes focused
on the stars. I could hear more firing down below, and decided to
risk one last glance at the ground. The wheat field had already sank
so far that the men in black looked like toy army men, and we were
still ascending.
“Engaging
stealth mode,” Troy intoned as he tapped a button to his left. I
dimly registered in the back of my brain that he might be showing off
a tad bit, announcing his actions like that.
Suddenly,
the firing stopped, and I felt my body tense as I waited for the next
round. It never came. Blinking, I slowly released the breath I'd
been holding and looked out the window to see that far below, the men
were looking around and gesturing in confusion.
"Are
we... invisible?” I asked. Troy shot me a glance, a proud smirk
twisting his lips.
“Oh
yes, it's that cool,” he said in a deep baritone hero's voice. I
chuckled breathlessly, shaking my head. He hadn't changed much.
But
as I caught a glimpse of the starry skies through the windshield, my
smile faded. I looked down at the black leather interior of the
car, and at the smooth touch-screen control panel. I felt the
armrests beneath my fingers and took a long, shaky breath. This was
real. It wasn't one of my crazy, exhausting dreams: it was real.
Troy
had fallen silent, and out of the corner of my eye I could see him
bow his head, like he was ashamed of something. I could feel the
discomfort radiating from him like static electricity.
I
swallowed. “'Kay, for real now. What is happening?” My chest
ached with that familiar pain of anticipation and uncertainty, drat
it all.
Troy
scrunched up his face and rolled his eyes upward, thinking. He
clicked his tongue. “Would you believe me if I said I was Batman?”
I
looked around. “No. I don't see the bat symbol anywhere.”
“Darn
it.”
“Besides,”
I said, knowing his plan to distract me was working, “I know you'd
sooner be Deadpool than Batman.”
“Meh,”
Troy shook his head. “I'd rather be a soldier of Truth and
Justice.”
“Like
Captain America?”
“That's
more like it!” He nodded in agreement.
“So
what are you really?” I raised my eyebrows expectantly. “Like,
honestly. You gotta give me something. What is this, and what are
you doing? I want the truth.”
“You
can't handle the truth.”
I
sighed, exasperated. “You're too good! You'd fit right in with my
family- a movie quote for everything. But I'm serious! Those guys
down there tried to kill us- and I KNOW they were after you
first, not me. I need to know what's going on. And not telling me
wont protect me- it'll only make me a liabilty.”
Troy
groaned and slumped in dejection. “I know you're right. It's
just... I don't really know how to start.”
“The
beginning is a good place. I'm patient,” I said.
He
nodded and swallowed, taking a deep breath. “Okay, well, in that
case- I think we'd better go back to highschool, senior year. You
know I always joked about having a secret double life...”
“Yeah?”
“Well,
I figured I might as well take my love of espionage and turn it into
something useful. I was looking into becoming a private eye. That's
what I was studying when the S.D. approached me.”
“S.D?”
“Secret
Defense. They said they'd been watching my progress in the courses I
was taking and saw potential. They were looking to recruit me.”
I
frowned. The Secret Defense? It sounded so fantastic, unreal. Of
course, I was
riding in a flying car... but still, this was Troy I was dealing
with. The prince of fantastical stories and grand nonsense.
“I
know what you're thinking,” Troy said, looking me in the eye. “I
thought the same thing. But they kept insisting, so I finally
decided to check it out. They gave me the basic run down all the new
recruits get- just the surface tour, y'know. But what I saw
there...” he shook his head, as if still in disbelief. “It was
incredible. Like the kind of stuff I only dreamed existed. What
they do, and what they wanted me to do, it was exactly what I was
looking for. I couldn't say no.”
He
shrugged then, looking dismissive. “The rest is history. I'm not
at liberty to share much about the details of the S.D., but I've been
with them ever since.”
I
blinked, raising my brows. “Wow,” I chuckled. “I can't
believe it.”
“I
know it's a lot to wrap your head around, but don't worry about it.”
“How
can I not? I'm in this car with you! What happened tonight?”
“Ah
yes!” Troy smacked his forehead. “Doofus of me, sorry! I was
getting to that. Are you familiar with Ronan Corp?”
I
thought for a minute, trying to remember. “The name sounds
familiar. Is it that research and invention company that's in the
news from time to time?”
“Yeah,
that's the one. They have a manufacturing center not too far from
here-”
“Why
here? We're in the middle of nowhere.”
“That's
actually the reason why they chose this place. The isolation makes
it easier to keep their efforts private.”
“Oh.”
That made sense. My nearest neighbors lived about a third of a mile
away, and I still had no idea what they did on a daily basis.
“Anyway,”
Troy continued, “the S.D. has reason to suspect that certain
operatives of Ronan Corp may have gone rogue, so they sent me to try
and infiltrate their files and find evidence of illegal activity. It
was supposed to be a simple mission, in and out. But things got
complicated...”
I
waited for him to elaborate. “How?”
Troy
hesitated, his cheeks coloring slightly. “My mom called, and I
forgot to turn my phone off.”
“You're
kidding!”
“Don't
tell anyone. My bosses'll kill me. But anyway, I had to make a
quick exit, and Chitty-chitty Bang-bang here was the closest thing to
me.”
“So
what brought you to the hotel, of all places?”
Troy
sighed. “I ran out of gas and I needed a place to hide the car
while I got it. Then I got an alert that the Ronan Corp guys were
coming and I needed
a place to hide. I knew you worked at the hotel and figured you
might be able to give me an alibi if they found me. I just didn't
think...”
He
stopped and ran a hand through is hair, leaving it a wild mess. “I
never thought they'd try to kill you. I'm sorry Leah, it's my fault
you're in this.”
I
swallowed, looking down. The reality of what had just happened was
starting to set in. Something still felt wrong... out of place, but
I figured that just my nerves protesting the stress they'd been put
through.
I
glanced at Troy. He looked so unlike himself: guilty, nervous, and
miserable. I couldn't bear it. “I forgive you,” I said,
keeping my voice light. “I just hope I'll be able to wake up in
time for church tomorrow.”
Troy
snorted, but his laugh was tinged with regret. “Like, uh, not to
be sacrilegious, but I don't think you should go to church after
this. It won't be safe.”
“You
mean I can't even claim sanctuary? I've got Sunday School to teach!”
We
giggled- a nervous reaction, I'm sure- and then he dropped the bomb.
“Actually
Leah, the truth is you're gonna have to stick with me until I get
this straightened out. You can't go home now.”
I
froze, struggling for words. “But-but- You can't do that! You
can't pull that cliche card!”
Troy
shook his head. “I'm sorry, but I can, and I am.”
I
pressed my lips together. “I'm calling my dad.”
Troy's
eyes widened. “No, wait- that's not a good idea!”
“I'm
calling my dad,” I repeated firmly, using the same voice I used
when I got after my siblings. I already had my phone out, and I
could hear it ringing. Troy looked like he might try to stop me, but
I shot him an ice glare and he backed down. I turned my attention back to the phone. Please let him answer, God, please let him answer...
The
ringing stopped and I heard my dad's voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
My
heart skipped a beat. Sweat gathered on my brow as I tried to figure out where to
start. Unreasonable laughter began to well up in my throat. How to
begin? How about...
“Hi,
Daddy.”
*
* *
To
be Continued...
Calling your parents= always an excellent idea. Even if you can't go home, you should at least let them know what's happened to you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you decided to post more of this story. I'm enjoying it!
Definitely a good idea to call your parents. My mother worries a lot- every time she hears a train go by our house she's praying that none of her loved ones have been hit. So I always call right away when anything happens. 0_0
DeleteI'm glad you're liking it. I'm having fun writing it! I read your Star Wars story, by the way. I'll leave a comment later. :D
Stupendous! I love how you subtly elaborate on the traits of the characters by comparing hem to super heroes. Can't wait to read more :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you picked up on that. It may be important later....
DeleteGreat to see more of this story (that 'car' sounds awesome)!
ReplyDeleteBut...how on earth is Leah going to explain this?
Oi, I don't know. Her parents will probably think it's some kind of practical joke. Guess we'll see in the next part!
Delete*Just found your blog* Ahhh! Great story! I want to know what happens next!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'd better finish up the next part, then! XD Welcome to the blog, by the way. I'm happy to have you here!
Delete