~By the Skin of My Teeth~
If Jack really was praying for a miracle, it surly wouldn't be the form of something small and heavy slamming into him from the side. Nor would he want his savior to hit him so hard, it painfully yanked his leg out from under the pillar and into a pile of rubble. As he hit the ground (HARD), the digger's teeth chomped down on Jack's old resting place. Broken glass and splinters shattered and flew through the air faster than mosquitoes in the summer. Once the smoke cleared, the machine found itself in a hole its fangs couldn't get out of. Gears grind and whirred as the monster struggled in vain to retract its arm, which is half buried underneath stone and wood. Jack coughed away dust that filled his lungs, half yelling because his leg was searing with pain. Once his eyes stopped watering, he looks down to see his hero; his savior was weak from the crash and barely able to lift himself up.
"Ferncloud!" Jack said, "Where the deuce did you come from?"
"My mother," Ferncloud snapped back, "and I suspected you were in trouble from…something. By the way, call me Sergio. I know now is not the appropriate time for pleasantries, but Ferncloud is reserved as my father's title."
Jack struggles to lift himself from the rubble, even with Sergio's help. "Thanks for the save, mate. But was it really necessary to bash into me at full speed? I think you dislocated my ankle."
"Sorry, Jack. The next time a giant, monstrous land-destroyer comes tumbling towards you, I'll know better to just leave you there to die."
There was a loud boom and a crash, followed by another pillar of smoke. The excavator has freed itself from its hole and was inching towards them, jaws extended and ready for bone-crunching action. Jack and Sergio scrambled to their feet and hopped along the tangled wood to the front door, the terminator digger nipping at their heels. Jack didn't notice it because his leg was numb, but there was a red needle-sharp object stuck beneath his pants' leg.
The front door was already destroyed from the outside, revealing how a construction machine wound up in the middle of someone's house. Jack followed Sergio as he darted out of the mansion to the open garages at the other end of the road. Ducking into one of them, they ran into the doorway and down into an underground storage room. It was surprisingly empty; Jack expected the garage to be filled with expensive foreign vehicles from wall to wall, but there were only a few cars parked and scattered all around the garage. The digger's rumbling was shaking the foundation, and is causing the ceiling to crumble.
The digger bashes through the garage, demolishing the garage and boring a path for itself through the ceiling. The digger blares its unholy horn again, extending its jaws as if it was actually roaring. The smoke clears and the tremors stop, but the digger found itself alone in the garage. The excavator cranes its floodlights around, but he could not find them anywhere. It knew it didn't crush them (yet), and they were too fast to be caught in the rubble. Still scanning the environment, the digger moved slowly deeper into the garage. Its four high powered floodlights illuminated most of the underground room, casting long shadows that avoided its intense beams. It wasn't until the excavator rolled past the middle of the garage that a car's ignition was starting. A dark blue land rover parked near the entry roared to life, with two people shuffling inside. The car's lights cut through the shallow darkness, and tires screamed against the gravel floor. The excavator spins around to see nothing but red headlights and the rear end of a car driving up the damaged ramp.
Jack was driving at the front wheel, slamming the gas pedal as hard as it can go. Sergio was clinging to his seat belt and the arm rest for dear life, shaking slightly. The rover made a hard right and sped downhill, the excavator trailing close behind. Jack drove the car almost perfectly on the rocky terrain, with the help of Sergio's guidance along the correct paths to take.
Sergio bounced in the passenger seat like an oversized jumping bean, blurting out directions through his jittering teeth. They were heading to a dirt path that was divided in three routes. "I'm going to go down the middle one and see if I can outrun that thing!" Jack shouted as he slammed his foot onto the gas.
Sergio sat up wide-eyed and frantic. "No, Jack! L-l-l-left! The middle one will kill us! Take the left one! PLEASE!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Jack said as he turned the wheel sharply, narrowly missing his turn. The rover skidded over the rocks and debris as it hopped over the divided road. The rover swerves out of the way again, just as the digger swung its mighty arm at them. They were coming to another fork in the road that split in opposite directions.
"Right! Ri-i-i-ght!"
The rover makes a hard left so tight that it left the excavator skidding into the dense trees, disappearing with a crash and a violent thud. The road smoothed out a little and the rover speed up with the better traction. Sergio rolls down the window and looks back, scanning the area for their attacker. Even through the rigorous bumping and loud engine, Sergio notices a path of trees rustling towards them.
Jack is surprised to see Sergio sticking half his body out like a dog. "Stick your &$%*^ head back in here!" Sergio obeys quickly and rolls back up the window. "We're going over 80 mph on a rocky terrain, and I don't want to be the one to explain to Mirabella that her fiancée died because a tree or a rock or something hit him in the back and took his head off!"
Sergio just sits back and rolls his eyes. "Sorry 'mom' but I was just making sure that our mechanical nightmare wasn't around to bother us anymore."
"Fine….Is he gone?"
"No."
As if on a rehearsed cue, the digger explodes from the trees next to the road and hops down on the path. The ground beneath their feet shook as the monstrosity landed, recollecting its traction and continued the chase after them.
Jack saw the digger from his rear view mirror, and pushed the car even further ahead. "Damn! He's still behind us! I still can't believe that something so big can be so quick!"
Sergio grumbled sickly. "I still can't believe that you swiped my car keys before we even left the house! When did you do it, again?"
"While you were helping me up, part of your keys were sticking out of your shirt pocket. I thought you were going to drop them, so I just stuck out my finger a lit'l and grabbed them by the loop." Sergio bounced in his chair again, cupping his mouth and turning bright green. "You look ill, man. A little too much excitement for you, mate?" Jack swerves on the road to confuse the digger, and narrowly misses being hit by its jaws. Sergio is trying his best to not upchuck in his posh land rover. "Anyways, you should be thanking me! I'm a more experienced driver than you, working with high-speed motorcycles and everything! As a matter of fact, thanks to my expert steering, we're still alive."
"And thanks to my knowledge of the mountain's terrain, we didn't drop off a cliff by now! Do you even know what was at the end of that 'road' you tried to go down on back there, Jack? A hundred foot drop into a lake, the size of a small country!"
"I said I was sorry! Oh, and one more thing. What in blazes are we going to do 'bout him?" Jack swerves again, and the digger bites down on empty air where the rover once was. The boys couldn't tell from the car, but Jack's driving was making the excavator very, very angry.
"Okay, here's the plan. Take this dirt path down to the edge, and I'll tell you when to stop. Then, let the digger come very close to us. When I say go, dart around him and leave him sliding to his doom."
"What are we gonna leave this thing sliding into?"
"We're going to lead Mr. Bucket-o-bolts here to a trap I just thought of."
"You built a trap for a truck?"
"Excavator."
"WHATEVER!"
Making another sharp turn, Jack pushed the car onto the neighboring dirt path that ran straight into the thick mountain brush. The path has long since been used and wild vegetation and trees branched out onto it. After Jack complains that he will probably smash into a tree because of the leaves, the digger struggles to take another swing at them. Even though the arm broke the troublesome branches and thick vines, its sheer size made it a challenge to move properly, let alone reach the boys. The car hustled past the woods and into a clearing, the digger struggles to keep up. Sergio and Jack cross over small rivers and trenches, cutting through the woods at top speed. The digger trashes every single bush, tree, and vine that tries to slow it down; Jack was really hoping for a massive boulder any second.
"Okay! Stop!"
Jack slams on the brakes gear-breaking hard; the car began to skid dangerously through the woods because of the dramatic shift in gears. Still sliding on the loose gravel, the car crashes through a clearing and onto an unfinished asphalt road. The tough wheels finally catch the hard stone, jerking the jeep into a rough stop right next to a large boulder. The minor whiplash that almost took out their necks left the boys both dazed and vulnerable. The boys were stunned in a jeep that was facing the direction their 'friend' was coming from. The excavator rampages forward at full speed, leaving behind trampled trees and broken rocks behind it. Sergio quickly comes to, and violently shakes Jack awake. The digger's floodlights blare through the shady trees, growing brighter as the mechanized monstrosity charges at full speed. Jack eyes Sergio warily; Sergio motions for him to wait until he gives the signal for Jack to go. The excavator is visible through the thin trees, as its crushing jaws break away the last pieces of the forest.
Jack eyed Sergio again clutching the wheel until his knuckles turned white. "Mate?"
"Not yet." Sergio whispered.
The excavator's thunderous tires break down more trees.
"Sergio?"
"Hold your position, soldier."
The excavator's horns blare again.
Jack was shaking now. "Uhh…"
"Wait for it…"
The digger opens its jaws, storming to the boys; all they could see was the inside of two toothy buckets.
"I'M TOO PRETTY TO DIE, MAN!"
"THEN GO! NOW!"
Jack slams down on the gas and cuts the wheel to a point where the tires almost lock up. The jeep zips a half circle around the monster, braking directly behind it. The last thing the excavator saw was a path of dust and the wide open forest right off the cliff. Realizing what has just happened, the digger spins its jaws at a boulder precariously perched next to the launching spot. Grabbing the boulder from underneath with its steel lips, the digger makes one last stitch effort after another to pull itself up. It was able to swing the lower half of its body to the rocky surface, plated wheels screeching against the loose soil.
Jack shuts off the jeep and leaps out, with Sergio calmly trotting next to him. Sergio had a devilish smirk on his face, while Jack was scared, wide-eyed, and panicky.
"Great plan, Sergio!" Jack hissed. "Thanks to you, Mr. Goodwrench down there is going to be even more pissed than ever! Once he pulls himself up, we won't have any time to make a beeline for it! If push comes to shove, I'm running with or without you!"
Sergio rolled his eyes nonchalantly. "Jack, my overly unconventional friend-"
"Overly-who?"
"-you seem to doubt my vast knowledge of this harsh, treacherous terrain that I call my wonderful home. I assure you, we will have nothing to worry about soon enough."
"…What?"
As if on cue, the rocky cliff underneath the boulder suddenly gave way and the excavator tips backwards. With its "hands" full of the sturdy rock, the digger had no way to prepare for the lethal drop or save itself for a second time. The boulder, as well as a handsome portion of the overhang, breaks away and the digger disappears for the last time. Jack and Sergio cautiously lean over the broken cliff to make out the falling digger; the excavator tumbles down the side of the stony crag, bringing a rock slide down along with it. Earthquake-like tremors are herd, followed by a faint explosion at the very bottom. Moments pass by, and a thick smog of smoke and flames mushroom up the cavern.
"There, you see?" Sergio confirmed with a smirk. "Our problem is solved. They say it is wise to take the path less traveled, and lucky for us this path leads us to one of the many edges of my mountain. There is no possible way for an excavator that size and magnitude to survive such a devastating plummet, let alone any man that was foolish enough to dare try and assassinate us. If there is any body left after the fire dies down, I'm sure the authorities could I.D. our homicidal lunatic and find out who hired him in the first place. It's as simple as that."
Jack stared at Sergio for a full minute before saying anything. "Okay…One, I have no idea what you just said, 'cept for the man in the machine part. Two, I had to admit that it was a very sneaky idea, and it worked! And three, this is probably a lit'l late, but you should know that there was no driver in the digger's cockpit. Just sayin'."
Sergio shivered with utter astonishment. "No driver? NO DRIVER? Than how in the blazes did-?"
"Jack! Sergie!"
Sergio and Jack turn around to see their comrades running down to them, as well as half of Corbenic's police squad. Mirabella and Carly run up to embrace their men, while Jonesy and Stellaluna pick their way over the rock face. Stellaluna steadies herself on Jonesy's arm as they peered over the cliff, staring down the hole where the pillar of smoke arose from. The police surround the area; they used the radio for backup and medical attention. A few bystanders and random witnesses are seen along the top of one of the smaller cliffs, flashing with their cameras and recording on their video phones.
"Sergio, what happened?" Screeched Mirabella, "The guards rushed us to the emergency storm cellar while the earthquakes went on, and we just noticed you were gone! When ya' didn't pick up your phone, I feared the worst, sugar! I thought we would find you and Carly's man lying dead in some pit or something! We weren't allowed to leave until the earthquakes stopped shaking us around, and we had to pick our way out of a now destroyed mansion! I mean that place was in horrible shape! We all jumped into my limo, have you noticed that the garage is totally wrecked?, and that's when we saw your car racing down the mountainside with something following you! How did you…"
Sergio placed three fingers on Mirabella's lips, much to everyone's relief. "Don't worry about me, my dear. I simply fell back and regrouped with Jack to make sure he wasn't lying dead in a pit, and the digger didn't crush him like a peanut underneath a shoe. It is as simple as that."
Jack and Carly was embracing each other sweetly, and then Carly took his head in her hands. "Jack, listen carefully. Back at the house, sticking out from a piece of wood, I found another-?" Carly let go of Jack's head and stared at Sergio. "Digger? What digger?"
"I'll tell you all about it later, love." Jack said with a smile. "But first, I think I twisted something in my leg, it-it won't stop stinging me!"
Carly kneels down and her heart skips a beat; she sees red inside his boot and fears his leg may have been pierced by a piece of glass. Carly slowly tugs his boot and notices that the red was not blood, but a feather. The main feather stuck out of Jack's skin and danced gracefully in the light wind, while the needle-sharp shaft dug underneath Jack's flesh.
"Jack, hold still."
Jack blinked at her. "Okay, but why-YOWCH! What the deuce, woman?"
Carly has effortlessly removes the feather from Jack's leg, but now there was real blood oozing from the small hole in his calf. Jack takes a cloth to put pressure on it, while Carly inspects the first uncanny feather, and then she reaches into her bag and slowly pulls out two more feathers. All three cherry-red quills looked exactly the same. By this time, Jack, Sergio, Stellaluna, Mirabella, and Jonesy have all gathered around to see the plume trio.
"Ain't that the feather that you found at the crashed cable car?" Jack said.
"Yes, it is! But wherever did you find the other two?" Jonesy agreed.
"The first one was from the cable car, the second one I found in the wrecked mansion, and the third one was stuck in Jack's boot." Carly stated.
"They're beautiful…" Stellaluna exclaimed
"I have to admit, those are the most elegant bird feathers I have ever seen." Sergio declared. "Wait! They belong to a bird, right?
"What kind of bird makes those feathers? The only red bird I've seen on this mountain is a cardinal, and these feathers are way too big for that!" Mirabella shouted.
Carly tucked away all three feathers cautiously in her bag, taking extreme care to make sure they weren't bent or crooked. "It doesn't matter what bird they came from for now, what is important is the fact that each feather is found at the scene of a crime, or accident, or attempted homicide, or something like that. Don't you guys find it downright strange?"
Jack rolled his eyes and started up the hill. "No offense, love, but you find everything suspicious. You are a reported after all."
"I'm serious! This is big! Another scoop! And these feathers are the clue! Jack? JACK!"
"Stop calling my name like that!"
Everyone just rolled their eyes and followed Jack and Carly back up the hill; they were making their way to Mirabella's still-running limousine. As the others followed the noisy couple into the vehicle, a large and yellow taxi cab overlooks the crash site on a small highland; two figures were seen sitting inside. One was spying on his prey through a pair of high powered binoculars, while the other just sat there quietly. A dark-skinned man, possibly in his late teens, with dark maroon hair and shocking gold eyes stared hungrily at Carly from the driver's seat, more specifically her bag. The silhouette of a wolf-like creature sat patiently shotgun next to him, a growl building in the back of his throat.
"Shh, I know, boy." The man reaches over and carefully pats the animal's head, his hand staying clear from his toothy snout. "I can feel it, too. We need that cute little mouse to help us find more of those feathers! The only problem is Mirabella. As long as she's with that fru fru poodle and her albino attack dog, there's no way we can get near her without raising suspicion. And by the looks of it, she's got a nice teddy bear to cling onto. I think we can take Mr. Obedient over there, and the fox, but blonde bear is going to be quite a challenge."
The animal snarled again, and then scratched at the glove box with one paw. It was obvious that the wolf was trying to tell his master something.
"I know, T.J." The man opened the glove box and pulled out a medium sized wooden box, complete with a golden lock on it. He places the box on his lap, takes out a key, and unlocks the box. Upon opening it, he takes out several red feathers in his hand; each feather was exactly the same as the three that Carly had in her bag. "The phoenix we have hunted for since the very beginning continues to elude us, as well as cause misery to anyone who even looks at this mountain. It's either trying to get these people off so that it can have Corbenic all to itself, or it's trying to tell somebody something. Whatever the reason, that girl can find the feathers as quickly as we can, so we need to find a way to get her on our side. But, how?"
The man rests the box back into the glove compartment without closing it, and then starts his car. The taxi quietly sputters to life and backs away from the cliff. As man and beast leave together up a dim road, the man looks back at the bottom of the hill one last time. T.J. sticks his head out of the open window and starts howling at thin air.
"Shut up, T.J.!" The dog immediately stops his insidious barking and sits back, bowing his head in shame. After a few silent minutes of driving, the man suddenly chuckled out loud and started talking to no one in particular. "Tick-tock, little mouse, tick-tock. Everyone here is running out of time, whether they know it or not. You seem to be smarter than any of these backwards chickens in this coop, and you better be to face our predator! But don't worry. You can count me and T.J. over here to help you out any way we can, for a price. So you better follow the feathers and sniff out what the hell is going on, or we'll all pay the ultimate price…"