Chapter Four
The Lion Attacks
It started out with one, small, girlish scream, before erupting into a horrible chorus of voices, all screaming for their lives in unison. They began yelling and running and grabbing their bags, calling for their family members. Small children cried. Feet stampeded the ground. Chaos didn't even begin to describe. The three questers were on their feet in an instant. What was this? A terrorist attack? Or worse, something related to their world?
A horrible, vicious, blood-thirsty growl ripped through the air. Silence rang for about two seconds, before the screaming started up again all at once, filled with even more fear and desperation than before. That pretty much answered that question. Quinn turned to her male companions.
"Stay here, and try not to do anything stupid until I get back," She commanded, before slinging her bag over her shoulder and pulling herself up a tall, thin column, silently thanking Mr.D for making them scale that horrible rock wall every Monday. Now that she was above the crowds, she caught a glimpse of the monster that was attacking the airport. It was a huge, glittering mass of fur. Its claws shone like silver, and its teeth were as sharp as kitchen knives. The thing swung his lumbering paws at everything in sight, leaving a path of absolute destruction in its wake. The Nemean Lion. That wasn't exactly something Quinn expected to be in Spain.
Panic set in, and she was about to scream to Reed and Trent, when her hands slipped on the column she had scaled. Screaming a curse, she tumbled to the unforgiving floor, landing on her back with a force that knocked every wisp of air out of her lungs. Quinn sat up, dazed and breathing hard. Feet pounded all around her, closing her in and threatening to trample her to a pulp. She pulled herself to her feet and pushed frantically through the crowd, screaming at people to get out of her way. She couldn't see the two boys anywhere. She told them to stay where they were for this very reason!
And then finally, she caught a glimpse of Trent's tangled auburn hair towering above the crowd, then Reed's slightly shorter mop of hair a little bit ahead. Giving a murmur of thanks to whatever god in charge of tallness, she set after her two idiot friends. Most of the people in the airport had cleared out by the time she reached them, which was good. She decided she would chew Trent and Reed out later. She pulled her crossbow out of her bag (now adorned with a sparkly pink heart key chain, courtesy of Brianna. Because that just screamed: FEAR ME) and locked target with the Lion's eye, one of the only parts she was pretty sure was vulnerable, excluding the mouth. But her shot missed as the Lion turned, and skidded off its iron-like pelt. She cursed. The Reed was hacking furiously at the thing while Trent covered his back with his javelin and shield, not realizing their efforts were futile.
"It's the Nemean Lion, guys!" she told them. "Aim for the mouth! Or the eyes! Everything else is completely bullet-proof!" Reed let out an audible groan of annoyance as he had another close escape with the Lion's razor claws.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he muttered. Quinn rolled her eyes and shot another bolt towards the Lion's weak spot, only to have it miss by a millimeter. She cursed and ducked as the Lion's teeth snapped the space where her head had been moments before. She danced out of the way of its claws, jumping onto a large blue marble-topped desk. The claws came crashing down yet again and she rolled out of the way, just as the desk was obliterated. Things continued in this pattern all the way down the desk, before she rolled off and took off running down a moving sidewalk, her heart pounding and head reeling from all the ways the Lion could tear her to pieces. Trent and Reed were desperately trying to divert the beast's attention; Trent pulling on the beast's tufted tail, Reed hacking at its sides, both yelling insults all the while. But the Lion seemed completely locked on Quinn. Teeth snapped at her back, and she poured on the speed. Suddenly, there was a harsh tug on her hood, and she was dangling from the Lion's drooling maw.
Her heart sped up, and she thrashed violently, screaming at the big, hairy thing to let her go. Reed called her name and attacked the monster with renewed desperation, but it was no good. In a last desperate effort, she thrust her cross bow back into the Lion's ugly face. It hit home directly in its eye, and with a howl of pain from the Nemean Lion, and a shrill scream from Quinn, she was flung backwards. Before she went crashing to the floor, she managed to grab hold of something around the monster's neck. A…collar? How could that be? Before Quinn had time to ponder, she landed hard on the Lion's back, flat on her belly, so that she nearly puked. Quinn pulled herself into a sitting position, still clinging to collar.
Police sirens wailed in the distance.
They were running out of time. If they got caught by the police, they'd be done-for. A plan formed into her mind. It was time to kick some invincible butt.
"Get ready guys! I'm going to make it roar! Get the inside of its mouth!" She managed to scream, nearly biting her tongue off, the way the Lion was thrashing. Now was the harder part. Summoning all her strength, she pulled hard on the metal collar, ignoring the deep cuts it carved in her palms. Apparently, the Lion found this as uncomfortable as she did, for it reared back, which only tightened the collar, because Quinn was now dangling precariously from it. Its mouth opened in a tremendous roar, and Trent took that moment to throw his javelin. It sliced through the Lion's mouth before going straight down its throat. It hacked once, and then exploded into golden dust. Quinn, the collar, and Trent's javelin went crashing to the floor.
Groaning, Quinn pulled herself to her feet, wiping the blood off her mouth. Trent and Reed jogged up. They looked bruised and a little cut-up, but they didn't look too damaged. Trent had a nasty slash on his arm where the Lion must've caught him that might need attending. He picked up his javelin from the pile of dust. Quinn squinted. Just a pile of dust. Shouldn't there be a pelt?
Suddenly, the dust began to twitch, then collect. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled back in horror.
"It's reforming!" she gasped. "Out. NOW!" She grabbed their hands and dragged them down a corridor…
…To be met with Police officers. Reed cursed. They had their guns out. The gaze of the first one flickered to their weapons, before turning hard.
"Manos en el aire! Caída delas armas!" Officer one barked, his gun trained on Trent's chest. The other Officers were trained on Reed and Quinn. Hands in the air! Drop your weapons! Quinn was almost sure they saw guns in their hands, instead of a crossbow, javelin and sword. But they needed to get themselves, and these mortals out of here. So she did the only thing she could think of. Run. She elbowed Reed and discreetly loaded a bolt in her crossbow. He seemed to understand. He whispered the plan to Trent, who nodded. The officer repeated himself, harsher this time.
"Por supuesto, oficial." She said, and all three lowered their weapons, as if complying. Just as they were about to hit the floor, she swung her bow up, yelled, "Now!" and shot an bolt above the officers' heads, as Trent and Reed took off down the hall. Quinn didn't wait to see where her bolt landed. She took off after the two boys.
The Lion's head was now fully formed. He roared weakly at her as she passed. Something beside it glinted. The collar! She had to get it. She glanced over her shoulder. The policemen were a ways back. She could get it!
"Quinn! Come ON!" Reed shouted from ahead. Even with his messed up knee, he was freakishly fast, already way ahead of Trent.
"One sec!" she called. She veered to the right and grabbed the collar from behind the Lion's disembodied head, when the floor beside her exploded.
They're shooting at as! She was utterly flabbergasted, which didn't happen often. A suitcase near her was blown back.
"Quinn! Let's go, go, GO!" Trent hollered, hovering at the door. The police were catching up, guns drawn. A shot near her head brought her back to life. She jumped up and barreled towards the doors. The three of them burst out onto a cluttered street, filled with people trying to get away from the airport. At few people screamed at the sight of their "guns". Quinn scanned the area for an escape. Nothing.
Suddenly, Reed's head shot up.
"To the parking lot! I've got an idea!" he said urgently, before taking off towards the parking lot.
In a place filled with so many people, the police couldn't shoot at them, but they were gaining. Desperate to buy some time, Quinn sent a couple bolts back at them, careful to miss. They skidded to a halt. Frantically, the three poured on the speed.
The trio threw themselves behind a fancy car near the back of the lot. The policemen were still at the front. That bought them some time, but Quinn still had no idea what Reed was planning.
Until he sent his sword through the window. It smashed into oblivion. Quinn gave him a reproachful look. He grinned in response.
"I could've picked the lock," he said, shrugging, "But I've always wanted to do that."
Quinn smacked his head.
"Just hurry!"
He nodded, and carefully stuck his hand in the window, careful of the glass. The doors unlocked. He climbed into the driver's seat, and turned to Trent.
"I need a screw driver and some wire-cutters." Trent's ears turned pink.
"Why do you assume I have—"
Reed gave him a look. Trent bit his lip and handed the tools over. Reed cracked up.
"Shut up," Trent muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets, looking away. Reed swallowed his laughter and began to work.
About thirty seconds later, the car was running.
"Yes!" Reed fist-pumped. "Thank you, Howcast!"
The police were getting closer. Quinn pushed Trent in, and buckled up, slamming the door.
"Just drive!"
Reed paled. He looked light a deer in head lights.
"D-drive? Uh…" For a second, Quinn thought she saw genuine fear in his eyes. Something in Trent's face flickered and he muttered something that sounded like, "of course!"
"I'll drive. Scoot, man," Reed scooted over warily, and Trent climbed into the driver's seat. A bullet went through the windshield. Quinn squeaked and yelled at him to drive. He floored the engine.
The people gave them a wide berth, and man could this car go fast. They barreled down the streets, taking random turns whenever they could. But Quinn knew they couldn't keep this up for long. The police would catch up. They would crash. Something. An idea began to form in her mind. It was dangerous and stupid, but it was better than nothing.
Trent had managed to get them all the way to the countryside, the police on there tail all the while. A shallow trench lined the dirt road, and they were about to turn a corner, and some woods were a little ahead. The police were pretty far behind. If they could just…
Quinn shouted her plan to Trent, who thought she was crazy, but complied. He managed to rouse Reed from his state of paralyzing fear, and he dazedly agreed. She would figure that out later.
The corner was approaching. Scooting all the way over so she was pressed against the window, she counted down the seconds.
"One, two, three- NOW!"
And with that, they all swallowed their fear, flung open their car doors, and tumbled out onto the dirt path.
TODAAAAA! IT IS DONE. AT LAST. I apologize for its short length, but an update's an update, and I felt the need to end it there. But I fail at actionD: I got the SoN on the 3rd and finished it by the 4th, in Math. It was painfully good, and ended in the most devious cliffie EVER. …Kinda like this only ten times worse XD. Anyway, I apologize for any wrong facts.
Till next time,
~TUC (with love:D)