Chapter 8: On Their Own
A.N. I know this update is long overdue, and I'm very sorry. I've had a lot to do lately, but all the same. So before I keep you waiting another second, here it is.
City of Los Angeles
Emily stared up at the sign on the side of the highway. She had been here before with her parents a few times, but never alone. This was the farthest she had ever been from home alone. Well, without her parents, she had Lightning, and Mittens, she was never alone with them. Emily looked down at Lightning and smiled, still concerned about his side, but glad he was unharmed. "You ready boy?" she asked enthusiastically. He barked happily in response. "Good." Me neither.
She checked her bag to make sure Mittens was alright and that she had all of the essentials. She noted her folded up electronic scooter, then she looked off to the city in the distance, it was a least two miles. Why not? She may as well get the hang of riding it, and she didn't feel like walking. It's not the first time, she could almost hear her mother saying. She took the scooter out, secured Mittens and all her other possessions, and put her backpack on. "C'mon boy," she said to Lightning as she secured her helmet. He's enhanced, but...can he run that fast too? She was going to find out.
She started the engine, and revved it up, looking back down at Lightning. Then she started off slowly at first, quickly getting the hang of it. She looked back to see Lightning close behind. "Mom?" Lightning inquired to Mittens who, though secure, appeared to be hanging on for dear life. "How do I keep up?"
"Just run," she replied.
"But, can I..."
"Just run!," she repeated abruptly.
He obeyed and began running at a normal pace, Emily decided to speed up a little more, Lightning still managed to keep up, she sighed and pushed it into full throttle. After ten seconds, she remembered to look back for Lightning, but he was nowhere to be seen, she sighed and began to slow down only to see that he was actually ahead of her. She smiled in relief and continued down the side of the road towards the city.
Once they came closer, she decided it would be best to not attract attention and enter on foot. She whistled to Lightning and began to decelerate her scooter.
They stopped roughly half a mile before the city. Emily hopped off her scooter and stowed it back in her backpack. Then they entered the bustling city. The sounds of motors and car horns and senseless shouts grew as they passed the first building. The size of the structures grew as they continued into the city. The number of people on the sidewalks grew, more and more, making Emily decide to put Lightning on a leash, before he was caught by animal control...or worse, attacked the first person who simply bumped her shoulder. As they reached the first intersection, Emily decided it would be best to have breakfast before looking for any whereabouts of Calico. She briefly tied Lightning up outside of a small restaurant, and soon returned with a small meal, but a meal nonetheless. She took a small bite out of her cinnamon roll as she pondered where she would start looking for any clues about Calico, and, more importantly, what she would do if she found any. She laid back against the concrete wall of the alley way they were in and looked up at the sky, watching the birds fly along the air currents, constantly scoping out the city below for bountiful amount of food scraps they were accustomed to. Then her eyes turned to the streets, people walked or drove along to their jobs as they always did without any concern to those for whom every day is a challenge to stay alive. Like them.
Emily offered the rest of her breakfast to Lightning, who accepted it graciously, and buried her face in her hands and rubbed her eyes. Lightning stopped eating and gently nudged her. She looked up and smiled, "What now, boy?" she asked quietly as she scratched his head.
Lightning sighed. I wish I knew. He then turned to Mittens who was lying beside her. He blinked and looked closer at her. At home, lying on carpet or furniture, she looked fine, healthy, even a little younger than she was. But now, on hard, cold concrete, she appeared old, frail, and especially vulnerable. But then again, they all did. "Mom?" he said softly.
Mittens looked at him warmly as she always did. "What honey?"
"W-what do we do now?" he asked timidly.
She sighed and sat beside him, "Don't worry about that sweetie. That's up to Emily. All you need to think about right now is protecting Emily. That's why you're here."
Lightning sighed and looked away. "I...I wish...dad was here."
Mittens nuzzled him. "I know honey," she replied. "I do too, but you'll be just fine, I promise." Lightning tensed suddenly and turned around, looking to the street. Mittens also looked in this direction. "What is it?"
Emily, noticing this as well, grabbed her items, and slowly rose to her feet. They soon saw what he sensed. A black Sedan with a strange cat eye logo cruised down the street, Lightning growled as it passed. Emily stared for a moment as her new objective became clear. She took a deep breath, and then placed Mittens back into her backpack, and looked down at her dog. "Let's go boy," she said as they jogged out of the alleyway, after their target.
Emily only barely managed to keep up with Lightning, who was flawlessly tracking one of Calico's cars as they followed it through the city streets of Los Angeles. Lightning stopped in front of the entry of a large area of warehouses, where the car had traveled to, to allow Emily to catch up. When she did, she plopped down next to him, breathing heavily as she looked to see where the vehicle had gone. "Okay," she panted, catching her breath. "Let's see what they're up to."
She and Lightning slipped through the front gate and quietly trotted over to one of the warehouses, remaining alert at every door. Reaching the end of it, they cautiously peeked around the corner to see the parked car with several men in either gray suits or black armor walking from the car to the entrance to the house next door, speaking only in mutters to one another. Lightning gave a low growl, and Emily hastily hushed him. But he sensed something else. He turned his head past the men to the corner of the passage way between the houses. Shouting voices...of...police? Some sort of local trouble? Whatever the case, he wasn't the only one. The men by the car had heard this as well and dove into the nearby warehouse. He didn't need to ponder this as he saw why almost instantly, a red sports car full of men in their mid twenties came speeding down the lane closely pursued by two police cars, futilely shouting their orders at them. Emily took a few steps back to avoid being seen. As Lightning did the same, the car turned sharply into the lane they were standing in. "Lightning!" Emily called, seeing the collision course. Lightning was moving out of the way, but not fast enough, as the car accelerated again, it raced straight for him. "LIGHTNING!" she shrieked in horror, as the car drove straight into him.
Lightning could do nothing but brace for impact.
