Author's Note: Thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed so far! I probably would never have written this much so quickly if it wasn't for you guys!
Chapter 9
Eventually, after about an hour and a half of endless flapping, I got my wish and things became a bit more exciting. The sky was nearly dark now, and emerging in the distance, I could make out two little pin-pricks of light to the left of us, clearly visible against the navy sky.
--Tell me that's not a helicopter, I see, looming towards us!-- I said.
--Oh, god, what now?-- moaned Philip.
I strained my eyes on the shape around the pin-pricks. It was most definitely a helicopter. I tried to see inside the windows, to see who was piloting. I wished I had my raptor eyes. I had the terrible feeling its occupants was watching us, too.
--Jeez!-- yelped Maggie suddenly. --Did anyone see what it just did!--
--No!- replied Sam. --What?--
--It just shot down a couple of herons! There's a flock of herons, a mile or so to the east, and the helicopter flew round beside them and shot two of them out of the sky!--
I stared in the direction of the chopper. It was very high, almost level with us, much higher than most helicopters dare venture. And, sure enough, I could just make out the hazy outlines of a flock of birds on the wing, flying, like us, in a loose V formation. I watched. Suddenly – another bird plummeted to earth! They were killing innocent birds in their search for us! And then…
--Sam!--I yelled. --It's heading this way!--
Sam snapped into heroine mode immediately. I love it when she does that. --Ok, everyone, so we know we've been seen. They're almost certainly Controllers. Just act like real geese. If they see us go off course, or suddenly fly away when they head towards us, they'll know we're human.--
--We're three geese and a swan!-- I pointed out. --How dodgy does that look!--
--Different species of migrating birds often join up in formation,-- Maggie replied.
--Well, I don't think the Controllers know that,-- I gushed.
The chopper rose in altitude as it veered towards us. I could now make out the shape of the helicopter very clearly. Big and black, with reflective windows – just like the one that greeted us most graciously by the supermarket. As it loomed ever closer, I could even begin to make out the silhouettes of the people inside. Two figures. One flying. And another, with a-
--Dracon beam!-- I yelped. --They're pointing Dracon beams at us!--
--Ok, don't panic,-- said Sam, trying to keep the panic out of her own voice. --Just, act naturally. Give them no reason to shoot at us.--
But I just had to go and mess things up.
The helicopter was flying right along beside us now. The noise was deafening. Up in the air, without the noise from ground level drifting up this high, it can be very quiet apart from the whoosh and whistles of the wind in your wings. Now, however, the sounds of the chopper's blades blocked out everything else. The pilot – a Yeerk in the body of a twenty something girl, narrowed her eyes as she levelled the chopper beside us. And then I noticed something that scared even a daredevil like me half to death.
The sniper was pointing his Dracon beam right at me.
--Oh, god!-- I yelled! I wondered if the Controllers could hear thought-speak. If they could, we were toast.
--Ferdie!-- Maggie's though-speak echoed in my head.
--Ferdie, don't pull away!-- ordered Sam. --We'll try and distract them!--
But their pleads were no good. Whether it was my bird or human brain doing the thinking, I couldn't just cruise along acting as if nothing was happening. I ignored Sam's order. I tucked my wings in, pulled hard to my right, and swooped downwards – just as a flash of Dracon scorched the air where I'd been a second ago. I could see a grin flash across the young Controller's face. Even though he hadn't hit me, he knew that this was the clue he'd been waiting for. Normal geese definitely don't dodge Dracon beams.
--Flawless, you idiot!-- screamed Philip. --Now they know we're human!--
--Would you prefer it if I'd got shot?-- I yelled back. I mean, come on. What a comment to make.
Luckily Sam was there to rescue us from our bickering.
--Let's descend!-- she called out. --Get down to ground level. We'll have to carry on in non-bird morphs. Try and split up on the way down! Spread out their targets!--
The four of us immediately switched into our geese or swan minds, turned our beaks towards the ground, and flapped for all we were worth. Philip and I glided slightly to the left, by tipping our right wings upwards, whilst Sam and Maggie did the same but to the right. I dove downwards as fast as I could, feeling the wind whipping my eyes. It was nowhere near like diving as a hobby, but it was the best I could do. Philip was on my tail, snaking his way through the air, left-right-left-right to avoid flying in a straight line, which would make it easier for the enemy to target him – a tactic he'd learnt as an officer in the army. Above us, the helicopter hovered for a second, the Controllers obviously unsure which of us to go for. But, of course, they soon made up their minds.
--They're going for Sam!-- yelled Maggie, somewhere above me and to my right.
--I'm fine!-- Sam called. She, like Philip, was weaving her way like a fighter jet through the air, nimbly missing fires of Dracon. --You guys keep going!--
I saw her tuck in her wings and attempt to dive down like I had, directly beneath the helicopter. The helicopter tried to chase after her, but despite being top of the range and fitted with advanced alien technology, it was a huge, lumbering flying elephant compared to Sam. It couldn't turn around to face in Sam's direction, and the Dracon beams had been fixed, immovable, to the underside of the chopper, meaning that the Controller could only shoot them forwards. This was the same with the headlights; the sky was dark now, and the lights - although disorientating and bright enough to light a stadium, it seemed - they could only light up what was in front. By the time it had spotted us, and manoeuvred to get itself in position again, the four of us were pretty much out of sight. I breathed a mental sigh of relief. We were safe – for now. But I'd bet it wouldn't take them long to find us again, once we were on the ground. One thing was for sure; we wouldn't be able to use our geese morphs any time soon.