The Hatchling- Part 3
The bus ride was bumpy and the air filtered through the vehicle's ventilation systems was possibly the most noxious I ever had the misfortune of inhaling. I guess I couldn't complain. It was my fault for choosing the crappy charter run, but with the limited amount of cash I had on me I just couldn't splurge on whatever was more convenient or looked better. I had to try and conserve what little I had until I could find a way to earn a living. Some master strategist I was. I could conceive the most fantastic schemes for revenge, but I couldn't figure out a way to get a job and a roof over my head. The job market for thirteen year old girls wasn't too broad at the moment. I accepted the fact that my life was going to get very difficult from that point on, but if that was the price I had to pay for the opportunity to exact my revenge against the Ravens, then so be it.
The bus stopped and I got off at quite possibly the busiest station in the world. This was the newly established Avalon City, a state dedicated solely to Raven battles and related Arena events. Stepping out of the station, I was amazed to see the multitude of AC's actively roaming the enormous streets of Avalon. Everything from the heaviest humanoid-legged to the sleekest fastest quad leg models going here and there, some being maneuvered swiftly along the city, and some pilots just carousing around the city in their machines, probably looking for a fight or some other way to pay the maintenance for their units. Thankfully, the walkways for civilians was elevated to a height well above the path for the AC's. So many Ravens, so little I could at the moment to pay them back for the many aches and pains they have cost me. Unfortunately I had to devote my attention to more impending matters. like finding a place to live! I had to find a place that would accommodate this pre-teen wreck and not try to rip me off. Yeah right, in this city? It looked like these weren't going to be the best days of my life. For a second I considered hopping back on the skimmer-bus and going back to the group home, back to Alex, but had to painfully dismiss the idea. This was the path I was forging for myself, and I had to stick to it, no matter the cost.
The sound of someone swearing very loudly behind me snapped me back to reality. I turned to see a rather gruff man in a battered jumpsuit trying to start an obviously dead hover bike. He couldn't refrain from spitting a slew of profanities as he kept attempting in vain to start the faulty machine.
"Stupid piece of shit!"
I approached him with my heart set on seeing if I could help the stranger. He saw me standing there looking at him, probably thinking I was just silently mocking him. He replied in kind, "What, you never seen a guy in a jumpsuit before? You attracted to me or something? Piss off kid, I'm not in the mood for any more annoyances."
Obviously at this point I was pissed off myself. How dare he call me an annoyance? He wanted me gone, fine. But I wasn't going to leave without shutting his ignorant ass up. I stomped forward and brushed past him, getting a vulgar response in the process.
"Hey! What the f-"
I had already slid the my micro-driver out of my wrist kit and began to unscrew the beat up side panel to take a look at the battery unit. First I had to look up to see if this moron had just forgotten to refuel the tank, but it was reading full. Guess he wasn't completely brain-dead after all. Looking in, I could've died laughing there, seeing that all his frustration was over an upside-down terminal cable. I switched it around and reattached the panel. Snatching the ignition keys from the now curious bystander, I hopped up and flipped the bike on. A brief catch, and a loud roar from the ion engine hailed the bike's return to life. I looked back towards my previous oppressor with a big smirk on my face, savoring the stupefied look on his face as he looked away, scratching the back of his head and trying to play it off.
"Well, aren't you the mechanical whiz."
I jump off the bike and begin to walk away, having proved my point, but he puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"Wait a second."
I turn, curious as to what he could have to say to me now. I just hope he's not one of those sick bastards who have an eye for young children. What I got instead, was completely unexpected.
"Listen, um, I'm sorry for before. Name's Skylar, Ness Skylar, and I guess I owe you one for the bike."
I stood there impatiently, my feet hurting after the trip from the station and the bundle strapped to my back digging it's thin cord into my shoulder. Also, I still had to find a place to crash and this ignoramus' rambling was beginning to give me one hell of a migraine. I grew tired of him quickly.
"And."
"And I was thinking you could probably help me out, girl or not. You see, I head this repair shop, part of the Nerves Concord for Ravens in Av'lon, and I'm desperate for staff with your kinda mechanical expertise. So I was wonderin', what do you know about AC maint'nance ?"
Was this guy serious? What didn't I know about AC's! It was either a God sent, or just the biggest coincidence in history that this guys idiocy caught my attention. This could be the answer to all my housing and money problems, but I still had my doubts. It sounded to good to be true, there must've been a catch somewhere, so I asked.
"No catch, just pull your own and keep up your maint'nance quota, and you keep your job. Fair 'nuff?"
I thought about it, and figured what the hell? If someone was going to screw me over, they might as well do it now and get it over with, so I don't have to deal with them later. But if I was going to work for him, it was going to be on my terms.
"Fine, but first, I have a few requests; One, you put me up in one of those apartments they rent out to Ravens."
"I'll try n' find you a place, but rent's gonna come out of your paycheck when I do. Come on, let's go-"
I hold up my hand to stop him. He was about twice my height, and probably three times my weight, but I wasn't scared to make demands of him.
"What now?"
"Second condition", I hold up the keys I still have in my possession, "I'm driving."
He tried to protest, but when I threaten to toss the keys into the street below where all the AC's were traveling, his demeanor suddenly turned to one of reasoning. Having lost the argument, he sheepishly takes a seat behind, obviously embarrassed to have to take the bitch seat on his own bike to a "little girl". It was pretty obvious that he was pissed by the way he dug his nails into my side to hold on. I could swear his face was glowing red.
"Shit, let's get this over with already."
"Oh you want me to go fast? You got it!"
The engine already purring with the suppressed power of the powerful compressor engine, I kicked the bike into gear just as Ness tried to utter a last, futile protest.
"No, wait-"
Too late, I had already ignited the Anti-G jets and we bolted forward in a burst of blue energy. Ness's grip tightened on my waist, holding on for his life as I careened along the semi-populated sidewalk. To tell you the truth, I didn't have the faintest idea of how to handle a hover bike. However, my hands remembered skills long forgotten by my mind, skills of navigational computer deciphering and master control operations. Decrepit techniques from a childhood past, when I still dreamed of becoming a Raven for the good of humanity. Such imaginings wouldn't come so cheap, as I had found out the hard way. For now, the exhilaration from the ride, the wind lashing at my face was a welcome escape from reality. Up ahead was an off ramp to the AC pathways, a flashing sign on the side proclaiming the obvious danger. "Avalon Social Society Will Not Be Held Responsible For AC/Traffic Related Casualties. Enter At Your Own Risk!" Thank you, I think I will. Ness could probably sense what I was thinking, because the frequency of his barely heard screams and warnings increased ten fold. I didn't care, I pressed toward the exit. Coming down hard in a flurry of sparks and flames on the low road, I started veering left and right, almost effortlessly avoiding getting crushed by the multi-ton gargantuan walking over me. I almost sent one of the light-weight models head over heels when I shot through his legs. He would have probably took a shot at me if there weren't regulations in Avalon that prevented Ravens from firing upon pedestrians. I just revved the accelerator and went faster, Ness screaming for dear life behind me. The funny thing was, I was performing all these death-defying traffic stunts, and I didn't even know where the hell I was going. Ness had failed to give me directions earlier, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop now, not when a chance at revenge had been presented so blatantly to me. I was off at mach speed, to my destiny.
(END CHAPTER THREE)
I think I'm finally getting the hang of this. I'm having a lot of fun writing the series, and the positive responses from you, the readers is really helping me along. Thanks for all of you who have R&R'd. More to come.
The bus ride was bumpy and the air filtered through the vehicle's ventilation systems was possibly the most noxious I ever had the misfortune of inhaling. I guess I couldn't complain. It was my fault for choosing the crappy charter run, but with the limited amount of cash I had on me I just couldn't splurge on whatever was more convenient or looked better. I had to try and conserve what little I had until I could find a way to earn a living. Some master strategist I was. I could conceive the most fantastic schemes for revenge, but I couldn't figure out a way to get a job and a roof over my head. The job market for thirteen year old girls wasn't too broad at the moment. I accepted the fact that my life was going to get very difficult from that point on, but if that was the price I had to pay for the opportunity to exact my revenge against the Ravens, then so be it.
The bus stopped and I got off at quite possibly the busiest station in the world. This was the newly established Avalon City, a state dedicated solely to Raven battles and related Arena events. Stepping out of the station, I was amazed to see the multitude of AC's actively roaming the enormous streets of Avalon. Everything from the heaviest humanoid-legged to the sleekest fastest quad leg models going here and there, some being maneuvered swiftly along the city, and some pilots just carousing around the city in their machines, probably looking for a fight or some other way to pay the maintenance for their units. Thankfully, the walkways for civilians was elevated to a height well above the path for the AC's. So many Ravens, so little I could at the moment to pay them back for the many aches and pains they have cost me. Unfortunately I had to devote my attention to more impending matters. like finding a place to live! I had to find a place that would accommodate this pre-teen wreck and not try to rip me off. Yeah right, in this city? It looked like these weren't going to be the best days of my life. For a second I considered hopping back on the skimmer-bus and going back to the group home, back to Alex, but had to painfully dismiss the idea. This was the path I was forging for myself, and I had to stick to it, no matter the cost.
The sound of someone swearing very loudly behind me snapped me back to reality. I turned to see a rather gruff man in a battered jumpsuit trying to start an obviously dead hover bike. He couldn't refrain from spitting a slew of profanities as he kept attempting in vain to start the faulty machine.
"Stupid piece of shit!"
I approached him with my heart set on seeing if I could help the stranger. He saw me standing there looking at him, probably thinking I was just silently mocking him. He replied in kind, "What, you never seen a guy in a jumpsuit before? You attracted to me or something? Piss off kid, I'm not in the mood for any more annoyances."
Obviously at this point I was pissed off myself. How dare he call me an annoyance? He wanted me gone, fine. But I wasn't going to leave without shutting his ignorant ass up. I stomped forward and brushed past him, getting a vulgar response in the process.
"Hey! What the f-"
I had already slid the my micro-driver out of my wrist kit and began to unscrew the beat up side panel to take a look at the battery unit. First I had to look up to see if this moron had just forgotten to refuel the tank, but it was reading full. Guess he wasn't completely brain-dead after all. Looking in, I could've died laughing there, seeing that all his frustration was over an upside-down terminal cable. I switched it around and reattached the panel. Snatching the ignition keys from the now curious bystander, I hopped up and flipped the bike on. A brief catch, and a loud roar from the ion engine hailed the bike's return to life. I looked back towards my previous oppressor with a big smirk on my face, savoring the stupefied look on his face as he looked away, scratching the back of his head and trying to play it off.
"Well, aren't you the mechanical whiz."
I jump off the bike and begin to walk away, having proved my point, but he puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"Wait a second."
I turn, curious as to what he could have to say to me now. I just hope he's not one of those sick bastards who have an eye for young children. What I got instead, was completely unexpected.
"Listen, um, I'm sorry for before. Name's Skylar, Ness Skylar, and I guess I owe you one for the bike."
I stood there impatiently, my feet hurting after the trip from the station and the bundle strapped to my back digging it's thin cord into my shoulder. Also, I still had to find a place to crash and this ignoramus' rambling was beginning to give me one hell of a migraine. I grew tired of him quickly.
"And."
"And I was thinking you could probably help me out, girl or not. You see, I head this repair shop, part of the Nerves Concord for Ravens in Av'lon, and I'm desperate for staff with your kinda mechanical expertise. So I was wonderin', what do you know about AC maint'nance ?"
Was this guy serious? What didn't I know about AC's! It was either a God sent, or just the biggest coincidence in history that this guys idiocy caught my attention. This could be the answer to all my housing and money problems, but I still had my doubts. It sounded to good to be true, there must've been a catch somewhere, so I asked.
"No catch, just pull your own and keep up your maint'nance quota, and you keep your job. Fair 'nuff?"
I thought about it, and figured what the hell? If someone was going to screw me over, they might as well do it now and get it over with, so I don't have to deal with them later. But if I was going to work for him, it was going to be on my terms.
"Fine, but first, I have a few requests; One, you put me up in one of those apartments they rent out to Ravens."
"I'll try n' find you a place, but rent's gonna come out of your paycheck when I do. Come on, let's go-"
I hold up my hand to stop him. He was about twice my height, and probably three times my weight, but I wasn't scared to make demands of him.
"What now?"
"Second condition", I hold up the keys I still have in my possession, "I'm driving."
He tried to protest, but when I threaten to toss the keys into the street below where all the AC's were traveling, his demeanor suddenly turned to one of reasoning. Having lost the argument, he sheepishly takes a seat behind, obviously embarrassed to have to take the bitch seat on his own bike to a "little girl". It was pretty obvious that he was pissed by the way he dug his nails into my side to hold on. I could swear his face was glowing red.
"Shit, let's get this over with already."
"Oh you want me to go fast? You got it!"
The engine already purring with the suppressed power of the powerful compressor engine, I kicked the bike into gear just as Ness tried to utter a last, futile protest.
"No, wait-"
Too late, I had already ignited the Anti-G jets and we bolted forward in a burst of blue energy. Ness's grip tightened on my waist, holding on for his life as I careened along the semi-populated sidewalk. To tell you the truth, I didn't have the faintest idea of how to handle a hover bike. However, my hands remembered skills long forgotten by my mind, skills of navigational computer deciphering and master control operations. Decrepit techniques from a childhood past, when I still dreamed of becoming a Raven for the good of humanity. Such imaginings wouldn't come so cheap, as I had found out the hard way. For now, the exhilaration from the ride, the wind lashing at my face was a welcome escape from reality. Up ahead was an off ramp to the AC pathways, a flashing sign on the side proclaiming the obvious danger. "Avalon Social Society Will Not Be Held Responsible For AC/Traffic Related Casualties. Enter At Your Own Risk!" Thank you, I think I will. Ness could probably sense what I was thinking, because the frequency of his barely heard screams and warnings increased ten fold. I didn't care, I pressed toward the exit. Coming down hard in a flurry of sparks and flames on the low road, I started veering left and right, almost effortlessly avoiding getting crushed by the multi-ton gargantuan walking over me. I almost sent one of the light-weight models head over heels when I shot through his legs. He would have probably took a shot at me if there weren't regulations in Avalon that prevented Ravens from firing upon pedestrians. I just revved the accelerator and went faster, Ness screaming for dear life behind me. The funny thing was, I was performing all these death-defying traffic stunts, and I didn't even know where the hell I was going. Ness had failed to give me directions earlier, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop now, not when a chance at revenge had been presented so blatantly to me. I was off at mach speed, to my destiny.
(END CHAPTER THREE)
I think I'm finally getting the hang of this. I'm having a lot of fun writing the series, and the positive responses from you, the readers is really helping me along. Thanks for all of you who have R&R'd. More to come.
