Happy belated Halloween. Celebrate all over again with this poorly-written, unedited slice of shame.
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Chapter 8 – Set In Motion
"I badly speak English, what do you want of me?"
"I want you to friggen explain what the friggen hell you're going to friggen do!" Lee growled threatening, hardly containing himself. Mariah sat behind him on a short stool, chewing her lip nervously.
"I do not know the 'friggen'! What does this mean?" Spencer countered, a slight amount of annoyance showing through his words. He looked around at the faces quizzically, cornered and trying to find some sort of solace. Rei stepped forward and put a hand solidly on Lee's shoulder.
"Spencer," he started, his own jaw tight with confused worry, "Do you have any idea what's going on? What that robot was?"
The huge Russian blader shook his head and then stopped, a sigh gradually coming up from his lungs. "I cannot say in English."
Rei's frown deepened. "Please try. Please."
Spencer looked down at him with dark eyes, unsure whether it was pity or panic growing in his gut. After a few silent seconds of thought, he swore in his native tongue and stood upright. "There was 'robot', as you say, and it… made hole."
"'Hole'?" Lee repeated, looking up at him with blank anger.
"Yes, like… foot hole."
"Footprint?" Rei offered eagerly. The blond blinked, paused, and nodded with a half-smile, pleased with how close he had come.
"Yes, footprint. In forest. The trees were all cut up. Bryan was going to speak of it."
Rei sighed and ran a few fingers through his hair. As if the action had bewitched everyone else, the room fell silent and still. It was obvious now what they had to do, but no one was ready to step up and say it. Spencer shifted from foot to foot, wondering how much longer he would have to stand there and wait for these strangers to come to the obvious conclusion, but he made no effort in supplying it himself; he was already the enemy in their eyes anyway. Most of them probably blamed the robot's attack on his and Bryan's arrival, as if they had brought bad luck with them.
"We have to go."
From the corner of the large room, a deep and stunted voice with a heavy Chinese accent sounded out like a fog horn. About nine faces turned toward its source and found Gary sitting on the floor beside Kevin's very upset mother, one hand on her upper back. He took his time looking up at them, and when he finally made direct eye contact with Lee, he sighed.
"We have to get Kevin."
Spencer watched the reactions of the people around him and sighed.
"If anything means of it, Bryan is impossible to keep still as captive."
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The shadows stretched far across the pavement of the street, leading back to the neon lights of the tavern sign. The corner bar introduced itself with a windowless door and a 'No Minors' sign, prompting caution from Hilary as she pressed against the back of her seat.
"Isn't there a more reliable place to get directions?" She muttered, glancing over at Kai as he killed the engine. He returned to the look with a raised eyebrow.
"They're the only people awake at this hour."
"I still don't see why we can't wait until morning, Kai." Max piped up. "Our plane only landed two hours ago, why can't we stay at one of these inns?"
"Because," Kai muttered bitterly, "these people are all hicks. American hicks."
Max sat upright. "Hey, watch it Kai. Don't stereotype people so easily, I bet you'll find that they're not that bad."
"Oh please." Kai retorted immediately. "They're probably in their talking about their lasted hunting trip."
Before Max could rebut the statement, Kai had muttered something about rednecks and was out of the car, slamming the door behind him. The air outside was cold and damp, the pavement glistening slightly in the golden light that backed up the neon-sign. He made for the tavern, the sound of guitar and laughter growing as he neared. Reluctantly, he reached his hand forward and gripped the hand of the door, pulling it open.
If there was one thing that Kai couldn't stand, it was this stereotype. The plaid shirts, the smell of pine, the folk dancing and the banjos, the cows mooing in the distance. Whatever America wanted to make of it's Northwestern region, Kai didn't approve. As he stepped into the dimly lit tavern, however, the smell of beer and cinnamon hit his nostrils and he curiously took a step to the side.
There were oak tables scattered about, with a smooth mahogany bar stretching down the length of the large room. Behind it were shelves of glowing bottles, and the place seemed full of happy drunks. The guitar, it turned out, was a Bob Dylan song blasting over a unique speaker-system, and the laughing was coming from the majority of the men and women in the bar, all forming a crowd around two men who were violently gesticulating over something. At the same time, they waved their arms in the air and shouted "It's Dead!"
The crowd burst into another round of laughter as Kai relinquished his position of holding up the back wall. He wandered toward the bartender with determination, rolling his eyes at the commotion. The man behind the counter was one of the more muscular men Kai had seen in some time, and he was wearing a very suave pinstripe Oxford shirt. He had a towel draped over his shoulder and was fiddling around with glasses behind the counter.
"How on earth did you get here?" He asked without looking up as Kai sat down. The Russian narrowed his eyes.
"Meaning?"
"Well you obviously don't want to be here, and seeing as you lack a wedding ring, it wasn't a pushy wife. So what brought you to the middle of bumfuck nowhere?"
Kai sighed. "I have to be somewhere by tomorrow. Do you know how to get to the southern entrance of Seaquest?"
"Yeah, which one?" The guy asked, glancing up at Kai. "By the way, ordering something would be awfully nice of you. What'll it be, Vodka?"
Crimson eyes narrowed considerably. "Did your friend tell you about Russia's drink of choice while you two were cow tipping?"
"Did you pick up that attitude when Stalin took your daddy's money away?"
Kai blinked and fought a grin. There was a pause before he decided to let it drop. "It was my Grandfather's money. And I'll have a shot."
The drink was in front of him before the bartender allowed Kai to really settle into his seat.
"Now which entrance are you asking about?"
"The abandoned one."
The bartender rose an eyebrow and turned his focus back toward him.
"Can't get up there in a car. The hillside caved two years ago and the state decided it was a waste of money to fix."
Kai frowned. "Caved?"
"Yeah. You're up north now, kiddo. The ground freezes in the winter, and when the spring comes and it starts to thaw out, things get tricky. Landslides come with the turf."
"So the road is what, covered in mud?"
"A hillside's worth. But it's pretty clear where it used to be. If you go up Hills Road a few miles into the woods you'll find the signs telling you to head back."
"And on foot?"
The bartender turned fully now, pressing his palms against the counter. "Now why are you so set on getting out there? What kind of trouble could you possibly be in that drags you out here?"
There was a very awkward pause as the crowd in the other part of the tavern erupted in laughter. Kai swallowed his shot and found the alcohol to be much sharper than he imagined; almost like he were sitting in Russia again. He looked directly at the bartender and chewed the inside of his lip thoughtfully.
"How much of the road is still in tact?"
The man just sighed.
"After a certain point you can see it again. But the bridge is out too, so however the hell you plan on getting over white water rapids is up to you."
Kai set the shot glass down and nodded thoughtfully before sliding off the stool and out of the tavern, never glancing back. He padded through the light mist that had begun to fall, and climbed into the black SUV. When the door shut, he looked down the dark road that led out of town into the woods.
"Well?" Hilary asked, looking at him intently.
"We have some walking to do."
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"Are your legs cramping too?"
Silence.
"I mean really, I get that you're short, but this is just thoughtless."
Nothing. Kevin refused to turn around and acknowledge Bryan. The Russian sighed and rolled his eyes, grumbling something in Russian.
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to get in a little face time."
Kevin glanced at him over his shoulder. His glare, however, was weakened by the tears in his eyes, which prompted Bryan to heave an irritated sigh.
"Kid, seriously. The worst that could happen is-" Bryan paused suddenly as his ears popped at his felt himself grow lighter gradually. He looked around quizzically before he recognized what was happening.
"See? We're landing." He cried over the increased roar of the engine. Kevin reacted by burying his face back in between his knees and his chest and tensing considerably.
"On the bright side," Bryan shouted, his voice numb, "you don't have to sit here and panic much longer!"
With the expected lack of response received, the plane began to rattle just slightly, to which Bryan noted the corner of his cage was just slightly wriggling. Eyeing it closer, he found that the grating had been bent outward, probably because of his feet pressing against it. He frowned and sat up, his shoulders hunched like a threatened bird, and eyed it just in time for a loud wail to deafen him. To his left and right, the wheels began to emerge and extend outward beneath the plane. Using the loud sound to his advantage, Bryan leaned back and struck his legs against the far wall of the cage repeatedly. The sound was numbed almost entirely by the roar, but Kevin managed to pick up on it.
Four kicks was all it took. The wall popped out of its tracking and Bryan easily bent it down, finally climbing out. He stumbled, leaning against a crate for support as the plane grew closer and closer to the ground. In a hurry, he managed to pry open Kevin's cage, and turned without further thought toward something he could brace against. Looking over his shoulder wildly, he found that Kevin had just sat there.
"What are you doing?!" Bryan cried, waving frantically for him as he pressed his back against a solid cart. The roaring grew louder still. Kevin clenched his teeth.
"You're going to get us both killed!" His hoarse reply came. Bryan rolled his eyes.
"That's inevitable! At least this'll delay it, now get over here!"
Kevin shook his head, prompting Bryan to swear loudly and jump up. He forcefully pulled Kevin out of the destroyed cage, the neko-jin fighting him all the way, and within seconds of the plane landing, got himself and the younger male back against the solid crate.
In the pressurized passenger cabin of a plane, one feels a relative quake when landing. But below, where suitcases are given much less care then paying humans, not so much. The landing of the plane was like a heavy earthquake, shaking the plane violently and causing both Bryan and Kevin to cling to what they could to keep themselves from rolling to the front of the cabin. Bracing with one arm against the crate and one around Kevin's upper back, Bryan clenched his teeth and held fast until the huge machine began to slow to a cost.
There was a long pause where the two of them gradually relaxed and pulled away from each other. It was Kevin who broke the recovery by shoving a fist into Bryan's sternum, drawing forth a growl of agitation.
"The hell? What's your problem!"
Kevin pushed himself to his feet and took a step back, fists clenched. "My problem is that you have no idea what this guy can do, and you're treating it like a game!"
"Well I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to act like such a little brat." Bryan replied immediately, standing upright.
"What did you possibly expect me to act like?!"
"Oh, I don't know. I thought you'd be a little more eager to live!"
"They're not going to kill me, you idiot! Who would go through all the effort of sending a giant robot to the middle-of-nowhere-China to kidnap a kid, fly him all the way to wherever the hell we are, only to plant a bullet in his head?!"
"Maybe you didn't notice yet," Bryan growled, the plane engine quiet enough now for him to speak without effort, "but that robot snagged me too."
"Because you got in the way! Think, Bryan, about what happened."
The pause that followed quickly grew awkward. Bryan felt his face fall blank as he recalled pulling Kevin around and behind him, the claw-like extremity having no time to circumnavigate him. He became the target on his own volition.
"Well we can't have that." Bryan muttered, his shoulders slumping. Kevin's expression softened and he looked down, his neck having been craned to keep eye contact with Bryan. The fear began to wander back into his heart, anxiety twisting his stomach slowly but surely.
Suddenly, the figure before him struck out toward the back of the carrier cabin, in the direction of a large door that began to whirr and open.
"Come on, we have one shot and you're not going to slow me down again."
The smaller of the two was at Bryan's heels in an instant. He could hear voices seep through the crack of the opening door as it pulled out and up, lifting into the gray light of the afternoon. Some sort of ramp had been drawn toward the entrance.
"Are you kidding me? I should have Tivo'd it-"
The man speaking, wearing sunglasses with earmuffs around his neck, stepped into the plane and turned just in time to see Bryan's fist an inch from his face. When it made contact, and the man stumbled back and fell down the ramp, there was a dull pause as confusion set in, in which the other four men watched their buddy fall down to the pavement, unconscious.
In this time, Bryan hand pushed Kevin down the ramp, punched another in the face, and slide down himself.
"Hey!" Two of them yelled almost consecutively. Bryan responded by leaning over and twisting the key in the drivable-ramp, pushing a lever, and letting the machine back up at full speed. The two fell to the pavement and remained that way as they recovered.
Cheekily, Bryan turned with a stupid grin on his face and pointed toward the woods on the far side of the landing strip.
"Run."
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Oh, Bryan. The things you do on a whim.
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MACY YOU HAVE TO UPDATE NOW OKAY? D: