01-05-2017, 03:57 AM
***
Luci has a plan, but she does not speak it. She looks at Klowdy sadly.
The elf catches her gaze from the floor and sighs. He pulls a blood-stained cigarette from his ear and lights it shakily. He wipes his war paint off his face with the back of his hand.
"OK, here's the plan," Klowdy says through a hacking cough. Luci puts finger on his lips. "OK," he concedes "I'm just going to go outside and talk with them for just a second, I'm sure I can smooth all this out."
Luci sheds a red tear. Klowdy takes a drag on his cigarette and eyes her through a cloud of smoke.
"Right underneath us," he says "in a garage in Teir-5, is an Ewok mechanic named Chirpa Paploo. You get those orbs to him, as many as you can, and he'll keep you safe. Moss can take you," he says with a grimace, trying to stand. Luci finally sees the gunshot wound she knew was in his ribs. Klowdy grins at her. "Don't worry about me doll, I'm a gangster, this is what I do."
The elf kicks open the back door of the van and hops out with his hands up and a swagger.
"Don't shoot!" he screams as he closes the door behind him. "My dad is Judge Dredd!"
Moss catches Luci's eye.
"You," he says in his oddly deep voice "whatever it is he thinks you can do, you better do it, because he's out there buying us time."
Luci hears Klowdy shouting "Who's being aggressive? You're aggressive!"
Luci breathes. She thinks. Her eyes flicker to the floor of van, and her mind, as it often does, thinks about what's on the other side of it. In this case, it's the street beneath the sky-highway. Luci scrambles to the floor and looks out into one of the burn holes the orc left.
She sees the ground-level street beneath the sky-highway, and she sees traffic flowing through the tunnel at the entrance to Tier-5. She withdraws her head and jumps to her feet. She grabs her spray-can and hastily paints a door on the bottom of the van. She opens it, and sunlight comes streaming into the van. She grins at Moss, who looks nervous. She starts stuffing her backpack with the orbs while Moss loads a duffle bag. She sits on the edge of the door at the bottom of the van with Moss, and the two look back at the unclaimed firearms.
"Leave them," Moss says firmly. Luci nods. Klowdy screams.
"I'll see you in hell!" his scratchy voice calls. Luci hears a roar of gunfire, and she and Moss fall.
The elf grabs her waist tightly as Luci sprays a long thing line of gold paint from her can. The gold line latches onto the bottom of the van, and the two swing fifteen feet below it. They rock a little from side to side, and Luci whips the rope onto a billboard. The pair again fall, but this time they are close enough to the ground that at the end of their swing Luci hops off and the two roll into the grass by the side of the road. Moss stands up quickly and puts a hand out, signalling her to stay down.
"They don't see us yet," he says, indicating the gunship above them. "But they will. They're going to be looking for elves, so they can come find ME."
Luci is crying again. Her tears are beautiful.
"I'll meet you at Chirpa's garage in two days. Take IT-45 to Hover St., cut north through the riverbed, turn right at the alley with red bear print and go to the garage numbered 734. Drop off the stuff, lie low, and come back in two days. Can you do that?" Moss asks.
Luci nods quickly, and Moss crouches down and hands her the duffle bag.
"Good," says Moss as he pulls out an arrowhead. "Now gimmie your hand."
Luci holds out her hand. Moss closes his eyes and cuts the arrowhead deep into her palm. Multicolored blood pools in her hand like a gasoline rainbow. Moss dips his thumb in the blood and smears four glowing lines on her face, two under each eye. He nods, satisfied, and starts running backwards through traffic towards the heart of Teir-4. A light from the gunship turns to follow him.
Luci looks at the traffic ahead of her, and thinks about her route.
***
Luci has a plan, but she does not speak it. She looks at Klowdy sadly.
The elf catches her gaze from the floor and sighs. He pulls a blood-stained cigarette from his ear and lights it shakily. He wipes his war paint off his face with the back of his hand.
"OK, here's the plan," Klowdy says through a hacking cough. Luci puts finger on his lips. "OK," he concedes "I'm just going to go outside and talk with them for just a second, I'm sure I can smooth all this out."
Luci sheds a red tear. Klowdy takes a drag on his cigarette and eyes her through a cloud of smoke.
"Right underneath us," he says "in a garage in Teir-5, is an Ewok mechanic named Chirpa Paploo. You get those orbs to him, as many as you can, and he'll keep you safe. Moss can take you," he says with a grimace, trying to stand. Luci finally sees the gunshot wound she knew was in his ribs. Klowdy grins at her. "Don't worry about me doll, I'm a gangster, this is what I do."
The elf kicks open the back door of the van and hops out with his hands up and a swagger.
"Don't shoot!" he screams as he closes the door behind him. "My dad is Judge Dredd!"
Moss catches Luci's eye.
"You," he says in his oddly deep voice "whatever it is he thinks you can do, you better do it, because he's out there buying us time."
Luci hears Klowdy shouting "Who's being aggressive? You're aggressive!"
Luci breathes. She thinks. Her eyes flicker to the floor of van, and her mind, as it often does, thinks about what's on the other side of it. In this case, it's the street beneath the sky-highway. Luci scrambles to the floor and looks out into one of the burn holes the orc left.
She sees the ground-level street beneath the sky-highway, and she sees traffic flowing through the tunnel at the entrance to Tier-5. She withdraws her head and jumps to her feet. She grabs her spray-can and hastily paints a door on the bottom of the van. She opens it, and sunlight comes streaming into the van. She grins at Moss, who looks nervous. She starts stuffing her backpack with the orbs while Moss loads a duffle bag. She sits on the edge of the door at the bottom of the van with Moss, and the two look back at the unclaimed firearms.
"Leave them," Moss says firmly. Luci nods. Klowdy screams.
"I'll see you in hell!" his scratchy voice calls. Luci hears a roar of gunfire, and she and Moss fall.
The elf grabs her waist tightly as Luci sprays a long thing line of gold paint from her can. The gold line latches onto the bottom of the van, and the two swing fifteen feet below it. They rock a little from side to side, and Luci whips the rope onto a billboard. The pair again fall, but this time they are close enough to the ground that at the end of their swing Luci hops off and the two roll into the grass by the side of the road. Moss stands up quickly and puts a hand out, signalling her to stay down.
"They don't see us yet," he says, indicating the gunship above them. "But they will. They're going to be looking for elves, so they can come find ME."
Luci is crying again. Her tears are beautiful.
"I'll meet you at Chirpa's garage in two days. Take IT-45 to Hover St., cut north through the riverbed, turn right at the alley with red bear print and go to the garage numbered 734. Drop off the stuff, lie low, and come back in two days. Can you do that?" Moss asks.
Luci nods quickly, and Moss crouches down and hands her the duffle bag.
"Good," says Moss as he pulls out an arrowhead. "Now gimmie your hand."
Luci holds out her hand. Moss closes his eyes and cuts the arrowhead deep into her palm. Multicolored blood pools in her hand like a gasoline rainbow. Moss dips his thumb in the blood and smears four glowing lines on her face, two under each eye. He nods, satisfied, and starts running backwards through traffic towards the heart of Teir-4. A light from the gunship turns to follow him.
Luci looks at the traffic ahead of her, and thinks about her route.
***
![[Image: V4Dvvfy.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/V4Dvvfy.gif)