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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 15:38:42 GMT -5
Raven's skin was impervious to Earth weapons and the invisible shield that protected took care of what would otherwise be considered a direct hit. He growled, his scarlet eyes flashing in anger, and turned preparing to ram Carl. When he spoke, his accent sounded as if he was from Australia. "Release Delfina!"
Delfina watched helplessly from her cage, unable to do anything, though she was wondering how she was going to get out while she was still in her wolf form.
*****
"Oh no," Freda unconsciously picked up her speed as well.
Nerisa and Arrow went full speed ahead, charging toward the scene.
*****
"And what happened next?" asked one of the children, who was listening with rapt attention.
*****
Ebony, with Lane and the sheriff's deputy, followed the road back to the ridge where the fire was slowly starting to spread and get worse. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of the burning smoke, but pushed onward, determined to find the ones that she knew was trapped by the flames.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 16:03:45 GMT -5
Carl frantically maneuvered to evade Raven's attempt at ramming. "Call off this verdammte creature of yours!" he demanded.
The powerboats emerged from the fog, and their human partners sprayed Carl's hull with rock salt shells to provide an additional stinging distraction, and it also forced his crewmen to keep their tops down.
"That must be the humans." Stokes surged ahead as he heard more shotgun blasts. "That rock salt must really hurt."
"Little Whiskers looked up at the big truck that was carrying Farmer Green's melons back to the big city." Kendall read. "The back doors were still open, and the truck was still talking to the farmer. So Little Whiskers took a BIG JUMP inside the trailer."
Lane and the deputy followed the Viper deeper into the smoke, trying not to lose her. The truck was spraying water in an attempt to cool the ground and clear the air ahead of them. They heard voices...
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 16:35:22 GMT -5
"He'll only stop when you release me," answered Delfina. She was already looking for a way out of the cage.
Raven was swooping around for another pass.
*****
Freda followed the gunshots, wondering what was happening.
Arrow and Nerisa were ahead of both Freda and Stokes.
*****
There was a collective gasp from the audience of children. They leaned forward, wanting to hear more.
*****
Ebony paused as her mirrors twitched, picking up the sound of voices. She pinpointed where they were coming from and pointed, "That way," and headed off in that direction.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 17:33:06 GMT -5
Marty surfaced near Carl's starboard side, away from the side that the humans were harassing. Carl was too distracted with Raven to notice the minisub coming up, which suited Marty just fine. He had some coiled cable with him, which he was loosening up. Diving again, he neared Carl's furiously working propellers, and cast the weighted end of the cable out towards the shaft of the one on starboard. It caught, and within seconds that screw was hopelessly fouled. He then used his grapplers to jam Carl's rudder, so that the big ship would start to spin on his centerline. He was good and stopped now.
Carl growled as he felt himself disabled, and started to shake violently from side to side, causing the cage to shift. "You're going overboard, b*tch!"
"Attention M.V. Carl Dietrich." Stokes came forward as the humans broke off. "You are to heave to and cut your engines immediately, and your crew are to lay down their guns and surrender." His bow gun was trained directly on Carl's midsection, and unlike the humans' shotguns, would do far worse than sting. "And if you get any ideas about trying to run in that condition, our Navy friends here might give you second thoughts."
Kendall read on, "He found a pile of burlap sacks in the farthest corner, and burrowed beneath them. Soon, the trailer doors shut with a big CLANG! The truck was starting up again, and moving onto the road, away from the farm and everything Little Whiskers had ever known."
Hans and Gonzo were coughing violently, and their tire treads were starting to melt from the head of the ground. The encroaching flames were starting to lick at them, and whatever remained in their gas tanks.
It was then that they heard other voices, and didn't know whether to go towards them or attempt to run again. Eventually, self-preservation won out and they desperately sought the source of the sounds.
Lane directed the mist over the shapes of two oncoming cars, cooling them down and providing a path for them to cross. "They're coming!"
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 18:09:38 GMT -5
Nerisa and Arrow came up, their own guns trained on Carl. They looked as if they would actually carry through with the implied threat.
All Delfina could do was hang on for dear life as the cage rocked back and forth.
Raven slowed his momentum and seemed to hover in front Carl with a scarlet-eyed glare.
*****
The children listened attentively.
*****
"I see them!" said Ebony, pointing to the two trapped cars, "Put out the fire around them, Lane."
She turned to the sheriff's deputy and whispered, "Get some boots ready. I believe these are the two who were responsible for the fire and everything else that had been happening to the humans, as well as to the Commander of the Coast Guard."
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 18:24:31 GMT -5
"We'll certainly ask them a few questions." the deputy nodded.
Seeing what looked like a clear path, the Mercedes and the van made a desperate bid for escape, trying to get between the fire truck and Ebony and make it to the fire road.
Carl, surrounded by big guns, seemed to give up the fight at last, and his rocking stilled. His crewmen had already surrendered.
"Now," Stokes looked Carl in the eye. "Our human friends are going to board and release Delfina. Be a good little boy and don't give them any trouble."
The four riding with Erika threw up hooks and lines while Randy's companions covered them. They climbed up easily, many of them being from the National Guard company at Ash Mountain. Erika looked as if she might be tempted to give Carl a stern-kick or a bite while she was waiting there, and no one would have begrudged her that, but she eventually decided that she didn't want any more of him after this. He was already in the past.
Dawn came up to the cage, signalling Delfina to stand back. She fired a "breaching round" through the cage lock, effectively dissolving it. The door swung open at last.
"The truck rumbled on and on, for many miles." Kendall continued. "It grew darker and darker. Little Whiskers became very tired, and was soon asleep in the pile of sacks."
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 18:38:34 GMT -5
Ebony saw them bolt and moved quickly to cut them off. Her spikes sprang out again. "Oh, no you don't!" she hissed, "You're gonna pay for what you did!"
*****
Delfina stepped back while the lock was broken and then she stepped out once the cage door opened. She shook her fur to get the water out and went over to Dawn's side.
*****
The children "oooh'd" as the story progressed. "What happened next?" asked one of the other children.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 18:53:22 GMT -5
Hans moved as if to draw a well-pistol, but the deputy already had the drop on him. "Don't even think of it. Now eject the pistol and get down, NOW!"
The Mercedes settled, giving up. The van, completely unnerved at the sight of Ebony's spikes, lay down and pleaded in fear. "Please, don't hurt me."
"Are you OK?" Dawn shouldered her shotgun into a safe position and bent to check on Delfina. "Let's get off this sorry tub."
Carl was no longer resisting, as between Raven and the warships, there was no further chance.
"And he slept a VERY long time." Kendall read.
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 19:11:01 GMT -5
"Oh, geez," Ebony growled, "Chrysler, you're pathetic. I'm not gonna hurt you. Unless you provoke me. So, if you value your life, don't do that. Now, let's get outta here before this fire eats us all alive."
*****
Delfina responded by licking Dawn's hand. She really didn't feel like speaking right now and wanted to go back to the cove and rest.
*****
"Did he ever wake up?" asked Artemis.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 19:35:41 GMT -5
"Can we get a sling for her?" Dawn called out to her friends. One was rigged out of a blanket and soft yacht rope so that Delfina could be safely lowered to Erika's aft deck. Erika, in the meantime, was supremely indifferent to Carl. He had ceased to have any psychological power over her. Randy, sensing this, nuzzled her affectionately, proud of how far she had come.
Stokes then took Carl in tow, giving him a stern, uncompromising look that said "DON'T TRY ANYTHING."
Marty surfaced again, chortling at his own strokes of brilliance.
The two miscreants, now disarmed and cowed, submitted to escort out of the danger zone.
"I think the Coast Guard commander will be very happy to hear of this." the deputy said to Ebony. He had gotten all the skinny on the poisoning attempt.
"Yup." Kendall said, returning to the story text. "When Little Whiskers woke up again, he heard lots of noise outside, as the truck was on a big, wide highway, going into the city. There was lots of grumbling and honking, all around."
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 20:00:16 GMT -5
Delfina let herself be lowered in the sling to Erika's aft deck.
Nerisa and Arrow pulled up in a flanking position alongside Carl, intending to provide an escort.
*****
"Yeah, she will," Ebony nodded in agreement.
*****
"Was he scared?" asked one of the children.
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 20:32:53 GMT -5
"I'm sure it must've sounded really scary to a little kit who'd never been off the farm." Kendall answered. "Now let's see... "Little Whiskers had never heard anything like it, and it sounded like monsters were all around him, making the ground shake outside. And he started to tremble too!"
Carl lost any will to fight once the warships pulled up to reinforce the cutter. Stokes was fixing him with the unwavering eye of an eagle, letting him know that messing with his girl or anyone else he cared about was a one-way ticket to trouble. "Thank you for visiting Villa Hermosa. Come again when you can't stay so long."
Now back on Erika's aft deck, Dawn wrapped Delfina in dry, warm blankets, rubbing her briskly to get the circulation moving.
"I was talking to her old man a little while ago while he was taking a break, and he was ready to rip'em apart." The deputy chuckled. "You two wouldn't want to meet him, wouldja?"
Hans and Gonzo cowered even further at the mention of Bree's father.
"So be good boys, then." The deputy slapped boots on each and then called for tow trucks. "Y'know ma'am, it might be interesting to check, after all this is put out, to see if the fire didn't have a little help getting started."
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 20:50:14 GMT -5
"What did he do?" asked Artemis.
*****
Delfina was still feeling the affects of the tranquilizer as she lay there on the aft deck.
*****
"I agree," nodded Ebony, "I'm starting to have suspicions already." She eyed their two prisoners, "And I think they have something to do with it. Why else would they be out here and get themselves stupidly stuck?"
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Post by Evangeline on Dec 4, 2008 23:07:20 GMT -5
"I think these boys are due for a li'l bit of questioning." the deputy grinned wolfishly, and proceeded to read them their rights.
Kendall flipped the page, "Then... things went quieter as the truck pulled onto a side street. But Little Whiskers was still very afraid. He felt the truck turn again, then stop. The doors flew open. Little Whiskers just wanted to get out of the trailer as fast as he could, and out he jumped, right over the tops of the forklifts who were unloading the melons. He ran through the great warehouse, and everyone swerved to avoid hitting him. He ran right out the door. And then he was gone, right in the middle of the big city."
Dawn continued to massage Delfina's body and limbs as Erika started to move out with Randy. "How did they get you?"
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Post by ebonyviper on Dec 4, 2008 23:17:46 GMT -5
Ebony watched this with a bit a triumph in her features. Her emerald green eyes sent out a very clear message. Busted.
*****
"Oh, no," a little girl cried out, "Is he gonna get hurt?"
*****
Delfina mustered a bit more strength to speak again, "I was going to try to locate the starting point of the brushfire... but as I was running, I got hit by something... and stumbled and fell... Then I was out like a light... with no memory of what had transpired until I woke up and found myself aboard... him..."
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