“Sorry to save my life?” Lathan asked checking again if his senses weren’t playing severe tricks on him.

  “Yes I know there’s a lot to explain, but you have to understand Lathan time is not on our side. It is an achievement that we found you unscathed.” Thernright said.

  Lathan looks at his father who sits there looking at the wall. “Dad, what’s going on?”

  Julius Thorne stays silent. This angers the confused Lathan Thorne.

  “You can’t even talk when something like this happens!” Lathan’s voice rises. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

  “Lathan just listen to the man. Stop overreacting.” Julius said again not making eye contact with Lathan.

  “Lathan please,” Captain Thernright said, “All will be explained when we take you to Speciour.”

  “No! I don’t want to go! I’ve got school, I’ve got college coming up, and I’m not going anywhere until someone tells me what’s going on?” Lathan yells looking at both the Captain and Kayla in quick intervals.

  “He’s not being co-operative Captain. Should we neutralise him?” Kayla said reaching for something clipped to her waist.

  “Don’t jump the gun Corporal.” Thernright said moving her hand away from her waist.

  “Yeah, Don’t!” Lathan yells once again, but this time he yells more as a front as he was chilled by actions.

  “Lathan I’m sorry this has to be enforced upon you, but we by special orders of the General of the Galactic Fleet have to bring you in.” Captain Thernright said walking forward while Lathan steps back.

  “Hey, Hey stay back I don’t care how big you are, step back!” Lathan said raising his arms defensively.

  “Okay, Lathan,” Captain Thernright said stepping back. “Okay.”

  Lathan again looks at his father. “WHY ARE YOU JUST SITTING THERE? CALL THE POLICE OR SOMETHING DAD!! COME ON!!! WHY ARE YOU SITTING THERE LETTING SOME CRAZY PEOPLE COME INTO OUR HOUSE AND SAYING ALL THIS STUFF!!! DAD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

  “STOP CALLING ME THAT LATHAN!!” Julius yells. “Stop it.”

  “Stop what? Stop calling you what?”

  “Dad. Stop calling me dad.” Julius said with all the guilt flushed across his face.

  “What?” Lathan said with all the fanaticism gone. “What? Why do I have…?” Lathan looks at Captain Thernright who sighs and puts his arms on his waist. He then looks at Kayla her surprised look mirrors Lathan’s own.

  “Lathan. There is something I should have told you a long time ago.” Julius said standing up and walking up to Lathan who steps back now not trusting his father. “Lathan I’m sorry,”

  “No…What’s, what’s,”

  “Lathan please, you have to listen to me.”

  “No! Fricking just stay away from me! All of you!!” Lathan yells stepping back and then running to the back of the house and into the garage all with speed.

  “My god he is fast!!” Kayla said giving chase. Captain Thernright follows and they open the back door just as Lathan flies out of the garage doors on his rydercycle and across the street hurtling high into the air.

  The pair looks up and slump their shoulders in frustration. “Well that went well.” Kayla said, “How will we find him now?”

  “We can find him in a minute.” Captain Thernright said confidently.

  “How?”

  “When we shook hands I planted a tracer on him.” Captain Thernright takes out a small black case from his pocket and he presses a green button which opens the case and a screen appears a green dot appears on the screen moving across to the right.

  “Very slick sir.” Kayla says enthused.

  “Well I was young once corporal.”

  They both laugh.

  “You had to come back didn’t you Captain!” Julius said with some snare coming from his front door. “Things were going fine and now you have ruined it. He was going to college and moving along fine with his life and you come back into his life!”

  “My hand was forced Julius, just like how it was all those years ago.” Thernright said with some snare of his own.

  “Just like then I knew your coming was a bad proposition. Now you have ruined his life.”

  “It seems to me then that you haven’t done such a great job Julius. He looked upon you for support and you just sat there. I don’t think that constitutes you as being parent of the year.” Captain Thernright said with some anger.

  “I did the best I could. What about you captain? You have no children or ever looked after one. Am I right?”

  Captain looks at Kayla guiltily. He bows his head for a second.

  “Yeah I guessed that. You look the type. Always going by the rules and by doing that you think that you’re always right. Criticising others when you have no clue yourself about how to raise a child.”

  A sad look forms on Captain Thernright’s face. He looks at Kayla and nods. “You’re right Julius. You’re right. So I’m going to help Lathan, help him like you should have.” Thernright said. “Let’s go corporal.” He starts to walk off to their car and Kayla looks at Julius and shakes her head.

  “What are you shaking your head for?” Julius asked angrily.

  Kayla just gives him a blank stare. “Nothing, just looking at nothing.” She walks off and enters the vehicle which rises in the air and flies off.

  Julius looks on shaking his head now, placing his right hand across his mouth. He breathes in and then walks back to his house not knowing that he was being watched…

  Lathan flies across a park. New Regents Park in fact. He lands near the top of the hill which over looks the city. He looks at the many cars in the air. He sits on the bench and sighs and like on queue like some cruel joke as a family walks past playing football on the grass. Lathan looks at the little boy looking at his father rolling the ball towards him; the boy misses the ball taking an almighty swing at it and lands hard. The boy cries, but like any natural parent’s instinct the father picks up his son and consoles him.

  Lathan looks jealously and the internal pain was intense. Lathan never had that when he was a child, his father looked upon at times with such disregard that it was an achievement that Lathan was not kicked out on the streets for several challenges he made to his father’s superiority when he was younger. It was the one thing missing from his childhood. That love, that protection that caring that a parent is supposed to give. Lathan realised that he was much angrier at his father then he realised. When he fell as a child, Lathan scarcely remembers being picked up and that was the saddest admission.

  “Hey Lathan.” A voice comes from his right, a voice that was instantly recognisable.

  “Hey Zenden.” Lathan said watching his friend walk up to him.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same question.” Lathan said looking out to the city.

  Zenden sits next to him he looks at Lathan and he knows that something’s wrong. He knows his friend. “I just came here cause Marcella lives close here. It is a nice day so I just decided to chill.” He pauses. “What’s wrong?”

  Lathan stays silent keeping his eyes forward.

  “Was it your dad again? Did he do something wrong?”

  Lathan then looks at Zenden, but still stays silent. He bows his head and brushes his hand across his mouth. “Yeah I guess you can say that.” He looks at the young boy playing with his dad again. “You must hate your dad. Leaving like he did.”

  Zenden sits back and sighs. “I don’t hate him. I don’t even know who he is. So I guess I don’t really know if I hate him or not.” He pauses looking at the family as well. “What brought this on?”

  “I guess you’re lucky.”

  “How?”

  “At least you don’t know him. You don’t know if he’s good or bad. If he even knew that you existed.”

  “Lathan. Tell me what’s wrong.” Zenden said forcefully as a large hand comes on his shoulder. The large hand of Captain Thernright.

  “I think I should talk to him.” Captain Thernright said.

  “Who are you?” Lathan says standing up blocking his friend for protection. Zenden is round about the same height as Captain Thernright who does not seem overawed by Zenden Tenstraighter.

  “He’s Captain Thernright of the Galactic Fleet and behind him is some girl named Starbright.” Lathan said with some callous undertones.

  Kayla reacts angrily to what Lathan just said. “The name’s corporal Kayla Starbright! Get it right!” She said moving up to Lathan before the large forearm of Thernright stops her in her tracks.

  “Calm down Corporal.”

  Zenden looks as confused as anyone. “What is going on here? Lathan?”

  “Well apparently my life is in danger and these two are supposed to save me.” Lathan said.

  “Kayla can you take this gentleman to the side and explain to him the situation.” Thernright said.

  “What? Sir, are you sure?” Kayla asked confused with that order.

  Captain Thernright looks at Zenden, really looks at him and smiles. “Yes, he looks familiar. Tell him.”

  “What?” Zenden said as Kayla takes his arm and leads him away. “I’ve never met him before what is going on…” Zenden’s voice drowns off as Captain Thernright sits next to Lathan whose gaze again meets the city.

  “I suppose that you’re going to run away again.” Captain Thernright said.

  “No. you found me here,” Lathan paused and looks at the Captain, “how did you find me so quickly?”

  “Look on your watch.”

  Lathan looks at his watch a small black dot with a tiny red LED light blinks faintly. “What’s this?”

  “A tracer.”

  “I didn’t even feel…”

  “I had to. I’m sorry, but you haven’t to understand that you have to come with us now, you’re life is in danger.”

  “Why?”

  “Two earth nights ago, a ship was shot down near Valiant Marne. It was an enemy ship, an Encronian ship. An assassin’s ship. On board was a computer. The computer had a list of names on it. Names meant for death. Your name was on that list Lathan.”

  Lathan’s heart chills. He feels fear come over him and the silence by the Captain was not helping. “Why? What have I done?”

  “Nothing, nothing…it has nothing to do with you Lathan. It is to do with the past.”

  “What?”

  “Your mother and your father. It has to do with them.”

  Lathan stays silent.

  Thernright looks at Lathan who was now looking at the Captain. “You have to trust me Lathan this is no lie. The man you have known as your father is not, he is family, but not of paternal heritage.”

  “Family?”

  “He is your uncle. Your father’s brother.”

  Lathan fear subsides and anger creeps in. he feels like punching the air or anything and anyone who’s next to him. He stands up and looks put at the city once again, trying to get in control of his emotions trying to take it all in. “So he’s not my father?”

  “No.”

  Lathan nods.

  Captain Thernright stands up and walks up to Lathan standing next to him. “I wish I could give you a choice Lathan. That you can go back to having your normal life, but fate’s hand has been forced. If you stay here without our help they will kill you.”

  “The Encronians?”

  Captain nods. “To tell you the truth Lathan, your name has been on our lists for a long time.”

  “A long time?”

  “Since the day of your birth….Come with us Lathan. I promise you that I will tell you everything as long as you….” He smiles looking at Lathan. “You look just like him you know, your father.”

  “I do?”

  “Yes I think you….” Captain Thernright pauses looking up into the sky. He keeps looking with fear coming across his eyes.

  “Captain? Captain what’s up…” he looks up and sees four dots in the sky descending at great speed approaching the park. “What is that? Captain, Captain?”

  Captain Thernright looks closer and closer. His heart beats faster now. Then an unwavering focus comes across his face. “Assassins….KAYLA!!!” he yells and points upwards in front.

  Kayla looks at Captain Thernright and then up. She sees the Encronians draped in black wearing rocket packs and all four were armed with long silver rifles. She takes out her gun.

  “What the hell is…?” Zenden shouts.

  “Shut up! We are under attack!”

  Each of the four rocket packed assassins open fire at the park, Captain dives and pushes Lathan away from a shot as Lathan paralysed with fear was unable to move. They roll down a little slope and Captain takes out his gun and returns fire at the assassins who dodge his shot and split out of the formation with the two at the side shifting left to right and the other two middle dipping low, but still heading straight towards them.

  Kayla fires upon the assassin flying on the right, she grabs Zenden’s arm pulling him away, Zenden not just surprised by the suddenness of the attack, but also the ease a girl so short can pull him away with such surprising strength. They sprint towards the slope of the hill as all the families run and scatter around the park.

  “Come on!!!” yells Captain Thernright as he grabs Lathan’s arm and pulls him up and they sprint up the hill, pulsar fire erupts everywhere ripping up grass and roots, exploding shreds of grass flying everywhere, nature being destroyed. This is the type of things that unusually that Lathan notices.

  Captain grabbing Lathan and pull him hard, as Lathan grimaces in pain, by the sheer power of Captain’s grip and they run up the hill, Kayla grabs onto the captain’s hand and pulls him up as the assassins get closer and closer firing the green pulsar shots with little no care, but with supreme accuracy, the four run and sprint with Captain and Kayla running and firing not even looking at where they were shooting, an assassin fires something out of his weapon, but it is not a pulsar shot, but a sliver ball that land ahead of the sprinting four.

  “TIMEBOMB!!!!” screams Kayla as she barges Lathan out of the way, Captain Thernright grabs Zenden both fling along to the right, Kayla and Lathan fly over a parked car on the left and the bomb with a blinking green light explodes launching two parked cars high into the air both heading towards Lathan and Kayla, Lathan grabs Kayla and dives across another car bouncing over the bonnet as the cars slam onto the ground.

  The assassins split and the two land on the ground. The Encronians look larger then humans, more built with shoulders broader then even the most sculptured man. Even with human synthetic disguises that were not good in the first place you could see by the sheer build that they were not human, you could say that they were mega human if a stupid person wanted to elaborate.

  Kayla looks at the Captain shifting his hands and arms in signals. Get Lathan out of here, meet me at rendezvous point.

  Kayla nods and grabs Lathan’s arm again, they shift towards Lathan’s rydercycle which is undamaged by the attack. They sprint across the clearing caused by the explosion of the cars that were blasted into the air by the time bomb and run into immediately gunfire by the two grounded assassins. Captain Thernright dives to his left and fires hitting one of the assassins in the arm and in the neck, he falls down with no movement. The other assassins fires at the Captain and Zenden who sprint off down the hill.

  “You know where you are going?” Zenden yelled.

  “Nope! Just hoping to stay alive!!” Captain Thernright yells as the Encronian assassin gives chase.

  Lathan and Kayla run to the underpass where Lathan parked his rydercycle. He leaps onto the seat and Kayla climbs and belts come across their waists.

  Kayla loads her guns as the faint whirring of the rockets of the other two assassins who are airborne can be heard in the distance. “You any good with this thing?”

  “The thing is called a rydercycle and yes, I’m good. Are you good with that thing?” he nods to the gun.

  “Well we’re about to find out aren’t we?” Kayla said smiling for one fleeting second; Lathan for a second gives off an embarrassing smile contorting his face in a bad way.

  Lathan coughs and turns round trying to clear that up as one of the assassins’ lands near the underpass and starts to fire at the pair.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “MOVE!!!! MOVE!!!!” Kayla yells and Lathan shifts the rydercycle to the left and fast to the other side of the underpass, they past one of the other assassins who come into the pair left hand side ready to fire, they hurtle towards him and Kayla lowers Lathan’s neck.

  “What!!!” Lathan screams as Kayla fires a shot right near Lathan’s right ear. “Lord of…”

  The shot whistles past the assassins left shoulder and forces him to dive out of the way as Lathan and Kayla shoot past him he snarls and presses a button on his shoulder igniting his rocket pack. He loads his gun as he flies high into the air.

  Lathan and Kayla are still a few feet off the ground getting fire from the air. “Can’t this thing fly?” Kayla shouts.

  “Something’s wrong it’s the gear!” Lathan says changing to change the shifter gear which elevates the rydercycle. “I’m going to get that Norby!”

  Another shot whistles past them smashing the concrete of the lower street near the cityscape of New London, people scream and hide and dive of the way of shots and the oncoming Lathan and Kayla, its only because Lathan’s excellent awareness that’s he’s able to not hit anyone so far.

  “Were sitting Mansurain ducks here!!! Thorne do something!!!!! We’ve got to get up in the air!!!!”

  “I’m trying!!! I’m trying!!!”

  “Try harder!!!!!”

  Lathan curses her name as he keeps up trying to change the gear as the shot pounding from Kayla fire arm slam across his aural senses. He then thinks of something words appear in his mind just like that. He utters Neapain Gear.

  The gear clicks and Lathan pushes down the throttle speeding even more flying over parked cars and also rising with speed.

  “You did it!!!!” Kayla says realising amongst the shooting.

  “Hold on!”

  Lathan steers the rydercycle along the lines of the second aerial tier of traffic, they weave in and out of the moving traffic, but the assassins who are just higher, but their speed keep increasing by the minute keep shooting hitting cars windscreens and blasting engines.

  “We’ve got to get higher Thorne!!!!!!”

  Lathan nods and darts upwards Kayla holds onto his waist, and Lathan feels that weird awkward feeling for a second female contact as they rise higher and higher with the wind touching their faces like it was in a hurry, pulsar blasts flying across them from every angle, Kayla cursing in aggressive tongue, unloads shot after shot almost hitting with the fifth on the rocket bound assassin on the right hand side firing economically, but whose accuracy was getting worrying consistent.

  They’re going to hit us Lathan thinks I gotta to do something, I’m not going to die today. He feels the tight grasp of Kayla Starbright and gets a strange, but warm feeling burning in his soul I’m not going to let her die as well.

  Lathan stops the ascent which is around the seventh tier, and turns a sharp left one of the assassins cannot stop and turn in time and continue to go forward, while the other on the left hand side completes the turn. Kayla looks at the assassin still going straight and nods to herself. She unclips her belt.

  “What are you doing?” Lathan screams.

  “Improvising! Get to the right now!!!”

  “What?”

  “Get to the right!!!” She screams.

  Lathan pulls to the right just a sports car fly past them at speed. They miss collision and certain death by a matter of inches. Kayla looks to a couple of building platforms alongside the building ahead on the right.

  “Thorne!!! Listen can you hear me?”

  Lathan nods.

  “When I get off circle round this building come round the other side and onto this street again. You got that? Don’t die!”

  Lathan nods again as they get closer to the pavement. They are running alongside the pavement and Kayla taps Lathan on the shoulder before she flings herself off the cycle and rolls on the ground making sure the momentum is controlled. She looks at Lathan going to the right circling around the building she hopes. Then she shifts to her right and looks at the other assassin in the air just staying there bouncing up and down in a neutral position.

  “Come on you Encronian son of bitch.”

  The assassins still doesn’t move. He just looks at Kayla.

  “Come on, come get me.”

  He moves towards her and Kayla takes out her gun and fires a shot good and true, hitting his shoulder causing to hurtle him smashing into the wall in the building. Kayla thinks and leaps high one platform climbing on the scaffolding to a higher platform and then five feet higher then that. She gets to the top and leaps down and lands onto the lower platform on the other side of the scaffolding and soon as her feet hits the platform’s surface she leaps off again and likewise to the platform lower then that before somersaulting onto the platform with a shoot attached to the end which she lands on and immediately slides through it going very fast and she takes her gun just as the Encronian assassin blasts through another wall looking more angry then focused just in front of the platform shoot’s end. Kayla flies out and fires three shots all hitting his chest with dark green Encronian blood flying everywhere and splattering around the walls as he crashes to the ground dead as those trustful shots by Ms Starbright were accurate.

  I know that was flashy Kayla thinks amusingly, before snapping back to the situation at hand with the sound of pulsar fire in the distance. She sees Lathan going round the corner being fired upon by the other assassin Kayla starts to sprint as Lathan starts to approach her with speed.

  I have to time this right Kayla thinks as she sprints faster and faster with her muscle working over time in her seventeen year old body. Lathan gets closer and closer and then passes, but just reaching a couple of seconds Kayla leaps into the air and lands onto the back of Lathan who pulls away from an oncoming truck swerving violently to his left almost hitting a building, but only flying a couple of inches from its walls. The assassin shoots and blasts the walls with New Earth bricks which were ten times more durable then the bricks of the old earth fly with one clipping Lathan’s left ear. Lathan feels something warm trickle down the side of his neck.

  “You’re bleeding!!!!” Kayla screams.

  “I’m fine!!!” I think I’m fine. Oh my god Lathan thinks with a delayed reaction I’m bleeding!

  Lathan and Kayla hurtle with speed almost horizontally along the walls before pulling out and being in line with the street and mobile cars high off the ground avoiding more fire from the Encronian assassin who has now just realised that he was alone in his task.

  Both then hear police sirens coming from behind them.

  “The police!! This can end!!!” Lathan screams with hope.

  “We need to save the police!!!” Kayla says obliterating that hope.

  “What?”

  “They’re going to…”

  As soon as she opens her mouth she turns and sees the Encronian assassin lay upon fire on the two police cars giving chase. The shots blast through the windshields causing to veer to the right and the other to left. Crashing into nearby buildings, with a host of people diving out of the way as the police car that was slightly behind the one in front slams into the eatery.

  “Stop!!!!” Kayla yells.

  “What?”

  “Stop we have to end this now!! Innocent blood has been shed! Law enforcement blood!!”

  Lathan stops and sees the red blood pouring from the passenger side of the car. Lathan looks and the image lingers for more then a couple of seconds.

  “I have to get a clean shot on this guy.” Kayla says loading a cartridge and locking the barrel of her gun. “I have an idea...” as she says that the Encronian assassin turns and looks at the pair. He now loads his gun and heads towards the pair unloading his clip. “You have to be a daredevil about this!!!” she said looking past him, looking down at the traffic flowing in tiers three and four below.

  Lathan does not even think as they descend with speed hurtling downwards towards the city streets and busy airborne traffic, with the wind hitting both their faces like they were offensive to it and it wanted payback, the speed get faster and faster as the idea of a quick descent looks like being a fatal end. the whole air space looks to be covered by cars. Kayla holds on tight and hopes, Lathan keeps focus and his eyes never waver, sudden gap opens and Lathan reacts pilling in even more speed as the gap starts to close and close… they fly past almost hitting the bumper of a car and fly straight into headlong opposing traffic with cars flying past their heads with collision almost a certainty.

  “Hold on tight!!!” Lathan screams.

  “I am!!!!”

  They fly under a truck and rise up almost getting decapitated by a car just above, they keep moving as a blast obliterates the truck they just went under destroying the carrier and slamming into another car.

  “LOOK OUT!!!!” Kayla screams as a car coming in from a side road slams into the side of the rydercycle and throws Kayla off.

  “KAYLA!!!!” Lathan screamed with his rydercycle spinning in the air.

  She hurtles to the ground gathering speed; she’s screaming and praying to god, missing speeding cars from every side, tears flying across his cheeks and into the air with little glimpses of her past becoming blinding images to her eyes. Lathan keeps moving trying to descend, but shots from the assassin forbid him. No! Please No!!!

  The assassin then dives down himself and starts shooting at falling Kayla as the shots fly past her head, her legs with the luck of lord somehow keeping her alive. Lathan flies down chasing the assassin who fires upon a transit carrier blowing it up and it hurtles upwards Lathan speeding down shifts to the left missing the fiery carrier as flies past slamming at the bottom of a car speeding above causing another series of crashes.

  The assassin gets closer and closer, but so does Lathan who avoids cars and trucks with grace with the subtle shift of his hands and his immense reflexes in righteous working order, then as the ground become closer and closer past a little cluster of clouds the assassin has the shot Kayla just barely avoiding car destined for her path spinning in the air sees the green laser pointing on her forehead. This is it. This is the end. This isn’t how it is supposed to end I’m too young…. No.

  Lathan speeds down just as the assassin slows ready for the killer shot measuring this if this was slow motion.

  No…I cannot let this happen…No think Lathan, THINK!!!! He stretches almost reaching for Kayla trying to physically protect her and then…

  “Shelian nearious!!!”

  The assassin with glee in his face fires the shot and the pulsar heads towards Kayla’s temple. She closes her eyes resigned to her death; she wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction of looking at her corpse with her eyes in a fearful gaze. She misses the shot deflect off a blue shield around her body, but she feels a cold sensation across her body which shivers across her spine. Is this death? She thinks.

  She feels the wind come across her and opens her eyes. She still draws breath and was still hurtling to the ground. I’m still alive. She doesn’t think twice and fires two shots at the assassin one hitting just below the throat and the other blowing his head clean off.

  She has no cause for celebration as her impending doom was still on the cards as she was still hurtling to the ground now with lifeless body for company, but then assassin’s headless corpse slams onto the windshield of a passing car causing the female driver to scream.

  Lathan more shocked that another mystical command worked gathers speed trying to catch up with Kayla who thanks to gravity was about to go splat on the streets of New Moorgate. Lathan gets closer and closer staying in line, not worrying that if he doesn’t pull up that he will die with Kayla. Lathan was now in line as the ground approaches. Lathan looks down and then looks at Kayla alongside Lathan falling. They exchange a look, but both look different with contrasting emotions Kayla looked upon Lathan with a resigned gaze wanting to say something, but her throat got caught up in the moment and any speech was stymied by shock. Lathan looked at her with clarity, his thought going in line with his own emotions. He looked forcefully and thought I’m going to save you. I’m going to save you…

  Kayla nods and closes her eyes.

  Lathan dives and catches Kayla before pulling up eight feet from the ground and flying back up in the air.

  “WHOA!!!” Lathan screams in exhilaration.

  Kayla holds onto him tight. She hyperventilates for a second before calming herself down, she keeps gripping his waist.

  “You okay?” He asked.

  Kayla stays silent looking wide-eyed at Lathan’s bloody ear.

  “KAYLA!! YOU OKAY?”

  “Yeah, yeah.” She said tapping his right shoulder confirming that she was well to him. She then has that shocked expression again across her face. “You did it. You did it.”

  “Did what?”

  “You told me that you were going to save me and you did.”

  “Did I? I don’t…”

  “You did Thorne! You did!!”

  “Look maybe you’re in shock or something.”

  “I’m not in shock Thorne it’s just…” Kayla’s communicator wraps around her right ear with a blue blinking light near the end of the microphone. “Captain?”

  “Corporal!! Kayla!!! We’re going to need your help!!!! Come now and follow my communicator beacon hurry!!!!” Captain said with pulsar shots clearly being heard in the background before the communication disconnects.

  She looks at her watch and a map comes on with a blue dot moving along the map. “Lathan we need to get to New King’s Cross now!!!”

  Lathan nods listening to Kayla’s order and presses hard on the accelerator.

  Zenden Tenstraighter was having a great start to the day, he finished school officially which was he was going to bunk off just to spend the day with the girl he has loved for since he stepped through the great halls of Bridgeport. He basked in the glory of his own personal success and instead of driving home and relaxing, he wanted to capture the moment of the clear blue sky and take in as much of the freshest air which didn’t taste as fresh before Marcella Miller touched his lips.

  Yet here he was running away from an airborne assassin being fired upon with little glimpses of his past and future running fervently through his mind.

  “What the hell is going on?” he screamed.

  “Just run and ask questions later!” Captain Thernright said firing back as they run down a hill as the assassin fires a rocket from his larger then usual gun.

  “PULSAR MISSILE!!!!” Thernright screamed and grabs Zenden arm as the missile gets closer and slams onto grassy hill sending both men flying in the air, Zenden screams in fear not in control of his own trajectory they head into a train track in front at the bottom of the hill and a train heading across.

  “OH MY….” Zenden and the Captain slam onto the roof of the train and both hold onto the sides with all their might.

  The assassin dives down not shooting, but eerily watching seeing what these guys were going to do next. The train was full of people who heard the thudder of the impact of Zenden and Captain catching according to Aero train rules was an illegal mode of travel and would be frowned upon and punishable with a fine.

  Captain pulls himself and then pulls Zenden whose large frame, made it that much more tiring to pull himself after such a shock. “You okay?” he asks Zenden.

  Zenden just nods and then turns and looks at the assassin gliding along the train watching, just watching. “What is he doing? Were easy targets here? Why doesn’t he just finish us?”

  Captain looks at the assassin and has a serious gaze. He knows the assassin’s plan. He’s seen it before. “He’s one of those sadistic guys. He’s just waiting for us to do the first move.”

  “Us? What can we do?”

  “This!!!” Captain moves Zenden and opens fire at the assassin who avoids fires spinning and moving left to right with ease. He returns fire at the pair who runs along the carriages with pulsar shots flying past their heads. His ear communicator comes on and he shouts after a couple of seconds. “Corporal!! Kayla!!! We’re going to need your help!!!! Come now and follow my communicator beacon hurry!!!!”

  People in the carriages scream as they see all the commotion. One shot moves one of the carriages and one passenger flies through the glass only to be held by one other passenger grabbing their hand. The passenger a female whose shoes have flown off by the flailing of her legs screams for dear life with tears pouring down her eyes. Her blonde hair rustles with the speed of the train and she screams at the older passenger struggling with both hands to gold her as other passengers converge for extra assistance.

  “Oh no.” Captain Thernright looks at an instance below at the woman being held, but her hand sweaty beginning to lose some grip. “Take this!!!” he throws the gun towards Zenden who catches it.

  “What?”

  “Fire!!! Fire at him!!! Kill him!!!”

  Zenden does need to think or ponder about that order he fires at the oncoming assassin who swerves to his right and slams a part of his shoulder onto the carriages further up. He grabs hold on the side of the carriages he lands on and tries to pull himself up.

  I got him. I got that son of mytar. “Cap I got…” Zenden stops as Captain Thernright fires something from his wrist something connected to six inch thick wire, a grappling hook which to the side behind the Captain who turns and leaps off. “CAPTAIN!!!!” Zenden screams as much in shock as he is in sudden fear.

  Captain Thernright hurtles down and then slams the train before dropping down below the train swinging going right under the train, across the underside of the bridge onto the other side of the train where the woman was hanging on. He comes just in time as she falls and Captain Thernright grabs her waist as her loud bellows reverberate across her ears and her elbow connects with her mouth with a sharp rasping pain coming across the side of his mouth. He feels like cursing as they hang and Captain tries to swing his legs to the right and then they move across the tracks now high above the city they miss pillar swinging across as they get to the side where Captain leaped off.

  “You okay?” he said for the first time to a second person in the sequence of a couple of minutes.

  She doesn’t answer still in shock clearly with her whole body shaking. Captain brings his two middle fingers near to his wrist and presses a button on the compartment where the hook springs from. They wire starts to pull the both of them up slowly.

  “We’re going to be okay. You hear me? We’re going to be okay.” He said reassuringly.

  Zenden looks at the assassin pulling himself up. Yeah you try to get up you narchole. I got you when you make a move. I got you.

  The assassin pulls himself up and stands. He gives away nothing. Standing with a type of stillness that is unnerving. Zenden stands there pointing Captain’s weapon at the man.

  “Don’t move!!! You understand? Don’t me or I’ll…I’ll drop you right where you stand!” Zenden said obviously not as confident making threats out loud as the one he prescribes in his head.

  The assassin cocks his head to the left and laughs. His deep tones sending a chill down the young Zenden Tenstraighter. “You’re not going to kill me boy….but I’m going to kill you right where you stand.”

  Zenden seems confused at and once quite scared of that threat. He looks so confident. Like he truly means it…

  Then the assassin takes out a gun, but Zenden reacts quickly as well as he fires two shots one hitting the gun away from the assassin and one which flies past his head. The assassin leaps over one whole carriage in one spring and straight towards Zenden he fires again, but no shot comes out and a sudden fear come from his heart. They collide and the gun falls from his grasp and slides off the train.

  Zenden is grabbed by the assassin who’s several inches taller then him and fits one big hand around his neck and lifts his feet right off the roof of the train. “I’m going to tear you apart boy!!” the assassin yelled and thunders a punch into the solar plexus on Zenden who coughs up some blood as soon as he receives that blow. Another crunching blow to the side and Zenden is dropped to the roof coughing some blood spilling from his mouth. The assassin kicks Zenden in the chest twice causing Zenden to hang at the side of the train holding on for dear life. The assassin walks over almost with a guise of an omnipotent force clearly stronger and clearly superior. Zenden tries to pull himself up which he does as the assassin stands in front of him. Zenden with rasping pain coming from his chest hindering his ability to breathe properly stands as firm as he possibly could. The fear from his eyes had now relented. There was determination now across his face.

  I’m not scared. I took your shot you Encronian bastard. I took it, now I’m going to give you something.

  The assassin looks at him and smiles. “You want to take a shot? You think you can damage me?” he pauses. “Come on.”

  Zenden doesn’t need a second invitation and climbs up, runs and tackles the assassin with all his force and they slam onto the roof of the train, as they land and the assassin lands hard with the back his head slamming hard on the roof, he has a brief look of surprise on his face. No human can do that. No human is that strong.

  A right hand slams across his thick jaw, and a swift uncalculated flurry of rights and lefts pepper and slams his face and rock his head left and right and up and down. Zenden’s eyes full of tears of fury and he rips more punches out of his locker. Then a blow to his ribs rocks him. The assassin hits him again and Zenden screams out in pain. The assassin plants a head butt right on Zenden’s forehead, which throws him back clutching his head and the assassin flips up and runs forward planting another kick into the chest of Zenden who screams in pain once again. He picks up Zenden lifts him again of his feet.

  “No more human play. No more weakness. I’m going to kill you now.”

  A foot slams under his legs from behind straight into the crouch area of the assassin and he lets Zenden go and wails in pain. He is spun around and Captain Thernright slams several punches into his chest fast and powerful old style boxing combinations. Then with several punishing blows to the head of the assassin rock him, but Thernright misses one fateful punch and the Captain’s throat connects with the large forearm of the assassin spinning him in the air and landing hard on his back. The assassin picks up Captain Thernright and head butts him hard snapping his neck back before a slamming straight right hits the forehead of the captain throwing forward. The assassin picks him up and slams him down at the edge of the carriage’s side each slam hitting the lower back causing the Captain to scream out in pain. He does about eight times before dropping the captain on the carriage as he crumples in a heap.

  “IT WAS ONLY ABOUT THORNE!!!! WE WANT THORNE!!! ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS TO STAY AWAY!!!” The assassin takes out a large knife which was thick at the hilt and with curved sharpness at the point. His tongue covered in green blood which some spills from his mouth as licks his tongue across the blade. “We want Thorne’s blood and we will have it. Now I will have to kill you to for being stupid enough to try and play a part.” He pauses. “You humans cannot win against us. Look how easy it was for us to come your planet.”

  Zenden looks at Captain Thernright. Captain Thernright shakes his head as a tear falls from his eye. Be strong Zenden. Be strong. Time is not over as of yet. Not while I still have fight left in me.

  The assassin walks up to the pair. “I slice your innards so that you can see what you filth is like before you pass from this world.”

  “You….” Captain stops himself and he looks past the left hand shoulder of the assassin, “will not win.” He smiles.

  The assassin looks shocked at the smiling Captain. He seems almost taken aback by the smile. “Why do you smile? You look upon your own death with graciousness?”

  “No. I’m just looking upon yours with happiness.”

  The assassin looks even more confused and takes a step forward, a pulsar shot form the sky blows his head clean off. Captain puts his hand as covers for the green blood flying towards him. He then grabs the body of the assassin before it slips off the carriage.

  Lathan and Kayla fly past the train and Captain’s communicator comes on. “Captain!! Captain are you okay?” Kayla said.

  “Yes corporal. Your timing was impeccable as always.”

  “Is Zenden okay?”

  Captain looks at Zenden helping him to his feet. “Are you okay?”

  Zenden nods.

  “Yeah he’s okay. How is Lathan?”

  “He is well got hit with a brick so he’s going to need some stitches. We will pick you up as you reach the next station.”

  “Okay and thank you once again Kayla.”

  The pair goes off ahead. Zenden looks out at them. “She shot from there?” Zenden says pointing upwards. “To here without hitting us two?”

  Captain nods. “That’s galactic fleet training Zenden. Helps with your accuracy. She could probably do that in her sleep or at least fly with her eyes closed.”

  Zenden shakes his head and looks up to the sky. Why am I even asking that question? I’m just thankful to be breathing.

  “Tenstraighter right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Captain looks at him oddly, like he knew him before he met him. Well that’s the feeling that Zenden gets. “You should join the fleet. You fought a grown Encronian and lived to tell this tale. You should consider it.”

  Zenden stays silent. Just trying to figure out how this day changed as fast it did. The realisation that he nearly died facing an Encronian and that his body was not going to let him forget that fact as the train grinds to a halt at New Kings Cross station.