Natural Born Angel by Speer Scott

Author:Speer, Scott [Speer, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: 2013-04-03T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

The next morning, Maddy looked out of the window of the helicopter at the auburn desert flats below her and couldn’t help but smile to herself at the irony: they were using the chopper to fly her out to the desert, so that then she could practise flying. Angel efficiency at its best. The roar of the blades overhead was dulled by the headset she wore.

“Almost there,” the voice crackled over the radio in her ear. Below her, the seemingly never-ending development of Angel City had butted up against mountains and then finally given way to vast tan, parched desert that stretched now as far as she could see. It was incredible to her. She’d driven through with Uncle Kevin once when they’d visited some relatives in Nevada, but being above it gave her a sense of the scale of the whole thing.

The Angels had top-secret proving grounds out here near the military bombing ranges, but not even the military were allowed to trespass on the Angel training grounds here in the desert. Maddy soon saw a gleaming silver structure in the distance, just inside what looked like tall cyclone fencing.

“Dropping the bird down,” the pilot said, landing them on the helipad next to the building. Sand and dirt swirled around angrily as the helicopter touched down. Maddy pulled her hood close around her and jumped out of the chopper into the churning grit, following her flight instructor, former ADC Agent Trueway. It was time for Maddy’s more advanced speed training.

She might be able to get by without knowing time manipulation – there were some Angels who weren’t too great at it – but there was no way she’d make it to Guardian without getting the hang of flying. It was crunch time, and Maddy knew it.

Maddy and Trueway were met by a tall, muscular Angel in ADC uniform – when not prepping Guardians, the agents performed their advanced tactical and flying training out here in the desert. Junior ADC agents stood guard at the building. Maddy felt a slight shudder run down her spine as she saw the black uniform but tried to chase it from her mind. She noticed the entire grounds were surrounded by six-metre-tall electrified cyclone fence.

They were led into a black truck, which drove a short distance down a gravel road until it reached a paved clearing. In the centre of the paved clearing was a metal pylon, which reached about six metres into the sky. More pylons continued as far as Maddy could see, each about a football field’s distance apart. Far off, it seemed as if they started zigzagging a bit.

“Ready?” Trueway said to Maddy as they reached the paved clearing. Maddy looked at him and nodded. She slipped off her hoodie so that she was wearing only her flying training gear – a nylon-and-cotton form-fitting uniform that had openings for wings. It wasn’t too weird, but it made Maddy, who had never been particularly athletic, feel self-conscious. She stepped out of the truck and looked into the distance at the pylons.

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