We Can Be Heroes by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

Author:Scott Fitzgerald Gray [Gray, Scott Fitzgerald]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Insane Angel Studios
Published: 2012-04-26T04:30:00+00:00

Then in the back of my mind, something clicks.

At this particular moment, I’m as far away as humanly imaginable from the life I had yesterday, last week, everything that came before right now. I have no reason to remember what I remember at this exact moment. No reason to even be thinking about the idea that suddenly pops into my mind, fully formed.

I have no reason to even hope that it might work. I have no understanding of how I push the fear away long enough to even think of trying it.

I have no recollection of when the decision gets made.

“Take over,” I say to Mitchell, then I’m out of the jump seat before he has a chance to ask why. Panicked, he slides across to grab the controls, the wheels surging as the yoke lurches in his hands. An unhealthy grinding comes from the transaxles as the Vindicator starts to shudder.

“What do I do?”

“Keep it slow enough that the hatch stays open. Also, try to hit them, not us.” I grab Rico by the shirt, dragging him with me as I slam the hatch panel. It shoots up, the ladderway dropping to hover just above the erratic blur of the pavement. The blast of noise from the tires means that I have to shout as I call to Breanne. “Count to five, then use the custom grid to hit the outside lights! Everything the power plant’s got!”

There’s no time to explain, but Breanne nods. I don’t know how, but she gets it.

Then I’m jumping, Rico one step behind me. He gets it, too.

We’re fifty meters from Malkov and Molly, but the sudden appearance of Rico and I out the side door has the intended effect. Even over the noise of the Vindicator, I can hear someone behind Malkov shouting to Stand down missiles, bodies in the field, engage!

Malkov’s not the one yelling, but I don’t realize that at the time. However, even as the closest paramilitaries move for us, the Vindicator lurches sideways. Mitchell gets it. He’s staying in front of us, giving us cover and a chance to move.

We get that way, the four of us. Thing is, the four of us were five of us once. I’m not a religious person, but in that heartbeat of a moment as I hit the pavement, I’m praying that she gets it too.

“Molly!” I scream. “Cover your eyes!”

Rico and I do just that.

Back in ninth grade, Mr. Billet the science teacher did the obligatory experiment where you drop a chip of sodium into a beaker of nitric acid and watch what happens. For some time after that, Mitchell and I longingly dreamed of repeating the experiment with the nitric acid filling a swimming pool, and using a block of sodium the size of a car.

When Breanne hits the lights, I get an idea of how that might have looked.

Like a thunderstorm has suddenly gone off all at once inside it, the Vindicator explodes in blue-white light. Breanne’s got everything on — front floods, side and back spots, side service lights, the safelights above the wheel housing.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.