He Comes in Peace

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Pounding furiously on Kartayon's back, though it did nothing but make her hand smart and sting, Skye screamed and yelled for him to stop.

It was strange, how a controversial battle raged within the confines of her mind. On one hand, she was secretly deliriously happy that Kartayon had chosen her rather than his home. That secret made Skye squirm with guilt on the inside.

On the other hand, however, she was furious with herself for allowing Tay to pick her up and run away. Skye knew there wouldn't have been even the slightest chance of her escape, but it definitely would have made her conscience ease up on the 'shame on you' jabs if she had even tried to back away from him.

Tay's ears flicked back and forth with each strike. He jostled her violently, tipping her forward so that her head rested against his.

Preparing herself for the surge of intrusion upon her mind, she clenched her hands tight around his shoulders; a breaching of her thoughts would surely unbalance her if she wasn't braced for the mental probe.

His thoughts came a second later.

Skye, I beg you, please. It is hard enough to dodge cars while you attempt to beat me to a pulp.

Even as he spoke, he crossed the street, leaping clean over a low convertible before scrambling to a halt before another.

Having finished speaking, Kartayon didn't wait for Skye to reply. He abruptly severed the string of thoughts that had kept them together a moment ago.

The sickening feeling of a nerve being extracted from her brain washed over Skye again. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around his neck as he challenged traffic once more.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" an angry man shouted after them, his head poking out from his driver seat window. If he was cross about a J-walking alien, he'd be bursting arteries once the ECI cars had caught up.

Skye's eyes watered as she and Kartayon flew past the Gallah Mall, startling a few groups of teenagers. Some shouted after the two of them, but Tay had already carried them so far away; even if they found a desire to shout back, the teens wouldn't have heard them anyway.

Not bothering to stop at the crosswalk and look both ways for cars, Tay made another spectacular leap, though this one came short.

His claws scraped the hood of the bright red sports' car, peeling off the paint job and a few slivers of metal.

Loud cussing was shouted after them, and of course, they ignored it.

"When are we stopping?" Skye shouted over the car horns that were going off everywhere as Tay cut across a road.

"As soon as the ECI give up their chase," he shouted back in reply.

Skye saw an opening ahead that disappeared into an extremely busy and crowded street, where all the exotic and unusual, but nevertheless popular shops were. She nudged Kartayon's chin with her open palm and he prepared to take the turn.

They just about rounded the corner, and Skye was joyously shouting, (after looking behind) "We lost them!" when a screech of wheels on asphalt disrupted their happy and relieved moment.

The ECI cars were waiting for them, a row of three white vans blocking the entrance to their escape route.

My God, speak of the devil.

-x-

Not all the cars were there. As the thought processed itself through Skye's mind, another screech of wheels signaled that the other half of the ECI had appeared. It ironically seemed as though spoken or unspoken, the Extraterrestrial Control people made every effort to foil their plans.

Tay skidded to a halt, barely a few yards away from the three vans, aware that all sides were surrounded. Front and back were blocked, and as Kartayon prepared to go left or right, the men jumped from their cars, tranquilizers in hand.

A low growl rippled through Tay's chest, and Skye, still clinging tightly onto his back, felt the scales lining his spikes vibrate and clack against one another. They shook so quickly that it made a sound like a tiny buzzer.

"Put the girl down and step away," commanded one of the men. "Put the girl down or we will be forced to resort to unpleasant methods. If you cooperate, we will leave you in peace."

Kartayon snorted slightly, radiating disbelief.

The fact that this was the first time the ECI had actually spoken out loud and tried to communicate with Skye and Kartayon made the latter cringe with slightly suspicion.

The streets seemed to be dead silent, although they were near the most crowded part of the area. Skye glanced out of the corner of her eye and caught several passer-bys standing on the other side of the street, cell phones held out, and the flash of their camera-phones marking the street with irritable little sparks.

She found that reinforcements had been called to the scene and those people were currently setting a perimeter around Kartayon and Skye, walking around and reassuring the frightened street shoppers that everything was under control, and to move along.

Tay's muscles trembled and relaxed. Not a second later, Skye felt something shoot through her mind; a small, electric current, signaling that Kartayon wanted to speak to her. She rested her cheek against the back of his head.

She was somewhat used to the mental link, but it still left a lingering feeling behind, like the stench of something undesirable, though of course, thoughts did not have a scent.

Kartayon's thought sluggishly oozed into her mind. This was strange. His thoughts had always been clear, like a shard of pristine crystal. Now, his mental probe sounded fuzzy, like static from a radio. Skye concentrated every thought upon his single one, and felt the static ease slightly.

Hold on tight, Skye. I would hate to have you fall off.

What?

Skye was given no reply as Kartayon withdrew from her mind. She kept half her face pressed into his hair, just in case. When not even the smallest of thoughts appeared again, she had no choice but to tighten her arms around his shoulders. She felt his muscles coil and tense.

The men of the ECI had started inching forward, though they slowed their pace as Kartayon crouched down, his lips pulled back in a wild snarl.

A brief clip from a movie flashed through Tay's head and he sent the picture right along, easing it forward until it lodged along the edge of Skye's consciousness.

Skye caught a glimpse of an oversized gorilla scaling a building.

No!

Her thought was so distressed and sharp that it caught Kartayon's mental attention, despite the fact that his luminous eyes were darting back and forth between all eight of the gun-holding men. He strengthened their bond.

Yes. Hold fast.

And before another protest could be made on Skye's part, Tay had leaped up onto the first window of the building at the left, and started climbing. Darts peppered the ground and glanced off the pavement. It was King Kong all over again.