Tales of the Courier – Showdown at Sundown
A high speed standoff. A showdown of the the fast kind. Unstoppable force, meets immovable object. A classic game of chicken, winner takes all. 1courier switches on the tunes, dials the fun to maximum, and floors the accelerator pedal.
Tell tale signs and missed connections were front and center now. The connections had been missed, but missing the connection now, could result in chaos. If, the tell tale signs, were reliable, and not imagination.
The Scavenger roadblock moves rapidly closer, the impact seconds away. The heavy freighters are blocking the entirety of the road, and many more flank the sides of those, preventing any path around. It looks like game over. He grins, things aren’t always as they appear.
Now and then, here and there. Every move from one universe to another, is always through. A door or tunnel, but always through, along with the ride, and maybe anything else that happens to be at the door.
He imagines the barren wastes of the unknown world with the two sapphire moons. An ethereal light begins to emanate from the road block two seconds away. One blink to impact, then the feeling of being pulled, along with intense pressure. The effect is new and disorienting, and the ride swerves as the wheels strike the coarse asphalt.
Tumbling Blocks
There is a great cacophony behind him as he quickly straightens the wheels, and glances the rearview mirror. It had worked even better than not planned. The scavenger road block was scattered blocks, across the road behind. No more tourist traps here. He concentrates again, and sees the iridescent highways of Deritrous in his mind. The road ahead sparks ethereal, and shimmers…
…and becomes the iridescent highways of Nalphia. Another glance at the rearview, reveals empty road behind. Nice. Universal trap disposal. He would have to remember to ask Cheeky about the patent rights, later.
He drives purposefully in the direction of the missing enclave, knowing it will no longer be missing, or maybe out of phase, is a better term. The words from the disembodied voice on the trip away from the sapphire moons, echoes in his thoughts. “One need not possess the key, to use the key.” The trouble was in who had access to the key, and its’ effects.
The enclave enclosure comes into view within minutes, and the activity that is visible, indicates another problem. Couriers are departing rapidly, and destruction has left a trail across the entire area. Several service rides are burned out husks and the command section of the enclave is a crater. He’s only thinking of one thing now. Where is she?
Time to Go
He spots her running towards him, and he gets there fast, sliding the ride perfectly into place, and opening the passenger door simultaneously. Cheeky scrambles into the ride with nimble speed, and slams the door. Slightly breathless and in apparent alarm, she issues an urgent command,”Time to go 1courier!”
1courier spurs the ride forward immediately, and they are gathering road rapidly, as another destructive event occurs directly behind them, at the now destroyed, enclave. He feels the concussive force of the event pulse through the ride and himself, but there is no explosion of sound and fire accompanying this event. It is literally destruction from nowhere.
The heavy equipment carriers used for setting up enclaves, have less than half a miles’ head start, they become two deep craters in an eye blink. He doubles down on getting them the hell out. He thinks of the desert highways of 2universe, and the long unbroken miles, of ever unwinding road. The road ahead shimmers more brightly.
Two more courier vehicles evaporate in the distance ahead, leaving road craters, and plumes of rising smoke. Cheeky is watching him closely, he feels her eyes as they peer curiously at him in the silent chaos. The road ahead ignites with that eerie ethereal light and another crater forms, immediately ahead this time. 1courier pulls the wheel hard, and blinks.
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