Fallen - Chapter 6 - Chase
#6 of Fallen
"This is delicious! Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"From your brother."
Carry nodding as she stuffed another fork full of spaghetti in her mouth.
Julius had decided to show his thanks to her for helping hide him by cooking her dinner. It was about the only way the tiger could think of to show his gratitude.
"Rick has always been a fantastic cook," Carry said after swallowing. "I've so missed his cooking."
"I've told him that if he ever desired to open a restaurant, I'd be more than happy to fund his endeavour," Julius agreed. "Though I don't expect he would do so at this time."
"Why do you say that?" Carry asked before putting more food in her mouth.
"No doubt he is still being watched. If Rick were to inexplicably and suddenly acquire sufficient funds to open a restaurant, and do so, there would likely be an investigation," Julius pointed out.
"I guess you're right," Carry said after swallowing. "I hope this whole thing gets cleared up soon. You shouldn't have to hide because of some stupid bullshit politics."
A few minutes of silence passed as the pair continued to eat. Carry searched her mind for topics to talk about, hoping she could think of something that would not make Julius turn away from her again. But her thoughts were soon interrupted when a shadow flashed across the wall.
Immediately, the Arkon set his fork on the plate and rose to his feet. Before Carry could get out a word, he was gone. Flabbergasted, the human female just stared at the sliding glass door Julius had exited out of.
"Crap," Carry muttered to herself, slumping in her chair.
It had been almost a week since Julius had first spotted the unknown figure flying over the city. He'd spent night after night, and much of each day, watching and hoping to catch just a glimpse of what he'd seen from the lookout. Julius even returned to the lookout one night, hoping that a wider view of the city would help. But the figure did not show its presence a second time. Not openly, anyway.
Throughout the week, the news had been littered with reports of mysterious thefts. The first night, several clothing stores were looted, though little was actually taken. After that, multiple convenience stores and major grocery stores were broken into and ransacked. Julius suspected what he had seen flying over the city might be connected to the sudden surge of robberies.
The Arkon stood on the roof of the apartment building he now resided in. Carefully, he scanned the horizon for signs of movement, hoping he would finally be able to catch up to whatever seemed to be making a home for itself in the city. After several minutes, Julius sighed. Even the birds that roosted atop the city's towers were still. As he was about to climb down and return to Carry, a glint caught the tiger's eye. Julius winced and then glared in the direction of the flash to see what shiny object sunlight had reflected off to momentarily blind him. And then he saw it, white moving against white.
Julius stepped once, twice, and on the third step propelled himself through the air to the adjacent rooftop. He was there for only a couple of seconds before leaping through the air a second time. With all his speed, Julius raced across the city's rooftops like they were stepping stones, covering entire blocks in mere moments. Finally, the tiger reached his destination.
"Stay away from me!" the stallion immediately demanded, backing away from Julius as he landed heavily on the white painted rooftop.
With a coat of pure white and eyes of pale blue, the stallion blended well with the roof's colour, hiding him from view. A large, dark tarp was also set up, draped down from the side of the roof's stairway access. From a distance, it looked like nothing but a natural shadow. The Arkon himself wore only a light tan pair of trousers with a plain brown belt and metal buckle. It was the buckle that had caught Julius' attention. Within the shade of the tarp, assorted fruits and discarded wrappers could be seen. It was evident that the stallion was the one who had been pillaging the stores for the past week.
Julius cautiously kept his distance from the thief, watching his movements for any sign of aggression. Three of the last four Arkons Julius had recently encountered were uncharacteristically hostile. The tiger wasn't about to rush headlong into a fight with another Arkon he knew nothing about.
"These things were not yours to take," Julius informed sternly.
"I took what I needed. Nothing more," the stallion defended. As he spoke, the white horse edged a little further away from Julius.
"Your actions cannot continue. Come quietly and perhaps something can be arranged."
As far as anyone knew, this Arkon had not harmed anyone, so Julius decided to try reason over brute force. But the tiger kept his guard up. The stallion seemed skittish and was gradually moving towards a more open part of the rooftop. Either he was preparing to flee or his submissive nature was a ploy to lure Julius into lowering his guard and open him up to a surprise assault.
"I told you to stay away from me!" the stallion shouted, suddenly retreating to the ledge.
Julius paused, confused by the Arkon's behaviour. If he thought to threaten to jump, it was a poor threat; though the impact would be painful, it would not be fatal.
"I can't let you continue these thefts," Julius said, his tone firm.
"Stop me if you can," the stallion challenged.
What happened next was not what surprised Julius, but what happened after that. Like all Arkons, the stallion had wings, hidden from sight by their manner of existence until called into view by the Arkon's will. But unlike any other Arkon, even Julius' larger, blackened wings, the stallion's were solid, possessing a completely corporeal form. With a single, powerful beat, the stallion's wings sent him sailing backwards into the air where he hovered, his wings spread out behind, beating steadily to maintain their owner's position.
"How? No Arkon can fly!" Julius shouted in confusion.
"This is the gift of my wings," the stallion returned, "Tell your master that I will never join his cause. You'll have to kill me first!"
Before Julius could respond, the stallion folded his wings behind his back and fell into a nosedive. Julius ran to the ledge and looked over the edge of the 39 story office block. Just a few stories from the ground, the stallion's wings spread out once more and the Arkon rapidly levelled out, fleeing down the street at startling speed, even for an Arkon.
"He can fly..." Harrison repeated.
"Well that's just great!" Rick exclaimed sarcastically, "How the hell do you catch someone who can fly?"
"You'll need to find a way, and soon," Harrison said to Julius, "He may not be hurting people directly, but the mounting costs for repairs and losses are going to hurt everyone in the long run."
Julius closed his eyes and turned from his friends who had gathered in Carry's kitchen. The tiger knew where this was leading and he didn't like it. After a moment, he spoke, "It was a week before I was able to spot him a second time. Now that he knows I'll be looking for him, he'll be even harder to find. What do you propose I do?" Julius looked up at Harrison and waited for a suggestion.
"Can't the police search with helicopters or something?" Carry asked.
Harrison, who was standing by the bench and nursing a half empty cup of coffee, put down his cup and stepped towards the table. "Under different circumstance we could. But if I was to order a large scale search without some form of evidence, my actions would be questioned and certain individuals might find reason to believe the police force are still working with Julius."
"What about an anonymous tip?" Rick suggested.
"Possibly," Harrison nodded after a moment of thought. "Julius' mere existence could be sufficient evidence to warrant sending out at least one chopper on an anonymous tip."
"And when this flying Arkon is located and flushed out, you swoop in and nab him," Rick, addressing Julius, explained with a touch of excitement.
Julius just glared at the bartender.
"What?" Rick asked.
Harrison returned to the bench, picked up his cup and sculled the last of his coffee. After making a disgusted face at the taste of the cold beverage, he placed the cup in the sink and ran water into it.
"I'll be at my desk for most of the day tomorrow. Call me there and we should be able to start sorting this out quickly," the detective said. With that, he bid farewell to the siblings and his friend and left for home.
Julius watched as a lone police chopper floated lazily over the city's horizon. Rick had travelled across half of the city to a payphone earlier that morning to deliver the anonymous tip. A few hours later and the search began. But the city was large and a single helicopter was not enough to efficiently scour all locations. The hours passed slowly as the city's protector waited, watching and hoping the searching police would find the elusive, flying stallion.
Eventually, late in the evening, when the sky was filled with a mixture of oranges, pinks and reds, Julius noticed the search helicopter circling a tower near the centre of the city. Standing up, the tiger watched, his sharp eyes searching for signs of movement. And then he saw it. Flushed out by the helicopter, the white stallion fled the roof of the tower and dove down into the streets.
Julius took off in an instant, racing across the rooftops as a blue blur. He kept his sights focused on the helicopter which was struggling to follow the stallion as he flew through the city's streets. But that didn't matter; it wasn't long before Julius caught up with them and when he did, the stallion panicked. With a powerful beat of his wings, the white equine increased speed alarmingly. Julius pushed himself in an attempt to keep up, but the tiger's feet were no match for the stallion's wings. With a mighty leap, Julius launched himself into the air, trying to close the gap, but it did little to help.
Coming to a stop on the corner of a rooftop, Julius watched as the white, flying Arkon rapidly got away. The tiger raised his hands but paused, wincing for a moment as he fought with himself. If he didn't act, the stallion would escape and it could take even longer to find him again. Julius had to act. Roaring in frustration, the dark blue tiger thrust his hands forward.
Lightning coursed through the air with deadly accuracy and blinding speed. An explosion of thunder reverberated through much of the city, temporarily deafening and frightening many of its inhabitants. But the mighty bolt of electricity hit its mark and though the stallion received little damage, he was stunned and easily sent crashing to the ground. With a chance to catch up now within his grasp, Julius wasted no time in sprinting across a few more rooftops before leaping down into the street where the stallion was scrambling to his feet.
"I told you before, I'm not joining you. Stay away from me!" the stallion shouted.
Knowing he could be knocked out of the air with another bolt of lightning, the white Arkon immediately began fleeing on foot. But the flying horse was not accustomed to moving on the ground. Unlike in the air, there was a myriad of obstacles to weave around and corners to turn. It didn't take long for Julius to catch up to the stallion as he bumped into people, cars, garbage troughs and even the buildings themselves.
"You cannot continue this," Julius stated sternly as he approached the collapsed Arkon.
"You have no right to dictate my actions!" the stallion objected, scrambling to his feet. With a wild swing, the fugitive Arkon attempted one final bout of defiance. But disoriented and panicked, he was no match for Julius who brushed the punches aside and easily grasped the stallion's wrists.
"You will answer for the crimes you have committed here," the tiger said in an almost solemn tone. The stallion tried to pull free of the tiger's grip, but he was too exhausted from the chase. A moment later, the white Arkon fell to his knees as he felt his energy being drawn from hi like a loose thread being pulled from a garment.
"This is the police, stay where you are!" a voice suddenly boomed from above. The helicopter had finally caught up with the two Arkons and now sat poised above them in the air, an officer leaning out the side with an assault rifled aimed at Julius. With an irritated growl, the blue tiger darted out of the car filled street and disappeared around a nearby corner leaving the police with the grounded stallion.
After only a few blocks, Julius stopped running, knowing that even if the authorities had decided to pursue him they'd have had no hope of keeping up. Not only could Julius move exceedingly swiftly, but after forty he probably knew more about the ins, outs, twists and turns of the city than even its oldest residents. But that didn't stop the tiger from driving his powerful fist into the solid brick wall of an alley out of frustration, creating a considerable hole.
"Damn it!" Julius roared, slamming his head against the wall. "I... didn't want this."
Julius feebly beat upon the bricks, venting his emotions on the building. After several minutes passed, the tiger finally breathed deeply and stepped back. His eyes did not look up and the fur on his cheek was matted. Reluctantly, Julius reached within himself and drew upon the energy that flowed within all Arkons. Slowly, almost majestically, the detached wings that all Arkons possessed stretched out from behind Julius' shoulders. He could feel they had grown in length once again and could now feel their very physical existence.
Closing his eyes in a sense of remorse, Julius let his wings fade from existence once more and turned from the damaged wall. Once again the tiger had been forced to take another Arkon's wings. Once again Julius felt like a monster that did not deserve to live.