Mythlands: THE HEIST

Part Two: Nerves of Feather

The Golden Goose had spent most of the flight with his eyes screwed tightly shut; while not a coward, the goose was fully aware that nature had made him a flightless bird. Now however he was zooming through the air, about a mile above the ground, strapped into a bag-like contraption to the body of the winged man Icarus and only the stamina and winged skill of the former was keeping him from plummeting down towards the tree tops below.

Still, it could have been worse; the goose was aware that he and the others being flown by Pegasus had soared over the zombies and all the dangers of the Magic Forrest. All in all though, the constant hours long threat of death by falling, tree top impalement or just plain splattering, was enough to contend with. The goose couldn't see how his day could get any worse.

Then he opened his eyes.

'F f fokker!!'

Icarus glanced down and frowned. 'I beg your pardon?'

'FOKKER!!!' screamed the goose as something flashed past his right wing, ruffling his feathers.

Up ahead that something struck Pegasus a glancing blow in the flank, causing a red line to appear on his white skin.

Griffin gave a yelp of fear and Jessica held the squirming tabby tight as she shifted to glance backwards.

A red blur flashed by.

'Good lord! Is that ...' began HG Wells.

SC who was strapped to his lap nodded grimly. 'Indeed George, we are under attack by Von Richtoffen ... the Red Baron.'

Icarus flew alongside the winged stallion and called out. 'Pegasus, are you hurt?'

The horse turned his head. 'Nah, fool just frontin. Flesh wound. Damn skyby, muthafu ...'

'He's coming around again and there's something else behind us ... larger and slower. An airship. Can you outrun?' shouted Icarus over the slipstream.

Pegaus shook his head. 'Too much weight my winged brutha. You gonna need ta take the AK an hold that fool off.'

'I can't fly, carry the goose AND use a weapon!'

'Jessica! Throw it to me!' cried out the Golden Goose, stretching his wings to full span.

Jessica reached into the saddle bags holding the weapons and pulled out an AK 47 assault rifle, which she held out so the goose could grip it. As soon as she did so, Icarus dropped back and veered round to where the Red Baron was making his approach.

The goose curled his wing tips around the trigger and haft of the gun and began firing. Around Icarus tracer fire erupted but the winged man successfully weaved between the leaden death.

Around and around they went, allowing Pegasus to pull away and for Icarus to still stay ahead of the airship. Icarus pulled round on a dive and the goose leveled his machine gun and ... klik!

'OUT OF AMMO!!! PULL UP!' he screamed.

Icarus obliged and the jolt of acceleration knocked the now useless gun out of the goose's wingtips. Heart pounding the goose reached a wing into his satchel, hoping to find a handgun there ... but only one object remained.

The goose gulped and his heart pounded as they once again evaded the latest burst from the Baron's guns. The end of the trees was only a mile or two off. 'GET US ABOVE HIM!' screamed the Goose with determination but a feeling of fatalistic heart rendering fear.

Icarus obliged and yelled. 'We're above him, but what are you ... what are you doing!?' he screamed as he felt the goose loosen the straps that attached them.

The goose swallowed hard. 'Tell Hare ... he was the best damn friend I ever had,' and he slipped out of the straps.

The Golden Goose fell through the air, Icarus's screams were lost to the wind.

He slammed into the red topped wings and grasped with all his might.

The Baron turned his head and stared in surprise, fumbling with his side arm as the goose fought the wind, his wing tips tearing holes in the fabric of the wings of the fokker as he pulled himself forward.

A bullet whizzed past the goose's head but the grimly determined golden avian continued on until he was right on top of the pilot.

The Red Baron struggled to aim his pistol, while the goose dipped his right wingtip into his satchel and cursed. 'Damn you to hell for forcing me to do this!' He slammed the heavy object forward, breaking the bottle of Bushmills over Von Richtoffen's head, stunning the famed pilot of world war one and instantly causing the red painted fokker tri-plane to nose dive towards the ground below.

The acceleration tore the golden goose free of the struts and he found himself free falling through the air. 'WAUGGGGHHHH. Goodbye cruel world!'

Suddenly he was barreling forward in a straight line, with Icarus's arms around him. The winged man tumbled over and over some fifty or sixty feet before he was able to straighten out and glide at his full wing span, hurtling so fast that they soon saw Pegasus up ahead.

The goose's heart was going at a thousand miles an hour as Icarus helped him to once again secure himself in the straps.

Behind them the Red Baron's plane exploded in a fireball against the ground just clear of the forest and the airship lumbered a mile or so behind.

Relief followed terror and then was mingled with sadness. 'My whiskey!' moaned the goose mournfully. 'It was my last bottle!'