Archer Lumen: Earth's Version of Hell (Unfinshed)[Edited Up to Escape]

Chapter 3 | Mother Always Said I'd Be On The Run

||| Haha, remember that Jokes book, Braids? Well, "Advance towards me" was in there. Of course, it was "Advance towards me, bretheren, but still, I loved it! Thanks! |||

Chapter Three

There Are Three Things one must know about Havenburg.

  One: It’s more of a rest stop town.

  Two: It’s pretty small. The population is only about four hundred people.

  Three: It’s on the coast of the Pacific Ocean

  Because of number one, when I left the woods and found myself on the side of a road, only one car was on the street, despite the fact that this was one of the roads that led to the highway. Houses lined the sidewalk on the other side. I bolted across the asphalt, but when the driver of the Civic honked his horn, I returned and held my arms out in a come at me, bro way. “Advance towards me, jackass!” I yelled. Probably not too smart, huh?

  But I could see the red and blue lights in the distance, barreling down the road. That brings me to number two. Because it was so small, the police’s response time was incredible. Annoyingly so. That’s why I ran away from the road and toward a fence with the gate open. The police cars were just parking when I entered someone’s backyard.

  “Freeze!” Someone yelled on a microphone, but I ignored them as I continued to run. There was a whole in the far corner and I headed toward it just as the dull whump-whump of rubber bullets ricocheting off of the house walls reached my ears. Rubber bullets. Great, at least they didn’t want to kill me.

  Still, I’d heard that those things hurt. That was why I poured in more speed. When I reached the hole, I slid through it. My bag was slim enough to go right under as well. Then I was speeding across an empty plot of land that stretched all the way to my neighborhood. My cul-de-sac was right in view, with my house as the smallest one. To my right I could see the beach, an unused one seeing as the waves were usually rough and cold. None of that mattered to me. As I sped across the ground, I could hear police dogs doing the same. I had to get them off of my scent. So I slowed down―risky move, I know―and willed the tug in my abdomen. When it came, I closed my eyes and stamped my foot. Instantly water began to rush over the beach, toward us. I began to run again, but the cries of shock behind me told me that my pursuers hadn’t been fast enough.

  I was running out of energy fast, huffing and puffing as I reached my backdoor. I opened it―we never kept it locked―and entered my house, sliding down against the door and gasping for air. Pulling all the water had left me winded. It was a good thing that the shore was only a couple meters away from my house.

  I waited for a long time, straining to hear the shouts of police officers and dogs. Part of me realized that I was acting really calm right now, but I didn’t really care. I’d just found out that I could control water! Maybe I could yell, “FUS RO DAH!” and summon a huge shockwave to blow everything away.

  To be honest, I was getting ready to say it when the door opened. The kitchen had two doorways. One that faced the dining room, and one that led to the living room. I saw a leather boot step on the carpet of my living room and rose unsteadily, watching as Kate found my eyes. “What happened to you?” she asked as I stumbled.

  I caught myself on the counter, looking at the kitchen completely now. I hadn’t noticed before, but everything had been tossed around. The plates and cups were shattered on the ground, the contents of the fridge had been discarded too.

  We have your mother. Jael had said. I felt a cold ball of anger forming in the pit of my stomach.

  “I…I summoned water, to get rid of the police,” I mumbled slowly, still trying to wrap my head around the situation. I gripped the ring on my necklace, and instantly it came off. Looking at the piece of jewelry, I felt my mouth moving. “Lunar,” I said clearly, with the picture of a leaf-bladed sword appearing in my hand.

  The ring responded immediately, flattening into a reflective piece of metal, and then springing into a silver sword that was about two-feet long. It was balanced nicely, and I swung it as if I’d done so all my life. I was in the living room with Kate, facing the couch that faced the door, and she let out a gasp as a silvery arc of light followed the blade through the air. Then she regained her composure. “You what? Archer, we’ve got to get out of here. Now, I’ve got some friends, but we can’t stay and wait for them. Why the hell did you use your GuardSkill? Now you’ve left a damn imprint!” she yelled. I had to admit, it was really hard not to laugh at her angry face, the way she stuck out her upper lip to show her teeth.

  As if to make sure I didn’t laugh, the door was kicked open. A lion, followed by a hawk and monkey, burst into my house. I didn’t hesitate as I vaulted over the couch and charged the lion just as it became a human boy.