Escape From The Base

Maitho caught Bevan's eye a brief second before the vehicle dashed forward like a bullet fired from a handgun. There were so many things conveyed through those eyes in that moment. Pain and anger were the obvious reactions. But the hesitancy in the man's posture spoke of something else. Maybe he didn't want to believe his leader. Maybe he believed, in some corner of his mind, that Maitho was innocent.

Maybe. The moment didn't last long. Quinn was speeding away from him. Bevan took action without waiting further. He charged forward, walking through the glass as though it was made of paper. The glass exploded into a firework of tiny twinkling crystals. Bevan did not pause nor slow down his pace. Instead, he began to run faster and take longer strides. Behind him, Brigid had gotten down on one knee and began unleashing a volley of shots.

Quinn's rear windshield formed spider webs of cracks as a few bullets found their mark.

"Ouch. That that hurts more than it should," said Quinn. He approached the ramp but did not slow down. Maitho grabbed on to a nearby handhold. He spotted Epona do the same.

Quinn bounced on the ramp, his front wheels lifting off the ground before they met the ground again. The passengers were thrown off their seats briefly.

The rear windshield healed itself. When it became clear, Maitho saw Bevan less than half a dozen feet away, running towards them with a focused look on his face.

When Quinn reached the top of the ramp, he increased his speed. He jumped off into the outside world. While he was still in the air, Maitho felt the seat beneath him begin to sag down. His heart almost leaped into his throat at the unexpectedness of the movement. The roof of the vehicle descended down on him as though it was about to crush him. Yet it stopped in its journey a foot above his head. The doors moved further apart. The interior changed to beige leather.

Quinn had exited the parking lot as an SUV and within the time it took for him to land on the street outside, he had already transformed into a muscle car. He instantly swerved, nearly tossing both Maitho and Epona towards one side of the car. Bevan emerged from the parking lot sprinting, but before he could reach the vehicle, it had already taken off.

As the car raced forward, Bevan continued his pursuit. With each passing second, he seemed to close the gap between him and the vehicle. Epona turned in her seat and summoned a horse outside. The animal had already lifted his hooves to strike. This time however, the result was different. Bevan simply swatted the animal as he charged through it, sending it disappearing into mist.

"He's not going to give up that easily," said Quinn.

The pursuing Guardian then curled his hand into a fist. He positioned his forearm at his side, as though he was about to deliver an uppercut.

"That's not good," said Quinn. "Hang on everyone."

Seatbelts appeared from the side and ran across Maitho's chest. A buckle emerged from the seat to swallow the tongue. The strap pressed against Maitho, pressing him towards the leather at his back without feeling uncomfortable. His entire upper body, including his hands, were pinned to the seat. He noticed that Epona was strapped in a similar position.

Maitho peeked at the rearview mirror. He spotted Bevan come to a stop. The man bent his knees, almost crouching. Then he launched himself forward like a projectile, his fist now raised beside his face. There was no mistaking his intentions. He wanted to bring down Quinn with force.

If his fist had connected with Quinn's body, then there was no imagining the level of damage the car would suffer.

Just when it seemed as though the attack was inevitable, Quinn jumped. He first lifted his front tires, causing the car to rise in an angle from the road. Then the back tires lifted. But the momentum of the front tires continued, causing them to move in an arc while he was still in the air. Eventually, Quinn was upside down in the air while still moving at least a dozen feet off the ground. What was below was now above. The road had become the sky, zipping past the car in a blur. The sky had become the ground, its darkness an infinite expanse that the tires could never reach. Maitho felt a sense of disorientation grip him. For a few seconds, he thought that he would drop to the roof. But the seatbelts held on to him as though someone was grabbing him with both hands. In a way, it almost felt as though Quinn was holding on to him.

Still, Maitho raised his hand and pressed it against the roof. It was an involuntary action that gave him a sense of comfort. Outside the front windshield, he saw an invesrted view. He noticed that Bevan had come to a stop. The Celtic Guardian was looking up at them in wonder.

That would be his one big mistake.

Quinn flashed his blinding headlights directly onto Bevan's face, causing the Guardian to jerk his head away and shield his eyes. It was too late. He was already blinded. Quinn's rotation hadn't stopped. He was still turning as he came closer to the road. Gravity could not be defied forever, but the question was whether they would crash to the ground or would the vehicle pull out some last minute maneuver.

It turned out that Quinn had everything under control. The car continued to spin as it neared the road. The front bumper missed the asphalt by inches. It wasn't a perfect landing as well. The front wheels hit the ground, followed by the rear ones. If it hadn't been for Quinn using his seat belts to hold on to Maitho and Epona, the two of them would have bumped their heads against the roof hard enough to disorient them.

Looking through the rear windshield, Maitho noticed that Bevan was still rubbing his eyes. "Will he be okay?" said Maitho.

"It wasn't a powerful beam," said Quinn reassuringly. "He'll recover quickly. Besides, don't tell me you haven't noticed."

Maitho turned to face the front of the car. He didn't know where to look, so decided to eyeball the steering wheel. He hoped that he was looking at Quinn's face. "Notice what?"

"You got struck by Raiden's lightning when you first came to the base. How do you think you survived that?"

The memory of the first encounter with Thor's descendant flashed through his mind. He could clearly recollect the scramble down the fire exit, and the multiple times he was struck by the Guardian's power. "Maybe he didn't strike hard enough?"

"Raiden's power isn't something you shrug off, Maitho dear. You being a Guardian was what saved you." Quinn took the first turn he could get. The seal belts loosened around Maitho, but they didn't come off entirely. He presumed it was because if the need came for another dangerous maneuver, Quinn would be ready to save his passengers.

"Does that make me shock proof?"

"It makes you attack resistant." Another turn, followed by a drive through an alleyway. "Guardians have thicker skin and faster healing capabilities than ordinary people. Does not mean you can't die or get scars, so don't go around hurting that lovely face. Just means you can take a beating." He was using narrow alleyways and two-lane roads to keep away from some of the busier sections, even though there might not be a lot of traffic as this time of the night.

Maitho settled back in the seat. He felt another wave of exhaustion threaten to consume him. He closed his eyes. Then opened them again. He felt his heart thudding in his chest. Heat spread across his face. For some reason, his fight-or-flight instincts were telling him to leap out of the car and then make a run for it. He jerked his head upright.

He looked around and spotted Epona looking at him with concern. She placed her arm on his shoulder. "Relax. Ye haed driftit aff tae sleep."

"How long was I out?" said Maitho, opening his eyes wide and blinking them to remove some of the sleep.

"Juist twenty minutes."

It was only then that Maitho realized that Epona had moved closer to offer her shoulders as support for his head. He had been leaning to one side without even noticing it. He was grateful, but didn't know exactly how to express that. Thanks for lending me a shoulder? Did that even sound right?

"We need more than twenty minutes," said Maitho.

"Got ideas on where I can stop?" said Quinn.

Maitho nodded. "I do, but we might need you to open your roof door. By that, I mean to the pocket dimension you have up there."

There was a moment of silence in the car.

Epona looked over at Maitho. "You want to go to Caladh?"

"If that is what you call the pocket dimension," said Maitho.

"It isn't an entirely bad idea," said Quinn. "You can take a breather while without being noticed by anyone. what about me? Want me to find a safe area?"

The location that Maitho was about to suggest wouldn't be the best idea that he had. But it was the one that he hoped would keep them safe for the night. All they needed was a short break before daybreak. He knew that while Epona and him were still Guardians, they weren't free of human restrictions. Sleep was one of the necessities they had to accommodate.

Eventually, Quinn had made his way back to the area with the abandoned factories. He avoided the spot where they had fought Raiden and made his way to an empty stretch of dirt road. His body had transformed into an old and weather-beaten car, like the ones you see being used even after twenty years after they were first manufactured. As soon as they reached a spot that was devoid of any life, Quinn shut off his engines.

The roof panel slid open. Light filtered into the car. Through the newly opened gap, Maitho could see a bright blue sky of a world that was not part of the one he lived in. It was another dimension.

He looked at Epona. "Ever been there before?"

She shook her head. "Niver saw a reason tae."

Maitho understood. He didn't ask her to explain. Instead, he spoke to Quinn. "If you notice anyone suspicious, drive away."

"Don't worry about me, dearie. You get some rest."

Maitho gave the seat in front of him a gentle pat, then reached out to the edges of the gap. He pulled himself up into a land where green stretched all the way to the horizon.