‘Try to keep hidden,’ Joel warned, ‘we’ll be as fast as we can.’ He stood back and looked at Emily on Pegasus. ‘You know,’ he said, ‘with that blanket covering his wings and you sitting there, he almost looks like an ordinary horse.’
‘Except for the fact that he appears whiter than white,’ Eric added. ‘Have you noticed how he almost seems to glow?’
‘I thought it was just my eyes,’ Joel said. ‘But you’re right. He is very bright. We may have to do something about that.’
‘Like what?’ Emily asked. ‘Cover him with mud?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Joel said. ‘Let me think about it.’
When Joel and Eric left, little was said between Emily and Carol. Emily realized Carol was terrified. She wasn’t sure if it was just the creatures that had her frightened, or if it was spending time alone with Pegasus. Carol’s startled eyes were darting everywhere; she jumped at the tiniest of sounds. The scurrying of squirrels in the trees nearly had her in tears. Emily actually welcomed the ringing of her cellphone. When she flipped it open, she saw her father’s name on the screen.
‘Dad, I’m so glad it’s you—’
‘Emily!’ he cut in urgently. ‘Thank God! Don’t talk. Just listen. Don’t say where you are, the CRU are probably listening to us. I know what’s happened! I know about the apartment and the winged horse and your ride up 5th! Em, they’re coming for you. Wherever you are, you’ve got to get moving and keep moving.’
‘Dad, I …’ Emily started as her heart pounded in her chest. ‘There are four-armed monsters in the city!’
‘I know! Bullets can’t stop them. They’re making their way uptown right now. Listen to me, Em. Remember Robin. Think of him and I’ll be there!’
‘What? Dad, I don’t understand,’ Emily said in terror.
‘There’s no time. I’m sorry sweetheart, but you must destroy your phone. They’ll be tracking it. Destroy it now. I love you, Emily! Remember Robin!’
The call was disconnected. Emily’s hands were shaking as she closed her cell. She quickly opened the back and pulled out the battery pack. Then she threw everything on the ground. ‘Step on it Pegs,’ she said. ‘You’ve got to destroy it!’
Pegasus stomped down on the phone with a sharp hoof. By the time he’d finished, there was nothing left but a lot of little unrecognizable pieces.
‘Emily, what’s happening?’ Carol was approaching panic.
This time, Emily shared her fear. ‘The creatures are coming for us.’ She looked back into the direction Joel and Eric went. ‘I hope they hurry. My dad said the CRU are hunting us as well.’
14
Paelen was unsure how long he had been in this strange and terrible place. Without windows, there was no keeping track of time. But each passing day was becoming worse than the one before.
He was taken to another lab. This time they didn’t draw any more of his precious blood or put him in machines to study him. They didn’t shine more lights in his eyes, or take samples of him to test. Instead the older man called Agent J ordered him strapped to an uncomfortable metal chair. The chair was facing a large white screen that seemed to shimmer like satin.
‘Watch,’ Agent J ordered.
The lights in the room went down as the screen lit up. The full-colour image was almost like the colourful mosaics scattered around Olympus. But not quite. As he studied the strange pictures, Paelen saw the tall buildings he’d first seen when he arrived in this strange world on the night of the storm.
‘Do you recognize anything?’ Agent J asked.
‘It is your world,’ Paelen responded. He looked at Agent J curiously, trying to figure out what new torture this was going to be.
‘Yes it is. We call it New York City.’
‘New York City,’ Paelen repeated. ‘That is very nice. Thank you for showing it to me. May I leave now?’
‘No you may not,’ Agent J shot back. ‘Just sit there and keep watching.’
Paelen turned back to the screen. He saw different images of the city. Some were taken from the air, others from the ground. Next he was shown a collection of various people he didn’t know. As he watched the changing images, he became aware of everyone in the room studying him.
‘Do you know what those are?’ Agent J asked when the image changed again.
Paelen looked at the picture of countless pigeons in a park. ‘Birds,’ he answered. ‘We have them in Olympus. It infuriates Jupiter when they mess on his statue.’
‘I’m sure it must,’ Agent J said sarcastically. ‘And this?’
Paelen saw the image of a dog. Then another image showing the same dog walking with its owner. ‘Olympus has dogs too,’ he answered. ‘We also have Cerberus. He has three heads and is particularly vicious. Do you have them here?’
‘No,’ Agent J answered. ‘But recently, we’ve discovered that we do have these.’
Paelen’s eyes flew wide as the picture of the dog was replaced by the image of several four-armed creatures charging through the streets of the city.
‘Nirads!’ he uttered.
‘What did you call them?’ Agent J demanded, moving closer.