Tag Archives: Haley

Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 3

I considered my next step. We were on an eight lane highway with no median between the northbound and southbound. The only thing between them was a four foot high concrete barrier. That was on the left.

When I looked to the right, I realized that the lane must be a little lower than the road running alongside it because the concrete sloped down to the highway.

We were the second lane in from the right on the southbound side. Thanks to the catmecha’s legs, we might be able to move over the front of the red Chevy Cavalier to my left. I wasn’t completely confident though, that it wouldn’t step on the car’s hood, denting it at best, pushing the engine through to the concrete at worst.

That was the nearest we got to the side of the road. To the immediate left we had semi-truck, and whatever happened to be in the lane past that.

So, I went with plan b. Continue reading Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 3

Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 2

I wasn’t sure what I could do about that. Alex and his dad probably had good reasons for what they did. It wouldn’t be a good thing if something major came up, and they were too tired to help their team because they’d spent all day in the hospital healing people.

Realistically, they’d probably be better off allowing scientists to study how their healing worked with various illnesses and injuries than actually healing anybody.

I hoped they thought that far ahead. Continue reading Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 2

Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 1

Denver’s traffic sucked.

Driving in from Denver International Airport wasn’t bad at first, but then we got into the city. That’s when we began to experience everything I hated about driving in Chicago. By that I mean having to pay attention to more cars and lanes than I wanted to.

Two lanes would merge into three, and I’d have to watch from all directions as cars around moved across the highway in different directions.

If I hadn’t been driving I might have been able to pay attention to the bright blue sky, and how different the landscape was. Left to itself, Michigan is covered with large trees.

Colorado tends to be covered with grasses, and small trees, many of which are evergreens. Not only can you see the sky, but you can see for a long way on the ground. Plus, any time you get a little height while you’re in Denver—by going down a long hill, for example—the Rocky Mountains loom in the distance.

It probably says something about me that my strongest association with mountains is Mordor. Continue reading Not Exactly Hogwarts: Part 1

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 18

She fired anyway, but the burrito missed, hitting the hill in an explosion of chunky salsa that coated the area around the blast.

A spattering hit the two stuck to the hill above her and they screamed, trying to wipe it off their clothes.

A ladle sized splash hit the one leaping toward her as it was still in the air. His eyes widened and his faced tensed, but Kayla barely noticed.

Beams of white light hit the creature, causing it to tumble in the air. When its hand hit her, she expected to die, but it barely hurt at all. She’d heard stories where the bad wounds, the truly terminal wounds were surprisingly easy to take, but when she looked down at her chest where the hand hit, she didn’t see any blood.

Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 18

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 17

The burrito hit it in the middle of the chest, sticking there. The burrito dripped cheese, beans, and a glowing green sauce across the creature’s body.

The alien looked down, staring at the mess, sniffing once.

Then the burrito exploded, spreading the contents in all directions–except strangely enough, toward Kayla. Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 17

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 16

She pushed the button.

All the voices disappeared into static along with the displays in the helmet and every light in the armor. As of that moment, she was alone in front of the exit to HQ, and not standing either.

She didn’t know what the suit did to help her stay balanced, but whatever it was, it had to be electrical because moments after the lights faded she fell over backwards.

Taking stock of the situation, she stared upward. Stars peeked through the leaves and branches, visible in the dusk.

Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 16

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 15

“Grandpa,” Chris said, “your pacemaker?”

Kayla could imagine Cannon shaking his head as he replied. “Between the distance and my armor, the pacemaker should be fine.”

“No,” Chris said, “this doesn’t sound like a good idea. I can take it in, and get out. I don’t have any missiles left and low on power, so I’m not going to get into fights. I’ll run.”

C talked over everyone. “Good so far, but I think we’re going to need everybody we’ve got left. I’d say send in the ship, both Man-machines, get their attention, and place the device. It doesn’t matter which of you does it. Get everyone in the jet, and then set the device off. The jet will survive that, right?”

Not waiting for anyone else, Cannon said, “It will. I tried hitting it with the anti-electronics effect back in the 70’s. The shields absorbed it. I’m not even sure they knew they were hit.” Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 15

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 14

Cannon’s voice was a little distorted as it came through the speakers. “Give me a second. I think I’m passing some rock.”

He paused. “Are you all still there?”

Almost everyone said, “Yes.”

“It shouldn’t be hard now that you’re here,” Cannon said.

Kayla guessed he meant C.
Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 14

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 13

“No extra beans,” Kayla said. “Got it.”

She looked down at the gun. It had two grips. The trigger and guard were on the back one. the front grip had a line of buttons on the side. Above them, it said, “Extra,” followed by “Beans,” “Cheese,” “Chunky Salsa,” “Green Sauce,” “Red Sauce,” and “Shell.”

Thinking back to English composition class from last semester, she wondered what Chekov would do if he saw a burrito gun hanging on the wall in Act 1 of a play.

Probably kill himself, she imagined.

Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 13

The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 10

“Wait a second,” Haley said, “I’ve got a better idea. Gravity Star, ramp up the gravity around you so that none of them can move, and then we’ll all shoot them.”

Sydney’s voice came over the comm. “And kill them?”

“That’s what they’ll do to you,” Chris’ grandfather sputtered over the connection.

Kayla checked the screen. He’d made it out of the complex, and was walking through the woods. Lucky him, she thought.

The screens showed the breach in one of the doors that blocked off the League’s own tunnels from the abandoned sewer lines that the League used to exit the complex. From what she was seeing, they’d found the exit in the concrete wall next to the beach where Nick sometimes exited the complex.

She couldn’t see where they were in the complex yet. The cameras weren’t showing them.

Continue reading The Battle of Grand Lake: Part 10