Page 14 (1/2)

14

12:00 AM

BEASTS OF PREY

Along with a flood of terror, a fewcram session trickled into her mind

"Jonathan, this tower&039;s made of steel, isn&039;t it?"

He shook his head "It&039;s not clean Nothing this far out of town is"

"Oh, right So we"

"Jue of the water tower Jonathan placed one foot squarely on the guardrail and pulled lightly upward They floated up to a precarious balance on the thin rail

"One, two"

Even though she was nearly weightless, Jessica&039;s sneakers were unsteady She bent her knees as she and Jonathan slowly listed forward, seeing nothing below but the hard ground

" three"

They pushed off, alht out from the tower Jessica realized that Jonathan had meant it to work exactly this way The scrubby earth zoo theround quickly

"That parking lot," Jonathan said, pointing with his free hand "Keep jue factory lot was perfect for landing A few long trucks were crowded in the middle, but otherwise it was clear As they arced down to it, Jess dared a glance over her shoulder The darkling still pursued them

They touched down on the asphalt and took one bounding step that carried the lot

"This way," Jonathan shouted as they flew, tugging her hand in the direction he intended They ju thehway that led past the factory Following Jonathan&039;s lead, Jessica kept their trajectory low They didn&039;t want to waste effort soaring high into the sky Only speed hway, heading for a spot that was clear of cars They were still well ahead of the darkling

"Which way?" Jessica shouted

"Down the highway!"

As they landed, Jonathan&039;s hand clenched, letting her know exactly when to push off again

They took twoit an easy target They were ain; the darkling actually see behind

But as the road led them farther into Bixby, it narrowed to two lanes, and an to appear on it Jonathan was hesitant with their jumps now as he frantically calculated how to corew ti slower and slower

An errant jump carried them toward a house and onto its treacherously sloped roof Jonathan slipped as they pushed off, and they went spinning When they landed, the darkling was closer

They leapt again, trying to get back onto the road

"It&039;s too crowded here," he cried "We have to get farther out of town"

"Toward the badlands?"

"Yes The open desert&039;s perfect"

"Isn&039;t that where the bad guys come from?" she asked

"Yeah But we&039;re too slow here"

Jessica checked the beast behind the on a thin, snakelike forrown, as if the thing&039;s bulk had been transferred froetting closer

"Okay"

At the next landing they turned, angling back toward the edge of town Suddenly Jessica recognized where they were

"My mom works near here Next jump: that way!"

"What? Your mom can&039;t help us, Jessica"

"Shut up and follow hten, resisting her for a moment, but when the next leap came, he followed her lead As they reached the top of their arc, they found therounds of Aerospace Oklahoma Mom had driven Jessica past here on the first day of school, ale, dotted ide airplane hangars and low office buildings, s, landing gear, and jet engines here, and Jessica&039;s747 that they would occasionally set afla

It all required a lot of open space

They juth of a runith the speed of a jet aircraft Then they soared over a huge hangar and found another long runway The darkling fell farther behind

The beast&039;s cry reached their ears Unlike the bellow of the panther, its screa Jessica&039;s ears like the shriek of a boiling teakettle

A chorus of cries cah chirps from somewhere in front of them

"The badlands are up ahead," Jonathan said

Jessica nodded and said softly, "They&039;re waiting for us"

The setting moon filled the horizon now, and she could see a cloud of flying slithers against its lightless but blinding face There were hundreds of thes on the wing

"This is too weird," said Jonathan "I&039;ve never seen - "

"This way," Jessica interrupted as they struck the ground She pulled hi away from the armada of creatures ahead But her decision had coainst each other, and she felt her fingers slipping She reached out with her other hand for him, but their momentum carried them apart

"Jess!" she heard Jonathan shout

As they tugged free, she felt gravity take a brutal hold upon her body They had just left the ground, and there wasn&039;t far to fall, but the asphalt wasdown at the street through theof a speeding car She rolled into a ball

Just before Jessica hit the ground, the asphalt seee texture, suddenly dark and uneven When she struck the earth, it was covered with soround pu her from every direction

Jessica finally came to a stop, bruised and breathless She lay there for a second, feeling terribly heavy When she could breathe, the srass filled her nose That hat had broken her fall

Jessica sat up slowly She looked around

She had just rass led up to its edge There was the metallic taste of blood in her s all seemed able to move

The sounds of slithers ca in on her In the distance their shapes nats Jonathan was nowhere to be seen

Her norht felt as heavy as lead now that she could only run, not fly

She stood slowly Started painfully to walk

"Jess!"

Jonathan was skiround toward her, one hand extended

She thrust out her right hand As he flew past, Jonathan grasped her wrist, and she was transforain, pulled in his wake The bruises on her hands complained, and she cried out

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah Just banged up"

"I thought you were dead!"

She giggled, a little hysterically "I thought you were halfway to Texas"

Jonathan didn&039;t say anything, just grasped her wrist tighter

"Thanks for co back," Jessica said She could hear the crazed sound of her own voice and wondered if she&039;d buht-headedness was brain dae or the effect of Jonathan&039;s touch

"They&039;re on three sides of us now," he said

Jessica blinked, trying to clear her ht and a lone darkling to their left and assuround they werewith pain whenever they juh, they would be driven out over the badlands, and if another group of pursuers appeared in front of theo

Suddenly Jessica spotted ainto the sky a few stories, a brand-new building was going up at the edge of the complex

"Steel," she said

"What?"

She pointed "New steel, untouched by ht"

"Let&039;s hope so"

The sounds of their pursuers came fro trapped inside soled toward the new building, a flock of flying slithers drew closer

Jessica pulled out Jurisprudence with her free hand and used her teeth to pull the antenna out to its full length The building was only a few jumps away

She spotted the slither just before it hit

The leathery wings struck first, wrapping themselves around her face Jessica flailed aith Jurisprudence, and blue sparks filled her vision Then the creature was gone

"They&039;re trying to separate us," Jonathan shouted