This is Episode 6-7 of a serial urban fantasy & paranormal story.

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Part 6-7: Persuasive

“North side alley, north side north side!” I hollered, upon rejoining with my physical form.

“Ohh, I don’t know!” shouted Deluxe.

I had no idea where they were or what was going on, besides that we were roaring down a street and what sounded like a billion sirens followed.

“Bannerman, there,” said Fergus. A turn raced up, and a black van barreled out of it.

“Nope,” said Deluxe, and blasted us faster. The van missed t-boning us by some delirious fraction of a second as we snapped past.

“But—” Fergus’ protest choked off as our vehicle banked. Tires keened and the whole world rumbled. Stinking rubber filled my nostrils then everything settled for a half second before metallic clangs and buffeting thuds replaced the rumbling.

My head caught up to it all, and I recognized that we were flying down an alley. The headlights nodded like they were attached to a mechanical bull. A human figure appeared and Deluxe leaned on the horn, as if the lights and general chaos weren’t enough warning. A trash can jumped up out of nowhere and reduced the upper right of the windshield to a spiderweb.

Two more seconds of thundering insanity, then we ground to a choking, skidding halt.

“North side alley,” coughed Deluxe.

Our remaining headlight illuminated the scene ahead. It was one I knew: the back alley behind the office. In the distance, tiny figures sprinted at us. I doubted they wanted to come help.

Deluxe had parked us right at the intersection of the side alley; the raccoons had dropped the book somewhere ahead. “Fergus, quick, it’s this, this way.” I pushed out of the passenger side back door.

He clambered out as well. Behind us, a chasing vehicle closed in on the wrecked hulk of Fergus’ car.

“Prime?” I coughed. She wasn’t making an attempt to move.

“Go,” she said. “I’ll give you a few seconds if I stay.”

“Ah, shit,” I said, unable to make sense of it.

Fergus hooked my elbow. “One more trip to the Fort, how about it?”

I started to cry, and that was not helpful, so I let him pull me away and then found my feet. Real-me had been sitting in the car for some two hours or more, so I was clumsy at first but soon was up to a steady clip. Yellow, red, and blue lights cut through my tear stained vision, as a cop car of some sort came screaming into the corridor ahead. It bore down on us.

“Freeze, now!” came a bullhorn-issued order.

“I see it!” said Fergus.

We ignored the police or people pretending to be police. Fergus was ahead of me, silhouetted against the flooding brilliance of our enemies, so I only heard the car brake, and the car doors wrench open.

“Last god damn chance!” said someone with all the seriousness you ever want to hear that phrase accompanied with.

Fergus dove headlong, baseball style. I went down too, in a clumsy, failed, half somersault, thinking I might convince our executioners that I’d stumbled. It hurt, but hurt was becoming something of a friend to me now.

“Hands where we can see them, do it now, do it slow.” This with less finality. Our spill had diluted their temper.

Fergus half picked himself up, bleeding all to hell from a score of fresh scrapes, facing me where I lay prone. His shoulders were hunched, and he began to uncurl: slow, as instructed. The motion allowed him to gradually open the pages of the book towards me.

“The Secret to the Persuasive Arts,” he said, and winked.

 

 

Continued in Part 6-8

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Thank you for reading. I own the license for all images in this post. Episode 6 cover art was made with a Canvo Pro license & a Midjourney AI art prompt. Follow me or the #huntingmidnight tag so you don't miss new parts! I can also @ tag folks to alert you, just ask in the comments to join the readlist.