parallel arc continues still...
Gam sped through the streets dodging gunfire from the helicopters, spinning 180's and zipping up and down alleys. "Okay Boy-Wonder, time to stop just escaping. Time to formulate a plan."
He pulled back out onto a main street swinging the bike back and forth to ensure he wouldn't be hit by the continuous shots from above...
"Hmm," our hero thought, "Don't have much to work with... Gonna have to make chicken soup out of chicken shit... What have we got here?" Gam looks forward to see an office supply store on the corner of the street...
"Plate glass windows, I'll have to drive through them pretty fast to make sure they don't cleave right through me."
And so he did. Picking up speed he headed right for the glass storefront, crashes through, and grabs some boxes from the shelves at 90 mph, just seconds before crashing through the other plate glass storefront window.
He starts looking at the boxes he grabbed...
"Toner, no good."
He tosses that box behind him at the police cars in pursuit.
"Staples... No luck there."
Tossed again at the cops.
"White out... Maybe..."
With his teeth, he unscrews the tops off of a couple of bottles, and tosses them behind him.
He looks back as the white out covers the windshield of the few front cars in pursuit. They spun out wildly.
"Take that!" Gam shouts as a bullet grazes his right shoulder.
"Son of a bitch! You messed up my jacket! And I really liked this jacket."
"One box left and it's... It's paper clips, thank God!"
Gam takes one from the box, puts it in his mouth, and tosses the box...
Gam pushes the motorcycle to it's limit, maxing out on speed, waiting for the opportune moment. It took but moments to present itself, turning onto a sidestreet, Gam spun out, but before his bike hit the ground, he launched himself upward, did a flip in midair, and attached the other end of the handcuffs on his hand to a fire escape. Knowing that he had only seconds, he took the paper clip from his mouth and used it to release his right hand from the handcuffs. He crashed to the ground.
He forced himself to run into the darkness of the alley, seeking some kind of refuge. And it presented itself just as quickly as the aforementioned opportunity, at the end of the alley, he stepped onto a street with a large cathedral only half a block away. Gam ran towards it, up the stairs, and launched himself at the door, landing on a cold stone floor. He kicked the door shut behind him.
"Ouch." He said as he got up off the floor. His right arm hung limply at his side. He pushed it upward and slammed his shoulder into the wall. The sickening pop let him know that his arm was no longer dislocated. The pain was just a friendly reminder that he was still alive. Where he was at was still a mystery.
"What do you think you are doing here!" A rather ragged looking priest yelled at him as he walked down the aisle with a long staff in hand. "I'll have no brigands coming in here and desecrating this sanctuary!"
"Sir, please," Gam said back at him, "That's why I'm here. I'm seeking sanctuary, seeking refuge."
The priest hit him with the staff. "I won't have you lying in the house of God!"
Gam rolled out of the way of the next swipe of the staff. As the priest tried to hit him, Gam ducked, dodged, and evaded each attack. "Father, I'm not here to cause any harm, I promise you."
"That's what all you young punks say!" The priest said as he swung the staff at Gam yet again. This time Gam let it hit him in the side. The priest swing again, cracking Gam in the side of the head. Another hit struck his arm.
"Why aren't you fighting back, punk?"
"I cannot fight on holy ground father."
The priest sat the butt of the staff on the floor and scratched his head. "So you'd rather me stand here and keep hitting you that hit me yourself?"
"Yes father. It's my way."
"I suppose you must be alright then, if you have a code of honor like that."
"I try father. Is there someplace I can rest?"
The priest led Gam to his quarters and made the two some tea. As the two sipped their drinks, the priest questioned Gam.
"So why have you come to my church?"
"I was being chased by the police. Something about not having papers and a curfew. I know nothing about this. I'm not from here you see."
"Yes, I suppose that might catch someone off guard then. You're bleeding."
Gam looked to his arm and saw that he was in fact bleeding through his jacket.
"It's nothing father. Just a scratch."
"Nonsense," the priest said as he took a first aid kit from a cabinet. Take that jacket off."
Gam removed his jacket and pulled his t-shirt off. The priest walked over, prepared to bandage Gam's wound, when he stopped in his tracks.
"What is that?" he asked as he gestured towards one of Gam's tattoos.
"It's a tattoo. A fleur de lis, it represents-"
The priest cut him off, "Yes, I understand the fleur de lis, but how did you get it painted on your body?"
"It's a tattoo, it's inked into your skin. Have you never seen one?"
"I've only really ever heard about such things in rumours. I never really believed it was possible."
Gam scratched his head and ran his hand over his tat. "So you guys don't have tattoos here?"
"Only a myth about one."
As he said that, a man emerged from the shadows, dressed in all black, with what looked like a fully stocked utility belt on his waist.
"You are that myth," the man said.
"Um, okay then." Gam said as he took a sip of his tea. "I am a myth, I suppose. And urban legend where I'm from. Some people still don't believe I exist."
"Let me ask you," the man questioned, "Are you from another world?"
Gam stood up, took the bandages from the priest and began bandaging his own arm. "How did you know that?"
"It's my job to know such things."
Gam nodded as he finished bandaging his arm. "I understand. I have the same job where I'm from."
The man nodded back. "I am David, and I only have one more question for you-"
Gam cut him off as he put his jacket back on, "Yeah what's that?"
The man leveled a pistol at Gam and said, "Are you with us, or are you with them?"
Gam cracked his knuckles. "Well David, it'd be easier to answer that question if I knew who you, and they, are. If you care to put the gun down we can discuss it."
David cocked the pistol and said, "I cannot afford to be wrong. Whoever you are, you could be paramount to our survival and eventual triumph... Or our ultimate destruction. I must know if you present a threat."
"Well, okay then, let me guess. You're the leader of a revolutionary group who wants to change the way things work because you feel oppressed by the current system. The system has failed you and you either want freedom, or revenge. If it's freedom you're after, I'm in... But if it's revenge, you might as well just shoot me now."
David lowered the gun, and put it back in his hip holster. "How did you know about our goal?"
"A 10:30 curfew? I haven't had a curfew since I was 16. Who wouldn't revolt?" Gam said with a chuckle as he started taking inventory of his pockets.
"Yes I suppose that would be enough in and of itself. But you must see the full extent of what the White Grace has done to us."
"I'd love to, but give me a minute to take stock okay? I mean, I've only been here 20 minutes and I've been shot, chased, and, no offense, interrogated at gun point. I'm most certainly willing to help you win your freedom, but you have to let me get a grasp on what I've got here okay?"
David nodded as the priest sat down, and poured a little whiskey into his tea. Gam started unloading his pockets. Roll of duck tape, half used. Gerber tool. Throwing knives. Mp3 player. Gam turned it over in his hands. "Could've used this to pass the time on the island." That was it, nothing else in his pockets.
"Okay, I guess I'm ready to go see your people."
"We will go in a moment, but first," David questioned, "What is that?" He pointed towards Gam's mp3 player.
"It's an mp3 player. You know, store your music so you can listen to it digitally, anywhere, anytime."
The priest looked at Gam with a puzzeled look and asked, "What is music?"
"You can't be serious. You guys don't have tattoos, or music?"
David shrugged, "No, I suppose we don't. I have heard of music. May I hear some?"
Gam put the earpieces into David's ears and turned the mp3 player on... Green Day... Gam could just make out the song...
("I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known, don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone...")
"Music is..." David said, with a tear in his eye, "Marvelous."
"Yeah, I suppose it is." Gam replied. "Maybe I can rig something up so all of your people can hear it. I've got at least 500 songs on there, so there's a variety."
"You would do that for us?"
"Of course I would. Everyone deserves music. It's practically a human right."
"Then you are definately the right man to help us take down White Grace."
The priest stood up and said, "And he has the markings, the, uh, tattoos, was it?"
Gam nodded.
David opened a hidden door in the wall and crossed his arms.
"Well, it is time for you to meet the rest of us."
Gam stood up and walked towards David and the door.
"There's just one more thing," David said.
"What's that?" Gam asked.
"THIS!" David said as he sprayed a mist into Gam's face. Gam stumbled and fell to the floor. He looked up into the darkening room and saw David crouched down behind him, handcuffs in hand.
"Bloody hell," Gam mumbled as he lost consciousness.
He pulled back out onto a main street swinging the bike back and forth to ensure he wouldn't be hit by the continuous shots from above...
"Hmm," our hero thought, "Don't have much to work with... Gonna have to make chicken soup out of chicken shit... What have we got here?" Gam looks forward to see an office supply store on the corner of the street...
"Plate glass windows, I'll have to drive through them pretty fast to make sure they don't cleave right through me."
And so he did. Picking up speed he headed right for the glass storefront, crashes through, and grabs some boxes from the shelves at 90 mph, just seconds before crashing through the other plate glass storefront window.
He starts looking at the boxes he grabbed...
"Toner, no good."
He tosses that box behind him at the police cars in pursuit.
"Staples... No luck there."
Tossed again at the cops.
"White out... Maybe..."
With his teeth, he unscrews the tops off of a couple of bottles, and tosses them behind him.
He looks back as the white out covers the windshield of the few front cars in pursuit. They spun out wildly.
"Take that!" Gam shouts as a bullet grazes his right shoulder.
"Son of a bitch! You messed up my jacket! And I really liked this jacket."
"One box left and it's... It's paper clips, thank God!"
Gam takes one from the box, puts it in his mouth, and tosses the box...
Gam pushes the motorcycle to it's limit, maxing out on speed, waiting for the opportune moment. It took but moments to present itself, turning onto a sidestreet, Gam spun out, but before his bike hit the ground, he launched himself upward, did a flip in midair, and attached the other end of the handcuffs on his hand to a fire escape. Knowing that he had only seconds, he took the paper clip from his mouth and used it to release his right hand from the handcuffs. He crashed to the ground.
He forced himself to run into the darkness of the alley, seeking some kind of refuge. And it presented itself just as quickly as the aforementioned opportunity, at the end of the alley, he stepped onto a street with a large cathedral only half a block away. Gam ran towards it, up the stairs, and launched himself at the door, landing on a cold stone floor. He kicked the door shut behind him.
"Ouch." He said as he got up off the floor. His right arm hung limply at his side. He pushed it upward and slammed his shoulder into the wall. The sickening pop let him know that his arm was no longer dislocated. The pain was just a friendly reminder that he was still alive. Where he was at was still a mystery.
"What do you think you are doing here!" A rather ragged looking priest yelled at him as he walked down the aisle with a long staff in hand. "I'll have no brigands coming in here and desecrating this sanctuary!"
"Sir, please," Gam said back at him, "That's why I'm here. I'm seeking sanctuary, seeking refuge."
The priest hit him with the staff. "I won't have you lying in the house of God!"
Gam rolled out of the way of the next swipe of the staff. As the priest tried to hit him, Gam ducked, dodged, and evaded each attack. "Father, I'm not here to cause any harm, I promise you."
"That's what all you young punks say!" The priest said as he swung the staff at Gam yet again. This time Gam let it hit him in the side. The priest swing again, cracking Gam in the side of the head. Another hit struck his arm.
"Why aren't you fighting back, punk?"
"I cannot fight on holy ground father."
The priest sat the butt of the staff on the floor and scratched his head. "So you'd rather me stand here and keep hitting you that hit me yourself?"
"Yes father. It's my way."
"I suppose you must be alright then, if you have a code of honor like that."
"I try father. Is there someplace I can rest?"
The priest led Gam to his quarters and made the two some tea. As the two sipped their drinks, the priest questioned Gam.
"So why have you come to my church?"
"I was being chased by the police. Something about not having papers and a curfew. I know nothing about this. I'm not from here you see."
"Yes, I suppose that might catch someone off guard then. You're bleeding."
Gam looked to his arm and saw that he was in fact bleeding through his jacket.
"It's nothing father. Just a scratch."
"Nonsense," the priest said as he took a first aid kit from a cabinet. Take that jacket off."
Gam removed his jacket and pulled his t-shirt off. The priest walked over, prepared to bandage Gam's wound, when he stopped in his tracks.
"What is that?" he asked as he gestured towards one of Gam's tattoos.
"It's a tattoo. A fleur de lis, it represents-"
The priest cut him off, "Yes, I understand the fleur de lis, but how did you get it painted on your body?"
"It's a tattoo, it's inked into your skin. Have you never seen one?"
"I've only really ever heard about such things in rumours. I never really believed it was possible."
Gam scratched his head and ran his hand over his tat. "So you guys don't have tattoos here?"
"Only a myth about one."
As he said that, a man emerged from the shadows, dressed in all black, with what looked like a fully stocked utility belt on his waist.
"You are that myth," the man said.
"Um, okay then." Gam said as he took a sip of his tea. "I am a myth, I suppose. And urban legend where I'm from. Some people still don't believe I exist."
"Let me ask you," the man questioned, "Are you from another world?"
Gam stood up, took the bandages from the priest and began bandaging his own arm. "How did you know that?"
"It's my job to know such things."
Gam nodded as he finished bandaging his arm. "I understand. I have the same job where I'm from."
The man nodded back. "I am David, and I only have one more question for you-"
Gam cut him off as he put his jacket back on, "Yeah what's that?"
The man leveled a pistol at Gam and said, "Are you with us, or are you with them?"
Gam cracked his knuckles. "Well David, it'd be easier to answer that question if I knew who you, and they, are. If you care to put the gun down we can discuss it."
David cocked the pistol and said, "I cannot afford to be wrong. Whoever you are, you could be paramount to our survival and eventual triumph... Or our ultimate destruction. I must know if you present a threat."
"Well, okay then, let me guess. You're the leader of a revolutionary group who wants to change the way things work because you feel oppressed by the current system. The system has failed you and you either want freedom, or revenge. If it's freedom you're after, I'm in... But if it's revenge, you might as well just shoot me now."
David lowered the gun, and put it back in his hip holster. "How did you know about our goal?"
"A 10:30 curfew? I haven't had a curfew since I was 16. Who wouldn't revolt?" Gam said with a chuckle as he started taking inventory of his pockets.
"Yes I suppose that would be enough in and of itself. But you must see the full extent of what the White Grace has done to us."
"I'd love to, but give me a minute to take stock okay? I mean, I've only been here 20 minutes and I've been shot, chased, and, no offense, interrogated at gun point. I'm most certainly willing to help you win your freedom, but you have to let me get a grasp on what I've got here okay?"
David nodded as the priest sat down, and poured a little whiskey into his tea. Gam started unloading his pockets. Roll of duck tape, half used. Gerber tool. Throwing knives. Mp3 player. Gam turned it over in his hands. "Could've used this to pass the time on the island." That was it, nothing else in his pockets.
"Okay, I guess I'm ready to go see your people."
"We will go in a moment, but first," David questioned, "What is that?" He pointed towards Gam's mp3 player.
"It's an mp3 player. You know, store your music so you can listen to it digitally, anywhere, anytime."
The priest looked at Gam with a puzzeled look and asked, "What is music?"
"You can't be serious. You guys don't have tattoos, or music?"
David shrugged, "No, I suppose we don't. I have heard of music. May I hear some?"
Gam put the earpieces into David's ears and turned the mp3 player on... Green Day... Gam could just make out the song...
("I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known, don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone...")
"Music is..." David said, with a tear in his eye, "Marvelous."
"Yeah, I suppose it is." Gam replied. "Maybe I can rig something up so all of your people can hear it. I've got at least 500 songs on there, so there's a variety."
"You would do that for us?"
"Of course I would. Everyone deserves music. It's practically a human right."
"Then you are definately the right man to help us take down White Grace."
The priest stood up and said, "And he has the markings, the, uh, tattoos, was it?"
Gam nodded.
David opened a hidden door in the wall and crossed his arms.
"Well, it is time for you to meet the rest of us."
Gam stood up and walked towards David and the door.
"There's just one more thing," David said.
"What's that?" Gam asked.
"THIS!" David said as he sprayed a mist into Gam's face. Gam stumbled and fell to the floor. He looked up into the darkening room and saw David crouched down behind him, handcuffs in hand.
"Bloody hell," Gam mumbled as he lost consciousness.