Nano 2010 - Fifth Post
I made it!!!!
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Chapter 6
And I'm calling all angels
I'm calling all you angels
I need a sign to let me know you're here
'Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of me
~Calling All Angels~
Train,
Raziel was standing outside a flat. He knew that was what it was called.... the vocabulary Miraculously provided in the way that he knew the tall buildings in the distance were skyscrapers, the blue thing he'd passed down the street was a Mail Deposit Box, and the strange objects racing down the avenue behind him were cars. Unfortunately, the knowledge of names, however Miraculous, did little to help him understand the nature of such things. When he had first appeared on the corner of a busy city intersection, he had very nearly had a rather unpleasant experience when, trying to cross to the other side, he’d narrowly missed being run over as one of the vehicles sped past him, the driver swiveling in his seat to shout something that probably wasn’t pleasant in his direction.
The trip through the city, trying to match Celestial knowledge with the actuality of a human establishment, had turned out to be less pleasant that Raziel had certainly been expecting. His mental image of quaint, human villages had been nothing of the sort that he'd found, and between the noxious fumes of public transportation and the highly uncomfortable sensation of aching feet (he was pretty sure he was experiencing what was called a 'blister'), he was already feeling pretty run down by the time he reached the location he'd been looking for.
"I bet Hadraniel dropped me there on purpose," he muttered under his breath, glowering at the front of the apartment. "If he knew where I was supposed to go, there was no need for such a trek."
As it was, finding the flat hadn't improved his mood at all. The locked door was no problem for him. In fact, had he chosen to enter, he wouldn't even have noticed the latch had ever been secured. He expected to be able to just walk in and, as such, he most certainly could have. But he didn't.
Instead, he stood on the sidewalk and glowered because he could already tell that, while he was here, the occupant he was looking for most certainly wasn't. And she hadn't been for quite some time.
He knew where she was headed, so there was always the possibility of simply meeting up with her at the end. But he was supposed to be guiding her, supplying her with Heavenly Inspiration along her way so that she would be able to carry out her role in accordance to the prophecy, and he could hardly do that if he waiting until the end. Or, well, he supposed he could try, but it did seem like a rather slapdash approach to the whole thing. The last thing he wanted was to come back from him first trip to Earth (for there would be another trip, he was determined), and to have to listen to Uriel and Hadraniel tell him all the ways he could have been more thorough and dedicated in his task.
No, he would do this properly or not at all... and he was really hoping he wouldn't have to resort to the latter.
Eyes narrowing, he considered the parking space outside on the street. There was a new car there, now... a black Buick that sat crookedly in the space, its nose uncomfortably close to the car in front of it... but he could tell that, not too long ago, the car he'd wanted had been there.
"He could have gotten me here in time," he muttered again, before giving it up with a sigh. The fact was that he hadn't dropped him there, so there was no point in worrying over it. The more important thing would be to find a way to follow. Considering the vehicles in front of him, moved along the line of parked vehicles until he came across a white, Prius. Not that he new what any of that meant, but the shape and color appealed to him. Small and understated, it seemed to fit exactly what he needed.
Running a hand along the frame, he concentrated, doing his best to understand the composition of the vehicle and the way that it ran, before Wishing his own into existence.
It wasn't really a complicated procedure. There was no need to make a new car or to appropriate an existing one from another location. Instead, one moment it was not and then, the next, it just was.
Of course, the fact was that Raziel (for all his heavenly imported knowledge) didn't really understand the first thing about cars. So there was no fuel gage on the dash as he slid into the driver's seat, a smug smile on his lips. There was no gear shift. There were no pedals. And each of the seats inside was luxuriously comfortable, like plush armchairs. Settling comfortably, he nodded to himself and, without much further ado, mentally directed the car into motion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 7
Enter song here
Dem was enjoying himself. The construction project had been an act of genius (if he did say so himself) and he found himself grinning just from the waves of frustration that were coming off of the line of trapped cars. It was enough that he almost missed seeing the girl, dark haired and irritable in the back seat of a car, as it pulled out onto the first possible exit. Huh... well, he hadn't considered her abandoning her course, but that was alright. There was plenty that he could do with this, too.
Pushing off, revving the engine of his motorcycle, he leaned into the turn as he whipped the bike around and took off after them, a blur of black metal and leather. There was a shower of gravel and grass as he tore off the edge of the expressway, making his way towards the exit ramp on a path that should have sent him tumbling to the ground, but he stayed steady. After all, it would be pathetically un-demon like of him to allow petty things like gravity and phsyics to get in the way a particularly impressive exit. Revelling in the curses of the other drivers as he sped past them, he followed after the car of travelers.
He didn't try to catch up with them, though. Not all the way. After all, there was no reason to actually make his presence known. Instead, he just lingered back a ways, watching where they were going, considering the route he wanted to take. Rearranging an entire construction project and effectively blocking their path had been a feat of genius in the short time that he'd pulled it off, but the amount of paperwork (both earthly and Unholy) that would be necessary to pull such a stunt again, on a country road, would be nearly impossible. Besides, there wasn't near enough traffic to get the kind of jam that would make it effective.
He'd just have to prove that he was good at thinking on his feet.
He followed the car until they finally pulled into a McDonalds parking lot. There was some kind of argument going on, figures swiveling in seats to bicker with each other, the aura of which he could feel even if he couldn't hear them through layers of metal and glass, but eventually they seemed to agree on something as they gathered their things and piled out of the car. Smiling, the girls made their way into the restaurant with one of the guys trailing behind, looking very much like he didn't care one way or the other, while the driver finished locking up the car with a rather disgruntled look.
Demorial watched them, making sure that they were definitely going to be staying for awhile. Through the wide, double paned windows, he could see the girl he was following as she stretched, arms raising above her head, looking thoroughly pleased at the ability to move stiff limbs. Beside her, her friend leaned comfortable against the railing that divided waiting customers from the registers, staring up at the menus with the bored complacency of someone who already knows their order but can't resist looking over the options again, all the same.
He had plenty of time.
Smirking to himself, he circled their car, peeking in at the belongings, the abandoned box of left over donuts, and the atlas, still half open in the passenger seat. He could work with this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8
Enter Song Here
Kaleigh found herself chewing on the straw of her drink as they walked back to the car, stomachs more content if not exactly full. Fast food wasn't really the kind of thing that one had expecting to enjoy a luxurious meal, but it was more than satisfactory after nothing but donuts all morning.
"I really am not ready to get back in the car," Jules complained, stretching her arms behind her back.
"I thought you were in a rush," Brennan replied with a smirk, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry either. Reaching the passenger side door, he leaned with his arms folded on the top of the car but didn't make any move to actually open it and get inside. As James came up to the car, fishing the keys out of his pocket, Brennan nodded at him. "Hey man... need me to take over?"
James hesitated. "No... you know what? I'm still good. I bet I could get us through the next state."
Brennan shrugged. "Whatever." Opening the passenger door, he dropped inside with all the lazy, careless grace of a cat. As the others joined him, ignoring the protest of limbs unready to face another several hours in a car, James turned the key in the ignition. Shifted into reverse. Put his foot to the gas.
There was a grinding sound and the car just... didn't move. "What the hell?" Staring in confusion, James switched the the break, looking over the gauges. Gas was fine. Everything was fine.
He exchanged looks with Brennan, the two boys sharing some kind of unspoken communcation, before both front doors opened and they were back out with their feet on the pavement, staring at the car.
Now that they were looking, there was no question what was wrong. All four tires were flat. Completely. James stared unbelievingly before struggling to find his voice for the question. "How.... how did we not see this?"
Brennan looked just as confused. "I don't know. I... I would have sworn that they were fine when we came out, but that's not-"
"-possible," James finished.
There was the clunk of released latches as the girls opened the back doors as well, joining the boys in the parking lot. "What's the matter?" Kaleigh asked, staring at them in confusion, even as Jules followed her brother's gaze to the tires.
"Oh god... Did somebody-"
James hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean... I don't know why anybody would."
Brennan, turning away from the car, looked over all the nearby vehicles. "No one else seems to have any damage, so it's not someone going around and slashing tires."
James crouched down, looking at the flat tire closest to him. "I don't even see what would have caused something like this... unless the cut is on the bottom. How would anyone even manage that?"
Jules frowned. "But if it wasn't done by a person, how would anyone get four flat tires naturally?"
Kaleigh had been watching them all with a baffled expression, looking between her friends and the car, before scanning the parking lot as if that might reveal a culprit. But they were the only ones there. "So..." she said, her voice uncertain in the quiet. "Now what?"
James, still crouched, shook his head. "I've only got the one spare. Replacing a tire isn't going to do us any good."
"Guess we'd better call a tow truck," Brennan said, frowning at the vehicle. "I'll go inside... see if they've got a phone book."
Jules was silent for a minute, her good mood skittering away with the latest events. When she spoke again, her voice was subdued. "It's already four... by the time a tow truck gets here, will we even be able to get someone to work on it today?"
"It could be alright," Kaleigh said uncertainly. "I mean... we might still have time."
Standing, James brushed his hands on his jeans before giving his sister a sympathetic look. "Even if they can't... it'll be okay, Jules. We had some extra days. This sucks, but it's just a little delay. We'll make it in time."
Kaleigh nodded. "At least it's not the weekend, yet. Shops should still be open on a Friday, so we don't have to worry about that, at least."
Disheartened, the three of them lingered, waiting until Brennan joined them, holding a piece of paper. "Got a number. Guess this guy's local, so it shouldn't take too long." He passed the number over to James. "I'd have called already, but I don't know your info if they ask.
James nodded. "It's cool. I'll take care of it."
Moving off to one side, he began dialing the information while the other three stared at each other. Finally, Jules sighed. "Guess we better go get that phone book again."
Brennan arched an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"My guess? We’re going to need a hotel.”
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1600 more words to go. Hopefully I'll be done before 1. :3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 6
And I'm calling all angels
I'm calling all you angels
I need a sign to let me know you're here
'Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of me
~Calling All Angels~
Train,
Raziel was standing outside a flat. He knew that was what it was called.... the vocabulary Miraculously provided in the way that he knew the tall buildings in the distance were skyscrapers, the blue thing he'd passed down the street was a Mail Deposit Box, and the strange objects racing down the avenue behind him were cars. Unfortunately, the knowledge of names, however Miraculous, did little to help him understand the nature of such things. When he had first appeared on the corner of a busy city intersection, he had very nearly had a rather unpleasant experience when, trying to cross to the other side, he’d narrowly missed being run over as one of the vehicles sped past him, the driver swiveling in his seat to shout something that probably wasn’t pleasant in his direction.
The trip through the city, trying to match Celestial knowledge with the actuality of a human establishment, had turned out to be less pleasant that Raziel had certainly been expecting. His mental image of quaint, human villages had been nothing of the sort that he'd found, and between the noxious fumes of public transportation and the highly uncomfortable sensation of aching feet (he was pretty sure he was experiencing what was called a 'blister'), he was already feeling pretty run down by the time he reached the location he'd been looking for.
"I bet Hadraniel dropped me there on purpose," he muttered under his breath, glowering at the front of the apartment. "If he knew where I was supposed to go, there was no need for such a trek."
As it was, finding the flat hadn't improved his mood at all. The locked door was no problem for him. In fact, had he chosen to enter, he wouldn't even have noticed the latch had ever been secured. He expected to be able to just walk in and, as such, he most certainly could have. But he didn't.
Instead, he stood on the sidewalk and glowered because he could already tell that, while he was here, the occupant he was looking for most certainly wasn't. And she hadn't been for quite some time.
He knew where she was headed, so there was always the possibility of simply meeting up with her at the end. But he was supposed to be guiding her, supplying her with Heavenly Inspiration along her way so that she would be able to carry out her role in accordance to the prophecy, and he could hardly do that if he waiting until the end. Or, well, he supposed he could try, but it did seem like a rather slapdash approach to the whole thing. The last thing he wanted was to come back from him first trip to Earth (for there would be another trip, he was determined), and to have to listen to Uriel and Hadraniel tell him all the ways he could have been more thorough and dedicated in his task.
No, he would do this properly or not at all... and he was really hoping he wouldn't have to resort to the latter.
Eyes narrowing, he considered the parking space outside on the street. There was a new car there, now... a black Buick that sat crookedly in the space, its nose uncomfortably close to the car in front of it... but he could tell that, not too long ago, the car he'd wanted had been there.
"He could have gotten me here in time," he muttered again, before giving it up with a sigh. The fact was that he hadn't dropped him there, so there was no point in worrying over it. The more important thing would be to find a way to follow. Considering the vehicles in front of him, moved along the line of parked vehicles until he came across a white, Prius. Not that he new what any of that meant, but the shape and color appealed to him. Small and understated, it seemed to fit exactly what he needed.
Running a hand along the frame, he concentrated, doing his best to understand the composition of the vehicle and the way that it ran, before Wishing his own into existence.
It wasn't really a complicated procedure. There was no need to make a new car or to appropriate an existing one from another location. Instead, one moment it was not and then, the next, it just was.
Of course, the fact was that Raziel (for all his heavenly imported knowledge) didn't really understand the first thing about cars. So there was no fuel gage on the dash as he slid into the driver's seat, a smug smile on his lips. There was no gear shift. There were no pedals. And each of the seats inside was luxuriously comfortable, like plush armchairs. Settling comfortably, he nodded to himself and, without much further ado, mentally directed the car into motion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 7
Enter song here
Dem was enjoying himself. The construction project had been an act of genius (if he did say so himself) and he found himself grinning just from the waves of frustration that were coming off of the line of trapped cars. It was enough that he almost missed seeing the girl, dark haired and irritable in the back seat of a car, as it pulled out onto the first possible exit. Huh... well, he hadn't considered her abandoning her course, but that was alright. There was plenty that he could do with this, too.
Pushing off, revving the engine of his motorcycle, he leaned into the turn as he whipped the bike around and took off after them, a blur of black metal and leather. There was a shower of gravel and grass as he tore off the edge of the expressway, making his way towards the exit ramp on a path that should have sent him tumbling to the ground, but he stayed steady. After all, it would be pathetically un-demon like of him to allow petty things like gravity and phsyics to get in the way a particularly impressive exit. Revelling in the curses of the other drivers as he sped past them, he followed after the car of travelers.
He didn't try to catch up with them, though. Not all the way. After all, there was no reason to actually make his presence known. Instead, he just lingered back a ways, watching where they were going, considering the route he wanted to take. Rearranging an entire construction project and effectively blocking their path had been a feat of genius in the short time that he'd pulled it off, but the amount of paperwork (both earthly and Unholy) that would be necessary to pull such a stunt again, on a country road, would be nearly impossible. Besides, there wasn't near enough traffic to get the kind of jam that would make it effective.
He'd just have to prove that he was good at thinking on his feet.
He followed the car until they finally pulled into a McDonalds parking lot. There was some kind of argument going on, figures swiveling in seats to bicker with each other, the aura of which he could feel even if he couldn't hear them through layers of metal and glass, but eventually they seemed to agree on something as they gathered their things and piled out of the car. Smiling, the girls made their way into the restaurant with one of the guys trailing behind, looking very much like he didn't care one way or the other, while the driver finished locking up the car with a rather disgruntled look.
Demorial watched them, making sure that they were definitely going to be staying for awhile. Through the wide, double paned windows, he could see the girl he was following as she stretched, arms raising above her head, looking thoroughly pleased at the ability to move stiff limbs. Beside her, her friend leaned comfortable against the railing that divided waiting customers from the registers, staring up at the menus with the bored complacency of someone who already knows their order but can't resist looking over the options again, all the same.
He had plenty of time.
Smirking to himself, he circled their car, peeking in at the belongings, the abandoned box of left over donuts, and the atlas, still half open in the passenger seat. He could work with this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 8
Enter Song Here
Kaleigh found herself chewing on the straw of her drink as they walked back to the car, stomachs more content if not exactly full. Fast food wasn't really the kind of thing that one had expecting to enjoy a luxurious meal, but it was more than satisfactory after nothing but donuts all morning.
"I really am not ready to get back in the car," Jules complained, stretching her arms behind her back.
"I thought you were in a rush," Brennan replied with a smirk, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry either. Reaching the passenger side door, he leaned with his arms folded on the top of the car but didn't make any move to actually open it and get inside. As James came up to the car, fishing the keys out of his pocket, Brennan nodded at him. "Hey man... need me to take over?"
James hesitated. "No... you know what? I'm still good. I bet I could get us through the next state."
Brennan shrugged. "Whatever." Opening the passenger door, he dropped inside with all the lazy, careless grace of a cat. As the others joined him, ignoring the protest of limbs unready to face another several hours in a car, James turned the key in the ignition. Shifted into reverse. Put his foot to the gas.
There was a grinding sound and the car just... didn't move. "What the hell?" Staring in confusion, James switched the the break, looking over the gauges. Gas was fine. Everything was fine.
He exchanged looks with Brennan, the two boys sharing some kind of unspoken communcation, before both front doors opened and they were back out with their feet on the pavement, staring at the car.
Now that they were looking, there was no question what was wrong. All four tires were flat. Completely. James stared unbelievingly before struggling to find his voice for the question. "How.... how did we not see this?"
Brennan looked just as confused. "I don't know. I... I would have sworn that they were fine when we came out, but that's not-"
"-possible," James finished.
There was the clunk of released latches as the girls opened the back doors as well, joining the boys in the parking lot. "What's the matter?" Kaleigh asked, staring at them in confusion, even as Jules followed her brother's gaze to the tires.
"Oh god... Did somebody-"
James hesitated, then shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean... I don't know why anybody would."
Brennan, turning away from the car, looked over all the nearby vehicles. "No one else seems to have any damage, so it's not someone going around and slashing tires."
James crouched down, looking at the flat tire closest to him. "I don't even see what would have caused something like this... unless the cut is on the bottom. How would anyone even manage that?"
Jules frowned. "But if it wasn't done by a person, how would anyone get four flat tires naturally?"
Kaleigh had been watching them all with a baffled expression, looking between her friends and the car, before scanning the parking lot as if that might reveal a culprit. But they were the only ones there. "So..." she said, her voice uncertain in the quiet. "Now what?"
James, still crouched, shook his head. "I've only got the one spare. Replacing a tire isn't going to do us any good."
"Guess we'd better call a tow truck," Brennan said, frowning at the vehicle. "I'll go inside... see if they've got a phone book."
Jules was silent for a minute, her good mood skittering away with the latest events. When she spoke again, her voice was subdued. "It's already four... by the time a tow truck gets here, will we even be able to get someone to work on it today?"
"It could be alright," Kaleigh said uncertainly. "I mean... we might still have time."
Standing, James brushed his hands on his jeans before giving his sister a sympathetic look. "Even if they can't... it'll be okay, Jules. We had some extra days. This sucks, but it's just a little delay. We'll make it in time."
Kaleigh nodded. "At least it's not the weekend, yet. Shops should still be open on a Friday, so we don't have to worry about that, at least."
Disheartened, the three of them lingered, waiting until Brennan joined them, holding a piece of paper. "Got a number. Guess this guy's local, so it shouldn't take too long." He passed the number over to James. "I'd have called already, but I don't know your info if they ask.
James nodded. "It's cool. I'll take care of it."
Moving off to one side, he began dialing the information while the other three stared at each other. Finally, Jules sighed. "Guess we better go get that phone book again."
Brennan arched an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"My guess? We’re going to need a hotel.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1600 more words to go. Hopefully I'll be done before 1. :3