The SerumOrb

Government Ships

Chapter: First sighting of Government ship

"Thank you guys so much for coming with to help." Axel's voice was thick with sarcasm.

"CHill Axel, why are you even out here?" It's our day off." Gray rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Because," Axel started while tugging hard on a weed half his size, exaggerating each tug with every word, "You nimrods got me in trouble." The weed gave way launching him backward into a half somersault, thudding heavily into the fence Ten was perched on, she looked down at him.

"How is this our fault?" Gray asked from where he remained lounged on his solar board. Axel's face flared with anger, "Oh, right." Gray remembered suddenly.

"In our defense, we didn't think you'd get caught." Ten hopped off the fence and helped Axel to his feet.

"WHatever, let's get out of here." he pulled away from her.

"But you aren't finished." Ten pointed out.

"So what, it's our day off." He grabbed his solar board and hopped on, "Race you to the wind farm."

"Woah, not doing something he was told and a ride to the wind farm? What a rebel." Gray hooted. Axel and Gray sped off, Ten sighed and found her own board, sailing after them. She counted in her head all the rules they were breaking. Marigold would flip, having explained numerous times how important it was for her to keep a low profile.

It didn't take long for Ten to catch up, although she was just a beginner she was significantly faster than them.

"Hey, bout time." Gray smiled as Ten pulled up beside him.

"Is he really leading us to the wind farm?" she yelled over the wind rushing past their faces.

"I guess." He called back.

"Wanna know something Terrible?" Ten asked.

"WHat?"

"Marigold told me to take over for Axel since it was my fault." she giggled a bit.

"That is terrible." Gray laughed back.

"You know, he's not very good at flying through the wind farms." Gray shrugged and sped up, trying to close the gap between Axel and himself.

Ten followed closely, but the last time they flew through the wind farms Axel hit a turbine and knocked her off her board as well, almost revealing her indestructibility. SHe would just have to take extra care to steer clear of him.

The farms were just beginning to come into sight through the hills below them, the turbines turning elegantly in the air.

Ten could see Gray and Axel fighting to take the lead as they rapidly flung through the air. Gray enjoyed the wind farms, flying through the blades.

Suddenly, something caught Gray's eye, he turned his head quickly to see a large black ship heading straight for them.

"Ten, look." He yelled. Ten's stomach lurched and a sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to wobble a bit. There was something familiar about this ship.

"NO way the guardsmen got ahold of a ship like that." Axel called out, "WHat is that?" He had never seen one like it in any book or blueprint. Not to mention all of the kingdom's ships are color coded, and none are black.

It loomed closer, able to cast a grand shadow. Gray's board beeped loudly.

"SHit." He grumbled looking down at his battery level, "I didn't charge it because it's sunny. I say we skip waiting for them and get out of here."

"The fact we're in a no fly zone for the third time this month attests to that." Ten hated getting board privileges revoked, and the strange lectures from Marigold and Sage didn't seem any more appealing.

She grabbed for Gray's hand pulling him along beside her as they sped away from the ship and it's shadow, allowing Gray's board to once more recieve the sun it needed to fly.

"That was close. I thought I was going to fall again." He chuckled cooly.

"Maybe if you'd charge it every once in a while." Axel yelled.

Ten turned her attention back to the ship.

"It's still following us!" she cries shrilly.

"WHat? The watch usually leaves us alone once we've left the area." Gray looked puzzled.

This couldn't be the Gerberan guard, then. Ten's stomach dropped. They were definitely after her, and now she was endangering her friends' lives.

"Well, Get away time, I guess!" Gray announced.

"The woods up ahead, the ship can't follow us into the trees and if we can find a spot low enough, heat seekers can't find us through the foliage." Axel pointed toward the beginning of the infinite forest.

"But Gray's board." Ten reminded as they dipped toward the ground.

"He can jump onto mine." They were on a straight path to the entrance of the forest.

"Yours has a weight limit, I'll-" Gray started as a streak of hot red light whizzed past his head, "What the hell was that?" He hissed in pain.

"They're shooting at us!" Ten cried out in anguish. Marigold had warned her something like this might happen. They were being looked for and needed to lay low. Why hadn't she listened? She felt sick with guilt at the realization she may have finally blown their cover. SHe had to keep her friends out of this somehow.

"Screech!" Axel yelled out suddenly. The other two nodded understanding it was a code word cuing them to swerve and split the group, normally reserved for if a race is busted and they need to get the racers away.

They split, watching the ship as they darted through the air toward the treeline.

"Almost there." Gray gritted his teeth, skirting the pathway behind Ten, Axel now behind him. The ship continued to shoot through the entrance of the trees as they passed through and Gray's board began beeping again. He pulled alongside Ten.

"Ready?" He asked.

"What?" Ten's eyes widened in alarm as Gray jumped onto her board, causing them to swerve wildly.

"Woah there, you almost made me lose my board!" Gray grabbed hold of Ten's torso, shifting his weight to steady them.

"Gray! I don't know how to do this!" Ten panicked.

"Just calm down and focus so we can find our balance." He leaned them out of an oncoming energy laser's way, causing them to lose control again.

"Ten!" Grayson breathed in annoyance as they almost ran straight into a tree, a crisis averted thanks to his skillful backseat driving.

"Sorry." Her voice was quiet, he could feel her tense body in his arms.

"It's just like when you learned to ride." Axel called as he passed them to take the lead. Ten maneuvered the board following Axel's path, finally leaving the range of the ship's energy blasts.

"Over here, there's a dip that will put us low enough to evade even the best sensors." Axel called, cuing Ten to dip down further into the forest.

Axel landed, crawling down into some brush, Ten and Gray following suit.

"Gray, your face." Ten noted with concern. There was a long burn streaking across his left cheek.

"I'm fine. How are we going to get back home, though? What if that thing waits for us?" Axel and Ten responded with uncertain head shakes.

"I need to get a hold of Sage and Marigold." Ten sighed, "But first, let me take care of this." She pulled out a pinch of Orbs from her bag, digging through to find the pink of a Healing Orb. SHe turned Gray's head from where she was crouched breaking the orb to free the magical fluid. Returning to her bag she retrieved some bandages, covering the already improving wound.