A Healer's War

Chapter 15 - Flight by Wisplight

Chapter 15: Flight by Wisplight

Monday. April 16th.

The wisp darted through the morning rush hour. Sleepy-eyed drivers rolled on with their daily pilgrimage without a care for the floating ball of light zipping between fenders. By the way they drove, it seemed no one could see Rory's guide, though several honked at him as he chased after it.

"Watch it!" someone yelled after him.

"Sorry!"

Rory's heart raced, and his legs burned as he weaved his bicycle between idling cars, sucking down lungfuls of exhaust. He sputtered a cough as he gathered his bearings. They were near the river now. The wisp pulled him west. But where?

The wisp cut hard to the left, directing him across two lanes of traffic. Rory jabbed out a quick signal and turned. A horn blared behind him, and he heard brakes squeal, but all he could manage was an apologetic wave over his shoulder as he pedaled onward.

He gained ground, but the wisp whipped right ignored the red light and shot through a group of pedestrians strolling across the street.

"Look out!" Rory shouted.

People jumped out of his way as he zipped through the crowd.

"Excuse me! Sorry!"

Rory sped on, standing on his pedals now. Up ahead, the wisp darted down an alley.

Skidding around the corner, Rory prayed for no nails or glass, not wanting to ride on rims. He shot out from the alley, narrowly avoiding a black cat with its hackles up, and spotted the wisp gliding down a familiar stretch of road with a green bike lane. He'd just biked in the other direction on his way home. Downhill, past the science museum, over the footbridge, and to the sky tram at the base of the Hill. Is it taking me back to work?

Rory pointed his front wheel after the wisp, hopped the curb into the bike lane, and leaned into his pedals. His legs screamed. He made it another block, skirting along a row of parked cars, when a raised blue pickup truck with a fluttering flag of stars and stripes threw open its door.

Rory cranked his handlebars and tried to brake, but he had too much momentum.

WHAM!

A flash of pain lit him up. His body stopped, slamming into the leather interior of the truck's door. His bicycle disappeared from beneath him, sparking as it careened forward. Rory landed on the wet asphalt and skidded before coming to a rest. After a moment, Rory patched together his surroundings. Slowly, he picked himself up, trembling from shock. His shoulder and ribs throbbed. He reached a hand up and felt the side of his forehead. A long crack snaked down the center of the helmet, and he was thankful the helmet split and not his skull.

Onlookers gathered on the surrounding sidewalk, watching him with concerned faces, though no one approached. He looked down at his legs and saw his green legging shredded below his right knee, bleeding from a long strip of road rash. He hoped his bike was in better shape.

"What did you do to my truck?!" a deep voice bellowed.

He turned and found a broad-chested man glaring down at him. In his thick arms, he held an oversized, fluffy pink unicorn that seemed at odds with his denim overalls and tufts of brown hair poking out beneath a red baseball cap.

"I, I-," Rory stammered, and a flash of light caught his attention.

The wisp orbited the man's head, illuminating his sun-baked face.

"You're going to pay for this," the big man shook the unicorn at a sizable dent in the door's panel. "Look at that! You better have insurance." He paid the little light no mind as it passed in front of his eyes. How is he not seeing that?

The wisp circled again, twinkling lazily as if waiting for Rory. "Sir -." Rory managed, trying to organize his thoughts, but before he could, the wisp swelled with light and shot back into the bike lane, fading fast.

"I gotta go!"

"What?!" the big man said, stepping closer. "You're not going any-."

"Sorry!" Rory darted for his bike. His knees and rib balked but eased into an ache.

"Stop!"

Rory ducked around the door and mounted his bike. The handlebars were a mess but functional, and aside from some chipped paint, the bike was rideable.

"Get back here!"

Rory couldn't go back now. He had to move forward.