Like A Fairytale

Chapter 55

Flo

"Hold still!" Icy's voice tickled Flo's ear. The Shadow lay over him, his naked body rubbing against Flo's. "Hold still and enjoy!"

Flo's body tingled. Hot. Everything was hot.

Every touch burned. The Shadow kissed and teased him.

Flo wanted more.

Much more.

He wanted EVERYTHING.

"That's it!" Icy's hot breath brushed over Flo's body as he...

A terrible alarm tore Flo out of his dream.

Startled, he sat up. "What?"

"Waff!" Silverpaw jumped on the bed and crawled under the covers. "Waff! Waff! Meow?"

Flo hugged the animal child, now almost a teenager, and climbed out of bed. Silverpaw was too heavy, so he put her, or rather pushed her, on the ground. The wolf cat huddled close to his legs while the alarm roared mercilessly.

Flo opened the Minnie box.

Immediately, the flickering hologram of the Iron Fairy appeared. "Flo! You're awake! Good!"

"Minnie? What kind of alarm is that?" He had never heard such an alarm before.

"Put on a jacket and go!" urged the AI. "Come on, go."

Was he imagining it, or did she sound panicked? Her holographic wings trembled slightly. "Go? Where to?" Flo grimaced. "What's going on?" A flashing red light passed the sides of his curtain, which covered the window. The alarm sirens roared angrily.

"The seat of government is under attack. Run to the staff stairs, take the stairs and run upstairs. To the second floor. There you will find..." The hologram flickered briefly, then Minnie disappeared.

"What?" Confused, he closed and opened the box again, but the AI stayed gone. "What?"

"MEW?" Silverpaw tugged at his pyjama pants.

"Second floor!" Flo grabbed Silverpaw's iron leash, but when he wanted to reach for his coat, he noticed dark smoke coming from the door into his room. The smoke smelled unpleasant. "What?"

"Mew..." The wolf-cat pressed up to him and hissed softly.

Flo dropped his coat, put on Silverpaw's leash, then grabbed two large cloth handkerchiefs. One he tied around Silverpaw's muzzle; the animal child growled confusedly, and the other cloth he tied over his mouth. "The smoke could be poisonous..." He briefly ruffled Silverpaw's fur. She looked at him reproachfully, but no longer growled.

Was there a fire?

Was he still able to escape?

His room was too high upstairs. He would not survive a jump out of the window.

Nervously, he opened the door.

Thick smoke hit him. His eyes watered. The smoke stank and burned in his nose, despite the provisional protection. If he had a breathing mask... But it had stayed behind in Burgstadt. Wet and unusable.

Flo could hardly see anything. But staying in his room was not an option.

The stairs...

Almost blind, he ran off and dragged Silverpaw with him.

Icy

Shadows did not sleep.

Not really.

While their human part needed sleep, their systems only switched to stand-by. Via a cable connected to them over the neck, they pulled system updates and other data.

Icy opened his eyes.

His red iris shone brightly while he was still drawing data. He frowned. The time lit up in his field of vision. 1 a.m. He blinked.

ATTACK ON THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. DEFENSE PROTOCOL INITIATED. ARREST OF THE REBELS FOR INTERROGATION. SHOOTING ON SIGHTING. TRANQUILIZER AMMUNITION. KILLING ONLY IN AN EMERGENCY.

The purple lettering glowed in his lower field of vision. With that, he had his orders. He grabbed the thick copper-colored cable and pulled it out of his neck. The light in his eyes did not go out, but it shone softer now.

Icy was about to reach for his combat uniform when the lettering first glitched and was then replaced. A small, mechanical voice read the text aloud at the same time.

COMMAND CHANGE. EVACUATION OF FLO WHITEBLOOM. HE IS ON HIS WAY TO THE ESCAPE PODS ON THE SECOND FLOOR. POISON GASES. FLO WHITEBLOOM HAS TO REACH ONE OF THE ESCAPE PODS. PROTECTION TAKES PRIORITY OVER OTHER COMMANDS.

Icy frowned.

This change of command made no sense, but his body seemed to move by itself. He left his small accommodation, a barren room without a bed. A chair stood at a quietly rattling charging station, over which his systems pulled the data. A wardrobe, a gun cabinet with extra weapons, a hook for his mask, and that's it. No window. Neon light.

Icy left his uniform and mask behind. He hurried into the hallway, past the other Shadows ready to fight. Flo's location appeared in his field of vision.

Why is he a priority?

Not that Icy had anything against protecting the boy.

Not at all.

So he followed the strange, low voice that urged him to hurry.

(c:sasi)