Saving the World - Awakening

The Fall of the Side Show

Eliot had superhuman abilities; that alone was enough to qualify the day as impossible.  He couldn't wrap his mind around the organ that he grew seemingly overnight.  How was it physically possible, what kind of supernatural curse had B cast on him?  And what use was defying gravity even going to be when it came to killing, stealing or lying?  As he walked down the hall these questions spun around in his head, hoping to find a reasonable conclusion somewhere deep inside his thoughts.

Gunfire ahead jolted him back into the real world.  This was obviously an attack, but why would someone attack a group of psychos in the middle of the worst neighborhood in England?  Eliot was getting nearer to the entrance to the square, where he could hopefully find out what was causing this altercation.

The gunfire seemed to have stopped as he rounded the corner to the hallway with windows looking at the square.  It was windy outside, so there was probably a helicopter above.  Through the windows, he could see several soldiers dressed in black armor holding guns bigger than he had ever seen on the streets.  They were all aiming at the windows, right where Eliot was standing.  He dropped to the ground, grabbing for his pistol and hurriedly arming it.  He heard a voice coming from the helicopter above.

"Hand the boy and the girl over and we won't kill you." The voice blared over the roaring wind.

Eliot's face paled.  They knew about the experiments, about what B did to Samantha and him. Whoever was in the helicopter wanted them for themselves.  He looked to his right and saw people from the Side Show holding guns and crouching out of sight just like him.  He saw Robert and Martha from the sandwich shop only a couple days ago.  It seemed that he was the only one at the Side Show that had no idea what was really happening. 

A little farther down he saw C, the head acrobat, and tried not to make eye contact. She still unnerved him with her unstable giggling and insane demeanor.  He wasn't fast enough to avoid her gaze, though, and she somersaulted over to him.  Eliot tried to pretend to be checking the window, but she tapped his shoulder vigorously.

"Eliot, we've got to get you out of here, NOW." She whispered harshly.

Everything about her was different.  Gone was her unstable acrobat ruse, she seemed to be normal.  Everything about this place was just plain wrong, he couldn't trust anything he knew before.  As he was about to respond angrily, a voice boomed across the square, seemingly unaided by a microphone or anything.

"Send me in to find them, chief." the deep voice echoed across the square.

C, or whatever her real name was, grabbed Eliot's collar and lifted him to his feet.  She was incredibly strong for someone so petite.  She took his hand and led him back the way he came. Behind them, they heard glass shatter as the other Side Show dealers fell prey to the army in the square.  Eliot could barely keep up with C as she expertly navigated the maze of hallways.

Eventually they reached a door which looked no different than any of the other doors.  C pulled out a key and hastily unlocked it.  There were footsteps coming from the hallway where they had come, the clacking of guns just as loud.  C took one final look back and shoved Eliot through the doorway.

Of course, the door did not lead to a room.  It led to a helipad, where B was apparently waiting for him.  Obviously he was important, else B would not have waited, and the helicopter in the square wouldn't have asked for him.  Eliot ran down as the blades started to whir in the air, violently tearing away at his unkempt blonde hair.

The helicopter ride was thrilling at first.  The adrenaline was still pumping through his veins after his encounter with guns and soldiers, so looking down at the world from above was appealing. 

That is, until they got higher.

The buildings below were getting farther and farther away, Eliot couldn't even make out the soldiers or any Side Show victims.  He leaned farther off the edge, hoping for a better look.  With a start, he realized how high up he was.  How he had forgotten about the idea of falling, he didn't know.  Maybe he was getting cocky after his tightrope incident.

Clinging to the handhold on the side of the open doorway, Eliot turned to C, full of questions.  Unfortunately, C had her head in her knees, obviously not in the questioning mood.  Confused, Eliot turned back to the opening in the side of the helicopter, determined to enjoy his experience.

His palms were getting sweaty from tension, so he quickly withdrew his vice grip from the bar to wipe it off.  B looked back at him from the pilot's seat.

"I'd suggest buckling in, there's a rou-" B started to say.

The helicopter interrupted him, violently shaking in the sky.  Eliot, still wiping his hand on his shirt, slipped from his perch on the edge of the drop.  He desperately flailed, hoping to come in contact with some kind of handhold, but to no avail.

C had looked up to ask about the turbulence when she saw Eliot fall.  Instantly she got up, grabbed a parachute hanging from the ceiling, and jumped out of the helicopter after Eliot.  The wind blew the cap she was wearing off, exposing her long, blonde hair.  She streaked downwards towards Eliot as fast as she could, trying her best to catch up and to activate the parachute.

Eliot fell for what felt like an eternity, praying to whatever god would listen.  He wasn't ready to die. After cheating death twice, his life shouldn't amount to this.  He opened his eyes hesitantly, trying not to dry them out from the raging wind.  Next thing he knew, C was next to him.  She expertly clipped the parachute to Eliot and tore the cord from the bag, deploying the parachute into the air.

Eliot looked at C, partly because there was nothing else to look at and mostly because this C was completely different from the bordering insane C he had met earlier that day. The sun shone perfectly on her face, a dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks and her strawberry blonde hair billowing around her. She was beautiful, and not just because she saved his life.

Just as fortune had it, directly below them was the Side Show square, filled with bystanders and agents pointing their guns at C and him.

"Did you bring a gun?" Eliot yelled over the wind.

C checked her clothes for any kind of weapon, hoping she had neglected to remove them on the helicopter.  Unfortunately, she had remembered her training and left them with B in the cockpit. She looked at Eliot and shook her head.  With a smirk, Eliot reached into his waistband and handed her his pistol.  He had left the other with B as well, and was now only armed with his two knives.

The ground rushed towards them much faster than Eliot anticipated.  As he prepared to hit the ground, they landed.  His knees buckled beneath him and he twisted his ankle on the cobblestones.  C had been ready, but since they were tied together, she went down with him. The two laid there awkwardly, Eliot moaning in pain and C trying her best to untie them so she could fight back.

C seemed to have untied the last knot when behind her an agent bashed her in the head with his rifle stock, knocking her out instantly.  Eliot lay there, incapacitated with pain as he tried to move.  His ankle and his knee burned, as if someone had driven a knife through his joints.  The agent took a second to look at him and then hit him in the head as well.

Before passing out, Eliot noticed the helicopter he and C had encountered earlier had landed in the square, scouring the cobblestones clean of dust.  The Side Show had fallen to B's enemies, and who knew how much else was lost.  He just hoped B's enemies would show more mercy to him than the streets did.