A Beast with a Smile {Book 1}

Chapter 23 (Archy): The Fall from Grace

Scarlett had been acting weird ever since she figured out how to use the telecom. She would've been the first person to have severe mental damage from the thing if Clark hadn't backed her up.

I thought for sure we were going to be making a pit stop at the closest nut house because we fried her brains.

That thought continued as I leaped out of the ship in pursuit.

Who just jumps out of a plane? I thought to myself as I dove for her free falling body.

She had opened the ramp while we were all distracted with Clark. The emergency light and bell both immediately alerted us of her dangerous activities in the back of the room. The door let in freezing cold instant-frostbite kinda winds and I felt my body temperature drop.

My armor, which I built to adapt to extreme conditions, was struggling to supply me with sufficient warmth, and she stood in the center of it in pajamas as if it were nothing but a cool summer breeze.

"What are you doing?" Elly screamed effortlessly over the howling winds.

Scarlett couldn't have heard even if she wasn't trapped in her own thoughts. Velicity was the next to try and stop Scarlett, but when she zoomed in front of the dare devil Scarlett's eyes were glowing white.

She had no pupils, no color, and no sign of life. The sight shocked Velicity to her core. She froze in place and was taken by the wind, sending her barreling back at us.

Woodrow planted his feet and held out his arms, preparing to play catcher. Velicity's small body had managed to create enough force to flip Woodrow head over heel and sent both of them at Elly and me.

I managed to flip my helmet on in time to absorb most of the impact created by my two flying angels and the wall.

Elly was not so fortunate. She took that time to shield Clark from the onslaught of hurling bodies, which smashed her head into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

All four of us were tangled up in the back of the room, two unconscious from the impact and the other two too frightened with fear to even speak. I was pinned under Woodrow and I couldn't stand to get Scarlett before she nose dived off of the ramp.

Clark let out a battle cry, sprinting towards the open ramp shield with his sword raised.

He just jumped after her, I thought in shock.

I tried to scream at him to stop, but he thought he was being a hero. My heart began to race. I could feel it stomping on my chest, trying to force it's way out. I couldn't hear my own thoughts, let alone make anything to fix two falling kids, both without armor or parachutes.

Nope they jumped out of a plan with PJ's and paper mache.

I tried to focus on the beam above me, forcing it to bend at my will and bend to my position. It shook slowly at first not wanting to listen. I tried harder, letting myself think only about moving it.

I didn't think I'd ever loved this stupid ship as much as I did when the beam shifted to above my head.

Thank god I built this thing, I thought.

It slithered down my side, wrapping around me boa style and constricted around my sides. It lifted me out of the pile and winded me up, preparing for the perfect pitch. The newly altered beam flung me out after them.

I couldn't see them at first; the clouds were too thick and too dark for me to see through them. I dove headfirst, creating more heavy objects to try and speed up my decent.