Theo the Street Kid and the Extraordinary Competition

Chapter 26 - A Harrowing Escape

 Theo zipped and zagged toward the monk, avoiding the Apsaras on the way.
"Hey, wake up!" Theo yelled. "You're about to fall off the edge."
But the monk didn't pay him any attention.
Anugit slipped right off the solid cloud and Theo dove down on his rama-rama to save him.
His bird caught the monk with its claw.
The Apsara that had been seducing the monk snarled and swiped the air with fingernails.
The other Apsara stopped playing music.
At that moment, all five began to turn ugly. Their hair fell off, their skin wrinkled, their eyes bulged out.
They looked like witches.
One Apsara floated into the air. "You shouldn't have done that, little boy."
Another said, "You intercepted the sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?" said Theo.
"You think rain is free?" yet another one said. "There's no such thing as a free lunch, kid. Everything comes with a price."
The teeth and nails of all five spirits elongated and sharpened.
Now, they looked like vampires.
Theo knew it was time to get out of there.
The five spirits screamed and wailed like banshees.
"You're going to pay!" one of them said.
Theo began to get goosebumps.
He hit his rama-rama on the rear. "Hee-yah!"
As his bird flew back toward Apsaras' Cliff, the five women were in hot pursuit.
Up ahead, Borm and Sovana were making their way back to the cliff too.
Oh no, Theo thought. Not only am I dead last, but I have five spirits chasing me. Maybe I shouldn't have saved that monk.
Theo looked at Anugit, who was babbling incoherently. He was obviously still in a trance.
Shaking his head, Theo focused on flying.
As they zoomed through the air, an Apsara grabbed onto the tail of his rama-rama, yanking the trio backwards.
The bird screeched and both Theo and Anugit almost lost their balance.
Theo reached out a hand and punched the Apsara in the face.
She let go.
He cried, "Faster!"
His rama-rama picked up speed, zipping through the air like a supersonic jet.
Craning his neck for a glimpse, he saw that the Apsaras were a mere hair's length away from him.
He needed to lose the Apsaras, but how?
He glanced down at his whistle, which began to glow.
At that point, the figure in the white hood appeared, forming a barrier between himself and the Apsaras.
The Apsaras crashed into the figure with a loud thud.
The collision gave him just enough time to dart into the thick clouds, losing the angry Apsaras.
He looked behind him.
The figure in the white hood had already disappeared.
He saw nothing but puffy clouds and heard nothing but the furiously shrill shrieks of the wind and air spirits.