Mercury, Passage Seven
The floppy-eared rodent scurried across the mountain plateau, weaving through blades of tall grass, and Mercury followed, gaining speed. She was not a particularly fast runner, but her adrenaline could push her further than she thought was possible at times. Chasing a small, brown-haired creature would be almost an impossible task under different circumstances, but that little rascal was holding onto Mercury’s last, tangible memory of her mother. It gave her hope that she was still alive. Ever since she was a child, Mercury felt like she could put her mind over matter during intense moments. She always assumed it was adrenaline, but her recent experiences might have revealed otherwise.
The plateau sloped downward on the other side of the mountain, away from the protection of the old woman’s hanging figurines. Although they possessed no real magic, Mercury did not want to venture too far from them. She had safely survived a full day out of the prison, and she did not want to ruin her luck. The rodent stopped before the plateau turned into a steep slope. It seemed at first as if he did not want to take a nose dive into the jungle, but Mercury noticed the real reason why the little creature stopped at the edge of the slope.
One of the large black orbs hovered about ten feet above the head of the rodent. He stared, mesmerized. Distracted by the liquid, black circle in the air, the rodent loosened his grip on Mercury’s necklace. This was her chance. She creeped behind him, inching her way to the silver charm hanging from his mouth. The creature’s eyes glazed over, and he was entranced. Mercury remembered that feeling when she first stared at the orb. A part of her wanted to feel that again, but she stayed focused on the necklace. She was now only a few feet behind the rodent when another surprising sight caught her attention.
A small Coalition patrol bike hovered at the bottom of the slope, and a Rouxbodi soldier emerged from an opening in the mountain, armed with a powerful electro gun. Following the Rouxbodi out from the opening was the old woman. Did they capture her?
Mercury needed to act now. She glanced back at the rodent, but he was now about five feet in the air, floating toward the flouros. This was no time to be distracted by a warm, fuzzy feeling in her tummy. Mercury checked over her shoulder to see if the Rouxbodi and the old woman were still at the bottom of the slope. This time, the old woman noticed her. Although they were probably two hundred yards or so apart, Mercury could swear she saw a bright smile emerge on the old woman’s face, and then she pointed in her direction. The soldier twisted its armored head toward the top of the slope and made eye-contact through the dark lenses of its helmet with the fugitive.
Panicked, Mercury looked back at the rodent and saw the creature floating even closer toward the black flouros. She glanced down the slope again, and saw the Rouxbodi hop on its patrol bike with the old woman straddling the backside. They were coming for her. Whose side was this lady on? The flouros had seemed to lower itself closer to the ground, and the rodent was almost touching the outer layer of jelly.
Without truly evaluating the situation, Mercury made a split decision. She took three large, running steps toward the flouros and jumped into the air. The energy from the orb pulled her faster into the air; and as she sped toward it, she grabbed the rodent with one hand and her mother’s charm necklace with the other. Her velocity increased, and the black orb sucked her into itself like a balloon absorbing a needle.
Next post: Coming Soon!
Previous post: Mercury, Passage Six
Fiction posts: A Star Gaze
Non-fiction posts: A Floating Idea, Day Two: Willpower or Discipline?, Beauty and the Beast Remake Got It Wrong
Mercury Series: Mercury, Passage One, Mercury, Passage Two, Mercury, Passage Three, Mercury, Passage Four, Mercury, Passage Five, Mercury, Passage Six, Mercury, Passage Seven
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