The helicopter thudded through the air above me, surrounding me in an inescapable circle of light. Dog howls started, both a warning and a form of psychological warfare.
You are being hunted. There is no escape.
I couldn’t help but wonder what it was like for the people inside. Howls and screams, bright lights and half-seen shadows through the window. Some would be used to it, but most would be scared, unsure what was happening.
A break in the howling brought me back to reality as a clatter behind me heralded the arrival of the Dogs. The sound went on and on, much longer than I was expecting.
Just how many Dogs did they bring?
I slid sideways off the branch I was on, leaping towards the side of the nearest building. I rammed my wheels at the wall, slowing my descent. I grabbed a fire escape, pushed off and hit the ground running. I could hear the Dogs behind me, but I couldn’t spare the time to turn and look. The spotlight had moved on, sweeping past me, but the Dogs were still there.
I pushed down the street, accelerating harder now I didn’t need to worry about falling. A quick check of the Suntree revealed that there were still Runners and Dogs up there, trapped in their own pursuits. Spearhead hadn’t come down, and part of the pack of Dogs after me had split off to pursue him.
I vaulted over a bin, came down on some scattered plastic packaging and considered my situation.
A Runner, all things being even, is substantially faster than a Dog. However, the whole point of Dogs is to make things not even. Numbers, the screaming, taser jaws. They worked as ambush predators, pack backing Runners into areas they couldn’t escape from.
They had limits. They were only smart as part of a pack, and they couldn’t leave corporation territory. Unfortunately, we were right under the Suntree and I had no idea where I was going.
Still, ambush predators. I couldn’t go where they wanted me to. I was outpacing the group behind me now, could hear them falling behind. That left me with a few options.
Or would have, could I see an exit to this alley at all.
Something red was glowing in the darkness ahead. I braked hard, pulled sideways. Didn’t want to hit it.
“Oh, hey, Queenie.”
A figure was standing in front of me, flanked by a pair of Dogs, the Matsushima pine emblazoned down their shoulders. They were alert, focused on me. The alley was light with red. The only way I could tell it was Glass was the way her armour worked, transparencies and fragments everywhere.
The Dogs rushed me, one slamming through my legs as the other jumped, pressing me into the wall and hooking in, holding me there. I couldn’t move my head to see it properly, because it’s eyes were sitting just in my peripheral vision, it’s jaws against my neck, my horns jammed against it. The Dog that had wrong-footed me clamped one of my legs with it’s jaw, but didn’t shock me.
Glass jogged down the alley towards me, basically invisible now the Dogs weren’t highlighting her.
“Sorry about this. Raven’ve gone a little far with this stunt.” She laughed, standing in front of me. “The Suntree? That’s just blatant.”
I didn’t say anything. Mainly because I had no idea what she was talking about. What the hell did Raven have to do with this? One of the Dogs hissed in my ear, but Glass smacked it.
“Stop that.” She said. “Queenie, we’ve got an issue now. Fortunately, you’re not the only one to have seen me with my pets for tonight, so I’m going to hand in my resignation as a Runner and not just arrest you.”
I tilted my head as far as I could, trying to portray confusion and curiosity.
She laughed again. “I don’t want to arrest you. I rather like you. You have… style? Style.”
I shrugged, honestly too confused to appreciate any compliment right now.
Glass was continuing, running over my thoughts. “So I’m not going to arrest you. You might want to pass it on, though; us Runners aren’t as independent as we’d like to think. Matsushima helped me run and I’m sure there’s other people in similar positions.”
She made a gesture, and the Dogs let go, dropping me to the ground. Both Dogs slunk back to her side as I slumped. I was having difficulty grabbing and holding everything I’d been told. Glass worked for Matsushima? Was she implying Raven set up the Festival?
“Seeya, Queenie!” Glass said.
I looked up, but she was leaving, shepherding her Dogs with her. She’d given me leniency, but it was unlikely that the other pack on my tail would. I crawled to my feet, gave myself once over. I was in better shape than I imagined. The Dogs hadn’t actually done much damage, just held me. Roughly.
I wasn’t sure what to do. Chasing Glass could result in her changing her mind, setting her Dogs on me. I couldn’t go the other way or stay here, or the other pack would drag me down and I’d definitely be hauled off.
Only one way out. Back up to the Suntree.
– – –
I made the climb. It was easier than I had imagined, but the Dogs were clambering up after me. I couldn’t see any helicopters, or even any Runners. The surface of the Suntree seemed deserted.
I skipped off the Suntree, onto a roof nearby. I had to keep moving, but there was no way I was staying on the Suntree. I jumped from roof to roof, getting away from the Suntree and the Dogs. They filtered up onto the buildings behind me, spreading out.
I was leaving Matsushima’s area quickly enough, so I decided to try something a little risky. I tapped a pair of fingers together, bringing up my communications display.
Most of the Runners were greyed out. Kraken was up, so I sent him a message.
[Kraken, what’s happening? Who’s safe?]
No response. A couple of seconds later, he blinked offline.
Huh.
The Dogs were all staring at me, red lights picking up all over the surrounding buildings.
Oh. They’re tracking communications.
I spun up, spiriting now. Had to get out of the area, release the Dogs. I jumped from roof to roof, landing on or dodging air-conditioning vents, stairwells, gardens. I landed in one of the gardens, dirt grinding beneath my wheels and a Dog leapt at me from where it had been hiding beside a garden bed. It crashed into my shoulder, but I rolled with it, turning to jump again as it collected itself.
I could either be careful about more attacks and slow down, or risk it. I chose to risk it, moving from building to building as fast as possible. The building here were close together, some gaps bridged. I was nearing what we thought was the edge of Matsushima territory when the helicopter returned.
I couldn’t even look at it, the spotlight was so bright, but I could hear the thumping as it caught up to me. I jumped the next roof and came up short, breath leaving my lungs from the impact. With the spotlight on me, I couldn’t see past it’s boundaries, so I’d missed the web they shot over the next roof. I’d rammed right into it, but it’d held. I was tangled now, and the Dogs were closing the gap. I struggled, but couldn’t get free. A Dog landed on the web, but it wasn’t as well fixed as it could’ve been, and it pulled a corner off, the web collapsing on the Dog. I hauled again, and got and arm free in time to shoot my Special at the next Dog to jump. The air blast took it in the chest mid-leap, and it fell.
I pulled again, and timed the motion as the helicopter moved forwards, downdraught pushing the web to the concrete. I pulled a final time, ripping myself free, and dropped from the roof.
The Dog I’d knocked down earlier was there. It stood at the exit to the alleyway and screamed at me, a wall of noise. Once the pain had past, it was barrelling forwards, nearly on top of me. I kicked it in the head and it shrugged it off, trying to bite me, put I pressed down and used it as a pivot, flipping over the Dog and running towards the exit. I charged out of it, just as another web slapped across the exit.
I moved down the street, pushing through the gaps between cars. The Dogs poured off the buildings, landing down the edges of the street. I ran down the middle, trying to keep them as far away as possible.
The street capped out in an intersection, so I slowed to check the roads were clear. I gunned it immediately, but the helicopter had stopped behind me. I checked quickly and all the Dogs were piled up at the intersection.
I’d made it out.
– – –
I slid open Vy’s door, collapsed on the floor and said “I told you so.”
Running Silver 