Stuck at the Galleria

Act 4: The Thrill (by Tre Listman) (part 1)

The next thing I knew, she let out a yell that filled the food court to the brim, and her hand exploded out of mine as she jumped toward Alf, and I plunged downward under the tables as the firing squad dispensed their product.

Nora threw one, two, four punches toward Alf, but he weaved through them like a pro boxer before he retaliated with a hard hook into her midsection. She stumbled a bit, but kept her composure, and the two of them kept trading blows.

I was too busy avoiding the airborne darts to keep score. A few grazed my jacket as I scurried under the tables. It wasn't great cover but it'd have to do for then. Alf's lackeys, clad in plain old black T-shirts and pants, kept me running as low as possible before I got to one of the columns. I kept my back turned, but the wheeze of darts firing on both sides of the column and the cacophony of stomping amongst Nora and Alf's yells let me know they were coming.

Pulling myself down into a crouch, I panted with the aplomb of a golden retriever. All I could focus on in that moment was getting myself away from it all, the fray of the Galleria. I didn't care about the freedom, being in the crew, none of it. There wasn't anything here for me. Not even Nora.

And just to make matters worse, I didn't want to admit it to myself but I was mad at her, like, really mad. She'd painted this whole dreamscape as if the whole Galleria was our oyster (the guards notwithstanding) but Alf being here with his cronies popped that balloon right open, so what was I supposed to expect now, to live like this for however long?

No. I had to distance myself.

The thought got me scampering at whatever speed I could by then-- all the running had me winded-- before I heard the noise of metal launching toward me. Suddenly a strange force pulled me backward, and I tried staying my own course to no avail. My jacket got hooked on a column I just passed, and it wasn't coming off.

"Drat. I was going for the head," said a feline voice with contempt. It came from a girl with a shock of red hair and a lanky build. "Oh well. Second time's the charm!"

She pulled a black pistol-like weapon with a long crossbar on its top from behind her back, and she made sure the pointy end made eye contact with me.

First thought: Is that even legal?

Second thought: I'm dead. Tell Nora I lo-- liked her.

Third: Hey, look, some guy in yellow plaid-- waitaminnit!

Like a yellowjacket, he leapt into view and wrestled the crossbow out of her hands before stinging her with a hearty shove. She slid away with a hiss.

"Lena, I thought you gave the new kids a grace period. For shame," said Grassy with a smirk.

She spat on the ground. "Not when they're punks like this... punk!"

"Tsk, tsk." Grassy threw the crossbow behind the counter of Paco's Tacos and whistled. Max, the prep girl, the quiet girl and the twins marched into the food court, each of them holding their own pair of Nerfs. The quiet one threw both of her revolvers to Grassy.

"Thank you, Piper. Now, Miss MacPherson, where were we?" He fired one of them upward before aiming the two of them at Lena, who backed away toward her teammates.

"You know you would never shoot, Gordon," she said. "Since you're too much of a lover, right?"

"Maybe so. But he isn't."

And without a second to spare, Grassy sent both of his revolvers toward me. I flung my arms outward and fumbled with them for a beat before I got a solid grip on both.

Max looked at me as if I were nuts. I smiled before turning to Lena, cocking both of the revolvers.

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the whole punk thing. Sorry." I fired the darts, but Lena was fast, and it almost seemed as if she wasn't even trying to avoid my shots. No, it looked almost as if she was looking for something.

At the bottom darts of both of the revolvers, she found what it was: a bright red switch, emblazoned with a white flame.

"No!" I yelled, firing my last two shots. One of them ricocheted off of a column and into the middle of Alf and Nora's fray, which had then overtaken some tables and a good number of chairs.

The other one hit Lena square in the eye, and she went reeling, wobbling her arms out as she tried to balance. With an unintended hard downward motion of her right arm, Lena struck the switch's white handle, and a loud klaxon began to fill the food court as an artificial rain started saturating my t-shirt.

The group darted their eyes at me and grit their teeth. If not for the water coming down everywhere at the time, it'd be safe to say I'd get singed.

But before they could reprimand me any further, a loud and brisk march started to echo through both sides of the court, and I turned around to be greeted by a line of more guards than I had fingers and toes. Nora and Alf had a similar line on the other side.

"Well, well, well, it seems both of our little communes have gotten into a tiff," said a disembodied voice from the intercom system overhead. "Miss Irving and Mister Crowley, your friends' behavior is very disappointing. I'll be glad to take care of that for you, if you let me. Boys!"

The guards all took position like members of an elite military group. "Sir!"

"Take care of these insolent delinquents. Anyone who catches one of them gets double pay."

I looked back at the guards on my side, a number of whom were starting to stare at me like the best chicken to roast for the next week's Christmas dinner.

A beat. I dropped the revolvers and bolted, vaulting over a few tables and struggling to keep my balance in the process.

The chaos unfolding around me wasn't a priority. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, so all I paid mind to was the path to take to get out.

A few steps later, the replica arch was mere yards away. Before I got the chance to go through, I heard a shout.

"Trevor!"

It was Nora. She was in front of Bean There Done That, and two of the guards flanked her at the sides, her arms locked within their collective grasp. The sight of her made my spite return instantaneously, and I turned away with a groan.

"Dude, a little help?"

I didn't reply, instead opting to weave through the crowd that formed around us without even a glance toward her. She got herself into that, she could make her way out. I heard a few mannish grunts, and with a leftward glance she'd caught up.

"Tre, you're being ridiculous," she said flatly. "What's going on with you?"

"You lied to me, Nora!" I replied, dodging the fist of some guard before Nora dispatched him with an elbow to the gut.

"What?! I didn't lie to you about anything!"

"Well, you certainly didn't tell me everything!" I spat.

She gave me a confused squint for a split second before shrugging off one of the guards from her shoulder with a single motion of the arm.

"Alf's crew, this deal you made with him, his very existence, all of that! Why didn't you say anything?" I swiveled myself away from a wayward jab. Nora sighed as she kicked the said jab's thrower in the, well, golden gate.

"It was to protect you, okay, Tre? I'm sorry for not wanting you to..."

"To what?"

"To get wrapped up in all of this crap so soon!"

"And what, you just expected me to get wrapped up in it later on? Oh suuuuuuure! That's just perfect! Paint this whole picture of a grand frakkin' paradise after dark only to leave Alferto Crowley to pull the curtains wide open at some unspecified time point." I wheezed. "Gee, thank you for that, Nora. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get out of this sinkhole."

And with that, I turned around and left, not giving an ounce of my mind to the inevitable tongue-lashing she was presumably giving me at the time. It was annoying-- I wished I didn't have to be mad at her, and I felt like she was telling the truth about wanting to keep me safe, but how was I supposed to ignore it?

I can't remember whether or not she actually really tried to stop me, but either way, I should have listened.