Voynich Shift - Pars Duorum (COMPLETED)

Part V - Cornucaprae, 1:1, 2:14 - Missing The Boat

Arthur glanced over at the mysterious woman lying across the bench seat with her cheek resting on his coat. He had tucked the garment beneath her head in order to keep it from banging against the door of the rumbling 1934 Ford truck. Although he was conflicted about staying at Bernie's until the sheriff arrived, the young man ultimately chose to head back to his shop, hoping that when the beautiful woman woke up she could give him some insight into what that pocket watch was and where those monsters might have come from. Switching on the interior cab light, Arthur reached over and gently turned the stranger's arm by a slender wrist to look at the name printed on the sleeve of the shimmering, skin-tight uniform. "Who in the heck are you, lady and what is Moirai, Incorporated?" he wondered to himself.

Arthur, too enamored with his passenger, did not notice the pair of headlights suddenly appearing on the dark country road behind him until they were on his bumper. He rolled down the window inviting the cool nighttime air to rush into the cabin. Arthur shivered as he stuck his hand out of the window and motioned for whomever it was to drive around him. Instead, a singular red light ignited from the approaching car's rooftop followed by the long wail of a siren.

"Hey!!! What the hell!" Arthur exclaimed as the large round nose of the Chevy Fleetmaster patrol car slammed into the rear of his rusty work truck. The bright headlights and flashing emergency light were soon joined by another pair of brilliant beams and they, too, were gaining on him rapidly. Arthur tightened his grip on the steering wheel and leaned forward intently, pressing the gas pedal the rest of the way to the floor. He yanked the wheel to the left and then the right, the truck's V-8 engine roaring, but the second black car managed to outmaneuver him and pull alongside, matching his speed. Arthur quickly looked to the left, noting it was the sheriff and the law enforcement officer had his hand in the air, gesturing for him to pull over.

Arthur lifted his foot from the gas pedal at the sight of the familiar, yet oddly emotionless face.

"Please, don't stop," the woman said, awake once more. "They will kill us."

With a rectangular streak of light stretched over his face, Arthur's eyes darted from the rearview mirror to his female passenger. "It's Jim. I've known him for years."

"No, he's one...of those black-eyed creatures," she said with a wince and pointed out the window. "Look for yourself."

Arthur nearly leapt from his skin as he witnessed that the man's typically green eyes were now orbs of empty black. "This is insane!"

"I warned you," she said and lifted her hand to her shoulder, noting it was bandaged. The woman looked over at Arthur. "Since it seems you are not one of them, I suppose I have no other choice than to trust you...my name is Abrina."

"I'm Arthur. Crap, hang on!" the young man exclaimed as the shiny sheriff's car slammed into the side of Arthur's vehicle. The truck fishtailed, its right rear tire threatening to go over the steep shoulder of the road. It was everything in Arthur's might to keep the machine straight.

"You okay, Abrina?" he inquired, eyes staring through the windshield.

"Yes."

Arthur and Abrina lurched forward as the other patrol car chasing them slammed into the truck's rear-end followed by the sheriff's car inching over on the right. "Dammit, they're tryin' to box us in!"

"Pull over, Junior!" the sheriff commanded over his vehicle's loudspeaker. He then set the radio mic down and lifted his service revolver.

"Go back to hell, demon!" Arthur shouted back. "I ain't stoppin'!"

Two gunshots rang out and pierced the roof of the truck's cab, forcing Arthur to dip his head. "Asshole!" Arthur said angrily and yanked the steering wheel to the left, slamming the truck into the sheriff's car in a weak attempt to shove the massive chunk of metal off the road.

"The Bridge is out, Junior!" the sheriff shouted over the speaker. "It's over!"

Arthur could do the math. He knew the thing he once thought was just another human was correct. At this rate of speed, if he did not stop, they would blow straight through the approaching barricade and into the dark swirling waters of the mighty Mississippi River.

"We have to lose them, why are you slowing down?" Abrina asked and for the first time, maintained a look of fear on her face.

"The bridge is out up ahead and no ferry, either!"

"None of this will matter, soon. We are quickly running out of time and won't be able to shift unless we get to my Horologium!" she said.

"Shift?"

"You'll find out if we live." The woman looked down and noticed Arthur had apparently taken one of the energy weapons from the house. The device was resting on the bench seat next to her hip. "Sit back and don't slow down!"

"What!?!! You're crazy, lady! We have to!" Arthur exclaimed as he watched Abrina spin a dial on the side of the weapon and then point it toward his head.

"Then, I suggest you duck."

"Oh shit!" Arthur did as told and Abrina fired through the open driver's side window.

Arthur covered the side of his face with his hand. The sheriff's patrol car emitted a bright blue glow and lit up the night as it became engulfed in a cloud of electrical energy. The machine careened wildly side-to-side, eventually spinning around and slamming into the side of the other pursuing police vehicle. The deputy's car turned to the right to avoid the impact and ran off the road, crashing into a thick oak tree. In the rearview mirror, Arthur watched an orange mushroom cloud of flames and smoke eject into the air as the car exploded.

"Arthur!" Abrina lifted a hand in front of her face. "Stop!!!"

"Hang on!!!" Arthur stomped both feet on the brake pedal. The truck slid, finally skidding to a stop with its front only inches from the yellow and black warning sign. The sheriff's cruiser raced mindlessly by, clipping the left corner of the truck's bumper and removing one of its headlights. The activity shook Arthur's vehicle but did not stop the patrol car from continuing through the barricade and over the edge, to plunge into the cold Mississippi River several meters below.

"Whoa, that was incredible, Abrina! You and me, we make a great team, you know it?...Abrina?"

 The strange woman did not respond. She had passed out.