Advanced Clockwork: Young Writers Prize 2014

Chapter 4

"What in the good name of Sempath did you do?!" Eve shouted, taking a turn down another alleyway as the Guards quickened their pace after them. Gig pulled her arm out of Eve's hand and started running on her own, having no difficulty keeping up with the humanoid.

"Why do you think I did something to get the freakin' Guard on my tail?!" Gig shot back, her boots slamming against the stone street as they came out into a crowded street of the higher living. "All I did was walk into the store, try to sell the guy some of the goods, and then they came busting in like they owned the joint! I had to waste a bullet on trying to escape!"

Eve felt her hydraulic pumps stop short for a second like she just was going to have a heart attack right then and there just from hearing her say that. But she didn't scream at Gig just yet, they needed to loose the goons before she could strangle the stupid idiot. And that meant that they had three options to go by. One: they run like the Hounds of the Dead were on their tails until they lost them. Two: they duck into the crowd and blend in like they weren't guilty of any crime whatsoever. And three: They take to the rooftops and go roof hopping the rest of the way home. And knowing Gig, the last option was the best option.

"Hey, Gig?" Eve asked, jumping over a bench in the way and sticking the landing without breaking pace.

"Yeah?" The older woman answered, panting a little from all the running.

"You got that grappling hook on you?"

"You know, I didn't think I needed it this time around!" Gig said sarcastically as she sidestepped an old woman before she had a head on collision. Eve glared at her.

"Get it out and aim for the rooftop! We can loose them that way!"

"But you need the exercise!"

"Gianna!"

"ALL RIGHT!" Gig shouted, pulling out her customized grappling hook gun and aiming at the rooftops just a little ways ahead of them, shooting it just over the old chimney top so it gripped onto the top and stuck. "Hold on tight, you bag of bolts!" She shouted as she wrapped an arm around Eve's waist and pressed a button, causing them to shoot up as the gears inside started pulling on the rope to recoil it all together. As soon as their feet hit rooftop, their heard someone shout FIRE! and a array of grayish bullets whizzed past their heads, one going right through the tail of the green trench coat.

"Hey!" Gig shouted angrily. "Do you know how much this thing cost?!"

"Nothing cause you stole it." Eve answered, unhooking the grapple and getting a head start on running. "Come on!"

"They are getting a very big bill for what they done to this coat." Gig grumbled as she started after her automaton friend, jumping over small chimney spouts and dodging bullets. "Where to now, bolt for brains?"

Eve looked down at the streets a about thirty feet bellow, she saw some of the Guards start to take aim again, the people on the street going into a panic. "Head to the left!"

"Down?!"

"No, over! Aim for the buildings to the left!"

"All right!" Gig lined up the shot again and this time managed to hook it securely to one of the iron bars on the windows. "Were going to have to swing on this one, Eve!"

"Don't care!" Eve grabbed hold of Gig's arm and ran straight to the edge of the building and jumped. "Pull!"

An array of bullets showered just above their heads form the other side of the building as they jumped and swung to the safety one of the other streets housing, swinging down past a bakery stand where Gig thought it would be funny to grab a loaf of bread as they went by before they swung loose and landed on the flat roof of a store just as the grapple came loose. Panting, Gig laid down on her back and groaned, that lopsided smile on her face growing into an adrenaline fueled grin as she let out a whoop of victory.