The Indiana Chronicles

Indiana's Flight: Prologue

My flight had almost been planned. I had known they would come, and sure enough, they did. They came in the middle of the night, creeping through the pitch black like monsters stalking their prey, their ugly black guns pointing in our windows and at our doors. We had no choice but to pack and leave. It did not take me long. I stuffed everything I would need into a black backpack, which had a waist strap as well as shoulder straps – a feature that would serve me well when I had to carry it for days on end.

Once packed, I had to change into my shadow clothes – the ones that kept me concealed and hidden in the onyx shadows of the night. I heard breaking glass from downstairs – the soldiers would be getting frustrated and bored. This only made me go faster as I quickly buttoned my coat, which had been enchanted to make it bulletproof and ‘persuasion’ proof, and flung my backpack over my shoulders, tightly strapping it to my small frame. I got out some black paint and rubbed it over my face, so that its pallor wouldn’t give me away, and waited, looking out my open window. I knew that the henchmen-like soldiers would move to the front door any minute, to terrorize the others in the house, and sure enough, soon I saw them swagger around the corner. That was my moment.

I silently crept out my window and leapt from the low roof to the ground below, rolling as I landed to minimize impact and ground shock. Quick and silent as a shadow, I slid into the shadows, melting into the dark like a ghost. I ran, weaving through the trees, until I was far enough away. They could never catch me – I was too fast – but I was careful all the same, taking to the trees as soon as I could. My abilities had been developing recently, and I could now glide and jump and stretch further than any human. I swung from tree to tree; my body extending like a trapeze artist’s, my hands sure as they caught each branch and flung me to the next. I flipped as I leapt, trying to get higher and to go faster, to cover more ground while I could. They would discover that I was gone soon, and when they did, I wanted to have a head start. Which reminded me…

 I changed my path, taking a route that would lead me close to the road. When I had a clear view of the black river of tarmac, I stopped swinging, perching high in the swaying branches of a tall tree, hoping that the shadows and the leaves would hide me. I dug my cell phone out of my bag, flipped it over and tugged off the back. Sure enough, there it was – a tiny gold circle, the size of my pinkie nail. A tracker. I ripped it off, sliding the cover back on and shoving my phone into my backpack again before slinging it securely over my shoulders.

As the branches swayed with the breeze, I clutched tightly to a nearby bough, stood up, aimed and threw the tracker. The gold circle looked almost like a coin as it arced its way towards my target. ‘Heads,’ I thought, watching as it fell perfectly onto the back of an army pickup truck. They would follow that truck for a long time, and when they finally caught up, no innocent people would be harmed because they unwittingly mislead my followers. Smiling slyly to myself, I turned around and started up my journey through the treetops again, heading for a place I knew I could safely hide until morning, when the true chase would begin.