Thursday 10 September 2015

Floating-seed and the Hawk

Floating-seed’s eyes were tightly closed and she really didn’t want to open them. However, the training given her as a member of the Mecha Corp was squeaking away at the back of her mind. “Open your eyes Floating-seed, see, assess, react.” Over and over the words bubbled up, but her eyes remained shut as her heart pounded so fast she thought she might die. Then the repeating words morphed, changing from her own voice into the sounds and words of her Paw leader.

She opened her eyes, and gasped.

Below her, so very far below, were the waters that surrounded Searbay island, the waters that kept them safe. As she thought of that she shook her head and felt the sad irony. She wasn’t safe now, the water hadn’t kept her safe from…A bird. A glance to her waist showed a taloned foot gripping her armoured waist. She turned her head straining to look upwards at the beast that had her. Grey and brown feathers and a great hooked beak. She started shaking, she’d never been so close to one of the enemies. In all her thirty days in the Corp she’d never once had had to use her weapons.

At the thought of weapons she  went to reach for her power staff, but her foreleg was pinned by the hawks massive foot.  Besides, she could see the staff was also pinned and bent out of shape, probably wouldn’t work. Her other foreleg was free and after a little effort she discovered she could reach her bolas.

See.

In the hawks claws flying away from Searbay.

Assess. 

Power staff useless, only one forepaw free, bolas to hand.

React.

She unbuckled the pouch and pulled the bolas free. She needed its full length so she let it slide though her metal gloved paw until she grasped the rope just above one of the balls. She got it spinning, and then keeping a firm grasp on the rope swung the other end to smack into the neck of the hawk. Nothing, no reaction. She swung again. This time the bird issued a tremendous screech and bent its head down. Floating-seed screamed as the huge pointed beak sped towards her face, only to be deflected from the suits glass helmet. Still screaming with fear she swung the bolas again, the far end swung around the pointed end of the beak and in the same instant she twisted her wrist , winding the other end around her suit glove.

The bird couldn’t pull its head free. It screeched again, flipped through a barrel roll, kept tugging at the wired bolas and then it let go with its claw. With a flick of its mighty head Floating-seed was whiplashed into freedom and flying through the air.

As Floating-seed tumbled through the air she realised the water of the bay was behind her and that below was a canopy of woodland trees. Somewhere above her the hawk screeched at its lost prey but she paid it no heed, she concentrated on the woods below looking for way to survive a landing. One problem at a time she thought

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