Flying Car Island: Page 4

Bodaway dodged and weaved his Vimana, zig-zagging along the coastline, trying to shake the other black vehicle. The turbulence along the coast was great and terrible creating unseen vacuum pockets and updrafts that sent both ships careening closer to serrated rocks and jagged tree trunks.

Turning the vehicle sideways the ship raced along a black boulder texture. Off in the distance Bodaway could see what looked like a swarm of large white moths ahead of him. Squinting his wrinkled eyes, he looked closer and saw the swarm was heading directly toward him and the black Vimana. As he drew even closer he saw the queerest sight: forty or so men and women strapped to two giant weather balloons, being propelled by a small engine back pack. Flanking either side were two individuals zooming along in swirls and curves almost herding the other balloon bearing fliers.

It was now, in a second or right now! Deciding not to engage the small army of unarmored individuals ahead, Bodaway banked away from the cliff and headed out into the vast ocean. Under the manual controls, the shift away from the edge hurled his vehicle into a massive downdraft. The blood red flying ship skirted again just above the four and five foot waves. Trailing the red vehicle the black vimana dodged the down draft and stayed thirty feet above Bodaway. He looked over his right shoulder and above his head and saw a saying written on the bottom of the black vimana:

Wealth Protected Is Wealth Earned

What a strange notion Bodaway thought, what an outdated notion. Who has wealth now after the volcanoes, earthquakes and meteorites? These flying cars were the closest thing he'd seen to organization since the catastrophe, and even here it was more or less a rag-tag collection of fueling stations and one docking facility, no mansions, no executives running around adorned with gold and jewels.

Peeking again at his pursuer, he noticed the two winged fliers he saw earlier were now flanking the black vimana. The individual closer to him grabbed onto the black vimana by a rear spoiler. He reached to his shoulder pad, pressed a button and a darker vapor trail emanated from his pack. The black vimana suddenly spun into a spiral. It soared immediately at the red vimana, Bodaway swung his machine to the right instinctively. The black vimana sped and skipped across the water like a glossy flat stone. The drive, a young, fit fair skinned blond man leaped out of the vimana and swung at the flier, who was now standing also atop the vehicle. That fist missed the saboteurs chin and the winged man swung back making solid contact to the others' cheek. Bodaway looked back in his mirrors, but could no longer make out the details of the melee.

A loud THUD! Boomed from the rear of the hovering red vimana. Bodaway careened his head around and saw the other jet-powered man locked onto his rear wing, he shouted, "Oh no, not me, you want some of what I've got?"

With that the winged saboteur lit the same type of thruster that brought the other down. Upon closer inspection, Bodaway took note as his ship crashed into the water, that man was wearing animal skin? The dark haired man shouted to Bodaway with a face full of sea water, "Hey man we're commandeering this ship for the tribes!"

Bodaway first reached for his knife then thought better of it. Instead he popped the hatch and held out his open palms in front of the saboteur.