The Omega's Quest

7. The chase

THE ROOM TURNED DARK as they directed the spotlight towards the stage. A relaxing, yet very engaging, beat was being played in the background as people moved to their assigned seats. There was also a red, velvet curtain covering the stage and an orchestra just below it. As Oscar sat in the first row of the VIP section, everything had a classic theatre feel to it.

He enjoyed coming to places like this, and the most famous and anticipated show for this year was F.R.I.E.N.D.S. It had been a major television show two centuries ago, and the melody played by the orchestra was starting to get humorous.

"Are you comfortable, love?"

Oscar looked up to see Byron, who was standing next to him while unbuttoning his tuxedo. His husband then sat down on the chair next to him.

"Quite the contrary. I actually love seating on the canopy because it gives me a better view," he responded as he massaged his neck. He was pretty sure that he would strain his neck in the next few hours.

Oscar was taken by surprise when Byron asked him out. Byron brought him into a public place, and he knew the social circle in this area. Although well aware that Byron was only doing this for publicity, it was still a chance for him to relax. He loved watching theatre shows, even as a teenager. His mom was a fan and would drag him to every show she liked...

“OSCAR!” A loud voice pierced through the soft music and brought him back from thinking.

Turning his head, Oscar squinted when rays of sun hit his face. It was just then that he realised that they were already flying above a forest area. Looking down, he saw a hiking trail and a river with no one wandering around it at all. That was a relief for him since they were still in a chase.

"Where are we?" he asked Elliot.

Elliot opened his mouth but then quickly shut it when another flare passed by them. The view before them turned red as smoke started coming up from somewhere.

"I am not sure. I just drove to the west and noticed some people tailing us. They have been sending us those flares for a while now," his friend finally said, looking very worried.

Oscar wanted to apologise to him but kept quiet. He then pressed a button on the dashboard, which immediately cleared their view. Most of the latest helicopters have specialised blowers that open up to remove fog, clouds, and smoke.

"I can shake them off." Oscar gave Elliot a reassuring glance. Being in Byron’s pack made him aware of how the pack’s aircraft functioned. Thus, he knew how to escape the people following them. "Where are we exactly going? I know you have it encoded in the navigation, but I want to get out of our track for a while."

"We are going to Colorado."

Silence occupied the cockpit after Elliot spoke. How was it possible that Jason’s pack resided in the middle of nowhere?

Checking the forest outside and the two helicopters flying behind them, Oscar frowned, thinking of how bad the situation was. Then, giving Elliot a small nod, he silently grabbed the aircraft’s stick and pushed it forward.

The helicopter moved past everything in a blur, leaving the two helicopters behind.

"Yeah! This is what I am talking about!" Elliot exclaimed, obviously amazed by how fast their ride sped off.

"Not yet. We still need to increase our gap. We would need to take refuge in one of our satellite hangars up north before flying back to Colorado tomorrow," Oscar informed his friend about his plan. He tapped something at the navigation bar, and the helicopter moved even faster. He was once an adrenaline junkie before, anyway.

"There is something different about you. I do not know what it is, but I like this version of you, Oscar. Are those other helicopters from Byron’s Dark Sun pack?"

"Yes, that’s his fleet. Most of his fliers have a lot of ammunition, so I’m wondering why they aren’t using those. This isn’t like Byron at all." Oscar shivered at the thought of Byron using another tactic.

"Things will be fine. We are in this together, kid." Elliot tapped his shoulders to lighten his mood, and he smiled back at him. He could not be more grateful that he had had a friend like Elliot.

PAK!

That was when a metal screech suddenly blasted from behind them. Something seemed to have hit their ride.

"Damn! Did they hit us?" Elliot asked.

Oscar watched the icons on the dashboard to see if there was any alarm. Nothing was wrong with their helicopter. "Nope. They missed," he said, before looking out of the window and gawking at the site that welcomed him. "f**k! Elliot, take that damn stick. We need to pick up the pace again! They did not throw a bomb at us. They shot us through. Someone is coming our way via a rope." He pointed his finger to his right side, where a man was grappling like a monkey on a thick rope.

"On it, man."

Elliot pushed the stick as far as it would allow. Then, Oscar adjusted their altitude. Once the helicopter was low enough, he manoeuvred the aircraft sideways.

"Oscar, you’re a genius!" Elliot cheered.

"Wait for it. It is either they let go, or we end up cutting them off," Oscar said, as he wished for the latter.

As their helicopter kept moving lower and lower, the rope got cut, and the man trying to get to them was left dangling in the air.

"Sayonara!" (Goodbye!) they screamed in unison as Oscar stirred the helicopter to move forward, leaving their enemy behind.

"Whew! That was close." Elliot let out a long sigh.

"It wasn’t that close, but I am tired of running. I just wish we could teleport to our destination in a snap." Oscar slumped back on the leather seat and looked at the majestic view of the sunset behind the pines. His heart was pounding hard. He felt as if he was a jaguar in a hunt, just that he was actually the prey right now and not the predator. He laughed at the thought.

It took him an hour or more to calm down again. Serenity came to him when they finally reached Chicago.

The windy city had one of their family's biggest hangars in the country. People there use the helicopter less than cars due to the aggressive wind all year round. Helicopter rides in that area were always a matter of do or die.