Free The Rising Sun: Episode 1 by J Hawk

Gowden
cursed to himself at what he’d just seen, as he ran outside the
restaurant.
     
    You aren’t
getting away that easily, scum!
     
    He ran over
towards the fallen hover bike ride. Shoving the man off the way, he
took hold of the bike and rose off the ground.
     
    “You four,” he
called to the four fighter ships floating behind him. “follow
me.”
     
    The bike zoomed
forward as he spun the throttle, and the four fighter ships came
tailing him closeby from behind. The boy was riding far ahead of
him, his outline growing slightly blurry as the distance between
them grew.
     
    Relishing the
feeling of the wind splashing against his face, Gowden gave the
bike as much throttle as possible, and his bike slowly crawled
closer to the mystic’s. Twenty feet below him, the village’s stout
structures zipped backwards rapidly. The boy’s engine grew clear as
he steadily approached him from behind.
     
    The four
fighter ships behind him edged closer to him from both sides, their
canon ready to rage.
     
    Now less than
ten feet from the boy, Gowden drew his Sparkler with one hand, and
aimed.
     
    __________
     
     
    Ion’s bike gave
a sudden, shuddering jolt, and then begin to lose height.
     
    A bright blue
jet of light whizzed past his side, and he whipped his head back to
see the Naxim officer along with four fighter jets, a few feet
behind him. One of their shots had apparently hit his bike.
     
    He bent over
its side, only to have a spurt of black oil released onto his face
and his hair. The bike was damaged badly, and was losing height and
speed fast. He wiped the black oil off his eyes and turned to his
side: The Naxim officer’s bike sped forth beside him, and the man
raised a z-com towards Ion. A flash of light emitted.
     
    Taking my
picture, huh? Enjoy it . Ion thought. That’s all you’re
getting of me.
     
    With his bike
hit, soaring lower and slower, Ion breathed in, bracing himself. As
the Naxim officer reached for his Sparkler, Ion turned and dived
towards his bike. For a splintered second, the man’s eyes widened
as Ion came flying over towards him elegantly, and he raised his
Sparkler to re fix his aim over skyborne Ion…
     
    But before he
pulled the trigger, Ion had crashed to the side of his bike,
clinging to it so not to fall off. The impact made the officer lose
balance: sliding off his seat with one hand gripping the side, the
man dangled dangerously off the side of the bike.
     
    Ion climbed
over, waiting as the bike passed a large horse shed before knocking
the Naxim officer off the bike, and sending him to a safe landing
on one of the giant heaps of hay.
     
    Two orbs of red
came sailing from behind him, just missing him. Ion glanced back as
the bike sped on. The fighter ships stuck to his tail, firing at
him relentlessly. One of the bright red canon bolts whizzed just
over his head. Ion used his powers, summoning the familiar rush of
energy from within, to make one of the ships steer off course: It
clashed into its neighbour, so that both of them lost control and
toppled to the ground.
     
    The remaining
two ships slid forward by either side of his bike. Ion saw the
Rash-con driving the fighter to his right open the ship’s window to
aim a gun at him. Ion lifted his bike just in time from the line of
shot: the jet of blue that the robot released missed him and hit
the fighter on his left instead, shattering its side. The fighter’s
cockpit along with the robot driving it within set on fire, the
ship slipped off the air … landing on the village street below with
a resounding crash.
     
    As the Rash-con
took aim at him again through the fighter’s window, Ion drew his
sword. The familiar dazzling flash lit the sky for a moment as he
ignited it. The blade’s orange shine reflected on the fighter
ship’s flawless metallic skin. As the Rash-con opened fire, Ion
split his attention so as to drive the bike and block the robot’s
shots at the same time.
     
    The two of them
swept over the