Free Rise of the Fallen 1 - My Soul to Keep by Sean Hayden Page A

didn’t
see any blood. I didn’t even see a scratch, nor did I feel any pain. I shook my
knee to test it and stood, finally noticing the knee shaped, crushed section of
sidewalk.
    “Cool,” I said and turned to give Claire a stern talking to.
    “Come on, worm! We have work to do.”
    I walked around to the passenger door and lifted the handle on the
little Bug. She hadn’t unlocked the door and she sat there staring at me. “Come
on Clari…Claire. Unlock the door.”
    “What do you say?”
    I knew she wanted a please. I would rather have my lower extremities
dragged naked over a five mile stretch of fish tank pebbles than give it to her.
    In a tiny fit of anger I pulled with everything I had. The tiny Bug
slid the remaining six inches to the curb and the door pulled off the hinges with
a groan and a snap. Holding up the door and looking at Clarisse through the rolled
up window I watched as her face went from teasing, to rabid raccoon, and on to crazed
sociopath. I dropped the door and ran.
    I heard her door open and slam close. Yup, she wanted to kick my ass.
I dipped off the sidewalk and ran past two kids with matching backpacks who seemed
to be standing still. The rapid clip, clop of Clarisse’s undoubtedly designer
shoes hitting the concrete not far behind me told me she was gaining.
    The houses on the other side of the street backed up against woods,
separating the mall from the residential areas. I figured that would be my best
hope. I leapt over the tiny grassy patch separating the sidewalk from the street,
bolted across the road, and ducked between two houses. I passed a man grilling hamburgers
in the back yard, but he didn’t even look up as I ran past into the trees. I mistakenly
assumed the trees meant safety.
    As soon as I crossed the line between grass and the brown leaf and
pine needle covered ground of the woods a rock obliterated the tree to my right.
Splinters flew from the gaping hole and hit me in the face as I sped by. I spit
out a hunk of bark and started weaving for my life. I should have saved the zigzag
pattern for an alligator attack. Clarisse caught up quickly and kicked my legs out
from underneath me. I spun a full circle before crashing against a medium sized
oak.
    In a daze I saw her sprout wings, her eyes started to glow, and she
reached down and picked me up by my shirt collar.
    “Stupid, worm,” she spat and threw me headfirst at a larger, sturdier
looking specimen of a North American deciduous tree. I brought up my arms to stop
my face from becoming one with the bark. The tree snapped as I hit it, and I prayed
my arms didn’t do the same thing. I landed in a pissed off heap at the base of the
tree.
    Her hand closed on the back of my neck as she tried to lift me from
my comfortable spot on the ground. A surge of anger flowed through me. My wings
snapped into being and I turned around to see a look of surprise fill her face.
    The thought of hitting a girl truly sickened my stomach, but Clarisse
just threw me headfirst into a tree. I pulled my knee up and kicked out to the side,
catching her in the stomach and launching her up into the highest branches of the
trees behind her. I smiled, rolled over on my stomach and picked myself up off the
ground. Hearing a cracking noise behind me, I turned to see what caused it. I caught
the foot thick tree trunk Clarisse used like a bat right in the chest. I hit the
tree behind me with my back, and the forest dimmed in my vision.
    A set of claws grabbed my shirt and pinned me to the tree, stopping
me from sliding completely down to the ground again. When did she get those?
    The impact seriously rattled my brain. I could taste blood in my mouth
and the only thing I could see was Clarisse’s face filling my vision.
    “Not bad, worm. Not bad at all,” she said and let go.
    I slid down the tree and grabbed onto her hips with my legs, turning
to face the ground as I fell. The scissor spin flung her down to the ground on her
side and trapped her