leg.
‘We crashed,’ said Joel. ‘Carrying us both was too much for Pegasus. His wing gave out and we came down on the edge of the meadow. Lucky for us it wasn’t crowded.’
‘Just us,’ the soldier said. ‘And I’m glad. If the park had been as crowded as normal, you’d have had a riot on your hands.’ He leaned forward and offered his hand to Emily. ‘I’m Eric and this is my girlfriend Carol. I’ve been serving as a medic in Iraq and thought I’d seen a lot of strange things. But I couldn’t believe it when I saw you in the sky.’
‘I still can’t,’ Carol agreed nervously. ‘And I’m standing right here looking at you. Part of my mind says it’s real, the other part says you are hallucinations.’
‘We’re real, all right,’ Joel said. ‘And we’re in big trouble.’
Eric finished tying the last knot. ‘Well, that will do for the moment. But we have to get you to the hospital as soon as possible. Those cuts go right to the bone. You’ve got some serious muscle damage there. And by the looks of things, you need antibiotics to stop the infection.’
‘We can’t go to the hospital.’ Emily struggled to sit up. The pain from her leg was making her feel sick. ‘We have to stay with Pegasus.’
Eric sat back on his heels and stared over to the stallion. ‘A horse with wings,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘How amazing is that? Pegasus really exists.’
‘Yes he does,’ Joel said. ‘And so do the creatures that tried to kill us. If Pegasus hadn’t flown off the roof, we’d all be dead now.’
Joel explained to Eric and Carol the events of the past few days. To their credit, they listened without interrupting. But the more they listened, the more frightened Carol grew.
‘Whatever they are,’ Joel finished, ‘those things are still out there. Nothing seems to stop them. I watched the one that fell off Pegasus. When he hit the ground, he got up again and tried to follow us.’
This was news to Emily. ‘But he fell twenty storeys! How could he get up?’
Joel shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I also don’t know how they are tracking Pegasus, but they are. They all seemed to know he was on the roof with us.’
‘I can hardly believe any of this,’ Eric said. ‘Pegasus in New York City? Vicious four-armed monsters?’
‘It’s true, I swear it!’ Emily said. ‘And they want to kill Pegs.’
‘I’m not saying I don’t believe it,’ Eric said. ‘I’m looking at Pegasus right now and I saw the damage that thing did to your leg. But where did they come from?’
Emily recalled a comment her father had made. ‘The sewers!’ she cried. ‘My dad is a cop. He said they’d been getting stories from uptown of people claiming four-armed demons were coming out of the sewers. They were being dismissed as crazies. I bet that was them!’
Eric shook his head. ‘If those creatures are loose in New York, we have to call the military.’
‘We can’t!’ Emily said at once. ‘The CRU have already captured another Olympian. If they find out about Pegasus, they’ll take him away as well.’
‘What are the CRU?’ Carol asked.
Eric shivered and took Carol’s hand. ‘You don’t want to know,’ he said. ‘They’re a real nasty Government bunch. Trust me, you don’t want them on your trail.’
‘It’s already too late,’ Joel added. ‘Half the city saw us flying up 5th Avenue. If they didn’t already know about us, they do now.’
‘Then we’ve got to get moving,’ Emily said. She tried to stand up, but the pain from her leg drove her down again.
‘You’re not going anywhere but the hospital with that leg,’ Eric said.
‘I told you, I can’t go to the hospital,’ Emily insisted. She tried to stand again, but fell. Finally she looked over to Joel. ‘Please, leave me here and take Pegasus. Hide him in the trees. But don’t let the CRU or those creatures get him.’
Pegasus snorted and shook his head.
Emily turned to the stallion. ‘You’re the one
‘We crashed,’ said Joel. ‘Carrying us both was too much for Pegasus. His wing gave out and we came down on the edge of the meadow. Lucky for us it wasn’t crowded.’
‘Just us,’ the soldier said. ‘And I’m glad. If the park had been as crowded as normal, you’d have had a riot on your hands.’ He leaned forward and offered his hand to Emily. ‘I’m Eric and this is my girlfriend Carol. I’ve been serving as a medic in Iraq and thought I’d seen a lot of strange things. But I couldn’t believe it when I saw you in the sky.’
‘I still can’t,’ Carol agreed nervously. ‘And I’m standing right here looking at you. Part of my mind says it’s real, the other part says you are hallucinations.’
‘We’re real, all right,’ Joel said. ‘And we’re in big trouble.’
Eric finished tying the last knot. ‘Well, that will do for the moment. But we have to get you to the hospital as soon as possible. Those cuts go right to the bone. You’ve got some serious muscle damage there. And by the looks of things, you need antibiotics to stop the infection.’
‘We can’t go to the hospital.’ Emily struggled to sit up. The pain from her leg was making her feel sick. ‘We have to stay with Pegasus.’
Eric sat back on his heels and stared over to the stallion. ‘A horse with wings,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘How amazing is that? Pegasus really exists.’
‘Yes he does,’ Joel said. ‘And so do the creatures that tried to kill us. If Pegasus hadn’t flown off the roof, we’d all be dead now.’
Joel explained to Eric and Carol the events of the past few days. To their credit, they listened without interrupting. But the more they listened, the more frightened Carol grew.
‘Whatever they are,’ Joel finished, ‘those things are still out there. Nothing seems to stop them. I watched the one that fell off Pegasus. When he hit the ground, he got up again and tried to follow us.’
This was news to Emily. ‘But he fell twenty storeys! How could he get up?’
Joel shrugged. ‘I don’t know. I also don’t know how they are tracking Pegasus, but they are. They all seemed to know he was on the roof with us.’
‘I can hardly believe any of this,’ Eric said. ‘Pegasus in New York City? Vicious four-armed monsters?’
‘It’s true, I swear it!’ Emily said. ‘And they want to kill Pegs.’
‘I’m not saying I don’t believe it,’ Eric said. ‘I’m looking at Pegasus right now and I saw the damage that thing did to your leg. But where did they come from?’
Emily recalled a comment her father had made. ‘The sewers!’ she cried. ‘My dad is a cop. He said they’d been getting stories from uptown of people claiming four-armed demons were coming out of the sewers. They were being dismissed as crazies. I bet that was them!’
Eric shook his head. ‘If those creatures are loose in New York, we have to call the military.’
‘We can’t!’ Emily said at once. ‘The CRU have already captured another Olympian. If they find out about Pegasus, they’ll take him away as well.’
‘What are the CRU?’ Carol asked.
Eric shivered and took Carol’s hand. ‘You don’t want to know,’ he said. ‘They’re a real nasty Government bunch. Trust me, you don’t want them on your trail.’
‘It’s already too late,’ Joel added. ‘Half the city saw us flying up 5th Avenue. If they didn’t already know about us, they do now.’
‘Then we’ve got to get moving,’ Emily said. She tried to stand up, but the pain from her leg drove her down again.
‘You’re not going anywhere but the hospital with that leg,’ Eric said.
‘I told you, I can’t go to the hospital,’ Emily insisted. She tried to stand again, but fell. Finally she looked over to Joel. ‘Please, leave me here and take Pegasus. Hide him in the trees. But don’t let the CRU or those creatures get him.’
Pegasus snorted and shook his head.
Emily turned to the stallion. ‘You’re the one
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