Roy quickly runs out of the basement, leading the women behind him. He stops just outside the entrance. He looks around and makes sure the coast is clear. He ducks as a bullet narrowly misses his head. He can see Jack, Redshirt, and one of the winged creatures fighting in a blur of dust, light, and metal.
He looks across the property to the large garage 200 feet away. He looks back to Pretear. “So what are the chances of there being an actual car in there.”
She nods. “Actually, they’re pretty good. Cody has a thing for cars, so he has a decent collection. There’s likely a few to pick from. However, I have no idea where he keeps the keys.”
“There’s a safe, near the back door.” Tyler chimes in. “I did know the code, as long as he hasn’t changed it.”
“Well,” Roy says. “If worse comes to worse, we can just try to hot wire one.”
“Sounds good to me,” shouts Slowhand. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
Roy checked around them one more time. “Alright. I’m going to provide cover while you guys run over in groups. Eric, I want you to go first and check out the garage. If it’s clear, I will start sending the rest a few at a time. Tyler, Pretear, you stay back to help protect the rest until everyone is over there. Everybody know what they need to do?”
The group nods or says yes in unison. “Okay, on the count of three.” Roy starts counting slowly and evenly. “One…two…three!”
As he says three, Eric disappears in a blur and reappears by the garage. He punches the side entrance door, which promptly explodes into a cloud of wood shavings and saw dust. He then disappears inside.
“Shit,” Roy says to himself. “I completely forgot vampires could move that fast.” He looks over to Tyler. “Perhaps we should change my plan slightly?”
Tyler smiles at him. “I think I know exactly what you mean. As soon as we get the all clear, I’ll run over with Wicca. Then I will come back for Lucy and the rest.”
“Great minds think alike,” states Roy. He looks across the property again as the large garage door begins to open. As it raises, he sees Eric standing there. He waves his arm, gesturing for them to start over. He looks back at Tyler. “Time to fly.”
In a blur, Tyler nods and grabs Wicca. He scoops her up and blasts across the yard. A powerful breeze blasts Roy and Slowhand as he disappears. A split second later, he is in the garage, setting Wicca down. She is clearly shaken and her hair is disheveled. She smiles slightly as he sits her down.
She gazes over at Eric. “Is it wrong that I think that may have been better than sex?” she asks.
Eric laughs slightly. “You know, I think I like you. You should see what happens when we take one of you humans for a longer run.”
Wicca smirks, as apparent dirty thoughts run through her mind. “You know, I think I may have to give that a try someday.”
A second later, another blur zooms into the garage and Tyler appears with Lucy. She seems to have enjoyed the trip less than Wicca, and punches her brother repeatedly while yelling “Nyu! Nyu!”. He tries to set her down gently, but she falls to the ground as she keeps pushing away from him. “Ouch!” she says as her butt hits the ground. Wicca walks over to help her stand up.
With another blur, Tyler appears with Slowhand. She is also disheveled, but like Wicca, she appears to have enjoyed the trip. She smiles and says, “Wow!” One more blur, and Pretear appears. Unlike the others, she seems generally unaffected by the speedy trip. Yet another blur, and Tyler appears with Roy. His expression is one of anger.
“Put me the hell down!” he screams at Tyler. “I was perfectly capable of getting myself across you asshole!”
Tyler laughs. “What? You don’t like a guy picking you up? You know what they say about homophobia, Roy?” He winks at the alchemist, who only turns red.
“That’s not it! I wouldn’t like anyone picking me up!”
The two continue to argue as the rest of the group looks around at the large garage. Aligned in rows are several cars of various vintages. Towards the back, there are several newer Cadillacs, including an ATS and SRX. There is also a brand new Corvette at the very front. It likely doesn’t even have a thousand miles on it. Parked next to it, is one of the classic cars in his collection, a bright red 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air. Wicca remembers that this is the pride of Cody’s collection and one that he never lets anyone else drive.
Tyler continues taunting Roy, who does little besides scream back, until Eric intercedes. “Okay children, we don’t have time for this. Where does Cody keep the keys?”
Tyler points to a black box near the back door. “There. It’s an electronic safe with a six digit code. The code is 789616.”
Pretear walks back to the safe, kneels down and punches in the code. She repeats the numbers out loud as she hits the buttons. “7-8-9-6-1-6?” The safe issues two loud off pitch beeps. She attempts to open it, but the door doesn’t budge. “That’s not it.”
Tyler shakes his head. “Crap! Try it again.” Pretear tries the code a second time. Once again she has no luck. “Damn it. He must have changed the code after the Saab incident.” Tyler sighs.
“Saab incident?” Pretear inquires.
“It’s a long story. I sort of borrowed his Saab convertible, and then accidentally ran someone over with it.”
“Wait,” Slowhand sounds shocked. “You ran someone over with Cody’s car?”
Tyler gets a strange expression on his face as he attempts to explain himself. His lips curl at an odd angle. “Well, I actually hit a hooker with it. So I don’t think that counts. I mean, they’re pretty much dead inside anyway? Besides, she’s okay now and we’re cool.”
Slowhand shakes her head and covers her eyes with her right hand. "So you borrowed Cody’s car, ran over a hooker with it, and now you’re “cool”?
“Yeah,” Tyler says confidently. “It was very much like an 80’s comedy. We’re friends now. We even chat on Facebook. I think Cody was just pissed about the damage to the car.”
“Oh yes,” says Pretear sarcastically. “That’s very much like an 80’s movie. I can totally see Shelley Long as the hooker with the heart of gold. What the fuck is wrong with you?” She turns to face the safe again. “Well, I guess we will have to try this my way.” She raises her hand, with her palm facing the safe, and breaths deeply, concentrating on the lock. After a second or two, sparks and smoke emanate from the lock and the door flies open, revealing several keys hanging on hooks. There is a small sign with the car model above each hook. She smiles in contentment. “Awesome,” she says under her breath.
Pretear looks around the garage. “So which car will we take?”
Eric answers her quickly. “Well, considering two of them are blocking the rest and we don’t have time to play musical cars, we have a limited selection. It’s either the Corvette or the old Chevy, and the Vette definitely won’t work.”
Wicca cringes. “Well, I have to warn everyone. That Bel-Air is Cody’s baby. If anything happens to it, he will likely rip out of the heart of whoever was driving and force them to eat it before they die.”
“Yeesh,” says Pretear as she reaches into the safe and pulls out the only pair of keys without a fob. “Not me!” she yells as she tosses the keys to Eric.
“Gee, thanks,” he says sarcastically and they all climb into the car. A moment later he is turning the key and the engine roars to life. He hits the gas and they speed off.
