The Future's Mine by L J Leyland Page B

through the waterfall of falling crystal that stood between myself and the outdoors. I leapt over the jagged edge of the shattered window and sprinted into the courtyard.
    Trees, grass, fountains blurred in front of me as I ran towards the Complex with all the speed I could muster. I was out of control, like a runaway wagon; my legs were running away with me and I felt in danger of tripping head over heels but I couldn’t bring myself to stop. I threw a glance behind me and saw the beautiful crystal palace folding in on itself, like a toppling house made of cards. Each smashing pane triggered off the implosion of its neighbour. The noise was incredible, like the roaring of the ocean in a storm.
    The shattering had knocked over some of the brass lamps onto the whiskey table. Fire was catching quickly, creating shadow monsters that were projected onto the walls of the Complex; looming demonic shapes that glowed red and slithered across the walls and transformed into a new demon with each shattering pane. I heard cries and coughs behind me. The Mayor, Perkins, a few other Parrots, and the Metropolites staggered through the doors, in a hailstorm of glass shards. The guests were using silver platters as shields. The Mayor looked as though he was wearing a red sleeve, so thick was the blood that flowed from the stab wound.
    I hoped that Noah, Flora, and the other girls were safe under the heavy table and that the fire and smoke wouldn’t engulf them before they could get out. I could do no more for them. I had to run. I had to get out.
    Sprinting for the door of the Complex, I tried to remember the pathway through the corridors, back to the outside world, where Matthias was waiting. I had no doubt that he had heard the commotion and was probably terrified of what was happening within. I could only hope that he wasn’t stupid enough to try to barge his way in – there’d be no chance we’d find each other in the maze of corridors and dead ends.
    Feet running behind me – Perkins. I dived for the door and took an immediate right turn. I wasn’t moving quickly enough though. The tiny slashes from the glass on my face and arms were stinging; it was agony. My head wound was making me woozy, my arms and legs thick with fatigue. I felt hysteria start to take over and fought back tears with huge rasping sobs. Perkins followed close behind, his long strides making gains with every step.
    I turned a corner and was confronted by a fork in the corridor which led to two dark passageways. One twisted to the right, the other to the left. Right or left? No time to decide. I took the right-hand fork and threw myself into a room about fifteen feet down the passageway, shutting the door just in time before I heard Perkins pound into range. I heard him skid to a stop.
    ‘Where are you?’ he called with menace in his voice. ‘I’ll find you.’
    Sounds of more people running; one particularly heavy tread accompanied by the wheeze of someone unaccustomed to exercise. The Mayor.
    ‘Where is she?’ he demanded.
    ‘I’m … I’m not … She went down one of these corridors, but I’m not sure –’
    The sound of a slap broke the tense silence, followed by a number of hard wallops that accompanied each word that the Mayor spoke. ‘When I ask you a question, I want a direct answer!’ The last word was given with a particularly vicious thump and I heard Perkins, that huge beast of a man, fall to the floor.
    ‘Yes, Sir.’
    ‘Now, answer me again. Which way did she go? And just be careful, be very careful, because what you’re about to tell me will determine whether we catch her and you get to live, or whether we lose her and you will feel what it’s like when I’m really angry.’
    The man was a lunatic. He had taken the dive off the edge of the void into madness. Perkins was stunned into silence.
    ‘Speak, man!’ roared the Mayor.
    ‘Left! She went left! I’m sure I heard her go to the left.’
    The Mayor laughed. ‘Well,