Welcome To New York

Posted on Tue Mar 26th, 2024 @ 1:11am by Maeve MacKenna

1,125 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: New York City
Timeline: August 1990

New York felt cold. A concrete jungle to be sure and she could feel some of the building materials in the buildings themselves. A sensation she had always found to be oddly uncomfortable and soothing at the same time.

The incident on the pier a few days ago had shaken her. Maeve always kept looking over her shoulder expecting someone to catch up with her, but that hadn’t happened yet. The reporting of it in newspapers, on local outlets as seen on televisions, read as another mutant attack and she frowned at the term.

Mutant was not a word she liked. It felt clinical, like something a scientist would call them, or a politician. Maeve’s mother always told her the gifts they received from Danu and the Tuatha Dé Danann were just gifts given from beyond the veil to help them protect the natural order of things, and be guardians of the planet. Granted she found it odd they were all on one small island that seemed cut off from the world, but she never questioned her mother.

Anyway, Maeve had begun to cross a small parking lot. It was dark and she was looking for somewhere to sleep for the night before pressing on to try and find the school she had heard about. Even though a few days had been hard on her she found the American people more welcoming of her than the British. Some had even given her some money for food which was nice.

As she continued to walk through the parking lot she heard what sounded like a plane but hadn’t seen any. Then another whoosh, and another. These were soon followed by the loud thump of a large figure in front of her. A virtual colossus as all she could do was stare up at this thing with glowing eyes and a frame that would shake anyone to their core. She turned to run only to find another one drop down from the sky. Maeve moved to her right only for another to drop down, and sadly to her left there was only the brick wall of a building.

In the distance she heard someone shout “Oh, a mutant is going down!” but couldn’t see where it came from as her eyes fixed on the three machine men that seemed to be intent on stopping her from going forward.

“Target identified. Mutant detected. Surrender now or die.” The sentinels said in unison.

“I think you have the wrong person.” Maeve replied nervously.

“Target resisting. Capture or kill.” The sentinel behind her spoke.

Two of them rose into the air and Maeve was almost caught in awe of seeing it happen before she turned to see the one behind her raise its arm and the palm of its hand light up. Frowning and cocking her head she had no idea what was going to happen.

Before she knew it a blast of light flew from its hand and instinctively she threw her hands up to protect herself. In doing so it raised a wall of stone in front of her from the car park to protect her and she heard the blast hit it. A crack formed and she knew the other two would soon begin their attack.

Turning to face the one to her left she focussed intensely on one part of the ground and raised a chunk of the stone up. Shifting her hand towards it the rock flew towards the sentinel and tore its head clean off and for a moment Maeve was shocked. She’d never hit something with such force before but she guessed the old adage of backing someone into a corner was not always the best idea.

Hearing a thump from behind she turned just in time for the sentinel to breach her stone wall and send her flying into a nearby car and then be covered in the rubble of the wall she’d just used for protection. The large thump on the car caused the alarm to trigger and now that’s all she could hear ringing in her ears as she rose out of the rock.

“Surrender mutant.” A sentinel spoke with a monotone voice.

“I’m. Not. A. Mutant.” Maeve growled as a little trickle of blood began to cascade down from her hairline.

Her temper began to rise and the ground rumbled. The building next to them began to shake, small dust clouds began to form where bricks met mortar.

“Motion detected. Retre–” Was all the second one could say before the wall/side of the building came down on top of it.

People within the building looked on in shock as they watched part of their home fall. Before long their eyes would shift to the sentinel and the lone small girl outside the once safe space.

Maeve was breathing heavily now. This whole thing had taken a lot of energy and concentration, even more than she thought she had in her body after the last couple of weeks.

As the wall had fallen she had moved to hide behind a large SUV. She could hear the clunking movement of the sentinel scanning for her. She could feel its eyes on her even now as she protected herself behind cover.

For a moment she could be impressed by the technology but then again over the past two years everything she’d learned seemed even a little magical. To come from a more modest world in Keel and be exposed to a much larger world with so much and now this.

Hearing about sentinels was one thing, being charged at by three of them quite another.

A gush of air behind her lifted the SUV from the ground and she was face to face with her last attacker. Its face devoid of emotion, its movement harsh and manufactured. It grabbed Maeve and began to squeeze her so she couldn’t escape.

Maeve began to struggle to breath, her vision becoming a little blurry and the sound of her heart began to slow. Then a small crackling sound could be heard ever so faintly before a whoosh of air blasted her face. A small spike shot up and detached the hand free from the sentinel's body forcing it to drop her. Landing with a thump she could only watch as the sentinel took a tumble backwards before the shade of light in its eyes changed. It looked more violent, almost angry, which in a machine is an achievement.

Quickly a couple more spikes flew from the ground and pinned the sentinel in place.

Maeve could almost feel the happiness even if it was fleeting. She knew she had to run.

And run she did.

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