Chapter 17: Brazen Debut
Elias, still braced against the seat, turned to look out the window.
At the front of the bus, the PCA officer rose from his seat. He tugged his brimmed hat low over his brow, straightened his crisp jacket, and strode toward the driver. "Open the doors," he ordered, his tone sharp, commanding without needing to be loud. "I'll deal with this."
The doors hissed open, and the officer stepped out with purposeful steps, the sound of his boots hitting the ground echoing faintly inside the bus.
Elias craned his neck to get a better view through the front window. About fifty yards away, a figure stood in the middle of the roadway, his posture steady despite the glare of the bus's headlights. He wore a battered jacket, the fabric frayed at the edges, and his head tilted slightly forward as though daring someone to approach him.
Above him, something hovered, too far away to make out clearly. Elias squinted, catching sight of what looked like a large, dark shape circling above the man's head. It was unlike anything Elias had seen before—vaguely animalistic, with a hulking presence that almost defied logic at this distance.
"What is that?" Elias muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Dot floated up from his shoulder, her wings twitching slightly. She stared intently at the figure in the road, her tone cautious. "It looks like... another Ikona," she murmured.
Elias's brows furrowed as his gaze darted between the man and the strange creature. The black form hovered ominously above its host, its size and shape markedly different from Dot's delicate frame. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly.
The officer had stopped a few feet away from the man, his stance firm and unyielding. "This is a restricted route," he barked, his voice cutting through the stillness. "You're trespassing. State your name and your reason for being here!"