Marshall Teller looked up as a uniformed soldier unlocked his room and stepped inside with his weapon drawn. Before he had a chance to react, the guard spoke.

"Don't do anything stupid, Teller. Pretend you don't know me, we're on security cam but they can't hear us. Come with me and act like you're my prisoner."

The guard had his cap pulled down low so Marshall couldn't see his face clearly but he instantly recognized the voice, it belonged to Dash X. It took all of his will power not to laugh, cry, break into a happy dance, or hug his friend. The two of them had been through pure hell together. They had been separated shortly after they had been captured and Marshall had been afraid he would never see his weird friend again. The uniformed figure motioned him to the door with a lethal looking automatic pistol. The two of them stepped outside, Marshall first, followed closely by Dash. There was a stripped down golf cart waiting and Dash motioned for the boy to get inside then he climbed in the diver's seat and started the electric motor.

"We're getting the fuck outta Dodge, buddy, hang on tight." Dash floored the small vehicle which lurched ahead and zipped down the concrete passage at a respectable 14 mph.

"Thanks for coming back for me, man! I thought those assholes were going to shoot me for sure!" Marshall smiled from ear to ear. Dash smiled back. "Not on my watch, buddy! Not a chance!"

"Where'd you get the uniform and the cart? You didn't kill the previous owners did you?" Mars was only half joking. In the relatively short period he had known Dash he had seen him do some highly illegal and morally questionable things but deep down he didn't think he would actually kill anyone, at least he hoped he wouldn't.

Dash pushed the cap back on his head and looked at his friend with a mischievous grin. "What if I did? You gonna get all holy on me? This is war, buddy." Marshall looked shocked but Dash quickly set him straight. "Mars, you really think I could murder people? I am deeply offended." He didn't look offended though as he continued smiling broadly, switching from looking ahead to looking back at a confused Marshall. "Dude, I stole the uniform and the gun from the guard's barracks and I found the golf cart unattended by the air strip."

Marshall looked relieved. "How are we gonna get out of here? Don't tell me you're planning on driving this thing all the way back home."

Instead of answering, Dash continued driving. They soon came to a ramp that led up and out of the underground complex. As soon as they were outside, Marshall realized they were at the airfield. Dash drove the cart past a couple of hangers and straight up to a very high-tech looking helicopter. It was black, of course, the requisite color for bad guys, secret military organizations and apparently alien invaders.

Dash parked the small vehicle and jumped out. He prayed the doors to the chopper were unlocked. They were. After all, why would they lock it inside of an ultra-secure base? Dash opened the pilot's-side door and climbed in, but Marshall failed to follow his lead. Dash opened his window, stuck his head out and yelled back at his friend. "Well come on, princess! Get your lazy butt in this machine right now!"

Mars quickly obeyed and climbed inside the helicopter and took the seat next to his weird friend. Dash had put on the pilot's headset and was busy turning on various systems and checking the displays. "Buckle up, buddy. Once we're airborne we're hauling major ass!" Dash paused in his tasks long enough to tell Marshall to put on the co-pilot's headset. "It's about to get very loud in here, we'll need the headsets to hear each other."

Marshall obeyed. "Dash are you completely fucking nuts? You can't fly a helicopter! You're just a kid!" Marshall looked terrified.

"Mars, what's the one thing you are always telling people about me?" Dash looked very serious.

Marshall gave it a second or two of thought before answering. "Um, that you're smart? Really, really, really, smart?"

"Correct! I can learn anything and do it crazy quick! Listen, I made friends with one of the pilots, a young guy who seemed kind of lonely. I told him I wanted to be a chopper pilot and he took me along on a couple of supply runs. Believe me, I asked lots and lots of questions and I remember everything he did. This thing is incredibly high-tech and practically flies itself. I can do this, Marshall. Have a little faith, OK? I thought you believed in me but I guess you're just like everyone else in Weirdsville." Dash X did his best to look hurt.

"Sorry, man. If you say you can fly this thing than I believe you! Let's go!" Marshall knew he had been manipulated but he didn't care. He just wanted to go home and Dash flying them there in a stolen helicopter was his best chance.

Dash flipped one final set of switches and the powerful engine of the high performance military helicopter growled into life. Slowly, the main rotors started to turn. Dash pressed a button and spoke into his headset.

"Control, C-One Niner requesting clearance for take-off. Over." Both boys heard the immediate answer.

"C-One Niner, Control. Please state your destination and authorization. Observe protocol, pilot. Over."

The voice on the radio did not seem happy. Marshall gulped but Dash took it in stride and answered quickly.

"Control, C-One Niner, destination auxiliary Alpha. Authorization is Pegasus. Repeat, this is Pegasus. Over."

There was a pause. Marshall had to pee and hoped to god he didn't wet his pants. The pause continued. There was nothing but silence on the radio and Dash considered taking off without clearance. Marshall was actually thinking about jumping out of the chopper and running for it when the radio crackled.

"C-One Niner, Control. Affirmative, sir! Clearance granted, Pegasus. Have a good flight, sir! Control out."

The machine's engine spun up to full power and the whirling rotors became a blur. Dash proved himself a capable pilot as the chopper lifted slowly off the pad, tilted forward and gradually picked up speed and forward momentum. Dash did the helicopter equivalent of flooring the gas pedal and the sleek flying machine zoomed over the tops of buildings, and then trees. Within a minute they were flying high and fast over open countryside and were on their way home to Eerie at last.

Marshall stared at his friend with a combination of total admiration and complete awe. "So, why did the control tower get so polite all of a sudden?"

Dash laughed. "Pegasus is the personal top-secret code name of their fearless leader, that asshole general we met the first day we were captured."

Marshall laughed along with Dash but he was curious. "If it was so top secret then how did you get it?"

"My pilot friend. I forgot to tell you, he's the general's son. I got him drunk one night on a bottle of rum I swiped out of the commissary and I got it out of him. I doubt if he even remembers telling me."

The two boys exchanged fist bumps and settled down into their seats for the ride home. The instant they they were standing back on firm ground Mars hugged Dash tightly. Dash protested and rolled his eyes but hugged his emotional young friend back. The next day they were fighting again and as usual, it was over something entirely stupid. Things quickly got back to normal in Eerie, Indiana, the center of weirdness of the entire country if not the world and quite possibly the whole universe.