This is the third Neko story. The other two are Neko (ff 556), and Neko's Vacation (ff575)
I had not expected Colin to let me drive. I stood in his lap, clamped both paws around the steering wheel, and dug my claws in.
"Remember what I said," Colin added. "Gentle movements and watch out for others. I'll take care of the rest until you feel the magic."
I nodded, forced my ears forward, and looked at Luna. She appeared oblivious to the idea of a Siamese cat driving the car.
Luna had been that way pretty much from the moment she learned I could talk and that Colin was fae. It helped that she had magical abilities, but I thought she might be suffering from prolonged shock.
We were on a dirt road in the desert, so we didn't have to worry about other cars. I had to keep my eyes open for the local denizens, though. It was good practice for the much larger cars, which I hoped would be easier to spot and avoid.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
"Out of the wash. It might not be so dry soon," Colin ordered.
We'd been driving north on the flat stream bed for a few minutes, the banks too high to drive out on. Now I looked frantically around, hoping for an easy way out, though I suspected Colin would put wings on the car and fly if we had to.
Then I saw movement coming straight at us. Not water, my brain said. Coyotes. An entire pack of them. Maybe several packs. They swarm around and over us, their panic so strong that I started trembling --
"Luna, take Neko. Hold on."
I jumped into her arms. The ground started shaking, but I didn't think it was water.
No, it wasn't.
Elephants. A herd of elephants about a quarter mile away and not slowing.
"Time to run like the coyotes!" I shouted.
"Up!" Colin ordered.
The car made a feeble leap of about two feet and came back down. The elephants were closer.
I said nothing. I don't think I could have spoken. Luna seemed in much the same condition.
"Up, up, up!"
I looked into the startled eyes of a giant elephant who seemed as shocked as I was. Maybe that was because we were flying.
So were a half dozen elephants.
"Colin!" Luna shouted and waved her arms toward an elephant swimming along and about to --
CRUNCH
I couldn't see the damage, mainly because we were rolling. Luna held on so tight that my ribs hurt. I made no complaint about seeing other things flying around the car. A package of cookies hit Colin in the head.
It burst open with the scent of cinnamon and sugar. Pieces exploded outward, and several small creatures leaped up from the back seat to grab them.
"Colin, we've got chipmunks," Luna warned.
We were no longer tumbling as fast and the elephants had spread out. We all headed for the right-hand bank, car, and creatures (including the chipmunks), landing with ease.
Luna didn't let go of me. I didn't complain.
Then the rain started, and almost at the same time, I could hear the roar of water in the stream. I was sure the entire herd of elephants had gotten out. Somewhere nearby, I could hear coyotes barking. Everyone was safe.
Colin dropped back on his seat with a moan, his hands still tight on the steering wheel. He turned his head to look our way.
"That did not go right," he mumbled. Then he looked away with a start. We need to get off the edge. I hope I can get this thing to work!"
"There are elephants out there," Luna said as though we hadn't noticed. "Where did they come from?"
"I'll ask when we get a chance," Colin replied. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Now was not the time to badger him with questions, either. The car sputtered to life, caught hold, and moved a few feet before dying again. This time, the entire vehicle shimmered and almost faded away.
"No," Colin ordered. The car returned to normal. Well, normal for it. "We're safe here. Rest for a while."
I wanted answers. Instead, I got chipmunks curling up on my shoulders and elephants leaning against the car as they slept.
I turned my head to look at Luna. She gave a slight shrug. I guessed sleep wasn't a bad idea, though it wasn't that easy to go to sleep.
Especially when an elephant ducked his head and stared at me. It shifted slightly and I feared we would go tumbling again. Then, the colossal beast lowered his head even more and went to sleep.
My chipmunks slid down a little, grabbed my fur, and snuggled. I had started to protest and changed my mind. It was kind of nice.
I slept, waking more than once from nightmares and finally waking completely at the light of dawn. I stretched. The chipmunks protested.
By then, everyone was awake and staring out at the dismal morning. The rain had turned to a fine, silver mist that was almost a fog. It obscured everything more than four yards away, including another elephant that came our way and greeted our companions.
Colin moved and made a sound of protest.
"What is going on?" I asked.
"Something purposely drained me of power last night," he replied. He moved his fingers as though he hadn't expected them to work.
"Where did the elephants come from?" Luna asked.
"Probably the same place as the chipmunks," he replied. Colin might even have thought that made sense to us. I felt this was a problem with not being fae -- and not having lived among them, either.
Colin got the car running, though slowly. The elephants padded along beside us like a royal bodyguard. I still didn't trust them much, though.
The mist soon began to clear.
We were no longer in the desert.
