Stitch's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

Stitch and Lilo ran until the boots faded behind them. The trees thinned. Ahead sat one of the hunters' ships, low and dark on the grass. Only two guards stood near it. The rest had gone deep into the forest, chasing shadows. Stitch stopped and stared. A ship could carry them to his cousin faster than any trail on foot. But he had never flown one like it. "That's our way out," Lilo whispered. She crouched beside him behind a fallen bunny that hopped away into the brush, its long ears flopping. "If you can drive it." Stitch waited for the guards to walk to the far side. Then he darted across the open ground and slipped through the open hatch. Lilo followed close, small and quick. Inside, the cockpit glowed with strange lights. Rows of buttons covered the panel. None had words he knew. His claws hovered over them. He pressed one. Nothing. He pressed another. A hum rose, then died. "Hurry," Lilo breathed. She watched the hatch. "They'll come back." Stitch shut his eyes. He was built for machines. His hands knew engines the way Lilo's knew her sandals. He stopped guessing and started feeling. His claws traced the panel. He found a groove, then a switch shaped for a bigger hand. He turned it. The engine woke under them with a deep growl. Outside, the guards shouted. Boots pounded toward the hatch. Lilo grabbed a lever near the door and yanked it. The hatch slammed shut just as a fist hit the metal. "Go, go, go!" she yelled. Stitch found the last piece. A round grip sat in the center of the panel. He pushed it forward. The ship lurched up off the grass. His stomach dropped. The trees fell away below. He steered wide, then leveled out. Wind roared past the hull. They were flying. "You did it!" Lilo grabbed his arm and laughed. Stitch grinned wide. He had a ship now. He had the coordinates in his head. He could reach his cousin at last. Then a red light blinked on the panel. It pulsed fast. A soft tone beeped with it, over and over. Stitch's grin fell. He tapped the light. The tone grew louder. Lilo leaned close to the glass panel beside it. Small shapes moved across a grid, tiny dots rising up behind them. "Stitch," she said slowly. "What is that?" He understood. The stolen ship was still tied to the others. Its own signal called them. Every hunter in the doubled force could see exactly where it flew. He had traded his hiding place for speed. Now he was the brightest target in the sky, dragging the whole pack straight toward his cousin. "Ohana," Stitch said, tight. He gripped the controls harder and pushed the ship faster. "They coming."