Sparrows

by Laura Mae

  Silas stayed sitting with his feet over the edge of the seat, facing outwards Devon and Jet took Lacey back into the woods on the other side.

  “We’ll come with,” Harold said as he grabbed a shovel.

  Jet kept walking. He didn’t have the energy to say no. Sydona could tell all he wanted to do was cry.

  The group walked behind Jet as they entered the woods to say their goodbyes to Lacey. Sydona, Silas and Raoul stayed behind.

  “Silas, how did she escape?” Sydona asked.

  “She was talking to me about my family and kept asking questions. Like, really in-depth questions. Stuff I hadn’t thought about in years. And somehow, during that time, she unlocked the damn cuffs and ran off…”

  “Didn’t you have a gun?” Raoul asked, just as confused as Sydona.

  “Exactly. I should have checked to make sure there was ammo… I had never used this gun before. The weight felt fine to me, so I didn’t bother to check. I’m such an idiot.” He bounced his head off the back of the seat a few times, then rested it. “You guys should just go on without me.”

  “What? No, we would never do that,” [SD322][LM323][SD324]Sydona said softly and touched his arm. “Come on. Let’s go down. Give our condolences.”

  Silas limped out of the truck, and Raoul sprinkled him with fairy dust. She took the keys and locked the door before helping Silas down the hill. The group didn’t go far, and a few of them were already busy digging a hole in the ground for Lacey. Devon lay next to Lacey, while Avani was off gathering foliage for the grave.

  Once they had made the hole big enough to put Lacey to rest, words were spoken. Knox admired her spunk and positive attitude on life. Avani knew how much she loved Jet and Devon, and it showed in everything she did. Willow said she always had a smile or a face of deathly seriousness. She fought for everything she had. Harold didn’t know her as much but said he loved that he was able to meet her. Silas mentioned the fun night at the cabin everyone had together and how entertaining she was. Devon had no words as he was too busy crying. He did utter something that sounded like ‘I’ll miss you, mom”. Raoul loved being in her presence as she always had positivity surrounding her and reminded him of a mother bear.

  It was Sydona’s turn. “Lacey… I didn’t know you for a very long time, but from what I learned about you, I knew you were an amazing person. You were welcoming, warm, hilarious, your dance moves were out of this world… You will be greatly missed and cherished. Miss you, Lacey.”

  Jet was last to speak. The man of many words. “Lace--” he paused to choke on tears. Sydona never saw his face so red. His cheeks were fresh with tears glistening in the sunlight that peeked through the trees. The pure, unashamed feelings had Sydona swallowing her own tears. He was a person, after all, who had great feelings for a girl. A girl who would never stand by his side again. He was fragile and vulnerable. Seeing him that way let Sydona feel empathy for him. He had a great deal of loss in his life as well.

  He continued. “--I know we weren’t the most perfect couple. God knows we weren’t. I never deserved you. Not a single day we were together. I’ll never understand why you stuck around through all my shit. All you did was carry me while I constantly weighed you down. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known…” he paused to catch his breath. “After Devon lost his own mom, you stepped in to instantly fill that void in his life. I can’t speak for him, but you did an amazing job. You kicked being a mom’s ass. I don’t think I’ll be able to fill your shoes, but I’ll do everything I can…” He looked down at Devon who was hugging his leg. “Anyway. I love you, Lacey. And I don’t care if everyone standing around here hates me. As long as I have you in my heart, that’s all I need.”

  He took one last long look at her grave decorated with white flowers and red berries and headed back up toward the road. Jet didn’t look back. The group headed back up to the truck still sitting on the edge of the road.

  “So, Nat got away, huh?” Knox said with a sigh.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Knox… she’s like a wizard,” Silas said.

  “She is. And please, never call me Mister Knox again. It’s just… weird,” he said with a smile.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Well, what’s our next plan of action, y’all?” Willow spoke up.

  “I wouldn’t mind finding a place with a shower… or running water of some kind,” said Sydona.

  “Whoo-wee, girl! You smell worse than me,” Harold joked and waved a hand in front his face.

  It somehow made her giggle. “Thanks, Harold.”

  Knox pulled out the map to see where they were. After several minutes of deliberating, they figured out that they were in Colorado. Mountains lined the horizon. Both flying and driving would be difficult. Sydona had never seen the mountains up close before, but she knew it wouldn’t be easy.

  “We won’t be able to fly from here on out. But this truck won’t hold all of us,” Knox said.

  “Not without turning some heads,” Harold commented.

  “Those other Vultures had to get here somehow. Harold and me will look to see if they had a vehicle somewheres,” Willow said and saluted Knox.

  The two went off into the forest again, and they held hands on their way. It was still strange to see Willow like that and to see Harold being a decent person. Harold was a prime example of how people could change. She searched around for Jet, but he was nowhere in sight.

  “You guys seen Jet anywhere?”

  “I think he went back to the grave. Poor chico…” Avani said.

  Even Avani was beginning to feel sad for him. Sydona went back down there with Raoul flying by her side. The leaves were somehow both wet and crunchy. There was no way to sneak up on Jet, but then again, she didn’t really want to. She just wanted to be by his side. He was in a dangerously fragile position. His dark hair shone in the sunlight, and he tilted his head backward, then forward. Cries of sorrow made their way back to her ears, and she walked slower. Her heart crumbled at his vulnerable state. Jet was a metal barbed wire fence, an invisible forcefield, a castle with a hundred-foot moat. She wasn’t sure why, but she needed to get through to him. He had a lot of pain, that was obvious. But now that Lacey was gone, he had no one left to talk to.

  Her boot snapped a twig apart, and Jet pivoted his body.

  “Who’s there?” he asked. “Oh, Sydona. What do you want?”

  “I’m here, too!” Raoul added with a sour tone.

  Sydona walked normally and answered. “Just came to see her again.”

  Jet lowered his head and turned back to the grave.

  Sydona stood a few feet away from him. Her heart pounded and throat throbbed. She wondered if Jet could hear it. He wiped his face on each side and took another drink. Sydona saw the flask from the corner of her eye. She had no plan on what to say to him, but she tried something.

  “You mind if I have some?”

  “No, you still owe me from last time,” he replied without skipping a beat.

  “Well, it’s not like we’re stopping at a store or anything for me to get you back. Just a sip.”

  He didn’t look at her but held it out just barely. “Fine, whatever. Just a sip.”

  She grabbed it from him and put it in her back pocket.

  “What are you doing?” he asked and finally looked her in the eye.

  “You don’t need this stuff. Trust me.”

  “Fuck you, give it back!”

  “Let’s just talk.” Sydona stood her ground with a high chin.

  “I don’t want to talk. Just give it back!”

  Sydona stepped back as Jet got closer with his hand out.

  “I know it hurts, Jet. But alcohol is only temporary. It won’t fix what’s going on.”

  “It’s not temporary if I constantly have it, so give it here.”

  “No.”

  Jet put his hand down and reached for his gun. He aimed it directly at her.

  Her heart pounded even harder, but she didn’t move.
r />   Raoul whispered in her ear. “Uh, Syd. Maybe you should give it back now…”

  “You willing to kill me to get this? That’s what it means to you?”

  Jet used both hands to steady his shaking. “Yes.”

  “I don’t believe you…”

  “I’ll shoot you, Sydona. I swear I will.” Jet hardened his face aside from more tears leaking out from his reddened auburn eyes. He wasn’t angry. He was afraid.

  “Your eyes are brown, Jet. I know you don’t want to kill me.”

  Jet’s hands shook like leaves. They began to crumble. He squeezed his almond eyes shut and dropped the gun. “Fuck.”

  He then took off running past Sydona. He went so fast she knew he wanted to fly away. Not on her watch.

  She ran after him.

  “Raoul, help me out.”

  “You got it, captain!”

  Jet weaved in and out of the trees to find a clearing but then turned his head back and saw Sydona chasing after him. “Leave me alone!”

  “No!”

  Soon, he took off flying, and Sydona followed him up into the air. She soared as fast as she could, but Jet still kept a good distance between them. Wind stung her face and eyes as she flew roughly five-hundred feet in the air. Raoul worked vigorously to keep her afloat. With only one and not a whole group though, he didn’t need to donate as much dust. She still felt bad and straightened herself out as much as she could to catch up to him. Her arms stuck to her body like magnets, and she pointed her toes.

  “Jet! Stop running!” she yelled as loud as she could.

  The wind carried his voice back to her. “Stop following me, then!”

  “No! We need to talk!”

  Sydona narrowed her eyes, hoping that would somehow make her go faster. “What would Lacey say to you right now?”

  He didn’t answer right away, but he slowed down slightly. “Don’t bring her into this!”

  Sydona used one leg to push herself further. She didn’t know if it would work, but she thought pushing the air back could boost her forward more. It was either that or Jet slowed down because she caught hold of his foot.

  “Get off!” he said as Sydona climbed up his leg.

  “I’m not leaving, so you might as well land!”

  Jet kicked his leg trying to get Sydona off him, but her grip was deadly tight. He went for the gun in his holster and fumbled. It fell five-hundred feet back to Earth.

  “Damnit.”

  “Jet, you’re not getting rid of me. Just land so we can talk!” she said as she climbed up farther, trying to freak him out enough to land.

  Jet kicked his knee hard into Sydona’s stomach. She winced with pain but balled her fist up and punched him in his jaw. It was hard enough to throw him off balance, and they began to fall. Raoul did his best to keep both of them dusted, but they continued to descend. [LM325]

  “You’re gonna kill us!” Jet screamed as he tried to pry Sydona off more.

  “If you just listen to me, we won’t!” Sydona retorted.

  She finally pushed herself off, and within seconds, they both fell into the lake below. Sydona plummeted like a missile far into the depths of the water. Her body instantly froze. She felt water leak into her lungs, and she wanted to cough. With nothing to push off from, she had to swim as fast as she could back to the surface. Once her face hit sunlight, she gasped for sweet oxygen. Her lungs retaliated, and she coughed, but the choppy waters kept putting water back in. With her energy quickly draining, she struggled to swim to land.

  They both crawled onto the semi-sandy shore. Dead logs, branches, rocks and broken shells littered the beach, making it hard to lay down for a second to catch a breath. She managed to find a soft bit of sand to rest. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jet slink away from her. He was escaping again.

  She jumped to her feet and quickly grabbed his foot. “Jet! Stop it! Stop flying away!”

  “Leave me alone, Sydona,” he said with a voice of defeat. But he still tried to kick her.

  Sydona had enough. She mustered up all her strength, turned him over and sat on top of him.

  “Arg, get off!” he grumbled and weakly squirmed around.

  “Talk to me.”

  He moaned again and kept his eyes shut. “Just let me die…”

  As Sydona sat on top of him, it felt almost as if he deflated. Raoul and Sydona exchanged a worried look. She knew he wasn’t alright but had no clue he felt that depressed.

  “Jet…”

  “Let me fucking die!” he screamed then began to sob.

  She was speechless. In his current condition, she was sure he wouldn’t be running away, so she got off him and sat by his side. What was she supposed to say? She wasn’t a therapist. But she did know how he might be feeling. Before she could say something, he continued.

  “I can’t be a father. I don’t know how to take care of a kid. He doesn’t even like me…”

  “You’re talking about Devon? Don’t be silly; of course he likes you!” Sydona said confidently. She honestly wasn’t sure though.

  “He likes you more than me. You saw what he did to Knox to protect you.”

  “What? No. He would've done the same for you…”

  “Lacey took care of him. I only watched him when she wasn’t around. And even then, he has no reason to be under my care.” His emotions were draining.

  “What do you mean?” Sydona asked.

  Jet took a deep breath and sat up to face the vast lake. He grabbed a twig and peeled the bark off little by little. “My best friend was the one who killed Devon’s parents…”

  “What?” Sydona said as she let out all the air in her lungs.

  “What does that have to do with you?” Raoul asked.

  “His wife is really sick. [SD326][LM327][SD328]All the doctors he’s talked to won’t see them because she’s a flier. So, he asked me for money, and I turned him down because I just don’t have any. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t. The day he came into that store and tried robbing it, I guess he was just that desperate. He got so nervous that he just shot them both. If he didn’t see me, he might have killed more. Maybe even Devon… But…” he sighed again, reliving everything. “If I had just given him the money or something, none of it would’ve happened.”

  “You can’t blame yourself for that. You didn’t have the money,” Sydona said softly.

  “But I could've helped somehow! Called around more, sold shit, something. But instead I did absolutely nothing. Not only was I a crappy friend, I’ll be a crappy dad.”

  Sydona timidly put her hand on his shoulder. “There may not be anything you can do about the past, but you can still change the future, Jet. You can’t assume you’ll be bad. You have time. And Devon does like you.”

  Jet hung his head low and drew in the sand with his stick. “I miss her so much…” He turned around and hugged Sydona. Taken off guard, she took a few seconds to picture what he was doing to her. He wrapped both arms around her wet clothes and squeezed. He was broken. She couldn’t fix him, but she would be there for him while he put the pieces back together. Her arms gingerly touched him back. She let him hold her while she listened to the waves of the gray water crash against the barren shore. Catching her breath, she then felt his heart as his chest pressed against hers. If she listened hard enough, she thought she could hear it beat irregularly as if it had recently been shattered[SD329]. Maybe it was all in her head. Maybe it wasn’t.

  They pulled apart, and Jet hid his face. “Sorry... “

  Sydona smiled. “It’s alright. You’re not so bad, Jet.”

  “Ha. Thanks, I guess.” He stood up and dusted the sand off his clothes.

  “I’m glad you told me about that.”

  “Yeah,” he sniffed. “Me too. Can I have my flask back now?”

  Sydona furrowed her brows. “Uh, I thought we had a breakthrough here.”

  “Sure, but I’m still thirsty. And it’s my flask. My dad gave that to me.”

  “Oh, um... Well,
we flew for however long, then fell into a lake. I don’t know where I lost it.”

  Jet rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding me right now?”

  Sydona shrugged. Jet sighed heavily and walked away from the shore and into the woods.

  “Where are you going?” Raoul asked.

  “Back to the group. Where do you think?”

  Sydona and Raoul grinned at one another. “I thought you said everyone hated you,” said Sydona as she followed him.

  “I did, but Devon’s back there.”

  The three walked through the woods until they found another clearing. They quickly realized they had flown farther than they thought. It would take too long to get there on foot. Once they hit the air, it was simpler to navigate where they came from. The road helped lead them back as well. Five minutes later, they landed next to the truck and a van that Willow and Harold must’ve found.[SD330]

  “Why you two so wet?” Avani shrieked and laughed.

  “Jet!” Devon called out and ran toward him with a big, gap-toothed smile.

  “Hey, bud.” Jet rubbed Devon’s head.

  “Yeah, why are you all wet?” Devon asked.

  “Long story, Dev.”

  Sydona joined Knox who was busy searching through the other car. There wasn’t much to find though. The SUV looked brand new, Mercedes class. There were no other weapons, tools, maps, nothing.

  “Everything good?” Knox asked as he searched through the glovebox.

  Sydona shrugged. “I guess. Jet was at a pretty low point. But he should be okay now…”

  “Great.” Knox slammed the glovebox door shut. “I know he just lost Lacey, and he might be going through something right now, but…” he lowered his voice, “I’m thinking we need to cut him loose. He’s too unstable for this mission.”

  “You want to leave him behind?” Sydona said with narrowed eyes, a little irritated after everything she just did for him. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Knox.”

  “Are you questioning my tactics?” he asked, stepping out of the car.

  Sydona stepped back. “No, but… you didn’t see what I saw. He let everything out with me. He’s going to be fine.”