by A Lonergan
I inwardly groaned again when I saw the smirk on his face. He was such an animal. Hell, he was worse than an animal. He had to be. Either that or he was a mind reader. I couldn't make up my mind on which one was worse.
Great.
Chapter 4
Crawley
I paid for my hamburger and pocketed the change. I didn't see any reason to use my compulsion when it came to food or regular services. Money wasn't an issue and I didn't see any reason in going through the trouble. There were always complications when it came to compulsion.
Having to wipe security cameras and bystanders was too much of a hassle. Plus, I didn't like leaving people with gaps in their memory. It almost seemed cruel, no matter what I had done in the past.
I unwrapped my burger as I was walking back to Jessa. She had her eyes narrowed at the bag I was holding in my other hand. I practically threw it at her, but she caught it with ease and immediately dug into the french fries scattered at the bottom. I didn't mind at all, the grease made me nauseous. Fast food typically didn't agree with me... but there weren’t many at the bottom anyway. She glared at me as she shoveled the few fries into her mouth.
“I love getting the crumbs,” she said and rolled her eyes. I was starting to realize it was her signature look.
“If you don’t tell me what you want then that’s all you’ll get.” I gave her a mock smile. She gave me an incredulous look. “You didn’t even ask!”
“Well, you’re an independent woman, aren’t you? Equal rights and blah blah?” I knew I was hitting a nerve by the way her eyes got big, but I chose to egg her on some more. “What can I get you, Princess?” She crumpled up the bag and threw it at my face. I had hit a huge nerve and it was way too amusing. She was cute when she was angry.
I raked my fingers through my hair and decided to give her a break. I gave her a sympathetic look, almost as an apology, and rested my elbows on my knees. I had just dumped a lot onto her and now I was being a jerk.
I inhaled suddenly and whipped my eyes toward Jessa. Attraction was radiating off of her. She looked embarrassed and turned away from me. The scent was gone almost immediately. I wondered for a second what had made her so attracted. Did she like that I was teasing her? That I was making her angry or helping her to forget what was happening?
Sometimes I could hardly sense her emotions. I had picked up on the nervous scratching she did at least an hour after she had pressed her gun to my temple. Thank the gods for that, or I would have never been able start to figuring her out. She was too good at hiding her emotions. Her mother had taught her well.
I zeroed in on her scratching her fingernail as we boarded the plane, then she scratched her cheek, and then her neck. I felt the corners of my mouth turn up; I tried to control it, but hell, my lips had a mind of their own, especially when she amused me. I could sniff out most of her emotions and anger was a strong one, but she had a lot of things that gave it away.
One of those being the fact that she flared her nostrils out and it was damn hilarious. I could hardly hold in my laughter when she got angry at my knowing smirks. She definitely had a temper.
She swung herself into a seat and placed her back against the window. Her eyes flicked to the few passengers boarding around us. She clearly hated to be cornered. I let myself plunk down into the aisle seat. She narrowed her eyes at me. I had been looking for her or someone like her for years.
Being cornered didn’t bother me anymore. I knew my strengths and I could get myself out of almost any situation. There had been a few situations that had made me question my own sanity and how long I was actually going to live.
I had never expected her to be such a firecracker or for her not to know what the hell was going on. I figured her mother would have prepared her at least a little bit. Her mother must have been more protective of her than we had anticipated. I had also expected Jessa to have had her first vision already, but I still wasn’t sure how those worked yet. I wondered if Jessa even knew. I didn’t think anyone but Artemis knew anyhow and she was difficult to get in touch with.
I hoped that her grandmother, Shaskia, was still in Alaska. If Shaskia hadn’t told me where to find Jessa, I would still be in Canada or worse, searching out big cities like I had been for the last few years. I had lived near Shaskia long enough not knowing the truth.
I doubted many people really knew anyway. Shaskia was not an open book and she wasn't one for answers either. She didn’t like many people and she didn’t have many friends, which wasn’t surprising. She barely put up with the Elders and they hardly put up with her.
Jessa glanced at me again and narrowed her eyes. She was just like Shaskia and that was obnoxious. One Shaskia was more than enough.
Jessa didn’t give me any glimpses into her mind, but I was curious. I knew she was wary of my knowledge of her grandmother, and she had every right to be, but I hoped that she would see that I was telling the truth after we got there. I hoped she would open up to me after that, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath. I wasn’t exactly the friendliest person.
I leaned across the middle seat and said, “Stop worrying; you’ll find all the answers you’re looking for soon. Maybe.” I winked at her, and for a second thought she was going to tear me to shreds, but she closed her eyes and her breathing became deeper. The emotions started to fade and her scowl slowly left her face. She took on a whole different persona when she slept. She almost looked relaxed.
Almost.
But then her eyelids started twitching and I realized what she was doing. She was stretching her senses across the plane. There was not going to be any relaxing for the next 3 hours, and she would probably flip out when she saw the small box we would have to ride in to actually get to our destination. I didn't know how to handle a moody woman but I'd probably end up doing it wrong, judging by how Jessa had reacted to me already.
I stretched my arms over my head and closed my eyes. It was going to be a very long trip.
The jerky movements of the airplane jolted Jessa awake; her hand flew out and she gripped my arm tightly. Her eyes searched the plane frantically but she relaxed when I gave her a small smile. I hoped I was doing this right. I’d never had to comfort a woman before. I felt odd.
I stretched my arm out and ran my hand down the length of her arm until I got to her small fingers. I could see her giving me a curious glance as I threaded my fingers through hers.
“We’re about to land; it’s all right.”
She looked down at her feet and ignored me. I hadn’t expected much but I could feel her starting to relax. There was less tension in the air and her posture wasn’t so rigid.
When the plane finally started to land, it jerked forward and Jessa’s grip on my hand became bone breaking. I held my breath at the pain shooting through my hand. I was pretty sure she had broken the skin, and that wasn’t an easy feat for most people.
The plane bumped and jerked some more before it came to a screeching halt. The flight attendant came over the intercom and Jessa gave me a funny look.
A few seconds later, the seatbelt light above our heads signaled that we could finally unbuckle. People started to file out of the plane but Jessa stayed still. Finally, she stood up and we followed all of the other passengers off of the big machine. I followed closely behind her, hoping that it would make her feel better about being cornered. I zeroed in on every step she took; her legs shook the entire walk off the plane and through the terminal.
She gave me a relieved look when we made it into the small airport. Her eyes flashed gold and I was mesmerized. I hoped she wouldn’t kill me when we got to our next flight.
Every preconceived notion I had about the woman in front of me was wrong. She was so confusing. Jessa stared at the small, 3-seater plane in wonder and awe. She gave me a wide- eyed look. Her tan cheeks were rosy and a breeze was ruffling her dark hair. I found myself distracted by her beauty and wondered how Apollo hadn’t discovered her yet. It had taken me this long but he was a god, he shou
ld have more resources than I did.
“So this is the little beauty, aye, about to bring us to my grandmother?” She patted the side of the airplane and gave me a wide grin. It was so breathtaking I had to look away. I wasn’t completely sure I was with the same woman.
Maybe the first flight had done her some good?
Maybe I had been able to comfort her enough and she was finally starting to trust me. But with her change of mood and the smile she kept throwing my way, I was starting to get distracted. I didn’t want to throw her mixed signals, but I couldn’t afford to get wrapped up and she couldn’t either.
Jessa was too beautiful and I didn’t know how the hell I was going to get over sitting so close to her again. Gods knew that her grandmother would sweep her away as quickly and as far away from me as possible. I would put money on it. Nothing good would come from her falling for me and everyone knew it. Especially Shaskia, she somehow knew everything anyway.
She stared at me hard and I wished for a moment I could read her thoughts. Her lips turned up in a smile and I had to look away. It grated at me just how much of a mystery she was. I wondered if other men had this problem and if all women were so hard to read.
Probably.
Chapter 5
Jessa
I didn’t know where the confidence had come from. I didn’t understand the trust and feelings that were starting to develop toward the guy that was seated next to me. He had given me so much emotion in just a short airplane ride. He showed me that he wasn’t as cocky as I had originally thought. It gave me hope that there were more sides to him than what I was seeing. He wasn’t just an ego with a sarcastic attitude. It gave me a small amount of hope.
But he hadn’t looked at me much the entire ride to the little plane I was now sitting in. As I had buckled myself in, he stayed silent and brooding. I hoped for a second that he would pick up my hand in his rough one again. I liked that side of him. When he didn’t, I slumped in my seat. I tried to give him encouraging looks and even scooted closer to him, anything to help drop hints.
No luck.
I could feel my cheeks getting hot with embarrassment. I couldn’t believe I had let myself believe that he had actually cared. He sure changed his tune quickly! I huffed and turned to look out the window and watched the clouds around us.
I fell asleep again. Something about the nausea of flying combined with the feeling of rejection and emotional drainage could do that to you. As I opened my eyes, I realized something wasn’t right. I could feel panic coming off the pilot in giant waves. Each one that hit me made me sicker than the last. I felt panicked too and looked to Crawley, hoping he could fix this.
He was knocked out cold. I frowned and tried to undo my seatbelt. He needed to wake up now! This wasn’t like him; he was usually always on his guard. The plane dropped and my stomach went with it.
Gulp.
I yanked on the seatbelt but it was locked and wouldn’t budge. My breathing was starting to pick up and I knew I was close to a panic attack.
“Crawley, you need to wake up now!”
The plane seemed to straighten out and I couldn’t feel the pilot’s emotions as strongly any more. I wiped my sweating palms down the sides of my jeans. This is what I had been worried about with the first damn flight!
The plane dropped again and this time Crawley was wide-awake. He gave me a surprised, lazy smile and my heart skipped. For a second I wondered if it was because the plane going haywire or because of his insane good looks.
Ugh.
He laughed at something he said but I didn’t hear it. All I could hear was the engine failing and the pilot’s heavy breathing. Crawley kept laughing at the joke he made, probably so he could ease the tension, but it didn’t change anything. It didn’t ease the panic in my head.
The plane dropped again and started to bump up and down. I didn't care what happened to me in that moment. In that moment, everything stood still.
“Looks like you were nervous for the wrong flight.” Ah, there was the Crawley I hated. But I couldn’t form any words. The sound of the pilot’s heart had me in a trance; it was going entirely too fast. The pilot turned his graying head toward us just slightly.
“I would recommend grabbing the extra parachutes in the back of the plane.” His voice shook and I knew he was more afraid than I was.
Crawley was reacting too slowly and I couldn’t find my voice. I fumbled with my seat belt, wracking my brain for some hidden memory for what should do in this situation.
Nothing came to me and I became desperate. The seatbelt still wouldn't budge. I was trying not to cry, but my eyes were already stinging. I took a deep breath to slow my thoughts and the panic that was setting in.
Crawley seemed to have the same problem, but then he did something unthinkable. Suddenly, his hand wasn't a hand anymore and a huge paw was in its place. I blinked, trying to make sense of what was happening before me. He had said something about a beast, but ‘crazy’ was what I had been thinking! Not this!
Crawley's seatbelt gave away to one of his sharp claws, but before he could reach me, the plane jerked and threw him to the other side. His head knocked the side of the plane hard and I saw his eyes blinking against the pain he must have felt.
He pushed against the metal wall of the plane and gave me a determined look. I couldn't help but sense his underlying fear. He reached for me but was too late. The plane jerked again, my head was knocked back, and the world went black.
I blinked against the pain in my skull and groaned at the pressure on my lower body. I fought for consciousness and could barely make out the sun beating down on me, though I was freezing and my body was shaking uncontrollably.
I covered my eyes with my arm and glanced down at the lower half of my body. A large section of the plane was biting into my abdomen and the other sections were scattered about the snow around me.
Red liquid was painted on the white ground around me, but I refused to believe it was Crawley's even though he was nowhere in sight. I prayed that he had escaped in time; that he had thrown himself from the plane before we crashed, but I knew just hoping and praying was useless.
I shoved against the gleaming metal, hoping my strength would be enough.
It wasn't.
I knew what I had to do even though it would hurt. I closed my eyes and bit my lip as I used the seat I was pinned under to my advantage.
I screamed as I shoved up and tried to pull my body from the wreckage. The pain in my stomach was blinding, but I kept pushing up and began wiggling my body. I used the blood seeping from me as a lubricant and managed to slip free. Tears spilled from my eyes as I tried to catch my breath. Stars danced around my vision as I tried to stay conscious.
I fell to the littered snow in a heap and covered the gash that I had made worse with the palm of my hand. Warmth oozed between my fingers, but I was determined to find Crawley. He was the only one that could help me; he was the only one that could save us. I didn't know where the trust had come from, but my mind was in a panic.
I pushed myself onto my knees when a familiar voice filled my head. "Let the Games begin, my love."
The words confirmed my fears: the plane crash hadn’t been an accident. Whatever I had been running from became very real and very terrifying. I had almost died, and I still didn’t know if Crawley had survived.
Dread overthrew the pain in my body and I fought harder to stand. The familiar voice tugged at my subconscious but I couldn't figure out who it was. All I knew was that my fear was all too real, and that everything that my mother had done for me would be in vain if I didn’t get up and find the idiot man that had annoyed me this entire trip. The man that had made my heart go in five different directions in the span of a few hours.
I struggled to stand but struggled harder to push the negative thoughts from my mind. I knew that if I let the demons into my head, they would drag me down. My mother had always said that nothing good came from negative thoughts; that you had to be positive even
in the worst situations so that the enemy could never fully win. Thoughts were powerful, and I had never believed her until now. I needed my wits if I was going to survive.
I followed the wreckage for a few feet and found Crawley discarded in a large snow- covered bush. He was unconscious and had blood all over his body, but the only cut I could see was on his forehead. Blood flowed from it freely, but I ignored it to check his pulse.
It was strong and steady. I breathed a sigh of relief and tore a strip of fabric off of my sweater, right below the gash on my stomach. I was surprised my sweater had survived being up against the sharp metal of the plane. I wrapped the soft, partially bloody, material around his head just as his eyes started to flutter open.
"We need to leave! Now!" He was up before I could object.
I put my hand on his arm and tried to slow him. "Crawley, stop. The pilot is probably dead and you're hurt!" I looked around the wreckage to make a point. The pilot was nowhere in sight, but all of the blood on the snow couldn't have come from just the two of us, especially since Crawley still looked like he had come out of a magazine. I wanted to roll my eyes but tried to remember the purpose of this trip.
I tried to remind myself to stay positive again. We had both almost died, but this all could have been much worse. For some reason, we were alive and spared.
His eyes grew dark as he looked me over. "We must hurry," he said. Snow was beginning to fall and I knew it wasn't a coincidence. Our luck wouldn't be looking up anytime soon.
Crawley browsed around the wreckage for a moment until he spotted my backpack. He yanked it out of the metal and snow and looked at me expectantly. He held his hand out to me and I took it carefully in mine, still unsure of everything.
Blood was dripping into his eyes as he started trekking up the side of the mountain we had crashed into. I tried to keep up as my legs fumbled in the snow and protested against the steep climb. The pain in my stomach made me want to cry but I ignored it.
