The last few months had been quieter between Preston and Scopes than Drake had expected. Soon after they arrived, she had everyone pick jobs out of a hat, as a way to make sure everyone did their part in keeping the ranch a nice place to live. Preston drew “septic tank maintenance,” and she’d laughed out loud. To Drake’s surprise, Preston had taken the assignment in good humor.
Preston and Scopes had started fighting again in the past couple of weeks, mostly about petty things and usually stemming from Preston doing something to rile her up. First, he snuck dogs and cats to the ranch, then he brought back a parrot he’d found near the zoo and left it in her room. Soon after that, he snatched her bowl of cereal when she wasn’t looking and replaced it with a dish of bird seed. Scopes usually got huffy but didn’t retaliate. It felt like a game at times. Maybe they’d grown bored and needed something to do.
Drake and Preston arrived in the stable, where Terry worked with a few others as they cleaned the deer carcass. Preston scrunched his nose. “I wonder if we have to clean and cook what we hunt if we eat it in our flier forms. Other animals don’t have to do that.”
“I can’t say that’s something I want to try.”
“You could probably eat a whole cow as a dragon.”
Drake became nauseated at the idea of hooves and hair rolling around in his stomach. Preston likely meant it as a joke, but the thought was disgusting. He went back to the house and made a peanut butter sandwich.
As he took a bite of his dinner, Drake cracked open the door of the stereo cabinet, trying to catch a peek of the ferrets without letting them out. Preston had used a baby-proofing latch over the adjacent handles to keep the animals from escaping.
Three ferrets occupied the space. Two slept; the other one munched from a small bowl of food. Laughing, Drake shut the door and redid the latch.
“Can you get them out?” Scopes asked from behind him.
“Oh, um…” He didn’t know she was watching him, and he didn’t want to get in the middle of her argument with Preston. “I don’t think so. They’ll wiggle away from me.”
“Can you try, please? I know he put them there to irritate me.”
“What’s the big deal? Lots of people have ferrets as pets.”
“Not in a stereo cabinet!”
Drake stood and faced her. “I don’t understand your issue with Preston — Phoenix. He’s a nice guy. He just likes animals.”
She shook her head. “You don’t get it. He prefers animals, over everything. Even you and Sonar. Why do you think we survived the virus?”
Drake leaned away a bit at the question. “Because we got lucky?”
“It can’t be that simple. Only a small percentage of teenagers survived. I think it’s an evolutionary thing. Something about our DNA will be needed in a future world.”
“Like the ability to fly? In case the world floods?”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Why don’t you like to shift? I’ve only seen your hawk form twice.”
She plopped onto the couch. “I figure we were spared to maintain humanity. I don’t know why we can shift. Maybe it’s for our survival.” She faced the window. “Phoenix wants to embrace the animal parts of us, but I think he’s mistaken. If that’s how things were supposed to be, we would have died or stayed animals all the time.”
“Maintain humanity? You mean rebuild it?” Drake raised his eyebrows.
She grinned. “I know you and Talon have something going on. I’m not saying we all need to start making babies right away. But don’t you think there’s a reason we were spared? Maybe this is it. To rebuild humanity with our new gifts.”
How would that work? Would their kids shift? No kids survived the virus, so they had no way to know if the ability to shift would be innate or if their kids would survive. The virus could still be in the environment.
A thump sounded on the roof, and they both looked at the ceiling. Drake walked outside, and Scopes followed.
Preston perched on the roof in his Phoenix form, preening his feathers. “Hey. What’s going on?”
“What are you doing?” Scopes scowled at him.
“Perching. Why?”
“We don’t shift on the ranch.”
“No, you don’t shift on the ranch. I rather like being a giant red bird.” He went back to adjusting his feathers.
Scopes huffed. “Why are you still here?”
Drake stepped in front of her. “Is it that big of a deal? He wants to be a bird. So what?”
“He doesn’t just want to be a bird. I know what’s going on. He wants to take over.”
Preston dropped to the ground, landing inches from Scopes. “Take over? Take over what, exactly? This little group we have here? We can be animals for some reason. So why not be animals? They’re better than humans anyway.”
“What are you doing?” Sonar’s voice joined them from the stable’s direction.
Scopes snapped around. “Good. You can talk some sense into him.” She went back into the house.
Preston waited for Sonar to reach them. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just calling her out on her bullshit.”
“That probably won’t go well,” Drake said, staring at the front door.
“I don’t care. I’m done listening to her.”
****
“Scopes!” Preston left the longhouse. He carried a pillowcase with something lumpy inside.
Drake forced himself awake and followed Preston, who ran barefoot through the snow. The early morning chill cut through Drake’s T-shirt and flannel pants.
Preston stormed through the front door of the house. “Scopes!”
Drake followed him to her room and stood in the doorway. Preston held the pillowcase above her bed. “You want to explain this?”
She rolled over and squinted at him. “I told you to get them out of here.” She turned her back to him.
The pillowcase wiggled.
“You can’t shove them in a pillowcase and tie it closed. One of them crapped all over the other ones.”
“Not my problem.”
Preston stared at Scopes’ back for a moment, then turned the pillowcase upside down, dropping the poop-covered ferrets on top of her.
She screamed and leapt to her feet, standing on the bed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Now it’s your problem.” Preston dropped the pillowcase. “I’m going scouting.” He left the house, shifted, and took off, leaving his torn clothes lying on the snow.
Chapter Eleven
Preston still hadn’t returned a week after the ferret incident. Drake found himself scanning the sky with increasing frequency, as if that would guarantee his friend’s reappearance. He’d thought Preston had left to cool down. Scopes cramming the ferrets into a pillow case wasn’t that bad – irritating, but enough to chase Preston off for good?
Maybe Preston hadn’t come back for a different reason. No one had seen evidence of the other group, but that didn’t mean they weren’t out there somewhere. What if Preston found them – or they found him? They might have injured or killed him, and no one at the ranch would know. Drake clenched his jaw at the idea.
Sonar had starting scouting again, but only for Preston. He’d leave early in the morning and return in the evening; each trip ended with a more anxious Sonar. Drake caught up to him when he landed by the stable after his sixth outing, hoping he could offer some consolation. A mixture of rain and snow had been falling all day, and Sonar’s bat hair looked matted from the moisture.
“Any luck?” Drake asked.
“You don’t see him here, do you?” Sonar sighed. “Sorry. No. I couldn’t find him.”
“When we were back in Denver, and he was freeing the zoo animals, he’d be gone for a while. But he always came back.”
“He’s not freeing zoo animals this time.” Sonar glared at the house, then walked through the wide entryway of the longhouse, slamming the door behind him. Drake stood outside, staring at the door.
Drake furrowed his eyebrows. There had to be a solution.
He followed Sonar, who stood next to the bunk bed in his boxers. “How about if he’s not back in another week, we’ll get a group together and go look for him. He could be staying in a city somewhere. But he might come back on his own. Maybe he needs a break.”
Sonar put on an Iron Man shirt. “How could he just take off? Especially since we never found the thing that killed Brody?” He pounded the top rail of the bunk with the side of his fist and closed his eyes. “Can you please leave?” His voice shook.
Drake nodded and turned to the door. He couldn’t blame Sonar for wanting to be alone. How would he react if Talon took off one day and didn’t return? He’d certainly do anything to avoid talking about it.
He stepped outside. Talon stood a few feet away, apparently waiting. She acted as if the rain weren’t soaking her.
“What are you doing?” He shut the door behind him. The sound of scooting furniture came from inside the longhouse, followed by a bang against the door.
Sonar really wanted to be alone.
Talon approached Drake, put her hands on the sides of his face, and kissed him. “Let’s fly to your shelter. By the lake.” She blinked, and a raindrop that had stuck to her eyelash broke free.
Drake’s pulse raced. “Really?” Talon’s suggestion meant only one thing. She’d said she wouldn’t ask him to go there again unless she was ready to be with him.
“Yeah. I’m sure. I’ve been thinking about Phoenix taking off, leaving Sonar behind.” She met his eyes. “I love you. I couldn’t handle it if you left like that.”
“Are you asking me because you’re worried I’ll leave?” He took her hands in his. “Because I won’t. I promise.”
“I know that. I’m not asking because I’m afraid. I want this.”
He couldn’t stop the smile that took over his face, and she laughed.
“Okay. Hold on.” He turned to the door but hesitated before grabbing the handle. “Crap. Sonar blocked the door, and I need to get something.”
“Condoms?”
Heat rushed to his face. “Yeah.”
“It’s okay. I won’t get pregnant right now.” She took his hand and led him away from the house.
“Are you sure?” Drake mentally kicked himself for asking questions that could make her change her mind.
“I’m sure. I didn’t even know you had anything.” She pulled him behind the stable and took off her shirt, then shot him a flirty half smile as she wiggled out of her pants.
Drake’s heart jumped into overdrive, and his body responded immediately. He wanted to kiss her but had to remind himself they still had to fly to the shelter. He turned around, threw his clothes off, shifted, and took off before she took off her underwear.
She laughed behind him and caught up. “You’re in a hurry.”
“You think? After that?” He glanced at her.
She laughed again, and together, they flew to the shelter. He had to remember to breathe the whole way.
****
When another week passed without a sign of Preston, Drake wondered if he should feel guilty for his lack of concern. He and Talon had visited the shelter three more times, and she was all he thought about. He struggled to imagine how anyone could love someone as much as he loved her.
Drake assumed Preston would come back on his own eventually, but he had to keep his promise to Sonar, so he gathered a search party. Other than the two of them, the group included Talon and Gray, the red-haired boy who shifted to a parrot. At fourteen, he was younger than the others, possibly the youngest in their whole group, but he overheard them talking about the trip, so Drake let him tag along.
Terry mingled with them as they prepared to leave, and Drake almost asked him to join them. What if the other group had captured Preston? Drake had his fire, but the other three offered little as far as an intimidating presence.
But realistically, they wouldn’t be able to find Preston. He had the whole country – and beyond, if he thought of it – to hide. What were the odds Drake and the others would happen to search where he was?
They gathered in the front yard in their flier forms, ready to pick up their supplies.
Gray hopped over to Drake and Sonar. “Where are we going first?”
Sonar turned to Screech, who waited in human form. “There’s a map in my bag. Can you get it?”
She nodded, pulled a paper from the bag, and unfolded it. A jagged line connected the major cities around the country.
Sonar stood over her. “I tried to pick a route that would be the shortest but hit the most cities. We should get Portland and Seattle first, because they aren’t on the way anywhere and it would suck to check the whole country and then find him there. Then we’ll head east.”
“Why a city?” Screech asked. “He could be anywhere.”
Drake lifted off. “He released the zoo animals in a bunch of cities. He’d want to be close to them.” He grabbed his bag. “We’d better get going. I want to get to Portland before nightfall.” He flew a ways and turned back, hovering as he waited for the others.
His scales, which were an iridescent black a majority of the time, were now a deep maroon color. He’d attributed the color to anxiety on a previous trip. He didn’t think he was anxious, but maybe his subconscious knew something he didn’t.
His travel companions picked up their things. Screech stood on the grass and waved as they left, only to be joined by Scopes a few moments later. Drake was out of earshot by then, but Scopes didn’t look happy. Maybe he should have told her where they were going. He shrugged it off and caught up to his group.
To his surprise, Scopes appeared in her hawk form. “Have you thought about leaving him alone? He obviously doesn’t want to be here.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t help that at all,” Sonar said.
Drake shot Sonar a “shut up” look before facing Scopes. “He’s important to us, and we’re going to find him.”
She glared ahead. “Gray should stay. He’s a little young for this.”
Why was she making this difficult?
Gray stopped flying and hovered, causing Scopes to nearly fly into him. “I’m not too young. I don’t need you to act like my mom.” He beat his wings and caught up to Talon.
Scopes sighed. “Fine. But try to be back soon.” She flew back to the house.
“What was that about?” Drake asked as he watched her land.
Sonar shrugged. “I think she’s worried about losing more of her group.”
“She didn’t lose Preston. She chased him off.”
Talon glanced back at the house. “Maybe she feels bad about it.”
****
Portland, Seattle, Billings, and Boise were deserted. Sonar and Drake had decided Preston wouldn’t have much reason to head to New England, so after visiting Boise, they turned southeast, heading for Denver. He would likely return to a place he’d been, they figured. If he wasn’t there, they would head to Vegas and southern California, then east again to hit the major cities in Texas.
Drake held his breath as Denver came into view. A few of the upper floors of the towers had collapsed onto each other. He squinted at the damage. Fire didn’t cause it, but it was more pronounced than in the other cities. Perhaps a blizzard over the winter hastened the city’s decay.
He went straight to the office that was his former home, unsure if he wanted to see it. He flew through the broken windows with his companions following close behind.
After he shifted and dressed, Drake shoved the debris, which completely coated the floor, with his foot.
It had been months since he’d seen the place, and while much had changed, the familiarity of it hit him in the chest. He wandered to the inner office where he’d slept.
The room was dim in spite of the daylight that spilled through the doorway. He touched the door frame, remembering how he’d scraped his sides escaping the office the night he first became a dragon. Glancing at the couch, he entered the
room and went for his painting, the one with the dragon and the young woman. It lay face down on the floor.
He wiped the dirt from it with his palm and grasped the frame with both hands, staring at the image.
He’d taken the painting after Kelsey died, partly because the young woman looked like her. He didn’t know then what he could become, but in his imagination, he was the dragon, and Kelsey was the woman. For a brief moment, she was alive, and they were together again.
In spite of his effort not to, he cried. Talon crept up from behind him.
He stared at the painting as his tears landed on the floor, disrupting the dirt that had collected there.
“I, uh,” he said with a shaking voice, “I stayed here.” He pointed to the couch. “Over there. After she died.” He set the painting on the desk.
Talon put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around, then cradled his face in her hands, wiping his tears with her thumbs. She stretched up and kissed him. His lips must have been salty, but she didn’t react.
He wrapped her in his arms, pulling himself deeper into their kiss. She curled her fingernails against his cheeks, igniting his senses, yet he kept his impulses in check.
“I love you.” He gazed into her eyes. He’d said it before, but something about this time made it feel more real, more raw. His love for her ached in his chest.
“I love you, too.” She stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers. “The rest are waiting in the other office. Come back when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready.”
She started to walk away, but he squeezed her hand. “I have to know something.”
“What?”
“What’s your real name?”
She grinned and put her lips against his ear. “Christina.” She pulled back. “Don’t tell anyone.” She offered a half-smile and returned to the office.
Christina. It was perfect. It was her.
The others were rummaging through the clutter. Sonar picked up something Drake had long forgotten about. “How did this get in here?” He held a large, black feather.
Drake and the Fliers Page 8
