Drake and the Fliers

by Allison Maruska

  “What if he’s sorry?” Sonar wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Would that make a difference?”

  “I don’t know. Would it?” Unable to stay in the room any longer, Drake bolted into the hall, where Talon intercepted him.

  Drake paced with his hands on his hips, then gestured to the room with his arm. “How could you let this happen?”

  “He was hurt.”

  “So? He tried to kill you!” His yell made her jump.

  She approached him, putting her hands on his arms. “We aren’t animals, Drake.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What?”

  She moved her hands to his, holding them. “Phoenix’s followers left him. They were going to let him die. But we saved him. What do you think he’ll do, when the time comes for him to decide which side he’ll take? The animals, who abandoned him, or the humans, who didn’t?”

  Drake let go of her hands and took a step back. “How can you justify helping him? After how he treated you?”

  “You want to know how he treated me?” She raised her volume to meet his. “He gave me a bed wherever we stopped. He gave me all the food I wanted. He got me whatever I needed to settle my stomach. He didn’t even lock me up when they stopped flying for the night. And Zeke wanted him to!”

  Drake blinked, unable to grasp her words. “You enjoyed being with him?”

  She pursed her lips. “Come on, Drake. No. He held me as a prisoner. He used me to get to you. That wasn’t okay. But you asked how he treated me, and I told you.”

  He glanced into the room.

  This situation would be so much easier if Preston had died.

  ****

  Drake spent most of the next week resting and letting Talon take care of his wounds. Between her efforts and the antibiotics, they no longer needed to be covered with bandages. He’d tried shifting, but it hadn’t worked.

  He sat against the desk, reading one of the books Sonar had picked up for them. It was the only time he’d seen Sonar since the night Drake found him and Preston in the conference room. He hadn’t ventured back into that room.

  Talon sat down and leaned against him, drinking from a water bottle after getting sick again.

  Drake held up the book. “This says the morning sickness gets better after thirteen weeks.”

  She scowled at him. “I’ll believe that when it happens.”

  He kissed her on the forehead.

  “Guys! I need you!” Sonar yelled from down the hall.

  Drake and Talon met Sonar in the hall. Sonar pointed into the conference room. “Come on. He’s awake. And he’s freaking out.”

  Sonar led them into the room. Preston still lay on the floor, squirming. “What did you do to me?” he yelled to the ceiling.

  “You were burned,” Drake said.

  Preston stopped squirming and stared through the bandages at Drake. “You should have let me die.”

  Drake’s heart pounded. He jumped onto Preston and straddled his chest, putting pressure on the burns.

  Preston screamed.

  “Drake!” Sonar grabbed Drake’s shoulders. Drake twisted and elbowed Sonar in the leg. He stumbled back to the window.

  Drake sat firmly on Preston’s chest and glared at him. He held up a fist.

  Preston’s eyes relaxed. “Do it.”

  Drake kept his fist near his head, ready to pummel Preston’s face.

  “Do it! End this!”

  Sonar hobbled closer to Preston. “Drake–”

  “Do it! What the hell are you waiting for?”

  Drake’s fist shook. He lifted himself off Preston and stormed into the hall, running his hands over his hair.

  He couldn’t wait until he started shifting again. He needed to take Talon home and get away from that psycho.

  ****

  Drake shed his clothes as he ran down the stairs, desperate to get outside. His chest burned for the first time in two weeks.

  Maybe he could shift again. The fire hadn’t built before now, and his cuts were almost completely healed. The burning increased, and he slid down the last few railings wearing only his boxers.

  He burst through the door and imagined the cool tingling that accompanied the shift. A moment later, he flapped his wings. “Yeah!” He did a victory lap around Boston common and released the fire at a group of trees.

  Relieved, he landed near the lake. The sun warmed his scales and he swam in his elation. He could go home, and as soon as Talon was ready to leave, he would.

  He flew back to the building. Talon was napping when he’d run down the stairs, so she wouldn’t know he’d recovered. Flying to their floor, he looked in, hoping to surprise her.

  Another set of eyes met his instead. Drake drifted to the next window.

  He’d managed to avoid Preston until now, though Talon and Sonar talked to him like he was simply part of the old group. He’d only abandoned and tried to kill them. No big deal.

  A crashing sound pulled Drake’s attention away from the windows. A chair was falling to the earth, from the place Preston had been standing.

  Preston followed, in human form.

  “What the hell?” Drake dove for him. Their floor was fifteen stories up. It wouldn’t take long for Preston to hit the ground.

  Drake snatched Preston in his claws, hovered ten feet off the ground, and yelled, “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “You sure picked a hell of a way to break the ice.” Drake set Preston down, then landed next to him, staying in dragon form.

  “Can you shift?” Preston asked.

  Drake raised his brow. “You want me to be human now, huh?”

  Preston ran his hand over his bald head, the result of him shaving the little hair he had left after the burns. “Yeah.”

  “What changed?”

  Glancing at the burning trees, Preston sighed. “Everything.”

  Drake studied him. “All right. Hold on.” He walked back to the building, where he shifted and retrieved his clothes from the stairwell.

  Preston hadn’t moved. Drake met him, and they walked towards the gazebo.

  Drake stared ahead. “Are you waiting for me to say something? Because this was your idea.”

  “I’m trying to figure out what to say.”

  “‘I’m sorry’ would be a good start.”

  Preston stopped walking. “Would it? Would you believe that?”

  Drake stopped but kept his eyes on the gazebo. “I don’t know.”

  “So it’s not such a great place to start.”

  They walked in silence.

  “You were right,” Preston finally said.

  “About what?”

  “About me kicking fliers out of my group. I was like my parents. I didn’t see the connection until you said it.” He took a shaking breath. “And then they all left me. To die.”

  “Sonar didn’t.”

  He nodded. “I don’t deserve him.”

  Drake tried to reconcile his anger with Preston’s words. He wasn’t successful, and he started to turn back to the building but decided to ask the question at the front of his mind. “Why did you take Talon from me?”

  Preston’s eyes met Drake’s. “I wanted you to be part of our group. When she stopped shifting, I thought that was the perfect opportunity. Then, if you joined us, maybe Sonar would too.”

  “You kidnapped her. And you let your guys drop her, when you knew she was pregnant.”

  “I thought Sonar would catch her. I took care of her the whole time she was with me. She was so sick. I felt horrible. But I couldn’t let my guard down in front of the others.”

  Drake’s fist tightened. “You put my girlfriend in danger so you could play the tough guy?”

  “She wasn’t in danger. I told you, I took care of her.”

  If Talon hadn’t said the same thing, Drake wouldn’t have believed Preston.

  “Will you accept an apology now?” Preston asked.

  Drake gritted his teeth. “No.
” He turned and walked back to the building.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “You want to get back into that thing?” Drake didn’t mean to yell, but the idea was beyond ridiculous.

  Talon stood next to the cage Preston had used to contain her. She’d placed a comforter and her bag inside it, as if she were getting ready for a cozy trip. “Yeah. It’s better than being carried around in a blanket.”

  The glow of the sunrise was giving way to a bright day. After Preston started shifting the day before, they decided to leave early and get back to Oregon as soon as possible. Drake paced and ran his hand over his hair, stopping at the top of his ponytail. He glanced at the office building. Preston and Sonar, in their flier forms, were gliding towards him, bags in claw.

  Talon crawled inside the cage and wrapped herself in the blanket. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a book.

  Drake huffed. “All right. Fine.” He shifted, allowing the remains of his clothes to fall to the ground. Those pants were too small anyway.

  The cage had long handles that moved on hinges attached to the sides, which had allowed Preston’s cronies to carry it without their wings touching. Drake lifted one with his claw as Preston stood on the other side.

  “We can take turns carrying her. How about if you and I start?” Preston said.

  Drake quietly groaned, and he glared at Preston.

  “Still don’t trust me, huh?”

  Instead of answering, Drake studied the handle.

  Preston hopped back to Sonar, who took his place by the cage.

  Drake and Sonar took the handles and lifted off, careful to maintain the same altitude and to keep Talon’s cage steady. They weren’t too far off the ground when Talon said, “Preston can do this.”

  “You trust him,” Drake said, more as a way to get himself to believe it than to ask her a question.

  “Of course I do. You think he’d drop me now? Especially with you right here? You almost killed him once already.”

  Drake gritted his teeth, and the fire built in his chest. He wanted to stay angry with Preston, but that became more difficult with Talon giving him reasons not to at every turn.

  Sonar was oddly quiet on the subject.

  Of course, Preston flew close behind them, within earshot. How much could they talk about him?

  And now Drake was finally taking Talon home, in the cage Preston had designed to keep her captive. Bittersweet didn’t begin to describe the feeling.

  Drake shot a fireball at a statue, but it didn’t ignite.

  ****

  Around sunset, they stopped and set up camp. Drake, Preston, and Sonar had taken turns carrying the cage, rotating to keep their claws from cramping. Talon seemed more relaxed than she would have been on a road trip. She’d read, slept, ate, and talked with whoever carried her. Nothing about her suggested stress, as if the weeks of captivity hadn’t affected her at all.

  Preston and Sonar went in search of firewood, leaving Drake and Talon alone at the campsite. Talon unpacked some canned food from her bag, then stood to stretch her back. Drake’s eyes went to her abdomen, which seemed to have grown a mound overnight. Or maybe it was more obvious in the fitted shirt she wore.

  “What?” She must have caught him staring.

  He smiled and walked to her. Standing behind her, he put his hands on the subtle bump. “How long has this been here?”

  She laughed. “About three months. You were there, if I remember correctly.”

  He kissed her cheek, and she twisted around to meet his lips, his hands still on her belly.

  “Are you ready to get back to Oregon?” he asked when he finally pulled back.

  “Absolutely. Sonar told me there are some new arrivals.”

  “Yeah, there are.” Drake tried to swallow the dread that threatened to smother him whenever he thought of Erica. He still hadn’t mustered the guts to ask Talon about the teacher. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the truth.

  “What are their names?”

  “Erica and Eli.” Another swallow. “You know Erica, actually.”

  “I do?”

  “She went to your school. She told me something about you.” Here it comes.

  Talon stepped away from Drake.

  When she didn’t say anything, he added, “It was about a teacher.”

  She picked up the food and retrieved the can opener from her bag. “I figured everyone who knew about that was dead.” She attached the opener to the can. “It was before you. You don’t need to know.”

  “I think I want to.”

  “You think?”

  “Yeah…I mean, that’s part of your story, right?”

  “You don’t need to know, Drake. Erica had no right to tell you. It’s something that happened, and that’s all. Everyone it affected is dead.” She cranked the can opener. “Well, almost everyone.” She gingerly removed the top of the can. “Did Erica spill the information the first chance she got?”

  Drake shook his head. “She acted like she knew something, so I asked. She sidestepped a little at first.”

  Talon set the can on the ground and stood directly in front of him, glaring into his eyes. “Why do you want to know? Do you think I should be ashamed? Or are you angry? What could you knowing about this possibly solve?”

  Drake shrugged, then dropped his arms to his sides. “I guess…” He looked to the sky and took a long breath. “I love you. And I guess I want to know about your old life. No one knew about Brody when he died. Not even his friends.”

  Talon grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close. “And what if I died? Is that the kind of thing you would talk about?” She kissed him. “Or would you talk about this?”

  Drake wrapped her in his arms, simply holding her as she rested her head on his chest.

  ****

  The ranch came into view on the fifth day of their journey. Drake carried the cage with Preston, and his mind flashed back to the last time Talon and the cage were here. What would his group think about Preston and Drake working together, and with Talon still in the cage?

  He didn’t have to wonder for long. Terry joined Drake and Preston in the air before they were close enough to the ranch to land. They hovered across from each other, Terry’s massive wings making a swooshing noise with each flap.

  “What’s he doing here?” Terry tilted his head at Preston.

  “It’s a long story. Can we go back first?” Drake asked.

  “No. I’m not letting him come back without a damn good explanation.”

  “Terry, it’s okay.” Talon poked her head out from her comforter. “We’ve had a long trip, and we’d like to go home.”

  Terry stared at Talon, then at Preston. Eventually, he turned and led them back to the ranch.

  Drake and Preston set down the cage, and Terry tackled Preston a moment later. Preston’s red feathers were nearly invisible under Terry’s form.

  “You better start making sense.” Terry held his beak inches from Preston’s face. Sonar paced behind Preston, as if trying to figure out what to do.

  “I made a mistake.” Preston’s words were labored as he struggled under Terry’s weight.

  “I’ll say.” Terry didn’t move.

  “Get off me. I can’t breathe.” Preston wiggled.

  Sonar shoved Terry’s unmoving body, then ducked under Terry’s head to look him in the eyes. “Come on, man! Let him up.”

  People jogged towards them from the house – Scopes, Erica, and Screech, among a few others. They stopped several yards from Terry, watching.

  No one tried to keep Terry from crushing Preston to death.

  “So he’s convinced you he’s changed. What makes you think he won’t go back to the way he was? He could be lying just to get back here.” Terry said the words to Preston, though he looked at Drake at the end.

  The question was meant for Drake.

  “I’m not convinced he’s changed.” Drake stepped towards Terry. “Sonar and Talon think he got confused. That h
e was always a good guy.”

  “Do you think that? After everything?” Terry glanced at Talon.

  “Terry…please…” Preston muttered.

  Drake swallowed. “Look, I don’t know what to think. But we’re not animals. We can’t go crushing each other. Phoenix took care of Talon. She said we can trust him.”

  “What do you think?” Terry glared at Drake.

  “Terry, let him up.” Sonar lay on the ground, next to Preston’s head. “He’s passed out!”

  “He deserves another chance!” The fire built in Drake’s chest. “Get off him, or I’ll make you get off him.”

  Terry lifted off Preston and stepped back. Sonar put his ear on Preston’s chest. “His heart’s beating.” Preston hadn’t shifted back to a human yet, though Drake didn’t know if that happened when they died in animal form. He didn’t think the bird he’d torched in Boston had shifted back.

  In an awkward display, Sonar put his mouth over Preston’s beak and exhaled. Preston’s chest lifted.

  Talon joined him, putting her head on Preston’s chest. “Try it again.”

  Sonar did, and Preston coughed, then groaned.

  The spectators came closer. Gray approached Drake, but Drake couldn’t handle talking to anyone. He flew into the woods, where he released the fire and tried to decide if he truly believed Preston deserved another chance.

  Apparently, he thought Preston deserved to live.

  ****

  “I hear you saved my life.”

  Drake stopped unpacking his backpack and turned around. Preston leaned against the door frame. Drake had suspected Preston would track him down as soon as he was alone.

  Drake shrugged. “I guess.” He went back to organizing his clothes. “It’s like Talon said. We’re not animals.”

  “Is that why you did it?”

  Why did everyone want to talk about this? Drake had managed to keep the others from trying to get him to explore his feelings. He didn’t need it from Preston too. “Sure. Why not? Why does it matter?”

  “Because I need to know where we stand.” Preston walked into the room and sat on the bed. “After the virus…I thought that was it. I’d be alone forever. And then I started shifting, and I realized I could search for others. I figured, if I was alive, maybe others were too, right?” He grinned. “You were the first person I talked to, and I think it’s because you almost flew into me.”