The Preston Six Collection: (Book 1, 2 and 3)
Page 33
“My body’s hard to kill.” Harris put his arm over Lucas’s shoulder and they climbed from the craft. Poly stepped out behind them.
She held back a gasp as she saw Harris’s back. Large sections of his jacket were scorched. Blood spread around it like someone stomped a cherry pie into his back.
“You secure the aircraft?” Harris said as he eyed everything around him.
“Yeah.” Poly pointed to the black aircraft.
Harris smiled at her. “Well, this changes everything, I can fly this ship to—” He coughed and a trail of blood trickled from his mouth.
“You’re bleeding internally,” Poly pointed out the obvious.
Harris wiped his mouth and looked at the blood smear on the back of his hand. “I’ll be okay.”
She raised her eyebrows at the declaration. It didn’t take a doctor to tell her Harris was in serious trouble.
Harris walked with Lucas’s help to the airship’s ramp. Poly stayed back and looked at the village. She felt terrible. Here she came into their lives and caused chaos only to get on the next ship off the island, leaving them to clean up the mess. Many of the people had emerged from the surrounding foliage and now scurried around, trying to collect what they could.
Another hut collapsed, sending a plume of ash and smoke into the air. Kris emerged from the smoke and ran toward her, kicking up sand with his bare feet. She braced for a verbal assault as he approached her.
“You need to leave. It won’t take them long to figure out what happened, and we don’t want you here when they do.”
She didn’t want to be there either. She’d draw the attention away from them and onto her, where it belonged. MM could chase her to wherever they were going and away from the remaining village members.
“Harris said he can fly that thing.” Poly pointed to the aircraft. “We’re leaving.”
Kris’s eye’s perked up when she mentioned Harris.
“Is that Harris?”
“Yep.”
Kris pushed past her and bounded to Harris and Lucas, who were at the base of the ramp. Poly raised her eyebrows and followed him to the ramp.
“Harris.” Kris kneeled next to him. “If there is anything you need from us, please. . . .”
Harris faced him. “I’m sorry what happened here, but we may have a need of you and your people soon.”
“Anything.” Kris held his hands together as in a prayer.
“We’re going to get the ones who did this,” Harris assured. He then nudged Lucas up the ramp, leaving Kris kneeling in the sand.
Poly took her first step on the metal ramp and looked down at Kris, who stared at Harris’s back. “You guys going to be okay?”
He blinked and jerked his head toward her. Standing up, he brushed the sand from his legs. “This is nothing new.” He looked back at the burning village for a second. “We live and die at the hands of MM. Harris gave us hope years ago that MM could be defeated, that we could live freely. We owe him much.”
Poly nodded her head. “What will you do?”
“We’ll move deeper into the forest. Perhaps we can join the Witta tribe on the other side.” Kris looked into the jungle.
“Can you thank Edith for me?” She wanted to say more, but stopped.
“I will, good luck to you.”
Poly watched Kris run back to the village and disappear into the smoke.
The metal ramp clanged under her feet as she jogged up and into the aircraft. The door slid closed behind her. She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. The images of the men, of Paul, swirled in her head. She smelled the man’s blood on her and wiped at it with her sleeves.
“We’re up here, Poly,” Lucas called.
She cleared her throat. “Be there in a second.”
She got back to her feet and swallowed hard. If she had any chance of getting to Joey she had to stay tough. She walked past the entrance of the familiar craft. It was the same model they used in their escape from the roof. She touched the tops of the metal seats and paused at the same window from which she watched Joey being carted away. Quickening her pace, she made her way to the pilot’s cabin.
A large tinted window wrapped around in front of the two pilot chairs. Lucas sat in one and Harris the other. Harris pushed some buttons on the control panel and pulled down a lever. The aircraft hummed.
“Raise the ramp,” Harris said.
Lucas looked around the panel with his arms out. He must have found what he was looking for and pressed it. She heard the ramp sliding into the aircraft.
“Okay, we’re lifting off,” Harris stated, pulling a lever located next to his chair.
She felt the craft lift off the ground and hover. The smell of metal and electricity filled the cockpit and the vibrating sound grew louder. It rocked back and forth slightly and reminded her of the boat—and she was just getting used to solid ground.
“Poly, you should sit down,” Harris said, not looking back.
A small chair on the wall at the edge of the cockpit fulfilled her need. She pulled the lap belt over her waist. The craft lifted and she felt her body weight increase as she adjusted to the upward motion.
“Where are we going?” Poly asked.
Harris winced and pulled out his Panavice. “Sanct, it’s an island MM doesn’t control. A neutral zone of sorts. I know the man that runs it,” he said, coughing for a minute after.
Sanct? She knew that city name, but couldn’t place from where. Maybe during one of Julie’s long rants about the planet.
“Hud, display,” Harris wheezed.
A large screen projected in front of him. He touched the screen in various places and the aircraft jolted forward, moving faster. Out the window, the ocean sped by.
“Auto, engage,” Harris said. He unbuckled his belt and got up from his seat, holding his side.
Poly unbuckled and hurried over to him. Harris bent over coughing. His face contorted in pain and copious amounts of blood fell from his mouth. She put an arm around his waist to steady him. She could smell the burnt fabric, mixed with blood.
“See that box marked with an oak tree?” Harris pointed and Poly spotted it mounted to the wall. “Can you get it for me?” He sat down on one of the rows of seats.
Poly ran over to the metal box. Four buckles and she released it from the wall. She ran it back to Harris.
“Thank you,” Harris said.
He opened the box, filled with bandages and vials of different colors. Harris picked an orange vial and drank it down.
“How long can you go without drinking that orange stuff?”
He wiped his pale face and placed the vial back in the box with a shaky hand. “A few weeks and maybe you’d age a year, but after that, things speed up quickly.” He took a red vial and what looked like a gun. He placed the vial into the gun and looked her in the eyes. “I’m not doing well, Poly. This medicine will help me live.” Harris held the gun up with the red vial in it. “But there’s a downside. I’ll be unconscious for a while, maybe days.”
“We can land somewhere until you’re better.”
“No, there’s no time, MM will know one of their crafts didn’t return and will go looking for it. I removed all the trackers, so it won’t be easy to find. But they will eventually find it.” Harris breathed in and let out a fit of coughs. “The plane will fly you to Sanct. When you land, ask to speak to Travis. Tell him about Compry . . . that was his daughter.”
“We’re going to Compry’s dad?” Poly was shocked. Then it dawned on her where she’d heard the name.
“Not we, you. I won’t even be conscious.”
“What the heck am I supposed to say to him?”
“Tell him the truth.” Harris grimaced and leaned closer to Poly. “He and I have bad history, but I think once he sees you were a student of his daughter, he’ll warm up to you.”
Poly thought about the many hours her and Compry spent in the scene generator, killing dummies. She felt Compry’s blade on her hip and th
e etched dragon on it.
“And if he doesn’t?”
“He has a stone, under his office. I’m sure you two can find a way to get there, if needed.”
Harris lay across the seats, creating a makeshift cot. His breathing came in long wheezes. Sweat formed at his brow. Poly leaned closer, she had never seen the man sweat. With a shaky hand, Harris raised the medical gun and placed it against his neck. He pulled the trigger and the red vial emptied.
“Take care of Lucas. He needs you.” Harris’s hand fell to his side.
“Harris?” She shook his body but he didn’t respond. “What about Hank and Julie?” She shook him more but he wouldn’t awaken. She kneeled on the floor, sitting on her heels, staring at Harris’s unconscious body.
He’d left them alone, the plane flying to some city she didn’t know. What was she supposed to do with his body? She tightened her fist and scowled at Harris. At some point, he’d have to take responsibility for what happened to Joey.
Poly pried the gun from his hand and placed it back in the box. She pulled a couple of seat belts over his body and walked to the cockpit.
Lucas sat in the co-pilot’s chair looking out the window. “How’s he doing?” he asked with his arms crossed.
“He took some medicine and will be out for days.”
“Yeah, I heard you talking.” Lucas rotated his chair to face her.
His face looked different to her. He had a seriousness, a hardness to it. His eyes didn’t have the usual joyful sparkle in them. It hurt her to see it. Did she look different too? Had the things she’d seen manifest into a physical form on her face?
“What happened on that boat?” Poly asked.
Lucas rotated to face the window. He didn’t answer right away and Poly waited for him to respond. “I’ve never had to take care of someone, never had someone’s life in my hands like that.” Lucas faced her. “I don’t think I had one easy breath, until I saw you. I thought I might be the only one left.”
Poly felt the same way when she saw Lucas, she’d found one. One and one, only made two. There were four more out there. The Preston Six had been together since birth. It didn’t feel right being separated.
“We need to get to Julie and Hank,” she said and Lucas nodded.
“All I know is, if I don’t get something to drink, I’m going to die.” Lucas didn’t have any doubt in his voice as he got up from his seat.
Poly watched him walk by and saw some of that sparkle back in his eyes. She followed him into the room Harris lay in.
Lucas found a cup of water first and drank down the contents. Next he searched the other drawers and found one filled with silver wrapped bricks. The label read Rations and Lucas quickly opened his and bit a chunk of the brown bar off. He shrugged and took another bite.
Poly opened hers and took a tiny corner off the bar. It didn’t taste bad. She took a larger bite and by the end of it, wanted another one, though it made her mouth a bit dry. She found some water cans and handed one to Lucas.
“Thanks,” Lucas said.
They spent the next half an hour, catching each other up on their boat experiences. Poly had a tough time talking about the village. She thought of Paul’s smiling face, spinning in a circle with her.
The craft speed slowed and she moved forward as her body adjusted to the change.
“Must be getting close,” he said.
She followed him to the cockpit. The ocean slowly moved by.
“Look.” Lucas pointed ahead.
Waves crashed against huge rocks lining the shore line. Above the water, large buildings hugged the edge, lining up next to each other in a massive circle. As they approached, small aircrafts buzzed around the many platforms attached to the buildings.
“We’ve got you coming in on Platform 4 MM-32,” A person said over the intercom. Poly jerked at the sudden noise and shot a panicked look at Lucas.
“Should we respond?” he asked.
She shrugged. Even if she wanted to, she had no idea of how to do it.
The aircraft slowed down again and she grabbed the wall. Her heart began to race as the city became clear in their window. She breathed out her nose, trying to think of what could happen next. Compry’s dad couldn’t be too bad if he produced someone like Compry.
The craft floated down and the pad came into view. It turned sideways and landed softly. A couple of men on the far side of the platform walked toward them.
Poly rushed to check on Harris. He lay on the bench, just as she left him. She unbuckled the belts from him and looked at his chest to make sure it was moving. His chest rose and descended at a slow pace.
“Let me do the talking,” Lucas said.
She heard the sound of the door opening and the ramp extending. A breeze came into the craft and the salty smell of the ocean filled the cabin.
“Harris.” She shook his body. “We’re here, wake up.” He didn’t move. She stopped and glanced back at the open door to the outside. She gave Harris one more shake, she wanted him to wake up and take over. What the heck are we supposed to do with his body? She sighed and left Harris on the bench. She joined Lucas next to the open door, getting a look outside.
Her hair jostled in the wind as she peeked past the door. Two men stood at the bottom of the ramp with their backs turned to the craft.
Lucas strutted down the ramp with his nose held high.
“Hello,” he said as he passed by the guards.
“Wait, who are you?” the guard asked.
“I’m Lucas and behind me is Poly,” Lucas said.
She moved her hand away from her knife as the guards turned to her and gave a glance.
“Are you with MM?”
“Oh no, but we need to see Travis ASAP,” Lucas said.
The guards exchanged confused looks. “What do you mean?”
“I mean go get Travis, we’re here to see him.”
“Oh, well, you said Travis Asap. But I think you mean Travis Denail.”
“What?” Lucas asked. “Oh no, ASAP means as-soon-as-possible.”
“Then why didn’t you just say that?”
“Can you please let Travis Denail know that we’re waiting for him?”
“Sure.” The guard shrugged and held up a Panavice to his mouth. “Uh, on platform-32 we have a Lucas and Poly here to see Travis Denail, ASAP.” The guard smiled at his new word. Holding the Panavice close to his ear, he nodded. “We have to log you in first. Please stand still while I ID you.”
The guard walked next to Poly. She leaned back as he put the Panavice close to her face. A red light blinked and he looked at the screen.
“Unidentifiable.” He showed the other guard his screen. They both shook their heads. He gave the Panavice a couple hits and scanned Poly again. “Same.” His brow frowned and he eyed her as he moved to Lucas.
Poly tried to keep her face even with the fear building in her. They were two steps off the aircraft and already in trouble.
The guard scanned Lucas and said the same thing. Poly didn’t like the confused look on the guard’s face. “You two have to come with me and be processed before you can meet with anyone,” the guard said, his friendly tone turning icy.
Poly looked back up the ramp, Harris didn’t give her instructions on how to handle his unconscious body. She couldn’t just leave him, he might die in there if they got arrested. She clinched her jaw. “There’s another with us, but he’s not doing well.” She looked back at the aircraft.
“Stay here,” the guard said to the other guard. “Take me to him.” He pointed up the ramp.
Poly walked up the ramp and through the craft to Harris. The guard followed and knelt next to Harris with his Panavice. She gripped her throwing knife in anticipation of what the guard would see on the screen.
“What the . . . this is Harris, Harris Boone.” He looked dumbfounded at Poly. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” A huge grin spread across his face.
“Well, I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.�
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“Come, they have a high valuable on board—incapacitated.” The guard said in his Panavice.
In a minute she heard the sound of boots running up the ramp. Men dressed in black, with guns on their sides and helmets on, rushed into the craft. The guard pointed at Harris’s body.
They pushed by her, and then cut Harris’s seatbelt and tied new restraints around him, lifting his limp body.
“Careful,” she warned.
The men ignored her and jogged out of the aircraft, holding Harris.
Poly ran to the ramp and next to the guard. “He might need a lot of medical attention.”
“Oh man, I bet he does. So how did you catch him?”
“Huh?”
“The reward is so massive, you’ll never be able to spend it.” The guard looked upon her with awe.
Poly froze with her mouth open. They thought her as some bounty hunter. She looked to the ramp and hoped Lucas wasn’t revealing who they really were. Lucas and the guard at the bottom of the ramp were laughing. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Everything okay, Poly?” he said the name weird like it was a lie.
“Yeah, just been a long trip.” She walked with Lucas behind the guard. “Make sure that no one is notified Harris is here. The other hunters will tear this city apart for that reward,” she said.
The guard nodded and talked into his com. “Make sure we register him as an Undie. Just like the others.”
“Others?”
“Yeah, there’s been a bunch of Undie’s coming in here lately,” the guard said.
“Undie’s?” Poly raised an eyebrow.
“Unidentifiables, like you.”
“What do they look like?” Lucas asked.
“One huge young man, with a young woman . . . both wearing something like jumpsuits? I’ll never understand fashion.” The guard shook his head and walked toward the building on the platform.
Poly tried to act as if she didn’t care, but inside she beamed with joy. She saw Lucas holding it together as well—barely.
“WHY DIDN’T YOU BRING THIS to me earlier?” Max raised his fist over Jeffery.
Jeffery cowered. “I brought it to Jim, on level five, he told me to bring it to you.”