He seems at ease now. The stress seems to be lifted temporary, as he hands me my portion of steaming hot fish.
I bite into the crisp black skin and look around the fire. I feel like a fifth wheel.
I pray Georgia is right about that wormhole. I need it to be there. I don’t belong here.
After I’ve finished, I say goodnight and climb into the back of the armored car. I use the holdall of ammo as a pillow, and lie down on the metal floor of the van. I picture Mitchell and Georgia kissing beside the fire, and cry myself to sleep.
The squawking of sea gulls and other sea birds wake me up from a troubled sleep. I stare out of the back of the van at a gray sullen sky, and yawn. The sound of the ocean pounding the harbor wall only makes me grumpier, as I sit up and rub my eyes.
Santiago’s head pops into view at the rear of the van.
“Morning.” He greets me cheerily, and I grunt in reply.
“I’m not a morning person.” I grumble.
“Clearly.” He agrees with a dark chuckle. “It’s time to get going.” He adds, and claps his hands. “Come on, get up.”
“Oh, sod off.” I grumble as I get up and stagger to the rear.
When I climb down and look out bleary-eyed at the swollen ocean, I notice we’re not alone. Three fishing boats are bobbing on the surface of the dark blue water, and I hear hushed voices around us. I find Mitchell and Santiago by the dead fire, sitting down with some local Japanese men.
“Good morning.” I greet Mitchell, causing the Japanese men to stand up. They bow their heads, then sit back down and point with their bony arms to the green hills far behind us.
“Hi.” Mitchell says. “They say that a dozen of the blue demons arrived last week, and went that way.” He points over his shoulder toward the hills.
“You understand Japanese?” I ask.
“Who’s your friend?” One of the men asks in perfect English, and they all laugh.
“This is Cosmic Girl.” Pamela replies and flashes me a grin when I roll my eyes at her.
“Was.” I reply.
“Is.” Mitchell replies.
“I wish you luck in your quest.” One of the men says and stands up, extending his thin arm to Mitchell.
“Thank you.” Mitchell says softly, and shakes the man’s hand gently.
Santiago hovers over to the armored car and opens the passenger door.
“I’m flying today. You can help navigate.” Santiago says and gestures for me to climb in.
I pick up the radio and headset that I left on the cinder block last night, and pass it to him and climb in. He closes the door and walks away. Mitchell climbs into the driver’s seat, while Pamela and Georgia climb in the back of the van.
I grab the dashboard to steady myself, as the rear of the van is raised off the ground. The front of the van starts to come up, and we wobble for a few seconds before rising slowly up into the pale morning sky.
The cloudy sky bathes the land and green hills below in deep shadows, but there’s no mistaking the path the blue freaks took across the island. It looks like a tornado has gouged a path a mile wide through the land. Homes, trees, farms, schools, factories, all are now lying in splinters below us as we rise up into the sky.
Soon we’re passing through the clouds, and the island is lost from view.
Mitchell shuffles in his seat, staring at a small yellow rectangular device. After a few minutes he picks up his radio.
“Let’s pick up the pace.” Mitchell says into the radio.
“Hold on.” Santiago’s voice comes over the radio.
A split second later, and we’re slammed back into our seats. The clouds whip by like a sea of ghosts, formless fingers brushing past the windshield.
“This must be new for you.” Georgia says from behind me, and I turn my head to look back at her.
Pamela and Georgia stand in the back, holding on to the steel cage that acts as the partition between the cab and the back.
“I’ve gone faster.” I reply, and Pamela shakes her head.
“She means, being a passenger.” Pamela says, and I look over at Mitchell.
“You flew us everywhere.” He says with a smile.
I look out at the clouds as they race by and point with my hand.
“I belong out there.” I say quietly. “I feel it in my bones.” I add and smile to myself. “I never thought that I would hear myself say that.”
“Me neither.” Mitchell says, and turns in his seat so he can look at me with his one good eye. “I thought you were lost to us.”
“Some things still remain lost, but others have been found.” I say and grin.
“And here you are.” He rumbles in his deep voice.
“I just hope we can find ground zero.” I say and stare out the window.
Mitchell nods and checks the yellow G P S device, then reaches into his jacket, and pulls out a fold-out map. He unfolds it and spreads it out gently on the dashboard in front of him, before checking the device again.
“Okay, we’re here.” He says and points to the map.
I look at the map of the world, and see he’s pointing to an area just east of North Korea.
“We need to get to here.” He says, and as he moves his forefinger further and further away from our present position, I let out a groan.
“At this speed, this will take at least three more days to get there.” I complain as his finger stops over Croatia.
“Unfortunately.” Pamela says, and Georgia coughs.
“Oh, screw this!” I say and open my passenger door.
The wind tries to force the door closed, but I hold it steady before hovering outside. Instantly, I’m whipped by the wind, and grin at Mitchell as I close the door gently.
I drop down until the wheels are a few inches above my head, and wave at Santiago.
“What are you doing?” He shouts.
“I’m going to help give you a boost.” I say and float to the rear of the armored car, as Santiago watches me over his shoulder.
“Just keep her steady.” I shout to him, before rising up to the rear fender.
I straighten my fingers before sliding them through the armor shell of the van, and gripping a steel rod. I grip it tightly and raise my legs.
Let’s see what I can do.
I start to push and increase my flight speed, slowly at first, then faster. The van rocks slightly, and I shout down to Santiago.
“Keep up with me.”
“Give me a heads up next time.” He shouts back from under the van.
“Three....two.....one.” I shout, and accelerate more aggressively. The van wobbles slightly, then it straightens after a couple of seconds. After a few more seconds, I notice the van is beginning to glow red.
“There’s too much friction, we have to slow down.” Santiago shouts up at me.
I look up.
“No.” I shout back. “We go where there’s less friction.” I shout.
“Where?” He shouts back, and I begin to grin.
“Push up. Now.” I shout, and the front of the van rears up, and I help push it upwards towards the upper atmosphere.
“I’ve never been this high before.” Santiago shouts, and I notice the glow subside and ice start to form instead.
“You haven’t lived.” I shout back with a laugh.
After a few seconds, the sound of the wind fades and I feel a sudden burst of acceleration.
“I....can’t.....breathe.” I hear Santiago gasp.
“Hold your breath.” I shout back, and take a deep breath, and hold it while raising the rear of the van up so that we fly straight.
I continue pushing and flying the van as fast as I can go. After a few more seconds, I notice something dark fall from beneath the van, and I slow down long enough to see Santiago’s body spiraling towards a huge bank of white clouds.
I let go of the van, and pitch forward, and accelerate towards Santiago as he falls from the sky. I catch him a couple of seconds later and fly back up
towards the armored car as it sails through the upper atmosphere, continuing on its trajectory.
Santiago’s face is turning purple, and a thin layer of ice breaks and falls off as I slap his cheeks. His head lolls to the side, and so I press my mouth to his and breathe my air into his lungs. He comes to, and starts coughing, and stares at me wide eyed.
“Welcome back.” I say, then look up as I sail back up to the van, as it begins to descend in a slow arc.
I catch the van with my right hand while I hold a dazed Santiago in my left arm. I grip the front axle with my right hand, and pick up the pace again, as I descend to a more tolerable level for Santiago and the others.
“Cosmic Girl, huh?” Santiago says and coughs. “It suits you.”
I smile and press my face next to his microphone that protrudes out on the right side of his face, near his smooth tanned jaw.
“How much farther?” I speak into the microphone.
There’s a few seconds of silence, then I hear the radio hiss.
“We’re over Kazakhstan.” Mitchell’s voice stammers through Santiago’s radio. “It’s a bit cold up here. Can we go lower, please?”
“Oh.” I look at Santiago’s frosty face. “Sure.” I say and shrug.
I pitch forward and accelerate again, and soon we’re flying over an ocean of white billowing clouds. Once we’re through the first layer of clouds, the ice on the van and on Santiago starts to melt. The water rains down on me from the van, and soon my flight suit is wet and sticking to me.
A few more layers of clouds, and we emerge over a snowy forest and craggy mountain peaks. I slow down, and take in the magnificent vista before me.
“Wow. This place looks untouched.” Santiago says, sounding a little baffled.
I look towards the horizon, and concentrate, zooming in. All I see is land, thousands of miles of cold, stark land, with hills and the occasional lake and forest. I see no movement on the ground within a hundred miles of us. I sigh in frustration and pick up speed again.
“You can let me go now.” Santiago says next to me, and I open my arm, releasing him.
“I wouldn’t want Pam to get the wrong idea.” He adds with a wink.
“I’m a little thirsty. Can you get me some water?” I ask, as he flies next to me, with the wind whipping his black hair away from his tanned face.
“Sure.” He replies and hovers to the right and up to the passenger door.
As soon as I hear the door close, I step on the gas. The mountains become a gray and white blur below me.
Soon, I leave the mountains far behind me, and fly over vast forests.
The passenger door opens and slams shut, then Santiago vanishes behind me as I race for the horizon. He eventually catches up after a few minutes.
“Slow down, damn it.” He shouts from behind, and I ease up a little.
“Here.” He offers a bottle of water to me, and I take it and start drinking.
Flying is thirsty work.
“Thanks.” I gasp after I’ve downed half the bottle.
“The girls have had enough, and even Mitch is looking a little green. I think we should stop for a bit.” Santiago says as he flies on my right.
“Okay.” I reply and look ahead for a good landing sight.
Around seventy miles away, I spot some farmland with miles of fields and pastures. As I pass the last of the hills, I descend slowly and begin to slow down to below a hundred miles per hour. Santiago hovers to the rear of the armored car and takes hold of the rear fender, while I turn around and walk the van through my hands until I can grab the front fender. We glide to a stop and lower the van to the long grass.
Once we’re down, the doors burst open, and Georgia hops down. She takes some deep breaths while she closes her eyes. Mitchell climbs down and immediately sits down on the grass. Pamela appears next to Santiago in a burst of dark light, and a faint pop.
“You’ve never flown that fast before.” Mitchell says in shock, as he gazes up at me.
“She didn’t even ice up.” Santiago says and shakes some excess water from his hair.
“I feel fine.” I shrug.
“God help Devlin, if you do ever go back.” Mitchell says with a devilish grin, then Georgia drops to her knees and hurls.
Twenty One
The general opinion was that we walk the rest of the way, or shall I say, run.
“Come on, old man.” I yell over my shoulder, as I tear along narrow country roads, dodging tractors and rotting corpses of horses and cows.
“I’m just warming up.” Mitchell yells back playfully.
“Yeah, yeah.” I laugh back, and then I hear a loud bang behind me, and a green blur shoots past me.
I frown, then accelerate and give chase. The others race along behind, but we lose them in seconds.
The overgrown bushes and trees lining the road blur by, and the wind becomes a low whine in my ears as I start to gain on the green blur that is Mitchell.
I feel like I’ve got more in the tank, so I lean forward and pump the ground harder. The low whine becomes silence now, and Mitchell’s blurred form becomes clearer, then I pass him on his left.
“Woohoo!” I holler when I leave Mitchell farther behind me.
I skid to a stop when I see the road ahead fork in two directions. Mitchell joins me a fraction of a second later, red faced, and grinning.
“You’ve gotten faster.” He says as he huffs and puffs.
“Or you’ve gotten slower.” I say and laugh when he frowns.
I check the road signs, but they’re in a language I don’t understand. Mitchell pulls the yellow G P S device from his jacket, and waits. Pamela and Georgia arrive next after a few minutes, followed by Santiago, who’s carrying the rifles and bag of ammo.
“Where the hell are we?” Santiago asks and hands me the bag of ammo.
“Northern Ukraine.” Mitchell replies after a few more seconds, then unfolds the world map on the hood of a rusted Volkswagen Beetle, that may have been yellow once, but is now a burnt ochre. He checks the map, running his finger over it and frowning.
While he thinks for a second, I open the driver’s door of the abandoned car and check the interior. I catch my reflection in the rear mirror.
Yuck! My face is covered with green and yellow bug splats.
I feel like I’m gonna heave.
I open the glove box and find an old dirty rag. I grab it and immediately start wiping the gunk from my face. The rag smells of gasoline, and makes me feel worse. Once I’m done, I climb back out and stroll to the road sign.
I breathe deep and try to shake it off.
“Okay, that road takes us north toward Konotop.” Mitchell says pointing to the road that splits to the right. “This one takes us toward Kyiv.” Mitchell says, pointing to the road on my left, then folds the map and puts it back inside his jacket, before marching over and handing me the small yellow device.
“Huh?” I blurt out as I look at him.
“You’re on point. Lead the way.” He says, then takes one of the long rifles from Santiago and slings the strap over his shoulder.
“Yes, sir.” I say, then before he can protest, I turn and blaze down the road on my left.
After a few seconds, I kick up from the ground and take to the air. Once I’m above the tree line, I relax and hold the yellow device in front of me and check the small black screen from time to time as I fly.
The road below is now some kind of freeway, and four of the six lanes are blocked with abandoned trucks and demolished cars and motorcycles. A few tanks lie on their side, aiming their gun barrels impotently at the sky.
I see a series of rivers up ahead that act as some kind of natural barrier to the main section of the city. The first bridge is completely blocked with army vehicles, and part of it is damaged. A huge chunk of the right side of the bridge is missing, and a school bus is dangling over the edge. I fly to the right and pass over the still water, as Mitchell takes to the air with a mighty leap. He soars by me as
he climbs to a few hundred feet, clearing two thirds of the bridge before he starts to descend. Santiago picks up Georgia under her arms and carries her over the water, while Pamela materializes on the far bank of the river in a burst of dark light.
“That is pretty cool.” I tell Santiago as he flies by me on my left carrying Georgia, nodding to Pamela as she hops down from an overturned car.
“Not as cool as phasing.” Santiago says, smiling at Georgia as he carriers her safely across the river. “I still don’t understand what you do.” He admits with a frown.
“Neither do I.” She answers quietly.
“I mean, is it like when Frodo puts on the ring?” Santiago asks, making Georgia laugh.
Mitchell waits for us on a half-demolished armored personnel carrier.
“Lead on.” Mitchell calls out and points to the west, behind him.
I hold the G P S device in front of me and fly onwards over the connecting island, before we come to another bridge. Mitchell leaps over again, and I accelerate while I concentrate, zooming in on the city in front of us. I let out a groan when I see a couple of blue bodies.
“Heads up.” I call out and point ahead of me. “Blue freaks.”
Mitchell descends after a few seconds, hits the asphalt hard and looks up at me.
“Where?” He asks, as the others arrive.
“Three miles, over there, near a pretty looking hospital.” I say and point over their heads. I zoom in again and frown. “They’re not moving.” I notice.
Mitchell removes his rifle from his shoulder and checks that it’s loaded.
“Let’s go say, hi.” Mitchell says and begins marching, with the rifle held out in front.
I accelerate and make a B-Line for their still blue forms. The hospital they are resting against is made of glass mostly, and I’m amazed to find most of it intact. I swoop down and land near one of them, as Mitchell and the others stop fifty feet away. Mitchell raises his rifle, as I stroll up to one and kick its foot. The leg rolls to the side, before rolling back. The creature doesn’t move, and its chest is not moving. I crouch down and listen to the chest.
“They’re dead.” I declare as I stand up.
“Good.” Mitchell growls in his deep voice.
Cosmic Girl: Lost & Found: Superhero series for young adults - Book Three. Page 14
