Fliers

by Laura Mae

  “Don’t ya try gittin’ up, now!” said a strange Midwestern voice emerging from another room. Sydona tried scanning the room without picking up her head. She was in what appeared to be an old cabin with random things scattered all over the place. There were lots of shelves on the walls with jars of varying sizes, and nick-knacks littered the empty spaces throughout. A giant buck head was mounted on one wall with proud, branching antlers, but his eyes lacked life. There was what looked like rabbit fur spread over an end table. She noticed many other animals collected to decorate the cabin like a morbid zoo. Sydona shuttered, hoping that she was not going to end up like the buck.

  She heard footsteps grow near to her bedside. “You’re awake!” said a familiar female voice. Sydona turned her head slowly to see Giovonna smiling down at her. She was holding a coffee cup and sat down on a poorly painted white stool next to the bed. “You’ve been asleep for awhile,” Giovonna said, sipping from her cup.

  “‘Bout two hours,” said the strange voice again. She walked over casually, and Sydona instantly moved closer to Giovonna, wary of the woman’s intentions.

  She looked up at the heavy-set, red-haired woman. “Who are you?”

  “Willow,” said the woman. She held two coffee cups and handed one to Sydona with her worn, leathery hands.

  But Sydona was not fooled by her hospitality. “What do you want with us?” Sydona demanded, scooting further away from Willow.

  Willow handed her the cup again with a little wrinkled smile. “It’s tea,” she suggested rather than stated. Sydona glanced over at Giovonna who nodded her head in confirmation and took another sip. Sydona sat up and reluctantly grabbed the cup from Willow before taking a heavy sniff.

  “I saved your life,” Willow said as she tucked back a gray streak in her hair.

  “Right. Well, whatever makes you sleep better at night,” Sydona said while still examining the beverage.

  Willow laughed, almost spilling her tea. “You a snarky little minx, ain’t ya?”

  “She called you a minx…” Giovonna snickered.

  Sydona was not amused but rather annoyed by how comfortable Giovonna appeared to be in the presence of someone who would be doing god knows what to them later. She adjusted herself in the bed and kept scooting closer to Giovonna.

  “So. What are you going to do with us?” Sydona asked straightforwardly.

  “Do?” Willow stroked her tiny chin hairs. “Hmm. I don’t know. I mean, I can cook up somethin’ for ya. Do you like rabbit noodle soup?”

  Both Giovonna and Sydona’s faces scrunched up.

  “It tastes just like chicken,” Willow reassured them.

  Giovonna changed her face to a smile; Sydona’s stayed the same.

  “Sure! I’m starving!” Giovonna stood up quickly.

  “Pass,” Sydona said.

  Giovonna glanced back at her, confused. “What?”

  “Uh, I think not, Willow ,” she said, moved her legs to the side of the bed and stood up slowly. “As much as we would love your poison ridden meat… I think we’ll be leaving now.”

  Giovonna looked at her with disappointment. “Syd! We can’t leave now! She’s just about to feed us!”

  Sydona grabbed her arm, walked to a corner of the tiny house, and whispered to Giovonna. “Gia… she’s a hunter. She can’t be trusted. All she wants from us is us . She’s not who she appears to be.”

  Giovonna whispered louder, “No. you have it wrong, Syd. She’s one of the good guys. She nursed us back to health. She can be trusted.” She paused. “Don’t you think if she wanted to hurt us she would’ve done it by now?”

  Sydona took another long look at Willow who was in the kitchen cutting up an apple. Maybe Giovonna was right. They could be in a blacked out van right now with bags over their heads. But instead, they were in a warm house with food being served. Could her gut feeling be wrong about the burly woman? All signs pointed to her being an enemy, except for her kindness and warm food. Maybe she wasn’t a killer.

  Sydona gave a sigh and rolled her eyes at Giovonna in a loving way. Giovonna responded by squealing like a mouse and jump-hugging her. Willow returned to the main room, wiping her hands on a towel. Sydona dauntingly walked over to Willow with her head held high, chest puffed out, and her arms crossed.

  “So what are you?” she asked Willow.

  “Human.”

  “How do you know about us?”

  “Army.”

  “Still active?”

  “Retired.”

  “Why do you have a gun?”

  “Protection and huntin’.”

  “Married?”

  “Widowed.”

  “So you live alone?”

  “Yep.”

  Damn she’s good… Sydona thought to herself.

  “Where’s my fairy?”

  “Kitchen.”

  Sydona popped her head around Willow and saw Raoul going to town on an apple. She walked into the kitchen and stood directly above Raoul, tapping her foot.

  “Raoul!” She bent over to get eye level with him.

  He spun around on the cutting board, clutching an apple slice half the size of himself. “Syd! You’re okay!” He grinned up at her. “You met Willow yet? She’s awesome.” He winked at Willow standing in the doorway.

  Even though she was thankful that Raoul was okay, Sydona was still annoyed that he was vouching for Willow, too. She wondered what Willow did in order to turn her friends to the dark side. Raoul seemed way too willing to eat food from a stranger. But then, she thought it wasn’t that strange actually. Food was Raoul’s weakness. Giovonna’s weakness was probably just being gullible and naive. She watched Raoul eat the entire slice of apple without so much as taking a breath. Was she so cold-hearted that she couldn’t see the good in this perfect stranger? No. She was being perfectly rational in not trusting someone who shot her. Willow could be trying to make up for what happened, but it didn’t matter to Sydona.

  “Wait, can I just say something?” Giovonna entered the kitchen. “You’re widowed?”

  Willow released a smile. “Yes I am.”

  “And your name is Willow?” Giovonna put her hand on her hip.

  “Accordin’ to my mama.”

  Giovonna stared at the ceiling in deep thought. “So you’re telling me that your name is Willow, and you’re widowed? Willow the widowed.”

  Willow nodded and raised her eyebrows. “I like you.”

  Giovonna blushed and turned back into the main room whispering Willow the widowed. Willow the widowed. Willow the widowed. as fast as she could.

  Sydona followed her and began turning over frilly pillows and searching under the bed for her satchel and dagger. “Where’s my stuff?” Sydona glared at Willow.

  Willow waddled over to a closet that stood on the other side of the main room and grabbed their belongings: the green tote and both backpacks. Peering inside the small closet, she also saw a few rifles and the shotgun from earlier. Sydona snatched her bags from Willow’s hands and riffled through them, making sure everything was still there. Her special dagger was accounted for, and she placed it back on her hip. As she prepped everything to leave, she noticed Giovonna standing and watching her.

  “Why aren’t you packing up?” Sydona asked as she fixed her hair back into a ponytail.

  “Um... because it’s like midnight?” Giovonna sipped her drink again, trying to hide behind it.

  Sydona peeked through the blinds to reveal pure darkness outside. As she turned around, they looked at her with concern. Even Raoul sat on Giovonna’s shoulder with a worried look.

  “So what? You guys want to stay the night here?” She responded to the judgmental looks aggressively. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “But I’m tired... And my knees still kinda hurt...” Giovonna whined.

  Sydona dropped her head with a sigh. She had forgotten that Giovonna fell. It wouldn’t be fair of her to force her to leave and walk for miles. She fought with herself. Sleep sounded good. And wha
t had just happened to her, she didn’t consider sleep. She still didn’t know who shot her, though. Did Willow shoot her? If so, why? To invite her in and feed her and her friends? Something wasn’t adding up.

  She caved and removed her bags, but still kept her dagger handy. Giovonna was happy that she changed her mind. Eventually, Sydona took the cup of tea that she was offered. It was black tea, and she wasn’t a fan of it. Still, the warmth felt nice going down. As she sat on the bed with Giovonna, Sydona spoke up with questions she needed to ask.

  “Who shot me?”

  “That would be Harold and his buddies. He’s a… well, he’s a bounty hunter,” Willow said with hesitation.

  Sydona’s heart skipped a beat, and she gulped air. “A bounty hunter?”

  Giovonna stepped back into the kitchen silently and looked at them with worried eyes.

  “Yeah. NFA hires people to bring the fliers to them at any cost,” Willow said, leaning back on the short counter and wringing a towel between her massive hands.

  “Are you serious?” Giovonna quivered with tears forming in her eyes.

  “Afraid I am, sweetie pie,” Willow said and stared at the ground.

  Sydona felt a pain in her stomach at Giovonna’s reaction. She was much more emotional than Sydona understood. The gravity of what this young girl was getting into might be too much for her.

  “Gia. Are you sure you want to come? You don’t have to. You can still go home,” Sydona said softly.

  At first, Giovonna seemed to contemplate the offer, but then, she heard the word home . Her face hardened.

  “No. I’m fine.” She sniffled loudly and shook her head.

  Sydona didn’t feel convinced. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. I’m not going back home.” Giovonna pursed her lips.

  The tension was thick in the room, and Sydona wasn’t sure what else to say. She seemed to have her mind made up. Giovonna was as stubborn as herself, and she admired it.

  “Bounty hunters… But the article I read said it was encouraged to have fliers come and even bring family members. Why--”

  “O’course the article said that. You thank they gonna post in national news that Eagle Lake is more like a concentration camp? Hell no!” Willow yelled angrily and almost tore the towel up.

  “A concentra--” Giovonna squealed, trying to stay strong.

  “No. I don’t believe that...” Sydona said and crossed her arms. Meanwhile, her heart was beating even faster. She felt unsure of what she was getting herself into.

  “Well, believe it, princess! I ain’t never seen it, but my buddy has and I trust ‘im,” Willow spat.

  The room stood stale after Willow spoke. Sydona stood in the doorway, biting her nails nervously, letting the news sink in. Giovonna sat at the kitchen table, playing with a hair tie on her wrist. She looked just like a ghost had passed through her, blank and staring. Raoul resided on the countertop, staring up at the ceiling and shaking his head every once in awhile. Willow made herself comfortable against a wall, picking at the towel in her hands until someone finally said something.

  “Why don’t you want to capture us?” Sydona asked.

  “‘Cause I ain’t no bounty hunter. Trust me, if I was, you would know,” Willow said with a tiny smile, trying to lighten the mood.

  “She’s part of the Sparrows!” Giovonna perked back up. “She told us earlier. Me and Raoul.”

  “The Sparrows? What is that?” Sydona asked.

  “Where ya been, girl? It’s a resistance. It’s just been reunited recently from that damn article circling like a vulture ‘round the media,” Willow said.

  A resistance group. It was unfathomable. There were non-fliers out there that were on their side. Never in her lifetime had she thought that would exist. Ever since she was a child, she thought humans were out to get her. It was so incredible to hear that she could hardly contain her excitement!

  “So we’ll stay here for the night, I guess…” she said nonchalantly. “But we’re gone in the morning.”

  Raoul flew into the room and jumped on everyone’s head in excitement. “Woohoo!”

  Giovonna celebrated by hugging Willow tightly.

  “I’ll get you guys some sleepin’ bags.” Willow forced herself out from being squeezed so hard.

  Sydona and Giovonna slept on the floor in separate sleeping bags while Willow slept on the flowery bed. Raoul made himself cozy on a sweater Willow folded up for him on the floor, next to Sydona. She lay there thinking about being in a human’s home and patted the dagger she had next to her side. It was sheathed but ready in a moment’s notice if anything were to happen. The animal heads mounted on the walls were haunting, and she found it hard to take her eyes off of them. She wondered if that was something she needed to be weary of. Laying in silence for what felt like hours, her lids finally grew heavy, and a familiar dream came back. This time, in more detail.

  ~~~~~~~

  Her family lived in Southern California when the announcements surfaced about capturing fliers for experimentation. Men in white coats would stop by every house that qualified for the species type. Some of them acted like they were from the local clinics and were doing “in-house” flu shots just to get in the door. They had to use this excuse to get into Sydona’s house as her parents didn’t trust them at all. Her mother told Sydona to hide in the closet next to the front door. They didn’t have time to think. When they invited the men in, her mother, Evelyn, offered them coffee. They refused. One man sat back down while the other began to look around.

  “Can I help you find something?” her dad, Ian, asked sternly. He made a point to stand in front of the shuttered closet door where Sydona hid. The man ignored Ian and began to walk down the hallway, but Ian grabbed his arm angrily.

  “Hey, I asked you a question!” Ian shouted. As that happened, the man grabbed Ian’s arm in an attempt to wrap it behind his back, but he was too strong. The man’s eyes widened with surprise at his strength.

  Suddenly the other man jumped up to try to fight off Ian, and both the men started fighting with him. Evelyn tried to help by grabbing the men, but they were so focused on Ian that they pushed her down hard. Her next thought was to save Sydona. The brawl had been taken outside and onto the porch. Evelyn took the scared, nine year old Sydona from the closet.

  “Grab Raoul. Now.” Her mother kissed her forehead and pushed her out the back patio door. Sydona stumbled but kept going, wiping her tears as she ran across the backyard. Approaching the oak tree, she called for her fairy Raoul, who appeared within seconds. Evelyn joined them shortly after and shoved a green tote bag into Sydona’s arms.

  “Take him and run. Run as far as you can, Syd! Don’t worry about us; we’ll be fine. I need you to remember this. Don’t trust anyone. Raoul is the only one you can trust now. Don’t let them take you. You’re my special girl...” Evelyn choked back back tears. She grabbed Sydona’s face with both hands, and Sydona memorized her mother's eyes, fearing that she may never see them again.

  “Mom!” Sydona hugged her tighter than she ever held anything.

  “I love you. Go! You need to go now!” she yelled.

  Sydona nodded, and Raoul flew into her tote. As she stepped backward, Evelyn faded further and further away from her reach. Sydona turned and hid in a bush.

  Then, she saw cop cars with lights flashing everywhere, big white vans with no windows, and other cars. Evelyn turned back to the house, but as she ran, men in black suits grabbed her, and she struggled greatly to get away. She needed four men to get a hold of her, and she still made it hard for them.

  One of the men in white coats came out the back door with a syringe and a needle, and Evelyn screamed at the top of her lungs. Sydona was frozen with fear at this sight. Raoul flew out of the bag, unable to hide any longer. Evelyn no longer had the strength to fight once she was stuck with the needle. The men in black suits carried her by her head and legs like she was a deer they just hunted, an animal. Eventually, Sydona was able to move
, and she quickly ran along the hedge to the front of the house, still keeping hidden.

  Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father in the same state as her mom. They were put in the back of an ambulance with the men in the white coats. As Sydona watched the van drive away, she decided to run as fast as her small legs could carry her. She didn’t know where she would run to, but she knew it would be away from humans. Forever.

  ~~~~~~~

  Her eyes grew heavy as she tried to sleep through the night, but thoughts of the camp and her parents scratched in her head.

  Chapter Seven

  A loud pounding at the cabin door made Giovonna jump. Sydona awoke in frustration because she had finally fallen asleep. Willow threw the covers off of her quickly, grabbed a robe hanging on a nail in the wall, and opened the door angrily.

  “What can I do for you, gentlemen?” Willow frowned at the four men standing on her porch as two of them held back a couple hound dogs. A scraggly man with a dirty white hat and holey shirt and jeans answered with an accent as strong as Willow’s.

  “Howdy, Willow,” he said, attempting to look inside her house. Sydona, Giovonna, and Raoul were hiding back in the kitchen with the window closed. Sydona peeked out slightly from behind the wall but only got a glimpse of the man before she had to hide again. It was the same man from the diner. A sinking feeling crept over her as she eavesdropped on the rest of the conversation.

  “What can I do for you, Harold?” Willow asked impatiently.

  “You got somethin’ I want.”

  “Is that right?” Willow held her chin up high.

  “We saw them in town, so they belong to us!” Harold challenged.

  “I don’t think so! This is my property, and whatever enters it is my business!”

  “So, they are here?”

  “You betcha! And there ain’t no way I’m lettin’ you have ‘em! And by the way, why is it you shot her yesterday, and you just now comin’ to collect your prize?”

  Sydona shuttered at the word Willow used to describe her.

  “Never you mind what I do. And anyways, this is official NFA business, woman! I don’t give a damn if it’s on your property, if you marry it or kill it. They’re ours!” Harold yelled. A thump and creaking sound told Sydona that Harold took control of the door. A loud slam against the wall startled her, and she peeked out of the door to see what happened. She saw him standing fully in the doorway. A menacing, crooked, yellow toothed smile crept across his face as he glared at her. A sliver of brown shown through her contacts as she stood frozen in fear. There was no use in hiding; he knew she was there.