Fliers

by Laura Mae

  Silas laughed. “I have stuff . And even then, that’s only four of us against god knows how many? There’s no way we can defeat them.”

  “Well not with that attitude!” Willow punched his arm, causing Silas to rub it.

  Willow looked to Sydona for approval. “Whad’ya say, princess?”

  Sydona looked around at the group; all eyes were on her. “I actually think it’s a valid plan. Is everyone else on board with this?” She mainly asked for Giovonna’s sake since she was the youngest and least experienced. She would have to be okay with killing someone if it came to that.

  Giovonna nodded with a small smile, almost hiding how she really felt.

  Sydona walked closer to her and whispered. “You sure?”

  Giovonna lifted her chin and stared at Sydona. “Yeah.” She smiled bigger with confidence.

  “I think it’s a good a time as any to practice usin’ that crossbow again.” Willow patted Giovonna’s back, pushing her forward and making her smile more authentic.

  “We should go back into the woods, then, until night. Rest, sleep, practice.” Sydona folded up the map and handed it back to Willow.

  They all hopped back into the truck, and Silas drove a little further down the road until he found an opening to hide back in the woods. Willow took Giovonna away from the group to practice aiming, breathing, concentrating, and shooting with the bow. Raoul tagged along with the girls since he still wanted to talk to Giovonna more about random things. This gave more alone time to Silas and Sydona as well. Sydona sighed deeply as soon as Willow and Giovonna were out of sight and began get the truck ready for the lake. She left all their supplies in the brush, hidden from people and animals. Figuring out Sydona’s plan, Silas began to help her hide their things as he worked up the courage to start talking.

  He cleared his throat. “So, uh...” he started, “are you involved at all?”

  “What?” Sydona dropped the box of food.

  “You know, a boyfriend or girlfriend at home?” Silas asked with caution.

  “Seriously?” Sydona placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head sideways.

  “Well, I just want to make sure I don’t overstep my bounds,” he said.

  Sydona laughed to herself, unsure of where the conversation stemmed from. “Didn’t you just break up with your girlfriend like--no, I’m not having this conversation with you. We need to stay focused on tonight.”

  “Oh come on. Just trying to lighten the mood. You know, in case we all die tonight,” Silas said as he gathered up branches and leaves to hide things.

  “Way to stay positive,” Sydona spat.

  “Well, I’m trying to. But you’re like a robot. Focused on one thing and no room for anything else.” Silas raised his voice.

  Sydona scoffed. “If we’re all gonna die, what does it matter if I have a boyfriend? And besides, I just met you. You’re giving off a serious creepy vibe.” She threw her hands up.

  “Oh, I’m creepy now? Wow. You’re--just--” Silas shook his head.

  “What? What am I? Please tell me because you already know me so well,” Sydona yelled in his face.

  “You’re afraid! You’re afraid of letting people get close to you. As soon as someone shows any interest you put up your walls and shut people out. And--make them feel stupid.” Silas’s eyes glowed green.

  “That is not true! And don’t pretend to know me. You have no idea what I have been through to get where I am today.” Sydona’s eyes were green underneath her hazel contacts as she stood nose to nose with Silas.

  “Oh really? You wanna to go there? Let me take a guess... You had an abusive father who would beat you every time he came home from work because his boss was too hard on him. And almost killed you the day he came home from work early because he had gotten fired? And a mother who was too afraid to face him and let him kick you while sleeping in the middle of the night because he had no other way to get out his aggression. After this happened for six years of your life, you start to blame yourself for his actions and begin to start hurting yourself because you think that it will make it better and he won’t hit you as much. But no, it doesn’t. Just leaves scars on your wrists and ankles. After you figure out how to survive on your own, you leave home at eleven years old, leaving your baby brother to fend for himself--” Silas paused.

  Sydona backed away from him, and her eyes turned normal. Silas put his head down in shame, choking on the last sentence that he never finished. She felt her eyes getting wet as she observed his wrinkled face. He turned to walk away, but Sydona could hear him sniffle.

  “I--I had no idea…” Sydona stumbled, wondering if she should follow him.

  “It’s been thirty years since I’ve thought about that--Sorry. I didn’t mean to vomit all of that on you.”

  Sydona shook her head, unsure of what to say. Standing alone and messing with her fingernails anxiously, she tried to think of things to say that would make him feel better. Nothing came to mind. He made his way to the truck bed and sat down on the edge. Taking off his jacket that he wore since they met, he revealed his arms covered in tattoos. Not a single space on his skin was naked, and it was beautiful.

  Sydona smiled genuinely. “They look really nice.”

  “I got these to cover up the scars.” He rubbed his wrists. “But I can still feel them.”

  She observed his tattoos of dragons overlapping each other, but they intertwined in a unique way that didn’t ruin the image. Symbols and words filled the gaps where images would've been too small. Words like hope, strong, faith, and perseverance.

  As she took his arm that he willingly gave her, the simple act of touching his soft warm skin made her tingle. Her fingers made their way down to his wrists where his scars resided. A flinch from his arm as she touched them only made her want to explore more. With just a look, she reassured him that things were okay, and she felt five deep scars just above the skin. Her thumbs caressed both wrists as she admired all of his tattoos that she assumed had stories. The tingling feeling kept increasing the longer she sat there with him in that tender moment. Sadness had a way of bringing people closer and even creating feelings of intimacy for someone you never thought possible. She always found it curious how those two things were connected.

  As she stared off thinking about this, Silas lifted her chin to level his eyes with hers. Her entire body flushed with heat as he closed his eyes and leaned into her. There was no way to fight the feeling. As she leaned into him, an annoying high pitched voice came barreling through their faces.

  “Who’s hungry?” Raoul shouted as he flew right between them.

  Giovonna stopped mid step and gawked at the two in the back of the truck. “Were you guys just kissing?!”

  “No! No no no.” Sydona dropped his arms and jumped out of the truck.

  “No, no no. Not at all… what we were… doing…” Silas faded off as he watched Sydona run away.

  “Of course they weren’t! Sydona isn’t that desperate!” Raoul piped up.

  Sydona heard this, and her eyes flashed green. “Raoul!”

  “What? I’m helping you,” Raoul said.

  “I wondered what we missed when we left you two alone,” Willow said, jabbed Giovonna, and laughed loudly.

  “Enough,” Sydona boomed, quieting the laughter. “We need to eat, conserve our energy, and sleep. Enough with the mindless banter. We are on a mission and need to keep our minds sharp.”

  The rest of them hushed and stuck to making the fire and helping with the kills Willow made. They made the fire just behind the truck so Willow could sit inside. Being the older woman that she was, she expressed many times that she had back problems. The best way to cease the complaining was to not have her sit on the ground. Giovonna, Silas, Sydona, and Raoul sat in a circle around the fire as they quietly ate. Silas kept trying to look at Sydona, but she was avoiding eye contact. After Raoul’s comment, she felt even worse.

  The sun set quicker and quicker with each passing minute. The conversat
ions were brief and to the point--like the skunk was too tough, or is there any fruit left? Raoul kept asking if any fresh fruit was left, but he had eaten it all already. None of the small talk was about Eagle Lake. No one wanted to talk about it, but it was like a giant elephant in the middle of the fire.

  Once the stars were beaming bright and the moon became their main light source, it was time to plan. First, they removed their disguises and took out the contacts. As Sydona removed her second lens, she caught Silas’s gaze, and he smiled big. It was the first time he had seen her natural purple eyes, and it made her blush.

  Next, Willow began to load the truck with their weapons, hiding them under blankets randomly thrown about to make it look like it was just an untidy car. As planned, Willow tied up Giovonna and Silas with a piece of white rope tight enough to where it couldn’t slip. Sydona’s ties she made a little looser, so she would be able to break free and grab the dagger equipped to her hip. Giovonna lay in the middle while Sydona lay on her right and Silas on her left. Willow then continued to tie up their feet, and the three lay in the truck bed, but as she got ready to pull the tarp over the fliers, she paused.

  “Y’all okay?” Willow asked with a genuine soft voice.

  They all nodded and looked to the sky, and Willow covered them up before she dared to shed a tear in front of them. The comforting moonlight was gone; there was just blackness. Willow started up the truck, Raoul joined her in the front seat, and off they went.

  As they drove to Eagle Lake, the truck and road would make sounds, but one sound didn’t sound normal to Sydona, and that was the sniffles coming from her left.

  “Gia?” Sydona turned to the side to look at her, even though she still only saw darkness.

  “I don’t think I can do this…” Giovonna let more tears and sniffling loose. “I’ve never killed anyone before. Do we really need to kill them?”

  It pained Sydona that she couldn’t do much, so she pondered her words carefully since they were all she had to comfort Giovonna. Words were never really her strong suit, and part of her wished that Silas would jump in. Even if it didn’t come from her, something needed to be said, otherwise Giovonna would blow their cover. Or would she? Tears would be normal in such a situation. Why wouldn’t a young flier be crying after being captured for experiments? Sydona thought it might even be a good tactic to make their plan more believable. Then, she realized comforting Giovonna should have been her first priority. She shifted her focus to that.

  “You don’t need to kill anyone if you don’t want to. But if someone is trying to kill you, you can’t just stand there and cry. You’ll die,” Sydona started sweetly but then got too real.

  “Oh god!” Giovonna wailed. “I don’t wanna die!”

  Sydona felt a lump in her throat and was afraid that her words did the opposite of what she wanted.

  “Gia, you’re not going to die. Trust me. I’ll be there. And Willow, Raoul, and Silas. You’re not alone. What did Willow teach you out there in the woods?” Sydona pressed.

  Scattered squeaks and moans delayed Giovonna’s response. “Um--well--she taught me to breathe and focus.”

  “Good! Yes, you need to breathe and concentrate. Can you do that if you’re crying?”

  “Noooo…” Giovonna whined.

  “Hey, hey. Listen.” Sydona tried to comfort her and turned to her left side. “ I need you.”

  And as if her fears went mute, Giovonna stopped. “You need me?”

  “Mmhmm. And so does Willow and Silas. We all need you. I--I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you. Those contacts were pure genius, and your optimism is just incredible.”

  “Ya think?” said Giovonna, her smile almost big enough to hear.

  “Oh, most definitely!” Sydona said in the highest voice she could bear.

  Willow opened the tiny window to yell back to the group. “Get ready guys. I see the gate.”

  “Thank you, Syd,” Giovonna said softly, sniffing one last time.

  This was it, the moment of truth. With her hands tied down behind her back, the tarp sat on top of her face and made it hard to breathe. At least, she told herself that was why she had trouble breathing, not because of what was about to happen. She noticed a hole in the tarp and positioned herself in a spot that allowed her to get more fresh air. Wiggling closer to the hole, she peeked outside, and it was suddenly as bright as day. There was no way they were in that truck long enough for the sun to come back up.

  “Raoul!” Sydona whispered loudly.

  Raoul flew to the back immediately and slipped underneath the tarp. His orange glow illuminated the group, so they could see each other’s faces. “Why is it so bright outside?” she asked in a panic.

  “There are giant security lights surrounding the park. About twenty feet high,” Raoul answered.

  “Are you serious?” Silas asked concerned.

  “What are we going to do?” Giovonna looked more worried than Sydona had pictured. Her face was still wet from tears with no way to wipe them away. Dirt and sweat drenched her tiny face, making Sydona feel extreme guilt. She could feel her pulse pumping through her veins. The confined space became more like a sweat lodge, and the bright lights intensified it by a hundred.

  “It’ll be fine. We can work around it,” Sydona calmly answered even though her heartbeat felt like a hummingbird’s.

  Willow slowed down to a halt, and Raoul scrambled back up front to hide underneath a blanket. There were two guards at the gate who looked like normal police officers with black uniforms, nightsticks, and handguns. Willow jumped out with her rifle, shuffled to the back of the truck, pulled the gate down, and flung the tarp off of them.

  Willow got into her role instantly. “Ai’ght, come on y’all; we ain’t got all night!” The three slowly scooted their way out as planned and stood in a row.

  One of the guards approached them slowly and looked them up and down, grabbed their faces to look closer in their eyes. They handled them harshly, leaving red marks on Sydona’s face. She could see that Giovonna was on the verge of tears again. Then, the guards did what none of them thought they would do; they searched them. The guard patted down Silas’s shoulders, stomach, hips, thighs, calves, and shoes. He moved on to Sydona, started with her arms, and then her chest, which he spent the most time on, making her clench her fists until they turned white. Next, the guard felt her abdomen, and her stomach twisted as he felt the dagger in her holster.

  “What the shit is this?” he pulled it out, almost cutting Sydona in the process. “Carl, look at this!” He showed it proudly to the other guard.

  Carl laughed and looked at Willow. “Why does she have a knife?”

  Willow hesitated for what seemed like an eternity. “I have no idea! How the hell did ya get that and sneak it past me?!” Willow kicked her shin as lightly, but also as believably, as she could, making Sydona scrunch her face and hop to the side.

  The guard finished searching her and moved on to Giovonna. Sydona stared at Willow with wide eyes, and they mouthed things to one another with wiggling eyebrows and bobbing heads. Giovonna started bawling again and made the guard sigh heavily. Once he finished with her shoes, he regrouped his buddy. Carl lazily motioned his head toward the gate. The other guard went into the small booth by the entrance, and Carl stood by the group without saying a word. The guard came back with a white bottle and something else in his closed hand. He presented himself in front of Silas first, opened the bottle, and poured whatever was in it into the towel he held in his other hand.

  Silas saw this and knew what it was instantly. Before he could plead, the guard smothered his nose and mouth, and only seconds later, Silas lay back helplessly in the truck like a dead weight.

  Giovonna was next, and the tears began to flow like a waterfall. “Please no! Pleeaasee!”

  Giovonna wiggled and squirmed with all her might but was eventually poisoned as well and fell into the metal truck like a boulder. Sydona looked back at her, lifeless and alone, and wanted to r
ip right out of her restraints. The restraints! Willow made them purposely loose. All she had to do was get out of them before they smothered her with that stuff, too. She fidgeted with the knot behind her back and did her best to not make much motion or sound.

  Willow caught on to what Sydona was doing and clutched her chest with her hand. “My heart!” She fell to the ground on her knees, yelling profanities. Carl looked at her on the ground and did not make one change in his facial expression. The other guard got his towel ready again, and Willow screamed louder. “Ah, I think I need to go to the doctor!”

  Carl uncrossed his arms. “Calm down, we have a doctor here. No need to make a scene,” He grabbed his radio and called in that they needed a doctor at the arrival. Sydona whipped her head in the direction of the walkie when she heard ‘doctor’. Could Dr. Malik be there? She struggled even more to get her ties off, but it seemed to make the knot more difficult and tighter. Her shaking hands and nervousness were not calculated into the plan. The other guard continued doing his job and smothered her with the cloth. She put up a severe struggle, but the guard was much stronger. He forced the cloth on her so hard that she felt her nose bruising. As she looked down at Willow on the ground, still clutching her chest, her vision went blurry. Before she knew it, she fell in the truck like the other two.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Ow!” Sydona exclaimed as a sharp electric zap on her left wrist forced her to open her eyes to a brightly sterile, white room. It looked eerily like what she envisioned in her dream. She felt lucky to still have her clothes on and no incisions to speak of. Without seeing the outside of the building, the room did not look like it belonged in a park cabin because it had been completely gutted out and turned into a hospital. A counter sat on the side of the room with a sink and medical instruments laid out on a table to her left side. She saw strange machines as well and couldn’t begin to guess what they did.

  “What the--?!” She sat up quickly and looked at her wrist to find a rigid, metal bracelet but was almost more surprised to see Raoul standing on the table next to her. “Raoul? What’s going on?”