Fliers

by Laura Mae

  “Willow the Widowed… you came back.” Sydona grinned.

  “Well of course I did, princess! Couldn’t leave Gia behind!” Willow punched her shoulder and stuck her tongue out.

  “Come on, let’s go,” Sydona said.

  “Where we goin’?” Willow gladly followed her as if she had a new commander.

  “Getting Raoul back.” Sydona sneaked around looking for guards.

  “Raoul? What happened? Oh, and here, take this.” Willow handed her a spare pistol hiding in her boot.

  “Thanks... It’s a long story. He’s up in Dr. Malik’s office.”

  “That’s the prick I was trying to shoot! Can’t believe I missed…” Willow shook her head.

  Sydona looked back at her. “That was you.”

  “You betcha sweet patootie! I’ll get him next time.”

  “Actually, I would like to take care of him if you don’t mind,” Sydona said, and Willow laughed.

  “He’s all yours, princess.” Willow followed her through a door in the back.

  The cabin was a ghost town; it seemed everyone was outside. There were a few people running in and out: fliers, Sparrows, and guards alike. Sydona shot the one guard that came in without hesitation, and he broke a chair as he collapsed to the ground.

  “Hey, up here!” Giovonna’s voice rang from the top of the stairs.

  Willow’s face lit up, and she ran up the stairs like a herd of cows to pummel Giovonna into a hug. Silas popped his head around the corner and smiled at Sydona. She felt relieved to see both Giovonna and Silas unharmed. Giovonna hugged Sydona as soon as she let go of Willow, and Willow and Silas only nodded at each other.

  “He’s over here.” Silas cleared his throat, standing alone and waiting for everyone to stop hugging.

  The upstairs looked more cabin-like with rustic décor. They walked past a few doors, but those led to either bathrooms or small rooms with bunk beds. Dr. Malik’s office sat at the very end with the door ajar and light shining through it. Sydona gripped her pistol firmly out in front of her, ready to use it at any second. The group slowly followed her down the hallway as their footsteps creaked against the wood boards. The door squeaked as they stepped into the office, and she put her pistol and guard down. An enormous mahogany desk sat in the center of the egotistical doctor’s office. Books lined the walls of the office, only lit by a dim lamp in each corner. On the opposite side of the room stood a red leather couch and cigars on a table next to it. And finally, on the same side of the room as the door sat a metal table with a bird cage in the center. The table was bolted to the floor just as the cage was bolted to the table. It seemed more like a decoration than a cage for a living creature. Raoul lay on the bottom of it and seemed to be unconscious. Sydona tried opening the tiny door in front but was unsuccessful.

  “We think it’s made of titanium. We’ve been looking for a key but can’t find it anywhere,” Giovonna said desperately as she watched Sydona looking frantically through the desk and cabinet drawers.

  “He has it,” Sydona stopped searching and whispered to herself. “Of course he has it…”

  “He couldn’t have gotten far. I got people patrolling the area,” Willow said while she guarded the door.

  Sydona popped all ten knuckles forcefully as she made her way back to the cage.

  “Raoul? It’s me. You’re gonna be fine... You just--gotta hang in there, okay?” Sydona whispered while holding back her tears. Her shaking hands felt around the cage. Grabbing the top of the cage and interlocking her fingers through the holes, she pulled as hard as she could. “Someone help me, please!”

  “It’s no use, Syd… We tried. It’s not coming off…” Silas said with sorrow in his voice.

  “Not with that attitude!” Sydona grunted as she kept pulling. “Come on!”

  Silas and Giovonna took either side of the cage while Willow put her hands on the table and used her body weight to hold it down. The three wriggled and shook it as much as they could. Raoul still lay on the bottom, not phased at all by what was going on. With all their force and several attempts, the cage finally broke loose and Raoul was free--kind of. Sydona held the cage up to her face, so her eyes were level with Raoul. “I’m gonna get you out of there… don’t you give up.”

  As the group got ready to leave the room and look for the key, a familiar face appeared in the doorway. Blood splattered his face and tattered white shirt.

  “I knew you were part of this...” said Harold, who only seemed to notice Willow in the back of the group.

  “Well ain’t this nice.” Willow spat on the wood floor. “I’ll catch up with y’all.”

  “You gonna be okay?” Sydona asked as her eyes turned green and fists curled up.

  “Yeah. You go on ahead,” Willow said, keeping her eyes on Harold.

  They shuffled past him, and Silas snarled on his way out. Sydona cradled the cage underneath her arm and led the group back downstairs.

  “I also found this in his office.” Giovonna stopped Sydona and handed her the dagger she always used to have with her. She smiled in gratitude and then a light went off in her head.

  “I need to find my parents.” She sprinted out of the cabin and into the battle happening out front. Knowing her parents were involved in such a brutal scene made her insides twist like a wet rag. Red and blue lights caught her eye at the entrance of the park. This war was far from over. Dr. Malik needed to be found and killed for what he did. His death might not stop the battle, but it could put an end to the war. Her head swirled with who she needed to deal with first: getting Raoul out and safe, finding her parents, or killing the doctor. They all seemed equally important to her, but she was only one woman. As she planned on what do next, she noticed she was alone. Both Silas and Giovonna were pulled into battle and fighting off guards.

  She took a few steps toward her friends but was suddenly knocked to the ground. Raoul’s cage went flying so far away from her that she couldn’t tell where he landed. She only got one good look at her attacker’s face; it was the woman who ran the flying tests a few days before. She had a bloody face and tangled hair that wrapped around her raging eyes. Sydona could only worry about Raoul even as the woman pummeled her like dough.

  Just as she began to process everything, a gun shot rang out and the woman’s blood splattered onto her scrubs. The guard rolled off of her as she looked toward her rescuer.

  “Mom?” she said with disbelief.

  “Sydona! Come on!” Evelyn shouted and ran toward her to help her up.

  “Mom!” Sydona looked back at the woman. “You--killed her.”

  “Yep. And saved your life, too, if you didn’t notice.” She grinned and began to run behind the cabin, out of the chaos.

  She took a second to search for the cage but didn’t spot anything resembling it. Being out in the open was too dangerous, so she followed her mom. Sydona was flabbergasted to see her mother out in the middle of everything and fighting. The familiar spark in her mother's eyes was back; the one she longed to see again. They took a moment to breathe in the shadows of the cabin.

  “You saw my note,” Sydona said, unable to take her eyes off this newfound spirit.

  “I did. And you were right. I did give up. We both did… and I’m so sorry, sweetie,” confessed Evelyn, and she gave Sydona a tight hug.

  The hug was filled with more love than she felt since she first saw her mother again. She was back. It was like an evil curse had been broken. Evelyn was going to help put a stop to this and kill the doctor. She then wondered about her father and what he was doing in the mess. If he was okay.

  “Where’s dad?” she asked.

  “Your father is fine. He agreed to stay back in case you went looking for us in the tent. He’s armored.” Evelyn winked.

  Words were hard to form because Sydona’s cheeks felt sore from smiling. “It’s so good to see you again. Oh and look--”

  Sydona pulled out her dagger with the inscriptions still as fresh as the day she got it.
>
  “Oh my. You still have this?” Evelyn asked with tears forming.

  “Of course I do. This is why I came out here. This blade, this motto--gave me hope.”

  Evelyn wrapped her soft hand around Sydona’s. The connection Sydona felt with her mother in that exact moment was more genuine than any she had encountered so far. It was a moment that Sydona consciously told herself to burn into her memory so that she would never forgot the feeling.

  Sydona wiped a tear from Evelyn’s red cheeked, wrinkled face. “We should go. I need to find Raoul. He was knocked out of my arms.”

  The women headed out of the shadows and back into the chaos to look for Raoul. Just then, Giovonna ran in front of them with Raoul safe and sound in the cage.

  “Oh, thank god.” Sydona smiled with relief.

  “Let’s go to our tent, number 5. Ian will be waiting in there. Just make sure to say the secret password in order to get in. Otherwise, he’ll shoot you,” Evelyn stated calmly while Sydona and Giovonna exchanged worried looks.

  “It’s tater tots.” Her mother smirked, making Sydona and Giovonna laugh.

  Another gunshot rang out but much closer than the ones she had been hearing for the last hour. It was too close to home. As Sydona turned to her mother, Evelyn was already on her knees, and her scrubs were soaked in crimson. A second shot hit her, throwing her to the ground, and she cried out in pain.

  Sydona trembled helplessly as she watched her mother writhe in pain. She knew she had to kill the shooter before they killed her, too. Sydona picked up her mother’s pistol and aimed it right back at the assailant before he could do more harm. But killing him did no good in reversing the damage he already inflicted.

  “No. No no no no...” Sydona cried, letting out a deluge of tears.

  Evelyn was in such shock from the pain and blood loss that she was unable to form words. Sydona took her mother’s hands as they slowly lost color and warmth. Soon, Giovonna ran over with Raoul to find out what happened.

  “Oh my god!” Giovonna cried as she saw the blood soaking the grass.

  Sydona’s hands and body shook uncontrollably, as her heart beat against her rib cage.

  “Mom. Please. Don’t leave me!” Sydona said as she pushed her mother’s hair back from her eyes.

  Evelyn used all of her strength to look her daughter in the eye and open her mouth.

  “Fight--Love. Without--fear. My sweet--baby... Girl…” Evelyn gasped her last breath as her body laid to rest.

  “No! No! Mom! Wait--you--you can’t do this to me! Please!” Sydona screamed.

  Giovonna grabbed Sydona’s shoulder, yelling at her to move. But her words were muted and slow. The battle happening around her didn’t seem real anymore. It was as if she was watching an old movie filled with guns, fire, and death. The seriousness of what she caused weighed heavy on her shoulders. Sydona wiggled her way out of Giovonna’s grip and went back to her mother. There was no way she could leave her there alone. Sydona scooped her up with both arms to take her back to her parents tent. The girls dodged and weaved through the battle as bullets and people whizzed by them. The tent wasn’t far, and when they finally arrived, Giovonna yelled the password. Ian responded, letting them know it was safe to enter.

  The look on her father’s face as Sydona entered the tent was too much for her to watch. His smile faded as he saw his lifeless wife’s body in his daughter’s arms. Ian threw his shotgun onto the cot and grabbed Evelyn’s hand.

  “Evey?” Ian blubbered. His eyes turned bloodshot red, and he almost fainted from the sight.

  Sydona’s heart was in her throat as she placed her mother down softly on the empty cot. Her father embraced her tightly, and his muffled cries soaked into her clothes. Giovonna placed Raoul’s cage down with him facing the other way in case he woke up.

  “I’m so sorry, Syd,” Giovonna said. She hugged both Sydona and Ian tightly as they cried together.

  Sydona squeezed her eyes tightly to clear them of tears, but every time she closed them too long, a vision of her mother dying flashed in the darkness. Opening her eyes, she took a long deep breath and pulled away from them.

  “Borba i amor bez strah. Fight and love without fear,” Sydona said calmly. “Stay here. I’m ending this. Now.”

  Sydona gave her dad a peck on his sweaty forehead, squeezed Giovonna’s arm, and nodded. “Take care of them, please. I’m counting on you.” She smiled, making Giovonna lift his chin with confidence.

  As she left the tent, she lost her composure for a split second and broke down crying. Why did this have to happen now? In the middle of everything? Why her mother? What did she do to deserve this? These questions would never be answered. After everything Sydona did to find her again, she was gone within mere seconds.

  Wiping her face of tears, she stood up and took big strides back to the cabin to look for the doctor. Doing her best to avoid anyone, she slumped around in the shadows and kept an eye out for guards. She took the gun her mother used and kept it close to her chest. As she peered around the corner of the cabin, she felt a tapping on her shoulder that made her jump. She spun around with gun aimed at the last person she expected. Silas held his hands up in surrender. His hair was messier than usual, and he suffered a few scratches on his face.

  “Hey. You okay?” he asked.

  “Scared the crap out of me!” Sydona flared.

  “Sorry. Where are you headed?” he asked while he helped her keep a lookout.

  “To stop this. I can’t have anyone else die,” Sydona said.

  “Who died?”

  Sydona couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Doesn’t matter. I’m going after Malik. He’s not getting away with this. Not while I’m still breathing.”

  “Want me to back you up?” Silas asked with concern.

  “No. Help Giovonna and my father look for Raoul’s key. They are in tent five. I have to do this alone.”

  Sydona looked both ways to catch an opening and take off running. Just before she took a step, Silas grabbed her hand to stop her. Sydona turned around to face him. He guided her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.

  “Please be careful.”

  Sydona quickly smirked, and Silas let her go. She sprinted off into shadows of the forest.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Even though the sun was low and beaming brightly, the sky became darker by the minute and made it difficult to see anything. Soon the stars would be out and sky black; she needed to hurry. Staying low and in the shadows, Sydona did her best to listen to any kind of movement. The forest was eerily quiet in the wake of battle; not even the birds sang. She stepped lightly on the forest floor, avoiding branches and dead leaves. Occasionally, she heard a rustle, and then some creature would take off running. But the sound was so small she assumed it was a squirrel or a rabbit. Her dagger was out, and she kept her eyes opened wide.

  She heard a new noise, and she listened eagerly as something big grew closer and closer. Unable to place the sound, she headed back toward the edges of the forest to search for it. Wind came from nowhere, in all directions, and rapidly like a tornado. She then noticed someone about half a mile from her running out of the woods toward a helicopter that hovered just beyond the tree line. Her heart leaped, and she sprinted after him. The dagger was infused to her hand, and her pulse pumped so hard that she could feel every muscle in her body move as she ran. Revenge made her move faster than ever, maybe even faster than when she flew.

  As she gained on the coward, she noticed a rope ladder being rolled down in order for him to jump. Before he could make it to the ladder, she tackled the doctor to the ground like a linebacker and turned him around to face her. She pressed the dagger tightly against his hairy, sweaty neck, drawing a sliver of blood. Her blonde hair whipped around in the wind from the helicopter blades as Dr. Malik burst out into laughter. He lay limp on the ground as she straddled him, but she didn’t need to use much force because it felt as if he had given up.

  “I had so much hope for y
ou, Miss Wilder,” he managed to say between laughs.

  Sydona’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his reaction and his words.

  “What do you mean?” She bared her teeth.

  He laughed again like Sydona wasn’t getting the obvious joke. Itching to wipe the grin off his face, she punched him in the jaw, turning his teeth red as he laughed again.

  “I didn’t need anyone else. I mean--it’s important to have them here, too, but you’re the only one I really needed.” He gazed into her eyes inquisitively.

  A man from the helicopter kept shouting the doctor’s name, but he ignored it. As Sydona glanced up to the helicopter, she noticed a man standing in the door holding a large gun. She pressed the knife closer to Dr. Malik, making it obvious she had his life in her hands.

  She knew she would regret asking, but her curiosity was overbearing and nagging. “Why me?”

  He coughed through his bellowing. “You don’t know, do you?”

  “Know--what?!” Sydona cut his arm, forcing the doctor to cry out in pain.

  “Your parents never told you?” he asked more seriously.

  “What do my parents have to do with anything?” she yelled, getting fed up with him beating around the bush.

  “You’re part human, Miss Wilder. You’re the first one of your species I’ve come across that was only half, but you hold all the same abilities as a full fledged flier. You hold the key to so many possibilities...” He grinned as he looked even deeper into her eyes. “And your eyes... changing from green to blue... proves that your parents were right.”

  A pitter patter from her heart rang in her ears.

  “You’re lying!” Sydona cried out and raised her arms up with knife in hand, ready to stab him in the chest.

  Suddenly, a loud gun pop came from the helicopter, and Sydona went flying backwards, off of Dr. Malik. As she grasped her burning and bloodied shoulder, she glanced up to see the doctor find his feet and take off running to the ladder.

  It wasn’t so much the gunshot wound that hindered her from getting up but the breaking news he told her. It was impossible. He had to be lying; she knew he was lying just to distract her. In the crucial seconds that she used to process this, he made it out of reach and reached for the rope ladder hanging from the copter. Her adrenaline had never pumped so hard, causing her to rise to her feet and run after him again. Tufts of grass sparked from underneath her muddied tennis shoes, and she gripped her blade tightly, thirsty for blood.