JanePtinum

  We’re interrupted in the dead of night. A metallic knock on the door rips me back to reality. Despite my fear, I stand up and open the door. Cassie is in front of me with deep bags hanging under her eyes.

  “Did you spend all night at the range?”

  “I can sleep in the car.” Cassie sounds annoyed. She’s probably already heard that a few times today. “We’re heading out soon, bring a few books.”

  “I will, thank you.”

  Cassie heads into her room, probably to do some packing of her own.

  What do I bring? My servos are tuned for my body weight, every additional pound slows me down. My guns and the harpoon have to stay on me. Even if I don’t want to kill anyone, I’m not going to put anyone in danger again.

  But how many books should I bring? I guess I could stash a few in the car and just carry one emergency one with me. I pce a few in my backpack, along with two changes of clothes. They don’t take up much space and they’re pretty light, I might as well. I also throw in one bnket for Corax to curl up in. I add in my tablet and Lucas’ handheld light and that’s basically all of my belongings. The only thing I’m missing is the mp Cassie gave me.

  Before I leave my eyes are drawn to Kara’s letter on my dresser. I’m never going to open it, but it feels weird to leave it behind. What if someone comes in and opens it or something? I carefully pce it in a pocket where it won’t get bent.

  “Anything else you want to bring?” I ask Corax.

  “No.” He responds.

  Silver never actually gave me permission to leave my room. I guess I should ask. I hit the intercom button.

  “Hummingbird? Can you put me in touch with Silver?”

  “What is it?” Instead of Hummingbird’s voice, Silver responds.

  “Is it safe for me to move to the car?”

  “Yes. Move quick and keep your head down in the car until the city is out of view.”

  “Ok.”

  With Corax on my shoulder we head downstairs. Both the compound and the city look abandoned this early in the morning. We don’t see a single soul on the way to the car, and not a single light is on in the surrounding buildings.

  Even in the garage, the only people are Vince and Ivy. Vince looks tired, but somehow Ivy is still fresh as ever.

  “Morning Little Blue.” Vince says the moment I enter. He opens up the trunk to the car. “Silver wants you to hide here until we’re gone. I gave you as much space as I could.”

  As much space as he could isn’t very much. The back of the car is filled with supplies. Food, ammo, clothes, medical supplies, bnkets, and a dozen other things we might need on the trip. Large sor panels are safely strapped to the ceiling, ready to be spread out in case of emergency.

  Just enough space has been hollowed out in the center for Corax and I to sit inside. The windows are nearly entirely covered by supplies, but a small strip of light filters through tiny cracks.

  “Do you think you can handle it?” Vince asks.

  I look to Corax for an answer. If he feels like I can, then I can. He gives a confident nod.

  “Yeah. We’ll manage.” I pull out the poetry book and Corax’s bnket, and settle into my new seat. Reading to Corax aloud is a bad idea if I’m trying to hide, so I might as well read something he’s not interested in.

  “Alright. I’ll leave the trunk open until someone comes in. It’ll only be a few hours until we leave.”

  “Ok.”

  Only a few minutes ter, I hear the door to the garage open, but Vince doesn’t close the trunk.

  “Lucas! It’s good to see you.” Vince announces loud enough for me to hear.

  He must know the pn. But what about the rest of his group? Silver only told me to keep my head down until we get away from the city, not until after Lucas leaves. They must know.

  “Morning!” Lucas sounds even more energetic than Ivy. “How’s everyone feeling?”

  “Well, I don’t think Cassie slept, but other than that we’re pretty good.” Vince answers.

  “Good! How’s Blue?” Lucas doesn’t even hesitate before using my name.

  “Come see for yourself.” Two sets of footsteps approach.

  I haven’t seen Lucas since we arrived back at the compound. He looks much better now. His tired, worried eyes have completely disappeared, and he’s looking as happy as the day I first saw him.

  “You look way better!” He says enthusiastically.

  “Yeah. I’m doing the best I can.” I don’t want to worry him by telling him anything else. “You look better too.”

  “And how are you?” He leans down to ask Corax directly.

  “Good.” Corax responds.

  “Gd to hear it! I’d stay and talk, but I have two cars to take care of.”

  “Before you go. Does everyone else know about me? Or should I pretend to be an android?” I desperately want to ask how he’s handling everything that happened and if he’s really alright being around me, but there’s no guarantee there’s enough time to ask.

  “You can be yourself. Don’t worry.” That’s a weight off my mind.

  “Ok, thank you. It was good seeing you again.”

  “You too! Hopefully we can chat some more on the road.”

  Lucas disappears from the small section of the garage I can see. Only a few minutes ter someone else enters, and Vince is forced to lock me in. I pull out my little handheld light and focus on my book.

  The garage steadily grows louder. Single conversations turn into an incomprehensible mad dash to get everything prepared. Vince and Ivy climb into the car, rexing in the back seats. Even if it’s too dangerous to talk to me, I appreciate their presence.

  After hours and dissecting two whole poems, the sound of the garage quickly dies.

  “I’m gd to see everyone here.” Even when I’m buried in stuff, Silver still sounds like they’re speaking right next to me. “First, as always. If anyone has any regrets, any worries, any loved ones you’re looking to start a life with, nobody will think any less of you for staying.”

  A few seconds of silence settles over the garage before Silver continues.

  “Thank you. If I never see you again, know we will not let your sacrifice be in vain. That said, we’d all prefer not to have to keep up that promise. Coming home safe is far more important than any amount of money. Good luck, and make sure we see each other again.”

  The car begins to nearly silently roll forward. After just a few turns an electric charge dances across my skin, signaling we’re safely outside the city.

  Of course that doesn’t mean I can reveal myself yet. You can see the city from miles away, not to mention the other vehicles around here. It’s probably going to be two hours before I can safely leave.

  “Doing ok back there?” Vince quietly asks once we’re a few minutes away from the city.

  “I’m fine.” I whisper back.

  “Ok good. Just a little longer.”

  I dive back into my poems, and before I know it, the trunk is opening. Corax shoots from my p and takes off into the barren sky while I’m still reeling from how bright the sun is.

  I climb out onto the burning sand. Vince isn’t even paying attention to me. His eyes are locked on Corax, a look of wonder on his face.

  “Are you ok?” I ask him.

  “It’s just been a long time since I’ve seen a bird fly.” He responds without taking his eyes off Corax.

  “Is it going to be a problem? I think he was excited to fly while we drove.”

  “Shouldn’t be.” Vince shakes his head. “A lot of people use drones to scout. Although Cassie might be sad about losing her job.”

  “Blue!” Lucas jumps out of the nearby car. “I need to introduce you to some people.”

  “Oh! Ok.” I shoot Corax a signal, who swoops back down, nding gracefully on my head.

  “This is Ethan, my boyfriend.” Lucas sounds so excited to be able to say that. It’s really cute. Ethan is much shorter than him. He’s wearing a baggy shirt that shows skin with every movement. Two long, horizontal scars sit prominently just below his muscled chest. I wonder what the story behind those are?

  “This is Lauren, the group's leader.” Lauren is tall, she reminds me a bit of General Monroe from so long ago. She stands tall and proud, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

  “These two are Hudson and Liam.” The two of them could not be further apart. Hudson is the single rgest man I’ve ever seen. If he picked up the car right now I wouldn’t even be surprised. Liam, on the other hand, is somehow even skinnier than Lucas. Even though his face is young, gray streaks interrupt his bck hair.

  “That’s everyone! Everyone, this is Blue and Corax.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Lauren steps forward, stiffly holding out her hand for a handshake. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “I hope that’s a good thing?” I shake her hand.

  “It’s not bad.” She responds. “One thing Lucas forgot is that Liam is mute. Just ask if you need me to transte.”

  Now that I think about it, I’m surprised Finn never put anything about American Sign Language in my head. Although I guess it’s hard to teach it without using pictures.

  “Ok. If you have a book it might be easier for me to just memorize it.” Even if I’m only going to be traveling with him until tomorrow, it’d still be good to know for the future.

  “Sorry, we don’t have anything like that. But we can teach you!” Lucas throws his arm around Ethan.

  “We don’t have space in the car.” Ethan tells him.

  “Right, sorry. We’ll teach you when you get home then!”

  “That sounds great.” Although maybe I can find some kind of book in Vegas and surprise them? Probably not.

  “We should get moving.” Lauren announces, continually gncing back towards the city.

  “We should.” Vince agrees.

  “Do you want me to drive? You need sleep.” I offer. It’d be a nice way to keep myself distracted too.

  “Sure Little Blue. Just follow a few hundred feet behind Lucas.” Vince quietly hops into the back of the car, settling in next to an already asleep Cassie.

  Corax hops from my shoulder before I settle into the driver's seat. I watch him for a moment as he skims across the scalding sand. I can’t wait too long though, Lucas has already climbed into his own driver's seat.

  I plug myself into the car, once again welcoming it as a part of my body. I can feel the tiny shifts in my suspension as Vince gets comfortable and Ivy slowly flips between radio signals.

  Lucas gives me a wave from the other car and begins to creep across the sands. I roll just a few car lengths behind him.

  Corax has no problem keeping up with the vehicles, and he spends most of his time flying close to the ground. He dives behind dunes, only to come shooting back out as quickly as possible.

  Every few minutes he climbs high into the sky, so small he’s nearly invisible. He makes slow loops around the two car convoy, before tucking his wings against his body and falling back to the earth. A few hundred feet before he hits the ground, his wings fre out, redirecting his downward momentum forward and speeding up to over twice the car's speed.

  In around fifty hours we’ll be arriving at Vegas. I don’t know anything about the city, but I do know I’d rather deal with that than Mary.

  JanePtinum