Page 60 of Consumed By Fire
We pull up to the gate, and one of the guards approaches us, scanning Dagger’s ID before letting us through. Thankfully, he barely even looks at me. We drive into a large parking lot, where three other SUVs are parked.
My heart does a somersault and skips several beats as Dagger pulls up next to one of the vehicles.
I look down. I’m wearing a pair of sweatpants that are a little big for me, one of Octane’s shirts, and a pair of yellow flip-flops that fit me just right. Who wears yellow shoes? Especially flip-flops. I’m guessing that Dagger got them from Lost and Found or something.
“Let’s go,” he tells me. “The pilot is human. It will be better if you don’t say anything while we are in his company. No one else can be trusted. You show us where to go, and we’ll drop you off there. If we are stopped by anyone for any reason, you let me do the talking. As long as you are covered, they won’t know your true identity.” He glances at my shirt.
My true identity?
Namely, that I am a Red.
The enemy.
Dagger starts to turn toward the chopper when I grab his arm. “Please tell Octane that I said goodbye. Please explain why I left. I’m doing it to protect him. I…” I shake my head. “Please, will you tell him that? I don’t want him to be upset…hurt…you know?”
He nods. “I know, and I will tell him. You have my word. Now, let’s go. The sooner we get you off Draig, the better. Do you have a plan? Are you going to be able to get back to Mistveil?”
“I’ll be fine,” I say.
Dagger looks at me for a few seconds. He looks like he is at war with himself. Then he nods. “Good.” He walks to the chopper, and I follow.
“This is Gavin,” he says as we approach the helicopter.
The human smiles broadly at the two of us.
“Gavin, meet Trinity. She needs a ride. Thank you for agreeing to help out at the last minute.”
“No problem. Shadow has offered to pay me extra for my troubles.” He grins. “Truth be told, I can use the money right now.” If Gavin suspects anything, he doesn’t show it. “Climb aboard.” He points into the chopper.
We both do as he says. I’ve never been inside one of these things before. The seats are sleek leather. It’s more spacious than I thought it would be.
“Put on your seatbelts. Those are headsets over there,” Gavin says, pointing at where they are hanging. Then he starts flicking switches and pushing buttons.
I buckle up, feeling nervous. The sound of the rotors spinning is loud in my ears.
“Ready?” Gavin asks through the headset.
I nod and then realize he won’t see me. “Y-yes,” I stammer, hearing myself in my ears, which is weird. I sound tinny and far away, yet loud.
“We’re ready,” Dagger says.
Gavin starts the engine, and it doesn’t take long before we’re lifting off the ground.
I can feel the vibrations through my entire body, and I grip the seat tightly.
Dagger looks at me before staring out the window.
“Where to?” Gavin asks as soon as we are airborne.
“Northwest,” I tell him. “Go toward the mountain. You can drop me as close to the southern base as possible. It’s the side closest to the beach.”
“The jungle is thick on that side of the island, but I’ll do my best to get you as close as possible to where you want to be. You might need to hike to get to the exact point.”
“No problem, and thank you,” I say, once again hearing my own voice through the headset. It sounds robotic and cold. Pretty much how I feel inside.
I look out the window, trying to make sense of this whole situation. I know that leaving Octane is the right thing to do, but my heart aches at the thought of never seeing him again. Of leaving like this. I wish I could have seen him one last time. I pray that Dagger will give him my message. I glance across at the male and decide that he will. He seems like the honorable type. I think he cares about Octane.
I look out of the window. Below us, the jungle terrain is lush and green. I’m pretty sure that the jungle on Mistveil would look much the same. That from up here, the people on both islands would look the same, too. Sometimes, it takes moving away from something to bring it into perspective.