Page 94 of Red Fire
The door to the cockpit opens, and one of the pilots walks out. Shit, I forgot his name.
“Are you still doing okay back here?” he asks.
“Yes, I’m all good. Looking forward to going home.” If I pretend, maybe it will start feeling true.
“I’m sure you are. I would be, too.”
“This jet is stunning.” I look around. “I’m very lucky. Who did you bring to the island? They must be loaded.”
“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to say.” He winks at me.
“Oh, okay. I was also wondering how it is that you guys fly in and out of Mistveil.” This is something I meant to ask Creed, but I forgot. “I thought that nothing was allowed in or out. That the Draig…lot had patrols ensuring that nothing…” By nothing, I mean dragons, but why not airplanes, too? “Got in or out.”
That instructor, Shadow, was clear that this island was on lockdown. Clearly, it isn’t.
“I’m sure you also had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
“I did, indeed.”
“So did I. I can’t say anything about anything. I suggest you don’t either, or you’ll be sorry.”
“Okay. Got you.” No talking about anything or else. Perhaps I should have read the small print.
“A couple of things.” He looks at his watch. “We’re taking off in the next eight minutes. They finished fueling early, and we’ve already performed the pre-flight checks, so we’re good to go. It’ll mean a slightly earlier take-off time, but I’m sure you don’t mind?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond since it’s a rhetorical question. “Make sure you buckle up for take-off and landing. I’ll let you know just before we start the descent.”
I nod as he speaks.
“Your seat folds out easily into a bed. Use this lever.” He shows me where it is. “There’s bedding in this closet.” He opens a wall panel by pushing on it. It clicks closed. “We’ll be up front. You’re welcome to come into the cockpit once we reach cruise altitude. The flight will be around four hours and ten minutes. Slightly longer than normal due to headwinds. Be aware that there will be turbulence when we fly through the mist that hangs around this island. There are always crosswinds.”
“Believe me, I know,” I tell him, not going into any detail. He doesn’t need to know I crashed.
“Okay, then. We’re all set and ready to go. I hope you have an excellent flight. We’ll see you a little later.”
I nod, feeling slightly ill. I click my seatbelt closed, pulling the strap tight. Then I look out the window. A minute later, the cabin lights go out. It doesn’t take long before we push back. Then we are taxiing down the only runway on the island. It’s lit up like the 4th of July.
This is it.
I’m ready.
I wipe away a single tear that falls, forcing myself to swallow down the rest of them. Everything is going to be just fine.
Creed
My tires screech as I pull up to the airstrip. I’m just in time to see the jet go airborne.
“Fuck!” I grunt. The time on my dash is five to eight. That’s five minutes early.
Perhaps the male at the front desk got it wrong. Maybe they simply took off early. Whatever the reason, I’m too fucking late.
It’s done.
Octavia is gone.
I’m tempted to shift. To chase them down. To force them to land, but I don’t. I don’t want to scare the humans. I don’t want to scare Octavia or risk her safety in any way.
I can’t do it.
I get out of my car and hang my head for a few moments. If only I’d driven straight to the castle. If only… No, that would have been wrong. I did the right thing by taking Aspen to my folks’ house. I did the right thing explaining things to them before coming here. How was I to know that this was going to happen? I didn’t. I couldn’t have known.