Project Starfall (Completed)

Chapter 10

Back at the helicopter, Knox wasted no time getting it in the air. Pierce looked out a window, already missing the freedom of being outside, and hoped the trip to Florida would pass quickly. The beach sounded nice. She wondered what it would be like to walk along a sandy shore or to wade into the ocean. She'd never had the opportunity for such experiences.

"Hey, I almost forgot." Grey's voice pulled her attention away from the small pane of glass. In his hands was a plastic tub. "This was also with the things Darius stored here. I looked inside and I think it's the stuff that we had on us before being imprisoned." He opened the lid of the tub and dumped its contents on the floor.

There were ordinary items like sticks of gum, crumpled dollar bills, coins, and the odd paper clip or pencil. Pierce rested her back against the side of the helicopter, not speaking, just observing. Madigan pocketed a nasty-looking knife from the pile of belongings. It was a silver blade with a hilt Pierce guessed was ivory. Elliot picked up a photograph of a white dog with a brown patch around its right eye. If Grey picked anything up, Pierce didn't notice.

After everyone finished looking through the objects there was only a pile of rubbish and two items left unclaimed. One was a plain gold ring, and the other a silver band with a single, small, square diamond. "Maybe they're Knox's?" Elliot suggested.

"Maybe," Pierce agreed. She left her spot against the wall and plucked the rings from the ground. With three pairs of eyes tracking her, Pierce walked to the cockpit and Knox turned around with a smirk.

"You're so impatient. We'll get to Texas soon enough," he said as if he were speaking to a small child. Then he noticed the rings and his smirk vanished.

"These are yours, yes?" Pierce asked. He nodded and she dropped the rings into his open palm. "Darius put some of our old stuff with the supplies," she explained.

"Thanks," he said without a hint of his normally irritating manner. Pierce shrugged and returned to the belly of the aircraft.

At some point during the flight Pierce fell asleep, and it was late in the afternoon when she woke to Grey's voice. "Hey," he greeted her tiredly. Pierce wondered if he'd gotten any sleep himself. In each hand he held a mug. "Coffee?" he asked. "We're at Knox's friend's place. The guy made some for us."

Pierce took the mug of coffee and sniffed it, nearly coughing at the pungent aroma. "I wasn't sure how you liked your coffee, so I left it black," Grey went on. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and threw some sugar and cream packets at her feet. Cautiously, Pierce took a sip of the plain, black coffee, and nearly spit it out. She must've made a funny face because Grey laughed. "Never had coffee before?" he joked.

"No," Pierce said, glaring at the cup. "And I'm glad. This stuff is terrible."

"Well at least put some cream and sugar in it before you write it off altogether," Grey said, sitting next to her and drinking from his own mug.

Five sugar packets and two creams later Pierce was finally satisfied with the taste. "I guess it's not so bad," she admitted.

"Of course it isn't," Grey snorted. "That's basically pure sugar now."

Pierce frowned at him and stood, stretching her aching muscles. All her cuts from earlier had already scabbed over, and her burns and arm were feeling much better. Pierce had fallen asleep in her trench coat, but now shrugged it off to free her wings. "What's flying like?" Grey asked curiously, standing as well.

"Different," Pierce replied, unsure of how to explain it. It wasn't a feeling you could express with words. "I guess it's a lot like running or swimming. There's a lot of movement involved. If I change the tiniest angle of my wings, or flap a little faster, my entire flight pattern shifts. It's what I imagine dancing to be like."