We have a great time, running around London in the dark. We decide to just run anywhere and everywhere, since we can go for longer than humans. We visit King’s Cross again, and then Caleb suggests the roofs. I grin. This sounds fun.
A couple of quick escapes, rusty ladders, and scraped knees later, we’re running on top of the buildings, jumping over the gaps with ease. It feels like flying.
We should be olympic athletes.
Caleb’s clothes flap in the cool wind, and as he jumps a particularly big gap, he does a flip. It’s a bad idea, because he doesn’t completely make the jump. As I land on the other side and look beside me at the place he should be, he isn't there. I stop myself and look back. He’s nowhere to be seen. I run back to where we jumped, and find him hanging on for dear life, panting.
“Hold on.” I crouch down and reach out a hand.
“That’s kind of what I’m doing.” He says, still keeping his usual sass that we love him for. One hand stops grasping the ledge, and he nearly misses my hand, but he grabs onto it. His hand is slippery. He gasps. “I’d rather not die now, if that’s okay with you.” There is genuine fear in his eyes, and I can see it despite his attempts to mask it.
I roll my eyes, leaning back and struggling to pull him up as I do so.
“Next time, don’t eat so many chocolate ice cream cakes for dessert.” I grit my teeth.
“They were biscuit based!”
“Can’t you fly up?”
He looks like a lightbulb just lit up in his head.
“Of course.” He announces, letting go of the wall and and my hand, letting himself fall, before zipping up and landing beside me. I stand up, and he grins at me. “Glad I thought of that.”
I shake my head, then touch his arm and run away. “You’re it!” I call over my shoulder. He lets out a yelp and I can hear his heavy footsteps following me. He laughs out loud.
“I’ll get you, Aria Winters!”
Soon his footsteps stop, and he flies past, tagging me on the way, since even his flying is faster than running. He shouldn’t made that mistake. I take off after him, catching up easily. We play tag in the air for a few hours, before Caleb stops.
“Ashton wants us down by the platform.”
“Finally.” I roll my eyes, and follow him back down to the ground, and we walk the rest of the way. Ashton greets me with a hug.
“Hey, Little Aria. How did you go?”
“We got caught because Jim couldn’t keep his mouth shut, Caleb punched a hole in the wall of our prison cell, then we flew past a plane and Caleb nearly died while we were running on people’s roofs.”
He laughs. “That’s the spirit. You have to have fun while the world is ending.”
“Exactly.”
“This is Sophie, who we managed to get out of Creekwell, along with Lilly and Jackson.” Only now do I notice the three teens standing behind him in awe of what I just said. I wave.
“Hey.” I say casually. Sophie walks forward timidly.
“Did you really do all those things? All in one day?” She questions me.
I smile. “I forgot how I used to be when I first arrived at the camp. Don’t worry, we’ve all been through that questioning stage, whether we’re huma-“
“Let’s not drop that bombshell right now.” Ashton cuts in. “They’re still struggling with the fact that they’re finally out.”
“Right. Anyway, yes. We actually can do these things.” I turn to Ashton. “Did the others locate Air Specialty?”
“They’re getting them now. We’ll meet up with them in New York in a couple of hours.”
“Where are they?”
“Mount Everest. They can survive at high altitudes for ages, while humans can’t. It’s only natural, and it’s a good idea because then only we can find them.”
“So let me guess. Ice is somewhere in Antartica, since only they can survive the extreme temperatures.” I say, sarcasm dripping from my words.
He nods. “Looks like you’re getting the hang of it.” He completely misses the sarcasm. “Yes, they are. Once we’re in New York, we’ll send out a rescue team, while the rest of us go out into the woods a while away and get a place to stay.” He yawns. “That is, after our volunteers are settled into the streets.”
I nod, also yawning. “How long has it been since we last slept?”
He stops to think. “Two or three days. It all feels like one big, long, tiresome day, doesn’t it?”
“We shouldn’t have gone running earlier.” I stretch. Ashton shakes his head, smiling.
“Probably not, but unless you have a time turner, we can’t change that. Now how about getting everyone to New York?”
It turns out vines are quite sturdy. Anybody who knows earth helps make a giant basket made out of vines, which we get the humans to sit in as we carry them away. It’s waterproof, since we know we won’t be able to fly over the ocean all in one go. We carry it to Ireland first, which takes just under an hour, them we take a break. Then it’s off to America, staying high in the sky to avoid humans looking and pointing. Ashton steers us over to High Peaks, some mountain peaks near New York City. Instead of going all the way in to the city, we turn the giant basket over so it’s a dome, and crawl under it, our eyes droopy and our arms aching.
Finally, we can sleep.
__________________________________
Sorry it's so short! I couldn't think of anything else to go in here.
Those ice cream cakes are the real Caleb's favourite dessert. Fun fact for you all.
~Ericano
YOU ARE READING
12 Months
AdventureMy mother left us in the dead of night and never returned. I was just eight, and had no motherly figure left. My older brother, Ashton, did the best he could the next morning to stop me crying. Then, in the middle of the day, he ran away too. All I...
