Horizon

Chapter Four

I looked at the expression on Jet’s face as we walked down yet another country road back into the city. There we would catch a bus and use Jenna’s credit card to buy plane tickets back to West Virginia; I’d actually talked Jet into going back with me. I had to check on my family. I needed to know how they were doing without me or Jasper. “Jet?”

He raised his eyebrows and glanced at me, not saying anything.

“Are you okay with all this?”

He chuckled. “Not really, Horizon. I’m scared, if you haven’t noticed. Those guys could be anywhere. I don’t know how, but they know who we are and want more than anything to kill us.”

I closed my eyes and breathed in slowly. “I know,” I replied. “When we get to West Virginia, we can tell my mom and go to the police to have them arrested.”

“I sure hope so.”

The country feeling slowly disappeared as we neared the next big city. I wasn’t really sure where we were, and all I knew is that we were close to a boarder, so the plane ride wouldn’t be that long. An hour, at least.

“Oh! Bus!” I pointed out. We crossed the busy street to the stopped bus and paid the fee to ride.

Looking out the window, the city was so much bigger than what I grew up to. It was scary to a girl like me.

We stopped shortly after we boarded and got off, walking the short two blocks to the air port.

“The closest we can get to where I live is about a twenty minute walk. That good?” I asked, looking at the scheduled flights.

He nodded. “Whatever we can. I just wanna get away from those dudes.”

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Jet clung to the side of the seats as we rolled down the runway at full speed. He held his breath as we took off, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on my arm.

I laughed. “Jet, it’s okay. It’s just a plane.”

He opened one eye and looked around. Opening both, he peered out the window and watched as the clouds rolled by. “That was easier than expected.”

I smiled. “See? Nothing to worry about.” I leaned back in my seat as the flight attendant walked around with water bottles. I thought about my brothers. Mike, and the twins AJ and Wyatt. I haven’t seen any of them since I was nine. Mike would be sixteen by now, and AJ and Wyatt seventeen.

The ride wasn’t as bad as I expected; Jet only left a few scratches on my arm from clinging to it which was the good thing. We landed about an hour in, and we walked the short twenty minutes back to my old neighborhood.

Tears sprung to my eyes. “What happened..?” I looked around. Bricks were scattered where old houses used to be, and the road had cracks and bumps all over it. I swallowed when I glanced down my old street. Only five houses were standing where at least twenty used to be. Relief flooded my body when I realized that my house was one of the houses left standing. I looked at Jet. “That’s it.”

He smiled. “It’s pretty much the nicest one left,” he said, looking around.

I swallowed. “I sure hope they still live here.” I slowly walked up to the sidewalk. Glancing in the window, I saw the curtains my mom made when my dad was still alive. That was a good sign. I looked at our old garden. Where flowers used to bloom, weeds now covered every square inch of dirt. I pushed them aside to reveal the five stones: Jasper, AJ, Wyatt, Mike, and Horizon. Each of our names were sketched in the stone. I smiled. “They’re still here.”