Horizon

Chapter 41

It took a while to explain everything. The humans kept asking for more details, and I wasn't able to provide more. Things had moved just too fast...so fast that I didn't even have enough time to recall it properly. I let Thomas, and Avery do most of the explaining, but everyone kept looking at me for answers.

All of us were trying to keep ourselves awake, but it was a little difficult. The food we had eaten didn't help much. We all knew that we had to maintain our focus because were about to head back into the city. With slaps to the face, and refills of coffee, we regained our energy and prepared to head back into the city.

As the rest of us packed our equipment, I strode over to where Don was sharpening his blades. I awkwardly sat myself on the floor next to him, and gave him a light kick.

"How did you survive Talon's wounds?" I asked.

Don looked surprised that I had asked that. He stopped what he was doing, and faced me. Then, he pointed at his gut, and said, "Don used couch cushion to stop bleeding." Pointing at his head, he added, "Wrapped face to keep skin together. Waited for weeks before it healed...and it was very painful."

"I'm so sorry, Don," I said quietly. "I should have—"

Don set his paw onto my shoulder, interrupting me. With a smile, he stated, "Don keeps promises, no matter what. Glad Horizon is safe. Horizon made the right choice."

"Thank you," I said with a sigh of relief. "Now, I'm going to need your help again. Are you willing to come along?"

Don chuckled a little, and replied, "Don will protect Horizon with his life. As long as Don lives, Master will live as well."

I patted Don on the shoulder, and laughed a little with him. "Good to hear. It'll be a relief to know that you'll be nearby. We're going to need all the help that we can get...and judging by how you can handle that sword...you'll be more than enough help."

I got up, and made sure that everything was still holstered correctly. With my own nod of affirmation, I placed myself in the center of the room. Next, I whistled sharply to get everyone's attention. Once everyone had their eyes on me, I spoke.

"Alright everyone, let's go over the new plan." I then pointed at Thomas, and asked, "Okay, Thomas...what are you going to do?"

Shoving a knife back into its sheath, Thomas answered, "I'm going to be taking Connell, Lucas, and Leo with me. We will head straight for the tunnels, and meet up with the humans that have camped in the train station. Once we gather them, we will make a beeline for the city line. After that, we will see if we can round up any more humans."

"Good," I said. Then, I pointed at Breaker. "Alright Breaker, what's your objective?"

Breaker nodded, and replied, "I'll be going with Hunter, to the national mall. There we will be able to have a good view of what's going on from the hotel. Hunter will listen in on the nearby radio chatter, and let you all know if anything changes. If Hunter deems it safe, then I can use the explosives I have to blow the hotel halfway to hell."

"Now that would be a sight to see," I added with a chuckle. "As for me, I will be taking Don with me to the communications center. I'll send the message to Talon, and then I'll send out a fake coded message. As soon as the messages are in the air, then Don and I will meet with Breaker and Hunter by Washington Monument. From there, we can get out of the city."

"What if the humans misinterpret the message?" Leo asked. "Won't the humans see that as an actual call to arms?"

"They won't," I replied confidently. "You, Thomas, Connell, and Lucas will make it to the station way before I arrive at the radio station. Once you're there, you will need to tell the humans to radio each other, so that they'll ignore my message."