*Noella's POV*
After an unnervingly quiet ride, we arrived at the plane. This time we would not be seeing Nico and Justin, my favorite people to fly with. This time we would be riding with some acquaintances of Andy.
I closed my journal and slipped it into my bag. For the past two hours, I've been working on a drawing of her. I wanted one without all the blood, and I wanted to see her, not the circumstances that brought her here.
I still didn't know her name, just her last one Freeman, and that was only because of her name tag. She didn't trust us, and I couldn't blame her, we didn't exactly make a good impression.
When we got out, I stayed close to Andy, knowing that wandering off here would not be appreciated. She threw and arm over my shoulder and walked with me towards the plane, keeping a protective hold on me. Freeman trailed behind us, likely apprehensive of the company we keep.
When we approached the plane, we gestured for her to go first and she complied, followed by me, then Andy.
The girl looked around apprehensively while Andy riffled through her bag. I sat myself in the nearest chair, pushing my bag underneath it. She found what she was looking for and gave a bundle to her. "Put these on."
"Where are you taking me?"
I piped in "Paris." I got up and grabbed a bottle of water before tossing it to her. "You've got blood in your hair."
The girl looked at Andy, "Wonder why?"
Andy gave her a look before tucking a gun in her waistband. I was already armed, I had both a gun in my waistband, and three knives hidden on my body.
"This guy's a drug runner. This the shit you into?"
Andy explained it well enough. "Well, sometimes you gotta work with people you don't wanna eat with." She grabbed a phone out of the bag.
I nodded to Andy, and she walked out of the plane to call the others.
"is this even safe?" Freeman said in disbelief, turning back only to find Andy gone.
"Does it really matter?" I perched myself in a chair by the door, watching Andy walk away.
With her gone the girl turned her attention to me. "You're just a kid." She stated. I guess we haven't talked about that yet.
I drank from a water bottle. "Looks can be deceiving."
She nodded, not entirely convinced.
I studied her. "How old are you?"
"I'm twenty-six." Her next question came quickly. "How'd you end up here?"
"In a similar way that you did." I thought it over. "When we get to Paris, if you still wanna know, I'll tell you my story."
The girl nodded before starting to change. I turned my back to give her some privacy, watching Andy on the phone instead.
I could already tell she was more comfortable with me rather than Andy, that wasn't really a surprise considering their interactions. I didn't expect it to last long. Nile and Andy were like two sides of the same coin, made with the same material, only the finer details were changed. They are so alike, and when they see that, they will be extremely close friends.
It wasn't long before Andy was returning with the pilot. The girl watched everything closely; she was planning something, I had a feeling.
Andy kicked a box and I heard bottles clinking. I perked up and looked at her eagerly. She pulled out a bottle of vodka before opening it. After she had taken a swig, she passed it to me. I took one as well before holding it out to the girl. She shook her head as she buckled her seat belt. I smiled before handing it back to Andy. She took a long gulp as the plane was taking off, steadying herself on the roof.
She sat next to me, and I leaned my head on her shoulder, and Andy wrapped an arm around me as well.
The girl watched us before finally speaking up. "So why is this happening to me?"
"I wish I knew." Andy said, fidgeting slightly.
"You said you had answers." The girl demanded.
"I didn't say you'd like them."
I scoffed, gaining a look from Andy.
"Are you praying?" Andy said before laughing.
I pulled my head off her shoulder and moved to a different part of the plane. She was being cruel, this girl needed any comfort she could get, and I couldn't understand why Andy was trying so hard to take it away.
I laid myself on the seats across from them and closed my eyes, still listening to their conversation.
"God doesn't exist."
I spoke up. "Be nice."
The girl fired back. "My god does."
"You know, there was a time when I was worshiped as a god."
The plane hit turbulence. I groaned and adjusted my body, getting the seatbelts out from under me.
"Was that Him?" She spoke sarcastically. "Don't worry, I can't do shit like that." Andy stood up. "None of it means anything anyway."
The girl decided to let it go and I silently thanked her for it. "You said there were others. How many?"
"Five."
"You're an army of five?"
I spoke up. "Six now."
"So that's why you took me? So I could join your army?"
Andy said "yeah."
I butted in, sitting myself up. "That's not the only reason we took you. You were alone, and scared, and had no clue what was happening to you. We couldn't leave you in the dark, especially somewhere you could expose yourself." I paused. "We don't die, if someone found out about you, you could have been tortured and experimented on for years before we found you." I spoke softly. "You don't want that."
"No. This is some bullshit." She scoffed some more causing me to put my head down and groan.
"You must have hypnotized me, or uh, drugged me or something." She gained more confidence. "And that was a blank you shot me with."
I heard Andy mumble something about doing it again if she wanted, before finally speaking. "And I was the one who cut your throat. Right?"
Freeman didn't have a response for that one.
Andy continued "Listen kid. You already believe in.." She pointed up at the sky "You should just keep following that illogic." Andy started getting comfy. "You're already on board with the supernatural."
I spoke next, cutting off Andy. "If I were you, I would get some sleep." I spoke kindly before covering myself with my jacket too. Hand right beside my knife in the pocket. I drifted off quickly, exhausted by the events of the past few days.
A jacket hit me in the face, startling me awake. I moved to sit up, but found myself restricted by seatbelts. I looked over, and Andy was in a similar position. I never should have gone to sleep.
I looked at her unamused, she returned it with a look of her own. I sighed and grabbed the knife out of my pocket and silently started sawing through the seatbelts. How come Andy only had one?
The girl looked over at us. "We're not going to Paris." I cut through the first seatbelt, sat up a little, and moved on to the next one.
Somehow she didn't notice and continued to point her gun at the pilot. Andy shook her head at me and I hid my knife again.
"Andrie." She called out, "Come here." He stood up only to be ordered by the girl.
"Sit your ass down!" he slowly sat down.
"Stand up!" Andy yelled annoyed.
The girl didn't back down. "You do not listen to her. You listen to me."
"Everyone listens to her." I mused, laying down again, completely done with today. I just wanna sleep.
She ignored me. "Land this plane." The pilot turned back.
Andy tried again. "Trust me. She's not gonna shoot you. I am." before speaking in Russian. I schooled my face into something of indifference as I watched Andy fire the gun.
The girl started panicking as she looked at the pilot. "Who's gonna fly the plane?"
"We don't need a pilot. We can jump and survive." She made herself comfortable. "You ever jumped from a plane Sunshine?"
I looked up slightly at Andy. "Not without a parachute." I smirked. "Sounds kinda cool actually."
"I am not jumping from a plane!" The girl interjected, panic clear in her voice.
The plane started getting lower.
Andy started dramatically. "Whoa! Shit! Maybe we do need a pilot." I giggled. Andy held out her arm. "I can fly a plane."
She didn't even hesitate as she ran to Andy. I smiled as I grabbed the knife and started working on the final strap.
"You don't speak Russian, do you?" Andy spoke confidently. I continued sawing, smiling as I listened.
She continued unlocking her. "Why?" I was finally loose and so was Andy.
I sat still and watched the encounter. "Because I told the pilot to play dead." Andy stood up.
The pilot got up and I grinned at the girl, waving at her with my newly freed hands.
She swung the gun towards Andy only to be thrown to the ground. She got up quickly and began moving again. I stood up, ducked under a punch meant for Andy, and walked to the boxes full of Vodka. I reached in to grab a bottle, watching the flight lazily.
She tried to tackle Andy. I just sidestepped the interaction, moving to sit in a good seat, opening my bottle in the process.
Andy pushed her into a crate, drawing the pilots attention. I spoke to him in Russian. "Eyes on the sky." He immediately looked away.
I pulled the bottle to my lips.
"You really want to do this, kid?"
The girl answered with a punch, easily deflected by Andy. She used her momentum to sling the new one slightly away from her.
They started at it again. The girl was giving it her all, Andy however, was barely trying, only blocking her punches. I guess the girls training starts now.
I focused in on her technique. It was polished in a way that only the military can give. The major difference was that this girl actually paid attention in class, obviously fixing every flaw her instructors saw. Her punches were solid, and her forms were excellent, the only thing missing was the decades of experience the rest of us had.
She managed to push Andy to the wall, holding her there for a second. Andy landed a hit to the girl's head switching their positions, before throwing her to the other side.
The girl caught herself and went back towards Andy. I yelled out advice. "Plan ahead, you got this girl!" I took a swig from the bottle again.
Andy kneed her in the stomach causing me to wince slightly. She then pushed her back roughly, causing drugs to fall on the floor. I studied them briefly, dang these guys were playing with the hard stuff. I kicked it away and turned my attention back to the fight.
It wasn't hard to see the smile lingering on Andy's lips. I smiled at her and tilted my bottle towards her.
The pilot decided to try and help, tilting the plane to the left. They both fell to the side, allowing the girl to get a nice punch to the face. I clapped slightly, still enjoying my front row seat.
Approval flashed across Andy's face. The kid attempted to sweep her feet, distracting Andy enough to get another hit to the face. I leaned forward. She was a natural fighter, good instincts.
Andy grabbed the girl's next punch, grabbing her chin and lifting her slightly. They started walking back towards the front in that position, before the kid broke the stance to try and hit Andy.
Andy swiftly dodged the attacks and landed a calculated hit to her leg. Andy was just toying with her now.
The girl tried again only to have her head shoved in the wall. She pushed herself slightly off of it only for Andy to use that leverage to put them both on the ground. Andy stood up first.
"We're done."
The girl stood back up. Andy looked at me and I nodded slightly towards the new one. She needed this.
The girl threw a punch, only this time Andy didn't hold back, breaking her arm the same way she did me all those years ago.
The girl yelled out in pain, and Andy threw her towards the back. "I said we're done."
The girl didn't listen and tried to kick her. Andy pulled her leg up and met it strategically, effectively breaking her leg. She fell to the ground groaning in pain.
I got up and walked towards the two.
Andy spoke first. "You're very good." Andy kneeled next to her and I followed. "What's your name?"
"Nile." I smiled at the little victory. We finally had a name to go with the face.
I looked her over. "You see? You're already healing faster."
The girl looked up in time to watch her Ulna retreat into her arm, healing the skin in the process. She sat up and cautiously moved her arm.
She reached down and felt her leg doing the same thing. Andy and I shared a knowing look before watching Nile curiously.
She whispered. "Is this real?" She paused. "I got people that love me. People that are gonna worry. "
Andy and I looked down. I didn't have that, and I can't imagine going through this with people that did.
Nile continued. "I'm a Marine. They think I went AWOL."
Andy interrupted. "You're not a Marine anymore. They're going to lock you up."
Nile slightly rocked herself, emotion overtaking her demeanor. I stopped myself from reaching out. Tt wasn't what she needed right now, and it also wasn't my place.
Andy stood up and offered her a hand. Nile hesitantly looked at it before taking it. I watched as they shared a meaningful look, before pushing myself up standing beside Nile.
The girl was still in shock, so I took that time to look her over. I was still the shortest on the team. This is some bullshit.