Biana
Biana had her eyes closed, just enjoying the moment, when she felt something cold close around her hand. Her eyes flew open and she gasped.
Tam had put his hand around hers. His eyes were still closed and he lay still, shaking slightly. The only indication that he'd moved was his hand.
Biana smiled softly and blinked back the tears in her eyes.
"You'll be alright," she whispered to Tam.
Sophie
"Are we there yet?"
"Are you trying to do the role of the annoying five-year-old?," Sophie sighed. Her grip on the wheel tightened, making her knuckles go white.
Keefe tsked. "Correction : I'm not trying. I am doing - and greatly at that, I must say - the role of a five-year-old."
Sophie bit her lip to keep herself from smiling. "Well, for your information, we have half an hour left."
"Yes!" Keefe pumped his fist in the air. "Did I tell you I get carsick?"
"Multiple times."
"Well, it sucks. Big time."
"I think you said exactly that the last three times you mentioned your motion sickness."
"See," Keefe said, "I only get sick when I'm in a vehicle that's...I don't know how to describe it. Plush? If the seats are hard, like in subways and certain buses, I'll be just peachy. Throw me in a taxi, and I'll barf all over you."
Sophie massaged one of her temples with a hand. "And did I mention that I also get motion sickness sometimes?"
"No," Keefe replied. He paused. "Do you?"
"No. But what if I did and I didn't tell you?"
Keefe put his hand over his heart and turned in his seat to give Sophie a horrified look. "I would be hurt, Foster. We could have bonded over our hatred of getting carsick!"
"And what if I do get carsick and you keep on reminding me of it?"
"But you don't," Keefe answered as if it were obvious. He opened the glove compartment and took out a packet of gum. "Gum?"
Sophie glanced at it. "What flavor is it?"
"Mint." He popped a piece of gum in his mouth.
Sophie snatched the piece of gum he was offering. "Thanks."
"See?," Keefe exclaimed. "I can be useful!"
"Oh, really?" Sophie raised an eyebrow. "Then, why have you been acting like a five-year-old for the last few hours?"
"It just adds to my charm."
"What charm?," Sophie asked innocently.
"That's just low, Foster," Keefe pouted.
Sophie laughed. "Someone had to say it."
The houses on both sides of the car were falling away to make way for trees. They were in the woods. Birds flew overhead, covering the sun's glare momentarily.
"Are we in Vermont?," Keefe asked.
"We have been for at least twenty minutes, now."
"Then, are we there yet?"
Sophie groaned. He couldn't go five minutes without asking that question, could he?
"Nope."
Oops, she had said that out loud. She shook her head, still smiling.
Suddenly, she saw a sign saying Ravagog Orchard. She stopped the car abruptly.
"We're here?," Keefe asked. He looked like a toddler who had just been given candy.
"Yes," Sophie said as she twisted around to take off her seatbelt. The seatbelt whizzed out of sight, and she twisted to the other side. She leaned towards the backseat, and rummaged around in her backpack, trying to find the jar.
Finally, her hand touched cool glass. She yanked it out of her bag, causing half of the things inside to fall out, but she didn't care.
She spun around and opened the door.
"Ready, Fos-boss?"
"Fos-boss?," Sophie asked, bewildered. "Where did you even come up with that?"
Keefe shrugged. "Well, right now, you're kinda my boss on this mission. I think imma call you Lady Fos-boss, now."
Sophie groaned. "You do realize that if Dex ever hears that name, he's never going to stop calling me that?"
"Neither am I," Keefe said, winking. "You can count on me for that." He slung an arm around her shoulders while she locked the car.
They walked into the woods, observing the apple trees. Apple-picking season was coming soon. Sophie had never gone apple-picking, but it seemed fun to do with friends and family.
An unsettling feeling came upon Sophie. Everything felt too...quiet. There were no birds, no squirrels. Nothing. Not a living soul in sight.
As they walked deeper into the forest, Sophie shivered. She had goosebumps on her arms. But it wasn't from the cold.
"Hey, Lady Fos-boss," Keefe whispered. He leaned into her. "Is it me, or is it wayyyy too quiet, here?"
Sophie nodded. "It is." She stopped and crouched down. She subconsciously touched her boot, staring at the trees suspiciously.
Keefe seemed to produce two bundles of fabric from thin air.
"We're not alone, here," he told her. He passed her a cloak, and they each put one on. The sign of the Black Swan was painted across the back of them.
Sophie flipped the hood up. No one outside of the Black Swan knew who Agent Moonlark was, and she intended to keep it that way. Keefe also put the hood on.
Sophie pulled the dagger out of its hiding place in her boot while Keefe took out some throwing stars.
They trekked even deeper into the forest, not letting their guard down. They hid their weapons. Sophie had a bad feeling about this.
About five minutes later, they stumbled across a clearing. In the center of it was a beautiful tree unlike any others. The blossoms on it were many different colors. Pink, purple, and blue. The silver bark was twisted. The tree was like a colorful, more elegant version of a willow tree. Sophie could tell that this was the Panakes tree.
She made her way to the tree, careful not to step on any twigs.
Snap!
A twig snapped behind her. Sophie's eyes widened and in less than a second, she grabbed her mask out of her pocket, put it on, and spun around to face the person behind.
A faintly familiar man was standing there, giving Sophie a wolf glare. He was very muscular. Shiny golden stones were studded in his earlobes. Strange tattoos were on his bald head, and he had black fingernails.
"Why hello, Black Swan," he said, cocking his head to the side. He cracked his knuckles.
"Who is he?," Sophie whispered to Keefe.
Keefe moved his feet into a battle stance. "Dimitar."
Dex
Dex was puzzled when he noticed Biana come out of the infirmary. He stared at her retreating form warily, unsure what to think about Biana sneaking around. He decided not to question her.
He took out a pocket knife and started cutting the seam of his shirt. Two small black objects fell out. Trackers.
Dex knew better than to think that the Black Swan didn't trust the teens, but he still didn't like the fact that the Black Swan felt the need to know where they were twenty-four seven.
He took out something he had been working on for a while. He called it the Twiggler. It was generally intended to be used for hacking, but it had other purposes. Like detecting other gadgets.
Using the Twiggler, Dex found twenty more small trackers in his clothes. Geez, the Black Swan weren't taking any risks. This was just in one set of clothes!
He moved the Twiggler around himself once more for good measure. He tilted his head to the side in confusion when the Twiggler started signaling like crazy near his wrist. He brought it closer to his wrist. A red light blared from the Twiggler.
Dex gasped. They didn't...
They did. Dex poked his wrist with the Twiggler, and the small gadget made beeping noises. Dex scowled. How they'd managed to inject a tracker in his wrist without him realizing, he didn't know...
Dex glared at the ground. This was exactly why he kept the Twiggler from the Collective.