By now, all the children and most of the women were settled inside the farmhouse. The injured were also given a place inside, out of the elements. He watched as Tarrod carefully helped one of his friends hobble inside. In the fading daylight, it took Jett a moment before he recognized him as the one who had emerged from the hole in the ground with Tarrod several days ago.
The young man looked like death, pain twisting his features, yet he still managed to grin at something Tarrod said. Then they disappeared inside, and Jett found himself staring at the ground between his knees.
Why did he feel guilty? None of this was his fault, right? It wasn't like he told the Kairg to attack Shann Tei. He wasn't the one who set the War Machines free to slaughter their way through the city. He had nothing to do with it! But even so ...
He leaned his head back and stared up at the patches of darkening sky through the tree branches. The first few stars were beginning to show. One in particular seemed to twinkle brighter than the rest, so he stared at it blankly.
If he focused really hard, maybe he could pretend he was back home in the Putarc Forest. He'd be lying in the cool grasses on a warm summer night, trying to see the constellations that his mother used to show him when he was little.
"See that star?" She'd always say, lifting a slender hand to point at the sky. "That one is always in the same place. It never goes away, even as the others sometimes disappear for a while. Do you know why?"
"No," he would say, even though she had told him before, many times.
"It's because it's the king of the sky," She'd answer gently. "He sits on his throne and watches over everything else. And even though all of his subjects - all the other stars, even the moon - move all over the sky, you will always find him there, in the north. So if you ever get lost, you just need to find the king that never leaves his throne. And he will always point you the way you need to go."
The star grew blurry as Jett watched it, causing him to blink several times. He wondered what would happen if he just up and left. Forget everything that had happened in the last year and just return to his little hut near the Putarc forest.
Even those silly villagers would be a welcome change compared to this mess. They treated him like an outcast, but even so ... some had made sure he had enough food and clothing to survive the winters. When his mother had died, they brought him food every day until he had shown he was capable of hunting his own. They may have not liked him, but even they would not let a child starve to death.
The sound of a vehicle's engine drew his attention. A large van had pulled up nearby, one of its headlights illuminating the outside of the farmhouse. The other one was burnt out.
Jett did not recognize the vehicle. And neither did the others. Crossfires immediately gathered, weapons held openly as a warning sign. Behind them, a couple of large fires roared, illuminating them in flickering orange light. Most of the gang members remained where they were by the fires, watching warily as their armed members faced this new arrival.
Jett stayed where he was. His hurting body agreed with that plan. Besides, Jett was pretty sure neither the Kairg or Troit travelled around in decrepit civilian vehicles.
A man stepped out of the driver's side. He wore a ball cap and a full beard that hid the majority of his face from view. He moved with a languid grace, outstretching his arms to show that he was unarmed.
The side door on the van slid open, and two more people came out. One was a lanky young man, also wearing a ball cap. He too, was unarmed. The second person was a girl, dressed in torn leggings and a oversized sweatshirt that went halfway to her knees. She was smiling brightly.
From his spot, Jett couldn't really get a good look at the newcomers because some of the Crossfires had decided to stand partly in his field of view. Probably on purpose, he thought darkly.
But the few glimpses he got was enough to reassure him that these people were no threat. Or at least, as far as he could tell.
"Darren!" A voice cut throw the crowd of Crossfires. "Is that you?" Crossfires parted like the red sea to allow Jerrick to pass through. He wore a big smile as he approached the bearded man.
"Jerrick," the bearded newcomer grinned, teeth flashing. He offered a meaty hand, which Jerrick grabbed firmly. Both drew in close, grasping each other's shoulders in a brief hug. As they separated, Jerrick was shaking his head wryly.
"I was hoping I'd find you here, but I didn't think you'd find us first. How did you even know we were on the way?"
"One of my boys saw the commotion earlier. Thought I'd head out and see what it was," Darren said. He appeared rather laid back about the whole thing, which Jett found odd. The commotion he was referring to could only have been one thing - the whole Kairg saving their enemy (Jett) from their enemy (Gray). If anyone was in their right mind, they'd run away from such a mess instead of casually wandering in for a closer look.
Jett suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose, eyes watering as his poor bruised body cried in agony as a result. Carefully, he folded his arms in close, trying not to sniffle. It was probably the cold evening air that made him sneeze. The flyer suit was insulated, but his head was uncovered at the moment.
Maybe I should get a hat for when I don't wear my helmet?
"Well, I'm glad to see you," Jerrick was saying. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, for sure." Darren's teeth flashed once more in an easy smile. He gestured to the young man beside him. "I don't think you've met Robbie - he's my second youngest."
The young man gave a hesitant nod. His eyes swept over the crowd of armed Crossfires behind Jerrick, growing a little round in the process. He managed to focus on Jerrick for a brief moment, before giving a quiet, "Hi."
Then he stumbled forward as Darren gave him a solid slap on the back. Thwack! "Don't be shy, boy. Jerrick's an old buddy of mine. Give him a proper greeting."
Jett watched with growing interest as Robbie tentatively stepped closer to the Crossfires' leader and held out a slightly shaky hand. The poor guy looked like he'd rather crawl in a hole and die a miserable death than give a simple handshake.
It's not like Jerrick was a really scary person. Jett conveniently had forgotten about his impending chat with the man, and was currently only remembering how forgiving and generous Jerrick could be. After all, this was the person who stood up for him even when Tarrod hadn't. If it weren't for Jerrick, there was no way he'd be able to sit peacefully in the Crossfire's camp like this.
As soon as Jerrick gave Robbie's hand a gentle shake, the young man had scurried back to his father's side like a frightened rabbit. Jett sighed. If only I could get this guy to meet Syk. There's no one creepier than that medic flyer of the Twelve. Then he'd be less afraid to meet normal people.
He nodded to himself, feeling quite smart. That was when a warm, clear voice called out.
"I'm Callie!" The girl, who'd been standing by the van the whole time, walked forward. She moved quickly and with confidence, a brilliant smile adorning her round face. Jett blinked, unconsciously leaning forward to try and get a better look.
She stuck a hand out, staring up at Jerrick until he chuckled. "Hello Callie." He gave her hand a firm shake, before glancing towards Darren. "Your youngest?"
Darren's expression grew proud. "That she is. Silly girl. She wouldn't stay home this time. Crawled in back and I didn't even know she was there until we were nearly here."
Callie frowned, scrunching up her face. "That's cos you never let me see the fights, Da. If there was a big fight going on, I want to see it!"
She wanted to see a fight? Jett stared at her incredulously. What a crazy person. Only bloodthirsty heathens would like watching people fight.
"Callie," a long sigh drifted from Darren. It seemed that he'd heard this before a million times. "There's a reason I wanted you to stay home. It could've been really dangerous, all right?"
"Then why'd you take Robbie?" She pointed at her brother, who was half hidden behind Darren's imposing figure. "I don't think he'd be very useful in a dangerous situation."
Her blunt honesty made almost everyone wince. Robbie just lowered his gaze, saying nothing to defend himself.
"Why I took him doesn't matter. What matters is that you can't just sneak along whenever I leave. What if we didn't run into our friends here, but the flyers instead? What if they had one of those machines with them?" As he spoke, Darren's calm manner gradually morphed into something that was halfway stern. It wasn't fully there, because at this distance, even Jett could tell that there was no real heat to Darren's words. He was scolding her because he had to, but not because he really wanted to.
"Daaaa," she whined, "I'm not stupid. If I find one of those machines, I'm not going to go throw rocks at it. I just want to see what's going on, that's all." She went to her father's side, wrapped both her arms around one of his, and looked up at him. "Besides, flyers are pretty strong, right? Wouldn't it be fun to watch them fight?"
Somewhere in the crowd of Crossfires, a few people choked. They were probably trying to drink some water and forgot which pipe was for air and which was for water. It was pretty easy to get mixed up sometimes. Jett also managed to make this mistake as he was swallowing some saliva, and he ended up coughing rather violently.
It was not a good day for him.
Coughing made his ribs shriek, and by the time he managed to get everything back under control, he couldn't stop a miserable moan from escaping. He pressed both arms against his torso, eyes watering. It felt like he rattled a few things loose. A part of him worried that if he didn't hold everything together, he'd just fall apart.
He realized something then. It was far too quiet. Lifting his gaze, he saw that the closest people had turned to look at him. And not only that. Both Jerrick and Darren were gazing at him. The former bore a questioning expression, while the second looked completely startled.
"Whoa!" Callie lit up like the sun. "Is that a real flyer?"
It was at that moment, Jett completely understood Robbie. He too, had the urge to crawl into a hole. Forget about the miserable death part - he didn't need to go that far. He just wanted to disappear.