I didn’t realize Romane was fondling my hand and I looked down to see him take off one of his golden rings, slipping it on my finger. Jessie forced a sob out of my mouth, the ring fitting perfectly.
“The Eagles Eye is blind. What do you fucking know?” Levi snorted. “This couldn’t get any better.” He peered over and smirked. “A ring. How cute. Shall I be the priest? I should’ve brought the bible.”
I snapped my head around and saw the Sniper grinning from ear to ear. I saw it. I saw everything. The sound of another metal piece collapsing in. The smell of a burning corpse a room away. Saw his honey eyes shimmering in wickedness. The taste of revenge. With unbelievable speed, I somersaulted, snatched the 212, squeezed the trigger and watched in an agonizing slow pace as the bullet whipped through the air, flying straight towards his heart, spurting the exasperation and insanity this man has put me in.
And missed.
The bullet only speared into his shoulder, it spiraling out and then back in the wound, shooting straight to my gun. He wobbled back and tripped, falling into the approaching smoke. The rumbling began again and my heart raced as the last engine was going to explode. I yelped for Romane to hold onto me. I didn’t get a response.
I turned around and realized he was gone. Nowhere in sight. It was impossible to see through the smoke and my lungs started to feel heavy, the air running thin. I swooped the 212 in my hand, using my sleeve to cover my mouth. My survival instincts were thrown into high gear and I sprinted to the initial destination. Entering the hallway, I saw the room that hid the safety pods, reached for the knob but then the door broke down, fire gushing out to disintegrate where I would’ve been seconds ago. The ground was vibrating now. Beads of sweat rolled down my back and I stumbled, madly coughing. It rumbled faster. The ceiling was breaking around me. The pillars were collapsing. Light bulbs were bursting. Taking one look at the transparent walls and beautiful blue sky, I threw myself into the glass, shattering it as I leaped off the plane and dove into the sky.
It sounded as if the plane was screaming, it being ripped apart by its own destruction. Small shards cut down my cheek as they fell past me. My heart hammered against my chest, and I hurriedly dug around my surroundings, the burning plane plunging above me.
An empty safety pod was floating below, it falling faster. I pointed my toes and arched myself into a straight line, diving headfirst towards the safety pod. I was descending faster. Inching closer as time was running out, the wind plucked at my cheeks, them flapping back. The ground was becoming clearer, the green grass turning into larger strands. My fingers brushed over the round safety pod and I latched onto the handle, yanking it open to quickly throw myself in, closing the door. The pod lit up and the seatbelt automatically strapped across my chest. I tugged at the lever and my head smacked off the ceiling, the parachute ejecting as I slowly ascended. A shower of burning metal rained out the window, an emotion leaking into my soul.
Fear.
Jessie was merging her soul with me, her thoughts and my thoughts were trying to become one. Trying. Time would only tell if it was to be successful.
I was starting to feel. I hated it. But Jessie wanted otherwise.
The landing was a little rough, and I heard the dirt tear. Taking in deep breaths, I wobbled out of the pod and saw miniature dots hopping in the distance. I glanced around and realized we were unfortunate to land on grass; the area would be in flames at the plane crash. That wouldn’t be good if anyone was standing in the open field…
A bolt of certainty struck me and I turned around. Flames consumed the falling aircraft, devouring the plane to then spit out chunks. The smoke appeared to be painting the clouds black, gigantic clumps of birds flailing away at the scene. My nerves twitched and I naturally started backing away. The plane was becoming awfully bigger.
That was because I was standing exactly in its crashing spot. Jessie stumbled on her own feet and I immediately sent her away, allowing the drug to kick in. The human adrenaline spiked up my energy and I was sprinting through the tall grass. The dirt under my soles started to rumble and I didn’t stop to admire the smoke moving past me. A horrifying thud drove my legs faster, and I could hear the first half of the plane hit the ground. I kept running and running, losing sight to where I was going. Only for a millisecond did I spot a blur dressed in black, sprinting into forest. Jessie would’ve never spotted this but my eyesight became incredibly sharp and I zoned in on the scar that ran across his left brow and the way his shoulder sagged. It was haunting how familiar that scar was. But as soon as I heard the other half of the plane smash, I dove into the grass and put my hand over my head.
The explosion felt like it broke my ear drums, the crash indescribable. It was like the Earth was tearing itself apart. I counted to one hundred before standing up. I spotted the Eagles that survived and ran over, panting by the time I arrived. Pale Beauty wrapped her tiny arms around me and soon, I was accompanied by Cray. The children were huddled around the nurses, anxious looks resembling some soldiers and other workers. There wasn’t many of them. “Where’s Romane?” Cray’s brown eyes frantically searched mine for an answer.
“I-I don’t know. He was blind, on the floor, and when I turned around to confront Levi, I looked back to find him gone.” I glanced down, emotions now swelling into my system. “I’m sorry. Romane is M.I.A.” I fought back the feelings, concealing them, not wanting them.
Desperate to find their leader, we split ourselves up, dividing sections of the open field. We were far enough from the crash, momentarily at a safe distance. I kept an eye out for the blur I saw and when we searched the perimeter for hours and found no sign of Romane, I had a bad feeling about who that escaping person was.
“What does this mean?” one of the nurses asked.
I scanned the crowd of worried looks and murmurs. They were nothing without their leader. I now saw the difference between the Snipers and Eagles. The Snipers could move on without their leader because as a family, they worked together to get things done and used each other instead of just the leader. However the Eagles always looked up to their leader, asking him what to do and waiting to be told. The Eagles started to get hysterical, some shouting and others already crying rivers. I then jumped on the crates, cupping my hands to holler, “Hey! Hey! Everyone calm down.”
A cloth of silence wrapped the group closer to one another, huddling to hear my voice. “You’re all scared. I see fear in your eyes. You’re lost, you have nothing left. You feel abandoned. I’ve been in that position. Romane has recruited and took you all in because you are survivors. And even though you have that strength and courage deep down, you do have a leader. They’re strong, powerful, intelligent, and brave. They will risk their life for you. They are who you need.” I looked over and opened my arms. “Cameron is the new leader of Eagles Eye.”
The Eagles roared in applause, whistling and thanking the astonished man. Tears were whipped away and there were only last sniffles. He slowly joined me on the crate, stunned by these people smiling and listening to him. “Take the floor. This is your show now,” I told him.
His cheeks were pink and his mouth remained open, still having trouble to take in his dream come true. I gave him a shoulder rub and he cleared his throat. He said, “Hi.”
Another round of applause. “Wow,” he breathed a little too aloud. Smiles broke from the Eagles. “Okay.” He clapped his hands together. He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. “I know I don’t look like much. Probably like, a thirteen year old with messy bed hair. But isn’t that who we Eagles are? Not thirteen year olds, but people who are more than what they look. The Snipers called us cowards but we are not! We are survivors! We survived the crash, they did not! I know Romane has told you he never makes promises he can’t keep, and I will honor and value that rule.” He raised his hand. “I, Cameron, your new leader of the Eagles Eye, promise to put every ounce of life I have left towards the safety and survival of our kind. Does that sound good?!”
Waves of applause hit his ears and he grinned, loving the affection and attention the man deserved. I was happy.
But not for long. I was still alive on this Earth because I had unfinished business. I needed to seal some deaths.
After the excitement died down, he gave the group orders, the Eagles following without hesitation. We moved as a group, walking farther away from the smoking plane. Our legs tiredly moved until dawn, Cray deciding to settle in the forest. They organized whatever was left, evenly giving blankets to the children and took care of the wounded. The last of the sunlight was making its final dance along the green canopy, the tall oak trees leaking warm honey colours.
After breaking into the canned goods and people were pleased, I knew it was my time to leave. Cray was cradled beside the pile of weapons, feeding a young girl beans. He was going to be fine.
“Cray,” I called.
He glanced up, and understood the meaning in my tone, passing the beans to the nurse.
I started walking deeper into the forest, aching to get out of there. “I need the three strongest Eagles left. We’re leaving.” Revenge was hot on my mind.
Cray grabbed my arm, yanking me to stop. I practiced my speech earlier, knowing he was going to ask me to stay and plead, how he couldn’t do this without me. But his next response was shocking. “I’ll take care of everyone. Don’t worry. But what do you plan to do?”
Pride knocked the air out of me and I had to blink back, regaining my thoughts. He was ready to be a leader all along.
“I need to ask you a few favors—”
“Be safe.” The look in his eyes read that he meant it, and I couldn’t register what was happening next as he planted a kiss on my cheek. I wasn’t sure what to feel. I didn’t know feelings. I didn’t want feelings.
With Eagles Eye now a broken gang and the leader of the Snipers let loose, shit was about to get down. I didn’t have time for feelings.
I ripped away and wrote a serious look across my face. “Cray. I’m asking you to gather the Eagles. Then I want you to do what you Eagles, you birds, do best. Travel across the skies and send me a message to the Snipers.” I felt thick mucus roll up my throat and spat it out. “I want you to tell them I’m coming for them. Their heads will be in my hands. So that way, when they see me fucking coming, the windows to my soul will be their final image. For they made my eyes, my soul, raging with darkness that’s ready to summon their death.”
I crushed a patch of grass under my boot and loaded the 212. “After all. An eye for an eye makes the world go round.”
And it just so happened my world, my everything, was already blind; thus there wasn’t anything to fucking lose. The break of dawn shined one last warm flicker, it reflecting off my golden ring before disappearing under the clouds.
Levi was going to die.