Morning came too quickly.
Zerachiel said the protection placed on Grey's house would be lifted at dawn, and once dawn hit- this would be the first place Demons and Fallen would come looking for me. We had to leave. Fast.
It was just barely past 5, and the horizon was just starting to fade into a periwinkle blue. Allison, Siena, Grey and I stood outside, making sure we had everything we needed. The Archangels had gifted us with bodysuits made from some sort of heavenly carbon-fiber thing. Apparently they would help protect us against anything made from Hellfire. I didn't need any encouragement into liking them however- they were black and looked badass. They also had slits for wings so I didn't have to take off my clothes to fly (as much as Grey might have enjoyed that). Allison didn't enjoy them as much, insisting that black wasn't her color and she shouldn't be forced into wearing it. However, when Siena gave her the evil eye, she shut up and put the suit on.
We were each given several throwing knives to store in the various pockets of the suit, and Siena and Grey were given swords to store between their wings during flight, as they were the strongest fliers. Siena, of course, immediately grabbed the biggest sword available because #bigdickenergy, but upon realizing it was almost as tall as she was, went for the smaller, more agile one.
I had been irritated at the time when I didn't get a sword, but when Siena explained that it would a- weigh me down during our long flight and b- be useless because my primary training was in hand to hand combat, I relented.
"Okay. Siena is going to lead because she's the strongest flier. Allison and Greene, you're going to be on her flanks. I'm going to stay in the back and watch for any threats. We need to try to push straight through to Los Angeles so we can't get tracked, but if we need to stop, Siena- find us a hidden place to land," Grey glanced to Siena, who nodded firmly.
"If we are attacked, Siena will draw the fire, Allison, you're going to help me protect Greene. If anyone gets hurt, we keep going. We can't let them catch us," Grey clenched his jaw slightly.
"Um, no. Absolutely not. If anyone gets hurt, we fall back and protect them, Grey," I scowled. Grey's eyes shot to me and he frowned.
"No. We have to keep going. Everybody here knows the risks, Greene. We keep going," he insisted.
"He's right, Jordan. There's bigger things at stake here," Siena agreed, but her eyes were more forgiving than Grey's. I felt like I was going to be sick. The thought of anybody getting hurt simply because Hell was after Grey and I made me want to vomit. I knew I couldn't entirely blame myself because I didn't choose to make Lucifer go after me, but at the same time- it was me Lucifer wanted.
I decided not to respond. They didn't need to know that I wasn't intending on letting anybody sacrifice themselves for my soul.
The sky was beginning to turn a peachy orange as the sun neared the horizon. I could see the glow through the trees to the east of Grey's house.
I would miss it here. I felt safe here. I don't know when, or if, we'd ever return.
"We've gotta get going," Siena broke the silence, her wings ruffling against the fabric of her bodysuit as they unfolded. She extended them out to her sides, stretching them out in preparation for the long flight.
"If you need to stop, we stop," Grey eyed me and I sighed, nodding. Satisfied, Grey unfurled his own massive dark wings, stretching them out like Siena had done. Allison then followed, her pearly white wings extending out to either side of her. They all turned to look at me expectantly.
I was kind of hesitant to unfurl my wings, because I didn't really wanna start glowing again, but I didn't really have a choice. I remembered what Zerachiel had said about keeping the little hum of energy inside my chest under control, letting out a breath as I let my wings unfurl from my shoulder blades. They were tight, like how your legs feel after sitting down for too long. I stretched them out like the others had done, and when I was satisfied, nodded to them to let them know I was ready. Well- I guess as ready as I would ever be.
Siena outstretched her wings and beat them down once, rocketing up into the sky and hovering as she waited for us to follow. Allison followed, soaring up and hovering aside her. I glanced to Grey, who gave me a subtle nod.
Well. Here goes nothing.
I quickly pushed my wings downward and in towards my body, propelling myself into the air. Once I began to slow, I extended them out again and beat them downwards to keep me steady. Grey soared up beside me, nodding to Siena. She extended her wings outwards, dropping a little before gliding out across the forest. Allison and I followed suit.
The wind felt good against my skin. The last time I had flown, I remembered feeling cold, but now- I felt warm. It just felt like resistance, really.
We passed over the massive trees of the forest, the tips of my feet kissing the clouds that drifted between them. Soon, the trees turned into buildings, which turned into the skyscrapers of Seattle. The clouds had begun to thicken as we reached the city, forcing us higher into the sky. You could just see the tops of the skyscrapers poking through the clouds, which appeared to glow in the morning's yellow light. The Space Needle just barely reached above the clouds, and luckily, wasn't open yet. Otherwise, we might have had an audience as we soared around the UFO-shaped building.
My wings still felt good, which was odd, considering I'd literally just learned how to fly. But I guess now that my soul was completely Unlocked and I had access to all of my power, any fatigue could easily be eradicated by drawing from that power. As a matter of fact, it kind of felt good. Like running for miles on end and listening to good music. You just kinda get into a zone.
We swerved back and forth between the tops of the skyscrapers, with Siena eventually pushing us higher into the sky so we could save energy. Once we hit about 10,000 feet, we hit a steady breeze blowing us south, allowing us to glide. It also allowed us to go even faster, and within the hour we were soaring by Mt. Rainier, snowcapped from the heavy precipitation we'd received this winter. A ring of clouds encircled its base, wrapping around the white beast like a thick wool blanket. The winds coming off of Mt. Rainier pushed us even faster- faster than I'd ever flown before. The air was turbulent, and I constantly had to swerve to recorrect my wings so I didn't spiral out of control. Allison struggled a bit too, and I saw her drop a few feet or soar a little higher every now and again when she'd get hit by a good gust. Siena, however, didn't seem phased. It was like the second she felt an imbalance, she automatically corrected her wingspan and angles in order to compensate. She made it look so easy. I didn't see how Grey had done in the gusts- I'd only glanced back a few times to make sure he was still there. He always was, soaring with a deep set scowl on his face as he surveyed the sky around us. I'm pretty sure he was convinced we were going to be attacked. Pessimist.
When we passed Rainier, the flying got easier until we reached Mt. Hood just south of the Washington-Oregon border. The low hanging clouds that were so prevalent in Washington had begun to dissipate once we reached the border, and once we reached Mt. Hood, they were practically nonexistent. To my right, I could see the faint outlined shapes of skyscrapers in the distance. I'm guessing that was Portland. I'd only been there a few times with my family, and whenever we were there, it was only passing through. I kind of felt guilty about that. I'd heard so many great things about Portland, but I had never really gotten the chance to really experience it. Who knows if I ever would.
South of Mt. Hood was all hills and forest, stretching as far as the eye can see. I was really happy about that, but I don't think Siena was. There weren't really any big landmarks to guide us and our direction now, so wherever we were going was based entirely off of her tuition. It's a good thing I wasn't leading. I would have had us going the complete wrong direction by now. It didn't really seem to phase her. There were a few points when she seemed to slow down a bit or turn a little bit right or left to correct our directional angle, but she never seemed like she didn't know where we needed to go.
For the next few hours, all we saw for miles and miles were trees, hills, and lakes. I'm not sure how Siena knew where to go, but she did. By early afternoon, we hit Yosemite National Park, which I was really excited about. I knew we couldn't stop, but being such a hiking junkie, I couldn't help but slow down a little bit as we soared closer to Half Dome and El Capitan. Luckily, because it was winter, there wasn't anyone climbing that I saw. I beat my wings a little harder until I was flying next to Siena.
"You okay?" She furrowed her brows at me, shouting over the wind.
"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know, I'll be right back. I just wanna get a little closer to El Capitan when we fly by," I yelled back. She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Be quick. And safe," she replied. I nodded, and with a grin, dive-bombed lower. The sheer speed of the wind made my eyes tear up, and I pulled my wings in tighter to speed up as I rapidly approached the ground. Once I was level with El Capitan, I outstretched my wings, slowing myself down so I could glide along the rock's face. It was absolutely incredible. I soared alongside the massive rock feature, about 20 feet out from its face. It was 3000 ft of vertical grey rock, some of the most difficult rock climbing in the world- it was just breathtaking. Once I reached the nose of the rock, I beat my wings hard and fast, forcing myself up alongside the wall of rock. I pulled my wings in close, spiraling as I soared up higher. Once I reached the top, I outstretched my wings to slow myself and stop spinning. The view was just incredible. Dramatic cliffs and mountains stretched for miles. It reminded me a little bit of Colorado.
I saw Siena, Allison and Grey soaring a few thousand feet up across the valley, starting to pass me. With a frustrated growl, I took one last glance at the beautiful valley, then beat my wings hard and fast to try to meet up with them. It didn't take as much effort as I thought it would, but still- by the time I caught back up with them, I was panting a little bit.
A little movement to my right caught my eye and I turned, seeing Grey soaring aside me. Great. I was about to get yelled at.
"What the hell was that?" Grey called out angrily.
"I don't know if I'll ever get the chance to see that again, Grey. Let me live a little," I rolled my eyes, yelling back.
"Are you trying to get us killed? Drawing attention like that is incredibly stupid and dangerous," he shouted back.
"It's winter. Nobody saw me," I retorted. I understand why he was irritated, but honestly- Yosemite was something I'd always wanted to see. He couldn't blame me for taking 30 seconds to go look at El Capitan. Besides, I flew right back. Nothing happened. Everything is fine.
"Stay in formation, Greene. No more excursions," Grey yelled back angrily, giving me a fierce glare. I narrowed my eyes at him. What was with him today? He was being so- I don't know, controlling. Serious. Annoying. Yes, I get that we're in mortal danger, but what's the point of surviving mortal danger if you're forgetting to live while you're still alive? I also don't really know why he thought he could reprimand me for being 'reckless'. Grey is the living definition of reckless. Or he was.
I ignored him, refusing to respond to his little 'command'. I don't take orders. Especially not from him. Eventually, he appeared to get the hint and resumed his position a hundred feet behind me.
The rest of the flight was uneventful, and as the sun began to near the horizon, the faint outline of skyscrapers began to appear.
Los Angeles.
Okay. I know, I'm the worst. Sorry this took me so long to publish. And now I will give you my excuse. I had 5 midterms last week, 4 infections, and a partially collapsed lung. I was #ded. But I'm good now lol. Just so you all know it's not because I don't love you, I was just having a mid-college crisis.
Also. HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN/READ AFTER BY ANNA TODD BECAUSE OMFG I wanna go see it so bad and that book is soooooo good. It's on Wattpad. My friend Livie, the one that inspired Siena, literally read the entire series in like a week. She's nuts. They're like 100 chapters each. Stupid.
Anyways. I'm gonna go write chapter 14 now, so that'll be up in an hour or two. I'll try to write some more this week.
I love you all.
-TJ