The large black helicopter stalled for a moment as it hovered over the small cabin. I peered up slightly, not wanting to move in case they saw me. It looked like a private military helicopter, with rotating machine guns either side of the body. What looked like a rocket launcher lay fixed to its underbelly.
I gulped, a solid rock forming in the back of my throat. It swayed, threatening to turn into spew the longer it sat there. I took a fleeting look at Joe who was muttering under his breath furiously; his eyes squeezed tightly shut. I frowned, wondering what on earth he was doing.
"Are you praying?" I quietly asked.
He flicked an eyeball open at me angrily. "Do you want to die!?"
I squinted at him before speaking in a low, unsure tone. "No...do you?"
"Fuck no!" he quietly hissed back.
"Both of you," Hailey whispered, raising her hands slightly. "Shut the fuck up!"
I bit my cheek, settling back down again and watching the flying machine as it clouded my view of the rolling clouds. It felt like forever by the time the massive bird had finished inspecting the house and flown off. In a jiffy, Joe was on his feet ordering us to do the same as he sprinted down the porch steps.
"Get to the shed! NOW!" he demanded, reaching into his back pocket to pull out a colourful array of keys.
Hurriedly, and without much thought, we sprang to our feet, racing after him to the massive shed. He fumbled with the lock, eventually inserting the right chunk of carved metal. Upon unlocking it, he pulled the door open with a heave.
"What's going on!?" I urged Joe, desperate to understand why the helicopter had been searching his small estate. It couldn't have been for us. Galgort couldn't possibly have found us yet. I tried to grab a hold of his bicep so I could pull him aside, but he shrugged me off and raced inside.
"They must know," he reiterated over his shoulder as he disappeared into the metal hut.
"Must know what!?" I shouted after him, reluctantly following him in.
I stopped short, gazing around the shed in amazement. It was filled with all types of secret detective equipment; the kind of stuff you would see in the back of a van in those crime movies. Lights blinked like cats in the night as a million voices talked at different quietened paces. My eyes fixed themselves to Joe as he rushed towards a small radio communication device in the corner and dialled it up.
He slid smoothly into an awaiting chair, grabbing a headset and pulling it over his head. "Mayday, mayday! Come in!"
A crackle of static silence ensured.
"Who the fuck are you calling?" I yelled at him.
Seconds passed by the time a response came crackling through.
"Over," Joe said again, nodding before continuing. "Agent Maverick here. We're in need of assistance. Helicopter at," he looked down at his watch, "nine-o-three am. Not ours. Here with fugitives."
"Fugitives!" I yelled, waltzing angrily towards Joe and shutting the dial off. "Fugitives!?" I repeated, grabbing Joe's headset off him. "Who are you!?"
"What the fuck, dude? I'm trying to help you!"
"Help you my ass!" I took a step back, huffing angrily at him.
"Look, I know who you are," he snapped, snatching the headset out of my shocked hand. "And if I don't call in backup we're all going to die."
"What kind of backup?" Hailey asked over my shoulder.
"ASIS backup."
"So, you can help us then?" Constance asked.
"Not exactly," he responded half-heartedly as he slipped the headset back on and listened.
"Not exactly!? What the heck do you mean!?"
He turned to glare at me. "I'm just a scout. I've been watching Galgort for some time." He turned back to the radio, listening. "Great," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Got it. Over."
The machine cackled and he moved to turn it off, flicking the button. I glared at him, wanting to know more about this mysterious Intelligence Officer whose apparent disguise was to be a llama farmer.
"So, that explains why you can't herd llamas," I muttered.
"Apparently you lot have created a mess."
"Thanks, we didn't notice," I scowled, pacing around the room. "What the fuck do we do?"
"The AIO are looking for you," he paused, looking at our faces as we tried to process the news. "That's a good thing by the way," he added quickly, glancing between us.
"We need to leave," I said abruptly, heading for the door. "NOW!"
"You can't go," Joe said after me.
"Watch me!"
I reached the door and was about to slip through it when Henry moved his body in front of me. I glared up at him with rage.
"If we stay put, they'll kill Jack!"
"But backup would be helpful," Hailey interrupted.
My cheeks flamed red as my palms became clammy. The dull ache in my shoulder and torso returned making me writhe slightly. There was a gaping hole in my chest that screamed Jack's name at me. He was in danger. The brother I hated so much had wedged himself sneakily into my heart, creating a little nest for himself and laying an egg safely there. The more Henry blocked my way, the more agitated I became at the lack of action Joe had caused.
"They'll kill him!"
"Butch," Henry said gently. "Joe's not like the others. He's gonna help us."
I frowned at him. "What the fuck are you saying, Henry?"
"He's not associated with the police. If we stay here, we'll be safe."
"But Jack and-and Martin and Maggie won't be!" I yelled, throwing my arms into the air. "They could be lying dead somewhere before his stupid agents got there! We could be dead before then!"
"Calm down, darling," Constance cooed gently.
I ignored her, staring at Henry and his stupid pet ibis. "Now, move!"
"God, he's really determined, isn't he?" Joe said, standing straighter. "Look, I'm with the intelligence bureau."
"And your point is?" I scorned, swivelling around.
"My job is to keep tabs on Galgort, and your name keeps popping up, kid. Not a good sign by anyone's means. But by the sounds of it, the last two weeks have been one hell of a ride for you."
"That's the understatement of the century."
He nodded. "Whelp. Galgort wants to kill y'all and I need to protect you until our backup arrives."
"We don't need your protection." I swivelled around, about to storm out, but stopped. I could hear the faint whirring of the helicopter. "Fuck! It's returning!"
Joe's ears perked up. "Fuck," he said, glancing at the ceiling. "Get out! Now!"
"Say no more," I replied, pushing past Henry and out into the fresh air. I sprinted for the cover of the trees, hoping the others were following. My body worked overtime to make it to the edge of the forest that backed the property. I slid in behind a tree, grabbing onto it for support as my shoulder wound seared with heat. The others scooted past me, not taking any notice of me clinging to the tree in pain.
Thanks guys. Good to know my wellbeing is your top priority.
Breathless, I watched from the cover of the trees as the helicopter approached. Its large heavy form cruised over the little cabin before it sat in the air, hovering. Horrified, it emitted a blast, and just like that, the little cabin shattered in an explosion of red, orange and black. It bubbled up high into the air like a volcano. I ducked as a large bit of splintered wood came crashing and burning my way.
"Shit," I muttered, covering my ears as a second shockwave pulsed out from the building, making the rest of the building fly outwards.
The wave flung me backwards, knocking the air out of my lungs. The trees bent at a dangerously sharp angle as the ringing in my ears became deafening. Lying on my back, suffocating from the lack of air my lungs were able to draw in was not the way I envisioned dying by any means.
And then it hit me. All at once, my world became blurry in a watery, burning world.
I saw the helicopter stretch up into the sky like a shadow against the bright orange. It hovered there for a moment, mocking us in the aftermath of its handywork, before it trailed on towards where we'd entered the trees.
I coughed, trying to stand. The others had disappeared, and I had to find them before the helicopter did and they became fried meat.
With a heave, I stumbled to my feet in a daze, gazing around to establish my bearings. A queasy feeling rose to my throat with the disorientation and I doubled over, falling on my knees. My stomach clenched shut, working its way up through my chest as it carried the vomit out through my mouth. I let the bile sting at my throat, before sitting back in the undergrowth and leaning against a tree, trying to shake my vision clear.
When that didn't work, I pulled myself up. Pushing off the tree, I stumbled, unable to walk in a straight line. My head pounded, disorientating my sense of bearing. I couldn't hear a damned thing and my eyes were stinging from the heat of the explosion. The urgency to find the others boiled up inside me.
I carried on, peering everywhere to find a trail of the foursome. If they were shouting for me, I sure as hell couldn't hear them. I glanced up through the eucalyptuses to see the body of the helicopter following me. A rock formed at the pit of my stomach. What if it found them? What if it found me and was waiting for me to bring them to the others?
A loud bang rang out – something I definitely could hear.
In a panic, I dropped to the ground, covering my head and breathing heavily. After a while, nothing seemed to happen, and I slowly inched an eyeball out of my protective man-made hut. As I peeked around, I couldn't find the helicopter or any clues that it had fired a blast at my friends.
Slowly, I rose to my feet. I was alone, standing on a small mound of dirt. Just me and the trees; a wonderful painting of earthy colours that made me want to stay here in this spot forever. The longer I stared at the trees the longer I felt enlightened. Gentle hues of green and purple peeked at me and swirled like a blanket over the leaves making me feel small and oddly calm. Perhaps I wouldn't have to do anything at all? Maybe a tribe of forest fairies would save me and take me as their king?
With a heavy sigh, I took a step off the little mound. Ants scattered everywhere beneath my foot, running like they were on energy drinks. In an instance, they'd run up my leg and I was bolting away, screaming and desperately trying to knock them off as they bit into my flesh.
"There's ants in my pants!" I screamed, trying to brush them off in a really ineffective slapping motion. I still couldn't hear my surroundings with the strong ringing in my ears not wanting to subside. I didn't know if my calls would be heard, but before I knew it, someone came running at me.
In one swift motion, I was grabbed by the waist and thrown to the ground, flailing. I yelled and wriggled wanting to desperately shake them off me.
"Calm down!" a voice shouted through gritted teeth, cutting through the ringing.
"I can't," I yelled back as they held me tighter.
"It's me, Jack."
I stopped struggling, surprised.
"Jack?"
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What do you think will happen next? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to hit the little star button up the top! ~H.W.