Everyone woke up at the middle of the night to the sound of a boat engine. Joe held out his hand and a flame shot out, going across the water, barely missing the boat that was heading towards them.
During the few seconds they could see, Lachlan analysed who was on the boat. He calmed down when he realised they weren't much, although it would difficult for him to beat all of them by himself it's not like they could fight their group.
As the boat got closer they were able to make out some more details, they quickly realised it was the military and Lachlan sighed of relief. They wouldn't need to fight anything yet. But everyone did find it a bit odd that the soldiers were coming so late at night.
They rammed the boat against the shore and hopped out. Their expression changed just like everyone else's but they calmed themselves immediately. They were professionals.
"We need you all back at the base now!" A soldier named Michael shouted at them. The rest of the soldiers were observing the water and tree line for any movement.
"Why? We still have 5 more days of exploration," Joe found it odd that they were getting called back so soon.
"There's a hoard of beasts coming to attack the base, we need you there now! Hurry up!" Michael shouted as he gestured with his hands for them to get on the boat.
"There's no need for that, we have other ways to get back," Lachlan said.
'You three can come out now' Lachlan summoned the three Rocs. Georgia and Simon quickly understood what Lachlan and summoned their own birds.
Zoe quickly ran back to their sleeping area and got out Bag, she got it to quickly store everything before returning to the birds.
"We'll meet you back at the base," Lachlan said as he jumped Calamity. The others split up a bit and hopped onto different birds. Georgia obviously went on her Dark Eagle King while Simon got onto Tempest, Joe and Zoe hopped onto Catastrophe and Disaster.
Phoebe and Chloe jumped onto Cyclone and Dusty. They gave a thumbs up, gesturing they were ready.
"Oh yeah, there's a coconut over there, you guys can bring it back to the base," Lachlan said.
'Let's go' Before Michael could say anything back Lachlan already got his Rocs to shoot up. The other soon followed, piercing through the air. They decided it would be best to not take a relaxing journey back but instead go full throttle.
The Rocs and Kyle quickly went ahead due to their speeds being a strength. Although annoyed that the other birds were much faster than his. Simon could only grit his teeth and get his birds to go as fast as they can.
Lachlan and Georgia quickly realised that Simon couldn't keep up and slowed down.
"You should all get on, we can get to the base faster!" Lachlan shouted at them. Simon got more annoyed but couldn't do anything except accept. Although he didn't like the government, the military is also protecting a lot of innocent lives.
Simon's birds flew above Lachlan's, allowing everyone to jump down. Simon jumped onto Catastrophe with Joe, Chloe fell onto Disaster with Zoe while Phoebe hopped onto Calamity with Lachlan on it.
Phoebe was shivering and grabbed onto Lachlan, it took her a lot of courage to jump off the bird. They were at a high altitude, they would be dead if they fell and no one caught them. Lachlan felt Phoebe's grip around his waist tighten.
"It's alright, nothing is going to happen," Lachlan tried to calm her down.
"My parents are at the base, we need to get to there quickly," Now Lachlan realised what made her the most worried.
"Don't worry, the military will be able to protect at least until we get there alright," Phoebe nodded at Lachlan's words. Although he couldn't see he could feel her shaking her head against his back.
He turned towards Georgia and realised she was still riding Kyle. Although he was fast, the Rocs would be much faster.
"Why don't you hop on?!"
"You should know that Kyle is similar the Faith, it suppressed any bird that attempts to attack us. It's especially so now that it's night time!" Georgia explained and Lachlan realised she was right. there would definitely be an advantage in keeping Kyle out.
"Alright, get Kyle to go full speed, we want to get to their quickly!" Georgia nodded and got Kyle to shoot off through the night sky. Lachlan really had to give it to the bird, it was perfect for flying in the night.
'Are we challenging the bird now' Catastrophe excitedly said.
'No, follow it, you can challenge it at a later date' Lachlan poured cold water over Catastrophe's burning hot desire.
The Rocs quickly sped up and caught up to Kyle. They were now flying at a decent distance behind him, making sure they have some time to react if they need to.
Their speed made it slightly difficult to breathe but the group didn't mind. They needed to get there quickly, the faster the better. Phoebe held onto Lachlan tighter when they sped up, she found it slightly easier to breath when she hid her head behind Lachlan's back.
She couldn't help but realise although Lachlan had a childish personality, he certainly had some good features. She could help but imagine them together.
'No, no, no, those thoughts aren't needed right now,' Phoebe shook her head to snap herself out of it.
...
Back on the island, Michael was complaining about the group leaving them.
"They could have taken us as well," He grumpily complained as he kicked around the sand.
"Oh well, nothing we can do, I'll go grab the coconut," A soldier next to his said before walking towards the coconut. He picked it up and observed it for a moment, he didn't find anything odd about it, even its size was similar to a normal coconut.
"There isn't anything special about this damn coconut," Michael complained more when he analysed it as well. He grabbed it but attempted to crush it with his bare hands. But he soon realised something, there was something unique about it.
"We need to take the coconut back now!" Michael shouted as he ran back to the boat. The soldiers quickly followed right behind him, jumping onto the boat they started it up and sped off, leaving the island as fast as possible.
...
Meanwhile, at a small shopping centre close to the beach two people could be seen emotionally staring at each other. Surrounding them were similar scenes, as people were reunited with their loved ones.
"Alfredo!" A woman cried as she ran towards him. The man she ran to was Alfredo Jackson, the old man that Lachlan and his family travelled with to Mount Barker. He had successfully reunited with his wife.
"My dear wife I missed you so much," Alfredo couldn't hold back his tears as he embraced his wife for the first time since the evolution.
"Let's go," Alfredo said as he grabbed his wife's hand, leading the way to the exit.
"What's that!" A soldier next to them shouted as he pointed towards the sky. There was a giant ball of fire hurtling towards them at a speed to fast for anyone to outrun.
*Screech*