Feathers of Life Chapter 4
The feeling of someone shaking me ever so gently pulled me from a good sleep and as my head raised I noticed where my head was resting, reminding me of the embarrassment that led to me using her leg. As my eyes adjusted I noticed we had parked in what looked like a backwoods junkyard which was strange. Leavin me to hope we didn't come here for an airplane with how this place looked.
"Are we here already?"
"You slept for about 2 hours, but yes we are here."
"This is a junkyard though or something abandoned."
She seemed to find my words funny while I thought while my words came off as being rude without thinking clearly. Thankfully she seemed fine with my question and not mad at me for speaking so directly.
"Well my friend likes to be away from civilization. People and him do not mix well, so he came out here. Which is a nice place if you give it a chance."
While she was not scolding me for jumping in judging, her words still made me feel bad about speaking poorly of this place. Once everyone stepped out of the vehicle I decided to walk around and look for the hidden beauty which didn't take long. After walking behind a stack of crushed vehicles I could see a large lake with trees surrounding it. The animals freely moved just at the tree line which was surprising since deer are skittish from what i heard. Ducks seemed to have loved this place with how many had been out on the water.
"Alright you keep looking around, and enjoying the sights. My friend just showed up."
I must have been caught looking starstruck while taking in the scenery before me but it made me smile more than feeling down. Kacy seems to know how to use her words to the fullest effect but that wasn't a bad thing at all. Since it did not seem right to poke my nose around any further I decided to wait at the vehicle with everyone else, the thought of flying in an airplane was giving me mixed feelings still.
"You alright, my sister has great piloting skills. If that's what you are worried about."
Kristopher was not often making conversation with me so uit caught me off guard but I noticed how fidgety I was which explained things. I didn't know Kacy could fly so at least I learned something new.
"Well if she's driving or flying the plane, what could go wrong."
He gave me the strangest yet creepiest smile I had ever seen which worried me.
"Storm could roll in and make the ride bumpy. Could have any number of mechanical failures on the way and nose dive. A lot could happen even with an experienced pilot."
"Alright enough trying to scare her, you ass. It will be fine, Hannah. Nothing will happen, I promise. Everyone grab a single bag of whatever you need right now. The rest will be driven down and transported to us much later on. We have an emergency so this plane will take us to our destination faster."
Unlike everyone else I'm always prepared to downsize and leave everything behind if it's not important enough. The bookbag was always rolled up and shoved into my luggage just in case I had to pack the most important stuff in a hurry. Yet this was mostly clothing and that strange box with some other things that had no value. So after shoving rolled up clothes into the bag, I put the box on top. The mystery of this box may never see the sun but it seems like a good idea either way to have it close to me. Everyone started putting a single bag into the cargo hold of the plane and Erin seemed to be excited for the new way we will travel. Kristopher had packed in two guns but I didn't understand why he would need weapons for this adventure trip.
Thanks to the words of Kris I had a rough take off and was terrified immediately but Kacy managed to calm me down with a smile and a firm hand. Yet once we had reached the sky above it slowly started to set in that this wasn't so bad at all. In fact the view was so much more beautiful up high and it felt like the world was such an endless place for us to travel. It became more clear to me that I loved flying like this and feeling even more free than ever before, that familiar excitement was back again. Yet I was like a kid in a candy store window shopping with my face pressed against glass. It wasn't easy to help my amazement at everything I could see passing us just below our plane.
When I squealed at one point after we finally passed over the water which had Kacy laughing at me and then she shifted the plane to a slight nose dive, my heart was leaping rapidly. The water was speeding towards us but she was completely in control of this plane and managed to stabilize it again but now we were even closer to the ocean below. Dolphins could be seen exiting and entering water which made me smile since i always loved dolphins. This was the best decision I made so far and I don't think I'll regret it ever. After some hours the plane was being lowered and slowed down steadily till we landed safely once again.
The moment I stepped out of the plane my body was a little wobbly and the air was so different compared to the city. It seemed much fresher with a lot less pollution as well but I never knew the other parts of the world could be so different. Everyone started unloading the luggage we had and that's when a couple of people came over to Kacy. It didn't take much to carry my bag luckily but Martha seemed to have a few issues with hers and Timothy was trying to help.
"Do you two travel often like this?"
"Well Timmy has and he met me on one of those travels, that's how we met and got together more or less. It is a little bit of a hassle but it has its moments."
It wasn't easy to catch if you didn't look at her but you could see a slight shift of where she was looking and more specifically who. Reminding me of what those two did not that long ago.
"Well this is my first time, it's really amazing experiencing so many firsts. The plane stole my breath entirely."
" I lost to a plane it seems, which has never happened before."
I couldn't help but squeal as she came up from behind me and started talking close to my ear which was unfair in the flirting department. Yet also dangerous in a way.
"Well it's a big plane with many talents and tricks, guess you have some show and tell to do. If you even wanna compete, that is."
Sass and flirting weren't my best areas but Erin couldn't resist laughing hard and calling out a burn which means i did something right to get revenge on her many remarks. I finally got her back.
"Don't worry Kacy, I am sure she will give you a fair chance… She likes big things with tricks and talents after all."
Just like that I realized Erin wasn't on my side and she just embarrassed me beyond my expectations. I know where she was heading with those comments and how she was hinting to Kacy, Making it even worse. I was pouting undeniably.
"Well, I think you may be right Erin. Luckily my bags have something for her tastes."
"My travel companion was getting lonely and needy after all."
The rest of her words were whispered into my ear far too closely and I decided to accept she would never let me win these contests of remarks and flirtations. Even though I was out of practice I couldn't believe that things became a sauna in 5 seconds flat.
"Okay everyone im sure Hannah will pass out from the overheating you both are giving her. Timmy got our luggage so we are finally ready to go onwards."
Thankfully Martha was trying to help me and even got us moving to our next destination but I couldn't help but wonder about those people from earlier. They seemed out of place here like one of those spy movie things where the spy tries to blend in only to be discovered easily.
Everyone piled into the jeep waiting for us while Kacy and Kris started to put the luggage in the second vehicle. Once more we were traveling across the ground to another destination but this time it's a whole different world. It's hard not to be happy right now which helps me keep my stress down and panics away. We drove through a dirt road with a lot of trees that I have never seen before, not even in the movies, which was unique. When we exited the tree line we had a clear view of a desert off to the side that seemed endless but it didn't seem hot out here for a desert. But I have never been to a desert so i couldn't even begin to guess or explain the climate it has.
"We are gonna drive to our boarding house we have set up. Everyone can settle in but we have to head to the field before nightfall which is in about 5 hours or so depending.You can carry small bags if needed but we will be traveling light so only what you need."
The instructions seemed pretty simple. Luckily my bag was small and carried everything I could need out in wherever we were heading exactly. Hopefully i can fill the water bottle up before we leave and maybe grab some snacks to stuff in backpacks pockets.
"Happy you came on this trip, Hannah?"
"Yeah it was a big change and a lot of firsts. But i found a love for flying now, it was so amazing being in the sky above the ground. I could see things so differently."
"You have been wearing a smile for a long time now so I'm glad this was good for you. Guess when we get back maybe we should find another trip we could go on with less…Baggage."
The last word was much quieter but I understood her meaning clearly enough and it made me giggle. It did make me wonder what else could be awaiting me on another trip with her since she seems to know all the best places. If we take another plane ride I think I'd go anywhere she asked me too.
After what seemed like forever we had arrived at our living arrangements for this trip and it was bigger than i expected. Like an actual boarding house but the location seemed strange, like this little settlement was recently built. But I could only make speculations since I'm nearly clueless and way out of my comfort zone.
"Alright let's grab rooms and put the luggage there. We will grab a bite of food and drink before getting back on the last road trip, if everything goes as planned we will return just as night falls."
Just like that everyone picked a room and started to settle in while I decided to fill up my water bottle and raid the kitchen. Hoping the food and snacks are normal enough to be considered edible to me. When I reached the kitchen to raid it my eyes noticed Kris outside but from this window it wasn't the easiest to see him leaving me to wonder if it was him. Then I noticed lots of guns being looked at and cleaned which was worrying me even more now. Something is starting to feel off about this but I couldn't begin to know what that was.