by Elle Scott
Miles looks beyond me to the guards outside on the porch, I can hear the muffles of their voices. He puts his hands up in surrender and walks towards me. I move away and he leans over to where I was and listens. What reason would he have to listen to them? Unless he doesn't know why they are here either? I can't risk it, I pull him away.
‘You can't hear anything properly anyway. Help me with the drinks?’ I say.
‘Tell me what you heard Viv!’ he whispers.
I glue my teeth together, shake my head and put the kettle on again, ‘I didn't hear anything.’
We head back into the living area and everything leaves my mind at the sight of Nora. She's sound asleep. How do I tell her now? I’ll have to wake her.
‘Where's Xander and Ross?’ I ask handing Eli his drink.
‘Thanks, beautiful lady,’ he says, always the charmer. ‘They are in the front bedroom, going over yesterday’s readings. I would help… but I can't move!’
‘Oh,’ I say, as I place my hot chocolate next to the other three full mugs.
I look at Nora, she's so peaceful. Her body gives a small twitch as the kitchen door closes with a loud thud. The soldiers are inside talking loudly in military jargon.
Before I have a chance to say, ‘she's got the right idea. I might have a quick nap too.’ I watch stupefied as Miles swoops in like a gallant knight and tucks her curled body against his. In an instant, her face turns and she snuggles into his chest. He picks her up and walks to a bedroom that runs off the lounge room; I watch her hand as it drowsily reaches up and slides around his neck. He lays her on a bed and covers her with blankets. I step back, shying away from such an intimate moment. I know Nora likes Xander. I know Xander likes Nora. And both of those issues were an annoying possible distraction. But this? I mean, Miles’ feelings for Nora are definitely not new. The way he looks at her, the things he does for her, the tone of his voice when he speaks to her—but feelings to this degree are so much more than what I was expecting. I think back to the helicopter ride, to this morning, to yesterday—little glimpses, little smiles, little touches. Every smile she sends his way, every time she touches him, every time she speaks to him, he gets lost in her a little more. And that is a huge problem, one I have to be delicate with. I want to tell Nora the truth, that he’s been the one lying to us the whole time; but if Miles is invested in Nora, there’s no telling what he will do to keep her on his side.
SIX
Nora
The fire crackles in front of me, I’m scrunched up on the sofa allowing the heat to lull me to sleep. I think about dragging my sorry bones to a bedroom when a shadow lurches over me. Two long powerful yet shaking arms crowd around my body and scoop me up. I turn my face and snuggle into his chest, he smells like cedar wood and chocolate.
He lays me down in a bed, I keep my hand on his neck for a second before rolling over to the wall so there is room for him too. I want to sense his comfort, feel his lips, hear his voice…
He kisses me on the forehead, his lips are smoother and more luscious than I remember. I grab his hand to kiss it lightly. The warmth of blankets envelops me, I wish they were his arms.
‘Goodnight Sparkles,’ he whispers… wait! Who whispers? That isn't Xander.
My eyes dart open but I am too nervous to roll around and face him.
‘Miles,’ Eli says at the doorway, ‘your dad is on the phone.’
Oh god. I stroked Miles’ neck, kissed his hand, let him kiss me and now he thinks I like him… like that!
~~~
My watch tells me it's five am, I need more sleep. My toes are numb. I wriggle them as much as I can to return the feeling. The sensitivity pulsates back through my feet, it's so damn cold in this cabin. As I try to wriggle them some more, sharp tingling stabs of pins and needles hit them. I can hardly move them though, it's like my mobility is constrained. I sit up and throw the blanket off me. My boots are still on. I shake my head at my ridiculous panic.
I stand in the doorway and look into the living room, Eli and Viv are sitting on the sofa.
‘I've been feeling suspicious. It's lots of small things, we don't get told anything really. Just here, this is your assignment, do it, bring it back, thanks.’ Viv says with conviction.
‘Look, I know you are supposed to ask questions and find discrepancies and all that fun stuff—but you have to lighten up a bit! You're acting like the people we work for are playing us all for fools. Just relax okay? We are all in this together—it's all legit. Right?’
‘Yeah, yeah, sorry I know. I know I have been a bitch lately. I want clearer answers you know?’ she smiles.
The first real smile I've seen from her in days. She needs a good shoulder and maybe Eli can be that person. Heck, if he can make her smile that easy, maybe he's got the goods to bring her out of this funk completely. God knows I've not been there for her lately. It hurts to admit that, but if I truly care about her I'll accept that sometimes we need different people to console us every now and then. A fresh ear to listen, a new perspective to give insight.
‘Here we are guys, a more recent round of hot chocolates!’ Miles strides into the living room holding three mugs. He places them on the coffee table, and looks up to see me walk over.
‘Oh, good morning sleepy head,’ he says. ‘Do you want one too?’
‘I think I'll need a coffee!’ I say, letting myself sink into the sofa. He looks at me with adoration and wanders back into the kitchen.
By the time I’ve asked myself why he is looking at me like that, I’ve remembered last night. Him putting me to bed in the way he did. If it wasn’t for the kiss I could mistake it for a brotherly act.
A finger snaps in front of my face, ‘earth to Nora!’ Xander says. He stands behind the sofa where I’m sitting. ‘We’ve got a mission.’
‘Sorry,’ I say quickly, flustered from the thoughts I am swimming in. ‘A mission?’
He leans over the back of the sofa and engulfs me in his arms, his face mellows into my neck. Miles returns to the living room, holding my coffee with a proud smile on his face. As soon as he sees Xander’s affectionate embrace his smile wanes. He passes the mug to me. He tries to keep the smile as warm as it was when he entered the room, but it's tried, it's forced—his eyes show reservation and affliction.
‘Let’s go!’ Ross calls walking out of the front bedroom, ‘the beacon is lighting up like a Christmas Tree, an orb has appeared.’
Everyone springs to their feet. Well except for me, I rock forward to the edge of the sofa, breathe in the smoking cedar wood, and let a drop of coffee land on my dry tongue.
Miles must see the confused look on my face. ‘Dad called last night to give us the head’s up about it. You were sleeping.’
Yes, right. When you put me to bed and kissed my face with a tenderness only rivalled by my own father. My back teeth press into themselves.
Xander steps in front of me and breaks our gaze. ‘We’ll catch up,’ he tells them. ‘Give her a second to wake up.’
Xander watches everyone leave before he kneels in front of me and cradles my jaw in his hands. He rests his cool lips onto the warmth of mine, and if my mind wasn’t fuzzy before, it sure is now. As his kiss touches my heart, clouds swirl inside my head, they threaten to lift me up to the heavens and leave me laying in their soft dewy goodness all day.
‘Wait!’ He begins, but he’ll have to drag my lips away if he wants to say more. I grab his jacket and pull him closer to me, his body only stopped by the edge of the sofa—not close enough. His hands move swiftly and practised from my face to my waist, where they bunch up the bottom of my shirt. His hands are still lingering around my abdomen when he stops kissing me, his hot breath tickles my cheeks.
‘We’ve got a,’ he pecks me on the cheek, ‘mission to do.’ He straightens my shirt back over my belly button. He sits back on his heels and re-tightens my boots. I’m pretty sure I can do that by myself but don’t have the brain power to protest.
‘Can I talk to you abou
t something?’
‘Of course,’ he says without looking up.
‘Last night Miles carried me to bed.’ I blurt it out, he deserves to know.
‘Okay, well… that was nice of him. It's nice we all have each other's backs,’ he smiles and squeezes my hand.
‘Well...’ I stand up and pause, how do I say it without things getting weird, ‘I… uhh.’ Come on girl, get it together. It's not that hard. Just say, look, I was half asleep and I thought he was you and I may have crossed the line a little. But just so you know, nothing happened—he probably only thinks I like him or something.
‘He kissed me and I kissed him back, but I thought it was you, ha! He's been looking at me weird since. So embarrassing.’ That did not come out right.
Xander lets go of my hand. ‘What?’
‘On the head, he kissed me on the head and I kissed his hand. But that is all. I haven't told him I thought he was you, I don't want to mortify him.’ I try to stay light-hearted but it seems to make him worse.
His expression shifts from seeming hurt to visually indignant and he heads towards the door.
‘Xander?’ I say hopefully, following him out the door.
I’m two steps behind him as he makes his way down the lane to the helicopter pad. It is colder today than it was yesterday, my boots sink two inches and crunch deep through fresh snow as I walk. The sound is awful, but much better than silence.
Miles is about to step into the helicopter when he sees us approaching, ‘you ready to go?’ His eyes glisten with that unaware and innocuous smile of his.
‘Xander,’ I reach forward to grab his arm but he brushes off my appeasement and lurches forward in rage. He forces his hands against Miles chest, who stumbles backwards, bewildered from the impact.
‘You think you can take advantage of Nora like that? Or me?’ Xander pushes him again.
Miles puts his hands up in surrender, and trying to placate Xander he says, ‘I would never take advantage of her. What are you talking about?’
‘You kissed her last night, no?’ Xander's words spit out, his voice and tone acting like a sword through my stomach.
I shouldn't have said anything.
Ross, Eli and Viv sit in the helicopter dumb-struck, their eyes darting between Miles and Xander.
Miles gives an exasperated sigh. ‘Look, I kissed an exhausted friend on the forehead. That's all... I'm sorry Nora, the last thing I want to do is make you feel uncomfortable. I'm really sorry.’
Xander pushes Miles’ hand out of his way and leans in as intimidatingly close as he can. ‘She's not yours buddy. Okay?’
I know where this is coming from. I get that Xander has been ripped to the core before, I do. But this is scaring the hell out of me. If he has to have at least one fault, why does it have to be jealousy?
‘Clearly,’ Miles replies saddened.
Xander grabs my hand, like a mother would when a child goes to touch something they shouldn't, and pulls me into the helicopter with him.
I look at Miles with my brows so low I can feel the wrinkle between them, and mouth, ‘sorry.’ I feel like I have punished him for caring. I'm not comfortable with this, at all. I feel like a small crumb was made out to be a million mouldy chocolate cakes.
~~~
I know why I am silent but I can't decide whether everyone else is waiting for an explanation, or whether they are all filtering through the tough few days we’ve participated in. Either way, we are all pretty quiet for the ride.
We are in the air for an hour when the beacon starts going crazy, we must be finally getting close. At least we've moved away from the snow now. As we begin our descent, I press my forehead against the window and I have to use my hand to remove the beady fog my breath leaves on the glass. The mountain ranges we hover above boast a copious woodland and a small river sweeping through the valley. Miles finds the nearest clearing aside the river and lands.
‘Alright, Team Alpha,’ Xander shouts over the slowing helicopter blades, he looks optimistic, ‘the beacon indicates the orb is by a lake a few hundred metres that way. If we follow the river, we should get there fine. No sludge to wade through today.’
‘Girls, keep up today!’ Eli shouts as he jumps out.
Viv bumps him with her shoulder on her way out and grins. She runs ahead a few metres before turning around to run backwards. ‘Don't be sexist, Eli. I'm going to be the first one there!’
I grab my camera and step off the helicopter. My mind has been too preoccupied, I need to focus—narrow it in and do the job I'm here for. I aim the camera up and peer through the viewfinder. The beauty of our surroundings grounds me; gives me a sort of peace. The tall pine trees reach up the mountains in meticulous formation, almost like they are soldiers ready for battle. They are protecting the mountain, every inch guarded. It doesn't even matter what they are defending, as long as they stay together—a strong, immovable, and impenetrable shield. I deliberately set the frame and press the shutter, I want to keep this vision - to always remind me of the value of togetherness.
That is what photography is to me. Images acting as doorways. Doorways that open your heart, your memories, and your mind to things that have been. To remind you of the things that matter most in life. To bring you back to the way you were feeling when you were somewhere meaningful, or with someone you care about.
I scan my viewfinder down. Xander is standing there looking out in the same direction I am, he must feel the beauty of it too. The helicopter blades are still slowing down, and the force from them acts like a wind machine going through his hair. I take another photo. A blurry mass of brown tendrils paused in a wave. The sun catches the ends and sends them white. They reach as high as they can to the warmth, magnetised by the energy and strength of the sun.
He turns around and faces me. His piercing eyes flow straight through the lens and hit my core. My chest expands from one glance. His face is serious yet it exudes warmth and goodness. I take another photo. He smiles, and as I go to take another photo he scrunches his nose up and pokes out his tongue. In that instant, my growing uneasiness about us is tranquilised. That is how he got me: he's so caring and easy going; independent and generous; an amazing leader but never self-righteous. How can I not be utterly and hopelessly lost in him?
‘Let me see!’ He laughs walking over to look at the hilarious yet endearing image I just captured.
‘Ha! Oh wow, that's umm...’ he starts.
‘It's cute!’ I say, reassuring him.
He grabs my hand without shame, without fear and we walk towards the river. He's holding my hand… in plain sight! Just like this morning’s cuddle. I feel—relieved, wanted, reassured. He does trust me.
I glance back to see Ross and Miles follow us. I know Miles sees us, but he's refusing to look at me.
‘Before you say anything, I know I was in the wrong before,’ Xander says in remorse as we walk, his grip on my hand loosens. ‘Something in me clicked and I couldn't help it. I'll get over it, don't worry, just give me a little time and I'll make it right okay?’ He lets go of my hand and swings his arm around my shoulders.
Oblivious to our presence, the river flows beside us and we follow its contour away from the clearing. As we continue walking, we are surrounded by countless rows of steadfast trees. Through their pathways, I see Eli and Viv frozen by the river bank. About ten metres to the right of them, a… what is that thing? It's definitely not an orb.
When we catch up to them, we all stand there in a line, team Alpha, speechless.
SEVEN
Nora
I'm deciding whether to be afraid or intrigued. I should have known to expect the unexpected—considering the orb we most recently found. But this doesn't even remotely resemble anything else that we have been extracting. Alright, that's a lie, the texture and colour reminds me of the portal orb. It is silver and chrome-like, but that is where the similarities in appearances end. Instead of being circular, it is a rectangular prism. It's the size of a freaking one car g
arage.
‘Soooo, what next?’ Eli says obviously not keen to repeat his mistake from two days ago.
Xander turns to Ross; ‘Can you set the Analyser up so we can get some readings?’
‘Uh, yep sorry,’ Ross says snapping out of his bewilderment.
‘Is that a door handle?’ Viv queries.
I squint my eyes and can just see the outline of a long handle on the front of the prism.
‘Is it a door?’ She takes a step closer to examine.
Xander grabs her arm. ‘Wait! Ten metres.’
I notice Miles has broken away from our huddle, he is pacing up and down the edge of the river bank. I try to catch his attention but he is deep in thought. I hope he isn't too upset about Xander's outburst. To be fair he had no idea about the relationship Xander and I are developing. He stops pacing when the unit of guards reach us, his brow furrows as he looks at them. He scans his eyes around the woodland. Does he know something? There are four guards in total, all baring arms—they look like they are ready for action.
‘Okay, so the good thing is my readings aren't showing any kind of static electricity guys—actually, it's almost identical to the portal orb. What’s next Xander?’ Ross says looking at lines and numbers and a whole bunch of mathematical gibberish I will never understand.
‘Open the door!’ Miles says almost running over.
‘Whoa, whoa—wait!’ Xander demands. ‘Let's take it easy. If it has the same properties as a portal orb, as soon as you touch it, you will take it away. So if you have to study it closer and accidentally touch it, think of the clearing over there, we can't appear anywhere with it, it's huge.’
I glance back at the soldiers, each of them face a different direction, all holding their guns in cautionary preparation. What if something or someone is in there?
‘Miles be careful!’ I spin around, but I am too late he's already begun opening the massive door.