“Yes we know. But how did you do it?”
“It was a few phone calls. It was nothing really if you know the right strings to pull.”
“But how did you know who to talk to? Maybe I’m an ignorant teenage girl from the backwoods of New Hampshire, but usually one can’t just show up on a military base and commandeer a plane.”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say Riles there got into your brain. Lucky for you, all of you, I’m not an ignorant teenage girl. I have money, lots of it. At the end of the day, cash dictates what you can and cannot do. Is that a good enough answer for you Princess?” Cameron’s voice was agitated. He ran his long fingers through his slicked back blond hair.
Keira shrugged. She didn’t even know why she was prodding him. “I suppose that will do. You never answered my question though.”
Cam stood a few inches away from Keira. His shadow covered her and the others.
“It doesn’t matter. Can’t you just be happy I’m getting you to our lord?”
“My father,” Keira corrected.
He nodded and then stepped away. “I hate dealing with kids.”
Tired, Keira lowered her head while the others sat there in silence.
* * *
An unmarked grey passenger van arrived shortly thereafter. Cameron motioned them to get on.
The rain continued to gather and pound the roof of the van.
Keira took the closest seat while Riley and Luza fled to the back. Sliding the passenger door shut, Cameron got in the front.
Barely awake, Keira watched the driver shift the van out of park. She leaned her head against the window doing her best to observe the street lights and the different buildings they passed.
The rhythm and monotony of the rain lulled the princess to sleep. She didn’t stir again until the van drove into a hangar bay. Even then it was only momentarily.
“A private jet?” Riley’s jaw dropped as they swung into the hangar.
“Is that a good thing?” Luza asked.
He shook his head. “It’s a concern.”
“Let’s go,” Cameron yelled. He flung open his door and jumped out.
Groggy, Keira sat in her seat, stunned and slow to move. Luza tapped her on the shoulder and only after Riley opened the passenger side door, did the teen gather up the strength to get out.
Like Riley, she was taken aback by the sleek white two engine jet. This wasn’t her first plane ride, but it would be on something of this size and speed.
“This is a Tahir jet. While it’s not the Concorde, it will get us to where we need to be by morning. Don’t be in a rush or anything,” Cam said with a smug look on his face.
“What’s a Tahir jet?” Luza’s eye widened. She felt more nervous with each step she took towards the aircraft.
“The short version, a metal bird for filthy rich people,” Keira answered.
“Keira, where did your dad get this?”
“I don’t know Luza, we fly coach.”
* * *
The inside of the jet was as breathtaking as the outside. There were eight seats, all made of the finest leather, and fully reclinable. A small galley was in the back with a full bathroom including a shower.
Cameron strutted to the last seat closest to the galley and plopped down. He took off his military cap and flung it across the cabin. Reclining backwards, he stretched out his arms and yawned.
“Take a seat. It doesn’t matter where. Just sit down and enjoy your flight.”
Keira wearily looked around. She took the second seat back and crashed.
Riley was the only one who seemed to have his wits about him.
“What about the steps?” Luza asked as she looked down at the tarmac.
“No worries.” He pressed a panel button, adjacent to the door, and the steps folded back into place.
Automatically, the door sealed and the four of them were locked inside the airplane cabin.
Riley led Luza by the arm and offered her the first seat.
“Where are you going to sit?”
He pointed to the seat across from hers.
“That’s far away,” she laughed. “I’ll survive, but will you?”
Riley nodded. He grabbed a maroon blanket from the console above and handed it to the girl.
Watching Luza get settled, the teen gave one final glance around the cabin. He was surprised there wasn’t even an attendant, but then again what did he know having never flown on a private jet before.
Sitting back in his seat, he noticed the open cockpit door and two individuals busy at the control panels.
Like the others, he felt himself growing tired.
Between the time the airplane was clear for takeoff and when it actually was in the air, Riley was fast asleep.
* * *
Six and a half hours into the flight and no one had stirred. Luza was wrapped in her blanket, with only her hair and forehead visible. Keira’s face twitched. Her feet kicked slightly and she whimpered. Even Cameron had his eyes shut. He rested his right hand across his chest and the other hung down over his lap.
Riley squinted. The rising sun over the horizon caused him to lower his window shade.
With the light out of his eyes, he shifted his weight and listened. He heard voices in conversation, but wasn’t sure on exactly what.
Unbuckling his seat belt, the teen glanced over at Luza.
She looked so peaceful and for him that was a good thing.
Riley peeked at the others from his tippy toes. Neither Keira nor Cameron stirred.
Turning towards the cockpit, he silently stepped closer to the open door.
The two pilots were focused on their task at hand. They might not have seen Riley had the co-pilot not had to reach for a clipboard behind him.
The teen nodded.
“Can I help you sir?” said the co-pilot with a thick eastern European accent.
“How much longer till we land?”
The co-pilot counted in his head, “Another hour and half. Not too much longer.”
“How’s the weather where we’re going?”
“Belgrado will be crisp with a chill in the air for sure. There might be even some sunshine if you are into that.”
“Thank you,” Riley was stunned. He couldn’t believe how naïve he was.
He turned around slowly. The co-pilot smiled at him.
It was too much for the teen to take. He opened up the bathroom door, entered, and then locked himself in.
* * *
The sound of running water filled the air. Birds chirped in the background, and the sun glistened from above onto the vibrant green hues of the trees. What was left of the morning dew had all but disappeared as she struck out across the unkempt grass of the garden.
She had been to this place. It was familiar to her eyes and to the touch.
Thirsty, she made her way to the running stream. Stepping down to get closer to the water, Keira leaned down and sipped.
“Brrr.”
It was cold and yet so refreshing. She had been here before.
She remembered with every breath and from the reflection that looked back at her in the water below. Gone were her porcelain face, her long wavy black hair, and her soft features, replaced with a black button nose, and the long whiskers of a mountain lion. Her eyes were wider than she remembered; no longer blue with amber specks, but a deep grayish blue color.
Her thirst quenched, she turned away from the water and went deeper into the woods. The grass became sparser as more trees and granite boulders filled her surroundings.
She moved swiftly through the undergrowth, seeking, searching for a familiar voice. It was clear now as she hid behind a series of boulders that looked out onto a shallow pond with a lone large willow tree.
Two boys hung from a series of branches that reached across the pond. From her vantage point, she couldn’t tell their features apart, but the smell was undeniable.
She knew it from the cave and from somewhere else. It was
faint, but a smell one couldn’t easily forget.
The laughing of the two boys grew louder. They were oblivious to the fact that she stalked one or both of them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
It can all end now. Do what is necessary and act. Are you going to jeopardize everything just because this child is deemed innocent? The innocent will not remain one as the years pass. He can never be trusted.
The voice grew louder. Unable to take anymore, she let out a loud roar.
“Rrrrrrrrrawwwww.”
Startled and stunned, both boys lost their balance and dangled from the branches of the tree.
There is no time. Act while you can.
That’s the one I need. Right there.
She leapt and reached out with her sharp claws. One clean swipe and the boy would be down.
He was stronger than he appeared. With a lucky kick, he saved himself from her grasp. Still he was hurt. Her claws had cleaved his shin and it took all of his strength to pull himself back up onto that branch, safe from her reach.
At about the same time, the second boy lost his grip and fell between the mountain lion and the tree.
Get by this one and finish what you started.
There was no second guessing. She darted into the boy with the straggly brown hair and the doe-colored eyes. Sinking her teeth into his midsection, she hoped he would meet a quick fate, and buy her time to deal with the boy she needed and had wanted to dispose of.
As her claws and teeth sunk into his flesh, the boy felt the world disappearing from his grasp. A middle-aged man, with dark brown eyes and thick curly hair on his head, appeared with an entourage of guards. They surrounded her and the screaming child.
“Your Majesty, please,” the man pleaded. “Just let him go.”
Keira looked at the boy’s pained face. It was Riley. Tears fell by the wayside.
Shocked, she released the boy. As she took a step back, the blond haired youth above, came into focus. He stared down at her, watching her every move.
She knew that face.
He pointed at her with a dangling black bracelet hanging from his wrist.
He can never be trusted.
* * *
Riley unlocked the bathroom door and opened it. Stepping out, he found Cameron standing only a few feet away.
The cockpit door was sealed shut.
“What is there a line now?” Riley asked.
“Not so much good ole boy,” Cameron laughed uncomfortably. His right hand was hidden underneath his BDU shirt. “The girls should have listened to you.”
Before Riley could say another word, Cameron fired two rounds of tranquilizers into the teen. His silencer muffled the sound.
Riley collapsed and Cameron turned back to the center of the cabin.
Luza rolled away from the window. She turned her head at Cameron’s direction.
“Princess,” he called.
“What?” she muttered.
“Back to sleep you go.”
He shot her two times and then checked his clip.
Keira shook herself awake. Whether it was the distant sounds of the tranquilizers or the dream, she was alert and looking directly at Cameron.
He rested the hilt of the pistol in his palm and smiled.
“We seem to have a problem with some of the other passengers.”
“Cam, what have you done?”
“It’s more like what did you do?”
“What are you talking about?”
Cameron leaned down and pointed the pistol at her.
“I’m talking about how you prevented my father from doing what he needed to accomplish.”
“Father? What?”
Cameron rolled his eyes at the teen. He leaned against the other seat and shrugged. “You have the bracelet right? Show me the bracelet.”
She hesitated to lift her sleeve.
“Come on now I don’t have all day.” He kept the pistol pointed at her.
“You’re going to shoot me anyway.”
“But I don’t have to, if you did what you were told.”
Keira reached into her pocket and dangled the onyx bracelet.
“You can’t even accept a gift right.”
He reached across and grabbed the bracelet.
“I should have known better. To think I would have treated you like the queen you deserve to be. Heck, I would have spoken on your behalf to Sohon. My father never would have done that, but that was his fault as he never looked at potential the way I do.”
“Your father is . . .”
Before he could answer, Keira instantaneously transformed. Gone was the camouflage clothing, replaced with the fawn colored fur. Her hands and feet were once again paws with long sharp nails. While she was somewhat crammed in the seat, the full-grown mountain lion, including a two-foot long tail with a black tip was in full force.
She knocked the pistol out of Cameron’s hands. As he stumbled to recover the weapon, she bounded across her seat and over to the following chair.
“Rarrrrrraww,” she growled from the aisle.
Cameron wasn’t scared of Keira. His fingers grasped around the weapon and he pointed it at the lion.
“That thing’s not going to put me out,” she cried.
“We’ll see.”
He fired two shots in succession and everything faded around them.
Dedication
To my students from 2016 – 2018 at Quality Schools International Brindisi.
About Jonathan Kuiper
Jonathan Kuiper spends most of his days teaching middle and high school students. When he’s not in school, he can be found out for a run or working on his next novel.
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