Airborne

by Constance Sharper

  “What are you?” He asked deadly quiet.

  She stuttered for an answer.

  “I’m not your enemy, but I’m sorry, I need to leave.” She tried but his scowl indicated that he wouldn’t let her go easily.

  Avery prepped herself for battle but another harpie swooped down behind her. Avery barely saw Eva before the harpie grabbed Avery and hefted her in midflight, taking Avery’s feet off the ground. The world spiraled. Unlike her brother, Eva didn’t have the same balance or build to hold Avery’s weight. The resulting choppy flight left them plunging down the hill side at a break neck speed. Avery screamed, clawing at the arms that held her and kicking at the air.

  The police officer took to the sky as well, tailing them in a blur of white. Eva’s wings pounded, just enough to glide them. The cop grabbed at them. Eva maneuvered too hard to avoid the man and the resulting motion had let Avery slip free. Avery plummeted through outstretched tree branches, and hit the ground rolling. Though she hadn’t been dropped far, landing just about killed her. In that same second, she turned her head just in time to see unmistakable blinding glare of headlights gunning her way. Her limbs didn’t budge in time. The oncoming truck swerved, breaks squealing in a cloud of burning rubber. Avery’s knees weakened and she hit the pavement just as the truck skid to an agonizing stop.

  A full minute went by before Avery finally peeled her white fingers off the asphalt and remembered how to breathe. The moment had past so quickly, it took a second for her brain to catch up. Leaning back, she sat in the damp snow and drew her knees back into herself.

  The sputtering blue truck that had just missed making Avery road kill remained nearby. The car’s door opened and its engine finally clicked off with a guttural moan. The driver approached wearily, his eyes apparently ill adjusted to the darkness, probably looking for a wild animal. When he spotted Avery, his face changed considerably. Mouth dropping open, the driver raced to her side.

  “What happened? Oh my God, you need help?”

  Closer now, Avery could see the man in detail. His scruffy orange beard made the majority of his face disappear but soft green eyes were still visible. Dressed in flannel and heavy duty boots, he could have been a park ranger but Avery couldn’t be sure. As far as Avery was concerned, humanity was enough for her at the moment and she accepted the hand he offered. He walked her to the car, doing a lot to support Avery’s weight, and popped open the door to allow her to sit. Avery did gratefully. The car’s lights came on and the man’s eyes widen and his jaw went slack when he officially got a clear look at her. Avery didn’t have a mirror but it didn’t take a genius to know she was caked with everything from slush to blood. Half starved, frozen, and scared, she probably seemed a little twitchy to boot.

  “Uh. I uh, ran.” Nothing she was saying made sense when her brain refused to work right.

  “Were you- were you attacked? What attacked you? Good God, child, you know there are moose and bears out here!” He said.

  “Um, I don’t know. It was dark. I just heard something and I ran.”

  “What are you doing out here? The Pass is closed tonight!” He clearly thought she was insane but Avery shrugged.

  “I just, I wanted to see it but then I got lost. I thought something was chasing me so I ran...” She used every bit of energy she had left to make her story sound genuine.

  He believed it.

  “You’re so lucky I found you. Is there anyone else with you?”

  “No, no. Just me.”

  She glanced up at the sky when she said it. Mason may have kept away from humans but she knew Eva wouldn’t. Once that harpie police officer got done chasing her, she knew Eva would be back.

  “I’ll give you a ride back to town.” The man decided without hesitation and closed Avery’s door once her legs were clear.

  The mix of uneven temperatures fogged the windows. Rubbing at the side window with her sleeve, she peered out into the night. The trees thrashed together and the flailing branches were distracting. The sky directly above her was clear, dark, and starless. She squinted desperately. Eva had probably kept flying but would inevitably double back. It was only a matter of time.

  The truck bounced from an impact. Flinching, Avery tore around to glance behind her. In a hurry, she rubbed the back glass clean of the foggy condensation. The sight of familiar red flannel greeted her and she let out a pent up breath. The man had jumped onto his own truck’s bed. Too close for her to see detail, she heard metal clink and clatter until the man finished and resurfaced at the car door. But this time, Avery realized, he carried a long pump action shot gun. He held it up for her inspection before pushing it into the cabin with them.

  “Not gonna hurt you but if there is really an animal out there, we don’t wanna run into it twice.” He climbed in making the truck creak on its pumped up suspension.

  Inside, he hit the locks with a single click and threw the car into drive. It started with a bumpy shot and began to cruise. Realizing she’d dug her own fingernails into the grey plastic dashboard, she moved to fold her arms into herself. Avery grudgingly waited, uncertain of what for, but ready for any flash of white or grey. She was ready for the horrible grinding of a steel truck being dragged to a stop or a screeching pop of tires. She was ready for the harpies to attack. After a full ten minutes when none of these came about, the excruciating anxiety finally began to dissipate bit by bit.

  Finally drawing her eyes back to inside the cabin, she noticed the plastic identification tag that had been draped around the rear view mirror. An old photo showed the man’s face with the similar but much darker red beard. The faint blue back drop was the familiar stars of Alaska’s flag. Heavy black text on the plastic card identified him as a park ranger. The park ranger waited until they’d bumped a mile down the road before staring at her from the corner of his eye.

  “It’s not illegal to be out here but it’s certainly stupid.” He said over the steady humming of the engine.

  “Trust me, I know.”

  “Hey, is your arm hurting you little miss?”

  Avery noticed herself that she’d been clenching her arm. She didn’t answer him before he added, “You should look under your seat.”

  She did and found a hunter green tackle box. Lifting the box up onto her lap, she opened it. The scent of alcohol wafted out. Stuffed to its brim, the box held starch white medical supplies. Bandages and gauze sat on top. The man motioned to her and she picked through the plastic wrapped supplies until she found wrap at the bottom.

  “Thanks. I owe you one.” She tore open the bag and unraveled the bandage.

  “No problem, it’s my job.”

  Avery concentrated on wrapping the bandage tight around her right arm until the better half of the black mark was covered. Below the skin, she felt just a hint of magic tingling. She knew she could manifest it now so at least she wasn’t helpless. The fact that she was okay with that idea was a big concern for a different day. Avery just wanted to get out of here alive.

  Twelve

  Downtown Anchorage, which lacked any dingy forests or dark creepy roadways, had come as a welcomed sight. The park ranger had been on his way to the city so not only did Avery take the ride there, she also took him up on an offer to be dropped off at the airport. She’d snagged up a ticket and was ready to go. The harpies would have to chase her down across the lower 48 if they wanted to get her now.

  Sighing, she took a breath and tried to clear her emotions away. She’d made it all the way out of Hatcher Pass to Anchorage almost incident free. The trip took a few hours and though the car peacefully chugged along the interstate, the ill and foreboding feeling never stopped hovering.

  The memory of the trip, crisp in her mind, kept the bad feeling around even now. Only an hour out, the park ranger’s demeanor had changed dramatically. Going from a generally jolly old man, he went stiff and quiet. The car still rumbled along at a steady speed but he gripped the wheel until his knuckles turned white. His pupils had expanded to take up
much of his beady eyes and stayed steady on the empty road with absolute concentration.

  “It’s just been a weird night.” He’d said once she’d inquired. His tone attempted to brush it off but she could hear the worry in it. “Thank god I managed to find you. I’ve just got a bad feeling.”

  Avery didn’t know how to answer so she simply stayed quiet. It prompted to man to say more and he spoke softly enough that the words barely reached past his own scruffy beard. One of his hands absently cradled the wooden base of his shot gun.

  “I’ve always had this theory about when things aren’t okay out here. Consider it natural instinct if you will, but the animals always know if something isn’t right. And tonight, the birds...the birds have really been acting up.”

  Pushing it back in her mind and focusing on the present, Avery twirled the metal coiled cable in her hand and wedged the plastic phone head between her shoulder and chin. It still rang high and loud on the other side waiting for the recipient to agree to pay the collect call. She’d been trying contact her brother Chase for awhile-- especially considering she got a plane ticket to see him, but knowing his lazy habits, she’d consider herself lucky if he answered at all. Finally the incessant ringing halted and a gruff voice answered the phone.

  “Ello.” It must have been five hours too early in the morning for him to answer. Still, Avery was happy to hear it.

  “Hey Chase.”

  Even though she’d identified herself on the recorded collect call message, his voice spiked with surprise.

  “Avery? Why are you calling me collect? Are you okay?”

  “My phone is history.” She said truthfully. Maybe it was the constant falling but the once baby blue flip now resembled scrap metal.

  “Avery!” He shouted, this time annoyed. Rustling on the other line told her he was now up and moving, probably one step from diving in his old Ford to come on a rescue mission. The best quality about Chase was also his worse. Chase was absolutely over protective

  “I’m fine.” She amended. “Look, I’ve been thinking about what you said and decided to skip town for awhile and check out what else California has to offer.”

  The silence on the other line didn’t come unexpectedly. In fact, it sounded both reminiscent of the park ranger and her mother when she barely put up a viable excuse. She wouldn’t try either. Even basking in the heat of the building with fries and a burger settling in her stomach, she didn’t feel up to it. Chase’s voice finally came over at a steady and deep pitch.

  “It’s Nathanial isn’t it? I’m going to kill that kid this time. I’m going to...”

  She cut him off before the rant.

  “Look, would you just pick me up at the airport. No murder rampage necessary. I just... need some time away from school, okay?”

  “Fine, when?” He asked grudgingly.

  “Well, my plane leaves in twenty minutes so...five hours maybe?”

  Silence again.

  “Chase, I already talked to mom, I already bought the ticket, and I’m already at the gate.”

  She had spoken to her mother earlier only to find out that Mayweather Academy had been calling her mother incessantly since she’d disappeared. They probably did it to decide whether they needed a truant agent or a corpse search team. After apologizing profusely, she’d just told her mother that she’d gone on trip to the Anchorage and spent the last few days horsing around in the city. Avery had spun a convincing tale about how there was too much drama in school and her mother had no problem with her taking a weekend break in California. Her mother swallowed this easily-- she had, after all, raised Chase who was an absolute hell raiser. In comparison to anything Chase did, Avery cutting a few days a school would be laughed off.

  Her mother was easy to talk to, but dealing with Chase would be a different matter. The mere fact that Avery needed a so-called break from school meant that Chase needed to kill somebody on her behalf.

  The overhead speakers boomed and Avery’s attention shot to the gate entrance on her left. Outside sat the tiny silver plane waiting at the tarmac. For some time, there’d been a line of twitchy people but they’d finally started boarding. She squeezed the heavy plastic phone receiver.

  “I gotta go. Just pick me up please.”

  “Avery.” He stopped her before she placed the phone back in its cradle. “Be careful.” He sighed.

  She nodded even though he couldn’t see her and then hung up. It would turn out she hurried onto the plane for no reason. The only other ten people had already found their seats and the flight attendant hadn’t even completed the safety lecture. Avery dropped into her seat, abruptly exhausted, and gave a passing glance to the other people. She didn’t recognize anyone and no one had the characteristics of a harpie.

  Most times Avery hated planes. The cabin was stuffy and the small fan blowing ventilated air smelt too much like gasoline. Today though, it didn’t bother her. This had to be the way to fly. A nice, granted mildly unpleasant, closed environment with no one trying to kill her and no chance of being dropped.

  The plane took off and her dream had begun before she even realized she’d fallen asleep. Instead of being in the plane seat, she stood on soft grass and breathed in cool, fresh air.

  The sharpness of the detail of a hearty garden full of overwhelming flowers could have tricked her but Avery realized it wasn’t reality. To her left trickled a tall marble fountain in a circle of polished tiles. Multicolored purple and blue accent lights focused at the center of the fountain giving the whole area a healthy glow. The lights lit up the red and white rose bushes that bloomed around the pathway. She admired its beauty for only moments when a voice demanded her attention.

  “My highness.”

  A gray haired harpie appeared at the edge of the garden and fell into a sweeping bow. The harpie looked older than any she’d seen before. The skin on his face drooped over hazel eyes, and he walked bent over.

  “How are you?” She asked, the words slipping from her like they were already scripted.

  She paced toward the fountain and perched on the edge. From there she caught a glimpse of herself in the rippled water’s reflection. Sharp green eyes stared back. Even through the distortion, she recognized her own reflection as the prominent face of Jericho. It seemed she was Jericho.

  “I come on behalf of the Counsel, Jericho. We are concerned about the amulet of Willow.” The gray haired harpie said, standing close but also refusing to stand on the same tile pathway as she did.

  “Aw, so quick to business. How’ve you been Samuel?” She said politely, and with her tiny nod, harpie Samuel took a few steps closer. Now standing just a foot before the fountain, Samuel seemed more relaxed.

  “Always well these days, my lord. You know my daughter is soon to be married.” Samuel‘s voice rose with the pride, and his chest puffed with elation.

  She nodded appropriately.

  “Very good. The new couple has my blessing.” She said in Jericho’s voice.

  Samuel’s smile still fell.

  “I only wish your son could feel the same.”

  She gracefully shrugged, appearing more unconcerned than he did.

  “Mason’s a strong boy. Mason will get over it.” With that, she abruptly dug into her pocket and retrieved a book that barely filled her huge hand.

  “Speaking of this though, I would like to break the news to him myself. So we should make haste.” She then held the book out to Samuel as an unspoken offer and said, “This is all I can tell you.”

  Samuel eyed it wearily before snatching it in one motion and flipping through it in the next. The pages inside were worn and abused by too much pressure and far too much fountain ink. From where she stood, it resembled more jibberish than anything else. But when the Samuel closed the book, she remembered the insignia clearly. In silver embossment, a crescent moon decorated the cover.

  “What is this, Jericho?” Samuel asked.

  “Research. Observations. Theories. Everything I know about the amulet�
��s creation and its abilities.” It had to be a fair amount of information considering the book’s size.

  “Well, for time’s sake, help me understand.” The other harpie put two fingers to his wrinkled scalp resembling a worn out parent about to lecture a child. “This amulet is different than the others?”

  She nodded.

  “And for that reason, you aren’t even sure what this amulet is capable of or even how strong it might be?” Samuel asked.