♦ ♦ Eternity ♦ ♦
I had never been on an airplane before; it was so exciting! Gazing out the window with longing eyes, I admired the fluffy clouds floating about the sky, and the birds soaring on invisible gusts of winds. The sun was like a fiery semi circle of light as it sunk behind a ring of mountains. It was so pretty!
I chatted with Ayre throughout the flight, and before I knew it, a clear and soothing voice was blaring through the overhead speakers, notifying us that our plane would be landing in fifteen minutes.
"Aww, I like flying," I sighed wistfully, placing my head on my palm.
Turning back towards the window, I spotted something unusually dark against the pastel pinks and purples of the pre-twilight sky. It got increasingly larger until boom! It hit the window, causing me to recoil from the window in shock and almost jump into Ayre's lap.
The second Digit was so startled she shrieked and almost leaped out of her own seat. Fhyre and Juliet rushed over towards us, both wearing "WTF" faces of some sort. I had to giggle to myself at Ayre's expression.
"W-What happened?!" Ayre asked, fixing her black eyes on me worriedly.
"Something flew against the window!" I replied, crawling back over towards my seat to peer out the window once more. Sure enough, right outside of the plastic screen was a large eagle, flapping its wings hurriedly in order to keep up with the plane. Its intelligent eyes stared past me, almost directly at Ayre.
It winked once, and Ayre shot up from her cushioned chair in shock. "Is that... Is that Fox?!"
I turned towards the bird, emerald eyes widening. It surely could have been Fox, especially from the way it was staring at me and Ayre like it knew us. But what was he doing here?! I thought he was supposed to be with the other Digits?!
"Can you open the window or somethin'?" Fhyre questioned, pushing my face away so he could get a look at Fox the eagle too. I stuck my tongue out at him and retreated towards the center of the plane, glancing around at the other passengers as they shot me weird stares.
"That is impossible, you moron," Juliet deadpanned, viewing the scene with rather bored hazel eyes. She used her index finger to push the bridge of her glasses up on her nose and leaned against a chair coolly.
"Not impossible for a guy with super strength," Fhyre corrected her, mimicking Fox's arrogant tone almost perfectly. Ayre almost doubled over in laughter from his remark, but I was just wondering how the heck we'd get Fox in the plane again!
"Excuse me," a nasally voice came from behind us. Fhyre, Ayre, Juliet, and I immediately fixed our attention on the slim woman who had spoken. She must have been a flight attendant or something. "Please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts, we will be landing shortly."
The four of us scurried back to our assigned chairs, and I got a glimpse of Rhys's figure strapped to his seat a few rows in front of me. I wondered how he was feeling right now, in the enemy territory. Assuming that the other Digits actually cared for him, he'd probably be reunited with them shortly.
The plane suddenly began descending, shaking and shuddering as it headed towards the ground. I looked out the window curiously, and saw the eagle take a nosedive; swooping towards the airport in the far distance. His little wings must have been tired!
I wondered why Fox had returned to us in the first place... Perhaps he just hadn't wanted to stay with Jett and his posse, but if he had come back to us, wouldn't he have blown his cover? With a shrug, I waited with anxious anticipation as the plane came to a bumpy halt on the runway.
Soon, the rest of the Digits and I collected our few belongings and exited the plane. Fhyre flung Rhys over his back, carrying the weak boy over his shoulder and into the terminal. Fox was waiting there, leaning against a window with one leg crossed over the other. I briefly wondered how he was able to maintain that position without toppling over...
"Fox!" Ayre exclaimed, bounding over towards him. "What are you doing here?"
He faked a hurt expression and grinned, swallowing Ayre completely in a bear hug, "Miss me that much, huh?"
She laughed as the rest of us caught up to the two, and we all fired a barrage questions at him. Holding his hands up, he said, "Whoa, one at a time here, people. How's the weather up there, Rhys?"
Rhys lashed a leg out in the direction of where he thought Fox was in in response, but it merely flailed harmlessly in the air. Fhyre burst out laughing as if that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard, and I suppressed a giggle.
"Why'd you leave the others?" Ayre finally managed to inquire, brushing a lock of bright pink hair behind her ear.
"Caught me red handed," Fox admitted, albeit somewhat reluctantly. He rubbed the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed.
"Guess we don't need him anymore, then," Fhyre pointed out, hooking a thumb at the red-haired Digit he had slung over his back.
"You can let him go," Ayre concurred. "Not like he'll be of any use to us..."
I watched as Fhyre dropped Rhys to the ground roughly. The tenth Digit smoothed down his rumpled clothes and turned around swiftly on his heel, not even sparing a glance backwards. I mused that we were somewhat meaner to him than we could have been... But then again, it was his fault for not choosing our side in the first place! So good luck getting back to your evil meanie head friends! I yelled after him mentally. And then mentally stuck my tongue out at him too.
"Now what?" Fox voiced the question we had all been thinking. Not like we could live in the airport forever...
"We go to a hotel!" Ayre cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. She began skipping in the direction of the exit, and the rest of us trailed behind her, attempting to match her speedy pace. Soon we had left the airport, met by a biting wind that penetrated our thin school uniforms. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered, wondering how Ayre hadn't frozen to death in her skimpy uniform.
"Where exactly is this hotel?" I wondered aloud, examining our surroundings. There were multiple cherry blossoms lining the streets, and their pink petals fluttered about the wind. It was truly beautiful! Washington DC was full of human history, and I was itching to explore it all. The humans weren't too bad; I'm sure they weren't all like the experimentalists!
Ayre didn't answer, instead she kept pushing forward, down multiple sidewalks and deserted streets. The occasional car rushed by, lowering the temperature considerably. If only I had worn a jacket! Juliet seemed to be the only one unaffected by the cold; she walked as if it were a warm summer day. I was envious of all the group members surrounding me in some way or another...
In no time at all, we reached a staggeringly tall building, built to look like a Victorian home, only with ten more stories stacked on top of it. Spotless windows gleamed in the fading daylight, and ivy climbed up the painted walls. I couldn't tell whether it was a home or a hotel, but apparently this was where we'd be staying.
Ayre, with the four of us tailing her, entered the building, not even glancing in the direction of the receptionist. Boarding the elevator, we squeezed ourselves into one corner to allow other humans to enter with us. It was weird being so close to humans... Humans not armed with guns and other weapons. They smiled at us tiredly, not bothering to question why five teens were in this strange hotel. It was refreshing.
Up to the top floor we rose, frequently dropping off our fellow passengers. When we finally reached the very top of the hotel, we got off the elevator and strolled down the empty hallways. The entire floor seemed to be vacant and devoid of all life, although Ayre led us with confidence to a large oak door.
She and Fhyre exchanged a knowing glance and he easily broke the lock on the door by merely twisting it. When we stepped inside the room, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. It was huge! From where we stood, I could see a master bedroom with a massive canopy bed in the center. Adjacent to that was another bedroom with two twin beds, and straight ahead of us was a spacious living room, dotting with couches and chairs. Adjoining the living area, there was a kitchen and dining room, furnished with stainless steel appliances and wooden floors.
My expression was mirrored in both Fox's and Fhyre's. Juliet was the only exception, as usual. Ayre smiled, satisfied with our reaction. I turned towards her, "Did you pay for this?!"
"It's a secret!" She threw her head back and laughed, dancing towards the master bedroom where she flopped onto the comforter with graceful excitement. Fox quickly joined her there, teasing her as he almost pushed her off the kind sized mattress.
Everyone was in such a good mood that I forgot our current situation and began to explore the suite we'd be staying in. After a while, I made myself comfortable on one of the twin beds, looking around the pale pink room appreciatively. Ayre had sure chosen well! I wonder if we'd get caught for staying here without paying, and what would happen to us if we did. That would surely suck!
After a while, the noise in the master bedroom died down and Ayre came in to sit on the bed opposite mine. The ghost of a smile was on her face, but I could see uneasiness in her eyes are she regarded me somewhat nervously. I raised a curious eyebrow. She had seemed so happy just moments ago... What had happened?
"Eternity, would you mind doing me a favor?" She asked tentatively, fingering a white piece of paper I hadn't seen before. It was folded up into a neat square and tucked between two of her slender fingers.
"Anything!" I replied, turning my whole body towards her. "What's up?"
"W-Well," she stammered, averting her eyes towards the tiled carpeting, "I want you to find Jett and give him this note."
I was surprised to hear her say his name without breaking out in tears, after all he had put her through! He would pay if I ever crossed him again... But the other three would surely murder him upon first glance, so maybe I was the best option to be a delivery woman here.
"What does it say?" I inquired eagerly, wanting to read the note myself. But that would be rude...
"I just want to meet him at a nearby hotel, and see if we can work things out." A spark of hope lit her dark eyes as she looked at me pleadingly. "Please, I don't know who else I could have do this..."
"Leave it to me!" I exclaimed, determined. I jumped from the bed and plucked the stationary from Ayre's hands, dashing out of the room before she could stop me. "Everything will be find!" I called behind my back.
Out in the chilly air once more, I desperately wished I had a jacket. But now was not the time to complain about that. I had an important job to do here! I stopped time and quickly made my way back to the airport, figuring that was a pretty good place to start at. Unfortunately I could only stop time for five minutes, before I'd have to wait a bit to stop it again. I repeated this process until I finally made it to the airport, but he was no where to be found.
I did this continually for a good hour, although it was only a quarter of that time considering the rest had been at a gray standstill. It wasn't until I was crossing the street towards an expansive park did I spot a flash of familiar black hair and a familiar uniform that I recognized. Could it be Jett? I didn't want to get my hopes up... I mean, what the heck would he be doing in a park, of all places? But it was unmistakable. It had to be him.
"Jett!" I cried, panting heavily from running around so much. I was going to catch a cold pretty soon! "Jett!"
The first Digit turned around slightly to look at whoever had called his name, and when he saw who it was, a scowl instantly found its way onto his face. I pouted at his sour expression, coming to a defiant halt in front of the boy.
"What do you want?" He questioned through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyebrows.
"I have a note," I declared with a dignified flourish. "A note from Ayre."
At the mention of her name, Jett's expression instantly flickered to something else, something I couldn't put my finger on. Then it turned back to angry. I stuck my tongue out at him and shoved the piece of paper into his face, quickly stopping time so I could make a speedy getaway.
By the time things returned to normal, I had sprinted most of the way back towards the hotel the rest were at. I wondered what the letter had said, although I hadn't wanted to snoop in and read it. With a resigned sigh, I trudged the rest of the way back to the others. I guess I'd see what the note had said in due time...
~~~
Long post is loooong. @.@
