I struggle to suppress a smile. “Jax, that’s nail polish.” I wiggle my toes demonstratively.
Jax’s eyebrow quirks and it’s accompanied soon after by a crooked smile. His eyes narrow as he gives me a sidelong glance. “What’s nail polish?”
“Paint…for your toes,” I murmur, grinning.
“Why?” he wonders, looking intrigued.
“Uh,” I shrug, “I don’t know…because it’s pretty?” He glances back at my feet again, his brow wrinkling in thought.
“Yes…” he says distractedly. “It does have a certain allure…” he trails off when Trey reaches down and covers my feet with the blanket again, scowling at us both.
“SIR!” Wayra barks, running back to us. “You gotta see this!”
Trey tenses before lifting me in his arms as he stands. “Report.”
“The knob knockers, sir, they’re close and they’re breaking every restriction ever enacted,” Wayra reports, sounding anxious. “They have E-Ones and ALVs. It’s a good thing we stopped here, or we would’ve run right into them.”
“How close are they?”
“Two, maybe three clicks to the north, sir.” He leads us to a sheltered break in the trees. It takes me awhile to see the almost silent, hovering, helicopter-like vehicle skimming the trees on the horizon. It’s followed, not far behind, by a larger, black aircraft that resembles a bullet. Seeing it, my heart pounds in my chest because the black one looks more like a spaceship than a plane. There is nothing like it on Earth that I know of.
Trey speaks softly, “The Alameeda know where we came in and they know where we’re going.”
“They seem willing to risk a global incident by violating airspace to get what they came for,” Jax says, and then everyone turns to stare at me.
“Oh, c’mon!” I grumble, feeling fear course through me. “I can’t be that important. Maybe they’re just here to pick up the knob knockers. Here, let me down,” I add wiggling in Trey’s arms.
Trey sets me gently on my feet, but he holds me tightly to his side, making sure I don’t fall down. “Not a very fair fight,” Jax mutters under his breath, looking at Trey. “They gotta know we didn’t bring any real weapons with us. Just the archaic, legal kind.”
Trey rubs my arm absently. “We’ll have to evade for now. I hate running from them.”
“I hate being tortured, so evasion sounds absolutely acceptable to me,” Jax replies.
“WHAT!” I gasp, breathing faster.
Trey shoots Jax a look full of censure. “They won’t torture you, Kricket,” Trey assures me.
“But, they’ll torture you?” I ask as my eyes go wide.
He shrugs. “They may just kill us. They can’t afford to have witnesses.”
I straighten as adrenaline pumps into me. “Right. Okay, let’s go,” I urge them sternly, holding his hand and tugging him back as hard as I can. Glancing at my hand in his, Trey’s eyes move up to my face. “Move it!” I repeat as I grasp his wrist and tug him in the direction away from the ships. “Let’s go!”
“Are you scared?” Trey asks, frowning at me. “I—”
My eyebrows slash together. “You bet your ASS I’m scared, so let’s MOVE before someone gets TORTURED!” I yell at them, tugging harder on Trey’s arm.
Jax smiles despite my fear. “We’re wagering now?” Jax asks. “What’s an ass and how many fardrooms do you think it’s worth?” Ignoring Jax, I pull on Trey’s hand again.
“They don’t know where we are yet, Kricket,” Trey assures me gently. “We’ll find shelter and stay down. Tonight, when it’s dark, we’ll change our trajectory and travel toward the Comantre territory,” he explains in a soothing tone. “They won’t expect it, because they don’t know that we’ve seen them.”
I stop tugging on his arm; it’s futile anyway, I haven’t managed to move him at all. “Okay,” I nod with my grip easing on his hand a little. “Can we find that shelter now? And can we go this way?” I point away from the terrifying ships.
“Yes,” Trey replies as he takes my hand in his. His grip is tight enough to be reassuring. To my relief, he allows me to lead him away as the Alameeda ships continue their search for us.
CHAPTER 8
WHAT’S IT GONNA TAKE
Trey scoops me up in his arms again, carrying me back to the small pond to collect their gear and my clothes. As I shrug back into what’s left of my jeans, Wayra says, “You’ll have to explain those pink garments to us later, Kricket.” Blushing, I pull my damp t-shirt on over my head.
I look around at the trees anxiously, feeling as if Kyon is going to jump out at us at any second. When I meet Wayra’s unwavering stare, I reply, “Wayra, if we get out of this alive, I’ll give them to you.”
“Promise?” he asks me, looking excited.
“Yeah, I pinky swear,” I reply with sarcasm, holding up my little finger to him.
“Excellent!” he breathes. Looking away from Wayra, Jax and Trey are both frowning at me.
“What?” I ask, feeling jumpy. “You want them, too?”
“Can you walk?” Trey asks, holding his hand out for me to take.
“Yes,” I say with a worried frown, taking it immediately.
“You haven’t eaten your protein bar,” Jax scolds, pointing to it in my other hand.
“Are you serious? Kyon, Forester, and Lecto are probably out there somewhere and you’re worried about my protein bar?”
“Yes,” Jax gives me a stubborn nod.
I open my mouth and shove the entire thing in it, chewing it quickly. “Hop-py?”
“Yes, now we can go.” Jax extends his hand, offering me a mint leaf. I snatch it from him, chewing faster so I can pop it in my mouth.
Moving west, we’re careful to remain under the thick canopy of branches. It’s creepy how quiet the aircrafts are. No rotors propel the helicopter, or as they call it, the “E-One.” It hums and is creating a rustling of branches that has quieted the wildlife around us. As it slinks along, the E-One makes sweeping passes, missing us by what I consider fractions, but the distance doesn’t seem to be concerning either Trey or Jax.
When I notice that Wayra is no longer with us, I panic and pause. “Where’s Wayra?”
“He’s right behind us covering our tracks,” Trey answers calmly, squeezing my hand reassuringly. He smiles at me with a puzzled expression, causing my heart to pick up a little more. He’s probably the most attractive person I’ve ever met and I’m starting to find the way he makes me feel when he smiles irritating.
“Okay,” I fumble nervously.
“Are you worried?” Trey asks.
“Uh—yeah,” I reply with a hint of sarcasm because “worried” is an understatement.
Trey’s eyes soften. “Why? I said that the Alameeda wouldn’t torture you.” Trey squeezes my hand lightly. It’s meant to be reassuring.
“Yes, I heard you say that.” I scan the sky above us to see if I can locate the E-One.