The Watchmen Files // Second Half-Chapter Fourteen // Trust and Obey

Hey guys!

   What a day it is! Finally, the sun is peeking through those clouds and the sky is blue again! Seriously, the sky has been white for days.

   But anyway, I'm excited to give you the next chapter of T.W.F. Though I must say, the next few chapters after this will have lots more action. I'm not too good at writing that, so if you've got tips, share 'em!

   This one is a bit short, since it is, after all, a half chapter.

Well, here we go! The second half of chapter fourteen, Trust and Obey.

   The doors that sealed off the cockpit from the rest of the craft closed, and the hum of engines filled the tight room.

   Conner shrieked as the cockpit and only the cockpit launched into the air. With the wind blowing in their faces from the cracked windshield, the small mini-craft flew through the air, being powered on by miniature engines in the back that would fly them out of the ground and away from Hydra.

   The sheer G-force threw Mason back as he gripped the bottom of his chair. A thrill of terror pumped through his heart and he went from yelling in fear to laughing hysterically from the mad sensation of joy.

   Conner was screaming at the top of his lungs like a kid on a roller-coaster and his eyes were darting from Mason and back to the windshield with a mix of confusion and alarm.

   For a moment, they were soaring through the night. And then that moment ended.

   The experience of plummeting down ten feet at a time is something that you have to experience to describe.
   But let's just say that for Mason it was heart-poundingly awesome.
   For Conner, it was heart-stoppingly terrifying.

   And for Graham, it was just another day on the job.

   Their minicraft streamed through the air and toward the ground just like their first decent, accompanied by the same reactions from its crew as the first trip.

   Conner gripped his seat and snapped his eyes shut. "Not again!"

   Scraping through the ground, tufts of grass, dirt, and now even rocks flew through the cracked windshield and shattered it. Shards of glass cut through the air dangerously. The cockpit slid about thirty feet before slowing down and jerking to a sudden stop.

   As the craft's engines cooled, Conner's shaky breathing and the tinkling of falling shards of glass was all to be heard. Then Mason started chuckling.

   Conner was absolutely furious. "Mason...!" He fumed as his heart began beating again.

   Mason burst into laughter, he could hardly stop long enough to answer him. "I... I can't believe we're... alive! That. Was. Awesome!" He threw his hands up into the air for emphases.

   "That was terrible!" Conner shrieked. "You are insane!" Then he lowered his head into his hands. "Oh thank You God, we're alive..."

   Still laughing, Mason turned in his seat to look back at Conner. He started to say something, then couldn't because he was cracking up. Then (finally) he laughed, "You shoulda seen your face..."

   Conner furrowed his brow.

   "You looked like a little girl! 'Help, help! We're all gonna die!' "

   "I did not say that!" Conner glared.

   "Okay girls," Graham butted in. "We've got to move-"

   "Girls?!"

   "-and fast. Hydra's going to be here any sec-"

   Pound. Pound. Pound.

   Something pounded on the side of the craft, alerting them to another's presence. Everyone was silent, waiting for orders.

   Pound. Pound. Pound.

   Mason glanced at his Sargent, who held a finger to his lips for quiet and hand signaled for him to go check it out. Mason wondered why he had to be the one to do all of the dangerous things.

   He carefully clicked the seat-belt open and stepped over and around the pieces of glass lying on the floor. Without a sound, he pressed his ear to the wall. Well, somebody's out there, his super sensitive hearing (thanks to the Super Soldier Serum) informed him. He shrugged at Graham and mouthed that he had heard movement.

   Suddenly, Graham's cellphone vibrated in his pocket. Curious, he opened it and silently read the text, not saying anything but still mouthing what it said. Apparently, he didn't remember that he hadn't taught them lipreading yet.

   Knock knock, knock know knock! The pounding came again.

   Graham motioned for Mason to let them in. Mason shook his head vehemently in return, and so did Conner. As they had a mouthing argument, Jason stuck his head through the broken windshield and exclaimed, "Did ya miss me?"

   "Jason!" Conner gasped with joy. "You would not believe what we've been through!"

   "C'mon boys," he motioned for them to follow him, "You've had enough action for one day. You better come with me in my ship to get to the training facility."

   The next day, Conner stumbled sleepily after Mason down the nearly identical to the last facility's hallway leading to the main training room. "Hurry up Con," Mason encouraged him. "We don't want to be late!"

   "If you would slow down," he panted as he caught up with his partner. "I'm still bruised from the landing- erm, landings."

   "Fine," Mason slowed down and let Conner catch his breath again. "You ready to continue training?"

   "Yeah, actually," he smiled back. "Let's... oh, how do you say it?"

   "Get our game on?"

   "Yeah, right, that!"

   Mason smiled as his friend's Britishness, but then sighed. He was another step closer to rescuing his cousin, but how long until they would find her?



Okay! Now that that's over with, I'll tell you a little 'bout the next chapter, in answer to the last statement by Mason. Finally, we get to go on a mission! Yay! Or not, since they're not even finished with their training, things could fall apart, and fast.

And on to announcements!

Ammelia has posted her chapter! Yes! I'm loving her book Without Cause, so if you haven't checked it out yet, there's still time to catch up (she's on chapter five, I think). If you like mine, you'll like her's.

And if you like Willow's Friends and Enemies, you'll like Billie Catherine's book, Rising Shadows. She's got chapter two up now, by the way. To find all the links, check out the Story Links page.

So, I think that's all that needs to be said.

Always Watching,

Darrion

P.S., do you think that 'Always Watching' thing is kinda creepy? Like I'm staring at you though your window right now, watching you read my chapter. Okay, yeah, that analogy is creepish. But is that what you think of when you read it? Or should I keep it?

// Without Cause // Half-Chapter Five // Flight In The Dark //

Hello everyone! Due to some massive writers block for this specific chapter, I can only offer you a half of chapter five today. :( A lot went on this past week for our family, including the preparation for the kidding (birth) of baby goats on our little farm. It also snowed a lot a few days ago, and I put off writing so I could go build a snowman and let it go ;) But I've been a bit lazy as well... having marathons of Doctor Who and catching up on some sewing and crocheting. Anyway, hopefully by next week, the rest will be completed. Until then, here you go!

//Without Cause//

//Half-Chapter Five//

//Flight in the Dark//

*Kylie*

   As soon as the doors shut, the driver took off.  My head hurt and a ringing sound ran around in my ears. Ethan rolled to his back and sat up, peering over me. He tried to say something, but I couldn’t understand a word through the duct tape.

 My wrists ached as the thugs drug Ethan and I across the empty parking lot towards a small structure. I was so thirsty, hungry, and cold. Ethan constantly struggled with one of the guys, the burly man, but he had an iron grip on Ethan’s arm.

   We reached the building, which looked like an abandoned gas station run by drug dealers. Four old gas pumps stood out front, clearly not having been used for many years.
   The man loosened his grip on my arms and pulled me in front of him, like I was going to shield him from something. Another guy opened the gas station door and led us inside. Ethan made one last attempt to break free right as we were entering. He elbowed one guy in the stomach, grabbed his gun, and hit the other guy with the butt of the gun, knocking the guy off his feet. The thug who had me tightened his grip again, linking his left arm in between mine, which were still handcuffed, and pulled tight. I yelled out in pain, it felt like my arms were going to pop out. He pressed the gun to my neck with his right hand.

   “Oi! Knock it off, kid, or your sissy here gets hurt!” he spat in a British accent. Ethan looked back and forth between me and my captor. I shook my head a little, trying to send a signal for him to behave himself and do what the other guy had said. Ethan rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth, then set the gun on the ground and waited patiently while the other guys got up and grabbed hold of him again. The guy who had me chuckled. “Now, we’re going to do this my way, the easy way, or people will get hurt. While we wait for our ride to show up, you two pretties can go inside, yeah? And no games! Do as you’re told! If I catch you—“

   He was cut off by another voice, one sort of giddy with excitement mixed with sarcasm, coming from the doorway of the gas station. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Tsk, tsk, tsk! Be nice to our guests, Jefferson! We wouldn’t want them spoiled.” Jefferson, surprised, turned to face the other man, jerking his arm free of mine and letting me fall. Ethan lunged for me but was restrained by three other henchmen. I turned to look at the guy in the doorway, now walking towards me. He sounded American, but with a hint of something else. He had neatly combed dark hair, brown eyes, and wore a navy blue suit. He knelt on the ground next to me as I struggled to sit up.

   “Don’t you dare touch her!” Ethan growled from several feet away.

  The new guy gave a surprised/shocked look as he reached for my arm. “Hurt her? Oh, no, I merely came to help.”

   I jerked away. “I don’t need your help, creep!” getting to my feet proved easier than I thought it would be. I tried to back my way toward Ethan as the guy stood to his feet with a laugh.

   “Creep?” he scoffed. “Wow, you’re quick to judge. Just like your old Pops.” He gave a glaring smirk, and ordered Jefferson to keep a hold of me. Ethan was seething, his breath shooting out in a short, quick motion through clenched teeth.

  Creep waved his hand toward the gas station building, and his henchmen shoved us in. The interior had been stripped of everything, leaving it dirty, cold, and gloomy. Creep spoke on a mobile phone for a minute, then entered the building with us. He excused the others, leaving him, Ethan, and I the only ones left. Creep leaned against the wall, zoning out and staring at the wall opposite him.

   My eyes shifted back and forth between Ethan and Creep. Ethan tried to smile, and send me a few reassuring looks, but, I was still a bit freaked out, and kept my lips pinched shut.

   The silence was really getting on my nerves, and so was the weird vacant stare of our captor. “So…” Ethan blew through his teeth. “You, uh, mind telling us what we’re doing here? Oh, and it might be nice if you could tell us what to call you, ‘cause the names I have in mind, probably aren’t titles you’d like.”

   Creep smiled wide and let out a laugh. “I guess a name would be quite nice, now wouldn’t it? Well sorry, I can’t tell you that just yet.” He finished with a cheesy grin, Ethan narrowed his eyes, and I sent Ethan a confused glance.

   Ethan continued to glare straight into Creep’s eyes, locking them into a staring contest. Creep eventually, while still staring, gave a creepy little smile, and did a creepy little laugh. “Call me Jim.”

    Ethan cleared his throat. “Alright, Jim, what are we doing here?” He finished with a blink, sending ‘Jim’ into hysterical laughter.

   “I win! That was fun! We should do it again sometime.” He got up, skipped to the door and pushed it open, sending a blast of cold air in. “Tootles!”

   I scowled after him, and Ethan kicked the wall in frustration. “That guy is really ticking me off.” He said in between kicks.

“I’m like, 1,001% sure that’s his goal.”

  Ethan turned to face me, stopping his kicking. “You’re not hurt, are you? The way that guy was pulling on your arms looked painful.”

   “Nah, I’m fine. But I’ll probably be sore later.”

    He smiled but had no time to reply, as the door was pushed open again and Jefferson stepped in. “Boss wants you out.” He raised his gun. “No games.”

   A faint thudding sound had started and begun to grow louder while we were inside, and now we could see the source: A black helicopter was coming into sight, Creep’s, er, Jim’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree while he smiled. “Ah! They have arrived! Come, come, out of the way.” He cooed to the thugs. “You wouldn’t want to be squished, those things weigh a lot.” He laughed hysterically as he pointed towards the copter.

   We all moved and stood next to the gas station as the noise got louder. Ethan and I were moved next to each other, and Ethan leaned my way as far as he could. “Don’t say anything. Don’t answer them, don’t ask any questions, just don’t.” He smiled and continued whispering while the others were occupied watching the helicopter. “I have a feeling Mum and Dad will get us out of here in no time.” Ethan was jerked back several feet away from me as the helicopter began to land. As the wind from the blades blasted my hair in a million directions, I couldn’t help but imagine what kind of horrible tangles I was going to have to attack later.

   When it landed, I tried to find some sort of name or serial number or anything on the copter, but there was nothing. The black frame looked seamless, and was so sleek, we could all see our own reflections as clear as a mirror. The windshield was tinted, giving the appearance that there wasn’t one. I have to admit, I was impressed. Apparently so was Ethan, who gaped at it with wide eyes.

   The blades never stopped turning, and my face hurt from the wind. Jim hunched his shoulders and jogged towards the copter. He stopped midway, turning and motioning for us to follow. The minions grabbed us again and shoved us in the direction of their boss, who opened the copter door by running his hand over part of the side. He pulled it open with a bow and the guy who had me, threw me in the pitch-black cockpit. Ethan was next, although it took all four thugs to wrestle him in. After they had done their job, they jogged back towards the gas station. Jim smoothed his hair and straitened his suit before jumping in and taking the passenger seat. “Buckle up!” he tried to yell over the noise, handing each of us a headset. I looked confusingly at Ethan, who shrugged and motion to buckle the seatbelt. Rather than refuse and make Jim angry, I buckled my belt, which was kind of confusing, and put the headset on. My ears were flooded with instant relief of the noise.

And that's it for now. Stay tuned for the remaining part of chapter five!

For the will of Cause,

Ammelia

Rising Shadows // Chapter Two // by Billie Catherine

                                           Rising Shadows

                                            ~ Chapter Two ~

Azrion ran over to his master as quickly as he could. The unknown female dragon was already there, kneeling down next him, trying to keep him alive. “Sire”, said she, “can you hear me? Your friends and I are doing all that we can to save you, hold on a little while longer.” By now Sir Reuben had painfully eased his way over to his friend, fearing what he might find. “Aidan?” he said softly, as he gently rolled the king onto his back. His injured body protested with every move he made, but he knew it was little compared to what his friend was going through. As he was being rolled over, the king opened his eyes and looked at his comrade. “My brother,” he said with a raspy sigh and a small pained smile, “My time here grows short. Please, for me, tell Fallon that I deeply loved and treasured her above all earthly things. She bore my children, helped me to be a wise king and an even better father, I could not ask for a better wife. She has done her best to train our children in wisdom and discernment when I was away. I could never have imagined my life without her.”

Tears sprang into Sir Rueben’s eyes as he heard these words, and thought of his own wife. “My brother,” said he, “do not speak as such. You will come home to her, and you will say these words to her yourself, you must! You will live, my friend, I promise.” Aidan looked Rueben in the eye and replied gravely “Do not make a promise which you cannot keep, my friend. How I wish I could say these words to my beloved, one last time! But it will not be. Even as I speak to you now, I can feel myself slowly slipping away. My time is short, listen carefully to what I am about to say to you. It concerns my eldest son, Arden. He is to rule in my stead. Is this understood by you?” he asked sternly. Rueben could just barely hold back his emotions as he replied, “Yes. It is heard and understood” “Good” said King Aidan as he looked at the dragons gathered around them. “And to you, great rulers of the skies, has this been heard by you?” “Yes O king, we have heard and witnessed, these things that you say”, they replied including Arual, who had quietly joined them several minutes before.

Aidan turned back to Rueben. “Now listen. My son, though only 17, is to become a man now, and take over as king when I am gone. He must put away his childish thoughts and actions. You have proven to me that you are good man, mentor, husband, and father. Please, as my dying wish, I ask you to help teach my son what is needed. He is slowly straying away from my instructions, and has no longer paid heed to his mother’s teaching. Please, above all, teach him the importance of Wisdom, for it is of priceless value. Nothing in this life compares with it. Will you teach this to him and each one of my children?” Sir Rueben took a deep breath, and even though his broken ribs were now screaming, steadied himself and replied “Yes. Though as a father to your children, I know I can never replace you, I will try my very best to my dying breath, to teach your son and the rest of your children what you have asked me to”.

A look of peace and calm came over the king’s face as he heard these words. “Thank you. And now”, he said, turning slightly to look at the dragons, “Azrion, when your time of mourning is over, you are to be the mount of my son when he is king. You have served me well since my youth, and I thank you for everything. Arual, you and Indris have taught him well, and should be very proud of him. I have never ridden a finer dragon, and it has been a great honor to fight with him.” He lay back for a moment, closed his eyes, and rested. His breathing was becoming shallower with each passing moment. Suddenly he began to cough hoarsely as breathing became more difficult and flecks of blood appeared on his lips. “Reuben” he said as best he could, “I am leaving now, for my time has come. I do not fear death, my friend. I go now to my Father in heaven. Do not stand by my grave and weep when I am gone, am not there, I do not sleep. My soul is with God, and I am at peace. Until we meet again in the realm Eternal”, he took one final breath and said simply, “Goodbye, dearest of friends.” He closed his eyes, and his soul departed. And so passed Aidan, King of Ireland.

Sir Rueben sat in stunned silence for a moment. Then the tears began to fall, silently at first that soon gave way to quiet sobbing. The one person in all his life that had stood by him through everything he had endured since childhood was now gone. He was trying to think of what to say to the widowed queen and her children, when he felt a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the ground quickly so his sorrow would not be seen, but stopped for a second. He knew those boots. He wiped his eyes and looked up to see Hugh standing before him, and couldn’t help but flinch. The young man’s left eye was maimed and bloodied beyond recognition. A quick glance was all one needed to know that sight in that eye would never again be possible. The left side of his face was swollen and damaged; both his brow and cheek bones were clearly broken. His nose and lips were also bleeding. Hugh seemed to read the older man’s thoughts. “It was a mace-and-chain, Sire. I should have been more cautious, and have now paid for my foolishness,” he said quietly, though slurring very slightly, “I was angry and vengeful, and in blind rage, I did not pay attention to my surroundings. I heard something behind me and when I turned to look, he was waiting. I tried to duck, but did not make it in time, though it most certainly could have been worse”. Hugh knelt down next to Sir Rueben, and they both sat in silence for some time, neither knew for how long.

It was Arual who finally spoke. “My lord,” he said as gently as he could, “I know you are grieving, and that your heart is hurting beyond measure, but there is a time and a place for it and it is neither now nor here. Look! The sun has risen, it is time to leave. We must search for any survivors that can be found, and tend to the wounded if we can.” He then turned to Azrion. “Find out how much of our kin still lives and who is able to fly, we need them to carry the wounded. If they cannot fly, then they must walk or run, if they can do neither, than the must find shelter somewhere, and wait there until we return for them. Is this understood?” he asked, to which his son replied “Yes sir”, and went away to do what was asked of him. Arual then turned to the purple female and eyed her suspiciously. “What is your name dragon, and who is your Rider?” he asked, to which she replied “My name is Shastia, and I have no Rider.” Arual looked at her for a few minutes before making a decision. “Well then,” he said, “I want you to go, and find as many human survivors as you can. Do I make myself clear?” “Yes sir, quite clear.” She replied humbly, as she turned on her heels and quickly set out to complete her task.

By now, Sir Rueben and Hugh had carefully wrapped the king’s body with a discarded cloak they found, and had done their best to patch up Hugh’s face. Every bit of Sir Rueben’s body hurt, ached, throbbed and burned. He knew that fever would set in if he did not receive medical attention soon. “Surely we’re not going to bury him here, in this place my lord” Hugh asked, rather alarmed. “Good heavens, no!” came the curt reply, “His body will be taken back to the castle, and properly prepared. He shall then be laid to rest in The Hill of Kings,” he paused for a moment before finishing, “And his eldest son is to be crowned king.” Hugh looked at him incredulously. “Arden?! Surely not him! He… he’s no more than a stupid, foolish boy, wishing to be a man. He can’t be king! He has neither the wisdom, nor the desire to be...” As soon as the words left his lips, he wished he hadn’t said them. As Sir Rueben looked up him, a look of anger came over his face, but soon changed into one of sadness. “You are right Hugh; he is all that you say and more. Even one of his younger brothers would make a far more fitting ruler than him. But, he is next in line, and it was his father’s dying wish that he be king.” Hugh pondered this for a moment. “It’ll not be easy, convincing the council to put him on the throne. You know they’ll push as hard as they can for a steward to rule instead.” “Yes, I am aware of this. However, even the dragons heard what was said, and shall give their voice to this cause”.

Hugh sighed and looked around for a moment. It was so strange only having sight in one eye; this would take a lot of getting used to. He soon saw the dragons returning, and quickly counted. Out of the 127 dragons that had come, only 49 had survived, and it looked as if a dozen or so of them couldn’t fly. Shastia came next with the human survivors. Of 136 soldiers that had fought, 32 of them had survived, 7 of them had wounds so horrifying that they looked as if they would never walk again, let alone fight. 4 more looked as if they may not survive the return journey home. Hugh tried to come to terms with all that was happening, but it was so difficult. He felt as if he had turned into an old man overnight, so many of his friends had lost their lives in this war and now his little brother. “Dear God, “he prayed silently, “What am I going to tell my father and mother? And the girl he always spoke of, what shall I tell her? He was so young, so why him and not me, hmm? Why am I not the one lying dead out there somewhere. Heaven knows I deserved it far more than he did!” He wiped his eye on his sleeve, and turned to do what needed to be done, but stopped short and thought for a second. Something wasn’t right, something that he’d seen earlier. Suddenly, it came to him. He turned and counted the dragons again, this time, a bit slower. His sight hadn’t failed him; there were 42 of them there, some standing, some lying down. But of all the ones he could see, he still couldn’t see his own mount.

Aural saw the young man franticly searching for his dragon, and felt sorrow in his heart. He went over to Hugh and said, gently as he could, “Hugh… I am sorry. Nyrad fought valiantly, but did not make it. He died with honor, courage, and valiance.” Hugh stood for a moment, shocked, before quietly replying “He is dead, then? I feared as much. First it was my brother, then my king, and now my dragon.” He paused then asked “May I see him?” Aural had not been prepared for this question. “My lord, I do not advise this, he may not be as you remember him.” “I don’t care; I want to see him…please take me to him.”

Arual opened his mouth to speak, but wisely decided against it. “All right,” he sighed, “Follow me.” The two walked a ways before coming to a low hill. “He lies just over this hill; I will stay here, if you do not mind.” Hugh didn’t seem to hear as he slowly trudged up and over the hill. The sight of his friend brought tears to his eye and a lump to his throat. The once majestic beast, deep blue in color, now laid a tattered and torn mess; he had been shred to absolute ribbons, his wings were snapped, ripped, and distorted out of place while hardly any of his original colorings were visible. The marks of battle upon his beloved dragon were so ugly to see, yet he couldn’t look away. He slowly went over and placed a hand on the great face and found that it was still slightly warm. He then turned a bit and surveyed the surroundings. A shallow crater around the dragon indicated that he had fallen from the sky and hadn’t moved since landing. ‘Perhaps he was killed in action, and had died before he fell to the ground’ Hugh thought to himself, hoping that was what had happened. The thought of Nyrad falling from that distance before crashing into the earth while still alive made his stomach turn. He laid his hand on the huge head one last time before finally letting out a shaky sigh, and saying “Goodbye old friend. Faithful till the last you were, unto to the very bitterest of ends.” He then turned and slowly walked back to Aural. “Thank you,” he said quietly, “we should go back now, I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”

By the time they reached the group, one of the injured men had died; another was bleeding profusely, no matter what was done for him. Hugh looked around, and saw Sir Reuben away off, leaning heavily on a large stone, his back turned. He walked closer to him, but stopped a short distance away. Something was wrong. Every few seconds it seemed a shudder went through Sir Reuben, followed by a choking, retching sound, then a suppressed cry of pain, as he doubled over in agony and his shoulders heaved. It took only a matter of seconds for Hugh to realize that Sir Reuben hadn’t slept, eaten or drank since they had arrived two and a half days ago, could now be very, very sick. “Somebody help me, please!” Hugh shouted as he ran back to the men as fast as he could. “Sir Reuben needs help at once! Something is wrong with him, he may have fever. Can anyone help me?” An older, heavyset man by the name of Garran came over, and asked “Where? Where is he lad? Speak quickly now! I haven’t time for idleness, I’ve work to do!” “This way, follow me.” Hugh said, as they both hurried over. When they reached him, he was lying on his back with his eyes and mouth open, his pupils pinpoint, all the while pale, sweating and barely breathing. “Oh no,” Garran said as he saw what was before him, “Lad, he’s not just sick, he’s gone into shock! And I’m sure all a that dry-heavin’ didn’t help him any.” Hugh looked confused, and slightly panicked. “Dry heaving? What is that? And what does it have to do with all of this?” Garran looked at Hugh like he wanted punch him. Instead, he replied “Dry heaving. It’s when you feel like you have to vomit, but there’s nothing in your stomach so’s you can’t. Help me get the poor fellow back to the others. Gently now, he’s bound to have broken bones.” Sir Reuben cried out several times when he was picked up and while they were carrying him. When they got back, the men had gotten the dragons ready and the wounded men mounted. It was finally time to go home; just the thought of it lifted their hearts a bit. Garran and Hugh soon had Sir Rueben tied down tightly to Arual’s saddle, but left his arms free, while Hugh sat behind him, just in case. It was strange for Arual having two people on his back, especially when a man who was not his master was the one in the harness and holding the reins. However, he willingly did what was asked of him, and was soon aloft and flying homeward bound.

Even though he was slipping in and out of consciousness in his shocked and delirious state, Sir Reuben could tell that he was up in the air. The wind was whistling past his face, and the air was much colder than on the ground. He was also aware that he couldn’t move very much; it was too painful, for one, also Hugh and Garran had done an excellent job of tying him securely, he wasn’t going anywhere. His delirious mind told him all sorts of strange things, for example; he was now a prisoner of war and was being gently flown to his death, everyone died in the battle including him, and for some unknown reason there were chickens and goats flying overhead. Then, his thoughts turned towards darker things. Hugh was watching Sir Rueben’s face all this time, and took note of the many expressions it carried; the latest was one of utter confusion. Suddenly, without warning, Sir Reuben’s face contorted into a mixture of hate, rage, anger, and sadness as he let out an animal-like roar and tried to lunge forward and attempted to throw himself over the side. Hugh saw what he was doing and stated as calmly as he could, “Sorry Sir, but you are not going anywhere, we have made certain of that. Now please lie back down and get some sleep, you need it and we have a long journey.” Sir Reuben continued this for several more minutes, before finally calming down. His ribs hurt so badly now, it felt as if he had been stabbed repeatedly. He was losing consciousness again, as his thoughts began to drift to his family, his beautiful wife Fionna, with her long, nut-brown locks, his oldest son Eamon, tall with black hair like his father, his oldest daughter Brenna, with her beautiful long white hair (they all wondered where that had come from), Gareth and Maira, the two sandy-haired twins, Eileen, Cody, and Conan all had fiery red hair, Maeve had deep, dark brown hair, and little baby Kane with hardly anything more than duck fuzz. As the world slowly faded out around him, he wondered if he would ever see them again. Then, he lost consciousness, and remembered nothing more.

    -Billie Catherine

   Postscript from Willow // Don't forget to comment if you loved it!