Chapter 18 To the Rescue

It was nightfall and the plan was in motion. I climbed up onto the slanting roof, trying to remember what direction I had come from earlier when trying to look for Cheryl. All the houses looked exactly the same from here. Even the wind had stopped blowing that night. The skies were clear, with no thunderclouds anywhere in sight. It was as if they all just vanished into thin air.

I sighed, jumping down onto the porch, casually. Meryl almost let out a yelp. Startled, she grabbed onto Ricky's shoulder. Ricky, on the other hand, looked as uncomfortable as ever, with his shoulders all stiff. He put one hand on the railing next to him for support.

Edward opened the door of the house as he got out, tearing through the two to make his way outside. Ricky quickly cleared his throat as he followed him with quick steps. I caught Jon narrowing his eyes at me.

"What?" I retorted.

"What is Meryl doing outside?" he complained. "I told you she's just going to get in the way. Plus this is dangerous. We don't know what kind of force we're dealing with."

His eyes were pleading but I shook my head in a tired manner.

"I am not arguing with her just before leaving. I need my brain intact for the mission."

"But-" he was saying.

"You want to talk to her? Be my guest. But do not think for a second that she will listen to me… or you."

I watched him drag his feet towards the car in surrender. Edward had already beaten everyone to it. He unloaded his briefcase full of weapons into the trunk. I looked up at the sky one last time, before heading up to the road. I crossed the front yard, quickly covering the distance.

Meryl started towards the car behind me. To my surprise, it was Ricky of all people who began to object.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked her, blocking the door to the car with his arm.

"I'm going with you guys. Do we have a problem?" she eyed him.

"Yes, actually," was his reply, as he adjusted his spectacles.

Jon and I stopped to watch with eager eyes as the scene unfolded before us.

Meryl grabbed his glasses and swiped them off. He frowned and quickly reached for them, out of reflex, while shielding his eyes with his other hand. She hid them behind her back.

"Alright mister. Let's see you do anything without your glasses," she teased, smiling away. "Can you really see anything?"

Ricky stood still for a moment, breathed out in a sigh and then slowly lowered his hand from his face, revealing his eyes. I realized neither of us had ever actually seen him without his glasses, so it was quite the revelation when his eyes turned out to be a shocking yellow.

It was actually a ring of yellow around his dark pupils which was even more vibrant in the night. It glowed a bit like an active current. Jon and I gaped with our mouths half open, still absorbing the information. Ricky softly gazed back directly into Meryl's eyes.

She froze for a second, opened her mouth but no words came out. He smiled and reached for her head, gently patting the blob of light brown hair.

"I can actually see fine without my glasses. You can keep them if you want," he whispered softly, turned and got into the car, closing the door behind him.

I watched her stand there, pouting at the piece of spectacles in her hand, looking so sad as if a pet had died. I sighed heavily. Jon held back my shoulder, knowing what I was about to do.

"Hey, Meryl. You can ride with us in the back," I told her.

Within seconds her expression changed to excitement as she hopped along over to us. Edward seated himself in the front while Meryl sat in the back between Jon and I. Jon held a grim face the entire time, because he was right, she did talk the whole way.

I caught Ricky manually inputting the coordinates into the gps system from memory. A voice responded to the location, calling it 'Memory plane'. Apparently it was just a large area of land, unoccupied and abandoned. There was no building mentioned in the description when I clearly remembered seeing one.

Rows of houses passed by one by one. I let my gaze wander to a spot outside the window where I just stared off into space. Meryl's talks were like white noise in the background, a bit more comforting than absolute silence.

"Once we're there, what's the plan?" Ricky began.

"The four of us head out in search of the girls," Jon was saying, "I say we split up."

Meryl looked around at the four of us. I sank back into the seat, uninterested in any sort of planning.

"Wait, you're planning to leave me in the car?" she said, only just realizing this.

"Someone needs to guard the car," Jon said, literally asking for it. I closed my eyes at the sound of a well predicted smack on his head.

"Ow… I was just suggesting," he complained, rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't feel so sure about this either," Edward weighed in, "I wouldn't like it if a civilian got hurt in the middle of a rescue mission."

Meryl crossed her arms across her chest. "All of you are so sure that I'm going to get hurt."

"We're just worried about you," Ricky said. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you, right Dixon?"

For some reason, all of a sudden my opinion began to matter. I opened my eyes, startled for a second, to see so many eyes staring at me with expectation. Even Ricky glanced back through the rear view mirror.

I breathed out, feeling tired all of a sudden. Only I was aware of how pointless this discussion was.

"I don't really mind… it feels safer knowing she's with us," I replied casually. Meryl grinned at me, flashing her brilliant white teeth, too bright to look at. I squinted.

"But what if something happens-" Jon was saying.

"I wouldn't let anything happen," I snapped at him, annoyed, putting the discussion to an end. "It's better this way after what happened to Iris. The house isn't safe anymore. Wouldn't you do the same with Cheryl?" This time I looked back at Ricky in the rear view mirror. There was a long, hard pause, followed by absolute silence in the car which I hated even more.

"You're right," Ricky responded, sadness evident in his voice.

"Plus, Meryl actually knows how to fight," I murmured, just as casually, sinking back into my spot.

About fifteen or so minutes later, Ricky slowed the car to a stop near a wired fence.

"This is it," he said. We stared out onto the barren land where even the soil seemed too dead to walk on. Without the clouds to mask it, far off into the distance, I could detect an old school building, looking as lonely as ever.

"This is it?" Edward said, sounding a bit disappointed as he squinted at the surroundings. "There's nothing here!" As he yelled out into the open air, as if hoping for an echo in return.

I flicked his head with my finger.

"Are you trying to get them to notice you?" I warned him.

Ricky was already ten steps ahead as he marched towards the fence to inspect it. Meryl followed him closely behind like a lost puppy. He bent down to pick up a small rock and threw it at the thick, diagonal wires. I remembered I never actually had to cross it when I first landed here. I fell straight from the sky.

There was an electrical buzz, a spark and then the rock ricocheted back with twice the speed. Meryl ducked as it shot at her, passing over her head just in time.

"Our first task will be to get over that," Ricky was saying.

"Can't you just… turn it off? With your wacky powers and stuff?" she told him, wiping the hair on her head to make sure nothing got on it.

Before Ricky even had the chance to explain, I had already sprinted towards it. My wings spread out behind me, flapping as I jumped up, airborne. Within seconds I was on the other side. Edward followed behind me, jumping onto the car for leverage, and then landed on the other side with a double flip. The same time, Jonathan had his imitation boost him up and over.

Meryl gaped at us, wide eyed. She could hear Ricky chuckle at her response.

"I want to cross too," she said.

"Go," he told her while smiling, placing a hand onto the wired fence, tightly gripping the diamond shapes. She looked at him, then slowly reached for the wires. Her fingers lightly grazed the metal, unharmed. Her eyes sparkled at him with surprise, partially impressed. I rolled my eyes at both of them and quickly extended my shadow into the form of steps on both sides of the fence.

"Come on," I called out at the love birds.

Once that hurdle was crossed, we began our search. I took to the skies for any sign of evil on the way. Jon and Edward went their separate ways while Meryl seemed to be indefinitely paired with Ricky. They each inched closer to the building. There didn't seem to be any doors or entry points. Ricky's hands grazed the walls as he felt for any electrical disturbances. A few seconds later, he just stared at his empty hand.

"It really is deserted," he said.

"Oh, let me try," Meryl said, putting her hand up on the wall to mimic him.

"It doesn't work like that," he was saying when her eyes widened with a smile. For a second, confusion wore on his face.

"I feel it!" she jumped in excitement.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to feel for. But I assure you, it doesn't work like that," Ricky responded, shaking his head.

"It's warm," she told him.

"What is?"

"The ground below," she simply answered.

My feet hit the roof of the building. There were stacks of broken desks and chairs around me as if the building used to be a school once in a lifetime. I tried the door that would lead to the inside of the building, only to find it locked. I blew out some air, taking a few steps back, then sprinted towards it with my leg positioned to kick.

The door busted open, breaking from its hinges and flew inwards, down the stairs. I heard it echo with a bang as it made impact with the ground. A sudden, cold breeze hit me in the face from inside. I stared into the darkness, heartbeat rising by the second. Almost immediately, I jumped back, a moment before ice began to form on the floor where I'd been standing.

"Found you…" I whispered with a grin.

The ice spread out, extending onto the desks and chairs, coating them with a shiny transparent layer that froze them in place. I became airborne, with my wings flapping hard in my ears. I rose to the sky, watching the ice slowly envelope the entire roof bit by bit.

"Now it's cold all over," Meryl shivered, hand still placed on the wall.

"First you say it's warm, now it's cold?" Ricky was saying, struggling to understand.

I landed behind them with a gust of wind that blew their way. Meryl almost jumped again, releasing her hand from the wall. Suddenly, the cold crawled over to their side. I grabbed their arms and pulled them both back just in time. The ice spread out onto the dry land where it slowed to a stop.

"Wh-why's it cold all of a sudden?" Meryl shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"This is…" Ricky spoke with recognition, "The same as when Iris disappeared. Whoever is doing this, took Iris."

I nodded at him.

"I'll just have to beat the truth out of them," I said, "If this person would just come out."

"I did feel it strange how nobody was guarding the area," Ricky wondered out loud.

"Yeah I'm guessing the access point is somewhere inside this building… could be that the entire thing is actually run underground."

Meryl's ears perked up as she heard that. She then crouched down to touch the ground near her feet. I watched in silence as she closed her eyes.

"You're right. It's still warm."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the ice shrink back a little, melt as her fingers touched the ground.

"What now?" he asked.

"We wait," I told him patiently.