Fliers Read online

  “Bye, chick chicks! We’ll have some more food for you when we get back!” Sydona yelled throughout the house, not caring that she was talking to chickens or that they couldn’t hear her at all.

  “Alright, ready bud?” she asked Raoul as they hopped inside the Jeep.

  “I guess,” Raoul said and flopped his head on the back of the seat with a sigh.

  “I know you hate getting in my bag when we go to town, but maybe you should’ve thought about that before you stole all the chickens’ food,” Sydona said while she started backing down the driveway.

  “We were trying to help!” Raoul argued and slumped his head down.

  “No, you were showing off to that blue-winged girl!” Sydona spat back and laughed.

  Raoul didn’t respond, but his face was suddenly pink, which made her laugh harder.

  As they arrived to town and got through the traffic, she was able to park down the same street as they normally did. They went through their normal routine of Raoul hiding in her bag and Sydona wearing her sunglasses as she stepped out of her Jeep. She headed straight to the farmers market and bought a twenty-pound bag of feed that she lunged over her shoulder. As she looked around the rest of the stands, she didn’t see Annie or Joseph there. Normally, she never went to the city two days in a row because of the drive. She assumed maybe they were never there during the weekend. Strolling back to the car, Sydona decided to stop by the newspaper stand to see Jim and get the paper.

  “Hey Sydona, how you doin’ this mornin’? And ‘ey, wasn’t you just here yestaday?” Jim asked before taking a sip of coffee.

  “Hey, yeah,” Sydona laughed, “I ran out of food for my chickens.”

  “I can see that! You need help with that? Looks heavy!” Jim offered instantly.

  Sydona grinned. “No, thank you. I got it.”

  “Suit yaself!” Jim said and shrugged, moving back over to his stool. He grabbed a paper from a stack on the ground. “Hey, you seen this yet? Some crazy shit, eh?”

  “Oh yeah, what happened?” she asked distractedly as she read headlines of pop magazines.

  As Jim handed her the Chicago Tribune , she dropped the feed on the concrete, almost bursting the seams as she read the headline article of the paper:

  New Scientific Camps Set Up For ‘Fliers’

  OREGON - Scientists from the National Fliers Association (NFA) have started new studies on the human-like species of fliers. They say they have reached a breakthrough in replicating the gene that gives fliers the ability to fly and can soon start modifying it for human use.

  “It’s really very exciting,” said Dr. John Malik, lead scientist of the NFA. “We can soon apply this ability to everyone so that we can further improve life for human and flier alike.”

  While controversial, Dr. Malik assures the public that the research is for prosperity. “We’re not playing God, as some groups would have you believe. With this ability, we can begin to do things never thought possible. Building infrastructure, accessing places previously inaccessible–the possibilities are endless.”

  Because fliers are rare, the NFA has encouraged fliers around the world to come forward to be a part of the study and will be compensated for their contribution. Dr. Malik also encourages friends and neighbors of fliers to contact the NFA. “That way, we can personally pay them a visit to inform them of this exciting opportunity to be a part of something bigger…”

  Sydona stopped reading. Her palms sweat, her heart raced, and she found it hard to breathe. She mumbled to herself, “ It’s happening again….”

  Chapter Two

  “Yo’ Syd, you okay?” Jim asked.

  Her hands shook like a leaf, and she couldn’t find any words.

  “Sydona? What’s wrong?” Jim asked again.

  All reality as she knew it seemed fictional now. She looked at Jim as nothing more than a stranger. Could he be part of the NFA? Does he know about her? Jim kept speaking to her, but for some reason, she couldn’t hear anything he said. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and she suddenly felt suffocated, like more people had populated around her from out of nowhere. Whispers from all the people clogged up her thoughts, she felt trapped, and the Earth felt like it rotated at an accelerated speed. She rolled the paper up, heaved the food over her shoulder, and took off running without saying a word.

  Jim yelled after her, but she was so far gone, she couldn’t hear him anymore.

  She hurled the feed in the backseat of her car and then did the same with her tote bag, unaware that Raoul was still inside. He yelled as it hit the seat.

  “Sorry, Raoul…” she apologized and rubbed her face nervously, hoping the motion would turn back time. Or if she rubbed her head long enough, she would somehow erase the article from her mind.

  Raoul shimmied out of her bag, smoothed out his shirt and hair, and grabbed the paper she had thrown on the seat. “What’s this?” He used his whole body to flatten it out and read it to himself. His eyes widened and flew straight up in shock.

  “This can’t be true! It has to be one of those fake newspapers, you know, where they say that a monkey went into space! Like that could ever happen,” he laughed loudly. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Syd.”

  Sydona stared ahead, ignoring his joke. “No--” she said blankly, “this isn’t a fake paper. It’s very real.”

  She gripped the top of the steering wheel and dropped her head on top of her hands. Raoul’s wings laid flat to his body, and he flopped down on top of the paper, staring at the name ‘John Malik’. Silence overcame the car.

  She sat back up with a red face and watery, bloodshot eyes and spoke softly. “I can’t believe this is happening again...”

  Sydona blinked her eyes clear of tears and wiped her face of sweat. She had to clear her head and think of a plan, but first she needed to go home. Taking a deep breath, she started up her car and drove out of the city as fast as she could. She left the radio off, unable to listen to music with so many thoughts flying through her head. They both sat reserved the entire thirty-minute drive home. Anger began to pulse through her veins and stepping on the gas pedal more seemed to help. It felt like she was in limbo between wanting to speed and get anger out and the fear of getting pulled over. Then, she would really be in trouble. There were a few times Raoul wanted to interject when she went over ninety miles per hour, but he was smart to stay quiet.

  The arrival home felt less than happy and more like entering a trap. She felt if she stayed there, it would only be a matter of time before they found her. A sudden image of men in white coats popped in her head, and she imagined them invading her home. It was enough to turn her eyes green, and she slammed her fists on the steering wheel. The camp wasn’t as innocent as they were making people think, and she knew it. It needed to be shut down and now.

  Shutting the car off that she parked on the lawn, she quickly hauled the bag of feed over her shoulder and over to the hungry chickens. Raoul zipped over to the great oak tree and informed everyone of the news. Once Sydona had quickly fed her birds, she listened in on the fairy tree. Most of them were there the day it happened last time, and the tree filled with cries. The elder fairies whispered amongst each other, trying not to upset the little ones. Raoul simply informed them of what the article said, not what happened years ago. It was hard to hide the panic in some of the fairies’ voices and actions, and it still upset some of the newborns. Sydona couldn’t listen to the heartache anymore and darted inside her house. She grabbed her tote and a black backpack and filled it with clothes, food, and medicine.

  “Where are we going, Syd?” Raoul asked immediately as he flew in the back door. Sydona couldn’t answer that question right away and was afraid that if she opened her mouth, emotions would take over. She found it easier to keep her lips pursed and focus on grabbing essentials for the long journey ahead.

  Raoul floated in one spot in the middle of the kitchen while Sydona continued to grab things. “I can’t leave my family. What are they supposed to do?�
�� he yelled as loud as he could.

  Sydona blinked, trying to disperse the water that wanted to break free. It blurred her vision, making her double check the items she was grabbing. Her shaky hands didn’t help either.

  “Sydona?” Raoul asked with a worried tone.

  She stopped and took a breath. “I wish I could tell you. I couldn’t hear them anymore. It was--too hard.”

  “Are you making me choose? Between you and my family?” Raoul whispered.

  His words made her stomach twist because she thought that she was part of his family. “No, I’m not…”

  “So what do I do?” Raoul asked.

  Sydona hung her head low. “That’s something you need to ask yourself.” She paused. “But I’m going to Eagle Lake. And I would love for you to accompany me. But I’m not going to make you come if you don’t want to.”

  It was obvious that Raoul wanted to get angry, but he was so conflicted that he sat and clenched his fists, making his knuckles turn white.

  Sydona continued, “I need to do something, Raoul. I mean, do you not realize what this is? It’s the same shit they pulled all those years ago. I was--powerless to stop it then. I was just a child. But maybe now that I’m older… I can maybe have a chance.”

  “Chance to do what?” Raoul asked with anger lingering in his voice.

  “Stop it? I don’t know. I just know that I need to try. And maybe... Maybe they’re there, too,” Sydona said.

  “You don’t really think? Syd, that was... Sixty years ago. They can’t be--”

  “Why can’t they? They’re strong. Strongest people I ever knew. They have to be there.”

  “They would be well into their hundreds now, kid,” Raoul whispered, leaning in closer to Sydona.

  The two sat reminiscing in the kitchen for several silent moments.

  She lowered her voice, “I never knew you to be the pessimistic one, Raoul.”

  Raoul fluttered his wings. “I’m not... I guess you’re right. I bet they are there...” Raoul smiled but then frowned. “I just can’t up and leave with my family here.”

  Sydona lifted her nose and wiped her reddening eyes. “I don’t want to make you choose, but I don’t think I can do this without you. And I need to think about my family, too.”

  Just as she gave up on things to say, a certain phrase popped into her head.

  “Borba i amor bez strah,” Sydona whispered.

  Raoul perked up at the familiar phrase he seemed to have forgotten but then sunk his head with even more conflict. Feeling defeated, Sydona picked up her black backpack she filled with things she couldn’t fit in the tote and threw them both over her shoulders. Raoul sat looking like a sopping wet butterfly on the countertop, and her stomach twisted. He glanced at her for a second with jaded brown eyes and then back down to the tiled floor. It was the only look she needed to know that he wasn’t leaving, and her eyes changed from purple to auburn.

  She moped through the house, walking slowly and hoping that Raoul would eventually fly over. Opening the door, she waited for a few minutes and peeked back through the kitchen, but he never came. A heavy sigh left her lungs, and she locked her door shut.

  As she sat in her car, stalling on starting it up, she stared at the house. It was eerily quiet. Almost like the birds and creatures felt the tension of the news, too. Sydona eventually started up the Jeep and with a heavy heart, backed down the excruciatingly long driveway. Her heart beat faster with every full rotation of the tires.

  “What am I doing?” she said to herself. Nothing about this felt right. Raoul had been with her every minute of her life and leaving him behind weighed heavily on her. Should she have given him more time? It was too big of a decision to make in such a short amount of time. She stopped right at the edge of the driveway, still wavering on leaving alone. With a shake of her head, she grabbed the gear shift and began to put it back in drive when Raoul came flying up to the car. Her face lit up, and her eyes turned back to normal as he hugged her shoulder.

  “You changed your mind?” Sydona grinned.

  “I didn’t have it decided one way or another. But as I sat there, I thought about you as a child and the look on your face when you had to tell Evelyn goodbye. You had that same look just now, and I couldn’t do that to you again,” Raoul said.

  Sydona smiled from ear to ear, touched by how genuinely nice he was being without being sarcastic.

  “Besides, Jubilee would have been driving me bonkers, and I wouldn’t be able to escape with you gone,” Raoul said.

  There he was. She backed the car up and took one last look at her beautiful house before they took off. The lighthearted reunion soon turned quiet as the real reason they were leaving sunk in, and Sydona no longer smiled. Raoul dragged the newspaper back out and read it over again.

  “It says here the camp is at Eagle Lake. In Oregon. Do you know how far that is?” Raoul read on the other page where the article continued. He did his best to keep the pages from flying away by stepping on it and forcing it down with his tiny arms.

  “Yeah, I think it’s about a two day drive…” Sydona answered while maneuvering her head to keep her hair from whipping her in the face. She hoped that her old car would be up for the challenge. She only drove it a couple times a week, and even then, she never had much faith in it. She tried fixing little things herself with manuals she took from the library. She was no professional, but it did the job.

  They sat quietly in the vehicle listening to the radio, switching it every time they heard anything about fliers or the NFA. Sydona eventually turned it off. Even the station she listened to her classical music on was constantly interrupted by the new story.

  Raoul finally spoke up in the silence. “So, why don’t we just fly there? You know we would get there in like a third of the time.”

  “Don’t be silly. You know we can’t do that. If anything, right now would be the worst time to fly. It’s been decades since I’ve flown...” She shook her head. “I wish we could, though. I hate this stupid Jeep.”

  And as if she jinxed herself, the car started to sputter and shake more than she was used to. She groaned and hit the steering wheel before pulling off to the side of the road. Frantically, she seized her backpack from the floor and dug around. After throwing things out and making the car even messier, she found a rag and tools she thought might help. Walking to the front of the Jeep, she propped open the hood and, after examining it for a few minutes, decided nothing seemed wrong with it. The sun beat down on her hard as she wiped her forehead of sweat and then heard a whistle from inside the car. She peered around the hood and saw Raoul standing on top of the steering wheel.

  “Did you fix it?” Raoul yelled, his arm shading his face from the unyielding sun.

  “No,” Sydona said. “I think it’s the transmission--not a cheap or quick fix.”

  She slammed the hood down, went back to the driver’s seat, and threw the items onto the passenger's side floor. Sydona didn’t know what to do. Finding a car mechanic out there would be nearly impossible and fixing it would cost more money than she could afford. The mechanic would probably find fifteen other problems with it, too, as it had not been serviced in several years.

  Sydona waited for a sign, for anything, but there was nothing. Not even a single vehicle drove by in the twenty minutes they sat in the car. Sydona reached over and opened the glove compartment to rummage around for a map. Spreading it out over the seat, she saw that they had been going in the right direction, which was good, but now they needed a way to get there. Hitchhiking was absolutely not in the cards at all, driving was apparently out of the question, and she thought if she stayed in the sun any longer she would melt.

  “I guess we’re walking…” she announced to Raoul who was using a scrap of paper to fan himself. It was the best option and a less risky one, too. She thought about going somewhere to get gas, but if the car didn’t break down here, it would only be a matter of time before it did. Unsure of where they would get faster transp
ortation, she tried staying positive that something would come along. Then, Raoul mentioned they could just fly all the way there.

  “Stop it.” She sighed, sluggishly grabbed her bags and keys, and began to walk. Raoul flew to her and landed on her shoulder, where he usually went when he was too lazy to fly alongside her.

  “Come on, Syd! We’re gonna die in this heat! At least if we fly, we can have wind in our faces to dry up the sweat,” Raoul said and tugged on a chunk of her ponytail.

  Sydona looked around cautiously. They were in the middle of nowhere with nothing but abandoned corn fields surrounding them, and not a single car had passed by.

  “You need to be my lookout though. If you see a car or a person or plane or a bird! Tell me, okay?” Sydona asked.

  “A bird?” Raoul laughed.

  Sydona threw her hands up. “I’m just being thorough!”

  Raoul had already flown above her head to look out and said to himself, “You’re being paranoid--”

  “What?” Sydona called up to the little fairy several feet above her.

  “Coast is clear!” Raoul held up two tiny thumbs up and flew back down to her.

  Her heart and stomach fluttered at the idea that she would be flying again. Her face flushed as she tried to remember what to do, but she still couldn’t help smiling. It had been at least thirty years since the last time she flew and could barely remember the last time she did. She laughed thinking about it, wondering if it was when she ran from the cops. Raoul grew impatient as he waited on Sydona to stop spacing off.

  She began by sprinting for several feet and, once she picked up a good speed, kicked her left foot off the ground. Soon, she was two, ten, fifteen feet ascended into the sky above the wheat fields. Angling her body slightly forward, she was able to fly faster, and when she leaned back, she went higher into the air. The Jeep no longer looked like a car but a red blur as she soared high above the treetops. Raoul joined her as he trailed red-orange dust behind him. As the wind blew her hair, she closed her eyes, and she thought of the first time that she learned how to fly.