The Lost Canaries

Chapter 4: My Wind Riders

CHAPTER FOUR – JAMES

MY WIND RIDERS

I stare out the hovercraft window until the Chicago skyline disappears. The lights of the city fade as the distance between us expands, and I imagine myself as a fisherman catching the last glimpse of a lighthouse as I travel further into a dark sea. The countryside below is a gloomy landscape dotted with abandoned manufacturing plants and half-vacant neighborhoods. I imagine these people trying to adapt to the global, technologically advanced culture downtown. We fly over a gas station, and its peeling sign reads: "$8.87 per gallon." A nearby field has been cleared for trailer space. I guess no MiniCom benefits extend this far beyond the lights.

I trudge over to the hovercraft control room, where Bradley monitors the autopilot. The Invidia is state-of-the-art, designed at a Montana Air Force base and named after the Roman Goddess of Envy. Bradley always says the model will be the "envy of the world" someday, as CANARY's military capacity remains just as detectable as our invisible hovercraft.

"Thanks again for being my security," I say. "I needed someone for my trip back. Thank God my family had separate visitation times. That would've gone terribly..."

Bradley smiles as he twiddles his cross necklace. "Happy to serve, kid. CANARY is insanely strict about refugee security, so you only get one of these visits home."

Pinpricks of light emerge in the distance. Within seconds, the Invidia is drifting unseen over the rooftops of Geneva, Illinois, a small suburb with a few blocks of shops and restaurants making up the downtown. A bridge connects the downtown area to the east side of town, and the Fox River flows south underneath the structure. I panic and quickly shift my gaze from the river's hallowed waters. Maybe a part of me will always hate returning home.

The words fall from my mouth automatically. "Bradley... um... do you remember what time CANARY received my Dad's abduction notice?"

Bradley shoots me an uneasy look with his deep-set brown eyes. "James... I'm not sure you want to talk about that night."

"Please... I can't remember the time..." My voice trembles, and I start to hyperventilate. "I-I-I keep trying to, but I... Please...."

Bradley stares ahead with a sorrowful expression on his face. "His confirmed abduction time was 23:27. I received the call at 00:39 to bring your family to Headquarters after Red Dove play was confirmed."

All I can do is sit back and sigh. The amount of times that night has replayed in my restless mind lies somewhere beyond infinity. For a while, I thought I could keep my head down until these abductions petered out. But the Red Doves have forced their way into a significant fraction of my preoccupied brain, demanding my attention on the outside world. I find myself glaring at Bradley's camouflage uniform.

While I sink into my own thoughts, Bradley's attentive eyes find mine. "James, you're not the same kid you were three years ago. Whatever parts of yourself you still blame for your father's abduction... you've outgrown them in training. I've seen you. Hell, I saw you tonight fighting off those Pluckers. If you can make your military duties your life focus, you can become a valuable soldier for CANARY."

I shake my head to dismiss my supposed development and commitment. "Bradley, I'm still exactly the same. That's the scary part. I took way longer than Phillip, Meili, or even Mom to decide to stay at CANARY. We'd already gone through the refugee vetting process, and I hadn't even started making up my mind. Takes a pretty selfish person to see their dad being abducted and not immediately join. I was too consumed with... I don't know... everything and everyone I was leaving behind here... everything I wanted for myself before CANARY...."