Consuming Fire

Chapter 44

The cockpit of the jet remained dark and reasonably quiet, except for the sobbing. Hunter looked around at the bloodied faces streaked with tears, a numbness crawling over her. Marcus sat with his head in his hands. He just lost a best friend and a brother. Chantal was lying on a fold-out stretcher, heavily sedated. Hunter wasn't sure what happened to her, but Will said that if they didn't get her medical attention soon, she may be in trouble. Zac sat beside her, his hand hovering over hers as if unsure if she'd notice or not. Ryo was still asleep against what had to be her older brother. Hunter knew that would be easier for her than to be awake with the realization that Benji was dead. Hunter couldn't forget the image of the sweet kid lying on the ground with his eyes open wide and his skull crushed.

They had Mikayla strapped into a seat. She wouldn't stop glaring at Hunter.

At the front of the jet was a young girl flying the plane, two older men and a woman watching the sky. Friends of Zac's, though from where they came, she could not imagine.

Hunter looked to her left at Will cradling Fearne in his arms. He glanced at her, his eyes tired, trying to give her a reassuring look or even a small smile, but it did no good. Hunter's own body was aching, the bullet wound, gash in her neck and sprained wrist providing a good distraction from the pain of grieving. The nurse on board who tended to Chantal's wounds told her it looked like a fracture, but she'd have it x-rayed when they landed.

On her other side was Joshua, sitting rigid and unmoving, just like her. He held the stone in his hand, his blood-covered face filled with worry. She knew he was thinking of the stone she'd left behind and whether or not the Agents found it.

"Should we ask them if we can fly back?" she asked him.

Joshua shook his head so quickly it looked like a twitch. "They won't. They're military trained, I can tell. They take orders from an authority who won't agree to going back."

Hunter stared at the six newcomers. She couldn't see what Joshua could, but then again, he had more experience reading people of this type than she did.

"Do we trust them?"

"They saved our lives. I'd rather be here than back at the cabin waiting for more Agents to come and kill me."

She said nothing.

"It's not your fault, leaving the stone behind. We weren't prepared for an attack."

Hunter nodded. Her thoughts strayed to Jack. Jet had said that he gave in to the darkness. Was he trying to provoke her, or was it true? If Jack really had turned to the other side, and Dr. Wolfe now had Ravenadium ... their next battle would be virtually impossible to win.

All of a sudden, someone cleared their throat loudly. The lights flickered on from above and she could see clearer inside the jet. The person who coughed was a handsome man with a slightly awkward smile - considering the circumstances, she didn't hold it against him. He stood behind the pilot's chair.

"Right, uh ... we'll be making our descent soon, so you'll need to put your seatbelts on please."

They did as he asked.

"A few housekeeping things quickly. My name is Chevie Barnes. Some of you may remember me as Chevie Pulicover."

There were several gasps. From beside her, Will muttered, "I thought I recognized him."

"Yes, I know, I remember some of your faces from ICE. I'll have more of an opportunity to explain to you how I escaped later, and also a bit about our society. We are called the SSS, or Superhero Support Society as it stands for. We're a safe house for people with powers. I'll give you a debriefing after we get you settled in at the compound so I'm not repeating myself."

They all stared at him, not answering.

"Great, well, we'll have medical checks the moment we land, then we'll get you fed up and rested in your rooms and report later for a meeting. Sound good?"

Again, no one answered. Chevie clapped his hands together and went around to assist everyone in strapping in. It wasn't long before he came to she and Joshua.

"What's that you go there, mate?" he asked, pointing to the stone in Joshua's hands.

Hunter could almost feel the cool chill coming from Joshua's body. "A souvenir," he replied.

Chevie raised his eyebrows and flashed a cheeky smile. "That's a pretty special souvenir Hunter and Ryo risked their lives for, then. What'd you call it? Ravenadium?"

Hunter watched Chevie closely. For a complete stranger, he was quite clued in. She was instantly wary of how much he knew, and she could tell Joshua was just as surprised.

"That's what I said." Joshua put the stone in his pocket and tried to act causal. "Didn't you say we were landing soon?"

"Absolutely. Buckle up," he said and winked as he went to sit down besides the rugged man and his partner.

"I don't like that guy," said Joshua to himself.

"Why, because he's handsome?"

Joshua raised his eyebrows. "Showy, I think he's showy. And he's nosy too. We should be careful."

Hunter wanted to say they couldn't be sure, but she was starting to trust Joshua's intuition. They fastened their seatbelts and prepared for landing in whatever new adventure they were about to embark on.