Warlands of Song

Fourteen: Glen

He'd been expecting the chase. Sooner or later, they were bound to be attacked again. If they'd found them on earth, what was to stop them from finding them on their home turf? But he also had to wonder who "they" were exactly. They could be the military he worked for, or an illegal group tasked with capturing Saige. As he'd seen at Aaron's house and elsewhere, Saige was rare and valuable. He didn't know what she was capable of. Neither did she. But if she ever set her mind to it, she'd be a force to be reckoned with.

"Where can we lose them?" Robert asked.

Glen glanced back at Saige, who wore an expression of concern, but not the terror he expected to see. Her eyes slid to her left, before coming back to rest on his. Almost like she could see him. He didn't need to tell her everything would be okay. She trusted them. She had to, otherwise she would've been panicking.

"Duck into the forest."

"The forest? What if—"

"If we're going to get caught, we need to make it as hard as possible for them. But we're only bound to get caught if we keep driving. Their cars can catch us. But if we're not in the car..."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and maneuvered his way into the backseat. He put an arm around Saige before telling Robert to make his move. His friend turned in such a sharp angle, Glen smashed into the side of the car, Saige pillowed in his chest. Five cars followed them into the trees.

The chase was on.

"Dodge the trees and try to get as far away from them as possible before you do it. And warn me first!" he yelled to Robert.

He kept firm hold of Saige as they were thrown in the air multiple times by tree roots and rocks. He kept her head tucked under his chin to prevent her from hitting her head on the ceiling. It felt like the car was going to flip and roll multiple times when Robert jerked around trees in their path. His thoughts were only focused on escape.

"When Robert warn us, we're going to have to move out of the way of the cars following us, or we'll get ran over," he yelled to Saige. "I'm going to throw you one way and roll the other way. When the cars clear us, we run after them, but hidden in the forest. Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good. Robert, ETA!"

"I'm just setting up the auto-steering. Thirty seconds tops."

"Get ready," he warned Saige. She released her death grip on his shirt. He smiled with pride at her tenacity.

They jerked around one last tree before Robert called for them to move. The seats disappeared from beneath them and he threw Saige away from him, rolling to the other side. He tumbled over rocks and branches before slamming full-force into a tree. He groaned in the dirt trying to pick himself up. But he couldn't move more than his arms. Flopping back in the grass, he tried to suck in enough air to calm the fire in his lungs. His ribs screamed in pain. Something was no doubt broken.

But the sound of the cars that had been chasing them were getting further and further away. He had to find Saige and Robert and start running before the group disabled the car and discovered the three weren't inside. His next attempt to get up ended with his collapse into the dewy grass, nearly throwing up. He would get nowhere that way.

"Glen? Glen, where are you," Robert called from somewhere nearby.

"Where's Saige," he called back, wheezing.

"She's here, I have her. Where..."

His friend's voice trailed off when Robert reached him. "Aw h—"