The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

12: Zack is Useless as Always

Zack was skillful at putting a smile on her face. Ryan wished she could say the same about his teleportation.

Almost immediately after Liam picked them up, Zack teleported the four of them outside—fifty feet above the ground.

They screamed. Below them lay a forest of pine and aspen. The nimble branches of the trees rose like the hungry jaws of a beast, ready to snap them up in a second's notice. The sun caught the leaves, giving the illusion of multiple golden eyes, watching hungrily as their next meal approached.

Forty feet.

She wondered if it was still déjà vu if she still remembered her previous fall as if it were yesterday. Her ponytail flew behind her and caught the wind, the stray threads of hair whipping at her face.

Thirty feet.

Liam's hair tightened around Ryan's waist. He kept his focus dead set on the ground, as if it were some sort of equation that he was trying to solve.

"Zack!" Devany screamed.

"I'm trying!"

Zack's body distorted. His hair flew up with the wind, his nose scrunched up to his face. His hands gripped around the tendrils of hair holding him, but the distortion wouldn't spread. His eyes widened and the distortion flickered out like a candle in the wind.

"I can't get it to work!" Zack cried.

"What do you mean you can't get it to work?!" Devany yelled.

Ryan gulped. The ground grew nearer by the second. Soon, the unforgiving jaws of the valley would devour her. Leaving behind not a single whisper she was there.

Ten feet.

In an instant, Liam's hair extended. It grew faster than Ryan could comprehend, reaching towards the ground hungrily. His locks stood around the forest like extra trees, their yellow-green hue like neon against the flora. They sat upright in the air, cradled by his hair stilts.

Devany put her hand to her forehead and let out a sigh of relief. Her grip around Liam's hair loosened. Her arms flat against her sides.

"By all the powers below, bless you, Liam." She muttered.

Liam lowered them. He placed them on the red leaves that scattered the ground like a carpet. He puffed up his chest and adjusted his bag. His posture coiled like a spring.

"Thank you, Devany." He straightened his glasses. "I have everything under control. Anyone who says otherwise is clearly—"

Liam took a step forward and tumbled face first into the leaves. His hair flew behind him like a cape as he crashed into the ground. He raised his head and spit out a handful of red leaves. His glasses were surprisingly still intact.

Devany brushed herself off and sauntered over to Liam. She crouched down and extended her hand out to him, a smirk plastered on her face.

"Yup, you definitely have everything under control." She giggled. "Now come on."

Wind ruffled through the air, pushing aside some of the leaves on Liam's jacket. He glared and brushed her hand away. Without another word, he stood and pulled stray leaves from his hair.

Ryan sighed. The trees sung with the wind. Their melody lulling the group as they cradled them against the afternoon. The pinprick of early November pinched her ears.

Liam turned to face Ryan, his expression stark against the wind. He adjusted the shoulder strap and walked towards her.

He held his hand out. "Little omen, I believe it would be in your best interest to visit the rest of our humble valley."