Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 87: The Pigeons

("But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." -Romans 8:25)

"Think, Cam. You were with Catherine before. Where would she take Bree? We're so close!" Bex exclaimed. We had been searching the perimeter that Zach and I were certain Bree was at for days. We were getting tired. I feared everyone would give up. I was even more scared that we had been wrong and Bree was somewhere else being tortured.
   "I don't know, Bex! I was only with her for a short amount of time. Besides, I don't remember most of it!" I threw my hands up. I was exasperated.
"Then this is a waste of time. She's not here. We should leave," Grant said. I sighed. This wasn't good. I could feel the tension. The parents were ready to stop looking. They were giving up.
"I'm sorry, Cammie. We can't keep looking here. Grant and I will be wanted on missions. Adalind and Amelia can't waste their time on this one. They need to get back in the field," Bex said apologetically.
"Maybe Zach and I were wrong," I whispered. I looked around. The twins looked distressed. Macey and Preston were sweating and angered. Zach turned and squinted at the sun. He gave me an encouraging smile, but I saw the sweat lingering on his brow. We couldn't do this. We had to stop.
"Let's all search different places. We'll regroup if we find anything," Adalind said. It would have been a good idea. Only, I wasn't listening. I had my eyes glued to a bird standing in front of me. It cocked its head at me. A pigeon.
"Follow the pigeons," I whispered.
"What?" Adalind said. She gave me a questioning look.
"Follow the pigeons," I whispered again. Bex, Macey, and Zach all made eye contact. They looked at me with wide eyes. I noticed Bex closing in on me from the side.
"Cammie," Macey said gently. My eyes were still glued on the pigeon.
"Gallagher Girl," Zach began. Suddenly, the pigeon took off and began flying through the sky. I didn't know what I was doing. Really, my body was on autopilot. It was a long shot. If I hadn't seen it the events that followed never would have happened. It was pure luck.
"Follow the pigeons!" I screamed and began chasing after the flying pigeon. I heard my friends calling my name and chasing after me, but I couldn't stop.
I chased the pigeon for what felt like half way around the world. It finally stopped in a small clearing. My breathing was heavy as I stared at the bird. I put my hands on the knees. I heard Zach run up behind me and felt him grab my arm. I swear he could have left a bruise.
"Gallagher girl, don't do that!" He shouted in between gasps. We stood there one for a few moments. The sound of our heavy breathing and our friends running towards us was the only sound. Zach's hand was hot on my arm.
Our friends caught up with us. They were all staring at me like I was crazy. If I'm being honest, I kind of was. I had acted on impulse. I left my backup to follow a pigeon. I was going off of a saying from years before.
"I'm sorry," I sighed. My friends all looked at me sadly.
My spy hearing kicked in and I heard the sound of a branch snapping behind me. I whipped my head around and saw a black blur sprinting through the jungle. This was it. I knew this would lead me to Bree. I ripped my arm out of Zach's grasp and sprinted towards the blur. Whoever was running was clear in my view.
Like a jaguar pouncing on its pray, I lunged and tackled the person to the ground. We rolled and rolled until I pinned the person to the ground. I heard them groan. I opened my eyes and jumped back.
"Bree?" I gasped. Bree was pinned under my arms. I expected her to look skinny and weak. She wasn't. Bree looked muscular and fit. Her long hair was spread out along the ground. She had dirt smudged on her face. Her eyes looked confused as they met mine.
"Cammie?" She asked. I turned back to the way I came.
"I found her!" I screamed over my shoulder. I heard the loud voices behind me. They were cheering and coming near. I helped Bree to her feet and hugged her tightly. "How did you escape?"
"Escape?" She asked. She looked at me weird. "I didn't escape. I left. I just wanted to see him. Where is he? Where's Chase?"
  "He's at the academy," I replied. I paused. "What do you mean you left?"
  "I heard the song. I knew I had to leave, so I left. Cammie, where are we?" She asked. She didn't seem panicked at all.
  "Australia," I said.
  "Australia," she breathed. "We have to go home. I need to see Chase."
  "Bree," I said. I grabbed her hands and looked deep into her eyes. "What did they do to you? Were you tortured? Do you remember anything?"
  Bree looked at me like I was crazy. She pulled her hands away slowly. "I remember everything."
  "Bree!" I heard Zach shout from behind me. He barreled down the hill and grabbed Bree's arms. He turned them over, looking for marks that could tell us what she'd been through. He frowned when he saw nothing. "Are you alright? Where were you?"
  "I was with Catherine and the others. We were at one of our training camps," she replied casually.
  "Our? As in..." Bex trailed off. She had caught up to Zach quickly.
  "You should really hear Catherine's ideas. She's brilliant," Bree said with her gorgeous smile. Our mouths dropped open. We all made eye contact. We were all thinking the same thing: what happened to Bree?
  Adalind and Amelia hugged her tightly and pulled on her arm. "Let's get you out of here. We'll question you on the plane. We already called," they said. Bree nodded.
  "I only want to go to the Academy. I'm only going back for Chase. That's it," Bree assured us. I nodded.
  "I understand," I replied. We followed Bree into the plane. When we lost Bree those few months ago, we lost a great friend. We lost a selfless girl who saved us all. Who we were bringing back, I had no idea.