Chapter 3

Even as I sat down at a ripped up McDonald’s chair, my wings were killing me. It was never comfortable in the first place to press them against my back and hide them under a humongous sweatshirt, but now that I figured we’d broken a new record for the total flying distance without stops, the discomfort was intensified. Not that there was a record for us to break in the first place.

And yeah, we’d ended up at good ol’ Mickey D’s. I hadn’t exactly been serious before when I’d told Autumn that we would “Find the nearest McDonalds and spend life at a Super 8 motel”, but when all you’ve had is a granola bar after flying for two hours straight, a Big Mac starts to seem pretty inviting.

“Oh God, food,” Autumn murmured after we’d picked the cleanest table in the restaurant (which is saying a lot) and unloaded our tray. She took a melodramatic bite of her cheeseburger and chewed as slowly as her hunger would allow her.

I rolled my eyes; she couldn’t see me anyway seeing that hers were closed so that she could “savor the moment”.

Eventually she sighed, ran her tongue across her lips, and looked back at me. Well, now. Not much I could say about that little talent show.

“So, uh, about…” I lowered my voice, clearly indicating a subject change. “…our situation.”

“Right,” she replied, getting all serious again. “Well, right now my wings are about to fall off, which basically cancels out any flight plans.”

Under my old faded “I Love NY” sweatshirt, I extended my own wings by a fraction of an inch. They were still as sore as… um, my wings. Sorry, but I was too tired and hungry to make any relevant similes, let alone any sane decisions.

I nodded, taking a stab at comprehensive leadership.

“Okay, first things first. Let’s just eat our food and get out of here.” I took a bite of chicken McNugget as if to emphasize my point.

She shrugged, probably in no mood to argue. Thankfully, ‘cause I wasn’t either. We ate in silence.

Sooner or later we will need a plan, I told myself. Preferably sooner. We can’t keep living for the moment if we ever want our old life back. This time I was prepared for the heartache that accompanied the words “old life”, but this made it no less painful. Still, I didn’t start crying or anything, so I was able to avoid breaking down like a… like a hybrid torn from her home. A hybrid who, again, couldn’t make up similes to save her life. Too many thoughts clouded my mind. I didn’t have the capacity for trivial details like that.

I glanced around. By now I was on my sixth nugget, though there were just eight in the box. We were the only ones here, which was no surprise seeing that it was nine in the morning. The two teenage employees were flirting at the counter, more obsessed with each other than us. Which was good. It meant they probably wouldn’t be a threat.

Then I caught myself. Threat? Since when did I scan my surroundings for people who might be a threat? And since when did I fly for two hours straight? Since when did we eat out alone? There were a million “since whens” and I didn’t want to address them all. I realized that we’d really been living the easy life back with the Smiths.

“I’m done,” Autumn announced. I laughed. There was one thing that hadn’t changed. She’d always said that after every meal in our short existence. I clung to that shimmer of hope that things might return to the way they used to be, though the possibility was thinner than the oxygen we’d been breathing up in the air not too long ago.

I shoved the last of my food in my mouth and gathered up wrappers, napkins, and my empty cup of root beer.

“Then let’s go,” I said. We were fed and now we could forget about eating for a few more hours. So planning had just moved up a spot on my list of priorities. We threw away our trash and finally left the building. Though we’d only been there for around ten or fifteen minutes, you can be sure that time doesn’t fly when you’re not having fun. It’d felt like an eternity.

“Can we find, like, a state park or somethin’?” Autumn asked practically as soon as we set foot onto the sidewalk. Her curly brown hair bounced with every step she took, making her look happier than she probably was. I knew mine fell in dark locks around my face, which only accentuated the confusion that lingered in my eyes, blue like the sky. Mrs. Smith had always said that they stood out from my pale face and black hair. Which, right now, was something I really could’ve lived without. I didn’t want to be noticed.

“Depends,” I told her, mentally reviewing other options we had. “Why do you ask?”

I watched her think about it for a second and I wondered what had made me in charge. Why had she asked me? Didn’t I get to ask her to make decisions?

“So we could rest somewhere hidden,” she explained. “Be ourselves, discuss a plan, not get overheard…” She gritted her teeth. “…And stretch our wings.”

The last one seemed appealing. But I shrugged and retaliated with a question of my own. Time to share the responsibility.

“Do you want to?”

Autumn looked surprised.

“Uh, yeah…” she replied self consciously.

“Okay then,” I said decisively. I glanced at a few of the cars rushing by us, reading license plates. But, hello, we were in Oklahoma. And we’d started off in… Oklahoma. This game was about to get harder.

So that was a short chapter… again. Maybe eventually I’ll write something longer, but right now this is it. Review please! Doom08, SilverFeline, and Mockingbyrd’s Tune, you guys are great! But if anyone else is out there reading, tell me what you think! Thanks!Maplewing