Chapter 2
Well, I might not have gone all the way to Kingdom come, but I did get blown out of window that was ten stories up. I went flying backwards and right through the glass. And then I was free falling. The only thing I thought right then was I wish I could fly. And then I thought that wish was granted. I went soaring back up through the air. I grabbed onto a window sill two stories below the explosion. It took all my strength and will power to hold on. I could see what had happened now. I had apparently bounced off and awning that was three stories below me. That is the most cartoonish thing that has ever happened to me I thought. Then I noticed the crowd that was forming below me. Stupid New Yorkers. Don't they know to go away from a burning building? I had to think fast or else people were going to see me. I held onto the window sill with just my fingers and let my legs dangle. Then, I started to swing. I kicked off from the window below me and swung back toward it. Without stopping, I pushed off again, but this time as I came back I kicked my feet out toward the glass and broke through. I let go with my hands and summersaulted into the room. I quickly stood up and checked myself over. No broken bones, just a few cuts. I bolted for the door. And then the sirens started going off. I cursed myself for not noticing that it had been quiet. I shoved the door open and ran around trying to find a staircase. I found one and ran down it three stairs at a time. I got to the ground floor and burst out the back door right into a crowded street.
I ducked back into the shadows and spoke to Emma on my headset. "Emma, can you get Sam?"
"Yes, she got out before the explosion. I thought you were a goner. Get to the front of the building. Your ride is a sliver Camaro. Sam is already there."
"I'll be there in less than three seconds." I hugged the building as I went around to the front. Avoiding the side of the building with the explosion, I made it to the front of the building and into the awaiting car without being noticed. I slid into the back seat and was immediately attacked in a hug.
"I thought you would be dead!" said a rough looking Sam. Her long, light blond hair was pulled up in a messy pony tail, and her usually flawless makeup was smeared everywhere.
"And I thought you got out before the explosion! What happened?"
"Well, I got out of the building before the explosion, but the shock wave was huge. I must have gotten blown ten feet from the building. I can't imagine what must have happened to you."
" I got blown out of a window on the tenth story. But, you know, not anything that doesn't happen every day or so." I joked. "I can't imagine how I must look."
Sam handed me a mirror. "Go ahead and assess the damage." she said. My pixie short hair cut was sticking up everywhere, and I had dirt all over my face.
"Well, what could I expect?" I asked no one in particular. "I can't believe we failed that mission. No, wait, I can't believe I failed that mission. If only... Oh I don't know, but somehow I messed up!"
"Lilly, it wasn't all you. Missions are group work. No one can do a mission by themselves, and no one can fail a mission by themselves either. A mission is a joint effort."
"I know, it's just that I'm the one who goes and does the grunt work and so if I fail, the whole team fails."
"Lilly, it's like that with all of us. If I fail, the team fails, if Emma fails, the team fails. It's not just you. And this isn't the first mission we've not completed. Plus, this is one that we can even cover up. Someone else can do it, or we might even get another try at it."
"Yea, I guess so." I muttered. No matter how good Sam was at cheering me up, it didn't work quite so well this time. I looked out the window and wasn't surprised to see clouds passing by us. Like every car in the complex, this one was made to look like a normal car, but do so much more.
I love flying. It's the most wonderful feeling to look down and see the world passing underneath you. But being outside of a car is so much better. Hang-gliding is the very best way to fly. "Is this one of the newer cars?" I asked Sam. "I didn't even feel it take off."
"The latest design. Boss thought you might need to make a quick getaway." Sam explained. That got me thinking again. The Boss. I just hoped Emma already had the report written up. I didn't want to think about what Boss would say when she saw we had failed this mission.
Because we were only Juniors, we never got all the information on how important a mission was, or what it would accomplish. All we knew was what we had to do, not why.
