Outlaws

The City of Wonders

Every muscle. Every bone. Every thought in my mind was frozen by fear.

James had told me on my first day of training that we would leave in a week. Those first few seconds felt like years working with Trey and James, but then the days started to catch up to me.

Now it was time.

Our helicopter, the last one that hadn't left the Dome, was already filling up with soldiers. Men and women piled in who didn't have a care in the world for the danger they were going to possibly face. I couldn't tell if they were stupid or simply used to it. Was fighting the vampires like an addiction? Or a force of nature?

"It's a natural instinct I guess," James had said a week ago.

Then why James, I thought to myself. Why does it feel so bizarre?

Dad had promised mom that he would say goodbye for her when I left, but even as the crew finished piling into the helicopter— I knew it was hopeless. He wasn't coming. Probably focused on saving humanity instead.

"Hurry up!" Trey yelled, knocking me out of my daydream-like state. "We don't have time for you to chicken out! Are you coming or not?"

I noticed a short argument between someone in the helicopter and Trey. Before I could even say a word or think about what was happening, he leaned back and James pushed up against the door, swinging out across the grass below him. His hair was slicked back from the pounds of gel he insisted on putting in his hair, and his eyes were popping out of his skull from all the excitement. Even without a smile on his face and a look of concern, he was still the happiest man around. James was meant to be on the battlefield.

"You alright, Adam?" he asked, making a move to get out of the helicopter. Trey shoved his hand against James' rib cage, telling him something that I couldn't hear. "Listen," James eventually called out. "You don't have to go, but Trey might be a bit pissed at you for wasting his time with the training. He thinks you're ready and so do I— but if you don't want to go we're not forcing you."

I waited for a moment, replaying James' words again and again. He wasn't forcing me and yet it felt like I didn't have a choice. To James, the journey had only been a week, but to me, it had been two whole years of preparation.

"I'm ready," I called back sternly, making my way to the helicopter. As I walked, I watched the grass below me fold under my weight with each step, and make prints of the dusty army boots James had given me as a gift in training. Each step was a moment that would either be forgotten or remembered for my entire life. I just hadn't realized it yet.

Once the helicopter entrance was just in sight, I looked to see an annoyed Trey slump back into his seat— and a smile on James so big his cheeks turned bright red. I reached up, James taking my hand in his, and he helped me pull myself into the helicopter.

"Wait," a voice, weak and barely able to reach my ears called out from behind us. A voice I instantly recognized, but never expected to hear.

"Mom?" I asked, turning from my spot quickly and placing my foot back onto the dirt below.

Just as I had thought, mom was there.

Her gray eyes sparkled like old diamonds lost in ancient rubble, and they sparkled even more when reflecting off of her silky blonde hair. Her smile, while tired, was bigger than ever before. More for seeing me than being outside for the first time in a few years.

I ran from my spot, a scoff from Trey following behind me. But what did that matter? I could have gone on a million missions— a thousand more alone, but none of them mattered when I saw her happy. Especially after years of watching her suffer.