The Unexpected Visit

Chapter 14

Later that night, everyone went to bed, leaving me alone to shower and sleep. Now that it's morning, I realize the ridiculousness of my rant and can't remember why on earth I even said that. At least we can text on the lousy phones they gave us, and I got to apologize for my rant. Wait a minute, they gave us phones after we asked to go on the hike. They are going to track us using the phones! Why didn't I think of this before? I have to tell them before we leave. I hear a knock at the door.

"I'm coming in, Rebecca!" Anna shouts but waits.

"You can come in," I say a moment later.

"You knew I wouldn't come in unless you let me, didn't you? Anyway, I assume the reason you called us to your "emergency meeting" was because you figured out that they would track us with the phones. Jackson figured it out as soon as they gave him his and came to tell us. I think you were having a meeting with mom," Anna explains, rather annoyed.

"I thought that maybe you guys had already figured it out but I wasn't sure. I wanted to make sure that we left the compound before dad gets here so we can avoid the confrontation of leaving," I say, slightly ashamed.

"Yeah, I don't really want to run into him either. I'm the one who led these two to come find you, so naturally, I will get blamed. Hopefully, by the time we get back, they will have forgotten about us leaving," she says, pointing to Owen and Jackson as they walk in.

"Hey guys, are you ready?"

"Yea, we are ready. All we have to do is wait for the followers; they should be here in a minute," Jackson replies before Owen has a chance to speak.

"I don't know why she has to send five followers. They will probably slow us down. Has anyone ever figured out a way to make it look like they are right behind us when really they aren't? I've been thinking about it but I still don't really have any ideas," Anna asks, looking worried.

"I rigged a drone to have a pouch for our phones. It will look like we are traveling in a close knit group," Jackson explains, pulling out a drone.

"Oh cool, where did you get that?" I ask.

"I got it from the store at this compound. I told them that we were going on a hike and that we wanted to have it to play with. It has this cool feature that can slowly make it leave you but will still stay close behind. It can go up to two miles behind us and it is faster than the runners here. Owen and I were playing with it the other day while the runners were out on the track field. We raced them, to which they didn't think anything of because we seemed like two immature boys to them. Which, in a way, we are, but we aren't ever going to say that again and I mean ever," Jackson says, showing the drone off in a show-and-tell fashion.

"Alright, and they don't suspect a thing? That's good," Anna says, reading my mind.

"I hear footsteps; put the drone away. We don't want them to see the pouches that you put on it. That way, we have a bit of an edge over them," I whisper hushedly.

"Princess, we are here to escort you and your companions on your hike," says two male voices from behind the door.

"Alright. Just to be clear, two of my "companions" are my family, and the other is my boyfriend; therefore, you have to respect them the same way you respect me," Isay, using my "Royal" voice.

I had no idea at the time why my mother wanted me to learn all these different voices, but now I think I might understand. The walk to the woods isn't long but it drags when we're followed a mile behind by five guys, who if they felt like it, could probably catch up to us in one minute. Jackson has put the drone up in the air. It's still right above us because we don't want them to figure us out so soon. Once we reach the forest, however, the drone will go far above us and keep an eye on our companions.

The forest isn't what I expected; once reaching a mile in, the trees are further apart and the area is loaded with plants, fallen logs, and even a few streams. It really is beautiful; I almost wish that we were actually going on a hike. I can't really enjoy the scenery as much. It doesn't really matter, though, because the drone is taking pictures and is starting to slow down so that we can reach the camping spot before them and have a little look around. That way, it won't be so hard on the way to the boat. Jackson and Owen also trained Anna on how to use the drone so he handed off the controls about an hour ago. The drone is practically right above us now.

"We should stop and put the drone away so it can recharge itself in the sunlight. That special bag that Jackson gave me has a small solar panel that can be connected to the drone safely. Well, unless I fall," Anna says, slowly bringing the drone down and halts.

"I honestly didn't know that any of this was even possible. Let's take a water break too while we are stopped. Then the boys can stop at some point for water, although I doubt they will," I note, taking my black water bottle out for a drink. Anna puts the drone away, hooks it up, and takes her own water bottle out for a drink.