Battle Scars

Chapter 36: Arriving

Chapter thirty six: Arriving
Most of us slept the rest of the ride in the hovercraft. When I was awoken by Mitch shaking me gently by the shoulders, we were hovering over the secret sector in Canada, just ready to disembark the hovercraft. Mitch, Jerome, Shari, Em, and I were looking out the windows, whilst Preston was steering the hovercraft. He was pretty skilled with things like that, but since he came from Arabia, that sort of thing wasn't surprising. They were all like that there.
Below us, we could see no tell tale signs that there was a base here. Everything looked exactly like the landscape around it. In fact, I wasn't entirely sure where the landscape ended and the base began, despite the fact we were getting pretty close to it.
I watched as Mitch's face slowly registered a mixture of feelings. I knew this place meant a lot to him. He noticed me watching, and turned to look at me. I smiled, and he returned the smile happily.
"I really missed this place," he said. "I hope my family is ok. What's left of them, anyways."
"Who is left?" I asked.
"My little brother, Connor, and my two sisters, their names are Kyleigh and Marley. Connor's really too young to work in the rebellion, although he generally squeezes himself in somehow. Kyleigh and Marley both work in our spy department."
"That's quite impressive," I smiled. "Will I get to meet them?"
"Of course," he replied. "As soon as we land, probably."
"Your siblings are awesome," said Jerome, who had obviously been listening to this conversation. "I wish I had siblings."
"We can share our siblings," chuckled Mitch.
"Sounds like a great idea!" grinned Jerome. "Hey Preston, how long will we be?"
"Five minutes!" Yelled Preston, from the cabin. Jerome nodded. We talked a little more. I noticed Shari had hardly said a word since we'd boarded the hovercraft. I went over to him, and gave him a hug.
"Are you ok?" I asked, quietly.
"I'm fine," he sighed. "It's a lot to take in, as you can probably imagine."
"Yeah, I can," I smiled. "It'll be ok. Don't stress."
"I'll try not to," he smiled. "Thanks Abby. For saving me from that place, they wouldn't have treated me lightly for supporting you."
"It's fine, it's the least I could do since you supported me through the games." Mitch came over to join us.
"Are you ok?" He asked Shari. "We'll be off this craft soon, and then we can find something for you to do to take your mind off everything, if that's what you want." Shari nodded gratefully.
"Thank you," he said softly. Mitch nodded.
"Not a problem," he replied. I watched this discourse with interest. I could see why Mitch was the leader. He cared about people, and everyone found it easy to love and respect him.
"We're ready to disembark!" Yelled Preston from the cabin. "Can one of you prepare the ladders?"
"I'm on it!" Replied Jerome, heading for the hangar. We followed him in there, preparing to disembark the hovercraft.
"When we get on the ground, we need everyone of any importance in the board room, so we can get things moving as soon as possible," said Mitch. "That includes all of you guys."
"Mitch do you want me to call everyone once we get down there?" Asked Jerome. "I imagine your family will want to talk to you and Abby."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea, thanks Jerome," nodded Mitch. "Do you know who to call?"
"The usual," said Jerome, as he tugged hard on a leaver. The doors slid open, and ladders unfurled themselves and dropped to the ground.
"Yep," replied Mitch. "Preston should come down with us, I can send someone up to stow this thing away somewhere, he doesn't need to drive it himself." He disappeared into the cabin, and soon reappeared with Preston by his side.
"You guys ready?" Asked Jerome.
"I'm more than ready, " grinned Preston. "Let's go!"