Reformation

24: Starting Over

"Will it make me sick?"

"You'll be fine."

"What's it like?"

"Fun. Amazing. Not sickening at all."

"I thought we were being honest, Ryan Charles."

He laughed. "Planes aren't bad, you'll be ok."

It was kind of ridiculous how I was twenty one and had never been on a plane (that was airborne) in my life, now I was scared for my life.

I stared out the window of the SUV, watching other cars on the road zoom before me, a blur of metal and glass. Roads that were crowded with cars, not creepers. It was phenomenal.

"Will my ears pop?"

"Arizona!" Ryan laughed. "Chill." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

We veered off of the bridge and through downtown, where a surprisingly large amount of new station vehicles and pedestrians waited.

"Why are all these people here?" I asked Seymour, who had his eyes closed in the passengers seat.

"They are waiting for you, dear." He responded lazily.

He was right, once the car started coming through, camera flashes filled my eyes as screams and calls and cheers filled my ears. People held up signs that said "Savior" and "Antidote" and "Desert Flower", it was all bizarre. I felt like a celebrity. I even saw a sign that said "Marry me." Why would somebody want to marry me just because I was immune?

All of a sudden, Ryan unbuckled and flipped back the sunroof, Seymour and the driver started yelling at him. He stuck his head out the top and screamed "She's mine! Put that sign away!" I realized he was directing it at the person with the marry me sign. He climbed back in the car and shut the sunroof.

I laughed. "You're crazy."

He grinned. "Crazy in love."

"Shut up." I laughed as I kissed him lightly on the lips.

We drove for another ten minutes until we came to an airport. It reminded me of where my family was right now, just this place had less walls and barricades. Cars pulled up to the front and helped family members pull bags out of backseats, hugging them goodbye as they went on winter vacation. Business people hailed cabs while chatting away on their Bluetooth devices. Anxious children tugged at their parents coats, signaling they wanted to get in their car. And of course, a news vehicle was parked outside the entrance we were supposed to go through.

"Who told them?" Seymour grumbled. "It was supposed to be confidential."

We were helped out of the car by bodyguards and were told to keep our heads low as we passed the swarming news crews, clicking away at cameras and forcing questions at us. Employees guided us through the airport out to the runway, where it was silent.

I stared at the waiting planes, expecting families to come out or their tails to burst to life with color, but I knew that airport was far away from here, and probably very hectic under their new control.

Seymour led us to a small plane with a too perky woman who reminded me of Carly with over hairsprayed blond hair standing in front of the plane. She wore hideous orange suit pants with a floral blazer and bright blue eyeshadow. She looked like a wannabe clown.

"This is where I say goodbye, I guess." Seymour stuck his hand out to me. "Thank you for cooperating. You may have well ended the apocalypse."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you, for everything." I pulled away and smiled. He smiled back and shook Ryan's hand. We all said our goodbyes to Seymour  over to clown lady.