Avatar: The Return of The Songbirds

Chapter Forty-Seven - They Went Up

Back on the ground, the road that stood in front of Deborah was anything but clear. The footsteps were all over the place and she didn't know which direction to follow, or if they were worth following. "General, These damn footprints are a dead end as well!" Lance hissed, making his way back to the rendezvous point.

"Lance, relax. I'm sure there is something." The General groaned in irritation. While the squad ran around trying to find any sign of the natives, Amy was taking a break, leaning against a tree. "Amy, why are you just standing around doing nothing!" Deborah barked.

"I was just waiting for you to realize." Amy replied with a condescending smirk.

"Realize what?" Deborah snapped, walking over to her younger sister.

"Come on sis, use your big leader brain." Amy mocked, pushing herself off the tree. Before Deborah could say a word, Amy stopped her. "Alright, I guess I am the smart one here, so let me break it down." Amy proclaimed, walking over towards the rest of her team, leaving Deborah standing alone behind her. "Lance, what did you say you couldn't find?" Amy questioned, crossing her arms.

"Footprints that led anywhere." Lance stated nervously. "I can't find any solid tracks." He repeated.

"Right, so let's use our critical thinking, everyone." Amy chuckled in amusement. "If there are no proper tracks...what does that mean?" Amy asked the group surrounding her but got nothing but blank stares in return. "Damn...you guys really are jarheads." Amy sighed in disbelief.

"Amy, what are you trying to do here?" Deborah barked, walking straight in her sister's direction. "You are wasting our time." She added, pushing Amy aside.

"No sis, you are wasting your own time." Amy replied in kind. "Since I am the only one with intelligence in this group, allow me to enlighten you." Amy exclaimed, pushing past her sister. "If there are no solid tracks, that means they aren't traveling on the forest floor." Amy stated, gaining confused looks from her peers.

"What are you talking about Amy?" Lance asked, confusion plastered on his face.

"What I am saying is that they went up!" Amy shouted, causing everyone to jump a little.

"Went up?" Reggie questioned, before looking above him.

"Yes, up. They have been traveling through the treetops. See those leaves over there?" Amy barked, pointing over to the beginning of a trail. "They went up. We follow the leaves. We find the natives. Get it now? General." Amy spat.

Deborah stared at her sister for a moment. Too frustrated to admit defeat. "Follow it." Deborah ordered, walking towards her sister. "You better be right Amy." She warned, before passing her and following the trail, that would eventually lead them to their target.

With their newly found path chosen, they continued on. Sights set on one goal. Due to that locked-in mindset, the general and her group were now blind to the shadows following their every move. "Lisa, if Amy is right...then the boys don't stand a chance." Jason warned. "They are out there with arrows...those won't do anything against guns." He continued.

"Don't worry. We will be right behind them. We will give them the vantage point they need to get away." Lisa exclaimed firmly.

Maria watched Lisa's body language and let out a defeated high. "What is it Maria?" Lisa questioned, looking over at her friend.

"I don't like that look, Lisa." Maria whispered.

"What look?" Lisa groaned, looking over at her friend.

"That one." Maria repeated, but this time lifting her finger towards Lisa's face. "Every time you make that face...things get...out of hand." Maria confessed.

Lisa stared at Maria for a minute. She knew Maria was right, but they didn't have a choice. This was their end goal. Help their friends, and have a fresh start. Away from the war their General was plotting. "Maria, we don't have time to be worrying about that right now." Carmen chimed in, gaining everyone's attention. "We are out here for one reason. To save our friends." Carmen added. "Whatever happens from here on...we have no control over. All we can do is stay close to each other and try our best to stay alive." She finished, looking back at Lisa. "We're following your lead Lisa." Carmen Proclaimed, tightening her grip on the automatic firearm in her hands. "What do we do?" She added.

Lisa smiled at her friends for a moment, before following Carmen's movements. "We put that crazy bitch and her dogs down, and save our friends." Lisa replied confidently.

"Hoorah." Owen shouted in agreement.

Lisa looked over at Maria once more, hoping that the speech her twin sister had just given was enough to get her head back in the game. Maria conceded and let out a soft chuckle. "Then what are we waiting for?" Maria exclaimed, wrapping her arm around Carmen's neck. "Let's hunt those fucker down." Maria barked with a smirk plastered on her face.

"And start over." Charlie added.

"Hell yeah." Jason cheered. At that moment, the group of ten were all in agreement that this battle that laid ahead of them was going to end bloody. They didn't know whose blood would be spilled, but for now, they couldn't dwell on the idea. Lisa let out a sigh and motioned for the group to move forward. The war their General wanted was now underway, and there was no turning back now.