Flying For Freedom

Chapter Eighteen (Surprise!)

"Where did he go?"

"He must have gone somewhere. It's not like he just disappeared into the jungle."

"Let's regroup and discuss this." We walk into the forest away from the search party.

"So where did he go?"

"Let's stay closer to them. We might be able to find out if we can hear what they're saying."

"Tonight, we'll follow him wherever he goes. Then, we'll figure out what to do about it."

"Agreed."

We follow them without incident. Sometime during the day, Firefly comes back to talk to us.

"Are you going to follow us the entire time?"

"Yes. We're not going to stop now. It's been three days."

"Well good luck then."

"You too."

"What would I need luck for? You three are the ones who will get in trouble if you're caught."

"And you're going to need all the luck you can get if Stormbreaker is leading the group into a trap."

"You really do think he's going to cause problems." She sounds thoughtful, like she's paying attention to the conversation, and not just trying to get through it. She actually cares about what we're saying. Many others wouldn't listen after saying something like that.

"Yes we do. More than that, in fact."

"I'll remember that."

"Thank you. Thank you for listening. I know we sound a little crazy." Firefly laughs.

"You sound a little crazier than, a little crazy. I'm going back now."

"She's right." I start laughing too. "We are crazy."

"But we're telling the truth. We're right."

We start to follow the pegasi again, but they leave no trace. Even I can't hear them.

"How'd they disappear like that?"

"Magic. He must have cloaked them."

"But we have to find them."

"We'll head in the same direction they were heading. We'll run into them before night. Then we can worry about Stormbreaker."

We walk in the same direction for three hours. By then, the sun has almost set. They must be sleeping now. Maybe we'll be able to catch up. Bluescold must agree, because she voices my thoughts.

"Now's our chance. Let's go!" We walk for another two hours. And still don't find them.

"We would have caught up to them by now. We're lost." It makes me start to lose hope.

"Maybe they kept walking, or they turned. We can always go back if we need to." I agree with her.

"Let's keep going. We could find something." So we keep going for another hour.

"There's something up ahead. Something big." I look at what Pridestone saw.

"It's an opening to a cave."

"And it's huge. This must be part of the Caves!" We had found it, and without a moment to lose.

"Look, there's someone there." It is hard to see clearly, but I can make out the figure of a pegasus.

"Let's get closer. We might find something out." I find a spot in the bushes where I can clearly see Stormbreaker. He's talking to a figure. It is impossible to make out its shape, so I listen to their conversation.

"And you will kill the dragon when this is done?"

"Let's just say there will be an unexpected monster attack after the entire search party disappears."

"You better kill the dragon, or I'll do far worse to you than what he could do."

"I will kill him. Killing off the search party and faking my own death will make it easier to sneak into the Clearing."

"How will you kill the search party without raising suspicion?"

"The monsters in the Caves will take care of that. I have a very special monster that sprays a scent into the air. They are immediately calmed and almost pass out. Then my snakes and spiders take them out."

"This plan of yours better work, or killing Flame will be the least of our worries. Or my sister and I will have to do it ourselves. And you would not be part of it."

"It will be done." Stormbreaker walks away.

I turn to the others.

"We have to hurry. If we can beat Stormbreaker back, we might be able to warn the others."

"Then we have to go now! Let's go." Bluescold runs in front of Stormbreaker. I follow her.

We find the clearing where they must have slept.

"Where are they?"

"We're too late. He's got them in his clutches, and we can't help."