The Friendship Mission

Chapter 5

The airport smells of dirty shoes and plastic. Anna and I walk towards the security gates and move our two carry on bags onto the machine. We step through, thankfully without stopping. We grab our bags and head over to wait for our gate to load.

We sit in worn down seats. So many people have sat in these seats. Every one of them going a different place, with different expectations. Me? I'm just sitting here with my best friend, about to head to New York.

An announcer comes through the speaker and says the plane headed for New York will have a two hour delay, which is just great. So, of course, we head to the Starbucks and order ourselves something to drink and eat. I get a croissant and a medium mocha. Anna gets a chocolate chip muffin and a medium frappuccino. As we're heading back to our seats, we spot two men running towards us. I don't know them and I get a little scared.

"Anna. Who are those guys?" I asked worriedly. We carefully set down our snacks and look back at the men. They have their eyes glued on me.

"Lily don't freak out. They might try to hurt you but don't let them! They are from another agency. They don't believe in fairytales so they're after people who do." she responds, worry in her voice too. The men are getting closer. People are starting to notice and stop to watch. We jump up, ready to fight. One man is inches away and grabs onto my jacket. I scream and try to pull away, but he has an iron grip. I see Anna out of the corner of my eye. I close my eyes just in time as Anna throws her drink at the man. He let's go of me, trying to get the Frappuccino out of his eyes. While the man recovers, there's still another one. We start to run. Anna is yelling, but I can't hear her. Suddenly the man is right behind us. Anna doesn't realize it and there's no way for me to tell her. The man grabs onto Anna's waist and runs straight for the roof. I have no choice but to run after her.

The other man has recovered and has started chasing me. I can't let Anna down. I make it extremely hard for him to get to me. I throw luggage and books, and trip him. It slows him down, but I still don't have enough time. I yell to anyone who can hear me, "Stop this man!" I keep running. I know people will do anything for a child who's in trouble. I catch a glimpse of the man and Anna. They're headed up to the roof. I sprint to the stairs and race up them. The stairs are creaky and wooden. They have openings in the back which my foot could easily fit through but I don't have time to think about that. The door is open at the top, so I push through it to find Anna being held over the city by the man. I stop in my tracks. I don't know what to do. This man has my friend and he's holding her captive.

"Young lady, I wouldn't come any closer or your friend gets it." he says, his voice scratchy.

"I'll make a deal. You give me my friend and I tell by bosses to back off of your agency." I respond. I feel confident but I don't know if that will be enough.

The man hesitates but finally gives in.

"Deal. Come over here girl." the man explains.

"Oh sorry. You're going to have to come over here sir or I tell my boss to let the whole world know about your agency." I say bravely.

The man slowly walks over and I hold out my hand. He releases Anna roughly and shakes my hand before turning and running out the door.

Anna stands up and gives me a huge bear hug. I hug her back, glad she is o.k.

"Lily. Thank you so much for saving me!" she thanks.

"Hey no problem. It was a piece of cake." I respond.

We walk back downstairs. The security is standing by the entrance up to the roof, waiting for us to come back down. We let the security know we are ok, and decide to head home. We've had enough of an adventure for now.

As we walk outside, the wind is howling and blowing our hair across our faces. I know that we are done, but I don't want it to be done. I have gotten closer to Anna and our friendship has grown. I'm sad but happy that I got to spend a wonderful week with my bestfriend.