The Unwanted Ones - Book One

Chapter Twenty-One

We walk gingerly and silently to the transport hub, our arms carrying our things, tension in the air. This is it. This is the start.

Of the end?

We enter and see Orlando standing by a small jet. plane. The door is open and he stands there with a small smile on his face.

"Are you guys ready?" he asks us.

"No way," Carrie says, and then she covers her mouth with her hand, embarrassed.

"No, that's good! Stay humble. Cockiness is what gets you killed." he tells us. I can't help but glance over at Philip. Luckily he doesn't seem to notice.

He gestures for us to get into the plane and we do so, he follows behind us.

"You're coming with us?" Lena asks him.

"Unfortunately no, doc says I'm not in good enough shape yet," he tell us. "And also I'm leading until you guys come back with the cure, so I need to stay."

Talk about pressure.

The plane seems bigger on the inside. A door towards the front leads to what I assume to be where the pilot would be. There are seats on both sides of the plane, facing each other. They look comfortable enough and have seat belts of course. Orlando tells us that their are bathrooms towards the back of the plane and that the ride to where we're going will take just two hours.

Two hours. That seems too short.

I sit in a seat and Lena sits next to me. Gwen sits next to her, and Melissa sits beside her. Carrie takes the other seat next to me and the guys sit in the seats across from us.

"So you guys just strap in, and I trust that we'll be seeing each other soon. Godspeed." Orlando tells us.

I'm surprised that that's all. I thought he'd be saying more. Maybe a nice uplifting speech to get us pumped.

"Also, I've decided to have Alexandria and Matthew head this mission," he adds, looking at us. When he meets my gaze I gulp. Why me? Matt, yeah, that makes sense. He's improved a lot and is now at the top of all of us recruits.

No one asks the question weighing on my mind. Why I was chosen. But I do notice Philip's expression. He seems a bit disappointed but quickly puts on his usual blank, unreadable face.

"You're all going to make the resistance proud. Our future rests in your hands," Orlando tells us. And with that he leaves out of the plane.

"Well this is it," Melissa says as we feel the plane start moving. I've never been on one before, so the sudden movement makes my eyes go wide in surprise. I catch Matt looking at me, a smile forming on his lips.

"What?" I ask him.

"Nothing, it's just that the face you made," he says, trailing off.

"What about it?" I say, scrunching up my nose. He just laughs and looks away from me.

"So, two hours in the metal contraption," Danny says, always one to break the ice. "Have any of you ever played two truths and a lie?"

I have. It's one of those 'get to know you' games they make you okay at the beginning of the school year. Some others shake their heads though.

"Well we each say three things about ourselves, but only two of those things are true. Gotta guess what the lie is," Danny explains.

I look around the plane and sigh when I realize there are no windows. It would be so cool to see what it's like to be among the clouds, high in the sky where nothing matters.