Helpless [Book 2]

30 || Holler

    ➟sam
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄

The plane was a dark purple and gray. Something about that was giving me the weirdest flashbacks. The six of us were squeezed inside- Piers, Zane, Nnamdi, Tommy, Hazzy, and I. There was a pilot up front, in control. Piers had his phone held tight in his one hand, and that was pressed to his chest. He was expecting another phone call.

Ever since we heard Jack's fragile voice on the line, we'd been on high alert. Hazzy had whipped open her laptop, checking the area code from the number among various databases. Tommy had all but grabbed the phone out of Piers's hands. The line went dead. That's when the real panic set in.

We were over an hour ahead of schedule and no one still dared to talk. Of the four seats in the cabin, Tommy and Hazzy took two, Zane and Nnamdi the others. Zane was still a little whacked from the episode. Afterwards he got all quiet, like he was still locked inside two people's minds at once. It was a strange thought.

I was standing at the back of the plane, Piers near the front. We had been flying for what felt like an eternity when the pilot shouted back a quick "Landing in approximately ten minutes. Prepare for sudden drop." My eyes darted up. Well. Here goes nothing.

Our plane set quietly on the outskirts of Tabelot. We looked like we were in a valley between mountains, somewhere in a brutal desert. I took a careful step out of the plane, the sand in the wind brushing harshly against my legs.  "This is where the walked," Zane said, following me off. His eyes glanced to the scenery. "For months."

"God. This place gives me the creeps. Let's just find them and get outta here, yeah?" Tommy said. "I was rather fond of Lagos." He wiggled his feet in the sand about five steps ahead of me, his face scrunching up.

"Sounds like a plan," Piers said. The door shut behind him. I looked to the five faces around me. If all went well today, that five would grow to nine. It was all I could ask for.

The city itself was a little more inviting than the desert, but the hot, sticky humidity still hung over our heads like a cloud. Buildings were a deep brown and tan, the city seeming devoid of color. I took a deep breath and another cautious step forward.

Piers jumped ahead of me. Everyone stopped, eyeing him. "What's wrong?" Zane said.

"I- I'm getting another phone call," he said. He pulled up his phone, pressing the accept button slowly. It was on speaker. He held the phone in front of his face, saying into the microphone "Hello?"

"You really did it this time, old man." A stony, quiet voice came crackling over the receiver. 

"What?" He said. The voice heaved a laugh.

"You don't know who we are. You don't know what we've done." I looked over to Tommy. He looked about ready to bolt right then and there. "But you'll know. Oh, you'll know soon enough." Three beeps sounded as the line went dead.

"It's a trap," Piers said, sliding his phone in the jacket pocket of his suit. "We need to get out of here."

"But what if Jack, Ly, and Kyle are still here-" Hazzy started, but Piers cut her off.

"They're not. I'd bet you anything they're not." 

"And what makes you say that?" I asked. As if on cue, the whirring of a helicopter took over the quiet of the city. White and silver, with a red logo branded into the side. The Ineffects. They were here.

"Fuck. We need to run," I heard Hazzy holler over the machine. "We need to run!"

"Have I ever mentioned how much I miss Nia?" Tommy said, glancing up at the sky.

"Go!" Piers shouted. I grabbed Tommy by the arm without thinking. I didn't even look back, making a mad dash for the nearest building.

The doors opened with a woosh as I pulled Tommy through after me. I pushed them shut without thinking, pulling anything within immediate sight in front of the door. 

"Sam. What the hell are you doing," Tommy said calmly.

"We can't let them come. We can't," I said. I was continuing to stack items near the door, nervously looking out. Tommy cleared his throat rather loudly, cocking his head towards the other end of the store. I paused, turning around.

An elderly woman sat behind a front counter, staring at us with her mouth open. She had graying hair and a larger stature, with a baggy pink dress. She closed her mouth as my eyes met hers.

"You. Alfatu. Are you responsible for this?" She almost sounded scandalized.

"What? No!" Tommy said. His eyebrows got all scrunched. He was slowly turning back to the angry, quick-thinking Tommy I was used to seeing.

"It's the Innefects," I said. "They want us dead."

"So you are responsible for this," the woman said. "I always knew Alfatu to be not as good as they would say. And now you come into my shop, start throwing my things, and do not even speak a greeting!"

"Ma'am, please. We need a place to stay," I started. "They took our friends, and-"

"And you do not have the courage to fight back? What are you, monsters?" she seethed. I sent a glance Tommy's way.

"Did you see where Hazzy, Zane, and the others went?" I asked him. He gave a nod.

"Piers and Hazzy went to the building across from us. Nnamdi tried to follow, but was cut off by the helicopter. He and Zane are next door, I think," Tommy said.

"You don't even care enough for your teammates. You are the real bad guys here!" The woman shouted, her accent pronounced in her speaking.

"Please," I said to her, turning back to Tommy. "Barricading will only keep them out for so long. We need to find our friends."

"I mean, yeah, that's the goal, but we can't just run out across the square," Tommy said.

"Yes we can," I said back.

"What?"

"Come on. I have a plan."