Heroes

Chapter 23: The end of the road

We were led back out of the forest the way we'd come, followed closely by Jack. None of us spoke to each other; we didn't want to risk Jack overhearing us. He was walking so close to us that there was no way we could talk in secret.
Morgan was clinging on to my arm, leaning her head into my shoulder as we traipsed down dirt lanes, feeling the afternoon sun beating down on us. Mat and Steph were holding hands slightly ahead of us. We could see their expressions from the side and it's obvious that they were as scared as we were.
I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out what was going on with Jack but so far I'd drawn blanks. I couldn't understand what had happened to the real Jack, because that...thing...behind us was definitely not the Jack that I knew. I didn't know what was happening, I didn't know where he was leading us, I didn't know what had happened to Nate. But I was determined to find the answers to all 3 of them.
Honestly, my main concern was Nate. Jack had sent him over a waterfall and he hadn't resurfaced. In my mind, I had a feeling that Nate was fine. I mean, he could fly! There's no way he died in that fall. But, if that was the case, why had he not come back? Part of me was certain that he had purposely remained hidden so as to throw Jack off the trail but there was another part of me, and I didn't want to believe it, that thought he might actually be gone. I know, I shouldn't have even considered that thought, but that part of my brain was saying that if Nate was still alive he would've joined us. And he hadn't.
The roads we were traversing turned from dirt to sand as the trees on either side of the path thinned out and became more sporadic. We still had no idea where we were going but it seemed to just be a straight path through the ever-disappearing greenery. I couldn't speak for the others but I felt my own heart steadily racing quicker and quicker as we got further away from the safety of the woods. We had been walking for what felt like hours when we emerged from the path.
Bushes along the edge of the path framed a wooden gateway that led out onto a pale sandy beach. I slowed to take it in, wondering just how far we'd walked to suddenly be on a beach, but Jack shoved me hard in the back and I stumbled forwards again, bringing Morgan with me. We went through the posts and stepped onto the grains, our feet sinking a little as we walked. The further we got onto the beach, the firmerthe sand became until it felt like we were stepping on rock. I looked past the giant elephant in the room (which I'll get to in a minute) to see a crystal grey sea, gently waving to and fro, bringing in strips of seaweed and loose pebbles, only to pull them back out and deposit them further along. It was actually quite peaceful, if not for the problem that I mentioned just.
A white helicopter, probably the same size as a medium-sized bungalow, sat perched in the sand, its rotas still and quiet but that didn't make its presence any less intimidating. We filed into a line to stare at it in awe, none of us really knowing how to react. Morgan was still hanging off my arm and Mat and Steph were holding each other tighter, his arm around her protectively.
Jack came up in front of us, smiling in a way that we were unused to and was mildly unsettling. He gestured to the metal beast behind him and said something that made our blood run cold.
"Get in."