Deserted Highways

When the Ghosts Come Marching In

 such legal channels as filing a flight plan?" Michael asked and Kaelie could hear the skepticism in his voice, she wanted to throttle him.

"Yes, Michael, do you wanna know why?" she asked, condescending and looking down at him, before refocusing on her phone.

"Kaelie," Sarah said softly. "I know you're-"

"Sarah, I love you, but I know you really aren't about to hit me with that 'I know you're upset, but we need to band together' bullshit. Jace is gone. Jordan literally blew Ben's head off in front of me two days ago and murdered and entire floor of hospital staff. Do you really think I have the fucking time to worry about if I'm being a bitch or not? Jace is in danger, real actual danger, and you know you would be exactly the same if it was Michael," she snapped. Sarah didn't say anything else, but Kaelie could see the hurt in her face. She sighed.

"God dammit, Sarah, I'm sorry. But Jesus, I can't fucking think right now. I'm sick to my stomach, I'm so scared that I almost feel numb, every second he's gone I feel like my skin is crawling with ants and I just- I want him back Sarah, I want him back, I just got you guys back, I spent so long away from you, away from him, and I can't do it again," she said, trying to rush it out before her voice cracked and betrayed the hot tears that were threatening to spill over her cheeks.

"Oh Kaelie," she said, her voice soft and sad now, and Kaelie wanted nothing more than to crawl into her lap like a child and sit there for a while, like they all used to do to each other when they were younger.

"Please just look," Kaelie asked quietly. "Jordan, I can't say this enough, he's not an idiot. He knew Jace would come for his mom, he probably threatened mine and his mom's lives to get him to do it. Jordan knows that I will come for Jace. Whatever Jordan wants, its with me, but he's using Jace to get to me because he knows it will work. But, mark my words, if anything happens outside of what Jordan specifically gave orders for, he will not hesitate to kill Jace, his mother, and all of us if he can."

Michael just stared at her, and then he stood, and Kaelie could see the question in his deep eyes. She tensed, but she didn't fight him when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. "I'm sorry kid. I'm sorry. I know how much- how deeply you feel for him. We'll get him back, both of them."

Kaelie nodded and then her focus was shifting again and the sound of Lilith's lilting voice. "I found it."

"Where?" Kaelie asked, already standing and searching through the bags Michael had brought from the safe house for any extra weapons.

"About 18 miles out. Helicopter landed there two days ago, one male, one female passenger, self piloted. An entire hanger has been purchased for private use under an anonymous name. The helicopter- it's the one. It has to be. It's name JayBird."

The sun had fallen now, shadows long and deep and dark outside, and Kaelie tucked a very small revolver into her waistband. "Alright. Get your things, put everything back in the car, we won't be returning here. We're leaving, now," Kaelie said, her voice firm, no room for argument or anger or tears.

Sarah nodded and Lilith looked up at Kaelie with wide black eyes, sympathetic. "Let's go save the dumbass one more time, shall we?" she asked and Kaelie almost, almost laughed.

The minutes passed like eons and then Kaelie was back in the front seat of the car, Lilith in shotgun. She'd barely waited for the back doors to slam shut before she was reversing out of the parking lot, narrowly missing the cars parked behind her and speeding onto the highway on ramp. She felt like a timer had started, but she didn't know how long was left on it, she could only feel the seconds melting away too fast.

Chapter 16

Under the Same Sun

Jace pulled out his phone when he was sure that he was far enough away from the hotel that Kaelie wouldn't hear it, nor would she be able to see him. He stood close to the wall around the back of a dingy gas station. He dialed a cab service and informed them he needed to be picked up and dropped off at this airfield as quickly as possible. The operator sounded skeptical, but said that he'd send a car immediately and Jace sat down on the concrete, carefully out of sight to wait.

He couldn't see the hotel from where he sat, and he wondered if Kaelie had noticed his absence yet. He felt the guilt twinge in is heart at the thought of her anger and heartbreak over discovering his disappearance. He wished he could go back, wished he could tell Jordan to go fuck himself and join Kaelie in waltzing into Jordan's hide out like she owned the place.

He couldn't. He could still feel the sizzling heat of Ben's blood on his face, he could nearly see the hole left behind before he'd fallen to the ground. Jordan hadn't hesitated a second, and all Ben had done had been to be in the wrong place at the right time. Jordan would kill Kaelie and Jace's mom and everyone else just to prove his point, and whether he was only a human or not, Jace didn't doubt that he could do it.

He watched the cars whir past on the road,and for a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of Kaelie's fiery hair in the driver's seat of the Explorer, careening towards the highway. Seconds later, a lemon yellow cab pulled into the parking lot and Jace unfolded himself from the ground and climbed into the back seat.

"Where to?" the driver asked.

"An airfield, 17.5 miles outside city limits. I'll direct you," Jace said shortly, and the driver raised an eyebrow, but nodded. He slipped out of park and pulled onto the road. They slid onto the highway, and Jace could see red and blue lights flashing in the distance.

"No, no, no," he muttered to himself. If that was a car accident, traffic was going to be nearly impossible to get through. He checked his watch, the second hand slipping by, and looked out the window at the sun, flaming towards the horizon. He had maybe an hour or his deception would be for naught, and Kaelie and his mother would still die.

Time was slipping away and they'd barely moved three miles and Jace was fidgeting in the back seat, tapping his leg and scratching absently at his arm. He nearly wanted to fling open the door, jump out of the car and run the rest of the way, surely he'd make it there faster. The cab driver eyed him in the rear view mirror and Jace glared back, setting his jaw and staring unflinchingly at the man. The driver averted his eyes back to the road.

A few more minutes passed, two more miles crawled by, and Jace looked out the window again. Dusk was falling as the sun crept past the horizon. "Fuck it," he muttered. "Drop me off here."

The cab driver spluttered. "Here? Sir we are literally in the middle of the highway, I can't drop you off-"

"Listen to me, this is not a game. Drop me off here," Jace said, already reaching for the door handle. He pulled several crumpled bills out of his pocket and tossed them over the seat and then he was pushing the door open and tumbling out of the cab before the driver could say anything else.

Jace had never been an avid runner. "No time like the present," he muttered to himself, and then he was racing along the highway, ignoring the honks, the people who shouted out their windows at him.

He made it to the exit he needed, looking back to see that the cab had barely moved. He stood at the bottom of the ramp, looking around, finding himself dumped at a very rural, unpopulated area that he'd not seen before. He oriented himself in the direction the airfield would be and started to run again.

He'd not been running long, only enough to assess just how stupid his rash decision had been, when he heard the crunch of gravel being spit out from under tires and he turned around. A plain gray sedan rolled next to him, almost too clean, and the driver rolled down their window. Jace met the soft brown eyes of a man with a pleasant open face, light brown hair tied up in a neat bun, and unnaturally white teeth.

Jace felt strange, the energy around this person felt wrong, to calm, almost scripted. But he was out of time and options, and he needed to get to that airfield. "Going somewhere?" the gentleman asked and Jace nodded.

He pulled open the door and sat in the front seat, immediately bombarded by the icy air conditioning. The car pulled smoothly back onto the road. It was silent for a moment. "I'm going to an airfield, about ten miles up the road," Jace said into the quiet and the driver chuckled.

"Sure," he said. Jace stared straight ahead and the unease rolled over his skin, sending shivers crawling up his spine and he fought to keep still and not squirm in his seat. "Any reason? Not running away, are you?" Even his chuckle sounded empty and Jace didn't answer right away.

"Just have something I need to do," he said finally. "What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't, Jace," the man replied, smiling again so that his white teeth were stark against