Landed Wings

chapter 14: LIES



OBSIDIAN

“Obsidian! Wait!”

Pepper is flying up behind me. I brake suddenly in the air and whip around to face her. She has to pinwheel back fast to avoid hitting me.

“What Pepper? What?”

She stops and stares at me. I know I’m being rude, but I don’t care. Like I said before, everyone pales in comparison to Ash.

“I just came to see if you were all right.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well…never mind, Anyway, I also had to tell you something.”

“What?”

“Ash isn’t safe.”

“What do you mean she’s not safe?”

I could feel my stomach knotting up in fear.

“I got a message too…and not a good one.”

“Why would Ash leave a message for you? She doesn’t even like you.”

The look on Pepper’s face makes me regret my words.

“No. She doesn’t,” she says in a clipped tone.

“I didn’t get the message from her. I got it from her mother.”

“Her mother? Why would Ash’s mother be talking to you?”

“She came to me…she told me that Ash said to trust me.”

“Now I really don’t believe you. Ash wouldn’t do that. She doesn’t like her mother and you’re the last person she would trust. I can’t believe Ash would say that.”

“Well, she did. And she said to tell you, if you were skeptical, that Ash’s favorite flavor of chocolate was Sea Salt and Nut, and that only you knew because you wanted to get Ash her favorite for Valentine’s Day.”

I stare at Pepper. It’s true. No one knows I gave Ash that

chocolate, I asked Ash to keep it a secret because I didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. So the only way for Pepper to know…was if the information came from Ash.

“What do you mean she isn’t safe?”

“Ash was taken by that guy Mocha, she didn’t choose to go with him. That note was full of lies.”

“So where is she? And if her mother knows this, why is she saying Ash skipped town?”

I knew that Ash had a horrible relationship with her mother. She was always telling us about how evil her mother is.

“Her mother knows they took her LandBound and if Sky

Patrol finds her there, they’ll clip her wings. She made up the story to protect Ash.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you can help us find and rescue her.”

“Who’s us? And why do you care, Pepper? You’ve never liked Ash.”

Pepper looks at me. I never realized how pale, cold and wet Pepper’s eyes look. Like a fish’s.

“Things change Obsidian.”

She gives me a card with a number on it.

“Call this if you decide you want to help.”

With that, she flies away.

ASHLYNN

Now that I know what VWP is really about and what they are doing, I want to help. I have something I am working towards, a goal to accomplish, something that will make my life

meaningful. Mocha’s organization has been slowly collecting information on the VWP. When Mocha first told me, it was hard to believe. That group is well known - it has been around for as long as I can remember. They show up whenever there’s any kind of natural disaster either below or above. They collect money from people and deploy their “volunteers” to help either on the ground or in the sky. The VWP is such a well known organization that their slogan is memorized before you learn the ABC’s. The newscaster’s cheery voice pops in my head. “We volunteer now for a better later!” It is cheesy and corny, but they actually get some good stuff done or at least I think they do. From time to time, when I’m all alone with my thoughts, I start to feel uneasy. What is it about Mocha? I’ve only known him a short time now, and I already feel like I’m in a deeper relationship than I should be at seventeen.

MOCHA

She’s like a child. Always needing attention…always wanting to talk. I’m tired of it already. I have to call. She picks up as always, on the fifth ring.

“Ginger?”

“Mocha.”

“I can’t do this.”

“Why?”

“She’s an innocent. And silly, foolish, naive, I can’t maker her into what you need her to be.”

“Why?”

“I’m sorry to say it, but I think the whole falling in love plan is a bust. She’s not focused. She’s starstruck. She asked me to dance with her. We’re getting nowhere.”

“Try to talk to her then.”

“We do nothing but talk. That’s not the problem. I don’t want this job Ginger. It’s not too late. I can still send her back, we can give her memory pills - she won’t remember me, except in dreams.”

“Why are you pushing so hard against this Mocha? Is she

getting to you?”

I can’t lie. Not to her.

“Yes. I can’t do my best.”

“Toughen up. I don’t have time for excuses. You know what you have to do. Don’t tell me this girl is so amazing that she is distracting you from our purpose.”

“No. Never.”

“Then the next time, I want to hear that you have practically turned her into a fanatic for our cause. And I want her at our next meeting. I need to see this girl.”

“What if she’s resistant?”

“Then do what you have to do.”

“It’s an invasion of privacy.”

“We’ve already discussed it, and we don’t have time to

discuss it again. Make it happen.”

She hangs up again. I need Ginger to be hard, and she knows I need it. It’s what I respond to. But I know she’ll be thinking about whether this was really a good idea.