Hey everybody, I can't believe it's been two years since I first started writing this story. Epic thanks to everyone that has reading this since the beginning, and to those who have just started reading this story.
Jack's POV
We continued to travel far away from the coastline. I checked behind and saw Domino's battered and beaten body. The bag filled with all the expensive jewelry and the Skylander is sitting next to Dakota. This job went completely sideways. I knew it was bad idea sending Domino and Dakota in to do this. Domino had already suffered a gunshot wound when he was looking for one of these other Skylanders. The pain he feels now must be ten times worse than that. I keep wondering what would've if Amber and I went in instead. Something tells me the same thing would happen except I would be in Domino's place.
Dakota and I haven't spoken together. They might've gotten away with it, but only because of blind dumb-luck. I don't know what we're going to do about Domino. All of us may know how to patch a small wound, but none of us know how to deal with multitude of injuries that he has sustained.
"How much farther do we have to go?" asked Dakota as she took off her helmet and placed it on the ground.
"About another forty miles," I answered.
"That far?"
"Yeah, we need to put a lot of distance from here and Los Angeles."
She looked back toward Domino. I wish I could do something to help him, but there's nothing here that I can use. "You know he needs to go to a hospital," said Dakota as she checked on him.
"Yeah, I know. Although the minute we do, we immediately put a target onto him and us. The police know that one of the robbers got into a motorcycle accident. They've probably already alerted all the hospitals in the areas about us. Plus we still have to worry about the Dultras. If Domino's name gets entered to the system, then they could possibly be one step closer to finding us."
"Are you honestly worried about getting caught?" stated Dakota as if it was insult.
"No, I'm saying I want to make sure those injuries are worth something."
"I still think we need to get him to a doctor and besides I know we're in a feud with the Dultras, but why would they be looking for us?" said Dakota. I forgot to tell Dakota about that the Dultras are also looking for the meteorites and that they have placed a bounty on everyone in Eagle Force.
"Yeah… we'll talk about that later. Can you try to bandage Domino's wounds before they get infected?" I asked trying to change topics.
Dakota turned her seat around and look at his wounds. "Is there a first aid kit anywhere?" asked Dakota as she examined Domino's wounds.
"I didn't find one when I searched through the boat, but there's a storage bin with some stuff in it under the seat," said Domino. I was surprised that he's still conscious, which is probably a good thing. The seat that he was referring to is the one he's lying on. Dakota helped him lean his back up while she flipped up one cushion. She saw the storage bin Domino was talking about and grabbed it. She put the bin on the ground and flipped the seat back down. Dakota gently laid Domino's down back onto the seat.
"There's only lifejackets and beach towels in here," complained Dakota as she looked through the bin.
"Make do with what you have," I said.
Dakota took the lifejackets out and grabbed one of the beach towels. She tore the towel into long strands. She took one of the strands and tied it around a laceration on Domino's broken leg. He involuntarily struggled as she finished tying the knot on the makeshift bandage. Thankfully, Domino's not bleeding profusely, but blood is still coming out of his arm at a slow pace. In a few minutes, Dakota was able to cover most of his visible wounds.
After about a half hour, our destination finally came within our sight. I gradually slowed the boat down as we came near Amber. The truck is backed up to the water with the back down. Amber stood outside the truck ready to help us. The boat came to a stop as we came up near the abandon shoreline. The truck doesn't have a trailer attached to it, so we're going to have to get rid of the boat another way. I came up as close to the shore as I could.
"Let's get the bike off first," I commanded. Amber climbed onto the boat and she saw Domino's horribly damaged body. It must've been weird for Amber staying all the way over here and hear the whole thing go down over her earpiece and not be able to do anything. It's the same way it kind of felt for me.
We pulled the tarp off of the bike and Amber and I picked it up. The two of us walked the bike off the back of the boat and we dropped into the ankle deep water. Thankfully it was much easier to move than it was back when I was getting Domino and Dakota onto the boat. We pushed it through the water and picked it up and placed it into the flatbed of the truck.
"Domino, how are you feeling?" asked Amber as we got back into the boat.
"Like someone has repeatedly run me over with a car," he moaned.
"Well do you think you make it to the truck?"
"I kind of have to, don't I?"
Amber and I walked over to him and each grabbed one of his arms. Dakota jumped off the back of the boat and waited for us. We threw Domino's arms around our shoulders and carefully picked him up off the seat. He carefully placed his good leg on the ground. We helped him limb to the back of the boat. When we got there, Domino lifted his leg off the edge and began to lower it to the ground. Dakota grabbed ahold of his foot which gave Amber and me the chance to get off the side. When we got to the ground with Domino's arms still wrapped around our shoulders, Dakota lowered his good leg to the ground. We helped Domino hop the rest of the way to the truck. Dakota opened up the backdoor on the truck, so we can get Domino into the truck. Domino, with our help, climbed into the truck and lied down on the seats.
I entered back onto the boat and picked up the duffel bag that contains the stolen jewels and meteorite. I pulled out the remaining bricks of C4 and the detonator. I took out my earpiece and put it in the bag. I tossed the duffel bag over to Dakota.
"What're you doing?" asked Dakota as she caught the bag.
"I'm gonna get rid of the boat. Wait for me here, okay?" I said. She nodded her head and walked over to the truck with Amber. The both of them looked at me watched with curiosity.
I started the boat and began to drive it out far from the shore. The water for the moment is pretty calm; it'll make what I'm about to do a little bit easier. I looked behind me as the wake the boat was leaving. The distance between me and the shoreline began to increase. Amber and Dakota are sitting on the flatbed of the truck as they're waiting for me. Once I was about a half a mile away from the beach, I stopped the boat the boat in middle of the ocean. The light waves from the water hit against the boat. I got up from the seat and picked up all the excess stuff lying on the floor and put the under Domino's bloodied seat. I then picked up the bricks of C4. I planted all of them on vulnerable points on the boat and picked up the detonator. I armed each one of them and walked over to the lever that controls the speed. I quickly punched the lever all the way forward. As the engine of the boat roared, I jumped off the side and collided into the water.
The boat sped past me, and the wake splashed into me. I floated in the twenty feet deep water. I raised the detonator in my hand above the water. As the boat traveled far away from me, I squeezed the detonator. Explosions rained throughout the boat. Our getaway is now engulfed in a sea of flames. "Holy crap," I awed as I saw the boat start to break apart. The boat broke into two pieces and the both of them started to sink toward the bottom of the ocean. The small amount of gasoline that was left in the boat is now burning on top of the water. Thankfully, the fire is far away and the water is calm enough for me to swim away without any trouble.
I turned away from the wreckage of the boat and looked back toward the shore. I began to swim back toward the beach. After about fifteen minutes worth of swimming, I felt the ground hit against my hands. I was able to get back onto my feet and trot the rest of the way through the water.
"Damn, Jack. You sure you had to do that?" commented Amber as I walked out of the water.
"We had to get rid of the boat someway, might as well get rid of the extra C4 while we we're at it," I said as I shook off the excess water that I've been drenched with.
"Still, you ran the risk of people seeing it. A fire on the water isn't something people will exactly forget," stated Dakota.
"We're in the middle of nowhere. The only people who saw it was you guys. Beside the boat exploded far out into the distance. Even if anyone did see it, they would think it was something with the sun reflecting off the water," I said.
"Whatever you say, I don't want to stick around and see if the cops show," said Dakota.
"Yeah, let's get going back to the airstrip. I'm gonna ride in the flatbed, so you two can take the front," I said.
"Alright," said Dakota. The two of them walked up to the front of the truck, and Amber got into driver's seat while Dakota got into the passenger's. I hopped into the flatbed of the truck and closed the back.
Amber started the truck and drove out of the shrub infested beach and back onto the road that wasn't far from where we are. I took out the statuette of Whirlwind and stared down at it. I took a sigh of relief knowing that I finally have the meteorite in my hands.
"Are you just gonna stare at me like everyone else?" asked Whirlwind.
"Yeah well, for some reason when I do it, I set you guys free," I said. Although she couldn't show it, I caught Whirlwind off guard.
"You can understand me?" she asked.
"For some reason I'm the only one who can, Whirlwind."
"Who are you and how do you know me?" she asked.
"My name's Jack and you might not remember, but I was at the jewelry store a few days ago with one of my friends. The two of us and a few others have been looking for you."
"What do you want with me?" she asked with worriedness in her voice.
"Don't worry; I'm working with some of the other Skylanders. I've been working with them to try and rescue you and the rest of them. We're on our way to them now," I said.
"Are all of them frozen like me?"
"No, as I mentioned earlier, for some reason I've been able to break you guys free of that prison you're in. I can't tell you why, but all I know is I'm the only one we know who can free you Skylanders."
"Wow, so when can you release me?"
"As soon as we get back."
For about twenty minutes, we traveled to the entrance of the abandon military base we have been using. When we arrived, I hopped out of the back of the truck and unlocked the gate. I let Amber drive on through, and I closed the gate and locked it back up. After another few minutes, we arrived back at the hanger. Amber drove through the garage door and parked next to the portal.
A few of the Skylanders walked over to us. I hopped out of the truck with the duffel bag in my hand.
"Did you get Whirlwind?" asked Drobot as he walked toward me.
"Yeah, after a few close calls we encountered," answered Dakota as she got out of the truck. I became curious to why Drobot had asked the question. I brought out the meteorite and placed it on the side of the truck.
"Didn't Cynder tell you when she got here?" I asked as I looked around the room for her.
"Cynder never came here," answered Bash.
"Do you know where she is?"
"No, I haven't even seen her since she left with you guys."
Right before the heist began, we told Cynder to go to the hanger once the heist was finished or if things went completely awry. I began to wonder if Cynder had lost her way to the base or if something worse had happened. I looked in the duffel bag and took out my earpiece I had put in there earlier. I brought it closer to my ear. "Hey Cynder, where are you?" I asked into the earpiece hoping she would still have her headset turned on. I didn't receive any answer.
"She's still probably on her way," said Dakota.
"I hope. Let's get Domino out of the truck," I said. I noticed Spyro looking at me with confusion. I returned the same gaze back to him. I haven't talked with Spyro since we left him here. Even when we came here last night, he, for some reason, avoided talking to me.
"What happened?" asked Spyro.
"When we were escaping the city, Domino got into a pretty bad wreck," answered Dakota.
"How bad was it?"
"See for yourself," I said as I opened the back door.
Dakota grabbed Domino's good leg and pulled him until his lower body was out of the car. Domino groaned the whole time. "I'm not a rag doll, Dakota," he complained as he tried to sit up. I took hold of one of his hands, so he could adjust himself. Once he was ready, Dakota and I grabbed his arms, and he lowered himself out of the truck and onto the ground. Some of the Skylanders cringed when they gazed at him. "Amber, go get one of the cots from the storage room," I directed. She nodded her head and walked over to the storage room. After a few minutes, Amber came back with one and unfolded it. We helped Domino lie down onto the cot.
"Jack, do we have a first aid kit anywhere? I'll see if I can maybe clean up any of his wounds," asked Amber as she examined his wounds.
"Maybe in the trunk of my car," I said.
"Alright," she said as she walked over to my car. For the duration of the heist we kept my car here at the hanger.
Spyro walked up to us and looked at Domino. "Wow, so how'd you get into a wreck?" he asked.
"A car came out of nowhere and I didn't have any time to react," answered Domino.
"Do you need anything?"
"Painkillers would be nice," moaned Domino.
"I'm not sure where I could get those."
"Neither would I."
I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Dakota. She directed me to truck and I followed her over to the side of the flatbed. "So what are we going to do with Domino?" she asked. I haven't really wanted to answer this question. None of our options that we have are good ones. Then again, I guess we didn't have any good ones for the heist either, and look what happened to Domino because of that. "I don't know, I guess we can do what can with him and hope he heals okay," I said. The expression on Dakota's became one of anger. "Are you serious? Domino's gonna need more than a simple patch job," spat Dakota.
"Don't you think I know that?" I argued.
"Yeah, but after everything he risked for you, don't you think he deserves you risking something for him?" combatted Dakota.
"But what about all the crap that he risked it for," I said as I waved my arm all around the room, "Are we just going to forget about all of that?"
"No, but I do think you're forgetting where your loyalties are supposed to lie," she spat at me. I glared at her with anger in my eyes.
"Screw you, Dakota. You're sounding a lot like Dylan right now," I shouted as I took a step closer to her. I continued to glare at her with frustration.
"You know, maybe Dylan was right," she combatted as she took a step closer to me. Our eyes were locked in with each other's. I haven't thought about Dylan's coup attempt since before we started planning for the heist. I remember Dakota being involved with it at first, but she never had sided with anyone. I guess it was premature to assume that she would side with me now.
"Don't make me regret telling you about this, Dakota. I'm running out of people I can trust," I growled. The two of us wanted to lash out at each other at that moment. The only thing stopping us was the audience that we would create.
"You know, I could probably heal him right away," said a voice from behind.
The voice caught me off guard and I immediately turned away from my standoff with Dakota. I looked around and saw the statuette of Whirlwind sitting on the side of the truck. "You can?" I asked to the meteorite. Dakota's face went from anger to confusion.
"Who're you talking to?" asked Dakota.
"Oh yeah, for some reason I'm the only one who can communicate with the meteorites," I answered as I picked up the figurine.
"I thought you told me yesterday that everyone could talk to the meteorites," said Dakota. I forgot to have made that point clear.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't make that clear."
"If you can get me out of this form, then I should be able to heal him instantly. It depends on how long the person has had the injuries," said Whirlwind making me divert my attention back to her.
"Well he's been injured for almost a couple of hours, can you heal him?" I asked.
"Probably," she answered. A wave of hope went through my body, but I would have to wait and see. Dakota continued to observe me with an askew look on her face. For having to be thrown into all of this, I can understand confusion in all of this.
I walked away from Dakota and toward the wall, where I usually try to free the Skylanders. I looked around and saw the audience of Skylanders starting to form around me. Amber and Dakota also walked in and started to watch my work. Drobot walked up and sat down in front of me. "You know I can't exactly help you figure out how to free them if you don't tell me that you're going to try and free one," argued Drobot. I don't exactly like being a test subject, but I guess I could use all the help in freeing them.
Freeing Whirlwind has been like freeing every other Skylander we've rescued. I keep turning the Skylander around and around, and I put her in different positions, but none of them seem to work. A few times I found myself just staring at the Skylander. Drobot had to alert me to bring me back to reality. Frustration inevitably crept into me. I had to resist the urge to throw the meteorite across the hanger. After about six minutes, the Skylander broke free from its prison. Whirlwind began to glow in my hand and quickly started to grow. I placed her on the ground and got up from my sitting position.
"Woah," awed Dakota. I looked over to her and saw that she wasn't looking at Whirlwind, but at me. She finds the power I have more interesting than the creature that's glowing in front of me. I guess she's already grown used to the abnormality that the Skylanders are, but is wondering about the power of the person she's known for years. I wish I could even understand this power.
After a couple of minutes of the light show, Whirlwind was finally able to walk freely. "Man, being frozen for that long really takes a number on you," she said as she stretched out her body. She was greeted by a few of other Skylanders before she waved them off and walked over to me.
"Alright, take me to your friend and I'll see what I can do for him," said Whirlwind.
"What's she talking about?" asked Amber.
"Hopefully, I can heal your friend. It's the least I could do after what he went through to save me," said Whirlwind.
"Follow me," I said. Whirlwind trailed behind as I took her to Domino who's still lying on the cot. She looked at him and noticed the amount of wounds that he has suffered.
"How bad do your wounds feel?" she asked.
"A lot. I was thrown off my bike at forty miles an hour," said Domino.
"Wow sorry you had to go through that, but hopefully what I'm about to do will quickly heal you," said Whirlwind.
"What're you going to do?" asked Domino.
"Just lie still and I'll show you," said Whirlwind.
"I can't exactly do anything else."
Whirlwind lowered the horn on the top of her head toward Domino's body. Waves of light of different colors came from her horn and the light went toward Domino's wounds. The areas where the lacerations are on Domino began to light up. Almost immediately, it became clear that he was healing. After a few seconds, injuries that should've taken weeks to treat were healed instantly. The pain on Domino's face went away and it was apparent that he no longer needed any treatment. Domino began to get up from the cot. All of us became tense as he put pressure on his broken leg. When he did, there was no evidence that his leg was ever in pain.
I looked over to Whirlwind; she has an astonishing power. Maybe after everything we did, it was worth it. We've gained more than I had thought. In addition to freeing a Skylander, we've also gained an incredible asset.