Chapter 10: Rain of Fire

It threw me several meters back into the air until I bumped into something big and soft. Instinctively I clung to it, hoping it would save me from my fall. I heard another explosion and shut my eyes real tight while burying my face deep into whatever I was hanging on. Wishing this to be nothing but a horrible dream and I was not here at all. Suddenly something was tugging painfully at my hair. And as I reached out to strike it away, I heard the surprised cry of my friend Orestes.

"Oh, my, Vanessa. I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you.''

Words could not tell how happy I was to see him. But there was no time for hugs. Even though I was pretty much doing exactly that while hanging on to him in the sky. We needed to get away from here. More bombs were falling down to the city below, causing a wildfire.

''Orestes, we can't stay here. You have to get us somewhere save,'' I said.

''I know,'' he replied and flinched as something fall past him. ''But where is Shade? I thought I saw him and Chinook back in the plane.''

''I don't know.''

I looked around as best I could. I didn't even want to think that either one or both of them might have been caught in a detonation. At the same time, I wondered where all the other bats and owls were. As if on cue, a barn owl flew past us in a nosedive. A short red flash told me that the bomb was still attached to its belly. It headed straight for one of the buildings, landed, and then part of the building erupted in a blaze of smoke and flames.

Orestes gasped. "B-but why?''

I was asking myself the same question. Then another owl flew towards the same building, followed by a bat. Orestes cried out for them to stop, but they didn't listen. Like hypnotized, they all headed towards the buildings and their death. I screamed as the next bang almost burst my eardrums.

''What is going on here?'' Orestes' voice was shrill with panic.

''I have no idea,'' I repeated, hearing fear in my voice as well. ''Just get us away from here, please.'' If I could fly myself, I would probably have dashed away already. There was nothing I wanted more right now than to get far away from this place.

''There is Shade!''

Surprised, at my friend's outcry, I turned my head and saw our little Silverwing friend about to take the same deadly route as the other victims before him.

''We have to stop him!'' I cried.

At first, Orestes and I tried to call out to him. But since that didn't work we had no choice but to race after him and grab him in mid-air. Shade didn't even flinch as Orestes grabbed him with one of his talons. Nor did he even seem to realize what was going on around him.

''Shade can you hear me?'' I called. ''Shade!'' No reaction.

''What is wrong with him?''

I was about to tell Orestes for the third time in a row that I had no idea myself when I noticed the silver button in Shade's ear. If the metal discs were firebombs, then what was this button for?

Wait!

''Orestes did the humans put a button on your ear too,'' I asked.

''Why are you asking that?''

''Because it's important,'' I said urgently.

''Well, yes they did''

''Do you still have it?''

Orestes was perplexed. ''It is still stuck to my earhole. But why is it so important?''

''Just tell if it's doing anything.''

''Uh, no,'' he said. ''Well except for singing some pictures into my head. But I can hardly hear them. I guess it's not working right if that's what it should be doing.''

I just nodded and carefully climbed down to his leg where Shade was.

''Vanessa, what are you doing?''

''This metal button on his ear, I have to take it off him. It's telling him to land where the bombs are supposed to set off.'' As I reached him, I also discovered another problem. ''Orestes, whatever happens, don't press too hard on Shades' stomach,'' I said warningly. ''The metal disk is still attached to him.''

''How are we gonna get it off him?''

''We'll think of something.'' At least I hoped we would. It certainly wouldn't be easy in mid-flight. I didn't even know how I was going to remove the button from his ear without hurting him. On the other hand, this was an emergency and Shade didn't notice anything anyway. So I took a deep breath, clung to him and Orestes' foot while simultaneously reaching for the Silverwing's ear to try pulling the metal button out with my fingers. This was harder than I thought. That thing was steady as a rock.

"Ngh, come on... get off!''

''Let me try.'' Still flying. Orestes lifted his foot and bent down to grab the piece of metal with his beak. With one strong pull, it went off and left a small bleeding hole in Shade's ear. Instantly the young bat woke up from his trance.

''W-what happened? Where am I?''

''Shade you are back!'' I couldn't help but smiled that he was back to normal.

''Was I gone somewhere?'' He asked puzzled.

I shook my head. ''Only with your mind.''

''What do you mean?'' he asked and wrinkled his forehead. ''Wait! Why is Orestes holding me in his foot and why does my ear hurt?''

''We can talk about this later Shade'', I said ''Right now we have to get out of here.''

''Why? What is...'' He was cut short by the sudden eruption of another explosion. Much too close to us for my taste. I could practically taste the smoke.

''Holly Nocturna!'' Shade exclaimed, looking down with horror. ''Are the metal disks responsible for that?''

''Yes, the humans put them on you, so you would carry them to the place they are supposed to explode.''

''But that's...'' A bat flew past us, heading towards the blazing flames. We quickly recognized the shark fin hairstyle on top of his head. ''Chinook!'' Shade cried. ''Don't!''

Chinook looked back. His face showed signs of confusion, but he hesitated only a second before continuing on his course.

"Quick, after him.''

Orestes rushed after the other Silverwing and caught up with him as we entered a cloud of smoke. The thick fog and the heat around us made my eyes water and made me cough. My friends were not doing any better.

''Let's ... get out of here!'' Shade brought up coughing.

Orestes wasted no time. Grabbing Chinook with his free talon, he flew away from the explosions, smoke, and flames as fast as he could.

After we had gotten so far away that we could still hear the detonations but didn't have to watch them anymore, Orestes stopped. His breathing was strained and his feathers were completely disheveled.

Are you alright?'' I asked.

"Yes, don't worry. Just a little out of breath.''

Meanwhile, Shade tried to wake Chinook up from his trance. With moderate success.

"Why isn't he responding?''

"The button in his ear," I said, "it's controlling him like the one you had. We have to remove it.''

"But how?''

"I can do that.'' As with Shade earlier, Orestes bent down to Chinook and plucked the metal piece from his ear with a quick energetic tug. Blinking he came back to his senses.

"How? What? Where am I?'' Chinook turned his head and noticed that he was trapped in the claws of an owl. "Aaaah! Help! Somebody help!'' he yelled and tried to free himself panicking.

''Chinook, relax. It's us'', I said, trying to calm him down. ''Orestes, Shade and I.''

The young Silverwing stopped struggling and turned his face to me and Shade on Orestes' other foot.

''W-what's going on?'' he asked, still confused.

''Something terrible,'' Shade explained, causing Chinook to furrow his brows.

''What do you mean? Where are the others.''

''We don't know,'' I said. ''Maybe they managed to fly somewhere safe or ...''

''Or what?''

''We saw many of them fly down to buildings in the city we got dropped out from the plane above. The metal buttons in their ears told them to land there to activate the bombs on their bellies.''

''We tried to stop them,'' Orestes added. ''But unfortunately we could only save you and Shade.''

''Not quite'', I said. ''We still need to get the bombs off of you guys. Otherwise, you can't land anywhere or you will explode.''

Hearing this Shade gulped while Chinook looked as if he was about to faint.

''But how will we get it off?'' Orestes asked. ''Should I pluck them off with my beak as well?''

''No. You could hurt them. There has to be another way.''

''Maybe if we try biting through the stitches. That should work,'' Shade suggested.

I shrugged. ''Worth a try.''

But Chinook was still skeptical. ''Are you guys sure that will work?''

''We don't have any other options left.''

''Look Chinook,'' said Shade. ''I'll bite your disk off first, then you do the same to mine ok?!''

Chinook nodded hesitantly while Orestes let go of Shade so he could fly over to him in order to free him from his deadly device. The taller Silverwing tensed and flinched every time Shade bit through a stitch. Eventually, he was free from the thing. A few seconds later, a fountain of fire shot up from a road with a deafening crash. Orestes' tail feathers were almost singed, as well as my grass skirt. Then the two bats switched places and Chinook started to bite off Shade's metal disc.

After that was done, we headed towards a dense row of trees with fog wafting around them. We heard the detonation of the bomb behind us but didn't stop until we reached a small clearing. Completely exhausted, we landed on the ground and rolled onto the wet grass. There we remained laying for the time being.

Meanwhile, Marina and the others had found refuge in an old hollow tree trunk where they were going to spend the rest of the day. However, it remained to be clarified what they would do the following evening.

''Why don't we just fly back to Hibernaculum?'' Windslang asked and shifted back and forth in a somewhat embarrassed manner.

The suggestion was quite inviting. And Marina was ready to agree with it for a moment. How nice it would be to be there already, in the cave, wrapped in her silky wings and sleeping. Just sleeping and forgetting everything until spring ... But then she thought about her friends and shook the thought away.

''I saw in which direction the flying machine flew'', she reported quickly. South-Southeast. We can't let Shade and the others down.''

She looked at Ariel and Icarus. They replied nothing. But in their eyes reflected her own grief.

''This airplane could be millions of wing beats far by now'', said Frieda affectionately. Furthermore, it could have changed course.''

''I should have gone on board,'' Marina said bitterly. ''Just like Vanessa.''

''But then you would not have been able to warn us,'' Ariel gently reminded her.

The loving words brought tears to Marina's eyes. Ariel embraced her with her wings and gently pressed her to herself. ''I know,'' she said consolingly. ''I know. I have a lot of experience with men flying off somewhere without telling me. I'm even getting used to it.''

Marina smiled gratefully and wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand. Icarus, however, sighed deeply and looked apologetically at Ariel.

''I'm really sorry Ariel,'' he said. ''I should've stopped Cassiel or at least tell you what he was up to.''

"It's all right. You were just doing what any friend would have done.''

"'I know,'' he replied but still looked guilty.

''Well I still think our goal should be Hibernaculum'', Windslang said. ''I am sorry about your son Ariel and your adopted daughter Icarus and all the others. But Frieda is right. This flying machine could have flown who knows where and a that a thousand times faster than us. How could we possibly hope to find it? And even if we did find it, how do we know we could help?''

Ariel nodded. "You're right, we don't know. But I have lost my mate and my son for the second time now. You all go back to Hibernaculum, but I am following this flying machine.''

''Me too'', said Marina. She had lost her family once before and she would do everything she could to prevent it from happening a second time.

''For me, your journey could be too long,'' said Frieda, ''but I will go with you until my wings stop beating.''

Breeze and Todd also volunteered for this rescue mission. So did Icarus.

''But what about Mercury?'' Windslang asked him, a little surprised about his decision.

''My mate will understand,'' he replied. ''Besides, you said it yourself, my adopted daughter is on that plane. And just as Ariel is not willing to abandon her son, neither will I with her. Plus, I know Mercury would do the same.''

"So it's settled, then?" Frieda looked around. ''The six of us will follow the path of the flying machine while you return to Hibernaculum and tell the others what has happened. They should be warned about this building. And also tell other bats you encounter along the way.''

Windslang nodded and promised to do so.

Uhm... and what about us?'' asked a female long-eared bat, who had joined them during their flight together with three other bats.

''Now if you do not intend to accompany us on our journey as well, then I give you my word that you may spend the winter at Hibernaculum. In spring you can decide if you wish to stay with us or return to your old colonies.''

''Unfortunately, this option is out of question for me,'' murmured a young Tricolored bat and looked sadly at her silver band on her forearm. Marina looked sympathetically over to her. She knew exactly how she felt and hoped that she would find a new home with the Silverwings just like she did.

Now that everything was settled, Frieda decided that everyone should get some sleep. Tomorrow evening they wanted to leave as early as possible.

Several minutes have passed, but still, none of us said a word. We were all just lying there on the grass. Staring at the sky, thinking about the horrific things we have witnessed. It was truly a shock. All those poor owls and bats. Used as tools of destruction for my kind's selfish purposes.

I didn't dare to look at my friends. They for sure wanted answers. Answers I couldn't offer. Or at least not completely.

''W-where are we?'' Chinook asked. Being the first of us to say something.

I looked up at the towering trees and the bright sunny sky. All around us were calls of strange animals: eerie screeching, howling, and crows, some of them disturbingly close.

We were in a forest. That much was certain. But this forest was much different from what we were used to. The trees were large and bare, the first fifteen meters or more without branches or foliage, and then spread out in lush crowns. Underneath, flowers twined around the trunks and other plants seemed to have found their footing on vines and bark. Some leaves looked familiar, but were much more fleshy and had a waxy coating.

A feeling of fear and joy came over me. I knew where we were. We got a taste of it in Goth and Throbb's artificial forest and I had always dreamed of visiting a place like this for real. And now I did.

''We are in the jungle,'' I said still looking around as if I couldn't believe that I was really here.

''The jungle?'' Shade asked getting up. ''You mean the humans have dropped us in Goth homeland?''

''Seems so.'' Though I wasn't sure if it was truly the same jungle he and his cousin came from. Theoretically, the plane could have taken us to Borneo or who knows where.

''Guys, something is coming. We should get away from the ground.'' Following Orestes' advice, we flew up to the rooftop. I climbed on his feathery back and let him carry me to a thick branch on the middle floor. The two Silverwings roosted on another branch next to it. Shade twitched as he turned upside down and pain flitted across his face.

With concern, I looked at his belly. The tearing off of the metal disc had torn a raw, gaping wound in his flesh from which blood was still oozing. Chinook's wound was similarly ugly. Orestes' belly didn't look much better either. Although his wound has stopped bleeding, the naked area around it was red, swollen, and covered with dried blood.

I couldn't help but felt guilty about what happened to them. Humans had done this to them, and I was a human myself.

Below us, a massive rumble approached through the fern frond and leaves. Fearing I might fall down, I clung to the bark as tight as I could and watched as a huge animal stepped out of the undergrowth. It had a long gray-brown shaggy back, a thick tail almost as large as his body, and a long snout that looked as if someone had pinned a snake to his face.

''What is that thing?'' Chinook asked, his voice barely a whisper. He, Shade, and Orestes looked cautiously at the animal below us.

The creature sniffed around on the ground and then pushed its snout into a pile of earth. There was a loud sucking sound and as it pulled its snout back out, we saw a long, whip-shaped tongue covered with ants shooting out, bouncing back and forth around the corners of the snout, and then disappearing back in it.

''It's an anteater,'' I said. ''Relax guys it's harmless. They only eat ants.''

''How can you be so sure about that?'' Chinook asked squinting his eyes.

''I read about them.'' I knew this explanation was not sufficient but none of the three asked for more details so I left it at that. Meanwhile, the anteater trotted away, walking on his ankles. ''Any ideas what we should do know?'' I asked.

''We should go back and see if there are survivors,'' Shade suggested.

Chinook nodded eagerly. ''Yeah, like my parents and my uncle.'' Worry overshadowed his face. ''Has ... any of you seen them?'' Sadly we shook our heads. Chinook's face dropped. ''I think I did,'' he said quietly. ''But then this sound picture rang in my ear and I couldn't think straight again.''

Shade sighed. ''I know what you mean. But let's not give up hope. We might find them if we go back.''

''What if there are still bombs dropping from the sky?'' I added for consideration. ''We should at least wait a bit before returning.''

''But what if they are hurt?''

''Don't lose heart Chinook. I'm sure are fine.''

''How about I take a quick flight back and see if I can spot them or anyone else?!'' Orestes suggested.

''But we just...''

Orestes shook his head, cutting me off. ''I know,'' he said. ''But Chinook is right. If his parents or anyone else in need of help then we should act now instead of wait to see what happens.''

''She is not wrong either,'' Shade said looking thoughtful. ''Going back means to put ourselves in danger. So maybe we should indeed wait.''

''Or I could go alone. Shade, Chinook your wounds are still bleeding and you need rest. You should stay here with Vanessa.''

''But you are hurt as well,'' I protested not wanting him to go back on his own.

''Don't worry. I'll be careful. If there is any sign of fire or those bombs falling then I won't go nearer and turn right back. I promise.''

I still didn't like it. But Orestes insisted on going, so we let him and waited for his return.

He was hardly gone when a rustle in the foliage resounded beside us.

"What is that?" Chinook hissed anxiously. "Another anteater?''

"Up here?''

''Boys, shhh!'' I stared tensely at the leaves, hoping that whatever was behind them, to be either harmless or would simply leave. Soon the noise ebbed, but neither of us dared to even breathe until we thought to be sure it was gone. Thinking it was safe again, I turned to my friends about to say something, when the leaves were suddenly pushed aside like a curtain.

"Well, well, well, look who's here.''

We had jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Of everything and everyone we could have met, it had to be our ''favorite'' enemies: Goth and Throbb.