Thanks for the Reviews! I'm glad to see there's no hard feelings.
It honestly feels a little weird getting back into the swing of writing this genre because I've been so focussed on the Fantasy novel series I'm hoping to publish someday. I hope this at least satisfies you and that I'm able to do the story the justice that it deserves as we get closer to an ending.
Enjoy!
Chapter 20
Brazilian Rainforest
Time Unknown
Derek hated the thought of leaving Casey behind unconscious, it took every resolve he had not to pick her up and throw her tranquilized body over his shoulder as they escaped. There was of course no time for that anyway as Taiki grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the nearby bushes. It was just in time too because the huge African man that he recognized from Casey's eye tech feeds as Mutawa suddenly emerged from the darkness ahead.
The man glanced around and then caught sight of Casey's body on the ground cascaded against the moonlight. He hurried over and knelt down to inspect her and then spoke into the communication device embedded inside his ear.
"I have Phoenix. She is unconscious." Pause. "Straight ahead, through the trees. There is a waterfall and a stream."
Derek watched the man stare down at Casey's form, he seemed relieved. Did these people actually care for one another? He wondered.
"We should get out of here before we're spotted." Taiki whispered from his right.
"I can't just leave her like that, Taiki. I promised I would never do it again." He cringed, thinking back to two years ago as he watched helplessly while Casey's unconscious form took off in a helicopter with an evil man, intent on destroying the world.
"They will kill you on the spot, Derek. We have to go. Besides, this was Casey's choice."
Before Derek could respond, the young Australian woman, Ronin, he also recognized from Casey's eye tech videos emerged from the other side of the forest, a little too close to where they were currently hiding.
"What happened?" The blonde asked with an irritated scowl upon her face as she glanced down at Casey's unconscious body.
"She seems to have been knocked out. I am not sure how." Mutawa answered. He was searching her body for evidence. Derek couldn't help but let out a slight growl as the man's hands got a little too close to places they shouldn't.
Taiki jabbed him in the side with his fist and whispered even more hastily, "Derek, we need to get out of here now. I managed to jam their signals so that they can't contact The Collective, but it won't last long."
"What if they do something to her?"
"Like what?"
"I... I don't know. I just don't trust these people."
"They think she is one of them. She will be fine. Casey was right, we shouldn't have come here. If they find us, they will kill you and take me. Listen to her for once in your life." The nervous Japanese kid snapped under his breath as he clutched Derek's shirt sleeve and pulled harder.
Derek knew he was right but was too stubborn to admit it. Taiki didn't understand. He didn't have the love of his life constantly putting themselves in harm's way and having to sit by and let it happen again and again.
Before he could utter another reply the Australian woman frowned as she took out her earpiece and examined it.
"Oi! Something's wrong with these blasted devices!"
The African man still tried to make contact with whoever was on the other end of their earpieces but had no such luck.
"Do you think they know we're here and have jammed our signal?" He looked at the young woman questioningly.
"Obviously!" She growled. "And it's no thanks to her!" The rage filled Aussie cussed as she kicked Casey's boot in frustration. "We needed her out there and almost didn't retrieve the device because someone was too busy getting shot!"
Derek had to force himself to stay calm as they continued to watch the scene before them.
"Calm down, Ronin." Mutawa ordered the young woman. "It is not Phoenix's fault if she was compromised. At least she is alive and we have the tech for The Collective."
"If she touches Casey again..." Derek whispered aggressively while glaring at Ronin.
"Derek, please. I don't like the thought of leaving Casey either but we have no choice. Lizzie is waiting for us; we have to go now." Taiki gripped Derek's arm firmly. "I will not get caught because of you. Casey said so herself, she doesn't want to be rescued."
"Casey doesn't know what she wants." Derek mumbled bitterly. A plan suddenly began to form in his mind and he knew what they had to do to keep Casey safe.
"I need you to trust me, Taiki." Derek said as he caught the young man's concerned gaze.
"I-I do trust you..."
"Good. Then just follow my lead. I won't let anything happen to you."
"What are you-?" Before Taiki could finish speaking Derek suddenly grabbed him roughly by the scruff of the back of his black shirt and pulled him up, forcing him into the clearing in front of them.
"Don't shoot!" Derek ordered - or more like begged - as he and Taiki stepped out of the bush. He placed one hand in the air while the other kept a firm grip on the young man's shirt.
"Who are you?" The Australian girl growled as she instantly pulled out her swords from behind her back and the African man readied his weapon as well.
"You promise not to shoot, then I'll give you what The collective wants." Derek said, trying to keep his cool, even though he was terrified on the inside. These were two highly trained assassins he was confronting at the moment. They could kill him in one swift motion if given the chance.
"You shot her, didn't you?" The large man demanded to know while gesturing towards Casey.
"Yes." Derek said. "But I'm on your side."
"How do you know about The Collective?" Ronin asked with a raised brow.
"I know more than you think. I'm an ex spy and I've brought you a gift." He shoved Taiki forward and the young man dropped to his knees in front of the assassins. "This here is Taki Kaito, the man your bosses have been seeking for months now."
"You expect us to believe you?" Ronin snapped at him.
"Look, I don't expect you to just drop your weapons and trust me. Phoenix didn't. She tried to kill me, so I had no choice but to knock her out. I could've killed her, but I didn't." He shrugged nonchalantly, indicating to his ex-girlfriend's unconscious form.
"So what is your endgame here then? Why are you here now, in Brazil of all places? Why not go straight to The Collective themselves?" The African man asked.
"They are impossible to find. You know that." Derek shrugged. "But Taiki here was able to access information about an upcoming mission located in this very forest."
"How?"
"He has a very powerful chip in his mind."
Ronin scoffed and began to laugh. "You are joking, right? Let's just kill them, Mutawa."
"Wait!" Derek said. He then shoved Taiki forward and commanded him to show them what he could do.
Taiki glanced at him warily, unsure where this was going in Derek's mind and hoped it wouldn't end with the two of them dead on the ground.
At first Taiki began to mess with the frequency in their earpieces as the man and woman cried out at the sudden high piercing frequency that exploded in their eardrums. They both ripped out the devices and looked at the young man.
"You expect us to believe you just did that with your mind?" Ronin snapped at him. He was afraid she would kill him him right then and there. "You could have something in your pocket that you are using to do that with."
Taiki sighed and then searched in his mind for the files he had saved on them and began spouting off all of their personal information that he had gathered about them since the time Casey had started working undercover as their teammate.
The assassins stared at him with a mix of fascination and frustration.
"How do you know all of that?" The Aussie girl growled as she suddenly approached him and held her sword at his throat. "Nobody has that information. How did you get it?"
"I-I downloaded it into my brain. I can access any information in the world and control any technological device. I don't even need wifi."
"I still don't believe you." Ronin shook her head as she crossed her arms against her chest. "Besides, you still haven't explained the reason why you are here now, handing over something considered so valuable to the spy world. What is in it for you?"
"I want her." Derek said, gesturing towards Casey's body on the ground.
Ronin cocked a curious brow. "What for?"
Derek knew he needed to come up with a lie quick if he wanted to save not only his and Taiki's lives but Casey's too. Luckily, he was Lord of The Lies, not to mention all of his spy training over the past two years had made it him even better at avoiding the truth.
"This woman, Phoenix," he growled as he gestured at Casey, "is responsible for the death of my girlfriend. I have been tracking her down for two years now. Thanks to Mr. Kaito here, I was finally able to locate her. I want her in exchange for him." He said while pointing at a now panicked Taiki.
"Hell no!" Mutawa exclaimed while grabbing at his sword in a threatening manner. "You are not going anywhere with Phoenix!"
"Besides," Ronin said, "why didn't you just kill her before we happened upon you instead of knocking her out?"
"Because she deserves to suffer for what she did to the love of my life." Derek growled out venomously. "So let me have her and The Collective will commend you for giving them the tech they have been searching for. You can trust me."
"Derek, what are you...?" Taiki began to say but Derek cut him off.
"If you don't believe me, I will explain everything on the flight out of here. I have a jet parked just beyond these trees. If you promise to hand over Phoenix, then I'll give you a ride out of this jungle."
"No," Mutawa shook his head. "We will not betray our teammate."
Ronin looked at Mutawa, trying to get him to see reason. "If what they say is true then The Collective will be very impressed with us. We will be giving them exactly what they want. And besides, we are stranded here. Those bastards left us with no way back. This can be our way."
"Phoenix saved your life, Ronin. You would just betray her like this?" The man glared at the young woman with rage.
Ronin hesitated a moment before she turned back to Derek. She was just about to speak when Taiki's panicked voice spoke up from behind them.
The young man paled as he listened to the men communicate to each other over radio.
"Uh... there's a group of armed men heading straight towards us as we speak."
"You are lying!" Ronin spat.
"Your funeral then!" Taiki said as he looked at Derek, urging him that they needed to leave now.
Derek glanced at Casey, wanting to pick her up himself and carry her away but that would look too suspicious.
They suddenly heard a noise in the forest and then a shout as a gun fired and a bullet flew straight past Mutawa's head.
"You do not have to convince me any further." The large man said as he knelt down, picked up Casey's unconscious form and began running in the direction Taiki had taken off towards.
Derek started after them, at least relieved to see the man cared enough to pick her up and bring her along. He glanced back and yelled at the young woman still standing there. "Come on!"
Ronin looked at him and back at the forest as another shot fired and the bullet grazed her shoulder. She hissed as she threw a dagger towards the armed men and it imbedded into the skull of a man, dropping him instantly. Then she immediately took off after the others.
Taiki started up the plane with his mind and opened the hatch door as he and Mutawa - plus Casey - bounded up the ramp with Derek and Ronin right behind, bullets flying left and right as they dodged them at full speed.
"Hurry!" Taiki hollered as they made it up the ramp just in time to see the men emerging from the forest and firing upon the plane.
Taiki began to close the hatch and readied the plane to take off.
"Who is flying this thing?" Ronin hollered over the noise. "Is there a pilot?"
"Taiki's mind is the pilot." Derek grinned at her as the plane began to take off through the forest and into a clearing.
"Buckle up!" Derek ordered as he took a seat and the others did the same while fastening their seat belts.
Mutawa still clutched Casey tightly in his arms and Derek wished it was him that was holding her so close. Now was not the time for jealousy though as the plane suddenly picked up speed and without warning, it rumbled and then took off into the sky, bullets bouncing off the metal.
Taiki glanced back at Derek as if to ask: "Where to?"
Derek shrugged. All he cared about at the moment was that Casey was safe. The rescue plan didn't go exactly as he'd hoped but he had her and he vowed in that moment not to lose her again as they flew over the rainforest, away from the men with guns - with two trained assassins now on board their plane with intentions of either killing them or handing Taiki over to their boss.
What did I get us into? Derek questioned as he dropped his head in his hands, trying to think up a new plan so as not to get them all killed at the hands of The Collective themselves.
"Uh... Derek..." Taiki interrupted his thoughts with a horrified expression. "There seems to be a problem with the fuel gauge."
"What do you mean?" Derek looked at him with worry.
"The bullets must've blew a hole in the tank. We're losing fuel fast." He said as an alarm suddenly sounded loudly and the plane began to lose altitude fast.
"What do we do?" Derek began to panic.
Taiki gulped. "Brace yourselves for impact! We're going to crash!"
Manaus, Brazil
7:13 AM
Elizabeth MacDonald paced the floor of the motel room she was in. She hadn't heard word from Derek and Taiki and couldn't find a trace on the jet they had taken.
"Where are those idiots?" She questioned aloud, her patience growing thinner by the minute. She hardly got a wink of sleep all night because her anxiety was at an all time high thanks to her stepbrother.
The last she'd seen of them was through the video tech in Casey's eyes. They were arguing - which didn't surprise her - and then suddenly Taiki shot Casey with Derek's tranq gun. Then the screen was dark.
That was hours ago.
She pulled out the folded piece of paper with a name and number scrawled on it and debated on calling. Derek said this person could be trusted. Lizzie had no choice but to trust her too.
She took out her phone and hesitantly dialled the number, placing the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.
"Hello?" A female voice answered. "Who is this and how did you get this number?"
"Um… Hi. Is this Karma Hesston I am speaking to?"
"That depends on who you are."
"My name is Elizabeth MacDonald. My stepbrother, Derek Venturi, gave me your number in case of an emergency."
The other line was silent for a moment and she could hear whispering. Someone else was with her.
"He said I can trust you." Lizzie added. "Please tell me this is true."
"You can trust me." Karma answered. "Where is Derek?"
"That's the problem… I don't know." Lizzie sighed. "Is this line secure?" She questioned. Her years as a spy taught her to never trust a conversation over the phone.
"Possibly not. Where are you?"
"I am in Brazil."
Karma sighed in relief over the other end. "Well then luck is in our favour because that is where I am too."
Manaus, Brazil
La Albero Coffee Shop
9:30 AM
Karma was nervous as she sat in the Brazilian cafe sipping from a cappuccino, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. Her boyfriend and partner sat at the table across from her, passing the time by reading a book and pretending not to know her. If Derek had only given Lizzie her number, then seeing Ben there might throw the young woman off, so Karma decided it might be best to meet with her alone first.
As soon as the systems at The Swan had come back online, she and Ben removed the tracking devices The Swan had put inside them and left before anyone noticed. Derek was right; The Swan could not be trusted.
Inez had wanted Karma and Ben to go after Derek and bring him back. He was now considered an enemy of the agency and they planned to lock him up, the moment they got their hands on him.
Karma couldn't bare the thought. Derek was only protecting his stepsister and doing what The Swan Agency couldn't. Instead of helping Taiki understand the strange tech in his head, they made him feel like a prisoner, which resulted in the young man's need for escape.
Inez later admitted that they wanted to study the chip, find out how it worked and use it against The Collective. In Karma's eyes, The Swan had become no more different than The Collective themselves. They only wanted the chip for their own end game. It didn't mattered that the chip was inside a living, breathing human being.
She and Ben managed to break the code Casey had sent just before Taiki launched his escape and realized she was going to the Brazilian Rainforest. They knew Derek would be going after her and the two immediately booked the next flight to Manaus, Brazil, hoping to somehow catch up with him before he caused even more trouble.
Just as Karma took another sip of the hot caffeinated drink, she heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see Casey's younger sister standing in front of the wooden table she currently sat at.
"Karma?" Lizzie questioned hesitantly while glancing around the cafe cautiously.
"Lizzie." Karma smiled as she stood up, rounded the table and pulled the younger woman into her arms. "It is so great to finally meet you. You look just like your sister."
Lizzie pulled away from her embrace a little awkwardly and raised a brow at her.
"You know Casey?"
Karma chuckled as she sat back down and gestured for Lizzie to do the same.
"Casey is one of my closest friends."
Lizzie took her seat and frowned. "How come I have never heard your name?"
"Do you speak of the people from your secret life to your family?" Karma cocked a brow with a smirk.
"I guess not." Lizzie shook her head. "So you know who I work for?"
"Yes. I used to work for them too, along with your sister and stepbrother."
Lizzie nodded. Derek had told her all about working for R.E.D. and then being recruited into The Swan Agency two years ago.
"So tell me, Lizzie. What is going on? Where are Derek and Taiki?"
The young woman didn't even bother correcting the nickname Karma used for her. Only her family still referred to her by her childhood name but she didn't mind so much. Karma was afterall a close friend of her sister's, so of course it's the only name she's known her by.
Lizzie glanced around nervously, making sure no one else was listening; not knowing that Karma was currently wearing a comms device and Ben could hear the whole conversation while pretending to be captivated by the novel in his hands. Once satisfied that no one seemed to be paying the two women any attention, Lizzie began explaining everything that had happened up to the point where she started to worry about not hearing from her stepbrother and the young Japanese man he was supposed to protect.
"What was Derek thinking?" Karma sighed heavily once Lizzie finished her story. She could see Benjamin fuming from behind his book across from their table, knowing he was equally, or maybe even more, disappointed with their once fellow agent and friend.
"He wasn't. That's the problem." Lizzie sighed.
"His only concern was Casey." Karma nodded in understanding.
"Do you think he got caught?"
"I hope not. If The Collective gets their hands on that chip inside Taiki's head, then we're all in deep trouble."
"Then what do we do?"
Karma finally motioned towards Ben, waving him over and looked back at Lizzie.
"First, I'd like you to meet someone else that cares a great deal about helping your step brother and sister."
Ben approached the table and Lizzie stood up, unsure of where this was going.
"Lizzie, I'd like you to meet my partner, Benjamin Blake. He and Casey go back even further than I do."
"We were partners and good friends at R.E.D." Ben smiled as he shook Lizzie's hand.
"Benjamin Blake?" Lizzied grinned as she squeezed his hand. "I've read about you in the R.E.D. archives!"
"I thought they erased anything to do with us being there?" Karma questioned in confusion.
"I was there a lot longer than the rest of you," Ben shrugged. "Maybe they just didn't bother erasing my whole file - at least up until I became Casey's partner."
"I'd always wondered why such a talented agent was suddenly wiped clear from the system. I had assumed you would do great things for the Agency but when I tried looking up your name in the recent years it was like you never existed."
"I did do great things in R.E.D." Ben smirked, enjoying the fangirl moment that Casey's younger sister was having towards him.
Karma punched him in the arm with a pointed glare. "Not JUST you, Honey Pot!"
Ben groaned. "You promised never to use that name again."
Lizzie retracted her hand and remembered the reason she was meeting with her sister's former spy partners and pulled her head back into reality.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both - I wish it were on better terms but we can't change that now. I would like
to suggest we speak more about this in private though, if you don't mind, and we can try to come up with a plan to figure out what the hell my idiotic stepbrother has gotten himself and the rest of the world into."
Karma and Ben both nodded as the three left the cafe together to reconvene at Lizzie's rundown motel room.
Brazilian Rainforest
Time Unknown
Derek opened his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision as something sparked behind him and the lights in the jet flickered on and off. His head was a bit dizzy and he lifted his hand to the back of his scalp where he felt a sharp sting and pulled his hand away to see blood.
"Just great." He groaned bitterly.
"Derek?" Taiki's voice moaned from somewhere nearby. "Derek, I'm stuck."
Derek stumbled to his feet and looked around. The crash had definitely taken its toll out on the plane. Cabinets and equipment were strewn about the fuselage, sparks were flying from electronics and the lights kept flashing on and off. The place was a disaster.
"Where are you?" Derek called out to Taiki.
"Over here." The young man said and Derek saw a hand shoot up from behind a table that had come loose from the floor and fell on top of the kid.
"You are trying to kill us!" Ronin's voice suddenly shrieked and Derek saw her shoving things off of her as she stood to her feet. Her knee was bleeding and she had a few scratches on her face. She also seemed to be favouring her injured shoulder even more so than before.
Derek's eyes widened with concern when he remembered that Casey was still unconscious and lying somewhere beneath the mess. He forgot about Taiki and immediately ran to where Mutawa had been strapped into a seat against the wall. The man was still there but slumped over with deep gash bleeding from his temple. He must've passed out from whatever had hit him, causing the wound.
"Casey!" Derek called as he began searching underneath a cabinet and a seat.
A moan signalled where she was and Derek found her still unconscious. He moved everything off of her and checked her vitals and the rest of her body for any lasting damage. Other than a few cuts and bruises, she seemed to be fine.
"Okay…Who the hell is Casey?" Ronin spoke up as she stood over Derek with her hands on her hips.
"And why are you suddenly so invested in the safety of the woman you want to take out revenge on?"
"I… uh…" Derek stared back at her realizing the terrible mistake he'd made.
"Hello! Did you forget about me?!" Taiki hollered from the other side of the mess. "I'd like to think that I'm important too!"
"Um… I'm just gonna go help him…" Derek said as he gently set his stepsister back down and avoided Ronin's piercing gaze as he hurried over to assist the young Japanese man.
Once Taiki was free, he assessed the damage to the plane with his mind and determined there was no way they were flying anywhere else.
"We at least got far enough away that those men from the ruins can't get to us." He said, trying to convey some hope.
"We're still stranded in the middle of nowhere though, you imbecile! Why did I trust you?!" Ronin raised her voice as she glared at Derek.
"Now tell me what all that was about."
"What?"
"You calling Phoenix Casey and acting like her safety mattered more to you than anyone else's."
"I told you I want her alive when I torture her." Derek shrugged, hoping she would buy it.
Just then Mutawa began to stir awake. The large man lifted his weary head and glanced around in confusion.
"What happened?" He questioned while raising a hand to massage his temple.
"We crashed." Taiki replied. "We lost our fuel. The bullets being fired at us caused more damage than we'd hoped."
"Now what?" Mutawa groaned as he took off his seatbelt and immediately knelt down to make sure Casey was fine.
"Don't worry. Phoenix survived, or should I call her Casey?" Ronin snapped at him and then glared at Derek suspiciously.
"Why would you refer to her as Casey?" Mutawa asked in confusion.
"This guy," she made a gesture to Derek, "already checked to make sure she was all right after we crashed. He rushed over all concerned for her and called her Casey."
"Why?" Mutawa looked at him with a raised brow. "You were the one that knocked her unconscious…"
"That is what I would like to know." Ronin added.
"The name was a slip-up." Derek shrugged. "And I already told you why I seemed concerned. I want her alive before I kill her myself."
"No. That was not a slip-up. The way you said her name and ran to her sounded like you truly cared about her. It was not out of hatred." Ronin shook her head as she took a step towards him. "Who is this woman to you?"
"She killed my girlfriend."
"Enough of the lies!" Ronin shouted.
"Someone's coming!" Taiki suddenly exclaimed as he held a palm to his head like it was causing him pain. He looked at Derek in alarm. "There is another aircraft approaching. I can't hack in. They have some kind of safe codes protecting it. I would need time, which we don't really have. They'll be upon us any minute now."
Mutawa stood to his feet with Casey once again in his arms. He stared at the two men suspiciously as he spoke. "Ronin is on to something. You two do not seem to be enemies, so then why would you be handing over your friend to The Collective when you know they plan to use that chip in his head?" He looked at Derek with a raised brow, waiting for an answer.
"Nothing about these two makes sense." Ronin scoffed with an accusatory glare. "You never planned on actually handing your friend over, did you? But you knew you were caught and that was the only alternative."
"What do you really want with Phoenix?" Mutawa demanded to know. "Who is she really to you?"
"Why are you working for those people?" Derek turned the tables on them, ignoring the questiones. "They obviously treat you like their puppets and don't care about your well-being. They even left you in that jungle to fend for yourselves."
Ronin suddenly clutched at her ear and Mutawa did the same. Someone was speaking to them through their earpieces.
"Yes. We are alive." Ronin spoke to the voice in her ear. She then grinned at Derek and Taiki while continuing to speak. "We also have something for you. Something you will greatly appreciate." She paused and listened, then nodded her head. "Of course. We will be ready."
Mutawa then added, "And have a medic prepped. Phoenix has been rendered unconscious."
Derek glanced at Taiki nervously, not liking the looks of things as Ronin pulled out one of the long thin swords that were sheathed to her back and smirked.
"Looks like The Collective didn't leave us after all. In fact, they are right outside, landing their aircraft carrier as we speak and preparing to take us aboard. Now, you can come the easy way, or the hard way. It's your choice. Although, I would much enjoy the hard way."
"Those people are not to be trusted." Derek growled as he got in the fighting stance and raised his fists.
"It seems you are not to be trusted, Derek."
Just then, both assassins cried out in pain and Derek glanced at Taiki to see that he must have raised the frequency in their ears. He immediately ran to the large African man and grabbed Casey from his arms and threw her limp body over his shoulders before he could stop him.
Just as Derek began to run towards the escape hatch, Ronin pulled the earpiece from her ear and slashed at Derek with her weapon. He managed to dodge the attack and kick out with his foot, knocking the blade from her hand. He held tight to Casey with one arm while the other fought the Aussie assassin. She swung at him and landed a punch to his face. Derek swayed slightly but then lunged towards her and landed a hard blow to her injured arm.
"Aaahh!" Ronin cried out as she clutched at her arm and glared with intense hatred in her eyes as Derek made it to the door and Taiki opened the hatch door with his mind while he began to leap over the fallen equipment towards Derek and Casey.
"You are not going anywhere!" Ronin yelled and despite her injured arm now throbbing with even more pain, she turned her attention from Derek to Taiki. Before the young Japanese man could get to the door, she had grabbed him by the arm and twisted it behind his back, then pulled the other sword strapped to her spine and held it at his throat.
"Derek!" Taiki cried out.
Mutawa finally decided to intervene once he realized Derek might actually escape with his unconscious friend into the rainforest. The large man bounded towards Derek and Casey at full determined force as he now unsheathed his bloody weapon - a sword that was bigger and more intimidating looking than Ronin's.
Derek glanced helplessly at Taiki and back at Casey's unconscious body swung over his shoulder. He couldn't allow them to be captured together. They were already suspicious, if The Collective found out who Casey really was, she would be killed on the spot.
Mutawa let out a war cry as he leapt over a broken table and bounded towards the stepsiblings. Derek knew he couldn't take on the guy, not unless he dropped Casey, which he refused to do. He knew he needed to act fast. He took one last remorseful look at Taiki before he quickly turned away and ran out the escape hatch door.
"Derek!" Taiki called helplessly after him. "Don't leave me!"
"Forgive me, Taiki." Derek muttered. He then slammed his elbow hard into the control panel at the side of the door, which caused it to break and short circuit, closing the door behind him, just as Mutawa had swung his sword and it clanged loudly bouncing off the metal.
The wind picked up on the night air and Derek peered up through the trees to see The Collective's aircraft approaching its landing.
He made a mad dash towards the jungle before they turned on the spotlights and shone them down at the crashed jet.
Derek ran as far and as long as he could through the thick trees before the weight of Casey's body became too much and he finally had to drop her in a field of grass.
He heard no one coming after him and soon noticed the aircraft take off and leave, surrendering the forest into complete black silence once again.
Suddenly, without warning, that silence was soon replaced by a massive explosion as the crashed stolen Swan jet erupted into flames, lighting up the jungle amidst the starry sky.
Derek leapt over to cover Casey's body as debri from the explosion showered down on them. He frantically started putting out the small fires around them, thankful nothing too damaging had made it that far.
Those bastards had blown up the plane, knowing Derek would likely return to try calling for help.
Reality of their situation hit him in that moment as he stared at the horrific scene before him, the heat from the flames licking his skin, and Derek dropped to the ground next to Casey with dread.
"You're going to murder me for sure when you finally wake up and realize what I've done. The Collective has Taiki and now you and I are stranded in the middle of the rainforest with a burning plane that I stole and crashed… I really screwed up this time, Case." he sighed heavily as he looked down upon her, just making out her face in the glow of the moon above and from the flames lighting the sky. He lightly caressed her cheek and whispered softly. "But at least we're together. I WILL get us out of this and we'll get Taiki back. I promise."
He then mustered up all the strength he had left and hoisted her body over his shoulders once again. They needed to get away from the explosion before the fire decided to spread as he headed deeper into the jungle, trying not to think about the other dangers that awaited them. He hoped Lizzie had been able to pick up the plane's signal before they crashed, or else they really were screwed.
You're our only hope, Lizard.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think.