Chapter 11

Firedrake looked up at the sky anxiously, working his wings in circles. It had been four weeks since he crashed in this land so foreign to him, breaking his wing. Now, the time had finally come to try and fly again. Ray said that his wing had healed. It felt much stronger than it had in a while, but he wasn't sure how it would hold up in flight.

The sky was slowly turning to night. The sun crept below the horizon, and soon the sky was a dark abyss, exempt for Atlanta giving off an orange glow in the distance. Sorrel came and stood next to him, putting her hand on his strong shoulder.

"If you can fly, when are we leaving?" Sorrel asked.

"We could leave tomorrow, unless I still have trouble with my wing."

"Hm?" Sorrel looked up at Firedrake.

"Ray said it looks healed, but there could be other cracks in the bone he's not seeing. If it's not healed fully, it could snap while we're flying, worst case scenario."

Sorrel was still. Behind her, she heard two pairs of feet walking towards them.

Ray and Ben were having a conversation, laughing about something she probably wouldn't understand. "I'll never understand humans," She thought.

"Are you ready?" Ben held up a long, velcro strap.

"Ready," Firedrake said. "You sure you don't want to come, Ray?"

"I think I'll get enough of this in on the way to the Rim of Heaven. Like I said, the bone looks healed, but I could be wrong. Don't fly too fast or too high, or you could end up with more than a broken wing this time."

"I won't," Firedrake looked up at the moon, bathing them in pale light. Ben climbed on Firedrake's back like he'd done it a million times, and strapped himself onto Firedrake. Ben slapped Firedrake's neck twice, indicating that he was ready.

Ray gave Sorrel a boost and she sat behind Firedrake. Ray helped strap her in and then slipped his helmet on.

Truthfully, he really wanted to fly. Ray wanted Ben to have his moment, though. Flying with just Sorrel and Firedrake, just like old times for him. Besides, like he said, he would get more than enough flying in on the way to the Rim.

"Okay," Ray turned to Firedrake. "Just fly over the road, and I'll follow you."

"Alright," Firedrake looked back up at the sky. "I'm ready."

Ray mounted his motorcycle and Firedrake moved to his driveway. Ray glanced at Ben. He was overjoyed, but Sorrel looked anxious.

Ray wasn't sure what made he and Ben have such a strong bond so quickly, but then it hit him. They could relate to each other. Without having real parents, they did have a similar life to an extent.

Ray sighed, and turned the key. He pushed the electric start and revved the engine to warm it up. After he was ready, he flashed Firedrake a thumbs up.

Firedrake didn't hesitate. He gave several powerful beats of his wings and rose into the air. Ray wasn't expecting him to go so quickly, so he pinned the throttle and shifted into second, speeding down his driveway and skidding onto the country road.

Firedrake was far ahead of him, but he caught up quickly. He saw Firedrake glance down, and then saw Ray's headlight behind him. Ray passed a few cars, but Firedrake was high enough to miss their headlights.

Firedrake slowed down, and came to a hover. This surprised Ray, and he pulled his brakes, coming to a hard stop. Firedrake looked down at him, but Ray didn't understand.

"He wants to race you!" Sorrel called down.

Ray laughed, and killed the engine so Firedrake could hear him.

"Okay, race me to the next intersection about a mile up the road!" He replied.

"When I honk my horn, go, okay?"

"Okay!" Firedrake answered.

Ray took a firm grip on his front brake and clutch, then started the engine. He pinned the throttle, causing his back wheel to do a burnout. The engine roared, demanding to move forward. He began to smell burnt rubber. Firedrake was flying motionless, ready to dart off into the sky.

So much for playing it safe. Ray honked his horn and released his brakes. He powered forward, with so much torque focused on the back wheel, it caused him to do a wheelie. He'd done this many times, and effortlessly pushed the front wheel back down, stabilizing the bike.

Firedrake was keeping pace with him, slightly ahead of him now. Ray shifted into third, hitting 65 miles per hour and now racing down the street at the same speed as Firedrake.

At least he knew how fast Firedrake could fly now. Ray pinned the throttle again, accelerating to 90 and leaving Firedrake in his dust. He kept going and going, after he hit 130 miles per hour, he noticed the familiar motion blur around him. Ray glanced at his mirror, Firedrake was far behind him, and the intersection was coming towards him. He let go of the throttle and coasted to a stop, not a single car approaching on any side.

Firedrake landed just behind Ray, wheezing. Ray shrugged, and Firedrake laughed.

"Alright, you win!" He panted.

"Don't feel bad," Ray said. "If this were a foot race I'd be screwed.

They headed back to Ray's house, and sat in his back yard. Ray lit a few torches to keep the mosquitoes at bay.

Ben watched over Ray's shoulder as he zoomed in on an area of the Himalayas on his laptop. Ray had downloaded all the maps he needed to the GPS unit, and they were just working out a few final touches.

"If it's not on any map, how are we going to find it?" Ray said, puzzled.

"Firedrake knows the area, he'll be able to get us there," Sorrel said.

"Alright then, I guess we've got a route!" Ray closed his laptop.

"Really? You're done?" Firedrake yawned.

"Really," Ben answered.

Ray put his laptop in his backpack, but it hit something at the bottom. He reached his hand in, and then remembered he forgot about something.

Ray got up and fetched his rifle and some ammunition.

"Ben, I've got something for you," Ray slung his rifle. Ben glanced at the rifle and wondered what was going on.

Ray took the FMK pistol out of his back pocket and held it by the muzzle, the handle sticking up.

"A gun?" Ben nervously reached out and took it from Ray.

"Since you're from England, you probably don't-" Ben slid the magazine inside and cocked it.

"I stand corrected," Ray nodded.

Ray gestured to a tree riddled with bullet holes off in the distance.

"I've been using that tree as a target for the past few months," Ray picked up his rifle and fired a shot into the tree, making Sorrel jump.

"You're welcome to put some practice rounds into it."

Ray and Ben shot off several clips into the tree. As Ben began to feel more confident with the pistol Ray had bought for him, he shot more quickly and accurately into the base of the tree. Suddenly, there was an audible creak, and the tree fell over.

Ray's ear's were ringing, but it soon wore off because he was used to shooting. Ray handed Ben a box.

"There's four magazines and a hundred rounds in there," Ray said.

"That should be enough," Ben smiled.

"So what do you think we could encounter, then?" Firedrake asked.

"Huh?" Ray answered.

"I mean, as far as humans or problems go?"

"If we're spotted, I wouldn't be surprised if they sent the national guard after us," Ben laughed. "This is America, after all."

"The route we're taking has us stay away from cities and airports, we should be fine. But if something does happen," Ray held up his rifle and cocked it.

"Since we've gotten all that out of the way, when are we leaving?" Ben looked around, and Sorrel didn't have anything to say. All eyes were on Firedrake.

"Uh," He stammered. "How about tomorrow?"

"That's a bit soon," Ben looked at Ray. "Could you be ready by then?"

"I guess so. I'll run into town and buy whatever I'll need," Ray looked at his rifle.

The next day, Ray headed into town while everyone else slept. He bought several boxes of ammunition, a machete, and a spare magazine for his Remington R-25. He also purchased two lightweight sleeping bags, a hunting knife, a flint and a lighter, a good jacket, and a sturdy pair of boots.

"Where you going?" The clerk at the gun store asked him as he payed for everything.

"Camping," Ray replied casually. He headed to the department store across the street and checked how much he had left on his bank account at the ATM. He had close to two hundred dollars left, bought as much as he could. Canned food, soups, bread, and other non perishables stacked up in his cart. He also picked up a pair of gloves.

When he reached the front of the line, the cashier looked at him funny. She watched him as he loaded dozens of canned food items onto the counter.

"I'm going camping," He said shyly.

"Ah," She replied as she rapidly scanned the items. "You must be going for the rest of the summer then."

"No," Ray swiped his debit card. "I'm going with some friends."

Ray took the bags of canned food out to his car and drove home. When he got back to his house, he packed up everything he was going to take. He put everything he was to bring in a large pile. His rifle, the GPS and survival gear, the food, ammo, a journal, some maps, a compass, two books, and several changes of clothes.

He woke Ben up, as they had discussed earlier they were going to pack together before they left tonight.

They had at their disposal a backpack for Ben, a backpack for Ray, and a large duffle bag. Ben stressed the importance of packing lightly. Ben wondered about bringing his laptop, but then thought better of it. Where was he going to find an outlet, in a tree?

"How do you think I should go?" Ray said as he loaded the cans of food into the duffle bag.

"What?" Ben looked up at him.

"Do you think I should just disappear, or leave a note in case anyone actually cares?"

Ben was quiet for a few moments and he zipped up his backpack.

"I don't know, that's up to you."

Ray watched Ben put the Pistol in a side pocket on his backpack and moved it to the side of the shrinking pile of items.

"It'll be like I just fell off the face of the earth, then," Ray sighed.

At the end result, they had three bags packed up good and tight. Ray's backpack wasn't too full, it was light enough for him to carry if he had to walk. It had his survival gear, clothes, some ammunition, and one of the books he was bringing.

Ben's backpack was overstuffed, mostly with clothes and books.

"You're going to want to bring more clothes, trust me," Ben laughed.

"I'll be fine, I've been week long hunting trips. You just don't go jumping around in the mud, and you'll do alright," Ray responded.

"Well, I've been on a trip around the world on a dragon," Ben opened Ray's bureau and threw a wad of clothes across the room. "You're going to need more clothes."

The third bag was a large duffle. They put all the food, ammunition, and sleeping bags inside.

Before the sun had set, Ray had one last shower and locked up the house. He turned everything off and closed the gas line. Everything was done.

Ray put on his backpack and slung the rifle over it. Ben carried his backpack and the duffle bag. Firedrake awoke just as the sun was setting, and he shook Sorrel awake.

At the last light of the day, they tied their things onto Firedrake's spines. Ray pocketed his cellphone and turned it off, in case he might need it for anything. Ray kept the Rifle slung, since they couldn't find a sturdy way to tie it down.

The sun had set, and the moon illuminated the area in it's pale light. "Are you ready?" Firedrake said to Ray.

"As I'll ever be," He responded, taking one last look at his garage. He became emotionally attached to his motorcycle, leaving it made him feel cold in the chest.

Ray scrambled up Firedrake's back, almost falling off twice. Ben and Sorrel sat behind him, tying themselves in with the straps. Ray made sure his was good and tight. A rope tied onto a carabiner was the only thing that would keep him from plummeting to his death.

"Alright, here we go!" Firedrake unfolded his wings and slowly began to rise off the ground.

Ray turned around and looked at Ben. "No turning back now."

"You're gonna love this," Ben replied.

Firedrake rose higher and higher, and suddenly Ray remembered that he was afraid of heights. He quickly got over it, and he began to grin.

"This is amazing!" He yelled to Ben. Ray remembered that he was the navigator, so he took out the GPS and the screen lit up. There was a compass at the top of the screen, and a map with a triangle that showed their current location. Ray directed Firedrake until he was facing the right direction, and then he shot off towards the horizon. Ray was able to pick out cities and roads beneath him, but not much more.

They flew on for hours, approaching the state line for Georgia and it's surrounding states. Ray had no regrets.