Volucris_Emmergence Page 6

  “I will be gone as soon as the night covers me.” Lordes spoke to her back.

  “Good” she replied.

  Chapter 12

  Mo walked slowly towards the RV, it was another beautiful day. , Tthe neighbourhood had started to look a little shabby as people had stopped mowing their lawns but it was still her home and she took one last look around, reminiscing over the many times she had played on this street with her many friends. Ethan was already standing at the door of the RV waiting for her to get in, looking very impatient. Mo was starting to get fed up with his attitude, did he not realise what she was giving up? She stomped over to the RV and got in. It was huge, naturally she thought with all these large men it had to hold. She took a quick look around, it was very modern with nice soft furnishings, a small kitchen to the right and it looked like it went to a bedroom or maybe even two, she hoped so, she didn’t fancy sleeping in the same area as Ethan. Upfront was a seating area with a large holo projector that was currently paused on some kind of game. Ethan came up behind her so she quickly scooted over to the seating area to give him some room, he filled the space considerably with his height and the pack on his back. He called out,

  “Benji!”

  A voice emanated from what must be the bathroom. “Yeah give me a sec.”

  “Come on it’s time to go!”

  “Ok, ok keep your feathers on.”

  Mo smiled at this reference but Ethan had a face like thunder as he went over to the driver’s seat and planted himself there not speaking to Mo at all. The bathroom door opened and a boy who could only be Benji walked out. He looked about the same age as Mo. Hhe was tall again but did not have the bulk of Ethan or Lordes, he had blond curly hair and quite a long face. He turned to Mo and beamed at her with such a large friendly smile Mo couldn’t help but return it.

  “Hi, you must be Moria, I’m Benji.”

  “Hi, you can just call me Mo.”

  He sat down opposite to her turning off the game he had been playing. “Sorry, I was just killing some time. It’s so great to meet someone else, I’ve been holed up in here with Mr Serious and happy bollocks for two weeks!”

  Mo let out a little squeak of laughter.

  “If you have quite finished Benji, you ready to go?” Ethan spat out his words obviously not impressed with Benji’s reference. Mo wondered who was Mr Serious and who was happy bollocks but she thought she could work it out.

  “Yep all buckled in Sir” Benji sat up straight but winked at Mo who gave him a little smile back., Sshe instantly liked this boy. , Hhe wasn’t particularly handsome but he had kind blue eyes a great smile and was the first person in this whole debacle to try and make her feel at ease. She wanted to run out and tell her Grandmother to put her mind at rest, that there was someone here she may even relate to, but the engine had roared and they were off before she even had the chance to take one last look at her home.

  Mo turned her head and looked out of the window not wanting either of her companions to see her crying. Benji tentatively put his hand on her shoulder, “Hey it’s ok, you don’t have to tell me, some crazily huge guys have just showed up, turned your life upside down and taken you away from all you have ever known, your loved ones, and to top it all they have huge wings and tell you in the not too distant future you’re going to have them too! It’s ok to be upset it really is a mind fuck.”

  Mo couldn’t help but let out a little giggle to Benji’s description of the last two hours of her life.

  “That’s better. , Llook, I know what a shock this all is but it will be ok and believe me I’ve seen what is really happening to this world and to get out is the best thing.”

  Mo nodded reassured and wiped away her tears., Sshe then noticed his back, he did not have the same backpack or any visible wings he just had a hoody on.

  “Are you not a Voluroo or whatever they are called?”

  “Volucris.” Ethan shouted from the driver seat, showing his presence and clearly hearing everything they were saying.

  “Yeah apparently so, my wings haven’t shown yet though. I’m still only 17 but they are starting to, my back itches like hell and the skin is just about to break.”

  “I know that feeling,” Mo replied, “My back itches like crazy but they are just red patches at the moment.”

  “Oh, it gets a lot worse when they start to break the skin but apparently when that’s done it’s a lot easier.”

  Mo reached into her bag and pulled out the ointment Rebecca had given her. “Here, my Grandma gave me this, it works wonders.”

  “Oh, you have some, yeah, we have loads of that, it’s a special recipe passed down for centuries, it really helps huh, it would help even more if some people would just help me put it on.” Benji looked towards Ethan who had a wry grin on his face.

  “I’ll help you put it on.” Mo said, Ethan’s smile disappeared straight away. Mo and Benji looked at each other smiling.

  “Oh, that would be great, I’m good for now but when we next stop.”

  “Sure.”

  “You hungry, we got loads to eat, I don’t suppose you have been given your diet yet but I’m sure I could put a sandwich together for you?”

  “My diet?”

  “Yeah, we all have a special diet that will best enhance our growth if you know what I mean., Lordes will sort you one out, but it all comes with one special treat we have to have once a day.”

  “Benji, that’s enough, Lordes will explain all to her.” Ethan shouted back from the front seat.

  “What’s the problem, she’ll see us drink it before Lordes gets back to us unless you want to drink it in secret?”

  “Drink what?” Mo asked.

  “Bl.....”

  “Benji stop please, this is not the time or place, Lordes has to explain it properly we can’t risk putting her off.”

  “Put me off what!” Mo almost shouted. Sshe was getting very tired of not being told things and being kept in the dark.

  “Blood” Benji blurted out.

  “Benji!” Ethan shouted also frustrated.

  “Blood, really, are we vampires?” Mo responded.

  “See, see what you have done, Vampires for goodness sake.” Ethan screamed.

  “Hey, chill out, god it’s not that bad, bloody hell, you really need to take a chill pill.” Benji instantly calmed the situation with his humour. Mo giggled again and he shrugged and smiled at her rolling his eyes towards Ethan.

  “Nah, we aren’t Vampires and we don’t drink human blood just fresh animal blood, it sounds gross but it’s ok; you get a taste for it actually. Lordes says it so full of iron and protein it’s the best thing to help with the strength we need to grow our wings and ultimately use them. It’s why those guys are so huge for one thing. Apparently, that is where the legend of vampires came from though, in the middle ages when Volucris were caught sucking the blood from live animals. We are a lot more civilised now.”

  “It doesn’t sound so bad.” Mo responded and she believed it too, it’s only blood, although it sounded a bit disgusting she wasn’t the squeamish type.

  “See” Benji said with great delight to Ethan’s back, Mo smiled.

  Ethan bristled with annoyance but didn’t say anything further.

  Benji was pleased with himself, it had been a long two weeks being the underdog and now he finally had a friend. , Hhe was excited and it showed, he was dancing around the RV singing to himself while he got some lunch together, it seemed to consist of a lot of meat and nuts with fresh orange juice.

  “You having some Ethan?” Benji called to the front of the RV, “No, I’ll get some later we have already wasted enough time.”

  Benji shrugged his shoulders and sat back down next to Mo, “Suit yourself.”

  They tucked into their lunch. , Mo hadn’t realised how hungry she was but now this feast had presented itself to her she started to wolf it down.

  They ate in silence, both as hungry as each other. , Mo’s mind wandered to her Grandmother, she knew
she could easily contact her through her holo, see her face, but she thought that would be too difficult for them both, she decided to just message her to let her know all was ok and that she had already made a friend. She got out her holo and started her message while eating.

  “You messaging your friends?” Benji enquired.

  “No, just my Grandmother, making sure she knows I’m ok. I don’t think I’ll message my friends yet, what would I tell them? No–one is allowed out now anyway so it’s not like I’m missing much.”

  As they carried on with their lunch an uneasy silence fell between them. Mo wanted to ask questions but was not sure where or how to start. She eventually gave in.

  “So, did you have to leave anyone behind too?”

  “No, I have no one.” The answer was short and Mo was not sure if it was right to push him for more information, she didn’t want to seem too nosy.

  “Can you tell me your story? Don’t worry if you can’t.” She tentatively asked

  Benji smiled his winning smile again and put down his food. “ItsIt’s ok I don’t mind talking about myself believe me, I’m just starving, I’ll tell you all when I’m full.”

  Mo smiled, she understood he was just a growing boy. , Sshe settled herself in, patient to wait and also glad she didn’t have to talk to cover the silence. She looked out of the window as she ate, the streets as ever were empty. They were coming to the edge of the suburbs now and pretty

  tree lined streets were starting to give way to fields and small towns. It was still very hot, but there were no cars on the road which Mo was glad about., Sshe wondered what sort of protection the RV had, she did not want a repeat of yesterday. She couldn’t believe the incident with the girl was only yesterday, it seemed like a lifetime ago that she was sitting on Lizzie’s bed. She had been thinking of messaging Lizzie but she really did not know what to say. Mmaybe she could just say she was being kept in too, but eventually Lizzie would forgive her and want to get on the holo to gossip. Mo knew without being told she would not be able to do this, she had started a new life and had to leave her old one behind. She thought she would ask her Grandmother in the next few days if she would talk to her, it was a cop-out she knew, but she also knew her Grandmother would understand and help her out. The thought of her ever-loving Grandmother brought tears to her eyes again, she put down her food not feeling hungry anymore.

  “You need to eat more than that.” Ethan’s voice came from the front of the RV. Had he got eyes in the back of his head or something Mo thought.

  “I’m not that hungry.” Mo responded.

  “That’s not the point, it’s very important now more than ever that you eat properly, there is already nothing of you.” Mo was about to turn on Ethan to tell him to mind his own business and she would eat when she felt like it not when ordered to,o but Benji had sensed her disdain.

  “Don’t worry feathers, she will get enough of that from Lordes when he gets back, let her ease into it, it’s been a stressful day for her.”

  “Lordes will expect me to keep an eye on her.”

  “And you are, just give her break, just for now.”

  Ethan grunted and focused back onto the road. Benji turned to Mo. Ffinishing off his lunch he gave her a small smile which she returned, she liked the fact he was kind of looking out for her. Benji wiped his mouth and settled back into his chair.

  “So, what do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  Chapter 13

  Benji settled down, Mo started to pick at the remaining food, ignoring the pleased look Ethan had on his face.

  “Well I guess we don’t have much else to do but talk, when do we stop Ethan?” Benji asked.

  “When we are there.” Ethan retorted happy as ever.

  “That guy just does not know how to be cheerful,” Benji said under his breath so only Mo could hear. Mo smiled back.

  “I don’t know where to start really”

  “Well how did you get here, where are you from originally?”

  “I grew up in the city with my Dad, I never knew my mother she left just after I was born.”

  “Oh, that’s terrible.” Mo was shocked at this but then she realised exactly the same thing had happened to her, both her parents had left her.

  “It’s ok my Dad was really cool.”

  “Was.” Mo asked tentatively.

  “Yeah the virus got him about six months ago.”

  “I’m really sorry.” Mo had never met anyone before who had been so directly affected by the virus.

  “Yeah it’s pretty tragic.” Benji, for all his joking and smiling, his face had fallen as the memory of his father’s death crept back he knew he must keep the pain at bay or it would envelope him.

  “According to Lordes though, he thinks my Mum was probably a young Volucris and had to give me up., L looks like most clans don’t like half breeds, but she may be still alive with one of the clans somewhere. My Dad moved from France when I was a kid so she could be in one of the European clans. He didn’t talk about her much but I have one photo of them here.” He pulled out his holo projector and brought up a picture of two young teenagers lying on the grass together, the boy holding the camera up and taking a picture of the two of them. The girl was blond as well and pretty, she had almost amber eyes and she looked happy, they both did. Mo smiled at the picture.

  “They look really happy.”

  “They were I think., Dad never liked to talk about it but I think he really loved her and was heartbroken when she left me with him, I think that’s why he moved, to try and get away as far as possible. He never mentioned creatures with wings though so I don’t know if he knew or not or even for sure that she was a Volucris, that’s just Lordes’ theory. You can’t tell from this picture if she has wings and she still looks pretty young so they may have not grown at this point. ““

  “Do you really think you could find her one day?”

  “I suppose, it’s hard to think about at the moment with all that is happening, maybe, I think I just need to grow my wings first then see., Wwith those eyes I don’t think she would be too hard to track down considering there are so few of them, I mean us.” Benji shut down the holo projector and the picture disappeared.

  “So how did you end up with Lordes?” Mo asked.

  “Well I guess that started when my Dad died. , Wwe lived in the city just the two of us, I had a good childhood, dad was great and we did most things together. We never had much money., Mmy Dad worked hard as a nurse, he loved the job but it made him pretty vulnerable when the virus hit. Things in the city have been quite bad for a while now, the curfew came in over a year ago, mainly because of the enforced blackouts.”

  “Blackouts, what do you mean?”

  “I guess you rich kids haven’t started to suffer that yet.”

  Mo smarted at this reference to her being a rich kid. , Sshe had not really thought about it before that she was somehow privileged to grow up the way she had, she just thought that was how things were., Yyou had rich and poor and some in the middle which in all honesty, that’s what she thought she was, not particularly rich. She glanced up and saw Ethan looking at her in the rear view mirror a small sympathetic smile crept across his lips, but she looked away, embarrassed he was looking at her. Benji was oblivious to her feelings and was carrying on with his story.

  “Yeah, because of people falling down like flies there have been fewer and fewer people to deliver the power so we have had enforced blackouts which clearly mean it’s less safe on the streets, and plus a lot less police around so a curfew was enforced, but it didn’t make much difference, a lot of gangs sprung up taking advantage of the situation. I stayed out of it and stayed home, particularly when Dad got sick, I didn’t want anyone to know so kept giving my blood to the bin men, had to pay them off when they started coming to the house., I think they felt sorry for me though with only one parent that they all knew was going to die. Then after about 3 weeks of fighting he did die, I didn’t know what
to do. I thought if I called the funeral home I would get in trouble for not letting on sooner, or they would take me away cos I must be infected too. So, I just packed a bag and left.”

  “You just left? Left him in the house?”

  “Yeah, I know it’s awful isn’t it, I honestly didn’t know what else to do.” Mo thought she understood. , Hhe was only a year older than her and what would she have done in a similar situation., Sshe had often thought about it if her Grandmother got sick, she thought she would be taken in by a friend, but if you have no friends then what would you do?

  “So is that when Lordes found you.”

  “I wish, no this was a few months back., I roamed the streets for a bit, till a gang found me., Tthey took me in, it wasn’t easy, you had to watch your back all the time, and I witnessed some pretty bad stuff. I tried to stay clear of the really bad stuff, just did errands for the big guys. I had no choice,. I was just out to survive. Then one night I got chatting to one of the main guys, he found out how sick my Dad had been and figured I must have immunity, that meant money to him, sell me to the highest bidder, which he did. I ended up in a convoy off to the place you get tested on so they can try and find a cure. That’s when Lordes and Ethan turned up. Tthey were awesome, stopped the convoy, everyone was petrified of these winged humans, they were immense. , Ethan just ripped apart the van like it was a tin can. They were checking everyone’s back and mine was the only one showing signs of wings so they picked me up and here we are, that was about 2 weeks back. Apparently, they are targeting these so-called immunity convoys as there are usually young Volucris on board and they can only get to us in transit, if I had got to the camp there would be no chance. “

  “Were you not scared of them when you first saw them?”

  “It’s funny you would think I would be but I really wasn’t, I kind of knew that they were not there to hurt anyone, they were there to help, andhelp, and when they strapped me in and flew off I just knew I was one of them, that my place was in the sky, that one day I too would have wings like them and fly like them. It was the first time I had felt happy since my dad died.”