Just the Five of Us

Nothing has ever dragged on for so long.

All the boys sat around a fire as Dr. Hoddy-whaty…oh I can’t bother to remember his name, talked on and on about owls and their pellets. These aren’t activities at all. It was college for the really nutty owl geeks. The rock I was sitting on was looking better and better as a projectile.

Ray was on my left and Shean sat on my right. Adrian was somewhere in front with Darren doing something. What exactly, they wouldn’t tell me. Ray looked utterly relaxed and happy, he had his hands behind his head and his legs crossed with his eyes closed and he was humming softly. In other words he was completely and totally asleep. I could have whacked him with a baseball bat multiple times before he even knew to be awake.

Shean was also incognito. He sat there with his posture erect and his hands calmly in his lap, his eyes open and watching. But if you looked closely enough, you’d find that his eyes had a glassy look over them and he was staring at the butt crack of the guy sitting in front of us. I think if he had been awake he might have been counting hairs, no offence to the guy, but they were thick and very black.

I slumped lower as time ticked past. I wondered if maybe Shean had just been messing with me about the whole flying thing. I had been so excited…

I got grabbed from behind.

A pair of arms snaked around my waist and I was suddenly yanked backwards. A hand clapped over my mouth and I was literally thrown away from the campfire. Before I could even get out a peep another set of arms caught me then I was rushing upwards.

It didn’t take me very long to recognize Shean’s favorite wool sweater. Once I did I looked down.

Shock and awe filled me. The forest was laid out in a blanket of fuzzy green and the campsite was quickly fading behind us. A river twisted through the middle of the forest blanket like a path through clover and tall rocks poked out making random patterns and shapes.

I looked back up at Shean. He had a smug look on his face. I looked at the giant pumping wings on his back, they were the of jet oil and had the same sleekness. I went red as a tomato as it suddenly occurred to me I was being carried bridal style. Shean looked down at me with his dark midnight blue eyes and smiled.

The back ground melted and for a second I was the only girl in the entire world and I was in Shean’s arms. Cloud Nine, I think they call it.

“Ready to free fall,” he asked with a smirk.

I nodded dumbly as his words skimmed over my head. He licked his lips and then swooped straight up. Then he paused in mid air and I noticed Ray circling far below, just above the trees.

That was when it hit me.

“Wait, what, f-free fall?” I panicked and grabbed hold of him.

He just shook his head and…let go. My fingers slipped off of him. Then I was falling.

I screamed bloody murder and every cuss, curse, profanity, and mother fucking swear word I could think of. Despite the stream of bad words escaping my mouth and thestrong urge to piss myself I did notice the very free feel that falling brought. It was an invincible feeling, like I was unstoppable.

I hit Ray’s arms hard, he laughed loudly at me. I was quaking like a duck from fear. I was never one for heights, this was more than my mind could handle. Ray grinned at me.

“You got a potty mouth?” he chuckled loudly. His wings were different from Shean’s they were a softer black, if that’s possible. His didn’t gleam in the silver moonlight the way Shean’s did.
I scowled at him through my blond bangs, “I was just dropped from fifty feet,” I barked at him, “I thought I was going to die!”

“Don’t worry,” he murmured, “I wouldn’t let you fall.”

He suddenly took off holding me in the same bridal style fashion; he soared over the trees fast. I noticed something moving at the same speed we were far below. It charged over tree roots and leaped over bushes at lightning speed. Something jumped around it. It seemed to leap from branch to branch, temporarily disappearing from my pathetic human view until it made the next leap.

“Adrian and Darren,” Ray said suddenly, “Adrian is in the trees, Darren is running.”

I nodded looking away from him back at the two below. Hey, wait a second! Weren’t the vampires the runner? And, hey I don’t mean to sound rude or anything, but Darren was a cat man, shouldn’t he be the one jumping?

I almost asked when Ray suddenly stopped. He hovered and looked up. I fallowed his gaze to see a small arrow above. I figured it was Shean circling over us. Ray had a sly grin on his face as his grip on me tightened. I just knew he was about to do something that I would find terribly scary or uncomfortable. He looked at me and started to full out smirk.

“Ready to go up?” he asked.

This time I gave the appropriate reaction, “don’t you dare, Ray,” I hissed as he started to chuckle, “if you even think about…AHHHHH.”

He threw me up so hard that I was shooting up like a rocket. I felt like my limbs could do anything. I felt so free, it was just amazing. . Air whipped around me at top speed, it lashed my hair about and ripped my skin raw, but I loved it.

Shean swooped in and caught me. He shot up like missile straight towards a soft grey cloud. I couldn’t help it but whoop. I laughed loudly and clung to his shoulders. I had completely changed my mind now. I loved flying falling and soaring, as long as either Ray or Shean was there to catch me.

I stopped laughing when I heard Shean laugh too. I beamed up at his perfect face, I loved this guy; I know it hasn’t been very long, but I did. He grinned back at me then looked straight up at the looming cloud. I gasped as I was suddenly wet. It was cold but wonderful. He stopped in the middle of the cloud he gave me a proud smirk.

“Ready to go again,” I swallowed a lump. This was so high up. I bit my bottom lip and stared up at him.

“Yup,” I was converted into a squeak toy, my voice having departed on account of fear.

He chuckled, “don’t worry,” his wings suddenly evaporated to where ever they go when he was playing human; we hovered for just a second before we were both going down.

I screamed with delight as I felt his fingers close on mine. We plummeted head first to the blanket of green below. I wasn’t scared at all. I knew Shean had it under control. I concentrated on the free feeling. I grinned at Shean as my hair was thrust all back, my forehead tasting the wind for the first time in a long time. He grinned back before closing his eyes and letting his head lean back.

He ended the fall at the last minute. His arms folded around my and his wings shot out like a parachute. Ray swooped in, and dive bombed us. Shean swooped away and Ray laughed we started chase. Ray was just behind Shean the entire time. They swooped and dashed above the trees. I knew that if he wasn’t carrying me he would have left Ray behind long ago. I saw the lake glistening as we swiftly approached it.

Shean swooped low as we reached it; his feet skimmed the water before he doubled back and landed gracefully on the sand. He set me carefully on my feet and I staggered slightly as my gravity redefined itself.

I grinned as Ray landed too. He grinned back at me and whooped loudly throwing his arms into the air. Shean chuckled happily.

“KRISTEN!”

Adrian came out of nowhere and smashed into me. I screeched and toppled sideways. He laughed as he helped pull me back, Darren appeared moments after him, his tail swishing from side to side and a grin on his face.

“How was the fly?” Adrian asked gripping my hand and beaming at me like a child.

“Awesome,” I told him, “I felt like a bird.”

He leaned back looking smug, “well you looked like one. It’s a bird. It’s a plane, IT’S KRISTEN.”

“Stop shouting Fangy,” Shean scolded, “people could hear you.”

He pouted up at Shean, “but you should have heard Kristen screaming, I swear they could hear her till Canada.”

I flushed and scowled at him, “it was scary at first. You people gave me no warning, I was just happily sitting there and then suddenly I was being attacked! You could have told me you know.”

Shean snickered, “it takes a bit to set the glamour, and we had to move you out fast before people realized there were two of you.”

I gave him a blank look. Sooo…what? They made a clone of me? And what the heck was a glamour

He shook his head, “we needed them to think you were still there, Ray and I were already gone; we’ve been making doubles of ourselves for so long that it only takes a few minutes. But it took a little longer to make one of you.”

Ohhh, that was why they had looked so much like the rubber rats you buy with the floppy paws and they red tongues sticking out of the sides of their mouths.

“So,” Darren hopped in, “you ready for the game?”

“I get Kristen on my team,” howled Adrian.

“Wait what?” I asked.

“The game is simple,” started Ray, “stay out of the water; if you get wet, then you’re out.” He pulled out a rod and handed it to me, “this is your weapon. The objective is to get the opposite team wet before you do.”

“And how…”

He took the rod away from me as I reached the middle of my question. It was silver and metal, pretty awesome looking if you asked me. It was kinda like a walking stick without the handle or the little rubber thingy at the end…oaky so it wasn’t like a walking stick, but I did say ‘kinda’.

He pressed a button on the side and pointed the rod at the lake. Water suddenly moved towards the rod and entered into it through a hole. I gaped as it then came out the other end in a water whip form. He handed it back to me, smiling.

“Attack and drive your opponent into the lake,” Shean said coming up next to me. he had one too, the rod was black though.

“Kristen is on my team!” Adrian howled again.

“Go easy on her,” Darren said chuckling, “she’s just a little human.” He grabbed my cheek and tugged on it.

“Hey,” I giggled trying to pull away from him.

“C’mon,” said Shean grabbing Darren, “we’ll be on a team, Ray, Adrian, don’t let her get lost, this is a no boundaries round!”

Adrian grinned as I began to ask exactly what a no boundaries round was. His leg shot out ad suddenly I was falling backwards. He caught me just before my head hit the ground; he winked at me before lifting me up and shooting towards the forest in great leaps and bounds.

“No higher than the tree line,” Shean yelled after us.

“Got it fly boy!” Adrian screamed back before we suddenly dove into the dark forest.