The Phoenix Creation, page 2
The Patrol cadets cheered for him and Alya did a quick glance while they were preoccupied. They seemed to be alright guys from what she could see; all about eighteen, the same as Tal. They were all much of a muchness. Patrol tended to attract the athletic type, and that Alya could see. They had their hair cut the same way, short back and sides with a bit of length on top. No tattoos though, that was against the rules. Alya glanced away when she saw one of them staring at her. He wasn’t as interested in Tal’s performance as the rest of them and he stood idly by, his arms folded across his chest. She thought his name was Raiden, as Tal had mentioned before that he was in a class with the Patrol commander’s son. He was a big guy, fairly tall and extremely ripped, with brown hair and possibly blue eyes? It was hard to tell from where she was.
Alya allowed Berlin to get ahead of her and she fixed her gaze on his back as she followed so that she didn’t have to acknowledge the crowd of Patrol cadets who had now turned their attention back to her.
She suspected they either knew she was Tal’s sister and were being polite, ready to nod hello when she glanced back up at them, or they didn’t know and thought look at this pretty girl coming towards them. She didn’t mind them looking. She was used to it. Alya didn’t think she was quite as devastatingly pretty as Paris but she knew she wasn’t far off, and she knew that she had a nice figure which is probably what earned her the glances she was getting right now. Alya felt her cheeks warm. It was embarrassing in front of Tal, and although most of the time she thought he was an idiot, she was still his little sister and she certainly didn’t want to put him in a position where he felt he had to defend her. That said, she didn’t know if he would defend her, he never had yet, maybe he never would.
‘Hi guys,’ said Berlin cheerfully. Her friend clearly didn’t feel as daunted as Alya by the presence of Patrol cadets, and the guys politely, albeit coolly, acknowledged him as he hiked up the ladder of one of the upper platforms; the second highest one.
Alya followed him reluctantly. They were on the platform five metres above Patrol and it probably looked like they were showing off, but Alya knew Berlin, and he was a bit thoughtless; he wouldn’t have anything in his head except having fun.
She followed him out onto the platform and stood respectfully back so she didn’t distract him. By this point, Patrol had all inclined their heads towards them and were watching as Berlin launched himself off the platform towards the water. He kept it simple with his wings folded snug against his body. He entered the water perfectly straight and swum with the aid of his wings in a pendulum arc up towards the surface. Berlin rather sadly cheered for himself when he broke the water’s surface, and Alya couldn’t help but giggle at him. She glanced down and to her right to see Tal, now re-joining the end of the Patrol queue glaring up at her. She didn’t know why, but his expression really annoyed her. It was like he was saying she was forbidden to have any fun in his presence. Who did he think he was?
Berlin hadn’t finished with his antics and was now trying to take-off from submersion much to the delight of some of Patrol, including Tal. They watched him struggle, clearly lacking the strength to pull free from the water despite being top of the class. Someone said something that made the Patrol cadets laugh out loud, and Alya was too late to see whom it was, but judging from her brother’s body language, she suspected it was him. She was really annoyed now. Berlin was a bit daft but he was a nice guy, and he wasn’t aloof or thought he was better than anyone else like these idiots standing down from her. She saw Berlin look up at his audience, his face reddening further as he realised his gaffe and gave up and swam to the side of the pool.
The Patrol cadet in front of Tal stepped up to the edge of the platform and prepared himself, ensuring his feet were neatly placed, his wings tucked in. He launched up into the air, somersaulted twice and landed with a neat plop, causing his peers to cheer loudly.
Alya had to control her expression. If she’d allowed it to run free, she would have a snarl on her lips and a look of pure rage in her eyes. She stepped up to the platform.
This is for Berlin, she thought, as she proceeded to launch herself out. She decided to elevate her position, partly because the downdraught from her wings would force the Patrol group to look up at her, and partly because she wanted the height she was attaining to be unique, reckless almost, to someone who was used to the rules–like Tal.
Alya ascended higher with three beats of her wings, and she knew that she had the entire attention of the pool. The instructors standing on the sides, her classmates, and all of Patrol. She could see Berlin way below her. He’d reached the ladder to climb out but was looking up at her, mouth aghast at her defiance of the use of wings during a diving routine.
Alya somersaulted three times in quick succession like an electrified cannonball and entered the water below in a perfect ten. Plop. There was almost no evidence that she had ever been there, except a small ripple in the water’s surface. She plunged into deep water and used her wings to take over where her body left off, propelling her through the water until she surfaced.
Where Berlin had stopped, Alya kept going, rising from the pool like the phoenix image she so enjoyed. She propelled out of the water like a rocket, and it was easy. She continued to climb into the air until she knew that she was level with the Patrol platform and then she turned elegantly around, droplets of water sliding from her glistening black wings, until she was almost face to face with Tal. She put her arms out to her sides with her palms facing up for a dramatic finale, and smiled smugly at Tal.
Tal’s eyes glittered with anger and he clenched his jaw. The rest of the Patrol cadets were not amused either. She had just disobeyed the rules and also flaunted her ability to take-off from submersion, which most of them still couldn’t do. She flipped around so she had her back to them and glanced down at the many faces looking up at her including Hanuel. He shook his head, his black curls spraying water as if advising her to calm it down. Her regular instructor was hopping about like a madwoman, screaming for her to stop fooling around. Alya ignored her, it was clear she would be discharged from swimming lessons and so she belligerently decided to have one last moment. She flipped head first, and dove back into the water, swooping again, under the surface and extricating herself effortlessly out of the water. This time she flew gently to the side and landed on her feet. She shook her feathers like a giant dog trying to dry itself, and without looking back decided to discharge herself, and stalked off to the changing rooms.
The shower was a bit too warm for a summer’s day, but Alya stood under for a few minutes thinking through what she’d just done. She was actually a bit sad that she’d done it now and knew she wouldn’t be allowed back to swimming lessons. She’d given her brother more ammunition against her, and she’d revealed hers and Hanuel’s secret, the one Poppy had encouraged them to keep.
Alya heard somebody come in and knew straight away who it was. He didn’t have to say anything.
‘Sorry,’ she said, without sincerity. She suspected that he knew she was trying to forget as quickly as possible about it all.
‘Alya, you’re crazy.’
She could hear the tinge of humour in his voice and in just those few words he made her feel infinitely better, but she was sorry she’d let him down. She opened the door to the shower cubicle.
He was standing with his hands casually on his hips, and he smiled at her when she came out.
‘You’re discharged by the way. They said for me to tell you.’
‘Oh well,’ she said quietly.
‘Come here.’ Hanuel pulled her to him and they hugged for a bit.
Alya happened to be facing the mirror and she noticed some dark marks against Hanuel’s skin which she hadn’t seen earlier. They appeared to be symmetrical bruises either side of his back, near where his ribs finished.
‘What are those?’ she asked, surprised.
‘What?’ said Hanuel, and then he realised what she was referring to. ‘Oh, it’s nothing, Alya. Don’t worry ok.’
Hanuel knew better than to lie to her, but he wasn’t forthcoming with the real answer either. Alya peered into his eyes awaiting an actual valid response.
‘What? Alya, just leave it alone ok, there’s nothing I can do about it, so …’
‘Someone did this to you?’ she asked startled.
‘Not just someone,’ said Hanuel miserably.
‘Who was it?’ she said, more sharply than she’d intended.
‘Not here ok,’ said Hanuel, gently taking her wrist. ‘Can we go somewhere else, and then I can tell you.’
Alya immediately linked their location and Hanuel’s reluctance to explain to one another. ‘He’s here?’ she asked. She was incensed, if her brother had hurt Hanuel ...
‘Alya!’ snapped Hanuel. ‘It’s not Tal if that’s what you were thinking.’
It was what she was thinking, but ok then, she was wrong.
‘Who then?’
‘It’s one of the Patrol cadets.’
Alya knew then who it was of course. ‘Is it Raiden?’
Hanuel’s expression was answer enough, and she turned to march back to the pool. Hanuel ran alongside her and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
‘Alya! Don’t you dare!’ he growled through gritted teeth.
She turned to acknowledge him. He looked angry, but frightened too.
‘Hanuel?’ she said gently. She was extremely concerned. What was going on? Why was Raiden being a bully towards Hanuel?
‘I don’t know,’ shrugged Hanuel, as if reading her thoughts. ‘Let’s just get out of here, ok?’
Alya could see that she had little choice. If she marched back to the pool, Hanuel would surely disown her, and she was already in enough trouble without picking a fight with a Patrol cadet.
Alya met Hanuel in the foyer where it was now nice and quiet without twenty, five-year-olds chattering and running around everywhere. He looked at her apologetically as if it was his fault she’d been booted out of class.
She couldn’t help but take a little peek at the pool before they left to see if her antics had caused much disruption, but they hadn’t. Lancelot was still doing laps. Tal, she noticed was now crouched by the side of the pool chatting to Paris, and the other cadets had returned to dive practice. She suddenly noticed that second in line to use the ten-metre platform was Raiden, and he was staring straight up at her. He stood completely still, fixed on her as she reacted warily, trying to stand up to his callous gaze. She turned after only a few seconds, determined not to let the stupid shit ruin the rest of her day.
‘Come on,’ she grabbed Hanuel playfully, aware that he hadn’t noticed the frosty exchange between her and Raiden, and pushed him towards the entrance, rushing him out into the sun.
They took the monorail to Beltane, a little suburb just outside of San Fran where there was open parkland and fields. It was recreational land with a smattering of private housing, and a small, quaint high street, with a few traditional shops.
Beltane was popular as a tourist spot during summer holidays, and for weekend trips for visitors from the other districts. It was highly rated by families as there was so much level land for children to play. They could run or ride their bikes, fly kites, or if they were old enough, they could fly themselves.
It was away from the skyscrapers that dominated the way of life around the perimeter of Continent One. It was nice not to have steps to climb or elevators to seek out, to go from home to work to leisure and back. And if you were aged over fourteen, you could fly around Beltane without adult supervision or a licence.
The sun was still high in the sky and Alya and Hanuel wandered down the high street taking in the shop displays. In less than two days this place would be jampacked with tourists as they descended for the summer holidays. Some people would travel from around Continent One and just do day trips, and others would camp in the level fields around Beltane. There were several hotels and B&B’s too, which would have been booked up since last summer. It was an opportune moment to visit, while it was still quiet, and ideal for getting out of the city to clear their heads after today’s fiasco.
They made their way from the high street across the park, with its sweet river weaving through the immaculately kept, grassy banks. The park had ancient statues dotted around it which had been rescued during the flood, and relocated to Continent One. Alya’s particular favourite was the statue of Abraham Lincoln, probably because of the sheer size of it but also because she had fond memories of when her father worked as Patrol, and he and her mother would attend the annual Abraham Lincoln Ball, dressed in similar attire to that of the ancient president, of a place that used to exist, called America.
They continued walking, laughing about stupid sayings and the small misdemeanours of Poppy, which Hanuel always found amusing. It was taking both their minds off the swimming pool events, and some flying around in the sunshine was bound to do so even more.
They were near the edge of the park and they hid their bags under a shrub to collect later. There weren’t many people about, and this was a fly-zone so they could pretty much take flight from wherever they chose.
Alya stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for Hanuel to tie his laces extra tight. Hanuel knew when he flew with her, he had better be prepared for anything. He looked up at her and grinned, and Alya beamed, noticing the mischief in his eyes. This was her Hanuel. When he eventually let go of whatever he was fretting about, he was simply the best playmate to have around, and she knew she brought the best out in him.
‘Ready?’ She spread her wings out slowly, adjusting her light blue vest at the back to accommodate them, then flexed, bringing her shoulders back, feeling the glorious strength of the muscles in her back next to where her wings started. The breeze ruffled her feathers, the sensation tingling down the bone.
‘Ready,’ said Hanuel, standing up straight. He spread his wings, bent his knees, and with several powerful beats took off from standing.
Alya watched him until he was several metres above her head, waiting for his down draught to dissipate so that it wouldn’t interfere with her own take-off, and then she too began to launch.
She climbed vertically for several metres, getting her bearings of the park below, and enjoying her prowess of being able to take-off from standing when most people needed a platform to launch. She felt her chest muscles working overtime, and the wonderful familiar feeling of her lungs and heart working twice as hard to accommodate the exertion.
‘Come on then!’ Hanuel cried, from above. He’d gained some altitude already, and was now on his way back down, swooping above her head, and forcing her to steady herself as he deliberately caused a downdraft.
Alya whooped in delight. If Hanuel was in the mood to play, then she would play. She blazed after him as he took off westwards, towards the sun, staying in his slipstream as best she could until he figured she was after him, and then he banked left and right to make it harder for her.
Alya knew Hanuel too well and she was able to keep in the stream of freshly parted air quite easily. If she really wanted to, a little extra effort and she’d be able to tag his toes but she was more interested in just stretching out; it had been almost three days since she last flew properly, and even then it had been at school in the aerodrome, which was nowhere near as exciting as this.
Hanuel changed tack, and began to fly vertically, waiting for Alya to join him, which she did. They flew side by side, up and up without reserve until all of a sudden, the air turned considerably cooler and they glanced below to gauge their altitude.
‘Five-thousand-feet?’ said Alya gleefully to Hanuel. She beat her wings vigorously remaining in situ, with Hanuel doing the same next to her.
‘Definitely,’ agreed Hanuel.
‘Haha, race you!’ She tipped headfirst, closing her wings tight to her body and plummeting back to Earth.
Despite her head start, Hanuel was at her side as they plunged through the sky, neither one of them easing up as the earth below them grew closer. Alya had a chance to glance at Hanuel and saw he was as delighted as she at their quest to be first to the ground. They were averaging two-hundred miles-per-hour and the ground was coming up fast.
‘One-thousand,’ cried Hanuel, as a guess and a warning for their altitude.
‘Wahoo!’ cried Alya. She hadn’t managed to out-drop Hanuel but she didn’t care, she was fully enjoying their comradery and expected they’d land on the ground together.
‘Five-hundred!’
From the corner of her eye, she could see that Hanuel had begun to unfold his wings, the air began to ripple over his feathers making the ends flutter as the air aggravated his descent.
‘Alya!’ cried Hanuel, as she accelerated away from him, into the last few hundred-feet.
She grinned as her friend disappeared from view and the ground came even closer.
‘Alya!’ screamed Hanuel, behind her, clearly worried by her recklessness.
The park where they had set off from came clearly into view, as did the faces of some park-goers that were now looking skywards at her rapid arrival. She couldn’t have been any more than one-hundred-feet from the ground and seemed not to notice Hanuel screaming behind her or the shocked cries from the total strangers below advising her to slow down. It was as if she were compelled to hold on until the last second which she almost did. The sun reflecting off the river below her seemed to bring her to her senses and in an instant, she deployed her wings wide, curving them over and allowing the dense feathers underneath to buffet the air and slow her descent. She flexed with all her strength, the velocity of her descent suddenly dawning on her as she realised, she’d timed her landing completely wrong. The ground was only feet away and she dug deep for reserves, pushing everything she had into her wings, feeling the pressure pushing through her bones to the feather tips. They curved like a parachute and her legs began rocking back and forth as her momentum finally arrested—twenty feet from the ground.
