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Taylor

The wind flows through my hair as my bike hits a hundred miles an hour down a vacant highway.

I desperately want to feel as if I’m flying, but the only way to do that would result in the lights turning off and escaping this cruel world. But I’ve come too far to allow that to happen.

A car flies by, going in the opposite direction and the small glimpse of terror that I might hit them causes me to take that as a sign to slow the hell down.

As I round the curve of the mountain, I catch sight of a lookout point and pull into the small gravel lot.

My chest rises and falls rapidly as I look out at the valley full of burnt orange and yellow. A beautiful sight reminding me that I am here. I’m alive. I made it out with only hidden scars.

Kicking my bike stand down, I rise, my legs aching as they hit the gravel.

“Damn.” A groan escapes me as I walk to the wooden fence separating the road from the edge of the rocky slope.

Every muscle in my body aches, feeling the effects of riding for hours.

Stretching my arms over my head, I revel in the fact I am out of the brace that has been confining my wrist.

Doc officially cleared me today and the first thing I did was take off on my bike. I think Boone and everyone at the Clubhouse knew I needed a moment away because when I texted the group chat saying I’d be back later; they didn’t question more, nor did they send someone to go with me.

Ever since Aries disappeared, everyone has been travelling in pairs or small groups.

We are truly flying blind and are taking extra precautions in case this attack isn’t an isolated incident.

It’s officially been two months and two days since Aries disappeared without a trace. And after our visit from Team Blackbird, it feels as if a dark cloud has been hanging low over the Clubhouse.

Landon was right. We exhausted all our options and now we have no choice but to sit and wait. Which is easier said than done.

And the nightmares that have been plaguing my sleepless nights have really taken a toll on my psyche.

Ever since I was seventeen, my nights have been haunted by the people who have wronged me. And when I stepped foot behind the gates of the compound, I figured they’d follow me, but to my surprise, they didn’t. Of course, they still happen every once in a while, but they were nowhere near as frequent as they were when I was in—--not so pleasant living conditions.

Braveheart offered me every opportunity to see a therapist, but I refused for a year. I refused to let others see my scars were not as deep or hidden as they appeared. I wanted to forget about my past, forget the times where my body didn’t belong to me and my mind wasn’t my own. But after a year of living in control of myself, I realized that those dark memories I pushed away for so long were harder to forget than I thought.

Between the missions and helping the team with whatever they needed, plus weekly visits with my therapist, I thought I was doing well. Then Aries’ disappearance shattered that ideology and the feelings of failure are ringing loud and proud in my head.

My phone ringing in my pocket drags me out of my head and I’m thankful for the distraction.

Boone’s name flashes across the screen and I let out a sigh of annoyance, but answer the call.

“Hello.”

“Where are you? Why is your location off?”

Taking the phone away from my ear, I place Boone on speaker and curse under my breath. I meant to turn it back on after the first hour, but I forgot. “Horseshoe Canyon. Sorry. Meant to turn it back on, I just got—”

Boone cuts me off, his voice full of anger. “Why the hell did you turn your location off? Did you forget this was a mandatory order for everyone right now? You’re lucky—”

He stops himself, but he doesn’t need to finish the sentence. I know exactly what he was going to say, and guilt floods me.

“Sorry. Just needed to clear my head.”

“We will discuss this later. Are you on your bike, or did you take the Suburban?”

My spine straightens at the slight tone of panic in his voice.

“Bike. Boone, what’s wrong?”

“We got a ping from his phone.” He pauses and I hear rapid typing in the background. “He’s about forty miles from your location. I’m sending you an address. Meet us there. We need eyes on the grounds now. The more advantage we have, the better.”

My feet crunch against the gravel as I run back to my bike, swinging my leg over and putting my helmet on at rapid speed.

The comms systems connect and I secure my phone to my bike, loading the address into the GPS as soon as it comes through.

“We will be about ten minutes behind you. Approach slowly and do not engage. If they suspect you are there, they could run and we will lose any chance we have of finding him.”

“Okay.”

“Taylor. Do not engage. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Lie.

Boone is delusional as hell if he thinks I’m going to wait for backup. Aries may have seconds left to live if he isn’t already dead. Every second matters and Boone is a fool to think I’d wait a millisecond longer to get my eyes on Ari.

The engine on my bike purrs to life and my tires throw gravel behind me as I make my way onto the road.

“Taylor. I fucking mean it.”

“I know.”

The call disconnects and I push my bike to its limit.

Not the smartest idea as I drive further up the mountain, but I pay no attention to it. The roads are still slick from the horrendous rainstorm we had last night. Power lines were down all over town and I can only imagine that it’s going to be worse the further I get into the dense mountain town.

As if the universe is listening, a raindrop hits my visor, and the sky opens up. Lightning strikes somewhere in the distance.

I pass a downed power line and it clicks.

Is that why Aries’ phone is back online? The power outage reset everything in our systems, so I imagine it must have done the same for Aries’ captor.

Rain falls at a rapid rate and any other day, I’d curse Mother Nature herself, but not this time. Whatever hell she brought down last night may just have given Aries a second chance.

My GPS signals I am less than five minutes away, and a wave of panic hits me.

What if he isn’t here? What if he’s dead? What if he is no longer the man we once knew?

Fear threatens to consume me as I drive closer and closer to the blinking red dot on the map, but I push it down and drive faster.

Focus Taylor.

Aries saved me when I thought I could only trust myself to make it to the next day. And now is my chance to return the favor. I may hate his overly watchful eye some days, but doing everything in my power to save him will make me feel as if the favor has been repaid. Even if running in blind gets me killed.