It sped in our direction, and my instincts told me I was staring death in the eyes.
FIVE
The aircraft cameat us so fast that my brain froze in panic, my eyes glued to the monster as it loomed closer. For several terrifying seconds, I couldn’t move my feet, couldn’t move anything, could barely even think. And then, as if a switch had been flicked, the life returned to my limbs and adrenaline sent me hurtling down the ladder.
My friends had traveled back over to my post when I reached the bottom, and they stared at me, their eyes wide with alarm.
“Tani, what the—” Jessie began, but I didn’t let her finish.
“An aircraft,” I croaked, barely able to get the words out. “It’s coming our way. We have to?—”
I cut off, realizing I had no idea what we had to do. What wecoulddo. This little cluster of tree houses was our world. Where could we run to? Where could we hide?
There was nowhere, except for the treacherous jungle floor, and how could we take our young ones down there? How long would the adults survive, much less the children?
I cursed, breathing so hard I felt close to hyperventilating.We thought we were oh-so-smart, living out here in the wild. We thought we were prepared. And while that was true, to a large extent, we had not paid enough attention to what would happen if there ever came a day when outsiders threatened us. We had relied on our remoteness, being buried in the heart of the jungle, to keep us safe for so long. To be fair, nobody had intruded on us since the commune’s birth.
Why is it happening now?
“What aircraft?” Robert demanded.
As if in answer to his question, the aircraft’s low growl thundered in the distance, much closer this time.
“We need to warn everyone!” I shouted. “Get everyone together in one place—head to the hall.”
I still had no semblance of a plan, but that seemed like the logical first step. Get everyone together. It didn’t feel safe for everybody to be scattered about;flocks are stronger together. For all I knew, the intruders were not here to harm us—maybe I was just fearing the worst. But after what we had seen back near Zina’s colony, I doubted it, and I didn’t want anyone stuck in isolation for whatever happened next.
“Okay,” Jessie said shakily.
We each took a separate zip line, leading to different parts of the commune. I took the line that led directly to my home. At least, I realized as I soared, my father, aunt, and uncle were already in the process of calling a meeting. It wouldn’t involve everyone in the community, but it would involve some, so that would be a bit of a head start.
My heart twisted as I neared my tree house and saw my mother standing outside on the porch, wearing a frown on her face and holding Bea in her arms as she looked up at the clear sky in confusion.
Her expression lifted when she spotted me hurtling toward her. “Tani! Are you okay?”
“Hurry and get in!” Bea shouted. “Another storm’s comin’.”
“That wasn’t thunder,” I panted as I hit the deck. “Listen, Mom, I’m guessing Dad stopped by to tell you things went wrong during our trip, but everything’s just gotten much worse. You gotta take Bea and get to the community hall, now!” I grabbed the two harnesses resting against the wall outside the door and helped my sister into hers, while my mother took the other.
“What do you mean?” she breathed.
I glanced at Bea, who gazed up at me with fear and confusion, and set my jaw, looking back at my mother. “A large aircraft is heading our way, and I don’t know why. Just get to the hall, and yell to everyone you come across to do the same.”
“What’s an aircraft?” Bea murmured as my mother nodded nervously and launched onto the line with her. I followed, hearing the sound of panicked shouting all around me as I glided.
Robert and Jessie were doing their jobs, and others would take on the responsibility of doing the same. But the thundering of the machine was growing too loud, and I knew we wouldn’t all get to the hall in time. It was simply approaching too fast.
A thought struck me then, and when we hit the next deck, instead of taking the line that would lead me after my mother, I pivoted toward where Robert and Jessie had convened, on the porch of a house six trees along.
“Tani, what are you doing?” my mother cried when she realized I had stopped following her.
“I’ll catch up with you!” I shouted back. “Just look after Bea.”
She was already in momentum along a line, so there was nothing she could do but continue gliding. I just hoped she wouldn’t come back looking for me once she got Bea to safety.
“I’m heading to the museum to get those masks,” I informedmy friends as I landed in front of them. “Follow me if you want to help.”
Jessie looked nervous as the rumbling grew ever louder over our heads, but she and Robert nodded, and we headed off.
