B2: Chapter 18 - Old Friends, Forgotten Friends - I

                                    

                                          


                          
  Every time Hailey flew, she felt like her mind was wiped clean. She could just bask in the sunlight, never too hot with the wind rushing across her entire body and keeping her cool. Over time, she'd learned how to shape the incoming air so it didn't blast her face so painfully, which included the side effect of reducing drag and helping her fly faster and with less effort. With massive, puffy white clouds forming breathtaking landscapes for her to dive and roll around, she enjoyed a never-ending expanse (mostly) to herself and her best friend.
                          
  She'd long since stopped diving into clouds though, after spending a whole afternoon uncomfortably drenched. If she'd had Jessica with her, they could have dried off quickly enough with magic, but instead she had to keep above the rain clouds, feeding herself a supply of oxygen while slowly drying out in the sunlight and hoping her sunscreen hadn't worn off. She felt like she might freeze, but she got through it.
                          
  Today, Hailey couldn't clear her mind. Flying fast only had the effect of making their destination that much closer, building up stronger emotions with every unsuspecting human town they swept past. Did she dread reuniting with her old friends? Was she excited? She wanted to just take it stoically, as a mission to recruit for the army she'd suddenly decided to build.
                          
  "Nah, not an army," she mused aloud, while Jessica slept bundled up against her. "More like a team. Just enough people to find him, stop whatever he tries, and take him down. No one else has to get hurt."
                          
  They were flying through the night sky, which they both felt was dark and quiet enough to not need her invisibility. Jessica was getting sleep wherever she could, since they still had a long trip ahead of them. Hailey couldn't see how she managed to sleep strapped into the harness, but Jessica's breathing was quiet and steady and she hadn't moved in hours. Either she was asleep or way better at meditation than Hailey knew.
                          
  She wished she could get some sleep, but after a whole night tossing and turning, Hailey resigned herself to quick catnaps whenever they took a break. It got so bad that Jessica gave up too and stayed awake with her, watching TV while they waited for nightfall. As soon as it was dark, they were up and in the air again, leaving the cheap motel they'd rented a single night at. Hailey didn't expect they'd even bother for night two.
                          
  As they cruised south, passing over cities with familiar landmarks, Hailey pulled out her phone. She occasionally got coverage at their flight level, depending on what towers were nearby, but it was spotty at best. Still, the GPS function gave her enough to keep them on track as they flew, and she could always use the highways or the coastline as a guide.
                          
  Her real fear was planes. With exhaustion really setting in, Hailey kept seeing phantom planes popping into the corner of her peripheral vision. Even though she could consciously tell herself that commercial planes stayed miles above her, she couldn't shake the vision of herself splattered across the front windows of an airliner, or sucked into a jet engine, or worse.
                          
  She did spot the occasional small plane and the odd helicopter, but they were easy enough to dodge. One close call in a low fog bank with a buzzing prop plane, though, and Hailey's worst fears were almost realized. Jessica woke with a start to a hard roll as Hailey dove out of the way, almost clipping the plane's tail.
                          
  Maybe I should get a radio and listen to air traffic...
                          
  As it turned out, they didn't need to stop for a second night. They arrived in Norwalk just as the sun began to set. Hesitantly, Hailey pulled out her phone and—for the first time since May—logged into her old social accounts. Cinza insisted that the phone's location could not be traced under any circumstances, but Hailey didn't know enough about the internet to ever be sure. She stayed far up in the sky, gliding on thermals rising up from the streets. She could see the L.A. sprawl stretching in every direction.