Free Minds

Chapter 78.

   After so much time being cooped up in the basement with machine parts, it was finally time for me to account for those many hours spent bringing my designs of the weapons to be used against the Yunies to life.

   Rav, Dorian and Cami were already at Ridgeton's Mini Haven, trying to find the right spot for the exhibition and test run of the weapons.

   Meanwhile, Landon and I, still at the motel, had just finished packing up the last set of weapons into several large zip tight duffel bags and were carrying them into the Ride car he'd ordered to the junkyard.

   Speaking of Landon, even though he completed his initial task of getting the weapon parts I needed from his links on the web long ago, he still stuck around with me in the basement the following days while Cami and Rav were in her room planning our infiltration of Zavlon Academia.

   After apologising about the combat attack he'd pulled in the basement during our last sparring session, I soon remembered that Landon wasn't just great company, but of huge help too.

   When I began building the weapons days ago, Landon scanned the designs I'd drawn into his laptop and displayed them as holograms like he'd done with the camera recordings in Camila's room. With the weapon parts that didn't exactly match my designs but similar, also provided as much information as he could of the weapon parts from the web I wasn't too familiar with.

   And as time passed by, I got used to the terrible pick up lines he had for me every single day in his sorry excuse of flirt attempts.

   And he was the first person to offer his help in packing the weapons while the others made their way to the junkyard.

   As our taxi made turns through familiar corners of Ridgeton, I made the mistake of letting my head drown into thoughts of how my presentation (was that even the right term?!) of the weapons was going to turn out.

   Like clockwork, my fingers crept to the sides of my thighs, giving them frequent taps as I tried to focus on the fast declining breaths that escaped me.

   What if I choked? What if my sweaty palms dropped the devices when I tried to pick them up from the bags? What if none of the weapons worked? What if I forgot the proper use of a particular weapon and hurt one of my friends as a result? What i–

   A sudden warmth around one of my hands disrupted the crazy direction my train of thought appeared to be headed.

   I didn't bother looking down toward the soft, slightly calloused light skinned hand that enclosed mine, staring instead straight into the bright blue eyes of its owner. Landon didn't hesitate to maintain eye contact we'd assumed as his hold around me tightened. The ends of his mouth then lifted into a smile that could even be reassuring to someone who had just been told that her dog was a crack addict.

"Thanks," I whispered after moments of silence passed.

"You'll do great, Beth." His deep tone was a few pitches lower as well.

   Giving Landon a small nod and a smile of my own, I gave his hand a tight squeeze right before proceeding to let go.

   My brows, however, pinched from the surprise and confusion that arose within me when Landon didn't appear ready to release me yet. Before I got a chance to ask what all this was about, his eyes met mine again. This time though, it wasn't easy to figure out the reason behind the strange gaze directed to me. But I did know that his hand around mine didn't seem to have the same comforting effect anymore. It just felt different...

"Beth," The blinks by his eyes were way too much for the seconds he paused. "There's something you need to kno–"

"You've reached your destination," The overly enthusiastic voice assistant from the self-driving Ride taxi piped up. "You may now exit the vehicle..."