Page 2 of The Long Lost Omega

“A girl?” The boy named Jax asked, looking at his friends before looking back at me. “You’re really far from town. Are you lost?” He said, and I couldn’t stop staring at how perfectly symmetrical his face was.

“I’m not lost, my family is right down the trail.” I pointed in the direction I came from, but when I looked down, I noticed that the trail wasn’t where I remembered. It was just forest as far as we could see. “Well, Iwason a trail.” I said, confusion hitting me. Maybe I was disoriented from the nap.

“Don’t worry, we can help you back. We explore up here all the time!” Tony said, and ran up to the outlook next to me. “I can even see where we live from here. Look, way far out there, that’s our house!” He pointed proudly, but I was looking out at the city. It didn’t look like Weatherby to me. The houses looked bigger, and the city looked brighter, more golden somehow. “But we can explore together. Do you have a map?” Tony asked. As tall as he was, he was still bouncing with excitement. I grinned. Maybe I could make friends on this trip after all. Cute boys normally didn’t talk to me, and I was sure they would never have approached me if they knew how unpopular I was at school. But for now, I could be anyone.

“I don’t have a map. But I would like to explore. This place is really cool.” I said, happy to have temporary friends.

“Did you see the creek yet?” Kaden asked, and I shook my head. “We’ll show you! Come on!” He cried with excitement. The three of them waved me along and started jogging, whooping and smiling as they tore through the forest. I laughed and ran after them, trying to keep up. The three boys looked back, making sure to slow down here and there so I could stay with them. Soon we reached an area where the trees thinned, and a large, shallow creek appeared, the water crystal clear.

“Wow!” I exclaimed as I took in the view. I stepped closer, crouching down to reach my hand into the cool, refreshing water. Although the creek was wide, it wasn’t deep enough that we could swim in it. Kaden crouched down next to me, reaching his hand in as well.

“There's frogs here too. They’re hard to spot, but if you look you can see them.” I scanned the rocks, looking for any movement. Kaden did too, his face locked with concentration until he saw something. “There! See!” He leaned in right next to me, and pointed,

“I don’t see it.” I murmured, but he got up and walked slowly to a pile of river stones.

“Right there. It will jump if I get any closer.” He said as he pointed. Suddenly I saw it - a frog with green and blue markings.

“Wow! I’ve never seen one like that before!” I exclaimed. Tony suddenly rushed up and reached down, scooping the water to splash all over Kaden. That started a water fight, and the two were soon creating a small hurricane of water flying all over the creek bed while Jax grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Careful! Don’t splash her!” He called out as he pushed me out of the way. I was surprised in the best way -no one was ever this protective of me.

“Awe come on, we weren’t going to splash her!” Tony said as the two finished their battle, coming toward us with their clothes completely soaked. “Anyway, she needs to see the old plane!” Tony’s words puzzled me. What plane?

“Good idea! Come here Safira.” Jax said, taking my hand. I felt a shock when he did so. I’d never held a boy’s hand before, and he took it like it was second nature to him, leading me toward a pathway of stones sticking up from the creek. “We have to crosshere. Stay on the stones. You might have to jump, but we’ll be right here to make sure you don’t fall in.” He stepped toward the creek, and his foot landed onto the first flat stone, making sure to angle it on the dry area above the water. Kaden and Tony followed us, and I saw Tony hold his hands out in case I fell.

“One step at a time. Good job!” The three of them helped me as I jumped from stone to stone, following behind Jax as we made our way across the creek. Tony and Kaden got too close at one point, both of them trying to balance on one stone, flailing their arms as they tried to stay upright. With some kind of incredible luck, we made it across without falling in. Jax still had one of my hands, guiding me to safety. Just as I was about to step on the last few stones, Kaden came bounding through the shallow water, reaching for my other hand, the two of them helping me onto dry land as if I was a queen. Tony crossed last, and the three of them gave me the biggest grins I’d ever seen.

“See! We got you across safely!” Kaden said with his chest puffed up. I felt a strange emotion. I wasn’t used to anyone trying to impress me so much, yet these boys seemed determined to show me how impressive they were.

“Come on! This is really cool!” Tony said, racing off as we turned to follow. There was a meadow up ahead, and I couldn't understand how all these landmarks were up here. I’d never thought the terrain of the campground would have a creek or a big meadow like this. It was hard to walk through the tall, wild grass, but the boys held onto me, steadying me as we walked toward the center. My mouth dropped open as I saw it. There was an old, small, abandoned plane right in the middle. I couldtell it had been there for years, rust lining the edges and vines growing through the open door on the side. I turned to Jax.

“Has this always been here?” I asked, and he nodded at me, still grinning.

“Yeah, but only a few people know. No one comes out here.” He said with a calm, knowing voice. I tried to walk toward it faster, trudging through the thick brush. We reached the plane, and I looked at it in awe. I would probably get in trouble if Lisa knew I was poking around out here, but she wasn’t around, and I wanted to do something for myself for once. I was having fun for the first time that I could remember.

“Can we go inside?” I asked, and Kaden stood by the open pilot door and held out his hand.

“Yea, but it’s pretty small in there. You can sit in the pilot seat if you want.” I grabbed his hand while the others crouched down next to me, clasping their hands together.

“Step on our hands and we'll help you up.” Jax said as the three of them hoisted me in.

“Ooof.” My breath huffed out of me as I landed on the old seat, looking at the tangle ofvines growing through the cockpit. I scrambled up, sitting in the pilot seat and looking out through the window. Three heads popped up near the bottom of the door, and the boys waited to see my reaction. “This is… incredible!” I said, gripping a lever as I looked out. The window was angledand looked out to the open sky, and I imagined for a moment I was free to go wherever I wanted.

“Right? We don’t know the story behind it, but it’s been here ever since we started exploring.” Jax mentioned before walking around to one of the engines. I looked at the control panel. “Don’t you wish it worked?” He said, inspecting the propeller blades.

“I wish I could fly away.” I said softly, and Kaden looked at me.

“Why? We only just met! You haven’t seen anything yet!” His joke gave me a smile. These guys actually liked hanging out with me. It made me feel more normal than I had in a long time. “But really, are you okay? You should at least take water with you if you come all the way up here.” His words didn’t make sense. I looked at the old plane, running my hands along the buttons and dials.

“We’re not too far from the campsite.” I replied.

“Campsite? We didn’t see anyone camping.” Kaden said as Jax pulled out his phone.

“Smile!” Jax held his phone up, and I gave a shy grin as he snapped a photo of me in the plane. I wasn’t used to people treating me like this. “You can call your parents too if you want!” He said as the others held out their hands to help me down. I paused before answering. I didn’t want to explain my family situation to them and ruin the mood.

“That’s fine. I came out here to get away from everyone to be honest.” I said hesitantly as my feet touched the ground. The guys exchanged another look.

“That’s okay. We have so much to explore.” Tony said as he threw his arms open at the sky. “We’re free out here!” His joyous energy was infectious. Even though I’d been spending my days sad and on edge around my family, out here all my worries seemed to fade away. Tony was right. Out here, I felt free.

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