Chapter 13
Noelle Evergreen
I heard the shouting as I climbed the stairs. I was about to open the door to the hallway where my apartment was when I stopped. I could hear a human man shouting.
“Where is the human that you took from Sala!”
“I don't know where she is,” Gavonn said.
I stayed put. Gavonn was putting on some kind of ruse, and I had to go along with it. For whatever reason, he did not want me to make myself known. It seemed that the human thought Gavonn had taken me against my will. That was probably something that damn Samara had said out of spite.
I wanted to tell them that I had gone willingly. I wanted to tell them that I was in love with Gavonn. But I knew better. I knew that he wanted me to stay hidden. He was a captain and understood military missions. I knew I should listen to him. My heart was beating so fast, and I had to put my hand over my mouth to control the loudness of my breathing. I didn't want them to hear me. I leaned against the wall, frozen. Listening to their conversation, I was waiting for some kind of clue as to what Gavonn wanted me to do. Then I finally heard it.
“Noelle is not here. I would know if she were. She's probably gone somewhere safe.”
I knew exactly what this meant. He wanted me to go to the cabin. But how would he find me? Then I remembered him putting the information into his arm cuff. He could easily get to me. He was a dragon after all, and at any moment he could escape these humans and fly straight up into the air. They would not be fast enough to get to him because they would have to get into a battle plane. They would have to radio it in. He would be gone before they could even get prepared. But what would slow him down would be trying to protect me and carry me with him. No, I needed to go alone.
I heard the elevator door opening and the man taking Gavonn inside. I waited for the doors to close and the hallway to be silent. Then I ran as fast as I could down the stairs. I only had a very small window. I ran into the garage and started my car.
“What if they are waiting at the exit of the garage, Noelle?” I said to myself.
“You will just have to take the chance.” I knew that if I got out and went on foot, I would be too slow. There were too many cameras all over the subway stations and trains. I would never make it out. I had to try to drive out. Just be calm and slow. Don't drive fast and recklessly and draw attention to yourself, I thought.
I pulled the car to the exit of the garage. It was dusk. The sun was coming up, but it had not come up over the horizon. It was that twilight time between night and day. I kept my headlights off. I didn't see anything unusual. There were no Earth warriors or men in black suits. There was traffic coming in my direction. I had to get lost in this. I waited for an opening between cars and quickly pulled out, making a right turn and only then turning on my headlights. I effortlessly blended in with the traffic. I looked in my rearview mirror over and over, waiting for someone to be following me. Luckily for me, the garage exit was in the back of the building whereas the main entrance was in the front. That would be where they were taking Gavonn out of the building, if they got that far with him. I continued driving several blocks. I still did not know if I was being followed. How could I know? There were millions of cars on the street. Then I had an idea. I don't know why it didn't hit me before.
I made a left turn going west on the island of New York. I should be going north out of New York and into the upstate areas. But I had an idea.
I kept going all the way west until I was at the edge of the island, at the docks. I remembered that there was a car ferry that went all the way up the Hudson to a small town called Tarrytown, also known as Sleepy Hollow.
“One ticket to Tarrytown,” I said to the attendant that stood at the gate. With my window rolled down, the blustery cold wind hit me in the face. It was nice and crisp coming off of the river.
“That will be thirty dollars,” he said.
I took out some cash, careful not to pay with any credit cards, and handed it over to him. He handed me a very large ticket.
“Hang this off of your rearview mirror,” he said.
“Thank you. How long is the trip?” I asked.
“Two hours,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said and rolled up my window. The gate lifted, and I drove over a ramp onto the large ferry boat.
The guide in front of me told me when to stop. Then he came to my window.
“Put on your emergency brake,” he said. I did as he said and only then was he satisfied.
“You must turn off the engine as well. We cannot have cars idling. If you are cold, you may sit inside there; there are also concessions for sale including hot coffee and hot chocolate,” he said and then moved onto the next car pulling in behind me.
“Thank you,” I said as I rolled up the window and then turned off the car. I had no intention of sitting in the cold car for two hours. So I opened the door and got out with my purse in hand. I made my way to the inside of the ferry which was a large glass room.
I walked in and stood at one of the windows. I did want a hot drink, but I couldn't calm down until I knew we were away from the dock. I watched as more cars were loaded onto the ferry.
“Come on, come on,” I whispered to myself.
Then I saw a police car driving along the dock. It was slowing down. I held my breath. I looked at my car. I was grateful that there was a very large pick-up truck parked behind me. It was the type that you saw on the farm. No doubt it was probably a farmer from upstate New York that had brought in his goods earlier in the day and was now headed back. I was glad for the large square bed on the track with wooden planks that was filled with cages, probably for chickens.
I watched as the police car stopped near the gate. But this didn't seem to stop the ferry workers. The ramp was being pulled away, and the engine of the ferry roared to life.
“That's good, come on,” I said as I grabbed my scarf and pulled it across my nose and mouth. I pulled up the hoodie of my faux-fur-lined coat to cover my red hair. The ferry started to move away from the dock. I was relieved, but the police car was still making me nervous. Then, without a policeman getting out or anything on usual, the car continued rolling down the docks. I exhaled in relief.
It wasn't until the lights of New York we're no longer in sight that I felt like I could move again. I had just been frozen against the window looking out, waiting for a helicopter to shine its light on us or for a police officer to catch up with us. But now that we were entering the lush treeline just as the sunrise began to get brighter and brighter, I felt better about my position.
I went to the concession area.
“Can I get a hot cup of coffee with milk,” I said, needing the caffeine this early in the morning with very little sleep because of the time we spent making love all night.
“Sure, one coffee hand warmer coming up,” the concession man joked. I handed him some money, and he handed me the coffee.
I walked out of the glass room and onto the deck of the ferry boat. I moved to the edge of the railing, looking out at the water. It was breathtaking. The snow was covering the riverbank, and the trees had long ago turned orange and yellow and now were covered with ice and snow. The birds began to sing loudly and hop from tree to tree as the animals awoke with the sunrise. The sun was hitting my face, and it was instantly warming me up.
I took a sip of the coffee. It was good. Surprisingly good for a ferry boat. Maybe I was just grateful to have it. I watched as the countryside rolled by us as the boat slowly moved along the river. I had not taken a river ferry since I was a kid. This was how we would get to my grandparents’ cabin in the woods. I always loved it so much. I don't know why I had stopped using the river boat system, even if just for a day on the water. It was beautiful, even in the dead of winter.
I relaxed and leaned against the railing, letting myself enjoy the beautiful morning with my hot cup of coffee. It was then that a very large crane bird flew overhead. It was beautiful, but the size of it reminded me of the weredragons. For a split second, when I first saw the wings, I thought it could be Gavonn. I wondered if he had gotten away. I began to panic.
What if last night was the last time I would ever see him again? What if we had those few hours together only to be separated again for years, or perhaps forever. No, I could not deal with that. I had left things on a bad note. I was still angry at him for not telling me he was married. I never even gave him a chance to explain why or how he had become married. I knew that it was not his fault; I thought that he was possibly dead after the battle that separated us, and he thought the same thing about me. I was just so angry that he had moved on, while I could not. But I couldn't blame him. The Drackon were very different than us. They were patriarchal and placed a great importance on finding a mate. I'm sure that he was forced to finally find one. Shit, I didn't even know if he had children. But something told me that if he did, he would not have left his planet. But how could I really know? I didn't know that he was married.
What I did know was that I loved him. Now that it was possible that I could never see him once again, I was angry at myself for leaving things between us in a strained manner. I did not want our last parting to be one of anger. I should have forgiven him and listened to him. But now it was too late. If I saw him again, I would forgive him. I will let him know that I loved him and would tell him over and over again a thousand times. It was only when I had lost something that I really understood the value of it. You think I would've learned that the first time I lost him.
“Fresh batch of cinnamon rolls!” the boat attendant shouted going around the deck.
As soon as he said it, I could smell them. My stomach grumbled. I was glad for the simple comfort of this sweet delicacy. There wasn't exactly a full kitchen on the ferry boat, but they had small items, like sandwiches, cereal, and, it seemed, cinnamon rolls.
I headed in to get a refill of coffee and a couple of these delicious rolls. I had a two-hour journey ahead of me. Once the boat docked, I still had to drive an hour or more to the cabin. I hoped that Gavonn was all right and that he had gotten away. I didn't know what the punishment would be for him if he did not.