Page 72 of Aviatrix

That ship didn’t just feel human. It hunted me like one.

“Talk to me, Quay,” Eli’s hums through my headset.

I glance out the cockpit window. He’s still with me, close off my wing, his custom black F-35A riding steady in formation. His gaze finds mine through the glass, unblinking.

“I’m fine,” I lie, voice too tight to sell it.

“You look green.” He tries to make it light, but I can hear the tension under the joke. “Talk to me.”

I shake my head. “Just... give me a sec.”

He doesn’t press. Instead, he stays there—silent, steady—flying close like a shadow I didn’t know I needed.

And it helps. Not enough to settle the storm inside me, but enough to remember I’m not alone in the sky.

I know better than to get used to it. This—him being close—is only temporary.

We touch down in record time. VAL’s landing is smooth as glass.

As the cockpit lifts open, a wave of muggy Oklahoma air slams into me, thick and hot, making it harder to breathe.

I unclip my helmet and pull it off just as Eli jogs toward me across the tarmac. My head pounds, but my feet find the ladder. I descend slowly, muscles still humming with leftover adrenaline.

The moment I hit solid ground, his arms are around me. Eli pulls me in tight, his cheek pressing against the top of my head. His heartbeat thuds against my ear, fast and uneven.

He was scared.

That thought hits deeper than I expect.

I wrap my arms around his waist and hold on. For a few quiet seconds, we just stand there. Silent, still, real.

Then, he pulls back, jaw tight, expression carved from steel. “I still don’t trust VAL.”

“But she saved my life,” I argue softly, lips quirking into a faint smile.

“We need to find out where she came from,” he says, the fight not leaving his voice.

“First, we contact the General,” I remind him.

“Uh…” he hesitates. I narrow my eyes. “We’ll do that after we find a vehicle.”

“A vehicle?”

He shifts awkwardly. “Yeah, about that. We’re not staying on the base.”

“What?”

“We’re going…” He pauses, visibly swallowing. “Home.”

My eyebrows shoot up.

“Home?” I echo, realization dawning. “Your home?”

He nods once, tight and quick. “Yep.”

“You diverted us to your hometown?”

“It was the only location I could think of after…” he trails off.