CH1h

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JULY 10TH, 2011

"Stran-gers! Wai-ting! Up and down the boulevard!"

"Ugh…"

"Their sha-dows! Sear-chin' in the niiiight!"

Seline looked down at her new set of clothes. Jed had given her his extra pair of flight pants and an Air Force jacket he had lying around in his plane so she could cover up her semi-nudity. She got to change inside the plane, which was pretty spacious for a two-seater, and she was able to look out of the windows to make sure she wasn't being peeped on the whole time. It took her ages to get the pants on over her ankle monitor, but she managed, and at least she felt comfortable now. The only intolerable thing about this Jed guy now was all the obnoxious singing. He had been belting out classic rock ever since they'd exited the gorge.

She looked out the window and down several feet at that strange man, who had a nozzle attached from the large diesel he stole to the top of his plane. He was now wearing an Air Force flight jacket over his tank top, and he was whistling to himself, probably because he couldn't remember the words to the particular song on his mind. She sighed at him. His ear flipped backwards and he glanced at her from the corner of his eye. When he saw she was fully clothed, he looked over his shoulder and waved at her the way an elementary school student would to their mother if they were on tv. His tail was wagging. "You ready?!" he shouted, knowing that the glass windows were pretty thick and soundproof.

Seline nodded, then went back to her seat. The seats were side-by-side in the plane, and there would be plenty of space behind them for various things if Jed hadn't filled it with suitcases and first aid kits. His gun had been thrown carelessly on top of all the baggage. Seline pulled the seat belts over her body and fastened them down the middle as tight as she could. She'd never been on a plane before, and she didn't have the greatest confidence in the pilot…

Jed yanked the door open. "Oh, good! Everything fit right?" he asked. Without getting an answer, he continued to hum the chorus to 'Don't Stop Believin'. He set his bare, almost completely transmogrified foot into the plane and the claws extending from his toes scratched against the metal flooring. He took his seat next to Seline and reached down to a pocket on the side of his chair and pulled out a pair of flight goggles. Seline had no idea why he would need goggles, since the plane was completely sealed off from the outside. He put them on on top of his head anyway, his straight blonde hair hanging down around his face. It was probably just something he'd always done. Seline didn't question it.

"I guess…" she gave him an apathetic look. Her jacket was left unzipped, and the sleeves were rolled up because it was so horribly arid.

"Stu-pendous. And I see you've already gotten yourself buckled and everything. Good girl."

Seline slightly bared her sharp canines at him. "Don't make me hurt you."

"I'm kidding! Yeesh!"

He went on to explain things about the parachutes- in case there was an 'accident' while in the air; the buttons and levers and which was for which action; and the intercom. They were to never answer any sort of signal or call.

"And why not?"

"Because," Jed said in a serious tone, "I'm on the run. I don't need the Air Force finding out where I am! They'll take me back to base and treat me like an animal! And I am nobody's pet!"

"That's illegal," Seline muttered. "Lemme guess what's in your suitcases. Stolen cash?"

"As a matter of fact…"

Seline face-palmed.

"Hey, if you had the means to escape, wouldn't you have done it earlier?!"

"I suppose," she continued to mutter. "Are you sure you're not putting me in more danger than I was already in? You're AWOL."

"Thanks for telling me what I already know. I'd rather be in hiding than back at the base. And I'm sure you'd rather be here than back there tied up to a tree. Now, I don't wanna hear any more sass from you. I rescued you. I'm giving you another chance at life. So shut it."