First of Many

It feels like a long time before he seems to be sitting with his back against a wall with his head leaning back. As he breathes he feels a cloth around his head blocking his sight. He also hears the rumble of tires on gravel as well as the slight shaking of a vehicle that is transporting him.

Cole doesn't move as he opens his eyes and attempts to move his wrists slightly, seeing if his wrists are bound.

He feels a thin zip tie around his wrists behind his back. Cole waits for the vehicle to hit a bump and quickly breaks the zip tie. Cole waits for a moment to see if anyone notices then quickly reaches up and rips it off of his face as he fakes a yawn, "Where we goin?"

He sees two guards sitting on benches on the sides of the back of a van. They both quickly snap their heads over to stare at him in surprise. Lochlan is sitting with her head hanging forwards beside Cole with a bag over her head as well.

Cole quickly lunges at them, punching both of them hard enough to cave their skulls in before they have enough time to fumble for their guns. Both of them die quickly and twitch before going limp. Cole spots his revolver and knife sitting in a plastic bag by one of the guards. He gets his belongings back before looking for a way to see where the driver is. There's a thin sheet of metal that separates them from the driver and passenger seat.

Cole draws his revolver and places the barrel on the far right side where he thinks the driver is and fires. The vehicle jerks slightly and the sound of gravel is replaced by the sound of shrubs and grass hitting the sides of the van.

Cole quickly grabs Lochlan by the arm and kicks the doors to the van open. He sees the van has left the road and starts to slope down into a ditch before he hastily jumps out with Lochlan. They land in tall grass near the side of a gravel road as the van continues down hill into the forest and out of sight.

Cole scoops Lochlan into his arms as he walks onto the side of the road and huffs as he tries to see any landmarks he recognizes. It looks like a backroad. He sees a different watchtower peaking over the trees. Based on it, the direction of a now setting sun, and the map he had taken a photo of he can tell the direction town is.

Cole kneels as he takes his knife out and cuts the zip ties on Lochlan, then takes the cloth on her eyes off. She’s still unconscious as he then attempts to squint and see if anyone's in the tower. He can see a single light on but not much else.

Cole shrugs as he unfurls his wings and with a strong flap shoots into the air and flies towards the edge of town.