The Smuggler: Chapter Two: The Rescuer

Chapter Two

The Rescuer

    Images and memories flashed through Moth's mind. He, Julia, and Peacock had long practiced in secret what to do if they needed to escape from HiveWing guards, whether before or after their Metamorphosis. They couldn't exactly practice what to do during it, because you can't exactly run or do anything for that matter except sleep while you're inside a cocoon. But they had practiced for other situations. After your Metamorphosis, you fly as fast as possible, shooting silk at your pursuers to distract them. And they had practiced what to do before it. They had practiced and shared tips with one another.

    Moth grabbed one of the silk ropes. Every rope is strong and can hold you. He yanked himself onto it and jumped down to a lower section. He wound his tail around one and did a kind of flip, catapulting himself at the last second onto another platform. Try to do complicated moves and stunts to distract and confuse the guards. These thoughts running through his mind, he tried to remember more, using his tail to shake one of the cords and knock a guard into the air. Don't just use your arms and legs. You have a tail which works. And the most important rules were: Move fast. Stay quiet. And get to the savannah.

    They had also prepared for hitting the ground. At intervals around the Hive, when no one was looking, they had stretched a type of canvas they had found over pits in the ground, memorizing their location. Moth, leaping off one of the webs to somersault and whip out his tail to catapult himself to the side, wondered frantically where the nearest one was. Hadn't they made one right underneath Mosaic Garden? Yes! There! The sunflower they had planted next to it was waving in the breeze, like someone's talon beckoning him forward. Moth paused for a moment, positioning himself, and leaped.

    For a heartbeat he was suspended in midair, moving almost in slow motion as the guards above him skidded to a halt, probably wondering why a wingless dragonet had just jumped from the Hive, most likely going to crash into the ground and at least get a serious injury. Not today. As soon as they've recovered from the shock, they'll be after you. Hide in the grass or something. Move fast. Stay quiet.

    Moth hit the canvas and heard the shouts start up again as he rolled off and started running through the grass. Wingbeats came from behind him and soon he could hear them crashing through the grass after him. No time to hide. He had to hope that he could outrun them. The crashing came nearer. Nearer. Nearer. They were right behind them. In a few seconds they would-

    Suddenly talons shot from out of the grass and clamped around his mouth, dragging him into a shallow ditch. Moth fought, but the dragon held him fast. A female voice hissed in his ear, "Stop wriggling, for Clearsight's sake! You're going to be the doom of both of us!"

    Moth reluctantly stopped and waited with baited breath as the guards hurried past them, intent on catching him. All was silent for a few heartbeats, then the talons abruptly disappeared and the dragon grabbed Moth's wrist, dragging him into a tunnel. "Come on! They'll realize soon that you're not there, and will double back. We have to be long gone before then."

    "Who are you?" asked Moth. "Why are you helping me? Wait, are you helping me?"

    "Hush. Yes, I am helping you. I'm helping you for reasons I can't explain when we're running through a tunnel." She and Moth ran for a while in darkness before she stopped in a lighted room. "Here. We're safe now."

    She released Moth's wrist and he slowly turned around to look at her. He gasped. "You're a HiveWing!"

    The HiveWing nodded. She was mostly a red-orange, speckled with black like stars but the opposite. She seemed about maybe ten years old. "Yes. I'm a HiveWing. And you are a SilkWing." She frowned at him. "Why are you running through the savannah? You haven't even gone through your Metamorphosis yet."

    "It's tonight," replied Moth. He blinked in astonishment at her. "Why aren't you stabbing me with paralyzing thingies and dragging me to Wasp right now?"

    "One, I don't have any." The HiveWing flexed her talons. "It would be cool though. And two, I decided a long time ago that SilkWing slavery was wrong." She looked away and began to self-consciously go through a pile of papers. "I'm doing everything I can to change it."

    Moth gaped at her. A HiveWing who didn't want SilkWing slaves? Why? "Uh, I'm Moth."

    "Dragonfly. Why again were you running through the savannah?"

    "I think I'm going to be a flamesilk. My brother and sister-" Moth broke off and slapped his forehead. "Oh, no! How am I so stupid? What will the guards do to them?"

    "Well, what did they do?"

    Moth shrugged helplessly. "Threw me into the webs to get me to run?"

    "Did anyone see you?" Dragonfly turned around.

    "Uh..." Moth frowned, trying to remember. "I don't think so."

    "Then they probably don't know they played a part in it. Now, what about being a flamesilk?"

    Moth spilled out everything he knew, from his mother being taken by the guards all the way to meeting her. Dragonfly listened intently the entire time, and when he got to the part about meeting her, she held up her hand. "I know this part."

    "Oh, right." Moth raised his wrist and peered at it. It was definitely glowing with flamesilk. He winced at the heat.

    Dragonfly reached behind her and drew out a bowl of water. She slid it over to him. "Here."

    Moth smiled thankfully and slid his wrists into it. "What do I do after my Metamorphosis? I can't just stay here forever, can I?"

    "No. That reminds me..." Dragonfly trailed off as she rummaged through a drawer. She pulled out a black and white striped shell and walked over to a stream running through the cave. She raised the shell to her mouth and whispered, "Operation Metamorphosis is underway", and touched it to the water. Moth gasped as the water around it lit up like a lamp and hovered in the water for a few seconds before zooming off upstream. Dragonfly chuckled. "They've got a bit of a flare for the dramatics, don't they?" She placed the shell back up onto the shelf and turned back to Moth.

    "What happened?" asked Moth.

    Dragonfly frowned. "Let's see. In short, that ball of light thing just sent a signal to the boat. It should arrive tomorrow night." At Moth's expression she sighed. "Maybe I should start at the beginning. I'm part of an organization called Operation Metamorphosis. It doesn't have many members, because it's supposed to be secret, but the members so far are me and some of my friends. They come from the Distant Kingdoms."