Prairie

After flying around aimlessly for a while we knew it was time to ditch our extra weight. We landed in a prairie in the middle of Nebraska. We didn't tell Todd that this was where we were letting him off, but we did untie him. I'm sure he assumed it was just a pit stop for us. We did play that up. We had to. So we stretched and ran around. We did anything to draw attention away from our plan. The only problem was Penny wasn't ready to hit the skies when we were done pretending. It's a lesser known fact, but falcons are impossible to get out of leisure mode. Instead of attempting to rouse Penny, we rested. Winter was slowly creeping into the midwest prairie, so we kept warm through Olivia's bubble. She made a big one that housed the four of us. The electrical currents were warming us and giving us light. "Sorry if it's not too warm. I haven't done this in a while." Olivia says, apologetically. "No problem at all. This is so amazing." Todd says in awe. "It is wonderful, but you should be getting some rest. Don't you think?" I ask. Todd halts gazing at the bubble with childlike wonder. "Why are you trying to get rid of me?" He asks. "I'm not." I say, nervously. "You are." "Todd, you've just had a long day." Olivia explains. Todd glares at Olivia. "If anything I should be mad at you two." "For what?" I ask. "You left with the last falcon and my gatekeeper." "We were going to come back." I reply. "I'm sure you were. Where is the gatekeeper anyways?" "Oh, he's not coming back." Olivia says. "Where is he?" Todd asks again. "He was taken by an ancient society." I say, as a mater of fact. "He was taken?" Todd questions. "Yeah, or brainwashed. They're the ones that have all the falcons too." I reply. "Then we have to get them back!" "We're not allowed back. They'll probably kill us if they saw us." Olivia responds. Todd shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Anything worth fighting for is worth dying for." "I'm not so sure it's worth fighting for." I say. "I am. They have our gatekeeper and our falcons." "They didn't exactly take either." Olivia informs. "I'm not too sure about that. I have a feeling in my gut that won't go away." "That's just indigestion." I snicker. Todd wraps his arms around us. "This is where we must go. This is where I will build the new Wellness Center." Olivia and I stare at each other. "I know you two think it's a terrible idea, but I'm not taking no for an answer."