Colin's posts

Zach looked... uneasy.

"Um..." he mumbled.

"I... I..." he stammered.

"O... Okay." he said.

"Where... um... what IS this place?" he then asked.

"Are we somewhere we're not supposed to be?" he asked further.

"I've never seen this part of the airport before..."

Ryker smiled again.

"That's good." he said.

"That's improvement." he told him.

"....glad you survived that." he then said quietly.

"That was frightening." he admitted.

"I was scared this mighta been it for you..."

"........huh?" Zach asked when Rylie gave him the warning.

"Weird stuff?" he asked her.

"...not your standard kind of flight...?" he went on, mumbling now.

"Um.... hm." he then muttered.

'What have I gotten myself into...?' he wondered.

'....no. No matter. This is all for HER.' he reminded himself, steeling his nerves.

Ryker just sighed.

"Some would say crazy things are good." he said.

"Some would say they're very bad." he said further.

"It's all a matter of perspective, one can say." he then went on.

"I remember you standing up to that alpha, though." he continued.

"Damn... you were pretty cool when you did." he admitted.

Zach nodded as he put on his helmet.

He then climbed up onto the bike, sitting behind her and instinctively wrapping his arms around her waist.

'She... feels cold...' he thought.

'Like... she shouldn't feel this cold...' he reasoned.

He then bit his lip, and sighed.

"All right..." he said.

"I'm... I'm ready to go." he told her.

Zach just smiled.

"Bikes are awesome." he said.

"I love how fast they are, and how they zoom along." he told her.

"So there's no need for a cab, I assure you." he then said further with a small nod.

"....do you have the extra equipment, though?" he asked her.

"Like... another helmet, or anything else you might need." he then clarified.

Ryker just smiled and nodded when Eke made his request.

"Of course." he responded.

He then got up and left the room, making his way to the nearby vending machine. Getting an ice-cold water out of it, he brought it back to the room.

"Here you go." he said as he entered.

"Should be nice and cold."

"Indeed." Zach agreed as he followed her to the front door.

Once there, he did one more lookaround, and paused.

"One second." he told her.

The then disappeared into the place for close to 5 minutes, before returning.

"Just wanted to make sure I didn't leave anything turned on or running or anything." he said sheepishly.

"But okay, let's go." he finished, as they stepped outside and he locked the door.

"Fair enough." Zach replied, checking on a few more things.

He then made his way to the den where she was, grabbing his laptop and cords, packing them into a separate shoulder bag.

"I'll still need to work and make money." he told her.

"Thankfully, I'm an online journalist, so I can work pretty much anywhere." he reasoned.

With that, he did another once-over of the place before nodding and bringing a backpack out.

"All right, clothes and necessities in there, electronics in the shoulder bag... I should have everything."

"3 hours?" Zach asked.

"Hm. Well, I'd still better be a little quick with my packing." he reasoned, as he invited her in.

When she was inside, he shut the door behind her, and promptly made his way into his room.

"How long should I pack for!?" he called to Rylie.

"Between a week and 2 weeks! Clothes can be washed, after all, in case of an extended visit!" Rylie reasoned.

"All right!" Zach responded.

"Thank you for coming to get me." he then thanked her.

Zach was silent for a moment... before shaking his head.

"Ahhhh. Right, timezones WOULD screw things up." he said.

"No matter." he said.

"This actually works better for me." he told her.

"So you're here to escort me to someone that can help me with my dilemma?" he asked her.

"Uh.... I... uh..." Zachary stammered, his voice caught in his throat for a moment.

"Y... yes." he finally answered.

"And... and you are...?" he then asked, before it clicked.

"Wait... are you... R-Rylie?" he inquired.

"I thought you wouldn't be showing up until tomorrow." he commented further.

The man who was sitting there paused for a moment when she asked her question, and then clarified what she meant.

"....hmmm." he mumbled.

"That's a very interesting question..." he admitted.

---

Zachary just sighed as he sat down in his couch, pondering what Cass had told him. He'd been sitting there for a couple of hours, milling things over.

"...it's a runaround, for sure." he said to himself.

"But if it gets me closer to finding her... then I'll do whatever it takes." he then told himself... moments before he heard a knock on his door.

"...eh?" he mumbled.

"Who could that be?" he wondered, making his way to the door and opening it.

Ryker was silent... before sighing and smiling slightly.

"Heh." he chuckled.

"You flatter me." he said.

"You know... you've changed me as well... but I'm sure you know that." he then told him.

"Because of you... I care. About myself. About others." he said further, continuing to smile.

"I'll bet that 'll make a big difference in my future, too."