Gill and Brath were having a hard time flying that close to the ground. Their dragon’s claws kept scraping it, slowing them down. Brath was getting audibly more annoyed, grumbling loudly and not bothering to turn his comm down.
Jollies and Jim, on the other hand, weren’t having a problem. Amber was small enough that it didn’t matter what height she was flying at; her speed was not affected. And Jim’s mech seemed to be able to take whatever you threw at it. The thing wasn’t fast, but it was stout.
Alex didn’t mind the closeness to the ground. She hadn’t noticed it, but she often took her flying skills for granted. It hadn’t crossed her mind that the other riders might have trouble staying so low without losing speed. That was something she’d have to keep in mind for the future. What good was trying to lead if you forgot about what everyone needed?
Brath’s voice broke through Alex’s musings. “Okay, I’m just going to say, this is idiotic,” he grumbled. “Why the hell are we staying so low? There’s a whole sky above us. And last time I checked, we were riding dragons, not horses.”
Gill sighed over the intercom. “For once, I am going to have to agree with Brath,” he joined in. “It makes no sense to be this low to the ground. We are moving slower and less efficiently.”
Alex countered, “Not everyone is moving slower. You two just need to concentrate and keep up.”
When Brath spoke, you could hear the sting in his voice. “’Just concentrate and keep up?’” he repeated. “Not all of us are riding micro-dragons. Furi is huge! Do you know how much it takes just to keep him from nosediving into the ground right now?”
“That’s not what, I mean, Brath. Sorry. I just meant, if you pay attention to—”
“Trust me, I’m friggin’ paying attention.”
Alex took a deep breath as she tried to find the right words. She was doing that thing where she got flustered and tried to explain herself. The right words just didn’t come.
In fact, they were the exact opposite; they were the wrong words. Most of the time, Alex felt like she could convey her thoughts and ideas to other people, but every so often, she started to stick her foot in her mouth and forgot how to pull it out.
“Just because you have some freakish gift and are an amazing rider who doesn’t have any problem doing anything other than impressing everyone around you—”
Brath had gone off the deep end. He was ranting faster than Alex could listen. Luckily, the rest of Boundless wasn’t patched into the channel because it would have been embarrassing for everyone. Brath was really letting her have it.
Part of Alex wanted to say that this tirade was just him being insecure—projecting his worries and fears onto her—but she knew that wasn’t true. This plan hadn’t considered anyone’s comfort or skill level other than her own. Brath had every right to be upset.
The best thing to do was listen—to hear him out and let the gnome get everything off of his chest. Hopefully, that wouldn’t take too long. Besides, they still had a ways to go.
Before they had left, Alex had gone over the map and its coordinates with the whole team. The initial route they had planned would have brought Boundless to Toppinir’s and Roy’s location within thirty minutes. It would have been a straight shot.
After seeing through Manny’s eyes, Alex thought it was a bad idea to take the direct route. She wanted to go a more roundabout way, maintaining that staying low was the most important thing, regardless of how long it was going to take.
Initially, everyone had thought it was a bad idea. After a few minutes of arguing, they still thought it was a bad idea, but it was Alex’s idea. They had decided to trust her.
Now Gill was pinging Alex on top of Brath. Alex told Brath to hold on and answered Gill. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Why are you having us stay so low?” Gill asked. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Oh, my God, you too?”
“Would you prefer we follow you blindly? We’re a team, and I am not going to follow without being given a good reason.”
Gill had a point. Expecting everyone to listen to her without giving them a reason wasn’t the best idea. Alex had figured it would be a waste of time to go over every detail of her plan, but now, it seemed like at least two of her riders were doubting her judgment. “Okay, hold on, Gill,” Alex said before switching back to Brath, who was still ranting.
Alex combined Gill’s and Brath’s comms and then patched the rest of the team into the conversation. Brath continued ranting until he was breathless and panting. “Okay, Brath,” Alex said. “I’d prefer you didn’t use that language about me, but I can see you’re mad.”
Brath let out an exasperated shout. “You’re damn right, I’m mad. What the hell are we even doing?” he shouted.
Jim stepped in. “Just hold on, Brath. Alex is one of the best strategists I’ve ever played with. We can trust her.”
“That you’ve played with? Excuse me for remembering this is not a human VR game, and so far, all of Alex’s strategies, if you want to call them that have been, have been to rush in and try not to die.”
Alex was stung by Brath’s words. What came next hurt even more. “Brath has a point,” Gill seconded. “Many of Alex’s plans have relied on her extreme skill, placing the rest of us at risk if we couldn’t keep up. I’d like to know this isn’t another one of those.”
Jim chuckled as he shook his head. “Okay, guys, are you listening to yourselves? Alex has been doing great so far. That’s why we’re here right now.”
“Exactly. That is why we are riding into what could be a death trap with little or no understanding of our odds
