by Sahara Foley
She taps me, has that pleading look in her eyes, makes the OK sign, then holds her arms out to indicate all of us, then a fist. She again points to me, then the Lodge. She stands, reaching out to me. That's when I notice the blood. She's bleeding from her ears, blood dripping on her shoulders. I hastily turn her sideways to examine her ears, seeing a mess of scratched skin. She scratched herself and didn't notice.
She gently kisses me, takes one step back, then points to the Lodge again. I try to concentrate on the Lodge. Nothing but that damn HUMM. I can't even remember how to teleport. I shake my head no a few times, so she places her hand on my face. Standing tall, Ruth makes two fists, a grimace then pumps her hands up and down.
*Try harder?*
YES, YES, YES.
With all this humming in my head, I can't relax. I concentrate on the bar at the Club, imagining a whiskey sour, and BLIP! we're there. Ruth is tumbling over a stool. Grabbing her arm, I notice movement, and see Alyce throw a glass in the air, her mouth wide open, but I can't hear her screaming. Alyce slowly leans over and falls backwards. I don't hear her hit the floor either.
HUMM.
Quickly glancing around, to see whether anyone else is in the Club, Relman and two other men come rushing in, and freeze, mouths hanging open. Ruth sags against me, half unconscious.
I mentally focus on them, saying, *Help, weneedhelpnow.* I don't get any further before they hit the floor, gripping the sides of their heads, violently shaking.
Feeling Ruth shift around, I help her stand, telling her, *Thanks, kid, you're heavy.*
She punches me, gives a small, weary smile, then looks around.
*I was too loud with them,* I tell her, pointing.
Staggering to Relman, Ruth pulls him off the floor with strength I never knew she had. His eyes are open wide, hands tight over his ears. She looks over at me, gives me the DOWN sign, then points to Relman.
*Easy now, Relman. We need help at the cavern right away.*
He stares wide-eyed, openmouthed.
*Can you understand me?*
His lips move.
I hold up my hand. *We're deaf, Relman. Just shake your head.*
YES.
*Okay, we need medics and help. You'll need several boats to pick up bodies; there are dozens of them floating in the water. Commander Dobie's alive, but Admiral Nichols is dead. The Corvettes' have sunk. I'm not sure about the other ships, and I don't know whether anything has happened to Colonel Ferguson and his Marines. Because we can't hear, we couldn't use a radio to try to contact them. You'd better move fast, and keep a tight lid on this, or Dobie will have your ass.*
He glances at Ruth, then me, making a twirling motion with his hand.
*Choppers?*
YES.
*Good, but get moving.*
He turns towards the door, then back to me with raised eyebrows. With his hands he makes a motion like a ball, repeatedly. Or a heart shape. A mushroom?
*No, Relman, not a nuclear explosion. What happened was something else entirely. Now, get moving, man, people are dying.*
He winces, and I realize I'm broadcasting louder. He takes off at a dead run, holding his head. Ruth helps one of the other guys off the floor, but the second man's out cold. With a sly smile, she points to the unconscious man, then to me, and makes shame, shame with her fingers.
Shrugging, I say, *Sorry, kid, I make mistakes too.*
She claps and shakes YESYESYES. With a grin, she stumbles to the bar, then leans over. She steps behind the bar to where poor Alyce is laying spread-eagle on the floor. One of her legs is caught in the bottle rack, the other leg in some broken glass, with blood dripping from a cut leg. Ruth shakes her head, glaring at me.
*Hey, kid, what happened to Alyce is your fault. You told me to teleport, and she fainted when we materialized.*
Ruth scrounges up a bar towel, draping it over Alyce's exposed panties and buttocks. She searches the back bar until she finds a bottle of brandy and some glasses, then strides to me, and from behind the bar, pours us a drink. Holding up her glass to mine, she clinks silently, then blows me a kiss and shoots the whole mess in one gulp. I do too.
Ruth finds a pen and some paper, writing, (What was it?)
Softly, I think to her, *A fucking U F O.*
She shakes her head enthusiastically YESYESYESYES. She writes, (What knocked us out? Sonic boom?)
*Yes, kid. Probably the loudest sonic boom felt by human beings. It could've caused the Admiral to have a coronary. Imagine, breaking the sound barrier while taking-off from underwater.*
She shakes yes, then no, then writes, (Did you get a good look at the UFO?)
*No, I saw a blaze of lights and flying water, then the ship fading out of sight.*
Ruth writes, (Yes, then the boom hit, and I was out.)
*No, kid, you were screaming your head off, rolling around in the sand. Then, you passed out.*
(I don't remember screaming.) Ruth looks at me with creased brows, chewing on the end of the pencil.
Very carefully, I think, where have I heard that one before?
*Ruth, did you see the Corvettes?*
(No.)
*They exploded in flames as the UFO flew over them, and I swear the water was boiling in its wake. I can't imagine the velocity needed to make the water boil, kid, and from takeoff.*
(UN BE LI EV AB LE. They'll lock us away, Arthur.)
*So, let's not tell them.*
(Right, we're in shock and deaf, leave us alone. Do you think our hearing loss is permanent?) She looks concerned as she taps the end of the pencil against the pad.
*I really don't know. But my hearing hasn't improved, has yours?*
She reluctantly shakes No, No, No, then stares intently at me with a quizzical look and scribbles in big letters, (YOU CAN READ MY MIND. WHY AM I WRITING EVERYTHING?)
Bewildered, I stare at her for a few seconds before I palm slap my forehead, and break out in soundless laughter. That feels weird. I mentally focus on her mind, receiving twenty-two thousand impressions. *Whoa, kid, slow down or you'll blow a circuit,* I caution, laying my hand on her arm.
Smiling, she taps her temple so I focus again. -Let's go sit at a table, figure all this out, okay?- Her lips move with each word.
*Jeez, kid, you don't have to think that slow. I pick up the bottle and glasses and slouch in a chair at a table.
Ruth ducks behind the bar as I pick up the bottle. Standing, she slides out from behind the bar with the pad of paper, and a very unlike Ruth grin, even more mischievous than the dog food incident. Lowering herself into a chair, she puts the pen and pad on the table, and in her other hand has a wad of white cloth.
*What's that?* I raise my eyebrows.
With the biggest grin I've ever seen, she holds up a pair of white panties and taps her temple. -Let her figure this one out.- Laughter, in thought format, is different for everybody. Ruth's thought laugher is a blue/red color, and now I see plenty of it, as her face cracks up.
*Woman, you're insane,* I admonish with mock severity.
She taps her temple. –Yes, but you love me anyway, right?- I lean over and kiss her. She taps her temple. –Do you have to focus each time, or can you leave me open?-
*I have to focus.*
She taps. –Then, when I want to talk, er, speak, uh, whatever it is I'm doing, I'll tap my temple.-
*Okay, boss, whatever you say.*
TAP –Fuck you, sir.-
*Temper, temper, Doc. You're a lady, remember?*
TAP –The lady left on a UFO, sir.-
*As you wish, wench.*
TAP –God, Arthur, and we thought it was a Russian sub.- Blue/red. –Do you believe that, a Russian bloody submarine, and UFO, oh SHIT.- The blue/red color changes to gray, then she lays her head on her arms and cries, then starts sobbing, her whole body shaking.
*Let it go, kid, I did.* I reassure her, tenderly stroking her once luscious, auburn hair. *Several times, I think*
Her body is racked with sobbing, but all I hear is HUMM.
HUMM. Not wanting to focus into the middle of that mess, I try to keep my mind busy. If she taps her temple now, I'll knock her out.
Glancing up, I notice Relman standing a few feet away. He begins to make signs like a pizza chef tossing up a pot full of cooked spaghetti and trying desperately to catch each strand as it falls.
I hold up my hand, gently thinking to him, *If you think to yourself what you want to say, I'll be able to hear it. Just tap your temple when you want to speak. Got it?*
TAP –Are you hearing me now?-
*Yes. Go ahead.*
TAP –There's a flight of six medivacs enroute, sir. Should be there in about twenty minutes. Can you tell me what happened? We can't raise anyone on the radio, or the phone.-
*No, Relman, I can't. Anyone left alive will be as deaf as we are, so the radio and phones won't be of use. What about the six ships Nichols stationed on the seaside?*
TAP –Nothing, sir. We can't raise anyone, anywhere.- He strides to a nearby table and slumps heavily in a chair.
I hold out the brandy bottle, and he takes a big slug straight from the bottle. He begins choking, gagging, strangling, or coughing. From the expression on his face, it's difficult to guess which one. All I hear is HUMM.
Yep, he's gagging, tears in his eyes. Great, one person crying, the other one about to puke.
TAP –Sir, uh, we heard the explosion last night around eleven-fifteen, uh, uh, and when I ran outdoors to see, uh, I saw what looked like a nuclear fireball. Otherwise, we would've rushed there last night. We thought it was a nuclear event.-
At least reading someone's mind without the dubious benefit of hearing sounds, leaves me reading many uh's, instead of hearing the awful gagging I see him doing. Guess I'm not missing much.
TAP – Sir, uh, the shock wave hit us a few minutes later, uh, and it broke windows, uh, and did quite a bit of other, uh, damage as well, uh, so I was, uh, sure it was nuclear. I alerted the, uh, nuclear, uh, response team, uh, and they, uh, are on the way, uh, from Scotland now. They were there for training.-
I need to get through to Relman. Maybe if he threw up he'll feel better. I push. Oh, shit. He leans over, retching uncontrollably. What a mess. Damn, Relman, what did you eat? A whole cow? Yucko.
I think to him, *Relman, relax and pay attention. Tell me exactly what you saw, everything. Are you alright?*
He's still bent over, puke all over the floor and his shoes. TAP –Uh, sir, give me, uh, another, uh, minute please, uh, uh, uh.-
Yuck. Looks like several cows in there.
I check on Ruth. She isn't crying any longer, more like hiccups.
I focus. *Relman, you alright? C'mon, Relman, you have to tell me what you saw last night.*
Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he looks up. TAP –Sir, I saw a huge flash that seemed to keep going up, growing bigger as it ascended into space, but at angles. I figured it was an atmospheric aberration, but it was definitely there. Then, a few minutes later, the shock wave hit us, like a nuclear explosion. All three flashes originated from different areas, sir. I thought you were all dead for sure then.-
*That's okay, Relman, you should've seen it up close.*
TAP –That's fine, sir. I'm glad I was at the Lodge, twenty-three miles away.-
I focus on Ruth. *God, honey. No wonder we're deaf. The blast was twenty-three miles from here, Relman says the shock wave broke windows at the Lodge.*
Relman is tapping his temple, but I hold my hand up and focus on Ruth. –I'm sorry for breaking down like that.- She wipes her eyes, then blows her nose. Straightening in her chair, she continues with a determined look, -We have to get back there, Arthur. We have to keep everybody away until we can investigate the cavern.-
With a relieved smile, I jokingly tell her, *Always the scientist, singed hair, dirty face, and deaf.*
Lifting her head higher, she smirks. TAP –Fuck you, sir.-
I glance at Relman.
TAP –If we leave in the chopper now, sir, we'll be there in twelve to fifteen minutes, about the same time the medical and rescue personnel will arrive.-
*Relman, listen to me. I'll have to take charge for Dobie until he's able to do it himself. You're second-in-command now, so snap-to and station at least fifty armed men on the beach. If the ships on the seaside were destroyed, you'll need to replace them. No one is getting near that cavern until we've had a chance to check it out. And by we, I mean Dr. Burns and me. Maybe Dr. Tober, if he's still around. You stay here in the Command Post and get everything organized, and Relman, keep this all hush-hush. Is that clear?*
TAP –Sir, the Commander never mentioned you were to take charge.- He glances uncertainly from me to Ruth.
*The PM gave Commander Dobie carte blanche last night. Unfortunately, he's unconscious. The Doctor and I have already been exposed to whatever we encountered, and we don't want anyone else exposed. Due to the nature of what we saw, I can't go into detail about what happened. Meanwhile, post guards and keep this incident hushed up. No one but medical personnel, or people reclaiming bodies, is to get within a mile. Put a lid on this, and keep it there securely, or the PM and Dobie will take turns on the handle while you roast over a spit.* I suddenly remember the words Dobie used over the phone. Using them was worth a try. *Relman, this order is priority A1A. Got that? A1A for MI6. Now, get busy.*
He leaves looking very nervous, much more than a guy should who threw up twice.
Ruth looks at me. TAP –I don't know how, but I was able to hear everything you two said. Someone has to contact the PM. If this incident leaks to the House, then the politicians will get their hands on it, and it'll be all over the press. We have to do something, fast.-
*Ruth*, I think, *how do you plan to do that? We can't call her, we can't hear, and Dobie's unconscious.*
TAP –I have an idea. Let's go back there as fast as we can and wake up Dobie. He'll be able to contact the PM, in private, and make sure everything's kept out of the House, and the press. If we can't wake him, you'll have to call the PM, honey.- She bats her eyes at me with her pleading look.
*Hold it, kid. Teleporting here was a gamble. You know I don't have any control when I teleport any longer.*
TAP –Arthur, don't you realize the problems you were having before, took off last night? Your lack of control should be gone now.-
I ponder that idea for a few minutes.
TAP –You're back to normal now, but for your ears. When you think about it, you'll realize we aren't deaf either. If we were, we'd be hearing nothing but silence, not all this humming. Our eardrums are in shock, so our hearing will return.-
She's smart, and she's right. *Damn, Doc, and I was getting used to the peace and quiet from your talking.*
WHAP. I think I like patting better.
Gracefully rising, she downs her brandy, then stamps off to the women's bathroom, at the doorway turning back. TAP –When I come out, we're going back, just you and me. Don't argue, just be ready.- She turns and disappears. What a broad.
I finish my brandy and take the bottle to the bar, where I lean over and see Alyce lying on the floor, spread-eagled. She has one leg up on the bottle rack, her private parts open and exposed, with no towel or white panties now. Yeah, let her figure this one out.
I pour another brandy and gently focus on Ruth. She's standing naked, in front of the mirror, trying to wash up, running her fingers though her singed hair. She dresses and strides out to me, where she pours herself another drink, a big one.
Leaning over the bar, she peers down at Alyce. With a big devilish grin, she steps behind the counter to the register and removes a bill, but I can't tell the monetary amount. She lays the bill on poor Alyce's bare pubic hair, then pours a bottle of Irish Cream all over her exposed private parts. I stare in astonishment at Ruth, trying to figure her out. She accused me of changing over the past several days. Does she realize how much she's changed?
TAP –Well, you could screw her, Arthur.- She gives me a saucy smile.
I shake emphatically NO.
TAP –Then using Irish Crème is the next best thing. How much you want to bet she keeps the Tenner?- She has suppressed laugh lines around her mouth.
Staring openmouthed at her, I read from her mind a blue/red, then she cracks up soundlessly. I can't help laughing with her. So, we're both sexual perverts.
Through her blue/red haze, I say, *I'd like to see her face when she wakes up.* More soundless laughter.
Ruth stumbles back to me, kisses me, then hugs me. She looks up at me, squeezes her eyes shut, tightly holding my arm. That's a definite signal, so I focus on the beach by the fire-pit, cross my fingers, and BLIP!
Chapter Twenty-Three
We appear next to the overturned chairs. I hurriedly glance around. Nothing has changed, smoke is still rising slowly from our badly, scorched boat. Releasing Ruth, she slightly staggers before she catches herself.
*You Alky,* I tease her.
She gives a little grin, then heads off on unsteady legs towards Dobie.
While Ruth checks on Dobie, I stride rapidly to the two severely burned sailors. Both are alive, and still unconscious. Good. I focus on Relman and instantly make contact. *Relman, Dr. Burns and I are back at the site. Do you understand me?*
Very clearly, I receive an affirmative, but it's overshadowed with other thoughts of him being concerned about losing his sanity.
*No, Relman, you're not going crazy. Relax. I have two men here, severely burned. I know you have a medic with you. They can't wait for treatment, so I'm going to teleport them to our room so they can get treated ASAP. I'll place one on each bed. Fetch the medic, and go there, now.*
Kneeling by one of the sailors, I concentrate on the bed Ruth slept on, then focus on the man, and BLIP! he's gone. The other man I teleport to the waterbed. Relman verifies they arrived and are still breathing. He's shocked by how severely they're burned, almost as much as their arrival method.
I stride back to Ruth and Dobie. She looks up. TAP –He's out cold, won't respond. I'm sure he's in shock. Can you get through to him?-
Kneeling by his side, I focus into his mind. Fuzzy. Lights. Explosions. He's reliving the sight of the UFO bursting from the water and disappearing into the sky.