“Dude,” Street said, “this ain’t your fault, remember? They already broke in and made us leave. There ain’t no way we could survive on that island for long anyway. It was only a matter of time before we had to leave. Plus, your brother’s pumped to see you again!”
“Okay. Then let’s get there and make this happen.”
August 10, 2093, 9:10 PM—Gulf of Mexico
“Okay, everybody ready?” Shift asked.
“Yeah, let’s do this,” John called over from the deck of the other boat.
The two boats drifted away from the docks, loaded to the brim with food and provisions, along with safety and survival gear and med kits. Everything they might need to survive indefinitely, just in case their plan fell through, was stashed away in the hulls of the two boats. A wave runner was fastened to the deck on the back of each boat.
“This is pretty freaky,” Carón said as he piloted the first boat into the holographic wall.
“Yeah, it is,” Steve said, standing beside Carón as their bodies moved out into the fresh night air to the east of the cave.
“Alright,” Shift said, “let’s make our move.”
The first boat turned to the south, while the second boat began to move southeast away from the island. As the first boat moved past the rocks on the south end of the island, the Skins began to wail again.
“Well, we were right,” Shift said to John through his MEHD. “They didn’t know we were out here until they saw us.”
“We’re just passing the last outcrop now,” John said. After a pause, “Okay, we have visual, which means they do too.”
“Well, we’ll see you in a while then. Let’s confuse these suckers.”
Cain watched as the two boats sped off—one to the south and one to the southeast. His troops, watching from the shore, began to rock back and forth nervously, waiting for his signal. He didn’t know what to do. He had hoped that something would give him an indication where they were taking Anta. But now, all he knew was that she was gone, and two other boats were leaving too. The damn salt water was messing with his powers. He had to figure out how to overcome this weakness.
Cain made the decision. He would go north with a small group of his troops. He had a feeling the perversions were too smart to just lead him where they were going. But he didn’t know for sure. His ability to reason was beginning to fail him. So, larger divisions would head south. They would watch for landings. They would watch for the human perversions. But ultimately, he wanted her. And wherever she landed, it wouldn’t take long for him to get there.
Cain gave the orders. The troops split apart and ran. They would not slow down until Cain gave them the command. He would not allow them to stop until they found Anta.
August 10—International Lunar Space Station, United States Moon Colony
“Is everything operational?” Jonas asked as the small crew began to settle down for take-off.
“Yes, we are ready,” Jerad replied. “Takeoff in five, four, three, two, one, go.”
Jonas pushed the thruster lever forward to initiate take-off, just as Jerad had shown him during their pre-flight preparations. The engines hummed and the shuttle shook slightly as the lower thrusters roared to life. Within seconds, the shuttle was several feet off the ground and headed for the shell window through which the shuttle would pass, leaving the safety of solid ground behind.
“Awesome!” Jonas said excitedly.
“We should touch down at Cape Canaveral at about 6:00 A.M. Eastern Time,” Jerad said. “Until then, I suggest everyone get some sleep.”
The small crew of the shuttle stayed put as the ship glided through the window and into space. None of them wanted to miss this adventure. They didn’t know whether they would ever get back into space. For Tom and Misty, who had intended to spend the remainder of their lives on the moon, this was bitter-sweet. They hadn’t wanted to leave with the others, but they also knew that, if the others didn’t return, they would be alone forever with the corpses on the moon.
Jonas thought about Alan, the way his body had tumbled over and over as the great winds from the German shell carried his body into the air, only to be deposited kilometers away in a crumpled heap. The scene played through his mind now, as it had done numerous times over the past few weeks. He wanted to get back to Earth—even if only temporarily—to smell the clean air and feel the ocean breeze—and to feel real gravity under his feet.
Hasani was so excited to see his sister that he didn’t think he would have been able to sleep even with a tranquilizer.
Finally though, nature won, and all five of the ship’s occupants fell into a fitful sleep on the shuttle’s bridge. The alarms would sound when they needed to wake up. It wouldn’t be long.
August 11, 4:55 AM—Cape Canaveral, Florida
“Okay, about one hour until landing time,” Nelise announced to the group of survivors gathered around the computers in the shuttle launch bay at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The Skins had followed the later groups as they left the island. From the safety of the boats, they saw the Skins gathering in Merida, the site of the terrible shuttle disaster that had brought this plague down from the moon.
Then the Skins followed the boats as they passed by the easternmost tip of Mexico, near Cancun. They watched and listened to the Skins howl and scream at them from the shore as both boats sped out into the Caribbean. These boats, although several years old, had the speed and capacity of any new ship. The passengers were thankful for the retractable roofs that kept them out of the wind.
After rounding Cuba to the north, they sped up the eastern coast of Florida, finally landing at Cape Canaveral. There, they met Anta, Street, Marilyn, Angel, Mike and Nelise, who had already begun making preparations for the shuttle’s landing. Now, just twenty minutes after arriving, Nelise was putting them to work.
“Tell us how this is going to work,” Andrew said.
“It’s very simple really,” Nelise replied. “The ship will land automatically. Once it does, it will need to be recharged. Again, that’s an automatic function. All I will do is program the charging system and it will do the rest. The wheels will need to be checked manually—that’s Shift’s job. He’s the car guy. The outer hull will need to be inspected for any loose panels. Because I can’t get the halo to work—that’s the huge machine you can see out there in the bay—Carón, Steve and Street will be up on the ladder trucks inspecting those manually. Street, I’ll need you to instruct Steve and Carón on that process, like we went over a couple of hours ago.”
“Will do boss,” Street said enthusiastically.
“Hold on,” Shift said. “Why am I inspecting wheels? I thought these things used some kind of thrusters or something to keep them off the ground.”
“They do,” Nelise replied. “But once the ship comes to a complete stop, wheels will lower and the ship will rest on them until takeoff. It costs too much to keep thrusters operational while a ship is sitting idly. Maintaining and replacing wheels is cheaper than maintaining and recharging thrusters. And the hull can’t just sit on the ground without incurring damage. Plus, a ship can be easily towed while resting on wheels, which is why wheels are used instead of any other kind of landing gear.”
“I get that,” Shift said, “but why do they need to be inspected? Are the wheels used during takeoff too, or just while the ship is sitting there?”
“They are used during takeoff on Earth. On the moon, with its low gravity, the thrusters easily lift the ship off the ground and it takes off. Here though, with heavy gravity, the ship is designed to get up to speed before takeoff, just like a passenger jet. The thrusters are engaged partway through the rolling takeoff and the ship lifts off the ground much easier.”
“Alright, I’ll inspect the wheels.”
“Everybody else will begin loading equipment and cargo onto the shuttle,” Nelise continued. “Of course, Anta, you will be allowed to hug your brother, but only for 15 seconds, then back to work.” Everybody chuckled
.
“Have you guys seen the Skins at all?” Shift asked after instructions for landing were complete.
“No,” Mike replied. “I’ve got all the external monitors up and running and there’s nothing outside the base for miles.”
“Yet,” Angel added.
“Well, we need to be extra careful,” Shift said. “Jon, will you help Mike monitor the surveillance cameras?”
“Sure,” Jon replied.
“If anything gets anywhere near here, we’ll know,” Mike said. “I’ll hit the MEHD alarms. Probably ought to keep the audible sirens off, right, so the Skins don’t hear them?”
“Right,” Shift said. “So, everyone, if your MEHD starts to vibrate, get in here, fast. While we wait, let’s get all the guns and ammo off the boats and inside. Let’s not take any chances.”
August 11, 2093, 5:40 AM—Cape Canaveral, Florida
“It’s them,” Jon whispered.
“Oh no,” Mike whispered back. Then he hit the MEHD siren.
The vibration of the siren was felt on the hips of each person scattered around the base, and the people began running back to the control room.
“How did they get here so fast?” John asked as he and Shift entered the room, each trying to catch his breath. “They would have to have been running like 200 miles an hour or something.”
“That’s not good,” Angel said, coming through the door right behind them. The others each arrived within a few seconds of Angel.
“It doesn’t matter now,” Shift said. “Where are they? How close?”
“They’re probably still 30 or 40 miles away,” Mike replied. “Our image is from satellites, not ground feeds. They’ve slowed down significantly in the past few seconds. It doesn’t look like they know where we are though.”
“I think you’re right,” John said. “See. Look how they’re starting to spread out.”
“Yeah, they look like they’re searching, smelling the air. They don’t look like they’ve locked onto a target,” Shift said.
“So, do you think they’ll pass us by?” Neirioui Safar asked hopefully, putting her arm around her daughter. Jon scooted closer to Suvan so that his arm touched hers.
“That might have been a possibility,” Nelise replied, “except that we have a shuttle landing here in 10 minutes. They’ll be able to hear it soon, and by that time, they’ll be closer to us.”
“Ideas anyone?” Shift asked.
“Nelise, is it possible that the shuttle could land, and all of us get on and take off before we get chewed on?” John asked.
“We have to get it checked out. It has to be recharged.”
“Do you think the group on the shuttle can do the hull check from inside?” Shift asked.
“Possibly, we can ask as soon as they get into our atmosphere.”
“Then, that would only leave us with programming the charging system before we get on board,” Shift said.
“And checking the wheels,” Anta added, looking nervously at the ground.
“Oh yeah,” Shift replied solemnly.
“I’ll check the wheels,” Andrew said.
“No, I can do it,” Shift said as he moved his eyes from Anta to Andrew.
“Of course you can do it Shift,” Andrew replied, “but I’m faster and fitter than you.”
“True, but I’m better looking,” Shift replied.
“What has that got to do with it?” Anta asked.
“Nothing,” Shift said. “I just wanted to point it out.” He smiled. The others tried to find the humor, but it was no use.
“Okay,” Nelise said, cutting off their little argument. “Andrew will check the wheels, if we have the opportunity.”
“Canaveral, do you copy?” The clear message signaled the shuttle’s arrival.
“Yes, we copy. Is that you Jonas?” Shift asked.
“Yup, we’re inside. Approaching now. We expect to land in about five minutes. Is everything ready?”
“Yes, but we have a little problem. The Skins are outside, snooping around. They’ll hear you any second now. Then they’ll know we’re here. Once you land, do not open the doors until I tell you to. We’re working out a plan.”
“Okay, you’ll see us land, obviously. We’ll wait for your signal before we do anything.”
“Actually, maybe you can help,” Shift added. “After you land, can you check the hull of the shuttle from inside? We need to know if there are any problems, but it’s not a great idea for us to be clowning around out there.”
“Why don’t you use the halo?” Jerad asked.
“We can’t get the halo to work,” Nelise replied. “There’s something I haven’t done, but I don’t know what that is. Any ideas?”
“No, I’ve never done it or seen it done either,” Jerad replied. “I’m sorry. But I think we can do it from here. By the time we land, I should know the answer. I’ll get on it.”
“Okay, we’ll talk soon. Out.”
Cain looked up, and his gaze was followed by more than 1,200 Skins, each one antsy and eager to move toward some clearer goal. The sound was growing louder, but Cain couldn’t place it. Then he saw it. A ship speeding toward them through the air. It was headed straight for them, as if it meant to crash into them.
No, that wasn’t right, he thought. Where were they? Florida? Yes, a shuttle base must be nearby. Searching the land around him, using the extraordinary eyes and ears of his followers, he saw the enormous base. Some of his troops were only a few miles from the gates. They now sensed his command. They moved eastward.
A few minutes later, they easily tore down a chain-link fence on the outer perimeter of a massive compound and began a frantic search for the perversions.
Even though he could not sense Anta, or any of the other perversions, he knew they must be here. He called Anta. He felt her response immediately.
August 11, 5:52 AM—Cape Canaveral, Florida
“Grab her!” John yelled as Anta began running toward the door to the control room, seemingly out of control.
Street grabbed Anta around the waist as she passed by him and hugged her tight against his body as she thrashed and kicked.
“Can we risk sedating her again?” Shift said, worriedly looking at Anta from across the room. He was so scared that he completely lost focus of what he was doing. The ship was approaching and his simple job to digitally lock the shuttle’s system into the computer for automatic landing fell to the wayside.
“I think we can,” Angel replied.
“Yes, it’s been many hours now,” Marilyn confirmed. “But the dosage has to be smaller. Give me a minute to prepare the sedation.”
“No. Let me just hold her,” Street said, as protective as a mother bird.
“Don’t let go of her Street . . .” Shift began.
“Shift, are you there?” came a voice through the message relay on the computer board in front of Shift. The attached holo lit up with Jerad’s face. “Why aren’t we locked onto the auto landing system?”
“Shite!” Shift said. “Sorry, we’re having a problem. Doing it now. It’s not too late is it?”
“Nearly,” Jerad replied, “but I think we’ll just make it. Okay, locked on. Just in time. We’re initiating landing sequence.”
Several people watched out the window as the shuttle began its descent to the runway below them on the tarmac. Then Shift turned his attention back to Street and Anta.
Street was struggling, but only a little, to hold Anta’s body still. Marilyn had joined them and her battle was much greater as she attempted to hold Anta’s head still so she wouldn’t cause any internal damage as she thrashed her head from side to side. Not feeling the relief he had hoped, Shift walked over and approached Anta, gently laying his hand on her cheek.
“Anta,” he whispered near her ear, with all the love and tenderness he could muster, “I love you, and I need you. Won’t you stay with me?”
Anta fell limp almost immediately, and Street, not expecting such a sudden reaction, a
lmost dropped her. Getting a better grip, he sank to the floor near the door. Shift and Marilyn sat down next to them and Street gently lowered her head onto Shift’s lap. Street kept his eyes on Anta’s still form, watching for trouble, while Shift held her head in his lap and stroked her hair.
Angel walked over to the small group sitting on the floor, crouched down, and put her hand on Street’s shoulder. Street leaned his head over and rested it on Angel’s hand. They stayed that way for several moments until they heard confirmation of landing.
“. . . We’re down. Piloting to the terminal now.”
“Good,” Nelise said peering out into the early morning light. “Bring her around to bay door 152. I’m sending the ship directions now. We’ll be making our way to the shuttle from there. Were you able to do a hull scan from onboard?”
“Yes,” Jerad replied. “Everything checks out. But we need to be charged before we can get out of here.”
“Right. We have the charging system in place at bay 152. It’s ready to be remotely moved into position the moment you arrive.”
“What are the Skins up to?” Hasani asked. “Is Anta okay?”
“Not really,” Street replied solemnly. “Cain must be calling for her or something. We’ve got her under control for now though.”
“The Skins are on the ground, just inside the perimeter,” Mike called out. “But they look like they’re still searching for us. Time is running out though. They know we’re here. We’ve got to get out of here.”
“Okay,” Jerad said, “we’re at 152. Ready for charging.”
“Entering signals now,” Nelise replied. “Done. You should see the machine moving into place. Is it?”
“Yes. It’s approaching now. Hold on. Okay, it’s on. System says its locked and initiating charge. Hold on again. Okay, we’re good. Charging in progress.”
“Now what?” Hasani said through the holo.
“We’re sending the jet way out to meet you,” Nelise said. “Once it’s connected, we’ll head your way.”
“We have to check the tires too,” Shift said.
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