“Hello? Oh, hi, Jean-Luc.” I was immediately alert. “You have the elements?” Pause. “Good. We’ll be ready in a couple minutes.” Another pause. “321 East Hamilton Ave.” After hanging up, Aaron jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans. “He has the cerium and europium.”
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, the alien appeared in the middle of the room.
“Here are the elements you asked for.” He held up the two small vials, each containing a shimmering liquid. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Do you know exactly when the suppressant will be done? I asked in ASL. The Vongarian studied me for a second, his faded blue eyes starting on my hands before migrating to my wings, then up to my face.
“Sorry,” he said, turning his attention to Aaron. “I am not familiar with this form of communication. What is he saying?”
“He’s asking about the genetic suppressant.”
“I just started the process. The modified organisms are in the incubator. They should be sufficiently matured and ready to introduce into his system roughly 42 days from now.”
Is there any way to speed up the process?
The alien looked again to my boyfriend for interpretation. Receiving it, he shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Perhaps if we were on my home planet, but the ship I currently possess doesn’t have the proper equipment.” When my wings drooped, he handed the two vials to Aaron. “But, as you said, a month and a half isn’t too bad. If you need anything else, you know how to get a hold of me.” The next thing I knew, he was gone.
“Well, that’s the first step,” Aaron said, examining the small glass containers.
We need to get those in place as soon as possible.
“I could do it now…”
I want to be there.
“After dark it is. I wonder if—” A sharp knock on the door interrupted him. Springing from the mattress, I made a b-line for the closet. Folding my wings close, I slid inside. Meanwhile, Aaron called out, “Just a second!” to which his little bother replied, “Breakfast is ready!”
“I’ll be right there.”
When the coast was clear, I emerged from my refuge, my heart still pounding.
“I’ll be right back,” my boyfriend said, before leaving the room.
The rest of the day went by very slowly. Every ten minutes I tried to retract my wings and every time minutes I failed. As time drew on, I became increasingly agitated. Why is this happening now? When I only have a few weeks to go? Aaron made a few attempts at conversation, but I wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t want him to think I was shutting him out, but it was difficult to stay upbeat when it felt like my whole world was falling around me. When I made conversation impossible, my boyfriend turned on a movie. He sat rigidly at his desk while I sat on the floor. He brought me food at lunch and dinner time. It had only been one day and I was already going stir crazy. I couldn’t have been more relieved when the sun finally disappeared beyond the horizon. Slipping out his bedroom window, I flew us to the National Forest. Touching down a few feet from the portal, I released Aaron.
“Any special way we should do this?” he asked, removing the vials from his pocket.
I shrugged. Just dump it in?
First he uncapped the europium, then the cerium. Clutching both cylinders in one hand, he was about to toss their contents into the portal when I stopped him.
“What?” he asked, casting me a questioning look. I gestured for him to hand me the vials and he obliged. Taking both containers in one hand, I took his hand with my other. Leading the way, I stepped into the portal. Before we came out the other side, I emptied the vials. When we arrived in my world, the rear metals were gone, but the gateway looked just as it had before.
“Shouldn’t it look like the one in the castle?” Aaron asked, studying the shimmering blue whirlpool. Instead of responding, I tried for the umpteenth time to retract my wings and like before, they stubbornly refused to leave. Releasing his hand, I forced back my frustration and began to sign.
Maybe it takes a second. When my boyfriend didn’t respond, I continued. We could wait on the other side if you’d like.
“Sure.” He shrugged, looking less than enthusiastic. Recapturing his hand, I led the way back through the portal, but after stepping across, we found ourselves still in the lightly wooded forest behind my parents’ house.
“That’s odd.” Still holding hands, we passed back through the gateway. Once again we found ourselves in my world. A muscle worked in Aaron’s jaw as he released my hand and made yet another journey into the portal. To my dismay, I could still see him on the other side, through the shimmering blue light.
“What is going on!” my boyfriend hissed, now dashing back and forth through the portal. “Why isn’t it working?!”
I shook my head, completely bemused. After working perfectly for the last ten years, the gateway had stopped. Are we too late? Did we not administer the elements in time? Surely not? If the portal was no longer functional, it would have disappeared entirely. We could still see it as plain as day, it was just refusing to let us journey through. While I contemplated what might be wrong, Aaron became increasingly frantic. Afraid he might sprain an ankle, I grabbed his wrist when he arrived back on my side before he could make another trip through.
“Why isn’t it working?” he repeated, staring up at me with huge, fearful eyes. “Why won’t it let us through?”
I don’t know, I answered honestly in ASL, releasing his arm. I don’t know what’s going on.
“Don’t tell me we’re tapped!” my boyfriend exclaimed, his deep green eyes practically flying out of their sockets.
I’m sure it’s fine, I responded in an attempt to comfort him. It probably needs some time.
“How much time?”
I don’t know.
“Oh, my god! Oh, my god!”
Despite his obvious melt down, I was starting to feel giddy. Even as the fear washed over Aaron’s features, a feeling of indescribable joy was filling me up to the brim. It was undoubtedly another mood swing, but sense it wasn’t terrifying anger, I didn’t fight it.
Relax, it’ll be okay, I assured my boyfriend, unable to wipe the silly grin off my face.
“You don’t know that,” he squeaked. “For all you know, I’ll be stuck here forever!”
Would that be so bad?
Aaron looked as me like I’d lost my mind. “Yes, that would be bad. That would be very very bad!”
I’m sorry. I don’t see the problem. The giddier I got, the more emotionally distraught he became.
“The problem, Uriah, is I’ll never see my friends and family again. My whole world is back there. Literally. Why is that so hard for you to understand?” By now tears were streaming down his face.
I was feeling on top of the world, but I couldn’t ignore my boyfriends despair, even if it didn’t make sense to me at that moment. What can I do to make him feel better? For one, erase this idiotic smile from my face. Now I had to take him somewhere he could decompress. Since my wings wouldn’t retract, I decided the best place to take him was the Flyer settlement, but when I suggested this he shook his head, still looking shell shocked.
Why not?
“I can’t talk to anyone there.” His voice was barely above a whisper. That was not a good sign.
You can talk to me, I offered.
He just shook his head and started wandering in the direction of my parents’ cabin. Not knowing what else to do, I followed. I wanted to comfort him, to remind him that we had just implemented the elements and there was no telling how long it would be before they took affect, but that had already been stated. He wasn’t interested in anything I had to say. This was made clear when I tried to get his attention and he wouldn’t even look at me. How am I supposed to comfort him when he won’t look my way? Without my voice, I was shackled. The intense, happy-go-lucky feeling that was still swimming through my veins made me wonder if he was overreacting. I could imagine how daunting the possib
ility of never returning home must be, but I had to believe that the portal had not shut down forever. Not right after we’d introduced the elements meant to keep it open. It will let us back through. It has to. The only challenge was convincing Aaron of that.
When my boyfriend continued toward my childhood home, I grabbed his shoulder, hoping to get his attention, but he shook me off. Honestly, I would rather we went anywhere but here. During our month apart, I hadn’t been back to the cabin. My father had come to visit me several times, but I’d only seen my mother from a far. I still wasn’t ready to face her. Once again I grabbed Aaron’s arm, trying to force him to look at me, but he shoved me away.
“Leave me alone!” I didn’t like the idea of manhandling him, but I couldn’t communicate with him if he refused to look at me. Grabbing him firmly by the shoulders, I spun him around, refusing to let go when he struggled in my grip.
“I said leave me alone!” he hissed, tears still trickling down his cheeks. I shook my head. He fought me for a moment longer, before giving up. If I thought he looked bad before, now he was utterly and completely defeated. It broke my heart.
“This isn’t happening,” he sobbed, shaking his head back and forth, looking a million miles away. “This isn’t real. Tell me this isn’t real.”
I’m sorry, I mouthed, afraid to release him, the pain in his eyes killing me. I’m so sorry.
“I’m never going to see them again,” he whimpered. “My mom, my dad. I won’t get to see Mathew grow up. He’ll think I left because of him, I know he will. And my parents, what will they think happened to me?”
Releasing my grip on one of his shoulders, I placed an index finger to his lips while shaking my head. Thoughts like that would just make things worse. When it was clear Aaron wasn’t going to speak again, I removed my finger. For several seconds we just stared at each other. Right when I was about to attempt one-handed sign, the front door to my parents’ house burst opened and my mother and father emerged.
“Uriah, you’re back!” Mom exclaimed. It looked like she was about to hug me, so I released Aaron and quickly stepped back. However, when my father approached, I accepted his embrace. My mother looked crushed, but she didn’t say anything. Instead her gaze shifted to Aaron who was standing as still as a statue and silently crying.
“What happened?” she asked, her eyes darting back and forth between us. When I made no attempt to respond, she approached my boyfriend who didn’t recoil. “Aaron, honey, what’s going on?”
He looked at her through unseeing eyes. If he recognized her, he didn’t let on. Turning to my father, I started to explain in ASL, but he quickly held up a hand.
“Hold on there, son. Your mother hasn’t downloaded me with the language yet.”
Reluctantly turning to her, I gave her the “go ahead” gesture. To my surprise she didn’t move a muscle. Instead she gave my father an apologetic shrug.
“I’m sorry, love, but if he can communicate with you, he’ll have no further use for me.”
The giddy, happy-go-lucky feeling that had been keeping me afloat up until this point instantly vanished. It was replaced with ice cold rage. It might have scared me if I hadn’t been so completely consumed by it.
Are you kidding me! Gritting my teeth, I advanced on her while spreading my wings to half mast. It was an unconscious attempt to scare her and it worked.
“Honey, I just want us to get back to where we were!” she declared, cowering before me, but she still held her ground. “How can we do that if you refuse to talk to me?”
I wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her, but I didn’t. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, I closed my eyes. I had to get away from her. If I stayed another moment, there was no telling what I might do.
Come on, I signed, turning my attention to Aaron. We don’t need this. I reached out for him, but to my dismay he pulled away.
“You should be grateful,” he whispered. He had stopped crying, but he eyes were still puffy and blood shot. “At least you still have your mother. I may never see mine again.”
You’ll see your mother again, I reassured him. Don’t give up so soon.
Before my boyfriend could respond, Jedediah cut in. “What are you guys talking about? Aaron, why won’t you see your mother again?”
“It won’t let us through.”
“What won’t let you though?” Even as my father asked this, I got the feeling he already suspected the answer.
“The portal,” Aaron whimpered, fresh tears brimming his eyes. “We tried to make it so it would stay open and now it won’t let us in!”
“You guys actually went through with it?” Mom asked, placing a hand on his shoulder that made me bristle. When my boyfriend nodded both my parents stared at us wide-eyed.
“Now I’m trapped here forever!” Aaron declared breaking down anew. My mother wrapped her arms around him, bringing his head to her chest.
“Are you absolutely sure it’s closed?” my father asked, gesturing for me to follow him without waiting for a response. Back at the portal, like my boyfriend, he made several attempts to pass through, but always ended up on the other side, no closer to Earth. I still maintained that whatever was happening was temporary, but I’ll admit I was starting to get nervous.
Back at the cabin, Mom was still comforting Aaron. She cast Jedediah a questioning look and he shook his head. At this, her gaze shifted to me. I might have been imagining things, but I swear she looked relieved. I was pretty sure I knew what she was thinking. Despite Aaron’s plight, with the portal closed, I could on longer escape back to Earth. She could hope all she wanted. This didn’t change a thing. If the gateway won’t open, I’ll find another way to get him back to his family. I don’t care what it takes. I intended to tell him as much, but when I pried him out of my mother’s manipulative grasp, he wouldn’t make eye contact. Frustrated, I tried retracting my wings, but of course they wouldn’t go. As my irritation mounted, I could almost feel myself reverting back to the helpless kid I once was.
“Come on,” my mother said, guiding my boyfriend into the log cabin. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
I really wanted to go to the Flyer settlement, but when Aaron willingly accompanied her inside, I was forced to follow. At the dining table I sat in silence while my parents tried to bring up my boyfriend’s spirits. Jedediah told him our world wasn’t so bad once you got used to it. Adjusting to a world void of electricity might be difficult at first, but in time, he wouldn’t even notice. My mother tried to sell him on the beauty of our planet, reminding him of all that glittered.
Like me, Aaron also sat in silence, his eyes puffy and red. He would occasionally nod, but I don’t think he absorbed a word they said. When dinner was over, he muttered something about being tired. My mother hastily ushered him off to my old bedroom. I intended to join him, but when I made a move to follow him inside, he stopped me with a hand to my chest.
“I need to be alone right now,” he muttered, still not making eye contact. Without another word, he shut the door. It was everything I could do to keep from breaking down into tears. I hated that Aaron was shutting me out, but there was nothing I could do. Technically, I’d done the same to him. Still, this felt worse. I may not have spent my first eight years on Earth, but I still considered it my home. My mother may have prevented me from making any close friends, but I looked forward to seeing the people I worked with. True, I wasn’t leaving any family behind and I'd lost my job, but now I was trapped in my silence, the one place I dreaded being. I needed a shoulder to cry on just as much as he did.
When I returned to the main room, I found Jedediah in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace, reading a book. Hearing my footsteps, he looked up. I began to sign before remembering that he couldn’t understand. This brought me to tears. My father was out of his seat in an instant. He wrapped me in a tight embrace. Our size difference made it a little awkward, but I didn’t care. He whispered softly to me as silent tears streaked my face. I do
n’t know how long we stood in each other’s arms when my mother walked in. Knowing that Aaron didn’t want me around, I realized I didn’t have a place to sleep. My parents’ cabin is small and I didn’t feel like sleeping on the floor. Gently extracting myself from Jedediah’s arms, I signed that I was going to the Flyer settlement. Of course he didn’t understand. Instinctively his gaze shifted to my mother, however, my back was turned to her, obscuring her view. She took a step to her right, attempting to get a better look, but I quickly stopped.
“Honey, please talk to me,” she implored, taking a tentative step toward me, but I stepped away.
Jedediah moved forward. “Sweetheart, please. Teach me ASL so I can communicate with our son.”
“Then he’ll never have to talk to me again.”
“Haven’t you taken enough away from us already?”
“I just want my baby back!” She stared up at me with watery eyes. “Honey, please come back to me.”
When she took another step toward me, I stood my ground. Instead, I spread my wings in a warning gesture. Raising my feathers made my commanding frame even more intimidating. My mother hesitated before taking a step back. When it was clear she’d gotten the message, I lowered my wings and hackles, returning my attention to my father. I pointed at the door and his face fell.
“You’re leaving?” I nodded. “Where are you going?”
I gestured to my wings. “You’re flying somewhere?”
“He’s returning to the Flyer settlement,” Mom said, gazing sadly at me. “Honey, you don’t have to leave. I’m sure Aaron will come around.”
Ignoring her, I gave my father a goodbye hug before leaving. I was feeling increasingly depressed and needed someone to talk to. I knew Theodora and her husband would welcome me back with open arms. When I knocked on their door, they were ecstatic to see me. Their excitement quickly turned to concern when they saw the tears streaming down my face.
Baby, what happened? my would-be mother asked, ushering me inside. Through the despair I told them everything. I knew that same Flyers would be glad to know that my genetic suppressant was failing and that another bridge between our worlds had closed, but Theodora and her husband showed nothing but sympathy. They could see how upset I was and they hugged and kissed me and told me everything would be okay. When I was all cried out, I returned to my room which was just as I’d left it and collapsed. After everything that had happened, I assumed it would take me forever to fall asleep, but I guess I was more warn out than I thought. Within minutes of my head hitting the pillow, I was out.
The Flyer (The Flyer Series Book 1) Page 36