Goodbye Sky Harbor

by Mathis, Philip Brian

  “You know what boy I’m talking about. As soon as we get him back, we’ll leave you people in peace.”

  “I’m curious, what makes you think that boy you are looking for would be here? There is only Yavapai and Apache boys here.”

  A loud shriek was suddenly heard coming from one of the houses. The growing assembly of residents all turned to witness an elderly woman being dragged out of her home by one of the soldiers. A few of the male residents that had amassed all pointed their weapons towards the dispute. Immediately Col. Posey’s men countered and pointed their weapons at the male residents.

  “Okay, okay. Put your guns down. There is no need for that.” The colonel instructed.

  The soldiers lowered their weapons.

  “Let her go right now.” Posey ordered.

  The private ushering the older lady out of her house immediately let go and walked away.

  “Alright listen everyone; we are looking for a pretty gifted boy. His name is Creed O’Connor, and the last we heard is that he might’ve taken refuge here on the reservation.” Col. Posey held up a picture of Creed. He passed it to another elderly lady standing there in front of the colonel. “And if that’s not enough to arouse your memory, this might.” The colonel then held up a picture of Genesis and began passing it around as well. “That young lady should look familiar to at least some of you. Her name is Genesis Woods, and she was last seen accompanying the young gentleman that we are looking for.”

  “Sir, I don’t think you’ll find what you’re looking for here. I think it’s about time that you guys left us in peace.” An elderly man requested.

  “I don’t think you understand. We are not leaving here until we have searched this entire reservation.”

  A few of the Yavapai men had climbed up on some of the close rooftops, surrounding the colonel and his men. They had positioned themselves with rifles all pointing towards the small platoon.

  Col. Posey noticed and was momentarily amused before finally grabbing his phone from his pocket. “Creed, we don’t want any trouble. Just give yourself up and this will all be over with. We honestly just want to talk. Do you really want these nice people troubled over something that you can help resolve? Would you say no to your parents?” The colonel held up his phone with an image of both his parents taken back at Sky Harbor. This began angering some of the First Nation’s residents all gathered, witnessing the terrifying scene unraveling.

  “Please leave us now, you are not welcome here.” The same elderly gentleman demanded.

  “Wait.” Creed shouted from a distance. He eventually appeared from the growing crowd near the entrance. Walking beside him was Genesis and Kushala. “I’ll go, just leave everyone here and my family alone.”

  “Thatta boy. Alright Creed, you have my word.” The colonel remarked. He then began swirling his finger in a circular motion above his head. “Let’s go everyone.” Posey instructed the men. Some of the soldiers from the platoon were equally relieved to be spared from a growing standoff that was quickly formulating.

  “Come on Creed, we’ll get you back to Sky Harbor in no time.” Posey said.

  “I want to go too.” Genesis requested.

  “I’m sorry, that’s not possible sweetheart. We only have room for one.”

  The colonel extended his arm out to Creed as he approached him. The teen wasn’t having any of the colonel’s hospitable facade. Creed immediately shrugged away from the colonel in a rebellious motion.

  “There’s no need for any of that Creed, I promise you it will be okay.” Col. Posey assured.

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  Col. Posey heard the voice and turned back towards the crowd. He noticed that none of the residents had dispersed, not even the men on the rooftops. The colonel’s heart dropped as he peered straight into the circle of First Nation’s people.

  “If we find out that any harm has come to that boy or his family,” the elderly man continued. “The China men won’t be the only people you will have to worry about.”

  The colonel effortlessly grinned before casually turning away and walking towards the military convoy parked outside.

  “That’s cute.” Posey muttered to himself.

  Creed stared straight back at Genesis the entire time. He never took his eyes off her as he followed the colonel towards the military vehicles. They both shared a faint smile before one of the soldier’s opened the back door for Creed. He hopped in and waved goodbye to Genesis and the crowd still gathered outside. Creed wanted nothing more than for Genesis to accompany him back to the airport, but something told him it wouldn’t be long before she was able to find her way back on her own. After the last soldier piled in, the door was shut, and the vehicle took off. Col. Posey had purposefully positioned himself seated across from where Creed was sitting in the hummer. He stood there glaring at the young boy for a moment with a continued grin. Creed ignored the colonel and kept staring out the window with deliberate reluctance.

  “Look, Creed. I know you’re worried, but don’t be. We’re not going to ask you to fight, okay? I think we figured out a way you can still help us though.”

  “What do you mean?” Creed asked.

  “You’ll see. Trust me; I think you’ll be pleased.” The colonel assured.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  The Humvee with Creed in tow, arrived at the airport around two in the morning. Creed kept quiet the entire drive. Col. Posey made an errant attempt at peace when the vehicle got underway, but eventually gave up when he noticed his ramblings were falling on deaf ears. Creed spent the nearly thirty-minute drive mainly staring out the window. The driver pulled the vehicle around back, near concourse four’s main hangar. Creed noticed the big hole in the hangar door, where Genesis and he had previously made their escape. The accompanying soldiers all poured out of the Humvee and made their way to the doors leading up to the airport.

  “When do I get to see my parents?” Creed finally decided to speak only to make a small request. He figured it would be a small favor considering what they’d be asking for in return.

  “I’ll tell you what, why don’t we go inside and get you a room set up, with a nice little cot and everything. Get some sleep tonight, and I’ll fetch your parents first thing.”

  “You’re not going to hurt them, are you?”

  Col. Posey stopped walking and gazed back at Creed who was lingering a few paces behind him. “Of course not. Why would we hurt your parents, or you for that matter? There’s nothing to gain from any of that. You have my word.”

  “You could’ve fooled me.”

  Col. Posey snickered. “Look I know you’re upset Creed, and I can understand that. But the truth of the matter is that we could really use your help. You have to trust me.”

  “Why would I believe you after you stormed the reservation with guns, blaring threats?”

  “Let me ask you something,” The colonel paused. “Did we start this war Creed? Did we drop bombs on anyone? Was it wrong to ask you to use those abilities of yours to help us win this war. How many more lives must be destroyed? We could end this thing, together. I just hope you can finally start seeing that.”

  Creed stood there and continued staring in the colonel’s eyes with disbelief. “Is that what you tell people, to help you sleep better at night? So, you think just because you didn’t drop any bombs on anyone, that alone guarantees that you are the good guys? You are right about one thing though; I wouldn’t ever be able to rest easy knowing someone with my abilities was out there. Hence the reason I didn’t want anyone to know.”

  “But now that we know son, wouldn’t it be epic if we could make history together.”

  Now it was Creed’s turn to pause. He looked down and scoffed at the colonel’s misguided encouragement.

  “What if I was to fight? Would it all end once the war was over? You really think I’d be able to go back to a normal life after this? Could you guarantee that I’d be able to sleep or live peacefully ever again. There would be a media fren
zy that would follow me around for the rest of my life. Some might think that’s cool, yeah sure. But that’s not me. I’ve never enjoyed that type of attention. And you want an award, right? You want to be lauded for winning this war with me? You want to know the fucked-up part Colonel? Is that you have no idea what I’d give up, to hand this gift over to you.”

  “Well in a little while, it will be like handing it over to me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll see.” Col. Posey began making his way up the stairs to the connecting concourse. Creed apprehensively following behind. “Look kid, I’m not even going to act like this is something easy to comprehend. I know this is all chaotic. I get it. I know you’re scared, being thrusted into this whole unique situation. But I promise you, that once we get inside, we’ll figure it all out together. And after it’s all over, I’ll never ask you for another thing. I promise you that much.”

  Another promise Creed thought. He was weary of what was going to happen the second he walked into that airport. Creed had no choice, no matter how hard it was to believe anything the colonel said from this point on. He was taught at an early age to listen and respect his elders, everyone from his parents to his teachers. This was a bit different however.

  “I’ll help the best I can.” Creed responded.

  “That’s all I wanted to hear.” The colonel opened the doors to the entrance of the airport and turned to wait for his anxious guest. Creed made his way through the doors with Col. Posey right behind him. As soon as they entered, Col. Posey lead them to another section of the airport. Across the hall from the medical wing, Creed noticed boards and sheets made up to act like barracks for all the soldiers stationed there. Behind that area was a small Starbucks coffee shop. Col. Posey lead Creed around to the back where they finally stopped at a storage closet. Creed peered inside and noticed a bed in the room that had already been made up.

  “We got this room ready for you in case you returned.”

  “Peachy.” Creed snidely remarked. Col. Posey grinned before walking into the storage closet. There were empty cups and various coffee supplies on the shelves hanging above the bed.

  “The bathroom is right around the corner from here. It’s easy to find.”

  “Alright.”

  “And that’s pretty much it. You good for now? You need anything?”

  “No, it’s fine, I guess.”

  Col. Posey started moving towards the door before pausing in front of Creed. He put his strong heavy hands on the teens shoulders and smiled. “Look, get some sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning. Okay? I’ll send someone to come get you as soon as we’re ready. You’ll be fine. You’re doing a great thing here. I really think this is going to be a great partnership.”

  Creed just stood there and responded by offering the colonel a half-assed grin before faintly nodding his head. Col. Posey’s smile softened and turned to finally leave Creed to himself.

  As soon as he heard the door shut to the storage closet, Creed sat on the bed and gazed around the room. Immediately, thoughts of Genesis swarmed around in his head while he wondered what might happen in the next few days. Things were way past surreal already, and Creed wasn’t ruling out the moment curtailing into some sort of twilight zone just yet. He tried calming himself by thinking of Genesis, and what she might be up to. He wandered if she had already began making her way to Sky Harbor by now. Creed wished he had his phone, so he could at least look at a picture of her. Just one look into her eyes. Creed kept flipping through images of her back at the reservation in his mind. Remembering how pretty she looked in her buckskin outfit, with the feather complimenting her straight black hair as she danced in the sunset. Before Creed could conjure up the next memory, there was a loud knock at the door. He jumped there on the bed before cautiously responding.

  “Umm...come in?”

  As loud as the knock was, Creed was expecting the colonel to swing the door open violently and just shoot him right there on the bed. However, the door opened slowly before Captain Romero finally poked her head in.

  “God you scared me.” Creed responded.

  Rey noticed Creed was sitting on the bed with his hand held over his heart. “Oh man, I didn’t mean to scare you, was just coming to check up on you.”

  “Well now I’m going to have a heart attack, if you want to stick around for that. Maybe next time knock softer? Just a suggestion.”

  “I’m sorry, I just heard you were back and figured I’d bring you something comfortable to sleep in.”

  Rey held out a pair of men’s shorts and a regular white t-shirt. Creed reached out his arm and took the clothes from Capt. Romano.

  “Thank you.” He replied.

  “Yeah no problem. They belong to a guy I know. He’s about your size.”

  Creed placed the clothes on the bed right next to him. Capt. Romano smiled before deciding to sit down on the other side of the bed.

  “So how are you holding up?” Rey softly asked.

  “Good, I guess. All things considered.”

  “Yeah, sorry about the colonel. He’s been known to be a little forward and blunt at times.”

  “That’s alright. I’m just a little nervous about what’s all going to happen tomorrow.”

  “The colonel didn’t tell you anything?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, to be honest, I don’t know if I’ll be much help either. But we found a unique mutation in your blood.”

  “A mutation?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is that bad?”

  “Well that’s the thing. In most cases it is bad. It’s usually only found in cancer patients amongst other ailments. However, from what I can tell, the mutation in your blood is what must be giving you these particular abilities.”

  “God this just sounds like a crappy movie, doesn’t it?”

  “I don’t know. I kind of enjoyed the late seventies Superman movies.”

  Rey and Creed both chuckled.

  “Yeah I guess those were alright.”

  “You saw those? Aren’t you a little young?”

  “My Dad liked those; we’d always watch a few of those older movies on Sunday nights.”

  “Well that’s cool.”

  There was a brief pause as Creed went back to mulling over what Rey had said about his blood.

  “So, wait. The colonel told me I don’t have to use my gifts to fight anyone. If that’s true, then what does he want from me exactly? Just to study my blood?”

  “Well sort of. This is where our crummy movie gets even better. After we got a sample of your blood, we found that your blood is a worldwide carrier and donor. After you left, the colonel did an experiment where he injected your blood into a random soldier here at the airport. This soldier was able to imitate the same abilities as you did. So basically, Col. Posey wants to see if he can simply collect more blood to inject his whole squadron. Then have them go off and fight on the front lines.”

  Creed just sat there staring at the captain with shock in his eyes. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Yeah you were right. That does sound like an even crummier movie.”

  The young teenager stood up from the bed and ran his hands across his face. He began pacing around the room before Rey finally reached out her hand to grab his.

  “Hey, look. It’s going to be fine. It’s just a little more blood.”

  “This sounds like an absolute nightmare.”

  “We are in uncharted territory, that’s for sure.”

  “So how much blood we talking?”

  “Not really sure to be honest. The tricky part is that even though we can transfer your blood and recreate those abilities, it’s only temporary.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The blood is only able to hold up in another body for two days. Seventy two hours.”

  Creed turned back around and wrapped his arms together above his head. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”

  “It’s going to be fine C
reed.”

  “So, the colonel wants his own personal blood supply unit, with free flowing conduits, the whole nine yards. How’s that going to be fine?”

  “That’s not true. A few vials of blood Creed. That’s all.”

  “No, no, no. I’ve read about men like the colonel. He just wants to win this war at all costs. Men like the colonel never stop until they get what they want. I mean he came barreling into the reservation looking for us. He was ready to turn that entire place inside out before I finally gave myself up. What makes you think he’ll stop at a couple vials?”

  “Because I will make sure of it.”

  Creed continued pacing around the room. His nerves were now shooting off in every direction. Capt. Romano stood up and grabbed onto his shoulders, pulling him towards her. “Look at me Creed. I won’t let him hurt you. Okay?”

  Creed’s heart was pounding, and his body was slightly shivering. He was quickly thinking back to each time the colonel and his path had crossed. Col. Posey didn’t seem like a man of reason. Like someone who would compromise with anyone. For the first time, Creed was finding it hard to find comfort in the Captain’s presence.

  “Creed, I know guys like the colonel too. In fact, I’ve known Col. Posey a while now. Other than a few quirks, he’s a decent guy. Yes, he might be a tad over determined and at times, he can seem domineering, but his overall goal is for the betterment of the squad.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Look, I’ll be there okay? I’ll shut it all down if I have to.”

  “What if he doesn’t listen to you? I mean, he doesn’t have to listen to you, does he?”

  “Don’t you worry about that. Okay?”

  Creed couldn’t help but worry.

  “What about after all this?”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “Say he gets what he wants out of a few vials. We win the war, and everybody is happy. What’s next?”

  “Nothing. You go back home.”

  “I like you Captain, but you’re so naïve. You should see the way he looks at me. Like I’m some other worldly phenomenon. I doubt he’s going to willingly let me go home after everything. I’ll be his lab rat for the rest of my life.”