Incursion

by Kevin McLaughlin

  I had been manhandled enough today and didn’t want some twenty-something kid buckling me in like a toddler. He froze, indecision plain in his eyes. He definitely got my message, but protocol was protocol. I softened the look and made a show of moving my arms to let him finish strapping me in. The guy was only trying to do his job. If I had to be stuck with these government goons all day, I’d be a bit on edge myself.

  The agents stepped in behind me and took their seats, John’s head scraping the ceiling. The soldier slammed the doors shut, and I had the feeling of being shut in a steel box. The female agent motioned to me to put on a headset that hung from a hook next to my seat as the rotors spun faster and the high-pitched whine of the rudder propeller joined the noise.

  I gripped the side of the chair tightly as the helicopter took off. Definitely not my favorite feeling! It wasn’t like being in an airplane where you had the predictable lifting of the nose to tail. Instead, the helicopter lurched nose-down as it took off. The fuselage wobbled from side to side, then we ascended vertically. I mustered the courage to look down at the campus and grinned at the crowd forming in the area where we’d taken off. Most of the students held their phones up, grabbing photos or video. So much for getting away unseen and unrecorded! But this ought to be a hell of a story. I resisted the urge to wave down at them, though none of them would be able to see my face from this high up. I settled instead for a smug sense of satisfaction as the dean and a senior professor joined the throng. They would be in for a shock when I didn’t show up for my next class. The math wasn’t that hard to figure out. I wanted to crow at them, who’s the crackpot now, suckers? That was too good to pass up. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to snap a shot of their shocked faces before we were too high. But my phone’s screen was dark and didn’t respond. Out of battery? Not likely. But it was dead as doornail. Weird. I put it away to worry about later.

  The female agent and John sat across from me and the young soldier to my right. The soldier was gazing out the window with a smile. It was plain that this was his favorite part of his job. We ascended and veered west toward the city. Once we got going, things settled into a more predictable flight. I started to drift off a little. The sound of the blades was even and regular, making the kind of hum that always put me to sleep as a little girl flying in airplanes. John and the young soldier were chatting on a closed channel. Probably trading war stories. The female agent scrolled on a tablet.

  All of them kept sneaking looks at the second sun. So did I. I wanted to ask what the hell it was, but I was even more afraid of what the answer might be as I was of not knowing. That bluish light had to be connected to the agents’ arrival – right? But how?

  I forced myself to relax. This sure as hell wasn’t a joy ride, but it was going to be an adventure. I hoped it was going to be one of those stories I’d be able to tell for years. The ones you break out to impress. The ones that come from doing something challenging.

  Those are the best kind.

  3

  Alexandra

  “Where the hell are you taking me?” I asked into the headset’s microphone. My earlier patience was fraying fast.

  “I’m not at liberty to say. You’ll be briefed when we arrive, Dr. King.” The woman returned to reading her tablet.

  The feeling that something was very, very wrong nagged at me. That wasn’t helped by the pilot putting the helicopter through some seriously crazy maneuvers. I tried to breathe normally as the helicopter lurched, turning. The treetops below us seemed awfully close and the anxiety I felt when we took off came back with a vengeance. The young soldier accompanying us noticed my discomfort and grinned.

  “It gets worse, ma’am.” His eyes sparking with excitement.

  I looked at John. The corners of his mouth had turned up ever so slightly, the ghost of a smile. It was the first touch of humanity I’d seen in him. If I stretched my mind I could imagine a younger, fresh-faced man in uniform, trying not to look scared shitless as his pilot maneuvered the helicopter to its limits as a warm welcome to the recruits he ferried.

  The female agent looked to me like she’d never been anything but stern, tight lipped and serious. It was clear that helicopters weren’t her favorite thing either. Despite my discomfort, it was nice to know that I wasn’t the only person here who wished we were already on the ground.

  As we flew, the ride got smoother again. I saw the city coming into view. The sun – suns! – were just starting to shine on the buildings, turning them into reflective columns of light.

  It looked like weren’t headed toward the city after all. The helicopter veered southwest. A short distance outside the city limits stood a flat, squat building that screamed “top secret experimental base”. I squinted at a large perimeter fence surrounding the building. The grounds were dotted with spotlights. The fencing had looping lines of barbed wire attached to the top. I could make out vehicles and men moving around the grounds. A single road led up to a gate where two concrete towers sat with spotlights mounted on top of them, looking like an entrance to a poorly designed medieval castle. I had no doubt that there was some nasty firepower sitting in those towers, ready to put a bullet through anyone who got too close.

  The helicopter began its descent. I braced myself, hoping that landings were better than takeoffs but I was getting the feeling that this was one of these things where the opposite was true.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  I felt the helicopter shudder just before sparks erupted in the helicopter’s cockpit, bouncing off the windows and bulkhead. I caught a glimpse of the pilot’s console. The screens that previously displayed information about the helicopter started to glitch, colors flashing and data blinking out of existence. All at once there were far fewer lights on the instrument panel than there had been at takeoff. The pilot slammed his helmet visor down and patted his body, making sure that his clothing hadn’t caught fire.

  John reached for a fire extinguisher bolted under the seat. The pilot waved him off. “Instru—”, the pilot’s voice crackled in the headset and died, replaced by a high-pitched whine. I ripped off my headphones.

  The soldier unbuckled himself and leaned toward the cockpit. The pilot hand signaled for to him to sit down. Alarms blared, mechanical and out of synch, lights flashing on the instrumentation panel.

  I didn’t mean this kind of adventure!

  The pilot turned the helicopter away from the buildings toward an open field near the base, looking for a safe place to land. The helicopter shuddered again and then lost altitude fast. I barely had time to process the fact that I was about to die when I saw bright blue bolts of lightning below us.

  Not lightning, I thought. Power lines.

  The lines themselves looked like they had been cut halfway between the pylons and thrashed like a dying animal. Blue bolts of energy arced wildly. We were pitching more and I thought I heard the female agent scream. Maybe it was me.

  The rush of adrenaline slowed time almost to a standstill. The female agent’s hair floated like a halo as the helicopter banked sharply. John’s eyes grew wide when saw the power lines sparking. The young soldier tightened his hands on his seatbelts. Even the bright lines of electricity froze mid-air.

  I sucked in a breath as the lightning arced toward us.

  The world went black.

  I came to seconds later to a helicopter that felt like it was in a tornado, fuselage spinning on its axis, making it impossible to tell which direction we were falling. The cabin smelled like electricity. It reminded me of the lightning bolt that had struck the tree next to my house when I was a child. Outside the window a piece of rotor snapped off and whizzed away.

  Someone slapped my cheek. I felt a pressure against my shoulder and turned my head to see one of John’s staring down at me, an uncharacteristically concerned look in his eyes. I shot him the finger, a clear sign that I was awake and aware. I copied the pilot’s body check. I wasn’t on fire. I was still breathing and could feel my extremities – for the m
oment at least! That was a good start.

  The pilot still struggled to get his aircraft back under control. Then the engine died. The roaring sound vanished like a switch was flipped. It was replaced with the fading whine of the blades as they slowed down.

  John motioned for me to cross my arms over my chest and tuck my chin. The woman and young soldier were already in crash positions. The ground rushed up with dizzying speed. I shut my eyes. I hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much. Last thoughts raced through my brain. I wished I’d smoked that last cigarette I was thinking about earlier. I wished I had called my parents last week like I meant—

  The helicopter crashed with a sound like the end of the world. My entire body lifted off the seat, held down only by the straps buckling me in. The frame shuddered, plowing itself through dirt and grass. I heard the soldier shout. The woman was quiet.

  When the vibrations finally stopped I opened my eyes and unclamped my hands from the seatbelts. I felt like I’d been kicked in the chest by a horse. My head hurt. I gingerly touched the goose egg forming from when I had gotten knocked out earlier. I felt like I was on a boat in rough seas.

  The pilot unbuckled himself and climbed toward us. His visor was up, and I saw his face for the first time. He was older, likely a career soldier. Definitely not his first flight emergency, judging from how calm and collected he seemed. He grasped my face gently with both hands and stared at my eyes, nodding as he saw them focus. He checked the others and then pushed the side door open.

  I released my straps and tried to stand but dropped to my knees as pain and dizziness overwhelmed me. John reached out and caught me before I could hit the deck. He helped me stand, hoisting my arm over his shoulders. “Come on, doctor. There you go.”

  I coughed as I tried to orient myself in a world that wouldn’t stop spinning. Two Humvees arrived on the scene. Soldiers in firefighting gear jumped out and sprayed down the helicopter, even though I didn’t see any flame or smoke.

  An older man dressed in a featureless black jacket and tie with salt and pepper hair stepped from one of the vehicles. He nodded to me as he approached.

  “Welcome to Camp Duban, Dr. King.”

  I lifted my head and blinked hard. The adrenaline was wearing off and my mind was foggy. Everything felt surreal, like I had stepped into a video game. John helped me into the Humvee. He said something to the man in the suit, his fist pumping up and down horizontally at the wrist.

  Yes, she’s alive and unhurt. Easy enough to understand.

  John shut the door and slapped his palm loudly on the back of the vehicle twice. As we started to drive away from the wreckage, I remembered why I hated these all-terrain vehicles. Every jolt and movement of the car sent pain lancing through my bruised body. I wasn’t looking forward to getting a look at myself later. Right now, I just prayed this ride would end. Soon.

  The older agent reached into the side compartment of the vehicle and offered me a bottle of water. I took it and drank greedily. When the cool water hit my throat and stomach, it cleared the fog from my brain and washed the dryness from my mouth.

  “My name is Director Agarwal,” the man said. “Are you all right, Dr. King?”

  No, not really. What sort of stupid question was that? That wasn’t what he wanted to hear, though. I nodded, finishing off the last of the water.

  “One hell of a ride, huh?” He smiled.

  Despite feeling weaker than a newborn kitten, I wanted to punch him. I had been practically kidnapped out of my classroom by government agents and survived a helicopter crash. To top it all off I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I was tired, achy, and annoyed, and the cloak and dagger routine had officially pissed me off.

  Instead of expressing my feelings with my fists I managed a tight smile. “You could say that.”

  “I appreciate your patience, Doctor, and your understanding. Normally we would reach out in a less dramatic manner but, as I’m sure you’ve heard, we need your help right away.”

  I took my glasses off and rubbed my face. “Why? All you people have done today is tell me over and over that my help is essential. Please. Tell me why I’m here.”

  “We’re almost there. Just a few minutes more, and I promise you’ll be properly briefed.”

  The Humvee neared the base. The compound was much larger than it had looked from the air. The grounds were dotted with smaller structures, most likely troop housing. We passed them, heading instead toward the largest building nestled in the center of the base.

  The building was the very definition of nondescript. Grey concrete walls with a small outer door of heavy-duty steel. The Humvee rolled to a stop and Director Agarwal stepped out. He turned and offered his hand to help me out of the vehicle. He walked ahead of me to the door and scanned a keycard taken from a lanyard around his neck. As I passed through the door, he scanned it again, registering that two people had entered the building under his name. The long corridor inside the door ended at an elevator. I heard sounds coming from through the walls so there must have been other rooms, but this one was isolated and heavily fortified. It was obviously made to keep whoever was in it in and anyone outside out. The director pushed a button next to the elevator and placed his palm on a scanner which turned from a dark blue to green. The elevator opened with a bong and he gestured for me to enter first.

  This way to the secret labs, I thought.

  The elevator descended forever, floor numbers flashing by. The director put his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels, avoiding my gaze as much as possible. When he caught my eyes once or twice, a pained smile crossed his face. In an attempt to avoid the false friendliness, I decided to take a detailed inventory of my surroundings. Two factor entry into the building, and everything heavily fortified. The elevator was built as strongly as the rest of the building with steel walls, floor, and ceiling. Two cameras were mounted in the corners of the ceiling, blank lenses watching our every move. The elevator finally slowed to a stop. When the doors opened, I stared. This wasn’t a laboratory. It was a massive control room. It looked like I had stepped onto the set of Wargames if it had been set in the modern day.

  “The only way to win is not to play,” I murmured to myself, stepping out of the metal box.

  In the middle of the room was a massive monitor showing a map of the world. Varicolored dots specked the map along with code-named designations. There was a large red dot that seemed to track across the map in real time. A satellite, I realized. Maybe even the International Space Station. In front of the monitor were rows of computers set into the floor so it formed a kind of bullpen. People sat behind them, some wearing the pixelated uniforms of a military branch, others in plain white or blue dress attire. Closest to us was an observation platform where several people in suits milled around in a tight group, clearly discussing something they didn’t want the rest of the room to overhear. I recognized one of them-the Congresswoman from my home state. Whatever this was, it was a very big deal. The director led me to a chair and motioned for me to have a seat. I stifled a sigh. More ‘hurry up and wait’. Lovely.

  While I waited, I took in the scene. This complex was enormous. It had to be the main purpose for the existence of the base above. Two main hallways sprouted from the entrance into the control room, blockaded by dual swinging doors. Soldiers scanned their ID badges while coming and going in a rush. Everyone in the room was acting like they were in the middle of a crisis. The politicians formed their own little huddle. Several were seated with laptops balanced on their laps while others tried to make themselves heard on phones over the din. I overheard a few fielding calls from the press. The anxiety radiating from that corner of the room was palpable even at a distance.

  The elevator was the only way back to ground level that I could see. Soldiers stood on either side of the elevator doors at attention and another two soldiers mirrored their positions outside the control room. Tight security. Try to escape and I would find myself on the wrong end of an M-16. That trapped feeling I had been fighti
ng all day came back in a rush, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm my suddenly racing heart.

  4

  Alexandra

  An Air Force officer climbed the steps out of the computer pit. He came up to me and shook my hand. I blinked hard a couple of times, half convinced that I was dreaming. Like many geeky kids of my generation, I’d had grown up with movies and games that depicted this kind of thing. But never in my life did I think it actually existed, never mind that I would be standing there seeing it. I wasn’t sure whether to feel awed or terrified.

  “Dr. King,” the officer smiled. “I expect you have a few questions.”

  “To start, yes. Where the hell am I?” I tried not to gape at the massive display in front of me. I was staring at classified information on every military flight in the country. The sheer number of planes in the air was mind-boggling. I was tempted to snap a photo on my phone and realized that it was no longer in my pocket. John must have taken it off of me while I was recovering from the crash.

  “You are in a classified government facility designed to protect the human race,” the officer said.

  “How? Is this a nuclear attack response base?” It sure didn’t look like it. There were snapshots of near-Earth orbit on both sides of the central monitor. Numbers above it displayed a countdown next to the current time in GMT.

  “Not exactly. It is designed, for lack of a better term, to protect us from attacks by extraterrestrial life.”

  “What, you mean aliens?” I burst out laughing. “The United States government has thrown millions of dollars into protecting us from aliens?”

  My newfound guide didn’t laugh. “Millions would be underselling it. Come with me.”

  I followed him up the steps to a higher vantage point. From there we could see the entire room. He leaned against the iron railing and took a deep breath, like he was trying to steady his nerves. That didn’t make me feel better.