by Darrell Pitt
“We’ll see them once we return to Earth.”
“Ferdy can speak to them now.”
“Uh, howzat?”
“Ferdy has calculated there is a seventy-three percent chance that Chad has made use of a modified Flex Fighter he kept hidden in the desert close to The Agency compound.”
This was all news to Dan. As they made their way down the corridor, he asked Ferdy to explain. By the time they had reached the main generator room, Dan thought he finally understood what Ferdy was saying.
“But how will we contact them?” Dan asked. “We don’t have a cell phone or a radio –”
“Ferdy can break into the Tagaar communications system and ring our friends,” he said. “It will be fun to speak to them.”
“Right.” Dan wondered if Ferdy had completely lost his mind. “You can just ring them up for a chat.”
“A chat.” Ferdy nodded. “A chat will be fun.”
They assembled around the door leading to Engineering. They expected opposition, but to their surprise they encountered no one. It looked like the entire force of Tagaar warriors had been moved to another section of the ship.
Let’s hope they’re out to lunch, Brodie thought.
She had been formulating a plan. Now she outlined it to the others. It involved breaking into two groups and co-ordinating two separate assaults on the chamber beyond. The others listened in silence. They readied their weapons and pushed through the doors.
The main chamber was filled with an enormous cylindrical generator and other equipment. Brodie glanced at it. She didn’t know how a normal generator on Earth worked, let alone one on an alien spaceship designed to propel it around the galaxy. However, it seemed two things were immediately obvious; the generator was not operational, and not a single Tagaar warrior was in sight.
“This was not what I expected.” Brodie turned to Tomay.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” the man responded. “The entire ship is powered by the generators.”
“Maybe they’ve already moved to the backup,” Bax suggested.
She brought up a schematic on the computer system. After a moment she looked at them in dismay.
“I was right. These engines have already been disabled.”
The others joined them just in time to hear her speaking.
“And the whole Tagaar army has run off,” Dan said.
“I doubt that’s the case,” Tomay said. “They are probably working out how to recapture us.”
An alarm started to sound. They looked at each other in confusion as it reverberated around the massive chamber.
“What is that?” Ebony asked.
Bax quickly examined the computer system.
“Oh no,” she said.
“What is it?” Brodie asked. “What’s that alarm?”
“It’s the separation alarm,” Bax said. “It means the main ship is separating from the lower section.”
“Separating?” Brodie repeated the word dumbly.
“This ship is able to disconnect into pieces. The lower decks form a hull distinct from the remainder of the ship. When the hull separates –”
“What will happen?” Brodie interrupted.
“We are very close to your planet,” Bax said. “We will fall toward your world and burn up in its atmosphere.”
Chapter Thirty-One
We were back in the Flex, soaring high over the forests of Canada. Chad and I were in the pilots’ seats, although we had the vessel on automatic. Alexi Kozlov was in the rear. We had not handcuffed him this time. We simply asked him to remain seated and we would drop him off to the authorities as soon as possible. He had seemed to accept our change of mind as yet another bizarre event in this endless day.
I peered through the front window at the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful day. People were probably spending time with their families. Some were eating meals. Others were working. The mass of humanity was doing what it always did.
While all that was happening, I was falling apart. The last I had seen of Brodie was the image of her lying on the floor of the Tagaar cell. What had she said to me?
“I’m in a cell –”
Those were hardly famous last words. They were certainly not the final words you wanted to hear from the girl with whom you were in love. I could feel tears filling my eyes. Chad reached over and grasped my arm.
“Don’t give up, buddy.”
I shook him off.
Chad persisted. “Brodie can make it if anyone can. She’s a tough girl.”
“She might be tough, but –” A beeping came from the console. I leant forward. “What is that?”
“It looks like someone’s signalling us.” Chad frowned.
“Are we still cloaked?”
“We sure are.” His hand hovered over the controls. “Should I answer it?”
I peered down at the console. I didn’t see how anyone could be communicating with us. Chad had told me this ship was completely off The Agency grid.
I shrugged. “Let’s see who’s calling.”
He hit the communicator. “Uh, this is us –”
I rolled my eyes.
“– uh, who is out there?” he continued. “Who wants to speak to us?”
The radio crackled. Then a voice came through loud and clear.
“It is your friend, Ferdy.” He sounded as clear as if he were in the next room. “We will play ball again one day soon.”
“Ferdy!” I exploded. “How did you – I mean, where are you and how –”
“Others want to speak to you,” Ferdy said. “Jupiter’s largest moon is Ganymede –”
I heard the sound of multiple voices speaking all at once. Then –
“Axel?”
“Brodie?” I could not believe my ears. “Is that you?”
“It’s me,” she replied.
I didn’t hear her next words because I was whooping so loudly. I actually started dancing around the small interior of the cabin. Finally Chad had to push me back into my seat so the conversation could continue.
“Axel’s lost it,” he said. “Where are you and what’s happening?”
We listened as Brodie briefly explained the events of the last few days. Finally she explained about the falling ship.
“Most of the ship is going to burn up in the atmosphere,” she explained. “But what remains is going to cause one hell of a mess.”
Ferdy’s voice came over the channel. “The impact of the falling ship will be massive. Not only will everyone on board be killed, but the resulting impact may throw enough dust into the atmosphere to create a new ice age.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
I fell back in my seat. It took me a few seconds to regain my senses. I leaned forward. “Computer,” I said. “Trace this signal back to its course.”
A few seconds passed. “The signal has been traced.”
“Distance?”
“Thirty-seven thousand kilometres.”
“Time to intercept at maximum speed?”
“Twelve minutes.”
“Set a course. Maximum speed.” I punched the communicator. “Ferdy, put Brodie back on.”
“Axel?” A crackle almost drowned out her voice. “Are you still there?”
“I’m here,” I said. “I’m on my way.”
The crackling grew worse. “What are you going –”
The signal died. Chad examined the console.
“We’ve lost the signal,” he said. “What have you got in mind?”
I didn’t answer him.
“Okay,” Chad continued. “Now I’m worried. I need you to speak to me, Axelhead. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“That ship is going to crash and kill everyone on board.”
“And?”
“And I’m going to stop that from happening.”
“Uh…how?”
I hadn’t worked that out yet. We travelled in silence until the computer came back to life.
“One hundred kilo
metres till intercept.”
I turned to Chad. “You take over the Flex. Make certain Alexi makes it out alive.”
Putting the ship on automatic, he hurried after me into the rear compartment. “What are you doing?”
I dragged open the back door. The interior of the craft immediately filled with freezing cold air. Alexi looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. Chad slapped a communication device into my hand and I secured it to my ear.
“Saving the world,” I answered.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I was already exhausted and I didn’t have the faintest idea as to how I was going to do this, but I knew I had to try. High above, I could see the spacecraft. It was a bright red dot in the sky, growing larger with every second that passed. It was falling fast, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. I could not even begin to imagine what it would be like for the people on board the craft.
Increasing my speed, I flew a slow loop across the sky until I was trailing the falling ship. It was impossible to say how long it would take before it hit the ground. I only knew that their time was running out.
I was thousands of feet behind the craft, then only hundreds, and finally I was flying in its slipstream. Slowly rounding the falling vessel, I focused on creating a platform beneath it. The idea I had was simple. I flew by creating a platform under me. That platform lowered or lifted me through the air. I intended to do the same for the spacecraft.
Except the spaceship probably weighed thousands of tonnes and I weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds. So the chances of me succeeding were probably close to zero.
So be it.
I extended the platform, making it larger by the second. Time was running out, but I had to remain completely focused on this if I stood any chance of making it work. The platform grew larger and larger until it lay under the body of the massive ship. Now I focused on pushing upward.
Nothing happened.
The invisible platform was complete. It sat beneath the falling spaceship, but it did nothing when I focused on trying to lift the ship. I knew this would be difficult – probably impossible – but I thought –
I decided to change tact. Moving my attention away from trying to lift the craft, I focused on trying to keep the platform in position. Once again it seemed I was having no effect. Then I heard a groaning sound emanate from the enormous vessel. At the same time I noticed something happening to the outer edges of the craft. They were still molten hot. Now they seemed to be spreading out. They were melting into a wider shape, curving downward almost as if they were trying to collect the air.
Dan.
It had to be him. He was also trying to slow the descent of the craft – and he was having an effect. The craft was slowing. Both our efforts were slowing it, but neither of us was powerful enough to be able to stop it entirely. It was simply too large.
The earpiece crackled. Chad’s voice came over loud and clear.
“You’re a pain in the ass,” he said. “Just thought I’d let you know.”
“Shut up.”
I saw the Flex Fighter was descending at the same rate as me and the spaceship. “I need you to form two holes in your platform,” Chad’s voice continued. “One at each end of the ship. I need it so they’re pointing downward.”
“What –”
“Just do it!”
I just had to trust him. I envisioned two holes in the platform. For a terrifying second the ship started falling more quickly, and then I saw the flame disappear from the sides of the craft. It was as if a candle had been extinguished.
Then in the next second I saw two spouts of fire appear under the ship as if they were rockets.
Yes!
That was exactly what Chad was doing. He had rerouted the heat from the hull – and maybe even added to it – and was firing it directly downward to create two rockets. The ship had slowed perceptibly now, but the ground was still growing closer with every passing second. We had to put all our energy into this if we were to stop the craft from slamming into the earth.
Lots of people’s lives were depending on us.
Including Brodie.
Whereas I had been fighting to keep the ship stationery, I now put every ounce of effort into trying to lift it again. My body ached with pain. My head felt like it was going to explode. My vision blurred as I saw the craft growing ever closer to the Earth. Now it was only a few thousand feet.
Then a few hundred.
Lift, I thought.
Lift!
It slowed again. I urged the ship to slow with every fibre of my being. My head felt like it had been placed into a vise. The crushing pain inside my skull was terrible. I watched as the ship slowed once again. It was directly above a farmer’s field. I saw the makeshift rockets touch the field and the crop instantly burst into flame.
I put one final bit of focus into lifting the ship –
It slammed into the ground.
An enormous plume of dirt erupted into the air around it. Sections of the ship collapsed instantly. Pieces flew off in all directions. From my height above the ship, it was impossible to tell if the entire craft had been destroyed in the collision with the Earth or if it was still relatively intact. I started toward it.
That’s when it happened. I had evaporated the platform so now all I had to control was my own ability to fly. Except I couldn’t seem to see straight. My head was aching terribly. I had to get down to the ground or I would simply fall from the sky. Heading toward a small hill, I was aware that my vision was growing darker with every passing second. Just before I landed, it had narrowed to a slim tunnel filled with only a patch of grass in the centre.
Everything went black.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The instant I woke up and opened my eyes, I realised my entire world had changed completely.
My eyes were open, but I could not see.
I was blind.
Lying on my back in the field, my hands raked my face in desperation until I finally touched my eyes in complete horror. My eyes were open – wide open – and yet I couldn’t see a thing. It had been a bright sunny day a few minutes before. I was flying toward a hill surrounded by trees. Long grass covered the top. It was into that long grass that I had landed.
It was impossible to determine how much time had passed. It could have been minutes or hours or days. And maybe it made no difference anyway.
I was blind.
A sob rose up within me. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Every inch of my body ached. The terrible pain in my head had passed, but it had been replaced by a dull pulsing throb. The sensation was worst at the back of my eyes.
Weeping, I fell back into the grass and closed my eyes as tightly as I could. Maybe this was temporary. Maybe it would take a few seconds to pass. Keeping my eyes shut, I counted till I got to sixty before I opened them again.
A wall of inky blackness greeted my vision.
I wiped the tears from my eyes. Somehow, I got to my feet and tried to remember the appearance of the landscape. There had been a patchwork of fields, fences, patches of forest and a thin, curving river. Closing my eyes again, I pressed the palms of my hands into my eye sockets and kept my eyes shut for another minute. I finally opened them again.
The darkness drowned me.
The sound of a blue jay echoed across the field. Further away I could hear the slight drone of a distant engine. The sun felt warm on my skin. A breeze tugged at a stray hair on my brow. An insect bounced off my cheek. The whine of it melted away to nothing.
I wanted to scream.
Somehow I fought the impulse and took a series of deep breaths. My head still ached, but at least now the rest of my body had eased to a dull throb. Clutching my head, I felt something wet on my hand. It had to be blood. I had probably hit my head when I landed.
Had that caused my blindness?
Maybe this was only temporary. Regardless, I had to move. I had to find Brodie and the others. I had to find out if they had survived the crash or n
ot. Survival was the first order of business. I had to find other people. To do that, I needed to find houses. Roads. Fences.
I started walking. Holding my hands out in front of me, I felt only long grass. My last memory was not of crops. This was simply a grassy knoll in some farmer’s field. At some point I would meet a fence. That would lead to another fence. Sooner or later I would come across a person.
Excuse me? Will you help a blind boy?
I wanted to laugh. I wanted to give myself over to peals of laughter and lie down on the grass until I choked to death on my hysteria.
Shut up. I clenched my hands tightly. Stay focused.
After the first few minutes I realised I was heading down a gradually sloping hill. I began to feel a little more confident. Encountering a stream would be another good sign. Where there was water there was sure to be people. I just had to –
My left foot met empty air.
Stumbling forward, I threw my hands out and instead something slammed into the left side of my face. For a moment I didn’t know up from down. I thought I was being attacked and I punched out wildly. Then I realised I was lying on the ground against some sort of rocky outcrop. A kind of helpless rage consumed me; I had simply fallen over. Crawling away from the stony projection, I encountered soft earth again and I began to pummel it with my fists.
Screaming and crying, I hit it repeatedly until all the energy was gone from my body. At last my head grew dizzy and I fell into another deep silent sleep. There were dreams, but they were the dreams of a sighted boy. He had a girlfriend that he loved, but he should have told her more often. He could see her walking away from him. As she turned back, he saw her lips and her nose and the gentle curve of her cheeks, but she had no eyes.
No eyes.
When I awoke again, I realised I could hear distant sounds. Engines. Voices. I lifted my head slightly. I knew the sound of those engines. They weren’t from motor vehicles. They were from –
Helicopters.
Opening my eyes, I saw something move before me. A blur. Grasses.
Light.
I let out a cry. A squeak of astonishment. I blinked a few times. With each blink of my eyes and with each tear that rolled down my face, I found my vision returning. Looking down at my hands, I saw them slowly come back into focus.