by Magan Vernon
“Alright, now you should see the switch for the lights, navigation and oxygen there, so switch them all on as well,” Malcolm called.
I turned on all the other switches, watching each display as it lit up.
“We have made contact with the Caltian mothership at 120,000 feet,” a voice called over the plane's radio.
“Do you hear that?" I whispered into my communicator.
Before Malcolm could speak the same voice came over the radio. “The drones are out! I repeat, the drones are out!”
A lot of static came on the speaker. “I’ve been hit! Number 247 has been hit!" More static came on the air before the line went dead.
I sat in silence, trying to catch my breath before Malcolm spoke over my communicator. “Are you sure you still want to do this, Alex? Your dad just sent out an announcement looking for you and it’s not too late to go back.”
I fought back the tears as I slid on my helmet and oxygen mask. I couldn't deny that I was scared out of my mind. I never stood up to the popular girl in school and never dreamed that I would actually be standing up to anyone even more powerful than the leader of a high school clique. But I had to shake off my fears as I thought of Ace sitting up there and facing who knows what kind of torture. He saved my life the first day at Circe and had been there for me no matter what others thought of our relationship. Now it was my turn to be the one to save him.
“I’m more than ready, Big Poppa, let’s do this.”
“You’re either the bravest chick I’ve met, or the stupidest, but God's speed to you." His voice shook as he gave his last commands.
“Now I want you to add fuel to the throttle and once the fuel is up to fifteen percent you will see it light up,” he called.
I revved up the fuel and felt the plane come to life under my feet. “Got it. What’s next?" I yelled over the rumble of the engine.
“Okay now, gently release the parking brake and you’ll throttle up on that stick to your left.”
I released the parking brake, grabbing the throttle in the process. Suddenly the plane started inching forward. “What do I do now?" I shook, looking down at the plane.
“Don’t get nervous on me now; you’re doing great. We’re going to follow you out to the runway and help you get in the air." I looked down to see Malcolm pointing me toward the white outlined path that would usually be full of planes waiting to take off, but now it was just me.
“Now you’re going to deploy your flaps at ninety degrees,” he yelled into the communicator, trying to keep up with me as he hurried down the runway.
I found the switch for the wings and let them out. “Check.”
“Now you are going to go full stick and once you’re up to about sixty, you’re going to pull back on the throttle and go airborne,” he yelled breathlessly as he stopped following me.
I closed my eyes while everything moved in slow motion. I pushed on the gas and opened my eyes just as the RPMs went up to sixty. Pulling the throttle as hard as I could, I let out a sigh of relief when I felt the wheels tuck away and the plane start heading toward the sky.
Malcolm, Justin, and Jen cheered from the ground. “Congrats, Juliet, I think you just earned your wings.”
“Yeah." I swallowed hard and watched the ground below me get farther and farther away as the plane traveled higher into the clouds. Hopefully I wouldn't lose my wings on the same day that I earned them.
Chapter 27
“So isn’t 120,000 feet kind of high for a regular plane?" The desert floor disappeared below me and all I could see was the blue sky and tiny puffs of clouds.
I heard Malcolm laugh at the other end of the communicator. “Do you really think that Circe has normal planes?”
“Touché.”
I looked around, hoping to see some signs of life in the sky. Even though Circe and the surrounding area had a pretty restricted air space, I still expected to see something as I accelerated into the air. The clouds disappeared and I was surrounded by a sea of blue sky, the same blue as my little brother's eyes. I wondered if I would ever see him again. I didn't have a plan for what I would do once I was in the air, but I knew where the entrance to the ship was. I hoped somehow I could get in and eventually get out. I didn't know what would happen if I couldn't, how my dad would tell my mom, and how on Earth she would explain it to Elijah. He had cried, clinging to my leg, when I left for the airport and begged me not to go. Tears welled up in my eyes when I considered that the airport would be the last time I would see my little brother.
I was knocked out of my reminiscent daze by a call over the plane’s radio. “We are asking that all troops retreat back to Circe. I repeat, we ask that all remaining troops return to Circe.”
“Juliet, this is Big Poppa. It looks like something went down up there. Are you alright?" Malcolm called over my communicator.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I don’t see—" I stopped, catching my breath as I saw four small black W-shaped planes heading toward me.
“Crap,” I yelled. “What do I use to shoot?”
“There should be a small button on the control stick," Malcolm said as calmly as he could, but I could hear Jen asking questions in the background.
I looked down to see a small button on the side of the control stick. I pressed it as fast as I could and moved the stick from side to side, figuring that was what I did in video games, so it might work on a real plane. Too bad video games weren’t like real life.
My plane started spinning into barrel rolls as missiles screeched out of the nose of the plane. Some of them hit the targets, but mostly the other planes just got out of my way to avoid me spinning into them. I shrieked each time my plane came charging toward another one, afraid I might crash into them and leave both of us stuck in the sand below. I jerked the control stick, thinking that might steady me out, but it just caused me to move faster and spin even harder. Droplets of sweat started to drip down from my forehead and into my eyelashes. I shook my head, trying to keep the sweat out of my eyes and to figure out what I needed to do to get away from the ships and stop spinning.
“Juliet, this is Big Poppa, do you read me? Your plane is out of control. You need to release the control stick," Malcolm yelled over the communicator.
I let go of the control stick and the plane finished its last rotation, putting me right-side up. “I think I may vom.”
“This isn’t some rollercoaster ride; this is the real deal.”
I pressed my palm to my forehead, hoping that would make my dizziness stop. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
The sky ahead of me was blocked by a dark blue triangle that glowed like an icy orb against the backdrop of the setting sun. It was almost beautiful as it loomed over the clouds with such force and presence that it made me gasp. The ship had to be a few miles long and maybe even that wide, with a mass that I was sure could crush my tiny plane in an instant.
“Are you sure you're ready for this?" Malcolm called again.
As I crept closer to the massive ship, a swarm of Circe drones came toward me, whizzing by and making my plane teeter back and forth.
“Soldier, what are you doing? Fall back, fall back,” a voice came over the plane’s radio.
I looked over to see Circe planes on either side of me, the pilots staring right at me. I shook my head, not answering the radio, too afraid that my dad might recognize my voice.
“Don’t be a hero, soldier. This is no time to go rogue. She’s already taken down half of our planes. We don’t want to lose another man,” the voice called again, in a hazy two-pack-a-day tone.
I glared right at the plane to my right and took all the courage I could muster to speak into the plane’s radio. “Well, then I guess it's about time you sent in a woman to finish the job."
I left the pilot staring as I pulled back on the throttle and rose higher, accelerating to full speed toward the ship.
“Alexandra, is that you?" dad called over the plane’s radio.
“I think our cover’s
been blown," Malcolm mumbled over my wrist communicator.
“Alex? Listen to me. I know you want to save Ace, but the best plan right now is to let the soldiers do their job." Dad tried his best sympathetic tone, but he couldn't control the urgency in his voice. "You don't know what you're up against. You need to turn back right now."
I shook my head, not taking my eyes off the giant Circe ship. It looked even bigger than I thought. My plane seemed like it was a tiny fly compared to the massive vehicle in front of me.
“Dad, please understand this is just something that I have to do. You would do the same thing if you were in my place.”
“Alex, I am a trained colonel. I have years of experience and I would never go in without backup. If you just come down we can talk this over and see what we can negotiate with the queen.”
I shook my head again, sucking in a huge chunk of air through my mask. “What do you think will happen if we try and negotiate with the queen? Have you ever tried to negotiate with an evil dictator before? Ace never backed down all those times he put himself in danger to save me, and now I have to do the same for him.”
Dad sighed into the radio. “Alex, you’ve never flown a plane. How do you plan on landing?”
“I’d like to know that one myself,” Malcolm added. “I never did teach you that part.”
I gulped. I hadn’t even thought about landing or even where I would land. Before I could even consider how I would get that far, another set of smaller Caltian drones came barreling toward me. They were so fast that they were next to me in an instant. But instead of shooting at me, they were herding me like cattle, trying to bring me closer to the bigger ship.
“What the hell is going on up there?" Malcolm asked, the panic rising in his voice.
“I have no idea." I looked into the other ships, only able to see the wicked smiles of the Caltian pilots.
“Try spinning again; see if that helps," Malcolm yelled.
I shook the control stick back and forth as fast as I could, sending my plane into a headfirst spiral right toward the opening of the ship. But my spiraling didn’t stop the Caltian pilots this time. They just circled me closer, the blades of my plane colliding with theirs as we went at lightning-fast speed toward the bigger ship. I let go of the control stick, my ship came to a halt. All of the lights turned off inside the plane and I heard Malcolm’s panicked voice over my wrist communicator.
“Alex, are you there? Are you alright? You went off the radar.”
“Yeah." I started pushing different buttons, hoping something would turn on as the Caltian drones circled even closer. Their wings were pressed against my plane, pulling me toward the bigger ship.
“I'm trying, but nothing is turning back on.”
I tried not to freak out and moved the control stick and throttle, trying to shake away from the Caltian drones, but my plane wouldn’t budge. My plane headed straight for the opening of the bigger ship and I knew at that moment there was no turning back.
Chapter 28
I slowly opened my eyes to see five sets of dark Caltian orbs staring at me through my plane's canopy.
"It's time to come out, Alexandra. We don't want to hurt you," one of them cooed, his lips curling into a smile that rivaled the Grinch.
I couldn't see anything past those eyes and started wondering how I was going to escape. Something poked into my back and I remembered the gun in the back of my belt. I heard the scratching at the side of my canopy and knew they would have the hatch open soon. Without looking away, I slowly slid the gun out of the back of my belt, cradling it behind me and holding my breath as one of the Caltians finally got the canopy open.
Five pairs of gloved hands reached for me. Before they could grab me, I thrust my foot forward and kicked one of them in the head. He flew backward and off the plane. The others reached farther, their gloved fingertips only a few centimeters from my face. I threw my hand out from behind my back and caught another one off balance, knocking him off the plane. I was still out numbered three to one, and before I could pull the trigger on my gun, one of the Caltians knocked it from my hand. Another grabbed me by the hair and dragged me out of the plane.
I screamed, kicking my legs and waving my arms, trying to hit the guy dragging me. He made sure that I hit every step on the way down. A sharp pain stabbed me in the back and I realized that I still had two other weapons that could be of use. I reached around to the back of my belt and pulled out the Carrie. The Caltian looked down to see what I was doing. I squeezed a large glob of red liquid into his face. He squawked and released his grip on me to claw at his eyes.
The two other Caltians came rushing toward me, pushing the guy who was rubbing his eyes out of the way. They crouched down in front of me; their lips peeled back to reveal sharp white teeth as they hissed.
"What, are you all part cat or something?" I cocked an eyebrow and held the Carrie out in front of me.
That just aggravated the Caltians more and one of them lurched at me, swiping at the Carrie. A huge pool of red liquid floated into the air before the Carrie fell to the ground. I slid to the left, avoiding being hit with any of the liquid. I looked over to see that the two Caltians were back in their crouching position; their eyes narrowed into tiny slits as they lunged in my direction. I quickly reached around my belt and pulled out the freezeray, pointing it at them. "Don't step any closer, or I'll shoot."
They cackled. "Another human contraption? Do you really think that's going to stop us?"
"Yep." I pressed the freezeray's button, shooting a cool blue steam that instantly left the two Caltians looking like ice sculptures. I smiled and ran in the other direction. I had a brief idea where certain parts of the ship were located and thought I could find some hiding places on my way to find Ace.
I started running down the landing pad and farther into the ship when I ran face-first into a dark object that I thought was a wall. I turned to move to the left when a pair of ice cold hands grabbed me by both shoulders. I fumbled to press the freezeray button when another pair of hands came out and knocked it from my grip.
Crap.
The two sets of hands belonged to more Caltians, who were stronger than the last five and instantly had me wrestled to the ground. One of them stuck a small needle in my arm, a dark blue liquid pushed through my veins, making my body tingle all over before it went completely numb. They then grabbed me by the hair and started venturing deeper into the ship.
"What do you want from me?" I yelled as they dragged me across a cold metal floor. The room grew darker and darker as they dragged me farther into the ship. I looked up to catch glimpses of Caltians hanging over small metal balconies. Their laughter filled the darkness as I went from the ship's large landing area and down dark hallways that were lit only by tiny glowing lights that lined the copper walls.
The two Caltians joined in on the others' laughs. "Oh, human girls, they are so insignificant." One of the Caltians looked back at me with a wicked smile crossing his face. "The queen has given us orders to keep you alive, but we'll see how long that lasts."
I tried to kick and break my arms free from their grasp, but my body was completely numb. I couldn't move anything below my neck, but I could feel everything as they dragged me through a small doorway and into a room that was colder than any Illinois winter.
"The queen wants you to wait in here," one of the Caltians said and pressed a button, letting a large steel cage fall around me. It was so small that I couldn't move from my sitting position and wouldn't have room to stand. "We're sure that you'll be very comfortable."
The two of them let out a laugh that sent chills through my body. They turned off the dim lights, so that I was left in a darkness that felt like something from my nightmares.
****
I didn't know how long I was in there. My head had been hit multiple times on the way into the cell and I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. As the feeling slowly started to come back to other parts of my body, I could feel every ounce of p
ain that shot through me. It was like I was reliving the battle blows over and over again when each part of my body came to life. I tried to ignore the pain and the feeling like I was slipping away into a painful nightmare, but the more I pushed myself to stay awake and fight, the more I drifted. I looked down at my communicator and realized that it had broken on the way in. I was stuck with no way to communicate with the outside world.
I tried to stop my eyes from closing, but the darkness fell around me no matter what, and then the nightmares came. They felt even more real than before, and I swore I was actually living them. I saw the queen and her laughter surrounded me. Her white hands reached for me, finding every bruise and open wound she could to cause pain. I screamed out, but no one could hear me. No one was coming for me. I felt hopeless.
I wondered what my mother was thinking. She had no idea that Circe was more than just an Air Force base and probably thought that I was just filing papers in some higher-up's office. Little did she know that I was lying in an ice box so cold that I couldn't cry because my tears would just turn to ice before they even left my eyes. I thought about my dad and wondered if he thought that this was his fault for insisting that I do the internship. He just wanted to help me all along and I took it for granted. I realized that he really had a reason for not wanting me to see Ace.
And Ace, my Ace, my beautiful alien. I wondered if I would ever see him again or if the queen would destroy me and the planet before I would even get to say good-bye. I thought about the way his hair lay on his head, spiking wherever it decided, and the way it felt as he laid his head next to mine. I wondered if I would ever feel the tremble of his lips and that icy hot sensation they left on mine when he kissed me.
I was roused out of my trance when I heard movement in the room. I thought it was finally my time to meet the queen and see my execution. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move. I felt like I had at least a few ribs broken and it hurt to breathe.
