The Ballad of Mitch and SoHee

by Paul Ormond

  The audience responded with a decisive “no” before a fervent wave of shrieks and howls filled the valley.

  “People, this is not a call to arms, nor are we asking you to act irrationally,” President Edwards said, cutting in. “We need all of you to remain calm and vigilant as we see this through. As Mitch said, I will be presenting all of this evidence and a lot more to the United Nations very shortly, but we wanted all of you to know that there are people attempting to sway your opinion, and I wanted to you to hear it from Mitch and I first before anything else happens.”

  “It is time for me to go,” Mitch said before moans and cries rose up from the onlookers. “But we all have much to do and much to prepare. I look forward to returning to you and rejoicing in our victory. Until that time we must remain vigilant and not be sucked into the lies of our enemy. I leave you know, but know that my heart belongs on Earth and I will do everything I can to get home.”

  The crowd cried while Mitch waved in all directions before disappearing into the glowing tower.

  “Once again, we need all of you to remain calm,” President Edwards said. “This is a dark time we are entering into, but we have the strength to get through it together. We are not alone in this. We have allies, and I am certain the forces of good will prevail. We will fight until the very end to protect our home, and I will not rest until it is done. God bless you all and God bless the United States of America.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “ARE WE SURE everything has been calibrated?” Ramon asked as he peered over the monitor.

  “It’s all been double checked,” XiaoFan said from across the warehouse. “You’ve got some real trust issues don’t you, Ramon?”

  “He’s certainly harboring some deep emotional scars. I’ve been trying to get him to open up more, but he throws up the same defense mechanisms every time,” Christine said.

  “I don’t see why you are resisting everyone’s attempts to get close to you, Ramon,” Sanchez said. “It’s so much easier when you just let people into your life.”

  “I cannot believe I am listening to this right now,” Ramon said, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. “Why is it that every single thing I say gets analyzed by a panel of psychologists?”

  “Because your anger and resentment hangs over everything you do,” Christine said. “This desire to control everything and obsessing about the details is directly linked with the stress and trauma you received early in life.”

  “I am obsessing about the details because I do not want all of our efforts to be wasted. Can’t anyone see that I am doing all I can to ensure the success of this project.”

  “Once again you are deflecting and minimizing our concerns about your mental health,” Christine said.

  “I’m not sure if I’m the one that needs a mental health assessment,” Ramon said. “Remember when you were wondering what Stockholm syndrome felt like? I think this might be it?”

  “This is just more of the same,” Christine said. “We are way past Stockholm syndrome at this point. I have gotten over my doubts regarding my involvement in this operation. It’s true, I was scared at first, and I felt that I could justify my actions if I could believe I was being forced to act against my will. But I’ve come to accept that this is simply not the case. I want to be here, and I want to see this through because I believe in what we are doing. I accept the responsibility of my actions and my conscious is clear. You, on the other hand, are sitting on a mountain of guilt, shame and self doubt. Open up to us and we can help you.”

  “If I bare my soul to you, will you please end your tirade?”

  “Of course, can’t you see I’m trying to help you?”

  “Fine, I’ll bare my soul to you, but only after we get the job done. We’ve got to get this flock in the air because our guests will be arriving soon.”

  “You just refuse to change, don’t you?”

  “I told you I would bare my soul to you, just not right now. I understand that you are concerned about me. I appreciate it. But, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re trying to prevent the world from suffering a whole level of trauma we’ve never even seen before. Do I have issues? Yes. Do I need help? Yes. Do we have to do this right now? No. Do we need to do everything we can to aid the people of this planet in order to prevent impending doom? Yes. When this is all over, we can discuss my feelings and trauma all you want. For now, we’re going to leave it at that. But I know this will not satisfy you, so I will make one admission immediately if you promise to get off my back until we get through this.”

  “I promise,” Christine said.

  “Yeah, me too,” Sanchez said. “You’ll feel better if you just get it off of your chest.”

  “I want to hear this,” XiaoFan said.

  “When I was eight I killed my dog,” Ramon said. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. I had begged my father to get me a dog for months, but my mother refused. Right before he left my mom, he brought me a pit bull pup. And told me to take good care of it cause he wouldn’t be around to help me with it. I never saw him again. A year later my cousin showed me how to make a blow torch using a bottle of hairspray. I was playing around with it in the shed, and I accidentally blasted Nico in the back. She was just sitting there doing nothing, not hurting anyone. She started screaming and howling as the fire went up her back. I panicked and grabbed a bucket of what I thought was water and tossed it on her back, but it was actually kerosene or something and it just made it worse. She just kept howling as the flames covered her whole body. I ran around to the side of the house and got the hose, but when I came back all that was left was a smoldering corpse. I buried her behind the shed and covered up her grave with a bunch of leaves and sticks. When my mother asked me what happened to Nico, I just said I didn’t know. But if you are wondering why I double check everything, that is why.”

  “You told everybody she ran away,” Sanchez said. “I’d never seen you so heartbroken.”

  “Doesn’t it make you feel better to get it off your chest?” Christine asked.

  “Not at all. I still feel guilty about what happened,” Ramon said. “But it doesn’t matter now. We need to push ahead with this. Has anybody seen what happened to Wayne? He was supposed to be back by now.”

  The sound of a door slamming caught everyone’s attention. After a few seconds Wayne emerged from the shadows of the warehouse wearing a tool belt and head lamp.

  “Everything is all good upstairs. We’re lined up, and it looks like our window will be opening soon,” Wayne said before he mounted the stairs leading to the observation deck. “Did we double check the calibrations?”

  “We checked, and we checked again,” Ramon said. “Everything is online and ready.”

  “You never can be too careful. It’s always best to double check your work,” Wayne said after he sat down in a chair and undid his jacket.

  “That was just what I was saying,” Ramon said.

  “If we’re good, then there is no point in wasting any time,” Wayne said, getting to his feet. “Everybody knows their role, so let’s get to our battle stations. The sooner we get these things in the air, the sooner I can go back to being retired. I’m getting too old for all of this stress.”

  “We appreciate what you’ve done to help us,” Christine said.

  “From what I gather, this is only just the beginning. I’ve been saying for years that we need to protect ourselves from outside forces, but nobody listened to me. That’s part of why I pulled myself out,” Wayne said.

  “We might be calling on you again,” Ramon said. “We could use your expertize as things unfold.”

  “I’ll do what I can. If there is an imminent threat to Earth, I want to be a part of the resistance,” Wayne said while heading down the stairs. “Let’s get a move on. The satellites will be coming into position in a moment.”

  “You heard the man,” Ramon said, grabbing his helmet. “It’s time to move out. We’ve got a busy night ahead of us.”

  “Aft
er you, hotdog,” Sanchez said.

  “That is not funny,” Christine said. “Ramon just shared a deep trauma with us, and you turn around and shame him with it.”

  “It’s kind of funny,” Ramon said.

  “You guys are sick,” XiaoFan said, zipping up her suit.

  A cold wind blew up the fjord as Ramon crossed his arms over his chest and launched into the air.

  “Even with the cloaks on I’m still freezing in these things,” Sanchez said, joining Ramon above the deck.

  “That’s what you get for being skinny,” Ramon said while he watched XiaoFan and Christine rise off of the asphalt.

  “Ok we know what we need to do and where we’ve got to go,” Ramon said. “Get in position and wait for my signal. After we set up the cloak, Wayne should be ready to release the flock. It’s going to be quite a sight, but we can’t have anyone catching a look in any direction.”

  “We got it,” Sanchez said as he took off across the yard. “Anybody feel like puking?”

  “That was a long time ago,” XiaoFan said over the radio. “No wonder you guys are all traumatized around here.”

  “I think we’ve had enough psychoanalysis for today,” Ramon said. “Let’s stay focused on the task at hand.”

  “I’m ready when you are,” Wayne said over the intercom.

  “Is everybody in position?” Ramon asked after he found his spot on the far corner of the yard.

  “I’m just hovering here freezing my ass off,” Sanchez said.

  “In position,” XiaoFan said.

  “The system is ready to go,” Christine said. “Let me know when to pull the trigger.”

  “We’re all good here, Wayne,” Ramon said. “Once we activate the cloak, you’re good to go on your end.”

  “Waiting for the word,” Wayne said.

  “All right, Christine, push the button,” Ramon said. “Let’s let these little birds fly.”

  “Activating the cloak now,” Christine said before a red beam shot out of the dark and connected with Ramon’s chest. “I’ve got a connection and I’m going to juice it.”

  “You’re all good down here,” Sanchez said.

  “Here we go,” Christine said while she punched a button on her panel. A cloud of pixilated darkness spread out across the yard and formed a towering silo over a concentrated area at the center of the paved lot. “The cloak is in place and we have cover up to ten thousand feet.”

  “I’m opening up the door,” Wayne said before a crack appeared in the concrete. Grating against the stone, two panels slid back to reveal a wide pit.

  “I’m just checking the radar one more time. Don’t want anything flying by while we let these suckers loose,” Wayne said over the radio. “And it looks like we’re good. There is a passenger jet nearby, but they shouldn’t be able to see anything, not with this cloud cover.”

  “We’re standing by,” Ramon said. “Ready when you are.”

  “No time like the present,” Wayne said. “I hope this is what you guys wanted because there is no calling them back once they are out.”

  “It will be a weight off my shoulders,” Ramon said. “I’ve got more stuff coming down the pipe as we speak. I’ll be happy to let the program do its job.”

  “All right, here we go,” Wayne said. “I’m activating the launch protocols now. Let me know if you see any activity.”

  “I’ve got my eyes on the pipe,” Ramon said. “How is the cloak holding up, Christine?”

  “We’ve got plenty of juice,” Christine said.

  “Ok, I think I’m seeing something,” Ramon said before a cloud of black objects burst out of the hole and streamed skyward up the tunnel. “We are definitely flying now.”

  “It looks like the calibration worked,” Wayne said. “All systems are go.”

  “They look like a billion tiny little bugs or something,” Sanchez said.

  “It’s not quite a billion,” Ramon said while the torrent of cubes filled the cloaked tube. “How many did we actually produce, XiaoFan?”

  “I think it was something like 11 million,” XiaoFan said. “It’s kind of strange watching them all go out like that.”

  “If everything gets delivered right, we might have a chance,” Ramon said. “11 million separate cells armed and ready. That might be enough, right?”

  “It’s out of our hands now,” Christine said. “Let’s just hope your buddies on the other side know what they’re doing.”

  “We’ve got some of the finest minds in the world working to pull this off,” Ramon said. “It’s not easy arming a resistance army, but if everything goes to plan, we should be able to get these into the right people’s hands.”

  “According to the tracking data, that was the last of them,” Wayne said.

  “I’m seeing that the tunnel is clear,” Ramon said. “No more action down here.”

  “Let’s hope they all make it to where they are supposed to go,” Wayne said. “I’m releasing them into the wind. We can’t have anything tying them back to us.”

  “We’ve done our part and they’ve got their destinations. It’s up to your program to get them there,” Ramon said.

  “Hey, there is nothing wrong with my program,” Wayne said. “If that data is right, those things will be landing on millions of different doorsteps within the next 24 hours.”

  “I hope you are right,” Ramon said before his phone pinged from within his pocket. “In the meantime, we’ve got bigger fish to fry. It looks like our guests are about to arrive. We need to get to the rendezvous point ASAP. Christine, have we still got enough juice in the cloak for another maneuver?”

  “I’ve got 80% left. By the time we get to the spot we should have recovered some,” Christine said. “How much do you need?”

  “Hopefully not too much,” Ramon said, pushing himself into the air. “Follow me. Our guests have come along way, and I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

  After clearing the ridge, Ramon descended into the mountain valley and dropped into a field of knee high grass. As he pulled out his phone, Christine landed beside him with Sanchez and XiaoFan following close behind.

  “Why are we meeting these guys way out here in the middle of the forest?” Sanchez asked.

  “It seemed like an appropriate place,” Ramon said before he opened up his pack and pulled out the large energy hub and attached it to his arm. “This operation is going to require a bit of discretion and some finesse. Let’s get that cloak up again. We definitely do not want anyone catching wind of this.”

  “I’m starting to see a pattern here,” Sanchez said while he moved across the valley. “Is this far enough?”

  “You’re looking good,” Ramon said. “You all right, XiaoFan?”

  “I’m questioning my life decisions, but I’m okay,” XiaoFan said.

  “If you thought things were crazy before, just wait 'til you see what happens next,” Ramon said. “Bring up the cloak, Christine. It’s time to meet our guests.”

  “You’re the boss, but I sure hope this is safe,” Christine said.

  “You haven’t figure it out yet have you, Christine?” Ramon said, activating his device. “None of this is safe.”

  “I kind of figured that out on my own,” Christine said while she released the cloak. “It just seems to get crazier and crazier.”

  “We’re about to go to a whole new level of crazy,” Ramon said before he released a beam from his hub. “Hold your positions, everyone. This is it.”

  As the beam made contact with the ground, a pulse of light burst into the sky, leaving a sliver of crackling energy behind. Ramon continued to direct the beam at the ground, and the sliver expanded into a wide torus of electromagnetic energy surrounding a dark center.

  “I hope this is what you were planning on doing,” Christine said.

  “Hey, you designed this thing,” Ramon said as the circle expanded.

  “I know and I know what happens when you open these things up,” Christine said before sev
eral figures appeared beyond the halo.

  “Don’t worry, these guys are on our side,” Ramon said, shutting down his device.

  The figures neared the opening and the first one dove through and rolled onto his side. Getting to his feet, he looked Ramon in the eye.

  “I cannot believe you made,” Ramon said.

  “I cannot believe I’m looking you in the eyes again,” Gaelin said before he rushed toward Ramon and embraced him with a passionate Kiss.

  “Not going to lie to you,” Sanchez said. “I did not see that coming.”

  “The wormhole, or the kiss,” Christine said while Gaelin’s companions jumped out of the opening and watched in awe as Gaelin and Ramon continued to embrace.

  “You jump out of a portal and immediately start sucking face with your boyfriend?” Kate said while she eyed the skyline. “Where the hell are we, anyway? It smells like a swamp in here. Did we get the right dimension?”

  “That is a good question,” Gerald said, landing beside her. “But I think we better get a move on. We don’t want to get spotted. Where is this contact of Gaelin’s?”

  “He’s currently connected to him at the lips,” Kate said.

  “I did not see that coming,” Gerald said.

  “I don’t think anyone did,” Babcock said.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SHRIEKS AND SCREAMS erupted across the valley after the screens went blank, leaving the spectators in shock.

  “I think it’s time we get out of here,” Candace said under her breath to Sage while a brawl between a group of wood elves and a half dozen dwarves erupted to their left.

  “No kidding,” Sage said, grabbing Gareth by the shoulder. “Time to go, Double-cheese.”