Proximity

by M. A. George

CHAPTER 28

  I tried not to look at the stream of orange that trickled down the rebel soldier’s face as he fell to the ground. I was used to saving lives, not taking them—yet I couldn’t deny the intense relief I felt as I looked at his unmoving body.

  After a brief moment of contemplation, I looked back over to Aeron’s position. He was already on his feet, in a full sprint toward the forest. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to intersect his course within the tree cover. As I ran, I looked up once more to check for the commanding officer…He was nowhere to be seen.

  I almost collided with Aeron as he appeared behind a large tree trunk. I put on the brakes, grabbing hold of his shirt front to steady myself. His hands gripped the sides of my waist to catch me as we both gasped for air, more from the extreme stress than the actual exertion. He pulled me in, pressing his lips to my forehead as he deeply inhaled the scent of my hair.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he said quickly as he took hold of my hand.

  He led the way through the forest, dodging trees and rocks as he surged ahead at a full run. I held pace with him, keeping an iron grip on his hand. My pistol was at the ready in my other hand. As the sounds of gunfire in the background died down, I inferred that Sabela and Ewenami had also seen Aeron escape and were making their retreat.

  The forest was too dense to see either one of them yet. Between my ragged breathing and the pounding of our footsteps on the ground, I couldn’t make out any sounds of our sisters either. A moment of panic struck as I wondered whether the gunfire had ceased for other reasons. I stayed right on Aeron’s heels, impatient to get to the other side of the hill. The SUV was parked too far away to use as a meeting point—we were supposed to stop at the foot of this hill and regroup.

  Ewenami had the shortest distance to travel. With intense relief, I caught a glimpse of her running up ahead of us. My sister’s position had been farther away, so I tried not to worry when I couldn’t find her. Aeron and I began gaining on Ewenami. She looked over her shoulder and slowed her pace as we came up behind her. We came to a stop among the trees at the base of the hill, panting to catch our breath.

  I immediately spun around to search the upsloping hillside for Sabela. I tried to quiet my breathing, perking my ears for any sound of her footsteps. Aeron stood behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders.

  “Come on…” I muttered under my breath as my eyes darted frantically about the forest. “Please, please, please…” I tried not to fall apart in the mounting panic.

  “She’s out there, Palta,” Ewenami spoke calmly. “She’s on her way.”

  I sighed with relief, knowing I could trust Ewenami’s senses. Yet I kept up my frantic search, wanting to see Sabela with my own eyes.

  Aeron’s voice was soothing as he wrapped his arms around me from behind. “She will find us, Palta,” he spoke softly in my ear. “She knows our exact position better than we do.”

  “My mind knows that…” I replied breathlessly, keeping my eyes on the forest. “But my heart won’t stop racing until I see her.”

  I was contemplating rushing back up the hill when my straining ears finally made out the sound of swift footsteps. I looked in the direction of the sound to see Sabela racing toward us. I leaped forward, catching her in my arms with a tight squeeze. We stumbled around, hugging each other tightly, as we burst into giddy laughter.

  After giving us a moment to rejoice, Aeron patted me on the back with a gentle reminder that we needed to keep moving. We were back in motion, speeding in the direction of our vehicle. I could run faster than Sabela, but I followed her lead, having only a vague idea where we were parked. I thanked my lucky stars for my physical fitness as we kept up the constant run, snaking around the trees and boulders.

  Eventually I caught sight of Dominick’s SUV off in the distance, and I picked up the pace. I could hear Aeron right behind me as I pressed forward with all my energy. We made it to the vehicle, jumping in as Sabela put the keys in the ignition. Ewenami took the passenger seat as Aeron and I clambered into the backseat.

  Suddenly there was a thunderous roaring sound that seemed to rattle the whole vehicle. It wasn’t the engine revving—it was coming from outside the car. The sky was too clear for a thunderstorm, but it seemed to be coming from above.

  We all simultaneously fixed our eyes on the front windshield as a stone grey ship was rising above the hills. Sabela hastily started the engine, throwing the car into reverse as she stomped on the gas. It proved unnecessary, as the ship abruptly departed toward the south, vanishing into the distant skies in the blink of an eye.

  Sabela came to a stop as we all looked to Aeron for guidance. “Keep going,” he nodded to Sabela. “Head for the airport.”

  She made a quick turnaround and set a course for the nearest road. She wove deftly between trees, around rocks, and across little streams. Though it seemed we were wandering aimlessly through the wilderness, I never doubted she would eventually get us exactly where we were supposed to go.

  Once I’d caught my breath, I turned to Aeron. “Just to be clear…You did deactivate the weapon, didn’t you?” I hated to sound impertinent, but the thought of that ship floating around with a live weapon of mass destruction was a tad unsettling.

  “Yes,” he confirmed with a nod. “At least I hope so…”

  “Um…You and me both.” I wrinkled my forehead. I stayed quiet for a moment as I considered his answer. I ultimately couldn’t help myself from blurting out, “Okay, you’re kind of freaking me out with that whole uncertainty thing…”

  “I know,” he squeezed my hand. “I’m kind of freaking myself out too.” I immediately regretted my statement at the sight of his rueful expression. “I’m as certain as I can be that I disabled it.” He stared at the floorboard, lost in introspection. He seemed to be disappointed with himself as he began to doubt his own reliability.

  I reached up to touch his cheek, turning his head to face me. I stared confidently into his despondent eyes. “If that thing is still active, it’s because it was indestructible,” I asserted, “not because you somehow failed us.” I gently traced his furrowed brow with my fingertips, then returned my palm to the side of his cheek, stroking lightly with my thumb. “I guarantee there would not have been a better man for the job.”

  His expression lightened a little—I could tell it was for my benefit, rather than a true acceptance of my reassurance. I stroked his cheek with my thumb again. He closed his eyes, tilting his head into my palm to rest there for a moment.

  He eventually took a deep breath, then opened his eyes. This time he seemed to be legitimately at peace as he smiled faintly. I responded with a contented smile, growing increasingly conscious of the miraculous fact that we had made it out alive. I leaned forward to steal a tender kiss.

  As I contemplated our unexpected victory in disarming the weapon, my thoughts returned to the remaining enemy soldiers. I tried to keep my expression calm, but Aeron recognized the look of a brewing question in my mind. “Something else is bothering you,” he studied my eyes thoughtfully. “What is it?”

  I hesitated, debating whether to brush it aside. His eyes implored me to be forthcoming. With a sigh, I relented. “Should we be worried that the rebel ship might turn up at any moment and wipe us out?”

  His expression confirmed that I wasn’t the only one with that concern. He paused to consider his answer, then reached up to gently sweep my bangs across my forehead. “I’m not sure why they chose to ignore us,” he quietly deliberated. “If their intention had been to pursue us, we would have made an easy target. It’s possible they went to retrieve the remaining members of their team.”

  “That’s exactly what I was suspecting,” I nodded slowly. “And clearly not a comforting prospect.”

  “No, but it gives us time…” He stroked my arms soothingly as he reassured me, “We’ve done our best to protect humankind, now let’s focus on getting Sab
ela safely to the airport to rejoin your family. Then we’ll make a beeline for our ship and get in the air as quickly as possible.”

  I tried to put on a confident face, but I couldn’t completely smooth the worried crease from my forehead. Aeron reached up to gently trace it with his thumb. “I promise you, Palta,” he vowed with unflinching eyes, “I will get you safely off this planet.”

  After basking in his calming green eyes for a minute, I resolved to push my worries to the back of my mind and be thankful we were still in one piece—at least for the moment. I turned to tap Sabela on the shoulder. “I think we could all use a distraction,” I observed. “Does Dominick have anything decent in the CD player?”

  She smiled lightheartedly as she looked at me in the rearview mirror. “What do you think?” We both giggled as we thought of Dominick’s pitiful taste in music.

  “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I snickered. “Tell me you have something to listen to…I doubt we’ll get anything tolerable on the radio out here.”

  “Never fear,” she winked. “I’ve been working on enlightening him…” She powered up the CD player, turning up the volume. I recognized immediately the opening track of one of our favorite albums. I nodded in approval as I shifted back to rest my head against Aeron’s shoulder.

  “Don’t let me fall asleep,” I tilted my head to appeal to him.

  “Why not?” His expression was puzzled as he combed his fingers lightly through my hair.

  “Because I really don’t want to dream right now,” I admitted weakly as I snuggled up against him. I stared off into space, mouthing the words to the music as he kept caressing my hair.

  In due course, we came across the road. Sabela turned onto it, heading in the direction of Kalispell—the nearest city with a commercial airport. Suddenly the time seemed to be passing too fast, as I realized we were about to put her on a plane and go our separate ways.

  I sat back up again, leaning forward to petition her, “Are you sure we couldn’t convince Father to come with us? Then you and Dominick wouldn’t have to stay behind…”

  “When have we ever succeeded in convincing Father of anything he doesn’t want to do?” She raised an eyebrow. “He’s as stubborn as you are,” she teased. “Besides, I don’t want to put Dominick in the position of being the odd man out on a foreign planet.”

  “Somehow I’m not surprised you’d rather be the martyr,” I smirked as I shook my head reproachfully. I wouldn’t have dared to say it, but she knew what I was thinking. Eventually Father and Dominick would be gone, leaving her behind as the sole outsider in a foreign land.

  “Maybe someday you can come back for a visit,” she imagined. “Once things settle down.”

  “We can always hope…” I tried to be optimistic as I reached up to pat her shoulder.

  We made our way to Glacier Park International Airport, parking the car so we could all accompany Sabela inside. There was a flight leaving for Salt Lake City in about two hours, then she could pick up a connecting flight to Albuquerque without much of a layover. Sabela purchased her ticket, then called Dominick to let him know when she would be on her way. I wanted to stay and wait with her, but she insisted we get back on the road.

  “I’ll be safe here,” she tried to convince me. “I’m not the target…”

  I hated to admit it, but she had a point. “I have to believe I’ll see you again someday,” I whimpered as I wrapped my arms around her neck to hug her tightly.

  As I stepped back, I caught sight of a scrape on her forehead, partially hidden by her bangs. I reached up to press my fingers to it. “Thanks, Palta,” she smiled as all traces of the abrasion melted away. “I guess from now on, I’ll actually have to keep a first aid kit on hand.” It had never been necessary, despite all our outdoor sports.

  I was filled with remorse at the realization that I wasn’t just saying goodbye, I was leaving my family vulnerable. I knew they could survive the minor cuts and bruises, but it was the more serious illnesses I was worried about. I couldn’t reverse the natural aging process, but diseases and injuries had never been a source of concern before…I shuddered at the thought that one of my loved ones might fall victim to something I could have prevented.

  Sensing I was waffling, Sabela stepped back with a goodbye wave. “Get going…You’ll miss your flight,” she quipped with an endearing smile.

  I blew her a quick kiss as Aeron wrapped his arm around my waist, intuitively aware that I needed someone to lean on. Sabela watched as we turned to go. I checked over my shoulder a few times, not quite ready to accept that I’d seen the last of her. When we’d passed out of visual range, I leaned my head against Aeron’s shoulder. I fought back the tears in my exhausted eyes, as we made our way back to the parking lot.