“Not a chance,” she laughs. “It’ll just be a while before he get’s back to the hangars.”
“I’m over the hills now. They’ll probably interfere with our signal as I descend.”
“I’ll stay on as long as I can. Your Gramps called in. He and the dads were thrilled with the liftoff. They didn’t see the whole thing because they had to walk up from the first spot, but they saw you rise up, spin around, and head out of the football field.”
“What about Mom? How did she take it?”
“She’s fine. Your dad apparently clued her in ahead of time so it wouldn’t upset her too much. Gramps said she had tears of...”
The call drops out again. I only needed to hear one more word and I didn’t get it. Tears of joy? Fear? Not knowing makes me want to get home that much more quickly. And safely. I watch the shadows of the hills as I descend slowly to the plateau.
It has been about four minutes since Kylie called in with Uncle Earl’s warning. Jets, probably armed, are looking for me. I wonder how good their radar is? The satellites may not be able to see me, but the planes will probably be able to. Maybe I could hide? I try to think of some ravine, old mine or… the pit! It’s not too far on the other side of the hills. Maybe I can find it.
I look anxiously ahead. I’m a little too low now to see very far. I might stumble across the pit, but I can’t head for it. Maybe I should just dodge around. It would take a little longer to get home, but it might be enough to confuse the pilots. I look ahead into the dusk-filled sky. I feel I have the advantage.
Sure enough, I see two pair of red and green wing lights way off to the left, still pretty far away but moving fast. They seem to be heading where my original flight path took me. It won’t take them long to figure out I’m not there.
I begin passing over a large sunken area. The pit! I dip down as far as I dare go. The rim on the left will conceal me from the passing aircraft, but it won’t last long. Already I see I’ll have to ascend as the end of the pit is coming up quickly. I decide to maneuver to the left. The jets will probably come around on my right pretty soon. I wonder if they’ve spotted me yet.
A faintly brighter finger of road passes underneath me. Landmarks! If I remember correctly, County Road A-14 runs just north of that pit. I maneuver a little more to the left. The saucer is responding smoothly. I’m beginning to get a feel for its responsiveness as my hands move the controls. Kylie did a real good job with the software.
There it is; A-14. Following its ribbon will get me home. This will take me right up to the railroad tracks. I look over the cowling again. The terrain ahead appears flat. The beacon is still off to my right but getting brighter. I must be drifting on the evening breeze. A roar from behind interrupts the silence of my flight. I glance right to see the jets pass by. I guess they are only a half mile away cruising maybe a thousand feet off the ground.
“Kylie Charles…” I answer my phone.
“Tyler? Good! We’re back. Uncle Earl called again. He was laughing this time.”
“I’m glad somebody is.”
“No. This is good. He says the jets have spotted you but you’re going so slow that they can’t do much in response. They’ve also lowered your threat status. You’re being considered a private, unidentified, possibly experimental aircraft at this point. Even though they can see you, he says they can’t get a lock on you because you’re so small.”
“So, why are the jets hanging around?”
“He says they’ve been ordered to gather what information they can and to keep you in their sights. They’ll probably try and force you to land somewhere.”
“That’s what I want to do anyway. Geez. Here they come again. I’m ducking down as close to the surface as I can. I don’t want to get caught in the jet wash.” I quickly power down the lifters as the lights and scream of jet engines fly directly at me. I wave as they pass on either side. Gaining some altitude again, I turn for the beacon and lean the saucer forward to gain as much speed as I can.
Kylie breaks in. “Hang on. Your uncle’s calling again.” The phone goes silent.
I figure I’ll have to leapfrog the rest of the way in if those jets are going to keep buzzing me. I look for the next place to duck down and hide. The beacon is only another mile or so. It’s hard to tell in the twilight.
“Way to go, Tyler!” Kylie cheers. “Your uncle says waving was a good idea. At least they know you’re friendly. Apparently they’ve also been updated on our liftoff at school. You’re clear to come in and land. They’ve been ordered to stay away.”
“That’s a relief,” I respond quietly. “I was getting tired of playing dodge me.”
“I don’t think we’re too far behind you now. I suppose we could hang up the phone.”
“No, please,” I answer. Kylie’s voice is soothing to me. “I was wondering. Did the pep rally get cancelled?” I see the railroad tracks pass under me.
“Are you kidding?” she answers. “Last time Willie called in he said he had heard cheers coming from the high school. Nothing could stop those fanatics. They probably don’t even realize what they saw when we took off. It’ll be interesting to hear any comments from that crowd.”
“Yes, it will,” I muse along with her. I can see light shining up through the opening of the vehicle drop zone in the Maglev prep building. “I can see home, Kylie. I’m going to have to say goodbye so I can do this without bumping into anything. Thanks for keeping me company. It’s been a wild night.”
“Yes it has,” she agrees. “Congratulations Tyler. Welcome home. We’ll see you in about ten minutes. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I float over hangar ‘E’ where we had spent so much time this summer building this flying machine. Gingerly nudging the controls, I center the saucer over the entry as best I can, rotating it to face the platform I know is inside. Then I begin lowering my craft. I watch as the louvered hatches rise above me on either side. I can see the launch rail below me. The ceiling of the tunnel passes before me, letting me see into the launch preparation room.
I spot Uncle Earl standing on the observation deck at the far side of the room. He is motioning as if he is bringing an aircraft into a terminal. Down more, he motions. I stop as he flattens out his hands. Then he brings me forward and to my right. I slowly advance towards the control rooms. Up now; forward a little more. I can see I’m over the deck through the gyro frame.
“Ok! Bring it to the back wall a little more.” Pressing the rudder control one more time, I spin the saucer to face into the building. “Now let me get the jack stands in place and then you can set her down!” he yells. A moment later I power down the lifters and feel the saucer touchdown.
“Looks good!” Uncle Earl reports.
I take the software out of flight mode. The gyroscope wheels spin down. The G-bits will be captured in the containment tube caps so we can collect them later. Turning the computer off, I reach for the hydrogen valves. The gauge reads twenty percent on one, twenty-three percent on the other. I shiver thinking I couldn’t have played cat and mouse with those jets much longer.
Carefully, I slide down and through the gyro frame, feeling the cold, hard surface of the deck. Crawling out, I can feel my body shaking nervously. I’m glad to be on the ground.
“So how was it?” my uncle asks exuberantly.
“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done!” I reply excitedly. “Scary though. I felt a little lost coming over the mountains outside T or C. Then it started getting dark. And when Kylie and I were disconnected, I felt so alone. It got quiet, and seemed like I was able to float among the clouds. That was cool. Then those jets came along and spoiled the whole thing! I’m glad they didn’t decide to shoot first and then ask questions.” I pause to marvel at my flight. “Got anything to drink around here?”
“I thought that might come up. I’ve got a cooler in the next room, and I’ll bring some chairs out. Dad says he wants to make his presentation from up here where nobody can get to you guys
. And I’ve got to go close that drop hatch, too.” He hustles off.
Walking slowly over to the railing, I look out over the maglev prep area watching Earl walk quickly to the far side to find the switch for the hatch. What will happen next? I turn away, heading into the Launch Control Room to find a place to sit down.
“Those side doors are locked,” my uncle informs me, coming back up the stairs with the cooler, “but everybody else can get up here through the doors on the other side. We could have a problem with crowd control, but I think we can handle it.”
“Did anybody see Stiles after the liftoff?”
“Carl thought he did as your mom and dad and he got back to the car to head back here.” Earl is speaking casually. “Your dad called once they got through the hills. Said there was a caravan of about eight vehicles heading out this way. They should get here any time now.”
Noise comes up from the stairway on the far side of the room. Excited voices burst forward with congratulations and questions about the flight home. Kylie rushes over and throws her arms around me. “I’m so glad you got back safely.” Jared and Jen clap me on the back.
“Where’s Willie?” I ask.
“I’m sure he’ll be here shortly. We came in by the back stairs. There’s a whole lot of action out there,” he waves his hands around, “and we wanted to avoid being seen.”
“That’s the way to do it,” I agree, briefly thinking about our first visit to the shiff after it landed.
More commotion erupts outside the room, echoing around the building. “Do you think anybody could squash our presentation?” I ask hesitantly.
“Not a chance,” Uncle Earl boasts. “I’ve got my cameras set up around the room, and I’m ready to send a feed out over the internet. I anonymously called a couple of the TV stations in Albuquerque and Las Cruces to hint that there’s a big announcement coming, and gave them the web address to tune into.”
“Do you think they’ll believe it?” Jen asks.
“I know they’ll record whatever I transmit whether they believe it or not. Then they can decide.”
“You’re really amazing, Uncle,” I say with honest admiration.
“No. I’m just a Looney who’s seen his first flying saucer is all.” He winks and grins, as we laugh along with him.
The door opens up downstairs. Slow steps come up the stairs. Gramps seems winded when he gets to the top. “Boy, has this been a day,” he remarks. “Everything ready Earl?”
“Ready Pop.”
“Then let’s do it.”
Gramps leads the way as we move out onto the observation deck, past the saucer, and forward to the handrail. Below, I see Mom and Dad, Kylie’s dad with Margarit, and some reporters taking shots with their cameras.
Stiles is also down there, talking with a couple of policemen, gesticulating wildly as though some terrible injustice has been done to him. I watch as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. He face drains of color as he answers. I wonder if it’s the man in the black car calling him. I point him out to Kylie.
Gramps begins. “Ladies and gentlemen. May I have your attention.” The crowd quiets down. “This has been a historic day. What we have seen tonight is the result of the courage and resourcefulness of these fine young adults you see standing beside me. What they have done, not for themselves, but for the world at large, is keep a discovery of incredible magnitude from being covered up and controlled by the corporate elite to the detriment of the progress of humankind.”
Quiet applause, led by our parents, is faintly heard from the small crowd below. Stiles slumps against the wall. Willie and Cheri enter the room below. Jared motions them around to the far stairwell to come up. Gramps continues by briefly retelling the story that we have lived over the summer.
I look at Kylie. She takes my hand and smiles. “I want my key back,” she says quietly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
Willie and Cheri join us. Together, the six of us stand in front of the saucer while Gramps continues his speech to the small crowd below. Somewhere a camera is delivering our story to the world.
I take a deep breath and look out into the room wondering what the reaction to all of this will be. Will we be heroes for blowing the whistle on a covert action, or will we get locked away for whatever charges they can come up with against us? In my heart, I feel we have done the right thing. I will have no regrets, whatever happens.
My mind wanders out into the future. How would a world grow with the restrictions of gravity removed? What new styles of transportation and living will be developed. I remember some of Gramps’ old movies, with cities of thousands of people floating in the air. We could actually do that now!
I hear my name called. Gramps is introducing us. Jared and Jennifer are already standing forward at the railing. Kylie pushes me forward, joining me a moment later when her name is called. Applause greets each of us in turn. It feels so good.
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