She departed and once again Flip was alone. But am I, he wondered? Am I really alone? While in his comatose state, his children had made contact with him and had helped him stay alive more than once. But what about now that he was awake and among the living. Would the connection still be possible?
It was time to find out.
He kept his bed in a comfortable raised position so he’d be less likely to fall asleep. He theorized that the best frame of mind to be in to make a psychic connection with his children would be in that transition stage between wakefulness and sleep. During his college years, he’d learned the value of that time for tapping into his subconscious, creative side. He’d even read several books about lucid dreaming but had never mastered the technique.
Now, as he lay in bed, he allowed his mind to relax. He focused on breathing in slowly, holding it for a couple beats, then releasing it again. He relaxed his body, starting at his toes and working up. He felt his whole body relax into the exercise and his mind gently releasing itself. His arms and legs felt heavy as did his eyelids. He slowly closed them but kept his awareness on his breath. After several minutes in that dreamlike state, he took another couple of deep breaths in and out.
Hello, Kindred…are you there? Is any of my children there? Hello?
Chunk
Chunk Robinson leaned against the door frame as he slid the key card through the lock, once, twice, a third time. Each time the flashing red light alerted him that the door remained locked.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” he muttered. He glanced down the sterile hallway of the hotel that had become his home for the past two years, wondering if anyone would raise a fuss if he kicked in the door. The last few days had been as stressful as any he could remember since joining the Food and Drug Administration over seven years ago. It was supposed to have been a move to an easier, less high-pressured job; just what his doctor ordered and his wife had insisted upon. And it had been at first. Then the shit had hit the fan at Bio Vita Tech, and his job had turned into the worst pressure cooker of his career.
He took a deep breath and let it slowly out as his doctor had advised. Stupid advice, he thought, then realized that berating his actions probably just added to the stress. He turned the card around and tried again; this time successfully opening the door to the hotel room that had become his home for well over two years. He entered the room, noticing the newly made bed with the mint on the pillow but with the papers on the desk just as he had left them. Briana, the maid, must be back, he thought. She never missed the touch of the mint and also knew not to mess with his belongings, unlike her substitute who had rarely left a mint but seemed preoccupied with rearranging his stuff.
He kicked his shoes off in the general direction of the closet and traipsed over in his stocking feet to the recently restocked minibar. He pulled out two mini bottles of Jack Daniel, twisted off the tops and poured both into one of the plastic cups. He took a long swig of the whiskey and closed his eyes as it burned its way down his throat. After taking a second swig, he opened the mini-fridge and dropped a couple ice cubes into the half empty cup.
He reached back into the minibar and pulled out a tin of peanuts. As he did so, he remembered the reprimand from his boss about the amount of money that had been showing up for such items on his expense account.
“Screw him,” he muttered as he pulled off the top of the canister and popped a handful of nuts into his mouth. “If he doesn’t like it, he can fire my ass. It’ll save me the hassle of resigning.”
Of course, he knew he’d never resigned and he sure as hell couldn’t afford to be fired. He had a family that depended on his income, but it still felt good to threaten such actions.
Chunk walked over to the bed and plopped down. He started to turn on the TV but then decided to call home first. It had been a couple days since he’d spoken to Lucinda, so no wonder he’d had thoughts of resigning. His wife and two girls kept him grounded in the reality of his life.
He dug the cellphone out of his pocket and placed the call. As he waited for the phone connection, he took another swig from his drink and threw another handful of peanuts into his mouth. The combination of sharpness and saltiness had grown on him over the years. It seemed like sometimes he lived off of Jack and peanuts. He was still chewing on the nuts when Lucinda picked up the phone.
“Hi babes, it’s me. Sorry I haven’t been able to call the last couple days.”
“I thought our agreement was a call or text each day?” Lucinda replied, a note of aggravation cutting through the line.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just got caught up in this case and lost track of time. How are the girls?” He asked hoping she’d let him change the subject.
“They’re okay, I guess. They’re doing their homework right now and can’t talk. Misha has been complaining of headaches again. I’ve an appointment to have her eyes checked.”
“Glasses on an eight-year-old?” Chunk asked.
“Maybe. We’ll have to see,” Lucinda replied.
“Sure I can’t talk to them? I’ll make it quick.”
“I told you, they’re doing their homework. You know how hard it is to get them to focus on their school work.” The icy edge in her voice was unmistakable.
Yep, she’s going to make me pay for the lack of communication by keeping my daughters from me, Chunk thought as he took a swig from the glass of Jack. Okay, I guess I deserve that.
“Well, will you let them know I called and that I love them?”
“Sure,” Lucinda replied, her voice softening a little. “Maybe they can call you later tonight when they finish their homework.”
“That would be nice.”
“Oh, I met someone today who says he knows you,” Lucinda said. “Claimed to be a friend of yours. He told me to say hi, but I didn’t catch his name.”
Chunk suddenly stopped being a husband and became an investigator.
“What exactly did he say?”
“I don’t know,” Lucinda replied. “Something about hurry home, you’re needed here.”
“What did he look like?”
“Young white boy, probably somewhere between twelve or thirteen, maybe a little younger or older. Good looking, except he had a bad scar on the left side of his face. Looked pretty new. He seemed to have just a little limp as well. I figured maybe you knew him from Big Brothers or something. Ring a bell?”
Chunk gripped the phone tighter. It couldn’t be, could it?
“What color hair?”
“Dark. Jet black I’d say. He was dressed in all black as well, reminded me of those Goths we saw recently, but better dressed. Do you know him?”
“No, not off the top of my head. As you said, might be one of the kids from Big Brother. Let me know if you see him again, though. Doesn’t sound like the kind of kid I want hanging around our daughters.”
“Funny you should say that. I had a funny feeling about him myself.”
There was a beep on the line. Chunk checked to see who was trying to call him.
“Oh hell, I need to take this other call. Can I call you back in a little while?”
“Yeah, sure, but not after ten. It’s been a long day here as well, and I need to get some sleep.”
“I’ll do my best. Kiss the girls goodnight for me.” And with that Chunk switched over to the other line.
“Chunk Robinson. What you got for me?”
“This is Lieutenant O’Malley from the Coast Guard. We’ve had a report come in from one of our units off the coast of North Carolina of an unidentified Black Hawk that fits the description you gave us.”
“Great news,” Chunk said as he drained the last of the whiskey.
“Well, maybe not so great. Somehow this unit failed to receive the original message, and they fired on the Black Hawk.”
“What? I told you that there’s top secret cargo on that helicopter, and it wasn’t to be shot at no matter what?”
“Well, don’t get yourself in such a twitter. They know that now. T
he good news is the missile missed its target.”
“Really? That’s strange. How often does that happen?” Chunk breathed a sigh of relief, then rose from the bed to refresh his drink.
“It’s never happened before. Those Sidewinder missiles almost never miss. We still don’t understand what happened.”
“Where is the Black Hawk now?”
“Well, there’s a pretty bad storm brewing off the coast. The Black Hawk headed into it as of our last report. Our guys have been ordered back to shore. There’s no way the copter will be able to make it through that storm. We’ll keep an eye out for it and let you know what we find. Just how fragile is that cargo?”
“Oh, I’d say pretty darn fragile,” Chunk replied before hanging up.
Flip estimated he had been calling out to the Kindred for fifteen or twenty minutes with no results. He grew sleepier by the minute and had already dozed off a couple of times, then caught himself. He gently moved his fingers and toes to bring himself back to just enough awareness to keep searching.
Nothing. No one home, Flip thought, discouraged despite himself. It was good to be awake and alive, no question about it, but he had hoped to stay in touch with his new family. Despite being an only child, he had not been close to his parents. While the birth of the Kindred was far from planned parenthood, and not something he’d been ready for at the time, he’d come to enjoy his role as father. It would be hard to let go of it now. He decided to try one last time for tonight.
Hello, little ones. This is your father. I really miss you. If you’re getting this message, please let me know.
Still nothing. He waited and tried to keep is mind clear so any other outside signals might come in. Nothing…then…
Hello…hello…who’s this?
Was that his imagination; his strong desire to hear from his children so he was making the words up himself? Then again, he heard a clear thought from within.
I’m here. You feel familiar but I can’t…quite…
Clearly not my imagination, Flip thought. The signal was too strong and with a distinctive voice, one he recognized from a previous time when the person had stood next to his bed and healed him.
Hello, Alp. It’s so good to be in touch.
Storm Surge
“Now what?” Alp asked as she gazed out the window of the helicopter at the approaching storm.
James pointed straight ahead to the massive wall of water. As he pointed the thick cloud illuminated with lightning within it.
He turned to Alp. “Hang on. It’s going to get rough. We’re heading into that. It’s our only chance. If we can fly through it, we should be able to make it to Bermuda…that is if our fuel holds.”
Alp stared at the storm cloud looming in front of them. She didn’t know much about flying, but something instinctively told her it probably wasn’t a good idea to fool with a cloud that was spitting out lightning in all directions.
She turned her attention to the back of the aircraft where her sisters lay still bound by their straight jackets. Hey sisters, it’s going to get bumpy here in just a minute or two. Don’t worry, we’ll be through it as soon as possible.
What’s happening? Tabitha asked
We’re going to try to lose the jet that’s chasing us by going through a cloud.
Well, that doesn’t sound like it’ll work. Won’t they just fly through it with us? Kirstin asked.
No, not this particular cloud, Alp answered. It’s part of a nasty looking storm up ahead.
She’s right about that, Mia interjected.
How would you know? Kirstin spit back.
I just do, Mia replied.
Okay, girls. This is not the time to argue, Alp said. We’ve enough problems as it is.
As they approached the wall of water, it grew like an angry giant about to smash them like an annoying bug. Alp turned to James. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“No, I’m sure it’s a very bad idea. It’s just the only way I can think of to shake those guys. Hold on.”
As the Black Hawk penetrated into the storm, the rain fell in torrents. The wind roared violently, tossing the helicopter from one side to another, then up and down, like a leaf being tossed by a wind in the Fall. Flashes of lightning were followed almost immediately with loud claps of thunder.
Holy shit! Tabitha shouted both out loud and psychically. What the hell?
Are you kidding me? Kirstin added. This can’t be good.
The buffeting continued as James fought to maintain control and to keep the Black Hawk from plummeting into the ocean. Lightning continued to flash all around them, and the thunder reverberated through the craft threatening to jar the copter’s rivets loose.
After only a couple of minutes of this, Alp heard Mia groan. I’m not feeling so good.
Hold on, Mia. It won’t be much longer, Alp thought back to her, even though, there was no sign of the torment ending. They were surrounded by a deep darkness with the rain slashing at them from all sides. No matter what James tried to do to control the ship, it seemed on the brink of crashing.
“The wind is forcing us down. We’re losing altitude fast,” he shouted to Alp. “I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this bird in the air.”
“What happens if we go down?” Alp asked.
“The Black Hawk might float on the surface but not for long. Given the amount of wind, the waves will beat us apart in no time. There’s a life raft in the back, but it’ll be damn hard to get to while the helicopter is being tossed around by the waves.”
How much longer, Alp? Mia asked. I’m really feeling sick. I’m going to throw up.
Alp relayed the message back to James.
“Well, there’s some barf bags back there, but of course, she won’t be able to use them while she’s bound up as she is.”
“I’ll go back and help her,” Alp said as she reached down to release her harness.
“Don’t you dare. You’ll never make it,” James yelled back. “Stay put. She’ll have to deal with it herself.”
Alp thought of disobeying his command. These were her sisters and they were in trouble, but she wasn’t sure how much she could help them at this point if she were back there with them. She was about to give it a try anyway when the aircraft straightened out and flew normally. The sky above them cleared, and the helicopter started to maintain altitude again.
“What just happened?” Alp asked, staring over at James.
“I haven’t a clue,” he answered, “but the winds have died down, and I have control back, at least for the moment.”
Looking out the side window, Alp could see the thick cloud cover whirling around them just a few yards out, but immediately around them everything remained clear and calm. The rain had stopped beating against the windshield.
Ahh, that’s much better, Mia said. Now, if I can just hold it.
Alp turned around in her seat and stared back to where Mia lay. She could just make out her sister’s face straining with all her might, her forehead wrinkled by the effort.
Mia, what are you doing? Alp asked.
Not…now…must…con…cen…trate.
Alp turned back to James.
“How’s it flying?” Alp asked.
“Like a dream,” James replied. “It’s like we’re in the eye of a storm but I’ve never heard of a storm like this having an eye.”
“Well, I think one of my sisters might have something to do with that.”
James turned to stare at her. “You’re kidding, right?”
Alp smiled back and shook her head. “Like I said before…”
“You’re a very talented family,” James finished for her, shaking his head and laughing.
Alp was about to join James in the laughter when a new voice came across her psychic connection.
Hello, little ones. This is your father…
Flip felt himself slipping out of the gray transition zone between sleep and wakefulness. Afraid he’d lose the tenuous connection with Alp, he r
eturned his focus on his breath for a few deep inhalations and slow exhalations. As he felt his heart rate slow again, he called out once more.
Are you still there, Alp?
I’m still here father, but…well, it’s not a good time. It’s a little…hectic here.
Oh, I’m sorry. I had no idea. Where are you?
There was a long silence before Alp’s answer came back.
Can’t really answer that right now. I hope you understand, but I’ll try to get back in touch soon.
Flip decided to try a different tact before letting the connection drop. Are you with your sisters?
Another long pause before the reply came: Yes, and all are safe at the moment. Really got to go now. Stay well.
And with that Flip felt the connection end, but not completely.
Alp, are you there?
Nothing…well, not quite nothing. He felt no response from Alp but still felt some presence, like the odd sensation he occasionally felt when someone stood behind him without identifying themselves.
Hello? Is there someone else there?
And just as suddenly, the feeling disappeared, and he was once again alone in his bed in a room filled with flowers and photographs of his missing children.
They continued to fly through the storm protected by a sliver of quiet and calm. Just a few yards away the rain pelted against an invisible shield while lightning flashed, and the wind blew in gusts. Alp glanced back to the rear of the cabin several times to check on Mia who continued to concentrate with her eyes squinted shut and a look of determination on her face. The wrinkles of her forehead grew deeper and drops of perspiration formed within the wrinkles and ran down her face.
“I don’t think Mia can hold this space open much longer,” Alp said as she turned back to the front of the aircraft.
“I don’t think she’ll need to,” James replied. “It’s looking clearer up ahead. We may be coming out of the worse of it.”
Mia, hold on just a little longer, Alp conveyed back to her sister but received no answer from her. Instead, she heard from Tabitha.
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