Seeking Sirius

by Laure Reminick

  Brightness enveloped them, outside and in. Energy pulsed, tingling. Effulgence stretched, redder and redder to darkness. Alexa felt a swirling, whirling, toward a single point, though she knew the plane remained flying forward. The tumult began to circle down, quieter and quieter away. Last sound she heard was a whispered “oy” from Rachel.

  Then utter silence. No sensation. No smell. Five seconds passed, ten seconds, fifteen, twenty, infinite seconds.

  Chapter 2

  From stillness, a rumble barreled through Alexa’s chest. From darkness, blue light burst, hurting her eyes. Something lamented in higher and higher registers. Then all resolved to sky, drenched with driving rain, which almost obscured the view of ground rushing up at them.

  The airspeed was approaching the red line.

  “Pull up! Pull up! Pull UP!” howled Donny.

  Alexa had already begun wrestling the nose off its collision course. She popped out the throttle knob and with both hands drew back on the yoke. The plane groaned. She continued coaxing it to resist the pull toward trees, beach and ocean. Still they hurtled downward. Her heart raced.

  Waves were visible out the front window.

  A heart-stopping moment later, G-forces doubled her weight, like she might drop to the ocean depths. Wings wobbled, protesting stress.

  But the plane had changed course. Alexa’s ears popped as it climbed. Clouds raced by the window, instead of an ever closer view of waves.

  After a bit, the wind’s screech retreated to its normal rush, broken only by the splats of raindrops. Alexa eased the throttle in and granted power to the engine, feeding its roar. She reached out her senses. The plane felt okay. Thank you.

  At last, with the craft stabilized at a safe altitude, she felt the pulsing in her ears slowly retreat, the pounding in her chest gradually ease. She barely registered the aircraft’s thrum and momentary wind gusts. Flying low under the clouds, Alexa let out her breath and heard the others do the same. As long as the storm didn’t force another emergency, they were safe. Bless her grandfather, insisting those many times that she practice pulling out of a steep dive.

  It was Donny who noticed the landmass close by. “That’s no island. Did we go back to Florida?”

  At last able to focus on something outside the plane, Alexa identified palm trees on the beach below. She glanced to the west past Rachel, where flat open land lead to the sun shining through a sliver of sky. Rachel and Donny followed her gaze, and began announcing more details.

  “No buildings,” said Rachel. “Anywhere.”

  “Dolphins,” shouted Donny. “Lots of them.”

  “Are they following us?”

  “Over there to the right, a bay,” said Donny.

  “And there’s a building,” said Rachel. “Oh, wow! Have you ever seen anything so pretty?”

  Alexa was reluctant to turn her attention away from the plane. “What are you two yelling about?” At Rachel’s touch, Alexa followed her line of sight out the window. “Whoa!” She banked the plane. “What’s something like that doing here?”

  Football field-size and two or three stories tall, the white structure glimmered in the low light. Columns along the front were topped with zigzags in blues and greens. A dome on the roof spanned almost the middle third of the structure. Smaller buildings nearby showed through greenery, and it all totaled the area of a small town.

  Donny poked his head in between them. “The temple, the darkness, the light. I think it’s safe to say, this is not Kansas.”

  Alexa sniffed, “Understatement of the year,” and gestured around them. “How did we get to Florida? We were past Bimini.”

  “Maybe we’re over the Everglades?” suggested Rachel.

  “Guess so. Where else could be this empty?”

  On one side was ocean. On the other, an expanse of trees punctuated by sharp grass-covered hillocks stretched, unbroken by human structures. If roads were anywhere, Alexa couldn’t see them. Mountains rose, far to the right. Mountains? In Florida? Must be clouds. The rain drizzled in a soft patter.

  “Getting dark, although I can’t understand how that can be possible.” Alexa shook her head. “It should be mid-morning.” As they flew by the town again, she fretted, “We do not have unlimited fuel. What say, we put down, there on that lawn area in front of—whatever it is.” People began running out of the building. “Make sure your seat belts are tight.”

  The makeshift runway lay parallel to the water, from where a stiff breeze blew. She’d had plenty of practice with the prevailing wind at her town further north in Florida. To slip into the landing, she maintained the plane’s nose slightly toward the sea while also banking to increase drag. At thirty feet above ground, a strong wind shear forced the craft’s nose up at the wrong time. But Alexa brought it back into position, barely before touchdown.

  A series of deep ruts made it feel as though they were a basketball being wildly dribbled. She pressed hard on both brakes, fighting for control. No way she could halt before the plane would run over a sharp boulder, though, so she steered hard left. Same time, a gust caught the wing. Will we flip? Alexa momentarily released the brakes and turned the nose back into the wind. The craft remained upright. They were almost stopped.

  Then a ravine, maybe hidden by tall grass, appeared directly in front. Before she could react, they plunged. Four feet. To an abrupt stop.

  Alexa bungeed into and off the steering column. Same moment, a distinct thwack came from the direction of the propeller. The engine stopped dead. Her grandfather had assured her that the Cessna was designed, in the 1940s and ’50s, to land on almost any kind of surface. Evidently not into a small canyon.

  Except for her nose thrumming from that connection with the yoke, she was okay. Engine and electrical circuits switched off, Alexa asked, “Everybody all right?” The croak in her voice couldn’t sound healthy.

  A drama-laden whimper from Rachel was actually a good sign.

  “Man,” murmured Donny. “Yeah. Okay.”

  Rain chittered on the aluminum wings and the windshield. While verifying the plane’s status, Alexa subliminally realized Rachel and Donny were almost shouting about something. But that didn’t prepare her for the sight when she looked up. Around the plane, yards away, was a wall of people. Mostly men, a few in toga-type garb and others in short or long gowns. Everyone in white.

  Inside the plane, Rachel wondered, “Are they ghosts?”

  One man, taller than the others, came to the front of the line on Alexa’s side, cupped his hands and yelled, “Do you speak English?”

  There was hardly any light and Alexa wasn’t sure if he could see them inside the plane. Nevertheless, when she nodded yes, he continued, “Are you hurt?”

  Alexa glanced at Rachel and Donny, then shook her head at the man.

  “Please remain in the plane until we can transfer you to a safe-room. You may be deathly infectious for us, and we for you. Please stay where you are.”

  Infectious? The man gestured for everyone to step back. It appeared they were making two lines with a wide space between, leading from the plane toward the huge building. What is this place that contagion would be a problem? She’d never heard of a hospital for humans in the Everglades.

  “Hey,” said Donny, “a short dude is out there, pushing against our door.”

  Rachel dropped her phone on her lap, complaining, “There’s no signal, at all! How can I contact Sammy?”

  It took perhaps twenty minutes before they received permission to exit the plane. Despite the lush smells beckoning, Alexa kept her attention on luggage. A few minutes later they huddled under the wing, looking around for which direction they should take.

  Donny picked up from the ground three lengths of white material, evidently left by the little man. “What’re these for? Won’t keep us dry.”

  Alexa cupped her hands and called out, “Where are we? Can we go to Miami or somewhere? If you would call a taxi or something, we can leave and not be a threat to your group.” The guy
opened his mouth to respond, closed it and shook his head. She continued, “The plane’s propeller is broken. I need to contact someone for a part.”

  Every person in that wall had a cover over nose and mouth. “Sorry, not possible,” he replied. “If you would cooperate at this time, my father will explain everything later.”

  “Do we have a choice? Where are we? Who are you?”

  The guy looked pained. “You are in no danger, except for the potential for infection.”

  “Is this a hospital? What’s so contagious?”

  He scratched his head.

  Alexa commented low to Rachel, “What I’d really like to do is contact the police.”

  He said, “We will not hurt you. You can leave later. Nevertheless, we must take precautions.” After a moment, he added, “Please.”

  Anywhere else. I want to be anywhere else than here. Alexa blew out her breath and said to Rachel, “Okay. Looks as if they’re serious about this.” She began tying a scarf around her nose and mouth. The other two made eye contact before copying her.

  On the path to a small building less than a hundred feet away, through the drizzle and a silent human gauntlet, Alexa stopped to reposition her bags. Because she was essentially moving to Nassau on this trip, she had more with her than usual. And there was no pavement around. When Donny took the big one she whispered, “Thanks.”

  The single room in the stone building was sparsely furnished: one table and a tall metal box standing beside it. They were alone. “No touch of Martha here,” commented Rachel. On the table was a pile of linen sheets, which they used to dry off.

  About the time they finished, a man coughed for their attention. It took a bit, but Alexa located a small spherical speaker up high in a corner. The voice asked, “What are your names?”

  Alexa flicked her eyes to Rachel and Donny, who shrugged. She asked back, “Why do you need to know? Where are we? And who are you?”

  Thereupon, the guy from outside came on. She recognized his voice. “Never mind, not necessary. What is necessary is for each of you to take a turn in the test unit.” Involuntarily, all three looked at the tall box beside the table.

  “No way am I going to do anything until I call my son,” declared Rachel.

  No response.

  The three of them eyed each other and glanced around. I could wind Rachel up into a scene, and they’d have to come in to deflect maximum destruction. However, no doubt she’d be the one to bring Rachel down. Since neither of the other two moved, after a heavy sigh Alexa volunteered to go first.

  Inside, the box was lighted. She felt warmth, intense cold, and an undeniable prick on the index finger she had dutifully inserted into a receptacle, per instructions through an intercom above her head. A woman’s voice asked her to breathe deeply, then to please disrobe entirely. Alexa said, “You have to be kidding.”

  “Your clothes may harbor germs and viruses.”

  Alexa debated. “For whom. What is the health emergency?”

  “From your belongings, we can verify there isn’t one hopefully,” came the guy’s voice.

  This was getting out of hand. “Is this some kind of joke?” No response. Just want the whole thing to be over. “Well, you’d better not watch.”

  A powerful blue light and a moment of heat seemed to flash-fry her skin. Afterwards, the woman’s voice said. “At your feet are robes. Please put one on. We will test and sterilize your clothes and belongings.”

  When Alexa exited dressed in white, Rachel and Donny’s eyes widened. Knowing the drama Rachel was capable of, Alexa thought it best to not mention all the details beforehand. “These folks must be sensitive to everything,” she said. “I think it’s okay though.”

  Rachel came out last. “Spooky,” she whispered, while covering her mouth and nose.

  Alexa asked, “Are you all right?”

  Rachel nodded and impatiently shooed her at the door. “Let’s go anywhere other than this freaky building.”

  Following instructions, out they trudged into the mist and through the dark to a nearby house, Donny in front of her and Rachel behind. The long robe Alexa wore slapped her legs with every step. Without the distraction of her luggage, all the people standing in line about fifty feet away raised her hackles, despite those brave words back there.

  Eventually they passed under a lighted arch into another small stone building. When the front door slammed shut behind them, all three jumped. “What next?” Rachel muttered.

  The bright central space included the entryway where they stood. Three open doorways showed on each side. Enough illumination spilled into them to identify beds in the three rooms on the right. Windows must be open because the same smells of wet greenery as outside wafted through the hallway. At first, everyone huddled near the door. When nothing more happened, they began to investigate their surroundings.

  As Rachel returned from the middle room after testing the bed, she moaned, “I can’t just stay here. I need to call my son.” She strode over to the front door, but it was locked from the outside. “What are we? Prisoners?”

  From the back room came a low zzzpft, and Donny yelped, “Yow!” He trotted out, warning, “Don’t try to climb out the window. I got zapped by some Klingon force field.”

  “You’re kidding,” said Alexa, on her way to examine the front bedroom.

  In the dark, a bed and a table were barely discernible. At the window she tried blowing. Nothing happened. Next she tried brushing the hem of her sleeve and zzzpft, sparks all but flew. Where did this technology come from? Perhaps this was some secret military place. Alexa noticed someone out front, about twenty feet away, and whispered, “Yeah, guard us.”

  Back in the central area Rachel was pacing. She groaned theatrically. “A.J., where are we? What do we do?”

  It’d been a long time since she’d used Alexa’s initials. “Donny, did you try your mobile before we left everything with them?”

  He looked up. “Yep. Negatory on the signal.”

  Rachel stopped cold and pronounced, “Oh m’god, they took our passports.”

  Alexa gave Rachel the same look she always did when her friend began her drama routine. She had precious little extra energy to deal with all that, considering she was fighting her own anxiety. “They have our passports, yes, with everything else. They didn’t specifically ‘take’ them.” She put her arm around Rachel. “It is all strange. However, this doesn’t seem to be a jail.”

  Judging by the wild look, Rachel’s imagination was going into overdrive. Alexa braced herself, knowing how far her friend could go on a tangent. “What if we’re caught on some island out of time, or something,” said Rachel, almost hyperventilating, “and we can never go back, and they’re all really ghosts out there, who can’t get out of a time loop.”

  Alexa clamped her lips closed, barely managing to not smile, and tightened her hug around Rachel. “I bet we don’t have all the information yet. There has to be a logical explanation for this.”

  Rachel broke out of Alexa’s embrace, huffing, “I have to think as a parent.”

  “Which you did. You told me you arranged for Sammy to spend the night with his best bud, in case you stayed over in Nassau. Right?”

  Rachel appeared unconvinced.

  “Probably tomorrow it’ll all become clear. And I’ll be able to send a message to Mac, at least. And you to Sammy.”

  Rachel snorted. “Please. Keep the optimism to yourself.”

  At that moment, Donny came out of the middle room on the other side of the building. “Coconuts in here.” He pointed to the front. “That room is a kitchen.” Moments later, he raised his voice from the back. “And this is a living room.” He ambled over to Rachel, who stood near the front door. “All the conveniences of home, if you happen to be on a coconut diet.”

  Alexa called out from the kitchen. “Anybody like oatmeal? Besides pots and pans, that’s it in here.”

  Rachel said, “I’m exhausted. Shouldn’t it be late morning?” It appeare
d she was about to cry.

  Donny, ever the optimist, said, “Maybe they gave us a sleeping drug. Tell you what, we can all cuddle up together and I’ll keep you safe.”

  Alexa couldn’t think of a comment to blast Donny appropriately without taking him down to cinders. Rachel locked eyes with her and they both shook their heads in disbelief while silently turning to go to their own beds. As Alexa closed her door, the lock clicked on Rachel’s.

  She also felt exceedingly fatigued. Perhaps it was the darkness. Not able to locate a light switch, she had to grope around the privy. The toilet included a tank at head height with a dangling chain to let the water slosh. Perhaps they’d landed on some British protectorate island.

  Eventually, she climbed onto the single bed and sat. Tired, and wound tight. Pretty sure her meditation would be as flat as her recent norm, she arranged the pillow for eventually falling asleep. Before Alexa began meditating, though, the entire morning scrolled through her mind, scene by scene. Some moments were downright terrifying. And what about the propeller? What was the name of the company for Cessna replacement parts?

  It was all incredibly strange.

  Except, she had to admit, for that moment in the plane right before everything disappeared. Despite all the odd things leading up to it, that feeling had been familiar, in a good way. Beyond. Similar to some lovely experiences while meditating when she was young, before her father disappeared.

  Alexa adjusted the blanket over her legs. With her right hand she fingered her engagement ring, the one that upon sight both she and Mac recognized as perfect.

  Did all this happen because I didn’t stay put and wait for Mac? It was almost too big to take in. “Mac. Can you feel me? I’m here, wherever here is.”

  Chapter 3

  Hunger awakened Alexa.

  The sun had to be high in the sky, judging by the shadows. Ocean sounds made their way past billowing white curtains and the small room’s lemon walls glowed behind simple wood furnishings. Lovely.