Walking an Endless Path Pt. 02

"I'm going to ask you again. Are you going to be all right?" Joe said.

"Yes," she whispered, fully absorbed in the sensation of his hands on her.

"That's right. You will. You're amazing. You're a survivor. But mostly, you're strong."

Her eyes opened, and she smiled. "Thank you."

"Thank you for coming back into my life." Joe smiled back. "Get your cell out. I want you to enter some numbers into it."

Pam pulled out an old beat-up cell, and Joe gave her his new number. "You can call or text me any time. Now enter this number as well." He showed her Rene's number.

"Who is Rene?" Pam asked, entering the number and name.

"She's my old boss at St. Germain's Feed and Supply. She helped me out a lot when I was going through a rough time. She's an amazing listener and gave me some excellent advice. They are also hiring, so maybe you could get a job with them. It's a good place to work. Uh, she doesn't know about my eyes, and I'd like to keep it that way if you don't mind."

Craig suddenly appeared by the table. "Sorry to cut this short, but we just got an evac call. We've gotta go."

Joe looked up at the expression on the Sergeant's face, and he knew something was up. "Right." He looked at Pam. "You have my number. Sorry, I have to leave so soon!" He ducked his head down and gave her a quick kiss. He forgot to hold the surge back, and Pam squeaked when her body jolted. "Oh! Sorry!" She was too dazed to move, so Joe scooped her up and slid out of the booth with her in his arms. He carefully sat her back on the bench on her side of the table.

Joe dropped money to cover the bill plus tip, kissed Pam's forehead, and raced out of the restaurant after Craig.

"What happened?" Joe asked when they were on their way.

"I have no details except to get you back to base ASAP." Craig indicated.

"How was lunch?" Joe smiled.

"Lovely. Truly lovely." Craig smiled back.

Military trucks were lined up along the side of the road just past Joe's driveway. The General and Director Bannon were standing at the end of the lane talking when they drove up.

Craig parked on the side of the road, and Joe hopped out. "What's going on?" he called out.

"Ah, Joseph! Good, we have to move. Hop in." He pointed to the back door of his truck. Joe got in, and Bannon got in after him. The General got in the front passenger side, and the driver pulled out onto the road and raced forward. Joe looked back, and the line of trucks pulled out in sequence and followed.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Joe asked again.

"One of Agent White's alternate sites just went red. There was a big gravity fluctuation, and we have reason to believe a portal was opened. The measurements have been steady for the last hour, so we believe the portal is being kept open."

Joe's stomach lurched. "How close by is it?" He looked out the window, expecting to see the aliens any second.

"It's in Northern Russia." the General said.

"Russia? Then why are we rushing, and where are we going?" Joe asked.

"Because after it opened, we got satellite confirmation that ten small objects have begun flying towards our current location at supersonic velocities. They're expected to arrive in about four hours." the General explained.

"My parents—" Joe yelped.

"Are being taken to a safe location by Sergeant Armstrong," Bannon confirmed. "Only Army personnel will be on location when the objects arrive. We are bringing in some heavy firepower."

"Why are we leaving?" Joe asked.

"If they are after you, we'd prefer you weren't there when they arrive. We're taking you to another safe place." Bannon stated.

"Which is?" Joe asked.

"Classified," the General said.

"Said the spider to the fly," Joe growled.

"Look, son, this is a little bigger than you right now. Could you spare us the melodrama until after the invaders have been dealt with?" the General growled back.

Joe looked at Bannon, who just gave him a stern look. "Can I make a call? I promise it's a quick one."

"Sure," the General said, turning back to look forwards.

Joe dialed Pam's number. After the fourth ring, her voicemail picked up. He left a message telling her he was leaving town on short notice, but if she couldn't reach him, she should call Rene.

Joe hung up, feeling a little lost. Everything was moving so fast. All he wanted to do was go to Hollywood and train to be a bodyguard. Hang out with friends and have a normal life. Yet here he was, racing to... he looked out the window and noticed they were pulling into the airport.

He hated flying.

The truck pulled up beside one of the Hercules transport planes. It looked so freaking big from the tarmac. How was this thing going to stay in the sky? Joe's anxiety about flying kicked up a notch. Joe started the shiver. He still didn't have a bloody winter coat.

The next thing he knew, they hustled him up the big ramp and over to some seating against the wall. Trucks had been loaded inside, and the plane was taxiing to the runway within minutes.

Bannon, sitting next to Joe, noticed his nervousness. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Did I mention I don't like flying?" he remarked.

The engines roared to life, and eventually, the plane dragged itself into the air. The noise was worse than in a commercial airliner and much louder than the luxury jet his lawyers used, but looking around, Joe could easily see why. He tried to relax as best he could and leaned back. There was no recline button on these seats. He closed his eyes and let the drone settle into his bones.

"Joseph! Wake up!"

Joe blinked awake and looked into the General's face up close. "Dammit, boy! You're hard to wake up!"

"What happened? What's wrong?" Joe looked around nervously.

"What's happened is the damn bogeys have changed course and are tracking us. Any idea how they are doing that?" the General growled at him.

"How the hell should I know?" he growled back.

"The metal band, did you get it removed?" the man asked.

Joe uncrossed his arms, and the General seized his right one. The band was still there. "Dammit! I told you to get the Engineers to cut this off!"

"I couldn't find them, then I forgot about it! Are we being tracked by this?" Joe pulled his arm back and held the band up to his ear.

"It's whirring inside," Joe said incredulously. "It's still operating after being shot and melted."

"Why shouldn't it be? You were!" the General barked.

"Do we have anything we could use to cut it off now?" Joe asked.

"Too risky to use a cutting torch in a plane, and the cutting tools are in the other plane with the engineers."

One of the military personnel rushed over. "General! Eight of the bogeys have increased their speed to Mach two-point-eight, and two are falling behind. The new intercept time is now twenty-five minutes. We're thirty-five minutes out from the airbase." He suddenly frowned as he listened. "Three have increased to Mach four-point-two, which means they'll be here in a matter of minutes. Interceptors are unable to track or engage the bogeys."

"We're sitting ducks in this beast. We need to get on the ground NOW. Find us a place to land the plane fast!" the General barked out his commands and strode off.

Bannon looked at the silver band. How something so small could be tracked at this distance was astounding.

Joe desperately tried getting his fingers under the band, but it was totally smooth from its surface being melted. He turned to Bannon. "Do you have your gun? You could shoot it off!"

"Joseph, we can't fire a gun in a plane while in the air," Bannon explained calmly.

Suddenly, the plane began a very rapid descent. Joe felt himself become lighter, and his stomach threatened to empty on him. God, he hated flying!

Moments later, they leveled out, and Joe felt heavier. Again, his stomach rebelled. Bannon handed him an air sickness bag. Joe nodded thanks and opened the bag over his mouth just in case. The plane hit the ground hard and bounced before it slammed down again, and the engine slammed into reverse. It was too much for Joe, and he threw up. Bannon held a second bag at the ready. He slipped it under Joe's nose between retches, and Joe moved over to the new bag before he heaved again. Joe's complexion was as pasty as Bannon had ever seen. There was a loud scraping noise, and the plane bounced two feet into the air before coming down with a final crunch. The rear hatch was already on its way down, and personnel were scrambling to unchain the vehicles.

Bannon unstrapped and began walking to the back of the plane. Joe couldn't move as his stomach was still heaving. He felt weak and limp.

Suddenly, the fuselage on both sides of him smashed in. Silver coils wrapped around the now loose section of the wall and Joe and ripped him, a chunk of the fuselage, and his seat from the plane. Joe felt himself falling backward and saw one of those damn cylinders approaching him from the front. The only thing he had to defend himself was the air sickness bags, but his arms were pinned down. He dropped the bags before they broke open on him.

Then he bounced along the ground as two cylinders tried to lift him and the chunk of plane they'd torn free. It must have been too much for them as they released him all at once. The wall section bounced and broke, and Joe was flung free. He was still strapped into his chair, taking a few bumps as he rolled across the ground.

When Joe finally came to a halt, he was dizzy and nauseous from the landing and the handling he'd received. His muscle tone was lost, and he shook. The cables came in, and he tried to swat them away, but the motions just increased his discomfort. He popped the seat restraints loose and rolled onto his side, retching onto the ground beside him. The tentacle came in again, but he yanked free, and they only got his duster.

When he looked up, he realized he was about half a mile from the plane, lying on his side in the dirt, watching three cylinders hovering above him. One of the cylinders had been the lucky recipient of a sick bag, which had obviously struck broadside and exploded. As Joe lay there dazed, he decided to call that one Stinky. He named the other two Hack and Slash for their brutal job on the plane.

Stinky made some noises and passed that green light over Joe, making his stomach flip flop again, but he had nothing left to give.

With a final loud chirp, Stinky turned off the beam and warbled at Hack and Slash, who wrapped their coils around Joe's upper arms and chest and lifted him to his feet. Joe staggered and then felt his feet leave the ground. He was suspended between the two cylinders. There was a distant roar, and Joe saw a truck come out of the plane and turn rapidly toward him. They were really pouring on the speed. Hack took a hit from a bullet, but it pinged off its side and did no real damage. Suddenly, Joe felt the wind on his back as his captors accelerated away from the plane back in the direction they had come from. Stinky played rear guard and fired some shots at the rapidly approaching truck, which dodged from side to side erratically but successfully. Joe couldn't determine who was in the vehicle but was impressed.

Stinky finally got a lucky shot in, and the truck went down on its undercarriage as both front wheels were destroyed. The three floated away with Joe between them, still accelerating steadily. Joe tried moving his arms, but how the coils went around his arms and chest effectively prevented him from reaching anything with his hands.

"Joe!"

The voice startled Joe, and he looked around frantically. "HELLO! WHO'S THERE?"

"Joseph, it's me, Roger Bannon. I've activated your phone remotely."

Joe realized the voice was coming from his chest pocket, pinned by the coils. While it was a little creepy that they could do that with his phone, he was grateful in this instance.

"Where are you? Are you coming for me?" Joe said.

"We're back at the plane. It's not going to fly again without a lot of work, but I'll stay on the phone with you, and we can track your location with it. The General is arranging a pick-up and is getting air support between you and the coast, so we're working on getting you down." Bannon said.

Joe looked down and realized he was really high up. He couldn't tell how fast he was going, but the wind on his back was intense.

"Uh, oh shit, I'm way up in the air. I hope no one gets the bright idea to shoot the cylinders out of the air because I doubt I'd survive the fall."

"Sorry, Jo—...havin—...hearing you." The cylinders were picking up the pace again. The wind noise was making it hard to hear and breathe, for that matter. A combination of altitude, cold, and velocity was making Joe lightheaded. "Can't... breathe!" he yelled before he passed out.

Chapter 26

The wind noise had diminished considerably, but the cold and thin air was still there when Joe next became aware of Bannon's voice. "Joe! Can you hear me!"

Joe's head was splitting, and he was chilled to the bone.

"Wha—" he mumbled.

"JOE! Can you hear me?" Bannon's voice yelled.

"Jeez! Quiet, please. God, my head hurts. So cold." Joe started to nod off again.

"Joe! Stay with me! Please! Tell me what you can see."

Joe cracked open his eyes and hissed in pain as the late evening sun stabbed at his nerves. He flicked his eyes to black and opened them again. He looked around and saw seven cylinders floating in the sky around him. "I see seven dwarves. Hack and Slash and Stinky, the original three who grabbed me. I see Rusty and Burnie to my left, and to my right, I see Patch and Frank."

"Joe, what does that mean? Are you having trouble with the altitude?" Bannon asked, concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm having trouble." he snapped. "Why the fuck am I still up here, and how did all of these other ones get here so fast?"

"Joe, you must have passed out. I've been trying to reach you for hours. You're over the Bering Sea." Bannon explained.

"WHAT??!" Joe snapped awake. "What happened to getting me down before the coast? Where are you?"

"They shot down every plane that got close, including a few small civilian flights that crossed their path. We're in Alaska and in touch with the Russian government. There isn't a lot of love between the two world powers at this time, but as this is a common foe, we are working together to find a solution. Unfortunately, the portal in Russia is extremely remote, and getting military aircraft out there to lay down a strike on it is looking next to impossible."

Joe felt the shock seeping into him. The sense of hopelessness. "Oh god. They're going to take me, aren't they? You won't be able to stop them, will you?" Joe said with a terrible sense of dread.

The phone was silent for a while.

"I—I'm so sorry, Joe," Bannon sounded crushed.

"Wow. That really sucks." Joe was stunned. He looked around at his escort. What the fuck were these things, and why did they look so freaking broken down. He was being taken captive by a floating junk pile. Well, except for Hack and Slash and Stinky, which looked newer.

"Can you tell my parents I love them? And Amy? God, I miss her! Tell them I had an amazing life and thank them for it. Ask Mom to tell Rene to contact Pam if Pam doesn't reach out to her."

"Joe, there is no reason to believe you're going to die. They wouldn't go to such trouble to capture you if they intended to kill you. They could have done that multiple times, but they've been very careful to protect you." Bannon argued.

"That may be, sir, but they showed no compassion to my parents when they killed them, so as experimental subjects go, I may end up on a dissection table sooner or later. Even if I somehow escape, and I will try at every opportunity I get, I'll still need to get back to a portal, somehow activate it, and get back through. I'm guessing that's a long shot at best. Even if they don't kill me, my chances of getting home are not good," Joe said, his mood turning dark. Joe felt the green light passing over him again, and his stomach knotted up. "Fuck you, Stinky!"

"Why did you come up with those names?" Bannon asked.

"Hack and Slash appear to be newer and were the ones who cut through the plane. They're also the ones carrying me now. Stinky also looks newer and was with the first two. It got hit with my air sickness bag. Maybe both. Serves it right. Rusty looks... rusty. Burnie has scorch marks on it. Maybe it was one of the ones near the portal the General hit with the airstrike. Patch has patches welded in places, and Frank looks like Frankenstein, bolted together from spare parts. Aside from the three newer ones, they all look like flying junk. What happened to the other three?"

"One turned back shortly after leaving the portal. A second one exploded spontaneously over the Bering Sea on its way to North Dakota. We lost track of the third one. It was one of the slower ones." Bannon replied.

"Wow, so for a planet-visiting race, they sure have a lot of broken-down tech," Joe theorized. He looked around himself. "Not that it doesn't get the job done."

Joe thought for a while. "Maybe you could just shoot us from the sky?"

There was silence from the phone, and Joe thought he heard arguing. "Sorry, Joe, they actually already tried that. A barrage of missiles were fired from several of the jets before they were shot down. None got close to the target."

Joe realized that all happened when he was unconscious. If they had been successful, he might not have woken up. "Ah. Okay."

"I'm sorry they did that, but things got pretty heated when the cylinders started taking out civilian aircraft as well." Bannon apologized.

"No, it's okay," Joe said. "Listen, I'm having trouble focusing. I can barely breathe, and I'm so cold and hungry. On top of that, Stinky keeps hitting me with that green light, making me nauseous. I can't stay awake," Joe's voice was almost a whisper at the end.

"Joe! Try to stay awake, son!" Bannon called out, but Joe had passed out.

-=-

Joe smelled dirt and realized he was lying face down on the ground. His body hurt terribly, and even turning his head was torture. To his left, he saw Hack lying on its side seemingly dormant. He agonizingly turned his head to look in the other direction, and there was Slash standing upright but dormant as well. So they were out of commission? If he could move, maybe he could escape. But his body rebelled when he tried to move. He was in too much pain and felt himself slip into unconsciousness again.

-=-

It was the pain that woke him up again. He was in the air once more. A green light passed over his body, and Joe spasmed into dry heaves. He heard a sharp tweet, and they picked up speed. Joe thought he heard Bannon's voice, but he sank again into oblivion.

-=-

It was dark when he opened his eyes. He was on his back on the ground, and he could barely see trees around him. He moaned from the pain.

"Joe! Oh God! Joe, are you awake!" Bannon said frantically.

"yes..." he whispered.

"GENERAL! He's alive! Joe, you're in Russia now. The crazy bastards set off a small nuke in the upper atmosphere and caused an EMP. We watched the cylinders all fall from the sky. The three newer ones, the ones you call Hack, Slash, and Stinky, seemed to be making a somewhat controlled descent for a while but then fell as well. Were you hurt?"

"yes..." he whispered again.

"God, I'm so sorry! How bad is it?" Bannon's voice sounded ragged.

"bad... can't move... much." he groaned.

"You're on the ground? You don't seem to be moving." Bannon asked.

Joe peered into the gloom, then flicked his eyes to black and made out the outlines of the three cylinders surrounding him.

"on my back... cylinders are here... only three left... seem to be... waiting." Joe panted out, fighting to stay conscious.

"You're very close to the portal. We think they might have run out of power. Can you escape?" Bannon asked.