Flightsuit (18 page)

They are adventurers
, Taylor repeated. 

He just loves to hear himself think
, thought Leo, tired of Taylor's condescending and arrogant tone. 
He thinks he's in the middle of something amazing and it doesn't matter what it is going to cost anyone else.  What a total jerk.

Taylor kept on. 
They thrive on overcoming challenges.  Adventurers that aren't smart enough to plan for almost every conceivable situation don't survive long.  These guys live for hundreds of years, and their civilization is a hundred times older than ours.

The flightsuits give their explorers every advantage.  It has weapons we can't even imagine.
  Leo thought of the way the suit had paralyzed Ethan and hoped he was ok. 

As Taylor talked, Leo noticed the sky behind him.  White clouds like a crashing surf, frozen
over the blue sky, like a slow-moving photograph.  The clouds over Taylor's shoulder were so far away Leo felt like he was looking at them from the bottom of a deep well.  They felt so distant.  Standing on the tingling edge of the cliff, unable to even see his feet, he felt a vertigo-pull into the clouds.  The feeling was so strong, he felt if he could jump just a little into the air that he'd fly up into them.  He held onto the feeling for moments before letting go - it was better than his reality.  As the tingly feeling faded, he felt a tight constriction deep in his chest and a feeling that something was stuck in his throat. 

Leo was bruised, dehydrated and terrified.  Everything he'd taken for granted, his life, his freedom, his mother - everything he'd ever assumed was his, had been taken away and he'd been handed the l
ife of a prisoner in return. 

He wanted to just get away. 
Get away from this crazy jerk, before he steals everything and be free
.  Leo longed for the freedom he'd had just hours ago.  He wondered at how much his life had changed in just a few hours. 
How could it get so far away so fast?  Please, please, just let me get away from this.  If I can just get away, I'll never forget how much I have again.  I just want to go home. 

He kept his eyes on the sky behind Taylor, trying not to look at him.  Deep behind the blue sky. 
Somewhere out there is a whole world of aliens.  They make amazing things and travel forever to explore anything that's hidden.  They can make things that could keep everyone on Earth fed and warm and help us learn even more, but they don't care about that.  It doesn't care about anything but going home and it is going to take me with it
, Leo thought.

Was there a heaven somewhere between him and a horrible planet full of aliens?  Where would he go when the machine shot the alien home?

Taylor heard his thoughts. 

I think you're going along for the ride Leo.  I think a little powerless part of you will be there inside as he controls your body.
  He smiled crookedly. 
You'll be the first human to see an entire alien civilization.  The bad news of course being that you won't be able to actually do anything or speak with anyone and you'll just be ignored and alone, like a headache.  Something to be pushed aside and forgotten.

Assuming the whole thing even works of course.  He thinks there's a good chance you'll both be mentally defective when you get there, but like I said, he's got nothing to lose at this point.  He's ready.

They've thought of everything.  Their neural process is so different from ours, their fail safes take advantage of their ability to mesh minds with other creatures.  They know there's a good chance their physical body could be damaged, and they plan for situations where their consciousness might inhabit someone else, me in this case, so they design the suit to automatically mate to another pilot.  As soon as the system is sealed
, Taylor indicated the helmet,
it'll reconfigure to fit who, or whatever, is wearing it.  If the highest life form on earth was a raccoon, I guess it'd make a raccoon-shaped armor
, Taylor laughed in his head.

That's why it had you put on the rest of the flightsuit, but not the helmet.  At this point, the suit's still programmed to follow the alien's guidance.  Sealing the helmet activates an automatic reconfiguration.  That would transfer control over to you.  Plus the suits are designed for fighting, so they block any telepathic attack.  He needs the helmet off while he clears space in your mind for his trip home.

Leo stopped looking at the clouds and watched the helmet in Taylor's hands.

The helicopter was getting closer.  Close enough now that they might see it, little larger than a bird behind the green forest cover.

Leo looked directly into Taylor's grinning eyes. 
Why?  Why are you doing this to me?  I know he wants to go home and doesn't care what happens to me, but why are you helping him?  I've never done anything to you, or anyone else,
he added
.  Why are you helping him steal my life?

Taylor's head shook once, his caustic grin dripping down as his upper lip crept up. 
Like I have a choice
, the booming voice replied. 
If he keeps smashing my mind, he's going to break something.  You have no idea boy.  He's just communicating with you through me.  He's
inside
me.  He can reach out and fire pain receptors directly in my brain.  You have no idea what it feels like when the memory of every pain you've ever felt gets called up at once.  So stop whining.  You have no idea
.

Besides, if it's your life or mine, that's easy math anyway.

Before he fell into my mind from his exploding suit, I had nothing.  You don't know what it's like.  Your whole life's been easy.  Really, you've had all the best parts of life anyway, I'm saving you from the hard parts that come later.  I've paid my whole life for something better and I'm due.  I've worked as hard as anyone else.  Everyone else gets the rewards while I do all the work.  They all stick together and unless you're one of them, they'll never leave anything for you.  They're selfish and small.  If only one of us can have a life coming out of this, why should it be you?  What makes you deserve a chance for a good life more than me?  I've worked my whole life while you've done nothing.

When he fills your mind, I'll be free again.  No more headaches from him trying to elbow more of himself into my brain.  You can't even imagine.  Looking forward to a pressure that's not just lifting off of you, but blowing like a wind right out of your head.  Of not feeling like you might explode at any moment, and staying clenched night and day to hold it together.  For years. 

It'll be different for you.  Still painful, I'm sure, but he's had time to clear out more space in your mind than he had with me, so there'll be less spilling over the edges.

What do you mean?
Leo asked. 
What has it been doing to me?

You've noticed it.  I watched you remembering.  He needed time to clear more space in your mind.  I've not just been standing here waiting for nothing.  He's been clearing space for himself for the trip home and for the long recovery after.  He can only carry as much luggage as there is space.  Our minds have a lot less space. 

He lost a lot of his own memories and knowledge just cramming himself into my mind, yours has more room – mine has decades of stored memory and experience, but he doesn't want to go through the rest of his life clenched and cramped either, so he's been clearing out your memories.  You've noticed it.  I could see and feel them too as he unwound them.

Leo's breath caught.  He remembered feeling pleasant memories as Taylor had talked in his mind, but aside from the general peaceful feeling they'd produced, he couldn't recall what he was actually thinking about.  He tried frantically to remember, but there was nothing. 
What was I thinking about?
  New tears tracked down his face as his fear and isolation crested.

It'll be a blessing really boy.  Why would you want to remember
what home was like while you're trapped in a prison where you can never reach it again?  That'd be terrible. 

Leo saw a small smile flick the edge of Taylor's mouth. 
Whatever happens to me makes no difference to you
, he thought. 
Don't act like it does.
  He stared at Taylor, unable to move, unable to run.  Unable to release the frustration, and anger, and fear.  He screamed his frustration full into Taylor's face.  After the silent mental communication, the scream jolted Taylor.  Jerking away, his foot slipped on the small rocks.  He grabbed at the flightsuit's arm to avoid falling from the edge.  For a second, Leo tensed, expecting that he would pull them both crashing into the rocks below, but the suit's traction held.  Taylor stepped back glaring at him.  Leo felt at least a little relief and smiled.

A third voice spoke in his mind.  It wasn't Taylor this time.  As it spoke, the anger dropped from Taylor's face, replaced by slack-jawed awe.  The voice sounded like two dust-dry rocks scraping together to form words. 

It was quiet but clear and it spoke in a rumbling whisper.

Ready
.

Leo and Taylor stared at each other
, and for a while neither spoke or communicated.

Taylor spoke, aloud this time, "It's never spoken to me before.  Always used pictures from memories joined together into stories and just made me understand by meddling with my
thoughts."  Taylor looked up into blue sky, as if searching.  "I'm the first person in history to communicate with alien life.  The first person ever." 

Taylor dropped his eyes back to Leo.  Leo shook his head once, "I'm here too jerk.  I heard it."

"You're not here for long," Taylor said.

Everything happened at once.

A deafening black helicopter slid through the sky over the clearing.  As it passed over, it dropped from treetop height into an eye-level hover with Leo and Taylor over the valley floor.  The sound made it impossible to hear anything else.  The flightsuit didn't move
, so Leo had no hands to cover his ears.  It was so loud he could barely think.

A door slid open in the side of the copter
, and a man with a black rifle brought the barrel up to point at Leo or Taylor, Leo wasn't sure which.

Taylor scanned the clearing behind them.  Hack's security team ducked into concealment behind rocks and trees.  They were ragged from the dripping heat of the mountain trail run and sleep-deprived
, but catching up to Taylor instantly adrenalin-sharpened them.  Hack's six security agents aimed rifles, the barrels of each moving between Leo and Taylor as the agents assessed which was the greater threat.

Leo turned to follow Taylor's stare and saw soldiers wearing black and green camouflage behind trees and rocks.  He saw the one closest waving hand signals to soldiers on either side with the rifles aiming at
him and Taylor.  The deafening wind from the helicopter covered the sound, but Leo saw the leader's mouth moving.  Seconds later, the soldiers aiming at Taylor moved to aim at Leo.

Ethan needed to stop.

Each time he'd thought to stop, Ray yelled for him to keep going.  Ethan felt as if he would reach the top only to fall over dead on his feet, but, Ray would say
you know you can do it Dad
. 
You just have to want to.  Nothing can stop you
.

He didn't stop.  He'd never let Ray down again, even if it did kill him.

His lungs strained to pull oxygen from the humid air.  He'd run almost continuously since changing direction after spotting the white blur.  As he ran down the first hill, he'd second-guessed himself at every step, certain he'd made the wrong choice.  He'd crossed another ridge before hearing the helicopter moving in his direction.

When it had zoomed over the top of the ridge, he'd been in the valley below.  Under normal circumstances he would have stopped and caught his breath many times as he climbed a mountain this steep. 

He pushed on, gasping for air.

By the time Ethan slapped his hand onto the top surface of the last big boulder before the clearing, he'd lost track of everything except Ray's voice. He crouched low, running up the mountain, pulling himself with handholds on branches and rocks as he moved, eyes locked.  He came up over the ridge too quickly and barely caught himself before tumbling headlong into space.  He pulled up hard and took a step back from the boulder's edge for good measure.

The helicopter's wind blast was deafening. 

Ethan struggled to understand what was happening. 

The boy, Leo, was on the cliff's edge.  In addition to the chest and arms he'd last seen, there were legs as well.  The white suit stood with arms outstretched like a cross.  It was so close to the edge Ethan couldn't imagine how Leo hadn't already slipped off with the grit and rocks blowing from the helicopter. 

The copter hung at eye level, a soldier inside targeting eith
er Leo or the man next to him, Ethan couldn't tell from his angle and distance.

The man beside Leo on the cliff held a large glass dish out as if he were about to put it on Leo.  He faced Leo with his back to Ethan.

More soldiers hid in the side of the clearing opposite Ethan.  They would notice his arrival within seconds, Ethan was sure.

Ethan's mind raced to interpret the chaotic scene.