Precipice: The Beginning (3 page)

“Well you better hurry if you want to make the most out of it. You only have twenty minutes of uplink,” the doc said with a smile as he hurried to the door, stepping aside as it opened. “Just go down to the door with Communication Uplink Specialist across the front.”

5

A
nnie Daniels stood before the mirror atop her dresser, tying a blue ribbon in her hair. She wore a blue housedress with a white floral print, one she knew her husband enjoyed. Travis had told her once that she had such an amazing figure and that this dress did a great job of featuring all his favorite highlights. Annie smiled as she watched his face light up in her memory. Seeing him sitting on the bed with such a goofy expression across his face. Travis had always managed to make her smile. It was his sense of humor that had drawn her to him in the first place. When they’d met fifteen years ago, he had been in plain clothes. It was only after they’d spent three hours talking that he let it slip he was in the armed forces. For every man up until Travis she would have politely smiled and walked away. She hated the military. Thought they were nothing but a bunch of slimy bastards bent on destroying the world. But there was nothing evil behind his smile, no dark laid plans within his eyes, only honesty. She loved him the instant he had bumped into her at the park, running backwards to catch a Frisbee until he’d stumbled into her and knocked them both down. They shared a laugh and started a four-hour conversation. Annie’s mother told her later that same week that they would end up together, that good couples always had an excellent story of how they first met. And they had been a perfect couple, loving and living for each other. Longing for him when he was called away for one of his secret missions. Twelve years of perfect marriage that was finally blessed with a pregnancy. She had been unable to contain her excitement. Late at night she’d run to the corner drugstore and purchased a pregnancy test. Alone in the bathroom at four in the morning, pacing with one hand on her hip and the other against her forehead, waiting anxiously as Travis slept without a clue. Her heartbeat tripled as she saw the blue plus sign slowly appear in the little window. Running out of the bathroom with the test in her hand, she’d hopped into bed and awoken her husband with the great news. They both held each other. So much love in their arms. Eight and a half months later and Logan was born…then this mess had happened.

Annie finished tying the ribbon about her hair, exhaling a long breath while eyeing herself in the mirror. The stress was beginning to take its toll. There were lines about her eyes, creeping over her face like the dry bottom of a lakebed. Laugh lines that couldn’t be further from the truth. She didn’t laugh much anymore and when she did it was usually followed by a fresh batch of tears. But that wasn’t going to be the case today. This was going to be a very happy day for all of them.

“Logie!” Annie yelled over her shoulder, loud enough for her voice to travel out her bedroom door and down the stairs to her son on the couch. “Remember not to play on the floor and get your clothes dirty.”

“Okay mom,” Logan’s little voice called up, barely audible.

Annie leaned in close to the mirror, gently applying a thin layer of eye shadow. She put on some light pink lipstick and a few drops of foundation on her cheeks, rubbing the liquid into her skin. One of the most common compliments her husband paid her was how she didn’t need makeup to look great. Travis said she was a natural beauty. She believed her husband, but still, a woman needed a little mascara every now and then. Just that extra smear of confidence to stand out and feel secure. Annie wiped off her hands and stood back, turning her face from side to side for inspection.

Having given herself a passing score, Annie left the bedroom, cursing under her breath as she lifted up her bare foot to examine the sharp pinch she’d felt. Lying on the floor was one of Logan’s numerous army men sprawled on its back with its plastic bayonet pointed skyward, blending perfectly with the dark green carpeting. The hideous color had been mutually decided upon when they’d considered how well it would hide the many stains left by a child, or one day quite possibly, children.

“At ease soldier.” Annie kicked the plastic man aside with her hurt foot, shaking her head at the numerous times she stepped on something. At least this time it hadn’t been something soft and squishy.

Annie came down the stairs and went into the kitchen, shaking her head with a little smile as she saw Logan sitting on the floor, digging through his toy box with determination. One thing she loved about her son was his compulsive behavior. If he wanted to play with a certain dinosaur you’d better believe he was going to find it, even if it took him two hours of searching through the multiple stacks of toys throughout the house. Today he was content with the few action figures he’d pulled out of the toy box, laying them down on the floor as he hovered over them, acting out the different voices. Annie knew she should have been angry at his complete disregard for her words, but a good parent knows when to pick a battle and when to simple laugh it off. Annie figured the poor guy had it hard enough without her harping over every little thing. Besides, Travis won’t care if there’s a small patch of dirt on his son’s slacks.

“Are you still hungry?” Annie asked as she poured some apple juice into a travel cup.

“Can I have fruit snacks?” Logan asked without looking up, his mind deeply locked on the strategic battle between a red robot and some kind of superhero.

“A fruit snack? I don’t see an empty bowl of cereal,” Annie said in a playful manner, tapping the counter beside his partially eaten breakfast. She knew this was an argument that would get her nowhere. How children could eat so sparsely and still grow was beyond her.

“Please,” Logan said with a wide grin, hamming it up.

Annie shook her head and walked over to the pantry, tossing her son a small packet of fruit snack. She watched him rip them open and shove half the pack into his mouth. Before the day was out he’d probably consume two to three more packs. Annie just rationalized his eating habits with the knowledge that at least they’re made from real fruit.

“Are you looking forward to seeing daddy?” Annie asked as she took the travel bag from the pantry and set it on the counter, adding three more packets of fruit snacks for good measure.

“I want to show him the new Power Bot you got me,” Logan said brightly, holding up the robot for his mother to admire.

“I think he’d really like that.”

Annie took a moment to watch her son play on the floor, seeing the similarities in his face to Travis’. They both had the same nose and cheekbones. The eyes were hers, but the smile was pure Travis. Every smile made her want to cry, seeing her husband in those stretched lips. Annie couldn’t control the emotion; it overwhelmed her. She turned her back to her son and wept softly, kicking herself for being so weak. It was her goal to keep sadness from their lives. To go on as if this was just a transitional phase and that daddy would be home someday. She knew better of course, but Logie didn’t need to accept that. Not at the tender age of three. He deserved to play with his daddy’s smile and his new toys. Annie wiped the tears and took a slow, calming breath. She turned around and gripped the counter, shaking the lingering depression from her head.

“Okay Pook, let’s get going,” Annie said as she glanced up at the clock above the stove. “Come on. We don’t want to be late and miss daddy’s call.”

Annie took Logan’s hands and pulled him to his feet, helping him carry an armload of this and that out to the car. She tossed the toys beside his car seat in their station wagon and buckled him in. He made the process difficult as he leaned over to grab his toys and of course his blue blanket with the satin trim. You could never leave the house without blankey. God have mercy on your soul if you wandered away without it. Travis had purchased the blanket two months before Logan was born. Since his birth it had never left his side. Once Logie was securely fastened with his mound of toys and stuffed animals nearly engulfing him, Annie came around the front of the car and got behind the wheel.

For the next three and a half hours they passed the time singing children’s songs, playing road trip games like I Spy or the alphabet game. Logan got bored easily and put his attention to the comfort blankey offered between his cheek and the padded headrest of the booster seat. Within ten seconds he was sleeping with his mouth slightly agape. Annie looked up into the rearview repeatedly to steal a glimpse of his precious face.

This was a long trek, but it wasn’t as simple as picking up a phone when it came to calling another planet. The only communication link between the Martian facility and Earth was through TransWorld Inc., the company that built the place. Thankfully the main building was just north of Salem, VA. Better than having to hop on a plane and fly to California or Florida just for a twenty minute conversation with her husband. The company was building the off-world facilities under government contracts and thus was under fire with the public. They saw TransWorld Inc. as an extension of the military being sent to Mars to eventually test weapons of mass destruction or engineer new viruses, perfecting them before they unleashed them back home. Travis had told her what was really going down. There was nothing remotely exciting happening off-world, no doomsday devices or giant laser cannons being constructed with Earth in the crosshairs. But it was the connection with the military that had offered Travis and his unit an alternative to a death sentence. Annie closed her eyes a brief moment to mentally block out the headache. Thinking of her husband being locked away for something that wasn’t his fault made her stomach sour. Sometimes life could be so unfair.

Annie exited off highway 220 just north of Salem and headed down a dirt road that looked too rural for a high tech facility with billion-dollar government funding, but it was there. Anyone within a hundred miles could tell you where they were located after witnessing the last launch of the gargantuan supply ship just over three months ago, looking like a metallic version of Noah’s ark. The road narrowed, lined with tall trees to keep the massive structure relatively hidden. Annie slowed to a crawl as she approached the gate, rolling down her window as three soldiers armed with machine guns approached the car.

“Please turn off your engine and exit the car ma’am,” the soldier standing beside her driver side door ordered in a firm voice. He was the only soldier of the three not aiming a weapon. The soldier stepped aside and stood stiff as a rail while Annie swung the door open and cautiously exited the car, smoothing out her dress as she stood. “I need to see your identification and letter of admittance.”

“Okay, hold onto your panties.” Annie tried to lighten the tension. She ducked back into the car and grabbed her purse, digging through the normal clutter until she found her wallet. She undid the snap and pulled out her driver’s license and the small piece of paper she’d received in the mail. A piece of mail she’d been waiting for since her last communication with Travis four months prior. “Here you go.”

The soldier took the license and the letter and turned back toward the small booth set beside the metal gate. Annie set her arm atop the car and leaned into the open door, waiting patiently as she watched the solider get on the phone and do the standard checks.

“Ma’am, we will need to search your car for contraband,” the soldier standing by the front right tire said as he lowered his weapon, swinging it under his arm so it rested on the strap behind his back.

“Knock yourself out.”

The soldier opened the passenger side door and began looking beneath the seat and through the glove box.

“Don’t move!” The third soldier yelled, pointing the gun at Logan through the window as he awoke.

“Take your goddamn gun out of my son’s face!” Annie yelled, her face red. The veins beneath her skin were visible as her blood boiled through them. “I said now, before I rip off your fucking balls and beat you with them. Does that compute soldier!”

The soldier lowered his weapon and moved to the front of the car, keeping his distance. He may have had the weapon, but the heated look on Annie’s face said no amount of bullets were going to bring her down. The soldier slightly averted his gaze to look at the hood of the car, backing down from the hard stare from Annie. She gave him a single nod and turned her attention back to the first soldier as he stepped out of the booth.

“Your clearance has been approved.” The soldier handed Annie back the paperwork and her license. “Please follow the road to the main turnaround at the front of the building. Leave your keys in the car and turn the engine off.” Without another word the man turned and entered the booth, triggering the thick metal gate to slowly pull apart.

Annie started the car back up and drove toward the gate, pausing at the booth while rolling down the window. “I’d keep that soldier off the front lines if I were you,” Annie said to the man in the booth, motioning with her head toward the soldier that had pulled the gun on Logie. “He seems a bit squeamish to me.”

Annie didn’t wait for a response; she just turned back toward the thin dirt road and headed through the gate. The road wound through the dense trees for a few hundred yards, the dirt road smoothing out to black pavement looking less than a year old. The paved road took her another thirty yards through the forest and then to a turnaround before a very sterile building, TransWorld Inc. across the front in large silver letters made of sculpted steel. The ‘O’ in world had been replaced with a globe of Earth. Annie thought it looked a bit too much, like pulling up to the observatory. She parked the car before the entrance and killed the engine, waiting a brief moment. There was a strange vibe to these types of facilities. No one was ever eating their lunch on the lawns, no landscapers working on the bushes. It always looked so deserted from the outside, as if designed this way to give intruders their last chance to say, “Oh look honey, this place must be deserted. Let’s just go.”

“Are we going to see daddy?” Logan asked, finishing the sentence with a big yawn. His cheeks were red and there were sleep lines across his face. The right side of his head was matted with sweat.

Annie couldn’t help but smile, letting her previous tension over the gun incident melt away as if it’d never happened. She left the keys in the ignition and got out of the car, walking around the front to open the back door for her son. She undid the seatbelt and helped him out of his car seat.