Star Runners (17 page)

President Pierce had rarely been heard or seen during the semester. Teachers mentioned him often and Sharkey seemed to jump at the mere mention of his name. When Austin actually saw Pierce, he looked like a general or a head football coach. Pierce bellowed in a deep voice like a tuba, tossing his hands around with each syllable.

The idea of being inside this man's office forced Austin to pace the room for twenty minutes. When the clock read ten minutes to seven, he ran out of the dorm room. Skylar met him on the lawn, her bright blonde hair tucked in a tight bun and her hands clasped behind her back. Her uniform was flawless, not a wrinkle or a stray piece of lint.

"What do you think this is about?"

Austin shook his head. "I haven't been told anything since you asked me earlier. Honestly, I'll bet we are being given a scholarship for next semester."

"That would make sense. You're probably right."

“You look great.” His face warmed.

“So do you.”

David Keller stood in the main foyer of Terminus as they entered. Keller or "Bear" loomed like a massive statue as he studied a painting on the wall. Broad shouldered and thick, Bear looked like the perfect athlete. He could have been an Olympian.

Austin looked up at Bear as they approached and realized the guy had to be six and a half feet tall. A sandpaper five o'clock shadow darkened his face.

"Bear," he said with a nod.

"Stone," Bear responded without turning from the painting. "You guys heading to the office now?"

"We were about to," Skylar said.

"Okay, I'll go with you," Bear mumbled, his voice low and deep.

As they walked up the spiral stair case leading to the second floor, Austin realized Bear had been waiting on them. The viewing of the painting was a front, a ruse to make sure they knew he wasn't worried about the meeting. Safety in numbers is always true no matter how big you are. The other students left computer stations and followed up the stairs. Austin led the group.

They moved down the hallway of the second floor, their footsteps popping against the hardwood floor. The floorboards creaked with their movement. At the end of the hallway, Sharkey stood next to a cherry wood door with glistening golden knobs. He stood at attention as they approached.

"Right on time, recruits." He turned and opened the door to the president's office.

Austin inhaled as he stared inside.

The room looked like a museum. Ornate carvings lined the fireplace filled with a roaring fire. Two black as night dog statues polished and carved from volcanic glass flanked the mantle. Above the crackling fire, stretching out like a brilliant ray of moonlight on a fog-filled night, the Tizona sword with a silver hilt sat on two steel hooks. Two built in bookshelves stood on either side of the massive bay window behind Pierce's desk. A globe in a brown wheeled case was next to the desk. Austin found nothing strange about the globe, but frowned at the three other globes, one on top of the other connected by a golden metal bar, in a corner next to the window. He had never seen anything like it.

"Welcome."

Even at the low volume, the booming voice of President Pierce commanded attention and ripped Austin's gaze away from the room. Pierce sat on a plush leather couch near the fire. Standing behind him like a security guard, Nubern nodded to Austin as they entered. The nine students filed into the room and lined the space in front of the desk, facing Pierce. When they had all entered, Sharkey slammed the door and remained outside.

For a long moment, the sound of the crackling fire and ticking grandfather clock filled the room. Pierce stood and took a deep breath, his chest and shoulders swelling, making him even larger.

"You are wondering why you are here tonight, I'm sure," he said, pacing the room. He grabbed a glass of ice water from the mantle and sipped. "You all are here at this moment because you are the best. Out of the nearly sixty students that arrived in August, you are all that remains. Without a doubt, you will be invited back next semester. Congratulations."

Austin's eyes met Nubern's for a brief moment.

"I have been contacted by important dignitaries far from here," Pierce said as he tossed a paper in the raging fire. "It seems they need our help. It is quite an extravagant trip and it would be completely for charity to help your fellow man. The journey would be long, I assure you, but it would be for a fantastic cause."

He turned to face the line of students and looked at each of them for a few seconds before continuing. However, there is, as you say, a catch."

Taking two long steps forward, Pierce stood close to Austin. "This charity trip would cause you to miss your winter break and it could possibly bleed into next semester. Any missed class time would be made up for college credit. You will have to decide tonight whether or not you are going and be down on the grand staircase at four in the morning tomorrow. You don't have much time to make this decision. I understand that. Tizona would be sure your families are notified of the event should you decide to come.

"I can tell you this trip will be unlike any you have ever taken. You will see more, accomplish more and make more of a difference than you ever thought possible. If you decided to stay, nothing more will be said. You will be allowed to go about your holiday plans with no consequences. You should be aware that if there is a delay in the charity trip for any reason, you might be taking next semester's classes on a different campus as many of Tizona's faculty will be on this trip. Does everyone understand?"

Austin nodded. A charity trip? What were they going to do, build houses for people or drill for wells in the middle of the jungle? He wanted to go on the trip, but he missed home. He glanced at Nubern who revealed nothing in his expressionless face.

"Alright then," Pierce said, clapping his hands. "I will see some of you in the morning."

*****

Austin packed everything he needed in his black backpack and sat on his bed, leaning against the cinder block wall. The chill of the wall seeped through his uniform.  He propped his legs up at the foot of the bed. All signs of memory had been removed from the room. What had been his home for the past four months now looked institutional: the tan tile flooring, the white walls and the wood cabinets. Nothing remained in the two study nooks. He remembered Stetson buried into his laptop during those early days of the semester.

He sighed. Poor guy never stood a chance here. Probably wouldn't stand a chance at any school. He wondered what had become of Stetson since he went home and had lost the scholarship. It could have happened to Austin. He could be working at the fruit stand and dreaming about another chance for college that would probably never come. In the years before his father's death when the idea of college first became a discussion around the dinner table, Dad always said it was a bad idea to take too much time off between high school and college. He thought it would be hard to go to school once you started making money. Dad had gone to night school for years to get his degree and he didn't want Austin struggling to do the same.

After a full semester in one of the toughest schools Austin could imagine, he had passed his classes and maintained a full ride. He closed his eyes and relished the moment, realizing he did not have to study or do homework for at least a couple of weeks. No classes to attend tomorrow, just the excitement of a trip without a definite outcome. Tizona planned to take him to a faraway land. He would meet people from another country. Austin had never been out of the United States before and now he would travel abroad to make a difference in the world.

Perhaps a mission trip wasn't such a bad way to spend the holiday.

The clock read just after midnight. In four hours, he was expected in Terminus. He had written everyone explaining the situation; Mom, Kadyn, and even Josh although he wondered if his old friend even had the time to respond.

Josh has his thing and I have mine, he thought.

Kadyn would be bummed out, but she would understand. It wasn't every day you have the chance to go on a trip abroad. But he felt a lingering sense of guilt about leaving Mom at Christmas. Try as he might, he couldn't shake the thought of her sitting in front of their tree, stockings full of goodies hanging over the fireplace.

Even though Austin had few details, the prospect of the mission trip excited him. He tossed and turned for another hour, trying to force himself to sleep. By two o'clock, he debated whether or not it was worth it to try to sleep anymore. He considered waking up and heading over to Terminus to play on the computer.

When his alarm sounded, it jolted him and he slapped it. He scooped up his bag and swung it around his shoulder while slipping on his dark blue Tizona hat. He surveyed the room and didn't see anything remaining. With one last glance in the mirror, Austin left his room with twenty minutes to spare before he had to be in Terminus.

He walked across the gravel in the darkness and listened to the early morning sounds of the swamp. A large dark blue van with the Tizona sword painted on the side in reflective white paint had pulled in front of Terminus. No one was inside the van and Austin held his breath as he strolled up the stone staircase. As he gripped the iron door handle and felt the chill, he took a deep breath and walked inside, wondering if he would be going on this trip all alone.

Bear stood alone in the main lobby with his back toward Austin, engrossed in the countless black and white photos adorning the walls. As Austin approached, Bear turned his broad shoulders half way around and stared at Austin. The big guy smiled, his eyes red and puffy.

"Morning," he said in a raspy voice.

Austin nodded. "Hey, man."

"Sleep?"

Austin shook his head. "Barely. You?"

"Naw. I tried."

A door shut at the end of the hall and Skylar strolled down with her hands thrust in a blue Tizona hooded sweatshirt. She yawned and managed a grin.

"Morning, guys." She glanced at her watch. "Are we it?"

"Looks like it," Bear said. "Does that make us smarter or dumber?"

Austin snorted. "I'd rather not know."

They sat in silence. The grandfather clock ticked. Skylar covered her mouth as she yawned again. Austin suppressed a yawn, keeping his teeth clinched.

"Your yawns are contagious," he said, pushing Skylar's shoulder.

"Sorry. It's so early and I thought finals were over."

"They are. This is supposed to be the fun part."

"Good morning, recruits," Jonathan Nubern said, his voice echoing. "Glad to see some of you made it this morning."

Nubern marched down the steps with Chief Javin Sharkey close behind, a radio pressed to his ear. The two men did not smile. Instead, Nubern nodded at the students as he passed by without slowing.

"Shall we change some lives?" Nubern said without turning as he pushed through the front doors.

Skylar and Austin exchange glances as Bear followed without saying a word.

They passed through the doors and into the cool night air. As Nubern slipped into the front of the van, Sharkey slid the large side door open. The students entered; Bear sitting in the center seat while Austin and Skylar took the rear. Sharkey slapped the door shut and walked around to the driver side. The engine rumbled to life and they moved away from Terminus. As the van drove down the dirt path, Austin turned and watched Terminus disappear in the early morning fog. The headlights sent out beams of white. Nothing recognizable appeared on either side of the van other than random vegetation and moss hanging from trees.

Sharkey drove away from Terminus toward the main gate for a few minutes before taking a sharp right and heading toward the swamp. Austin winced.
Not the swamp again.

As they bounced around in the back seat of the van, Skylar reached out and grabbed Austin's hand.

"Where are we going? We're not heading toward to the main gate," Skylar whispered.

"I'm not sure."

The van bounced down the path. After ten minutes, the van slowed and then halted with a screech of the brakes.

"We're here," Nubern said and exited the van.

Austin peered through the thick fog. Two lights burned off to the left, but Austin couldn't see anything through the condensation on the window. Bear turned around, his face wrinkling in confusion.

"So, ah, we going to get out?" he said in a deep, quiet voice.

Austin shrugged. "I guess so."

"I thought we were going to an airport?" Skylar asked.

"I don't know anymore than you," he said and reached forward to slide the door back. "Let's go."

Without waiting for Bear, Austin jumped out of the van and his shoes sank into the mushy ground. The damp, all too familiar smell of swamp rot filled his nose. The sounds of insects surrounded him as the other two students jumped down from the van. He frowned and couldn't believe he was back in this swamp.

"How long did you make it in the Gauntlet?" Austin asked as Bear stepped next to him.

Bear snorted. "They found me the second day. Wasn't quiet enough."

"Alright, let's go," Sharkey said from behind. "Your ride's waiting."

Austin walked toward the two lights beaming in the fog.

Nubern stood beneath one of the lights like a beacon in the darkness. He gestured to his right. "Watch your step."

Austin looked to his left, saw the faint outline of an airboat. A Tizona staff member stood at the wheel and nodded when their eyes met. Austin held back the urge to roll his eyes and complain. The thought of going back on the airboat and back into this swamp made his stomach turn, but he bit his tongue. If this charity trip was a disguised sequel to the Gauntlet and if he gave up his Christmas break, it would be tough to keep his mouth shut.

As the students slid into the back of the airboat, Skylar reached for Austin's hand again as she settled between the guys. She trembled.

Bear leaned over. "I think the students back at the dorm are the smart ones.”

Nubern boarded last, the boat rocking as he entered. He sat on a seat facing the students as Sharkey and the other Tizona staff member boarded. The engine roared to life like an explosion ripping the silence from the swamp. Birds fluttered through the treetops. 

The airboat wailed and moved away from the dock. The van’s outline at the dock disappeared in the darkness. As the frigid air cut into his face, Austin kept his head low.

"I hope we're going somewhere warm," Bear said.

"Don't get your hopes up for that," Nubern said.

Bear pressed his hands to his lips and blew into them, trying to get some warmth. He rubbed his hands together and sighed. Skylar yanked the hood down over her head and covered everything but the center of her face.

The boat slowed after several minutes, the air appearing considerably warmer. The engine shut off and they coasted. A structure materialized out of the morning fog; a rundown, old, wooden shack standing on stilts in the water. A lone yellow light burned at the front of the building with no windows. Moss hung down from the roof like drapes, some of it dipping into the still water. Stars twinkled along the water’s surface. The structure wasn't much bigger than a shack where someone would keep their yard tools, but it stretched a dozen feet above the water.

"We're here." Nubern stood and tossed a rope to Sharkey.

Sharkey jumped out on a dock beneath the building and tied the boat. "Everybody out."

Austin stepped off the boat and the boards creaked. He reached back and offered a hand to Skylar and Bear.

"Where are we, sir?" Skylar said, her eyes fixed on the building.

"Where we need to be," Nubern said. "Follow me."

Nubern walked up the wooden stairs slick with moss and mold.

Was it another test? Or was it really part of a mission trip? Perhaps the needy family was in this shack, but who would live in the middle of a swamp? What kind of a life would they have out here?

Nubern paused at the front of a cracked, broken door. "At this moment, I want you to wipe your minds clear of any preconceptions you may have. Keep an open mind. Keep your eyes open. And let's get to our destination. We have a long journey ahead, and once we go through this door, there's no coming back. Got it?"

Skylar stared at Austin, her eyes wide. His heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Nubern opened the door.

Austin reached out and slid his fingertips along the smooth, cold steel wall. Their footfalls echoed on the metal flooring. With each step, his foot bounced back like a rubberized running track. A green light glowed at the end of the hall, sending a cool emerald hue across the group. At the front of the line, Nubern stopped at a stairway leading down. He gestured forward and Bear continued following as Skylar and Austin brought up the rear.

“Take them to number three, Chief,” Nubern said.

Austin stared at Nubern as he passed, wishing the man would give some idea about the purpose of this place. From the outside, it looked like a beat up old shack. But Nubern said nothing and Austin strolled past.

The stairway stretched for one-hundred yards and reminded Austin of the massive stairways he'd seen at stadiums. When they reached the bottom, Austin knew this portion of the structure had to be under water. As his eyes adjusted to the dim green light, he realized they were not alone.

Three men dressed in dark blue uniforms similar to Tizona but with different emblems of white wings crossed across their breast pockets stood with their hands clasped behind their backs. The men did not acknowledge the newcomers and remained focused on the wall. Behind them, polished steel pipes with blinking lights lined the walls. Computer screens of various sizes displayed readouts Austin didn't understand. Some screens filled with numbers while others had shapes or graphs. In the center of the room, a large cylindrical silver pipe stretched along the floor like a torpedo tube. A silver hatch the size of a person was in the center of the pipe. An alternating red and green light blinked on the top of the hatch.

"Carry on, men," Sharkey said as he marched into the room.

As if robotic, the three men came to life. They poured over the various computer screens pushing buttons and pulling levers. The tallest of the three, a man with a chiseled jaw and jet black hair, slipped on a headset as he checked the screens. He murmured into the headset, but Austin couldn't understand what was being said. Radio static crackled and the room's emerald glow dissolved to crimson.

"Line up here," Sharkey ordered, his finger pointed at the floor. With his other hand, he pointed at Bear. "You'll be first."

Bear shifted the weight on his feet. He glanced at Skylar and Austin.

"What?" Sharkey asked. "You need a written invitation? Get up here, recruit."

Bear stepped forward like a student getting called out for talking in class. His feet shuffled across the steel floor. While Bear moved across the room, Austin watched the other men working at their stations. They moved with purpose as if they had been in the strange facility for years. Why would the school have staff out here in the middle of the swamp? Or were these staff from a different school? Judging by the winged logo on their chest, they definitely weren't like any Tizona staff Austin had seen.

After what seemed like an eternity, Bear stepped in front of Sharkey and towered over the security chief.

"When you first lie down in the tube, I want you to exhale deeply," Sharkey said. "Try to relax. Close your eyes and hum if you have to. That sometimes helps."

"Helps with what?" Bear whispered.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine." Sharkey gripped the hatch and yanked it open. With a snap hiss of released gasses, the hatch opened. White plumes of vapor seeped onto the floor like a thick fog. "Get in."

Bear shot a glance toward Austin.

"Come on, recruit! Move it!"

A pulsating hum filled the room and increased in intensity. Bear slipped into the tube and stretched out on his back.

Sharkey leaned over him. "Cross your arms over your chest and remember what I said about relaxing. You'll be there in a moment."

Without another word, Sharkey slammed the hatch shut and turned a valve on the pipe. He keyed a few buttons and turned to the staff in the corner, nodded and stepped away from the pipe. The hum in the room increased and popped. The lights in the room flickered. When Sharkey opened the hatch, Bear was gone.

"You're next," Sharkey said as he motioned to Skylar.

She turned around and looked at Austin.

"It'll be okay," Austin whispered and touched her shoulder. "It'll be fine."

Skylar bit down on her bottom lip and closed her eyes. She nodded several times as if trying to convince herself everything would be alright.

She slipped into the pipe and Sharkey repeated his instructions. Without asking if she understood everything, Sharkey slammed the hatch down. Once again, the hum in the room intensified and culminated in a loud popping sound.

"Alright, Stone, you're last."

Austin’s heart pounded into his throat. He thrust his hands in his back pockets as he stepped forward. "Where is Nubern?"

"He'll meet you there. Come on! We're on a schedule."

Austin stepped to the pipe and craned his neck for a better view. He couldn't see anything in the pipe. No dials or gadgets. No wires hanging down or gasses escaping.

Sharkey nudged him forward. "Get in."

Austin stretched out in the pipe, felt the cold of the steel through his uniform. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled with static electricity.

"Alright, cross your arms over your chest and close your eyes if you want."

Austin nodded and Sharkey slammed the hatch shut.

Complete darkness surrounded him. His ears popped and a green translucent wave shimmered around him as if he floated in a pool. Austin gasped as his stomach twisted and dropped like a roller coaster. The humming sound turned into a roar for two seconds, and Austin felt the sensation of dropping in a free fall.

The hum ceased and the shimmering green wave disappeared. The hatch moved back with a hissing sound and Austin figured something went wrong. A bright piercing light exploded into the pipe, forcing Austin to squint. The red glows no longer filled the room, replaced by a florescent yellow. As his eyes adjusted, someone stood outside the pipe looking down at him.