Chapter Four

Call To Duty

Alexis watched in amusement as Ari's face scrunched up in extreme disapproval as she listened to the general on Alexis's phone. In accordance with the general's request, Alexis had given the phone to Ari when they were done talking. Tyler was staring off into space, his shirt collar still in Ari's grip. If Ari's red face was anything to go by, there was going to be a severe, figurative thunderstorm later on… once Alexis had her phone safely tucked away in her pocket so it would not be damaged in the tirade.

Once again Toni Stanton 'defeated' Simmons and successfully found nine pilots to replace the deceased ones with two days to spare until her deadline. Alexis knew what was going to happen after everyone responded to the recall; Tom would arrive, the training drills would return, the pilots would be worked into the general's latest scheme, and then the base would be turned upside-down when Charlie decided to re-surface again.

In other words, life would go back to the same old routine.

Ari sighed as she hung up. "All the rookies are guys. The nearest one was in Santa Fe and he'll be here in two days, 'here' as in the base. Show-off opted to fly in on his personal jet," she grumbled, tossing the cell phone back to Alexis. "Wait here. I'm getting a soda for my headache," she said, walking away while releasing Tyler.

Alexis looked towards the cloudy sky. The last time the sun had been covered it was because of smoke from the fires in the city. Ever since then, she hated it when the sun was covered and would sometimes react negatively towards it. She had gone to Tom for several therapeutic sessions after being released from the hospital, and he determined that she, as well as the other survivors, was suffering from post-traumatic stress, or PST as he called it. Ari, she had heard, had a mild case of survivor's guilt and claustrophobia. Ari had been careful to hide that for a week and a half, but Alexis worried that Ari would crack and then things would become very nasty very quickly.

At least her new wing-mate would not be as much of a jerk as the last one… she hoped.

"Come on dreamer! We don't want to keep the good general waiting!"

She jerked back to reality and then easily caught up with Ari and Tyler as they started to walk away. "At least we can claim seniority over them," she said, sliding into the Camry that was parked nearby after Ari. She easily claimed the passenger seat for herself. "Even you Tyler."

"That sounds nice." Tyler said, smiling. "I'm not at the bottom of the food chain anymore."

"You're not at rock bottom anymore." Ari corrected, flooring the accelerator and nearly collided with the black-striped Camaro. "Good Lord, these city people are appalling drivers," she growled.

"You are an appalling driver." Alexis pointed out.

"What can I say? I'm a pilot, not a driver." Ari whined, jerking everyone as she bumped into the black truck from earlier as she attempted reversing to get out of the Camaro's way. "Took me twenty-nine times to get that damned license," she growled, accelerating forward again, this time clipping the Camaro's front bumper. "Oops, hope he's got insurance," she muttered as she pushed on the gas harder. Alexis held on for dear life as the Camry practically tore out of there, leaving tire marks, baffled drivers and burned rubber in its wake.

Nobody spoke until they were well past the city outskirts. Alexis only panicked slightly and said something when she saw that the speedometer was slowly but steadily climbing. "Ari? Ari! SLOW DOWN!"

The Camry shuddered to a halt on the side of the lonely stretch of highway. Alexis gently pried her friend's fingers off of the steering wheel and laid her friend's head on her shoulder. Ari shuddered several times before speaking, and Alexis was surprised to see Ari's eyes shining.

"You realize what is gonna happen now right? The general is going… to make us go back up in those deathtraps… and, and fly when those… freaks come back… but I don't want to!" she sputtered, sniffling between words. "It's terrifying in those little enclosed spaces when you're going down in a death spiral… and there isn't a… anything you can do to stop it all…" Her words were lost as she buried her head in Alexis's shoulder.

"We can talk about it to Tom at the base okay? Maybe you can talk to the general about it too." Alexis said, wondering how Ari could remember that so vividly; she herself had worked to forget it to make moving on easier. She wished now that she had been paying attention when Tom was lecturing about psychological disorders a few years ago when she was just starting out.

"I don't know if he can help." Ari sniffed. "I told him I was fine just to get out of the therapy sessions after the first two. I don't want him to know…"

"You need help, and I can't do that for you." Alexis murmured. "Only Tom can. We don't have to let Tyler know, if you want."

Ari smiled through her tears. "That would be good. Tyler can be such a lovable bundle of joy, just not when he's a pain in the rear. Don't tell him I said that though. He needs a healthy fear of me," she said, sitting up again and wiping her face with a tissue from the box in the backseat.

"Here, let me drive. You can rest." Alexis said, getting out of the car and easing her friend into the passenger seat. After shutting the car door, she went around the front to the driver's side and got in. She buckled up and waited for Ari to do the same. The keys were still in the ignition and Alexis started the engine when Ari was ready and began to drive away.

"A… Alexis?"

"Don't worry Ari. We'll see Tom first thing when we arrive."

"No, not that. Alexis…" cough, cough "Alexis, we forgot Tyler."

Alexis suddenly became aware of the silent backseat, cursed in a way that would shock her mother, and executed a neat U-turn after checking both ways. She found Tyler waiting by the side of the road right where they had left him. Apparently Ari's erratic driving earlier had made him feel rather ill. The second the car stopped he had stumbled out and leaned over the guardrail so his stomach could react in peace. He had been caught off guard at the sudden departure, and was prepared to start accusing Ari of the crime until he saw her face and exactly who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Not a word." Alexis warned, and he nodded obediently. He settled for watching the endless desert and the occasional cactus go by outside the car window.

When the call for reinforcements at Mission City had first come in over the shortwave, Stanton had responded first because it was their duty and they happened to be at the closest air base to the city, despite a small fact. The base, which also happened to be their destination, was one of the most restricted places in the entire United States of America. It was the military version of Sector Seven in its own right.

Area 51.

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A/N: I do know that sodas do not help with headaches. I also apologize for any errors in this chapter, but I am admittedly not an expert on psychological disorders/conditions. Also, two chapters in one weekend is unusual for me... so it may not happen next time.