It had been nearly three weeks
since Hein lost it all on that fateful day in San Francisco. The walls begin to shake as he listened to
his music. He rested in his chair with his
eyes closed, head tilted back towards the ceiling. The organ thundered its melody into every crack and crevice in
the room. People outside were starting
to wonder what was going on.
Wachtet Auf—the sleepers awake—that
is what I need to do, Hein thought to himself. It's been three weeks, but I'm still pouring over the details.
I'm going to have to move on if I'm
going to have any chance of recovery.
But he couldn't stop, and he winced as he thought about what he'd lost.
Last Christmas.
He still had that flight pad that Jamie had given him. Their vacation was coming up. Opening his desk, he drew out the data
pad. He still remembered her smile as
she gave it to him. It has been from
Santa of all people…
The memories of Jamie and little
Alyssa were taking their toll on Hein.
An uncontrollable urge to cry had hunched him over in his chair, head
turned towards his lap. He clutched the
flight data pad tightly in both hands.
Tears were running down both of his cheeks. "I'll go", he finally croaked between the sobs. "Just as we'd planned."
***
The very next day Hein went to
London, and traveled onward to Abingdon at the edge of the Thames.
The sky was a bit overcast, but visibility was still decent. The late afternoon fog had not yet rolled
in. He had already checked his bags and
his got himself a room at the Yorkshire Inn.
He had a single bedroom on the second floor. But since it had been a long day, Hein wanted to get himself a
drink. He headed for the nearest tavern
he could find.
He found a lofty Scottish pub and
decided to go in. The place was better
than he was expecting: it wasn't smoky, and actually it was a little on the
quiet side. Hein pulled himself up a
stool and began to scan the menu of liquors that the bartender stocked. He found something he liked: Bailey's Irish
Crème.
Hein ordered himself a tall glass
and asked the man to fill it with ice.
He wanted his to be practically frozen.
Hein grabbed the frosty glass and took a sip of the mint liquid. It tasted just as good as the last time he'd
had it: Christmas with his relatives.
Hein did a silent "Here's to you, old friends" and drank the rest of his
drink.
He ordered himself another glass
and soon polished it off, but by now he was starting to feel a little looser.
He thought about taking his chances and conversing with the local folk. The British always had such intriguing
accents.
"Hello" Hein said to a
cherry-faced man with red hair. He had
a slight beard and was dressed in a business suit.
The man gave Hein a glance before
saying "Aye. Aren't from 'round here
are ye?"
"No, I just flew in from out of
town."
"You from the States" the man
asked? "I've heard dreadful news about
San Francisco." Hein wished he hadn't heard that.
"Yes…yes I am, and I know." He
replied.
"Where ye from?"
Hein didn't feel like lying to the
man, so he told him the truth. "San
Francisco."
The man blinked a few times before
he finally responded. "Aye." He ordered another beer for himself and also
one for Hein. "This one's on me
fellah." Hein couldn't help but smile.
When their drinks came, the man grabbed one and raised his glass to toast:
"To San Francisco, may she rest in peace." Hein did the same, but had to close his eyes to hide this mist.
***
The next morning had been
brilliantly sunny—well as least as much as you could get in a barrier
city. He had bought passage aboard a
tour boat that still surfed the preserved portion of the Thames.
Hein had brought his sunglasses
and had taken a seat by himself on the end.
He watched the shore as the boat shook and slowly crept out onto the
river. There weren't any birds yet, but
people were trying to put fish back into the river. Hein tried to imagine what it looked like before the Phantoms had
came. Lush vegetation, birds, insects,
maybe even some small animals. A
beeping sound coming from his pocket sorely brought him back to the real
world. It was a call from the
military. Hein sighed and answered the
call.
"Hello, Colonel Hein speaking"
"Colonel, this is Captain James
McPhele. A ship with the named the Black
Boa just docked and they offloaded a woman who was in critical
condition. She was infected with the
Virus sir."
"She was what?" Hein
exclaimed.
"Yes, she was infected, but the
station science team thought that they could save her."
"Dammit…alright, I'll be back as
soon as I can." Hein ended the call.
Ten minutes later, the boat was
back at the dock and Hein was already paging for a taxi to get him back to his
hotel.
***
When Hein arrived back on the
station, he was furious. How dare
someone cut his vacation short, and to add insult to injury, bring someone infected
with the Virus on board his station.
Hein stormed out of the transport shuttle and made way for the science
lab.
When he got there he saw doctor
Cid and opened his mouth to shout. Just then he noticed Aki look up from her
spot on the bed. She was resting there
with her feet dangling over the side.
She wore a gray suit and had several cords snaking out of something
attached to her chest. All the anger and torment that had built up over the
last day melted away. He couldn't
shout—not at her.
Hein sighed and asked "She the one
whom I've heard so much about?" He
tilted his head in Aki's direction and gave her a half-smile.
"Yes" Cid replied.
"Alright, but is she a danger to
the station?" Hein returned his gaze to
the aged scientist.
"No, I've managed to stabilize her
condition…"
"You did what? Stabilize her
condition—how?"
"It's a long story…"
"Well make sure you tell me about
it in your report. I expect to hear
from you tomorrow morning."
"Understood". Hein stole another glance at Aki and turned
around to walk out of the lab.
The click of his boots echoed as
he walked down the station corridor.
But he couldn't take his mind off that angelic face of hers. I've got to talk to her, he
thought. She's probably been through
a lot in the past day. Heck I've been
through a lot in the past few days.
Hein pondered his options as he continued down towards the elevator
shaft at the end. Once he arrived, he
pressed the entrance button and the twin steel-blue doors whooshed open. He stepped inside and selected his floor.
***
Gray rode in his train on the long
trip from New York to Atlanta. The cold metallic interior gleamed with the glow
of the white florescent lights above.
Even though in modern trains the clickety-clack was gone, everyone
still heard it—it was natural. An air conditioner above whined as it sputtered
bits of cold air towards his direction.
He was alone in the car with the
exception of one other man in his forties.
He never seemed to tire of reading the numerous newspaper pads he had
sprawled across his lap. Gray hadn't
tried to talk to him yet, but he thought about it. Would give me something else to think about, he concluded.
He'd spent the last few hours
doing what he was doing now: musing over Aki.
He was crushed when she disappeared for Zeus. She never did return any
of his messages. After a few weeks of
panic, he decided that she'd moved on and he should probably do the same. Gray put himself on the next tour of duty he
could find.
The Atlantic-bound train continued
onward towards the forsaken city of the old south.
***
It had been almost a week since
Aki had arrived at Zeus and Hein had only briefly spoken to Aki. Strong as he was, he always was scarred away
whenever he tried to start up a conversation with her. He always blanked out before he managed to
say very many words. He wasn't used to
this and it was terribly frustrating.
He tried thinking about several things to say—her health for one. She was recovering rather quickly, but Hein
didn't want to try to discuss the ins and outs medical trivia, nor did he think
he could learn anything new that wasn't already covered in Sid's detailed
report.
But today was going to be
different he told himself. Hein finally
brought himself to talk to her. He
gathered his wits and strung out a list of things he wanted to say. As the steely blue doors of the elevator
opened, he stepped out and began the slow walk towards the science lab. Emotions and other thoughts were boiling
inside his head; he clenched and unclenched his fists as he stepped. He was
nervous, but there was one thing that he had sorely wanted ever since visiting
Abingdon: company. And today he had
decided that he was going to invite Aki over for dinner.
Hein arrived at the entrance of
the lab and stopped. He closed his eyes
and took a deep breath, then stepped forward.
The absolute last thing he was expecting was to run into anyone, so he
was fairly surprised when he felt someone's shoulder collide with his own. Hein's eyes flew open to see whom he'd
crashed into. His eyes widened as he
realized who it was.
"Aki" he stumbled. "Oh…sorry—I wasn't paying attention."
She smiled and said, "It's
alright." She started to turn away and
Hein saw that unless he acted now, his chances of dining for two were slipping
away from his clutches.
"Aki" he said again. She stopped.
"Yes?"
"Um…" He swallowed. "I…uh…am
having dinner tonight and was wondering if you would like to join me." She
blinked and tilted her head. At least
she didn't frown. "If it's alright with you of course—I know you've had a
pretty busy week…"
"Yes" she cut him off.
"Yes?" Hein was confused, his brow
furrowed.
"Yes—I'll join you for
dinner." Hein almost did a double
take. He simply could not believe what
he had heard—she had accepted. It took
him a few more moments before he finally spoke again.
"Seven OK for you?" he squeaked.
"Yes"
"OK…um…I'll wear my suit." Hein didn't know how or why that slipped
out, but he didn't care, he would be having company tonight.
"And I'll bring a dress," Aki
replied. Hein blinked. "But I really
have to go—Sid is waiting for me—see you at seven."
Hein watched her go, then just
stared into oblivion for a few moments.
He would finally be dining with someone else. Tonight—and with Aki. A
large grin began to form on his face.
***
Hein was combing his hair when he
heard the doorbell chime. He took one
final look at himself and stuffed the bristled instrument into his pocket then
headed for the door. What waited for
him outside he would never forget. Aki wore a silky black dress that hid and
revealed diamond-like sparkles as the lights shined on it. It came up over her shoulders and came down
to a "V" in the front. A small spit in
the side hinted at the milky skin of her legs underneath. It drove Hein wild to see such a stunning
woman at the entrance of his home.
Nothing in the world could stop
Hein from banishing the adolescent grin continued to grow on his face. "Hello Aki" he finally said.
"Hi Douglas, mind if I come in?"
she asked
"Please," he replied.
Hein had already set the
table. He had set out green glass
dishes lined with golden rims. He had
brought out his best silverware and crystal glasses. Two burning golden candles rose out of each side of the table. A
small glass swan stood at the center—it was filled with water and contained a
solitary rose.
He took her hand, walked her over
to the table and removed the rose from the swan. "This is for you," he said.
Aki's face radiated warmth as she
said "Thank you."
Hein smiled again. "If you'll take your seat, I'll bring us our
dinner."
"Do you need any help?" she asked.
"Thanks, but I'll be fine." It wasn't entirely true, but Hein would
never be able to forgive himself if he spilled something on Aki's luxurious
dress.
Hein went into his kitchen and
removed the bottle of Merlot chilling in his refrigerator, then set it on the
counter. Opening a drawer, he removed
his corkscrew and proceeded to unseal the bottle. It smell that followed the pop was wonderful.
Hein returned to his dinning room
and asked Aki for her glass. He poured
her and himself half a glass, then set the wine on the table and pushed the
cork back in. "One more moment he
said."
Aki let out a soft laugh and said,
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Hein put on his mitts and opened
the oven to remove a steaming pan of breaded chicken. When he had placed it on his counter top, he retrieved two
foil-wrapped potatoes from his secondary oven.
Hein took off his mitts and searched around for the plates. Hein cursed himself for forgetting to bring
them back in when he got the wine, but once more headed back into the dining
room. Aki was still there waiting for
him. She was still wearing her
beautiful smile.
"I'll need your plate, please," he
finally managed to say.
"Oh…of course," she said as she
handed him the green dish.
"Almost ready," he replied as he
scooped his own plate off the table.
Hein set the dishes next to the
pan on the counter and used tongs to place a piece of the breaded poultry on
each plate, then the same with the baked potatoes. "How much corn do you want?"
"Just a little," she answered.
Hein removed the lid from the
steaming pot and placed a few spoonfuls of the brilliant yellow kernels on both
plates. Once he'd recapped the pot, he
grabbed both plates and headed for the door.
Aki's eyes lit up once she saw the contents of the steaming dishes. Hein grinned as he placed one of them in
front of her, then the other on his side.
"But let me get one last thing and then we can start."
Aki raised an eyebrow and asked,
"You have more?"
Hein only laughed and said, "No,
just the accoutrements, that's all." He
returned carrying a saucer of butter and a small bowl with sour cream. "For the potatoes," he said.
Hein set the two remaining dishes
on the table and put his napkin on his lap.
"Hope you like it—I had to chase that buzzard around for half an hour
before I finally caught him."
Aki laughed and poked "I'll bet it
was fast."
"Indeed it was." Hein raised his glass and said "Cheers." Aki did the same and they clinked their
glasses together.
***
Dinner that night was absolutely
splendid. Hein was beside himself to be
eating with people again. But the best
was yet to come.
They walked together back to her
room. Hein took her hand and kissed it.
"See you again tomorrow?"
"Yes," she replied. Hein grinned. They stared at each other for a moment before Hein realized what
she was waiting for. It dawned on him
that he was going to be able to get what he sought after the whole evening: a
kiss. Aki closed her eyes and she
reached to embrace him. Hein bent down
and initiated his ascent into heaven.
That moment was the happiest he had had since San Francisco.
When they finished, Hein stared
into those incredible eyes and squeezed her hand.
"See you tomorrow," he said. A wide grin leapt onto Aki's face. Hein let her go and watched as she opened
the door. She gave him one last glance
and stepped inside. Hein smiled to
himself and turned back towards the direction of his home.
