A/N: I am very, VERY sorry about the long delay. Been busy with classes and other distractions (along with a straight-up loss of interest) and I have managed to neglect this story. Let it be no more! With Scifi's rearing, my spark of interest has returned, and this thing is back on track. (might not be able to do the sequel I planned though, I reallllllly want to work on other projects, not spend all my time on a fan fiction.) But, enough positive input might sway me… so lets hear it! Would you all like me to wrap this excruciatingly long tale up, or leave a hole for another continuation?
"When can I see my brother?" Jamie spoke, breaking the monotonous drone of the road noise rumbling up from the tires. The boy had been so quiet; Mary was close forgetting that she even had a passenger. She could easily understand his silence though, with all that had happened to him, to everyone, in the last few hours.
"We're heading there now." Mary told him as she glanced at the rearview, seeing the bustling city of Seattle quickly fade behind them. The dramatic change of landscape was one of the things Mary loved about this part of the country. Immense man made structures of steel and glass, surrounded on all sides by the majesty of natures creations. Huge, snowcapped mountains, thick, green forest lining the highway; it would be easy to imagine this environment as a fanciful movie set. Mary thought about how wonderful it would be to just stop the car and get out and stare out into the distance for as far as she could see; enjoy the beauty of the almost unspoiled countryside. But this was no movie set, even thought the events of the last few hours sound like a well-written script. Allie needed her, Mary knew it, and time was not on their side today.
"What she said," Jamie started hesitantly, "what Allie said about… aliens. Is it really true?"
The boy's level of uncertainty confused Mary. He seemed excited and curious, but at the same time nervous and afraid to learn the answer to his question. Mary nodded: "every word…what all did she tell you?"
Jamie shrugged, "a lot of stuff."
"Like what?"
"Like, how she was part alien, and lived in space, and…" Jamie trailed as he searched for more.
"That's all?" Mary asked, "She barely even scratched the surface." Can't blame her for being sparse with the details though.
The car reached the crest of a low hill and a long line of stopped traffic greeted them, Mary could immediately see the reason for the hold up from their position on the hill. A roadblock about a mile up the road, and not just any roadblock, an army roadblock… Mary reached for her radio.
"Brian?" she called. Silence answered her at first, then with a squawk of static the major's voice came over the small speaker.
"Where are you?" he demanded loudly.
Not even a 'hello'… Mary thought, "I'm stuck in traffic. Is this your doing?"
"Yeah…" Bryan said, "we had to land the choppers for refueling, no air tankers around here."
Damn! Can anything else happen to slow us down? Mary thought, asked: "how long till the search can resume?"
"The tru—" a burst of static came over the hand piece, "—minutes, then we will load back up."
"What?" Mary called back.
"I can't hear you Mary…" another wave of static noise roared out of the small speaker.
"Good for nothing technology…" Mary grumbled as she tossed the radio in the back. "Remember this," she spoke to Jamie as she maneuvered the car out of the line of traffic, "there will never be any substitute for face to face communication."
Charlie stood, propped up against one of the multitude of trees that lined the road. The activity, or lack of activity in the group was starting to get to him. Charlie never liked to sit still when he knew he could be doing something to help. And this was his daughter that needed help! Each moment that passed brought with it a building sense of rage, along with the knowledge that there really was nothing he could do. With the helicopters on the ground, their only way of tracking Allie, which was Ka'len, was grounded as well. Ka'len already said that she could not even get a fix on a general direction from the ground. The air was the only way, these men and women knew it just as well as Charlie, and the tension was thick in the air as they all waited helplessly for the fuel trucks.
The Major had sent several groups ahead to continue, but again, without guidance from Ka'len and the helicopters, it was only a move to keep moral up, to make the rest of them feel like they were doing something. False hope is better then total uselessness.
The dedication this group of total strangers displayed, especially Bryan, created a warm sensation in Charlie's chest, a feeling of admiration, respect, and gratefulness that Charlie had never felt for any member of the military or government. It seemed that for once "the man", if not only this one kind hearted Major, was on his side. Placing trust in these people was all he could do, but it was not false trust, Charlie felt secure, and he felt that with the help of these people, Allie would be safe.
Lisa caught Charlie's attention as his eyes scanned over the group, she still sat in the door of the chopper, where he had left her, with that same disconnected look in her eyes.
The first time Allie was taken away was crippling, Charlie could only imagine what Lisa felt now. Just as life seemed to be getting back to normal, this happens and tosses everything in the air again. A more frightening thought was: not getting Allie back at all this time, it was a possibility that Charlie hated to even think about, but it was a possibility nonetheless. How would Lisa handle it? Could she handle it?
Could I handle it?
Charlie approached slowly, "what are you thinking?" he asked. Lisa stirred enough to look at him, but then turned away, returning her gaze to dirt several feet away.
"Everything," she said after a short pause, her voice was low and weak, "and nothing… I don't know."
Charlie took a seat beside her on the side of the aircraft, "everything and nothing at the same time," Charlie nudged her playfully, "did Allie teach you that?"
"That's not funny." Lisa looked back at him with a slight hint of anger on her face, but averted her eyes again, "how can you make jokes about Allie at a time like this?"
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up."
"I don't need to be cheered up. Our daughter is out there alone with some strange man and we don't even know if she can defend herself… or what is going on…" a tear ran down Lisa's cheek, "this is not right, not right at all. Allie said she would stay this time, she said she would never leave us, but she did!"
Charlie pulled Lisa close, "I don't think she went away because she wanted to." He spoke in soothing tones, "and I don't think we have to worry so much, she will be fine."
Lisa grew still for several minutes, then took a breath, said: "you don't know, Charlie, you don't know what this is like."
"What what is like?"
Lisa hesitated, she was unsure of how to tell Charlie this news, she wasn't sure she even wanted to say it. But he had to know. "I… can't feel her."
Charlie held Lisa back so he could look into her eyes, "what does that mean, 'you can't feel her'?"
"Nothing good," Lisa shook her head lightly, letting the implications overwhelm her, "she could be… could be… I don't even want to say it!"
Charlie cradled Lisa back in his arms as her words finally sank in. Lisa's connection… that means Allie could be…
"Hello," a soft, feminine voice interrupted his thoughts.
That voice…Charlie slowly lifted his eyes to see who had approached them, so familiar…his jaw dropped. Before him stood Mary Crawford, and a little boy, but Mary was all he cared to glare at. The woman… he hated her so much, for reasons he could not completely understand. It was almost an inborn reflex, a sense of danger. But Mary appeared with no signs of hostility. She looked and sounded apologetic, if anything.
"Mister and Misses Keys, I'm sure you know who I am…" Mary's voice wavered between her cool mask of confidence, and fear of rejection. Charlie's time as a teacher had taught him to recognize the trait easily.
"Yes, we know who you are." Charlie said as Lisa turned her face up to look at the woman, then she corrected:
"We know who you were, not who you are now."
Mary opened her mouth but closed it again. That statement, it sounded so much like something Allie would say… "Then you already know."
Lisa nodded and dropped her head back onto Charlie's chest. "We know that your Allie's friend now, so we're your friends too." Lisa mumbled, her voice dropping lower with each word.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked as Lisa snuggled tighter against him.
"Tired… very tired," Lisa's voice grew even weaker, "why am I so tired? Why…" a huge yawn interrupted her, "too tired to…"
"Lis…" Charlie gently rocked forward, Lisa did not respond, "are you asleep?" still no response. Charlie cast a questioning glance up at Mary.
She shrugged, with a quizzical expression on her face "must be tired…"
"Can I see my brother now?" Jamie interrupted.
"Oh, yeah," Mary looked past Charlie and Lisa, up into the helicopter but there was no one else inside.
"That boy?" Charlie asked, "Tyler?"
"Yes, Bryan told me he was over here." Mary said.
Charlie looked around, "he and Ka'len were talking… well, he was talking, but I don't know where they went."
"You should not have followed me," Ka'len called back as she gracefully ducked under a thorny branch. Her small group of followers refused to listen though, and continued to follow her deeper into the woods.
"Why wont you tell me?" Tyler asked, "I just want to know how you know how to fly a helicopter… and where are you going?"
"That information is irrelevant..."
"Stop talking like that!"
Ka'len stopped, turned her head just enough to see Tyler and the others out of the corner of her eye, "why are you following me if my manner of speaking bothers you that much?"
"Because you're strange… and we're curious."
"You are strange, and I am curious, but I do not follow you." Ka'len said, as she started moving again.
"Okay, if you cant tell me how you can fly a helicopter, at least tell me where we are going!"
"We are going nowhere… I am going, you are following."
Tyler sighed; Allie's cousin was beyond reason. By far, Kaytlen was the most unusual person he had ever met. Jessica and Seth obviously thought to same, the way they came up beside Tyler, stopped, and watched her move further into the forest.
That girl is determined, Tyler thought, watching the animal like way she maneuvered through the plants, around the trees. Almost as if she could see each move, each necessary footstep, long before she made it.
"What's her problem?" Jessica asked.
"I don't know, she's… odd, very odd." Tyler looked after Ka'len's path one last time as she disappeared behind the leaves and branches. The uncomfortable wetness of their surroundings finally registered as he looked back down at his soaked shirt.
"Lets go back, we're getting drenched out here." Tyler said. But he looked in the direction that Ka'len had gone one last time.
"What about her?" Seth asked in a hollow manner, his disinterest in the fate of the weird girl was coldly evident.
"She doesn't want us to follow," Tyler said, turned to face his friends, "and I don't care anymore. This whole day… I just want to go home!"
Tyler pushed past Seth, heading back toward the road. Seth quickly turned to follow but Jessica did not move.
"What about Allie?" she asked, bringing Tyler to an abrupt halt, "Do you still care what happens to her?"
"Where in the hell are those trucks?" Bryan paced back and forth beside their only mobile communications vehicle. Several young tech's sat inside, hunched over the displays in the back of the half-van/half-APC. One of them looked up.
"We can't get a fix on the GPS signal sir,"
"All satellite comms are all down too," the other man chimed in on cue, "its like a solar flare or something."
Bryan stopped at the door, leaned in, "can you confirm a solar flare?"
"Negative, sir." The first man spoke again, "No solar activity has been report—" all power inside the truck died before he could finish.
"What the hell?" Brian looked forward to the driver, who was already trying in vain to start the engine back up. Then he noticed that the same situation was playing out all around them, the electrical system in every vehicle seemed to have simultaneously died. Even the choppers looked to be offline. "What is this?"
"Backup power is not coming online, sir. We're in the dark."
Bryan did not speak, or nod, or in any other way acknowledge the man, his eyes had already been drawn to the source of the disturbance.
High overhead, three brilliant blue lights with intense white centers danced silently. Bryan, and most of the other men by now, watched in speechless awe as the lights descended lower and lower over the forest, finally settling somewhere out of sight and not very far from the road.