Chapter 19

After about twenty minutes of nervous waiting and trying to avoid being seen, the cargo doors suddenly slammed shut and we were plunged into total darkness.

--There's no turning back now, guys,-- said Sam. --Ferdie, I hope to God this was a good idea.--

--We'll be fine, Sam!-- he said chirpily. He was in a very good mood, like a little kid about to set off on a long and exciting holiday. --In a couple of hours, our journey will have come to an end. We'll meet the resistance!--

--Yes, and then a whole new battle will begin,-- said Philip impatiently.

--Another battle against the Yeerks, Philip. Another blow for them, another step for mankind? That's something to look forward to, surely?--

--I agree,-- I said. --We can do so much for our fellow humans. Fighting alongside the resistance? After what I've seen and done, I'm all ready for it.--

--Well, we've got to get through this first,-- said Sam.

Soon, our fly bodies felt a violent rumbling, followed by vibrations running through our bodies. The engines were powering up to maximum, and we were taxiing towards the runway.

--God, I wish I was by a window,-- said Ferdie. --A journey in a Concorde and I'm a fly! And to think we're just a few feet from a load of famous people!--

--Famous people who are probably going to be made into Controllers,-- Philip said darkly.

--Not if we can help them.--

--Flawless, this is only a hitching-a-lift mission. Not a rescue mission. We're not doing anything more than flying to California and working out where the Yeerk headquarters are, then find the resistance. No battles if we can help it. Four of us can't free a load of potential hosts.--

The vibrations died down for a few minutes, as the plane reached the start of the runway, pausing as the pilot received his clearance instructions. Suddenly, we were hurtling forwards at over a hundred miles an hour, and gaining speed quickly. Then, the vibrations became less severe as the Concorde left the ground and took off.

--We're in the air, guys,-- said Sam unnecessarily. Being in the bodies of flies, it was a very different feeling than being a human in an aeroplane. Normally, as a human, you suddenly feel a lot heavier, like you're glued to your seat, as the nose of the plane points towards the sky and gains altitude so quickly. The times I've flown in an aeroplane, my ears have always popped due to the changes in atmospheric pressure. But as flies, we felt none of that. We just stayed in our little spots on the ceiling of the cargo compartment, our fly bodies not complicated enough to be effected by the changes.

--I think we'd better to a quick demorph now,-- said Philip, --before the air pressure becomes too low for our human bodies to handle easily. The flight is over two hours, so we'll have to do another demorph later, but better to do one at the highest altitude than two.--

--Isn't the place pressurised?-- I asked.

--The passenger compartment will be. This part might be, but not to such an extent. If you get to human and find your ears popping, just swallow, and remorph as quickly as possible.--

We demorphed, glad that it was too dark for our eyes to make out the horrible changes that we were happening to our bodies. But there was no escape from the weird feelings you get from morphing. It doesn't hurt, but it feels like it should. Like when you go for a local operation and the doctors give you drugs to numb the pain. Morphing was like that.

--Ow!-- exclaimed Ferdie. Ok, obviously sometimes morphing does lead to pain.

--What?-- asked Sam.

--I just lost my grip on the ceiling!-- he cried. --Fell on a load of bags!--

--You muppet, Flawless,-- said Philip. --Did it not occur to you to get upright first?--

Unfortunately, this had not occurred to me either. My sticky pads at the end of my fly legs suddenly turned into smooth human palms, and I fell down to the floor with a bump.

--Obviously it didn't occur to Mags, either,-- laughed Sam.

We quickly completed our demorphs, and huddled together for a few minutes in the little compartment, getting our breaths back. Ferdie made a fool out of himself again by trying to stand up and banging his head on the ceiling. It was obviously a lot lower that we'd imagined it to be - it had seemed like a vast cavern when we were flies.

"Muppet," muttered Philip again.

"You're lucky I can't see where you are, Philip, or I'd throw a bag at you,-- Ferdie replied.

"Just as well then," said his brother, satisfied that he had won this argument.

"We should remorph," said Sam. "It's getting cold in here and my ears are popping."

"Not very much space, either," I said, picturing the fly in my head again, and feeling the changes begin. I concentrated on making myself smaller first, and soon found the limited space was becoming as large as a football field.

The journey took just over two and half hours in total. The Concorde would land in LA, technically, at the pretty much the same time that it had departed in New York, due to the three-hour time zone difference. We spent the majority of this time as flies, carrying out a very quick de- and remorph after two hours to avoid being trapped. It was a rather dull and uneventful two and a half hours journey, but none of us talked very much, even to counteract the boredom. To be honest, I think we were all making the most of having nothing to do. There would be plenty of action later, I was sure. However, a few minutes after Philip estimated that we would be landing soon, Sam suddenly announced a thought that I for one, thought should have been addressed earlier.

--Houston, we, er, have a problem,-- she said suddenly.

--What do you mean?-- I asked. --What sort of problem?--

--We have to leave this plane as flies,-- she said. --But flies have awful eyesight. When we get out, how are we going to know where to go, or where to demorph? We have no idea what the airport is like.--

There was a few seconds silence.

--We had enough trouble finding our way to the plane,-- said Philip.

--Can't we just fly upwards and look for a roof?-- asked Ferdie.

--What if there are security cameras?-- Sam responded. --Flies can't make out details like that.--

--One of us will have to morph an animal that can see for enough, and can get us to somewhere safe,-- said Philip. --Something quick, something small, something that can slip past the guards unnoticed. Like a bat, or a maybe a snake.--

--I don't think any of us have any morphs like that,-- Sam replied.

--There will probably be loads of Controllers around,-- I said. --Who'll be on the lookout for animals. If they see any, they might guess who we are - or assume they are resistance. Whichever, they'll try and kill us.--

--Well, the other alternative is to risk demorphing in public, then we'll definably be in for it.-- Sam said. She thought for a second. --What morphs do we have that will get us past the baggage handlers?--

--I've got a mouse,-- Ferdie said. --You could ride as flies on my back. Or a scorpion? I haven't tried that one out yet.--

--What good's a scorpion?-- scoffed Philip. --And besides, I really don't think you should be the one responsible for getting everyone out. You did rather mess that ferret manoeuvre up, didn't you?--

--Well, I apologise for putting my ideas on the table,-- Ferdie retorted sarcastically.

--Guys,-- said Sam, trying to resolve peace. --I like the idea about three of us riding as flies on someone's back. But I think I should be the one to go. It's going to be a pretty dangerous mission, getting past them unseen, and then finding somewhere safe to demorph.--

No one could disagree with that. --Sure,-- I said. --What morphs do you have? Hare? They could probably get out pretty easily.--

--I was thinking crow,-- Sam said. --It would be easiest to get out, and I could find somewhere like a roof to get to.--

--Ok,-- said Philip. --Well, I can't be sure, but I think we are descending now. In a few minutes, we should demorph and remorph to reset the two-hour limit, and Sam can go crow then.--

He said this as a statement of fact, but I could tell there was a hint of a question in there, as though he was gaining approval from Sam.

--Absolutely,-- replied Sam, picking up on his courtesy.

We demorphed, feeling the changes in the pressure levels as the Concorde lost altitude. It was very cold in the compartment, there being no heating as there would be in the passenger cabin. It was made even colder by the fact that we were wearing just thin tee-shirts and leotards.

"Ok, then, you guys go back to fly," ordered Sam, when we'd confirmed we'd all demorphed.

"How are we going to find you when we're flies?" I asked. "It's really dark in here."

"You'll have to morph first. Everyone, um, put your hands on my back," she said sheepishly. "Keep them there as you morph."

We fumbled around for Sam's back, giggling like children as we brushed against each others' bodies.

"Who's back is this?" I head Ferdie's voice, followed by a pinch to my shoulder.

"Ow! That was mine!" I said, then bumped into someone myself. "Sam, it that you?"

"No, that is me," said Philip.

Eventually, after an embarrassing few moments, we were all grasping Sam's leotard in our hands, morphing to fly. A few minutes later, we felt the surface of Sam's back underneath us shift and change as she became a crow.

--Are you all on my back?-- she asked.

--We are, but try not to move around too much, or we'll fall off!-- I said.

--Maggie, I have to flap my wings to fly and that, I expect, will constitute moving,-- she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. --You'll just have to hold on tightly.--

--How are you standing the atmospheric changes?-- asked Philip. --I should expect we will be coming into land soon.--

--I'm ok,-- she said. --Pressure is increasing, but it's more the cold I'm feeling. I'm crouching down behind a bag. When they open the door, I'll be able to see what I'm doing, and I'll fly out.--

After a few minutes, Sam told us that it felt like that plane had just landed. It was now even more difficult for our bodies to sense these changes, as we were not directly touching the Concorde anymore.

--Ok, guys!-- Sam called after a while. --The plane came to a halt and while ago, but we've just been waiting for the handler to come along.-- She fell silent for a few more minutes. The rest of us waited in anticipation.

Suddenly, a burst of sunlight filled the compartment.

--The doors have just opened,-- Sam called. --Hold on everyone, I'm getting out of here. Welcome to Los Angeles!--