Tag #4 – Decisions
Daniel shielded the envelope from the rain as he watched the limousine drive away. As it turned the corner, he looked down at the documents. "Travel plans," he muttered again, ducking back under the hotel awning and flipping his poncho hood back. He flicked through the papers, feeling a bit unnerved that a total stranger had located him by an old photo of one of his many foster families.
"Ancient Egyptian translations, US Air Force…what the hell does this have in common?" he wondered quietly, and turned the page to see the symbol that represented Ra, the Egyptian sun god. His eyes lit up at the beauty and style of the carving, automatically reaching out to trace it and barely noticing that it was only a photo.
Eager to see more, he went to the next page, only to stare in bewilderment at the completely unknown glyph on the paper. "What the hell is that?" He turned it sideways and upside-down, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out what it was. "Not Egyptian…" Still, it rang a chord of familiarity somewhere inside of him.
Abruptly realizing he was blocking foot traffic, he grabbed his two suitcases and hauled them over to the side before sitting on one and looking through the papers again. "Flight to Colorado tomorrow morning. Driver will meet me there and take me to…a military base?" This was getting weirder by the minute. He hesitated, torn between throwing the papers away and finding a more permanent job, but something stayed his hand. This just seemed…right, somehow.
"Hey Jackson, waiting for the aliens to take you away?" Harsh laughter met his ears as he looked up. Three of his former colleagues were standing on the curb a few feet away, sneering at him. "Get the hell out of our business, you crackpot."
Daniel's eyes flared in anger at the insult, and clenched the papers tight in his hands. Anything had to be better than this…and besides, he felt like there was something greater in store for him, something that these petty juveniles would never be a part of.
Steeling his nerves, Daniel tucked the envelope in his pocket and, ignoring the jeers of three insignificant men, hailed a taxi.