Reconquest: Mother Earth

Chapter IX

Chapter IX

As Mitch's vessel soared through the air, he studied the craft's controls. Although he had flown it before, this was his first solo flight. Sarm had previously labeled the buttons and controls in English. He had also drawn a layout of the cabin and labeled it for Mitch.  

Once he reached one thousand feet, he put the vessel on autopilot. The sky was clear and free of traffic. He went to the cabinet with the first aid kit and began cleaning and bandaging his chest. It was a minor wound, nothing that would set him back. Fortunately, he was well-schooled in dealing with wounds.  

He studied the three-dimensional radar system that constantly scanned and visually displayed a hundred-mile radius. A communications link was next to it, but he did not plan on using the comm system. He intended on following Sarm's advice to keep himself inconspicuous.  

He wandered around the spacious cabin, glancing at the monitor to make sure that nothing entered his airspace. The ceiling was five meters high and ten meters long. The interior was light gray and sterile-looking. It was as fast as a fighter plane, but Mitch was cruising at a low velocity. 

He removed the autopilot as he crossed Southern California, not far from the Nevada border. He contemplated his destination. Should he stay in the United States? He wanted to find other people, but where? Maybe there were people hiding from the aliens in a secluded mountainous area, but people tended to congregate in cities.  

He was close to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. He ruled out San Diego - too many bad memories from Coronado. He could fly somewhere remote like Northern Canada. Having done SEAL training there, he could survive, but he felt a need to be around people.  

On the radar screen, three oncoming aircraft were eighty miles away from his current position. As he got closer and the resolution improved, he realized that they were not vessels, but salenkos flying in a pattern. He descended and landed on the open desert to avoid the blue, winged creatures. Sarm had told him that the salenkos would not bother with him if they were not threatened, but he did not want to take a chance. 

He pulled out a bottle of water and the road atlas. He needed a plan. Now that he was out of imminent danger, he did not want to fly aimlessly.  

Mitch kept changing his mind between a city and a rural destination. He decided on Las Vegas. He and his SEAL buddies frequently went to Sin City to blow off steam. He was not much of a gambler, but he always had a good time.  

Mitch went back inside of the cabin to escape the heat. It had to be at least a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Checking the radar screen, he could no longer see the salenkos.  

He lay on the oversized cot in the back and quickly fell asleep. He jolted awake an hour later. He had been having a nightmare.  

It was back on the day of the invasion. He observed himself speak to the Minister of Science. He urged himself to pull out his pistol and kill the Minister. As much as he pleaded, his body would not listen. Deborah came out to help him, and the Minister ripped her body apart with his sharp claws.  

He woke up breathing heavily, trying to piece together the part of his memory that was still missing, the part directly preceding his blackout. After a few minutes, he gave up. Whatever happened was in the past, and there was nothing he could do about it.  

When Mitch resumed his flight, there was heavy air traffic. He felt paranoid that another craft would pull him over and search the vessel, even though he realized there was no way they would know a human was commandeering it.  

It did not take him long to reach Las Vegas. It was eerie to find nobody walking the streets of Las Vegas Boulevard and no cars on the Strip. He smiled when he saw the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign. Although slightly faded, the sign was still in good shape.