U.N.E.

Chapter Seventeen

Not sure what to make of this, Angela followed Alexander out of the SUV and watched as he grabbed their luggage. Without a single word he quickly led them both up the staircase and together they walked into the cabin of the massive plane, the stewardess quickly closing and locking the door behind them. They were then told to quickly take any open seat and prepare for takeoff. It didn't take long for them to find out that the flight had been delayed for nearly forty minutes just so they could get on it.

Normally Angela was excited to be flying, even if it was in a normal and run of the mill passenger airline; but this time was different. She didn't feel that sense of excitement as they roared down the runway and shot up into the sky, and she definitely didn't enjoy it when they got to their cruising altitude. There was just too much on her mind for her to really pay attention. Kimberly still hadn't contacted them and they really had no idea about what the state of the world was. Where had the Hive landed? Had the attack already begun? Where were the other pilots? Were they safe and on their own flights to wherever it was they were being deployed?

She wanted to voice some of her questions to Alexander but couldn't bring herself to break the silence. It wasn't like he was trying to sleep or anything; in fact his eyes were open and alert. She just didn't know where to begin or even if she should try. The last time something like this had happened he had still been in the Second Battalion with his sister, so she figured that he must be thinking about that time. Then again she really didn't know what was going through his mind, and even trying to guess at it was a stab in the dark. Even though they had just spent the better part of a week together she realized that he was still very much a mystery to her. She had come to know him a little bit better, but it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Angela hoped that the television screens built into the back of each chair would have access to live news channels, but when she flicked hers on she found that it was just a bunch of prerecorded stations with a variety of subjects to choose from. Stuck at thirty nine thousand feet in the air it was like being stuck in a social vacuum and there was no way to get any information on what was going on. She just had to hope that once they arrived wherever it was they were going, she would be able to get some kind of information out of someone. Hell, if she had to ask a random stranger to borrow their personal computer or smart-phone she would. She hated no knowing.

That plan didn't pan out though. As they began their descent a little over three hours later it quickly became apparent that Angela and Alex were going to be treated different than the other passengers on the plane. Just before the captain came over the PA system to announce their plan to land, a stewardess approached them and quickly told them that once they landed they were to be ready to disembark and make sure they had everything they had brought with them. That alone had Angela confused and she looked to Alexander to see if he was in the same boat, but he only shrugged his shoulders and then went back to staring at nothing.

Ten minutes later the plane landed and came to a complete stop, the captain now advising everyone to remain seated until the sign for the seat belts had been turned off. It was then that she and Alex stood up and grabbed their bags. Other passengers looked at them curiously and even some had an annoyed expression in their eyes, but seeing that Alexander was in a military uniform no one raised any problems and they were allowed to quickly exit the cabin as another set of moveable stairs was moved into position.

The night air was cold and had a salty edge to it, like they were near the ocean. As they climbed down the stairs and began to move away from the plane, a middle aged man driving a small open vehicle that reminded Angela of a golf cart approached and honked the funny sounding horn twice. He quickly cut them off as they headed towards the terminal and motioned for them to get on, but even Alex seemed a little hesitant. This had to be the weirdest way to travel.