ABANDON

Chapter 59 -- Ascending

Jane looked over the levers, switches, and gauges that comprised the console, her mind on the takeoff procedure. She checked the thrust lever. She glided her hand over the console to the batteries and turned them on. There was a moment of panic as she wondered if the lights would go on. The transport had been through the shield, Jane couldn't know for sure what had happened. The lights blinked and then held steady. Jane exhaled. She turned on the auxiliary power unit and the rest of the start-up procedure came naturally.

The transport slowly lifted, the landing gear hovering above the warehouse. Then a gust of wind violently tossed the transport, blowing it away from the warehouse so it hovered above the Anders below. Another gust pushed the transport towards the burning building.

She was so close to escape, the desire she had clung to since the moment of arriving was within her grasp. Nothing would stop her now. Jane pressed the thrust lever to its most open position. The engines flared, Jane and Evan were pressed back into their seats as the ground fell away from them.

Several times, the transport was taken by the wind, but Jane had learned there are times to fight and times to not. The wind blew, and the rain came at them with the strength of an ocean wave. Jane would let it take the transport, but the moment it paused to take another breath, she was there pushing the transport higher.

"Gentle," she spoke her thoughts out loud, "C'mon Jane, don't you remember your fluid dynamics?"

The rain slowed, then it was only droplets of mist that collected on the windshield extending into lines from a single point in the center. The clouds became lighter and thinner, a gauzy softness that gracefully touched the ascending transport. And then they were gone.

"Look!"Jane called. Streaming into the transport was light—hot, bright, and intense. It illuminated both their faces. Evan held up his hand to shield the brightness, but kept peeking around, wanting to see and know. Jane closed her eyes and leaned forward. She savoured the warmth on her face, relished the brightness behind her eyelids; she loved this feeling. And she could feel Mother and every monster there with her.

The sun shone in the cyan sky with a full brilliance and then the atmosphere thinned and darkness descended upon them. Now the sun was a long pin of light piercing the deep black of space. Evan was laughing. Jane turned and saw him watching his own arms and legs as they floated.

The transport groaned. "Stay together baby, we've made it this far." An options screen popped up, an option screen that wasn't supposed to happen, and then the engines shut down. The transport slowly turned as it drifted through space. Jane's eyes caught colour through the windshield, she looked up and saw the planet: a ball of seething gray, lightning flashed in some areas, but in others, there were patches of wispy, white clouds and below them Jane could see the surface.

So much had happened. So much had changed. Jane felt like she had mistakenly given away something precious, and now she could never get it back. But as soon as she decided that, she realized the thought was not quite right. The accident part had been correct, but it was more like she had stumbled upon something wonderful, a place to experience joy and fear and everything in between, and now the place had closed and the fun was over. But Jane was glad she had gone.

A screaming alarm brought Jane back to reality. She expanded the screen trying to understand. "We're venting." Jane scanned the diagrams provided, feeling her frustration rise. That's why the ship had given her options when the process should have been automatic. Jane tried to concentrate but found it difficult. Evan was rhythmically tapping on the wall.

"Pummelled by too many rocks back at the buildings on the cliff." Jane couldn't focus, she turned around to tell Evan to stop tapping. With one hand Evan tapped the pattern and with the other he pointed out the window. Jane turned her head rapidly. The window was almost completely filled with view of the Eater's ship.