ŠLUKNOV
11.01.846 - 10:58 PM
The small black car, only for two passengers, crossed in a few seconds the little town and started to make its way along the winding road that went up the mountain. The car drastically reduced speed to follow the path full of curves. There was snow, but not enough to stop the little car from passing. Fernand was glad he didn't have to walk up the mountain in the cold, and he hoped the road to the lookout was clear.
The darkness was complete, only a short stretch of road was visible through the car's headlights, and a particular fear and loneliness invaded Fernand. He wondered if he died there how long it would take to realize his disappearance. Shaking his head from side to side, he tried to push the thought away and picking up his MC, he selected a song to play, then started screaming out of tune inside the little car:
"I see a red door and I want it painted black."
Three songs later, the little car finally stopped in a flat space with a small enclosure. Fernand got out of the vehicle and the intensely cold air seemed to freeze his soul. As soon as he closed the car door, the car turned and started back down the road. With his MC in hand, Fernand turned on a flashlight that barely illuminated the place where he was. With a huff, he stuffed the MC back into his pocket, and then in total darkness, he pressed his palms together, and with his head bowed, he began to concentrate as if in prayer. In a few seconds, he began to spread his palms apart and a small sphere of fire appeared floating between them. As he extended his palms apart, the larger the globe became.
The heat began to comfort Fernand when the flaming sphere grew the size of his skull. With a musical gesture, he made it remain floating just inches from his chest. He turned his back to the lookout and walked towards the road, crossing it and entering through the trees, the fire sphere still floating and illuminating the white scenery filled with snow. Fernand followed a trail, covered in snow and unnoticeable to anyone who hadn't walked the same path a few times before, during the summer. However, a more experienced adventurer might be able to observe the lack of density of the larch, spruce, and pine trees along the way.
After a few minutes, the path became steeper, and the trail began to climb sideways up the mountain until a small pass appeared to Fernand's right. Fernand stopped right beside a small hole between two large rocks. He began to pat his hand over the snow, making it fall and reveal the remainder of the entrance to a cave. The flaming sphere remained floating beside him, melting some snowflakes thrown into the air while Fernand further opened the hole between two rocks.
After fully opening the path, Fernand guided back the sphere of fire in front of him and entered the narrow passage. The heat quickly intensified in the tight space, and Fernand, with a wave, made the sphere go even further in front of him. He walked for a few meters, bracing his hands on the walls to avoid any tripping on the uneven floor of the tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, Fernand entered a vast open space, a second tunnel, much larger, with a domed roof, perpendicular to the first tunnel. The light generated by the sphere was not enough to illuminate the entire length of the tunnel, but Fernand knew that both ends led out of the mountain and were closed by automatic doors that opened on the approach of any aircraft.
Fernand knew that the aircraft sent by Lélia was untraceable, and therefore it would be necessary to open the underground runway doors manually. He checked his watch and noted that the plane was still about an hour and twenty minutes away. Anyway, he preferred to open the doors, worried if the amount of falling snow would disrupt the plane's landing and takeoff. With a wide wave of both hands, he heard a shrill roar. The cold invaded the underground track, and he concluded that the doors were opened.
A few seconds after opening the ends of the tunnel, a small metallic cylinder came flying through the air. The cylinder became visible as it approached the flaming sphere heading towards Fernand, who caught it midair. 'The message Lélia commented on,' he thought. As soon as his palm closed over the cylinder, it opened its ends, and Fernand removed the small paper unrolling the message that magically appeared when his fingers touched the paper:
"My dear, I have been informed that Saturn is at the destination you are going to. Be more careful than usual."
"How does she discover these things?" Fernand asked aloud in the tunnel.
More than an hour passed before the slight noise of the plane's engines announced its arrival. A strong gust of wind hit Fernand as the aircraft entered the tunnel, landing on the runway with immense precision. The plane drastically reduced its speed and then continued slowly to where Fernand was. The man observed the strange shape of that plane that he did not recognize. Painted all black, the plane had wings above the fuselage and only one engine over the tail.
Fernand supported himself on the floor and wall to get up. With a wave, he made the sphere freeze in midair and then headed for the plane as the door opened automatically. He entered the plane and then, with a snap of his fingers, caused the fireball to vanish in the air. He settled into one of the seats. The plane's interior lighting was pleasant, but the temperature was colder than he'd wanted. Fernand commanded the closing of the door. He knew there would be no need to command the destination: the plane was already programmed.
"Increase the temperature," he said as the plane began to move along the runway, turning around and returning to the headboard where it had entered.
The cabin soon warmed up, and Fernand took off the coat he was wearing, tossing it into the back seat. He looked inside the plane. It was probably the smallest plane he had ever flown in his life: it had only four seats in a row and a narrow aisle. He hated flying in such small planes. The plane's interior was not only squeezed but also not very comfortable, the decoration was purely functional. There were no details or amenities, just a cylinder with eight windows and four seats. At the back of the plane, he noticed a small closet. He decided to wait for the plane to take off and then check his tools.
Upon reaching the end of the airstrip, the plane made a half turn and then began to pick up speed down the runway. Fernand grabbed the arms of his seat and shuddered for not being able to see anything through the window. In a few seconds of acceleration, the plane left the runway, gaining altitude precisely at the end of the tunnel. Fernand turned quickly on his back and, with a big wave, tried to close the gates of the underground airstrip, but the plane was picking up speed, and the ends were already too far away from him. The spell had no effect.
"Shit, it will stay open," said Fernand.
He put his face up to the window, trying to see anything in the dark night. As the plane gained more altitude, a green light appeared in the cockpit. Fernand then unbuckled his seat belt and went disjointedly to the end of the aircraft. The space was so tight that there was no way to stand up inside the plane. Fernand opened the closet at the back of the plane and noticed a shelf with four goggles and eight stacked backpacks, four on the right side were smaller, and four on the left side were larger. At the bottom of the closet were three drawers.
Fernand took one of the glasses and the top right-hand backpack, opened the first of the last drawers, and took out a wig and some makeup items, as well as some ear and nose prostheses. He knew he wouldn't need the bag of food on the left, so he grabbed his MC and activated his front camera, then began tying his hair into a braid. A few minutes later, Fernand was unrecognizable, short blond hair, a wig carefully pinned to the back of his neck and forehead, blue eyes, a nose even more prominent than his natural nose. He had decided to leave his protruding ears aside, his nose was already too much, and he didn't want to attract anyone's attention. He watched himself through his MC's screen, a little annoyed that the wig didn't fit as well as it should, given the volume of his natural hair underneath. Fernand tried to pull the wig out to make sure it was securely attached. Luckily the wig stood very firmly in his head.
He deactivated the camera and accessed a specific app on his MC. He hid all of his original personal documents and payment apps, then accessed new documents with a different name but no photos. He then selected the field where the picture should be and his front camera started again. He then positioned himself against the gray wall in front of his seat and tried to take the photo as dull as possible. After three tries, he arrived at the ideal shot, and then a series of fake documents were created from that photo.
Fernand then selected "confirm" after checking all documents and memorizing the generated name. He knew that records would appear within every database worldwide after submitting the information. He had always prided himself on the ability of CriSPe developers to break into systems and defraud information in foreign databases. He then focused on rereading his data several times: name and surname, which in that situation was Gaspar Rocheleau, date of birth, the city where he lived. In addition, he then created a reason to be visiting Vindobona and a life history for small conversations. He knew this was all precautionary. It was improbable for him to chat with strangers or that anyone would ask for his documents on the street, but it was protocol, and he took it seriously.
After memorizing all the information and even adopting a different personality, Fernand opened the map in his MC, zooming and dragging to an area over Vindobona, then selecting a bell-shaped icon just above the map. After activating the alert, he left the map and then accessed again the movie he was watching in the underground airstrip.
It was just over two hours cutting across the northern sea when the approach notification popped up on his MC. He quickly grabbed his coat and put it on, tucking his MC into an inner pocket. He scrambled to his feet in the tight space in front of his chair and then proceeded to zip up his coat and make sure his clothing was snug. He then took the backpack, placed it on his back, and fastened a series of straps over his arms, thighs, and abdomen. He made sure the bag was securely attached to his body several times, repeatedly checking the harness, leg straps, and clips as the plane lost altitude. He then took the glasses and fastened them around his neck, passing them over his wig.
He went back to looking all over the aircraft, searching for any exit other than the door he'd entered, but found nothing. 'This door opens outwards. How is it going to do this in mid-flight?' He asked himself. And that was when an alarm started to go off inside the aircraft, and with a snap, the door began to move upwards, causing a gust of icy wind to enter the plane. Fernand lost his balance with fright and, still standing, grabbed his seat. 'It was more practical on old planes.' He positioned the goggles over his eyes and focused on a small red light blinking over the door. He started to breathe deeply when he noticed that the aircraft was hovering and the engine was off. When the flashing light turned green, Fernand pulled as much air into his lungs and took two steps to jump through the airplane's open door.