10.
Twilight descended over the desert where an iguana crested a dune to look out on the curious scene unfolding below.
Like a dragon awakening in a fury, a fighter jet roared to life with a burst of fire. A sphere stood atop a mechanical arm just beyond the jet. It was the size of a hot air balloon with an opaque gray surface.
Heat waves distorted the concrete bunker a quarter mile away. Behind the concrete and two-inch thick shatterproof glass, Kitamura made final adjustments for the display. His team of engineers had already done so, but Kitamura didn't like to proceed until he had looked over every detail. He turned to Colonel Jasper as the man took a bite from an apple. "We're ready."
"Northern spy," Colonel Jasper said holding up the apple core when he was done, as if the test before him couldn't be of less significance. "The kind of apple. Seems like something they'd have come up with during the cold war, but it's actually from the 1870's. They'd have been screwed if the Sat showed up back then. Let's see if enlightenment lets us fare any better." He threw the core in the trash and nodded.
They lowered their goggles.
The sphere, which was actually thousands of tiny orbs bound together, pulsed a single time. The air around it crackled and sparked to life. Flashes became frenetic. The sphere's surface grew brighter. Sparks circled like a swarm of radioactive fireflies.
Colonel Jasper broke out his baseball. "Status?"
"All systems green," Kitamura said, awaiting the order to initiate the test experiment.
There was nothing but the sound of leather meeting flesh as Jasper tossed the ball up in the air. Kitamura watched the air glow with a near supernatural light. What could the Colonel possibly be waiting for? Then it struck him - if this didn't work, they had no backup. He glanced at his superior, whose eyes were locked, not on the sphere or the jet, but the baseball gripped in his hand.
At long last, Jasper uttered a single word. "Proceed."
Outside the bunker, the sphere glowed a violent white. Then the sparks subsided and radiation shot out. Intense energy waves shot across the desert sands and engulfed the fighter jet.
Millions of sparks danced along the jet's surface as the waves swept over it. The engine sputtered and then shut down. The fire went out. The jet's roar faded away. The dragon was dead. Jasper made a rare fist of victory.
The duo walked out of the bunker onto the sands. "This may be mankind's greatest weapon in the future," Jasper said, taking in the grand design.
"Perhaps in the future, mankind won't need great weapons," Kitamura said, lifting his goggles.
Jasper looked at him like he was mad. "Have it loaded in the next thirty-six hours," he said as the sparks dissipated.
"We'll need more time."
Jasper took out his pistol.
Kitamura didn't even have a chance to react before Jasper aimed the gun at the Lieutenant's feet and fired. Kitamura didn't dare move.
Jasper reached past Kitamura's leg and picked up a dead Gila monster. Its head was huge. One bite and Kitamura might have been done before they were up in the chopper.
"A world without weapons, eh?" Jasper said, depositing the dead reptile over Kitamura's shoulder.
Kitamura quickly shuddered the beast off and ran after his boss. "Sir, is this really the best way? Couldn't we try to locate Max and find out –"
Jasper turned sharply forcing Kitamura to stop short mere inches from him. "Is he here? How about the others? Do you have some sort of means to ask about their intentions?"
"No, but we do have a search going and in time –" Kitamura began.
"How much time?"
"I can't possibly predict that, but I do believe we are on the precipice of the greatest discovery in human history. We both know that the Satellite isn't from here. We destroy it and who knows what secrets of a world beyond our understanding will be lost."
Jasper stared at him a long, unpleasant moment. Kitamura wondered if the Gila monster bite would have been worse. Then he did something Kitamura would never forget. Jasper said, "You're right, Lieutenant, find them first and perhaps those secrets can be saved."
Kitamura stood there in disbelief, and then realized he had virtually no means of finding them until the Satellite transmitted the next signal. His only hope was that would happen before they whacked it with a stick.
*
A crescent moon cast a faint glow over an abandoned farm. The faded barn stood at the edge of the fields. Weeds grew where crops once blossomed. Max tried to figure out what new test waited for him here in the middle of nowhere.
Noah pulled the huge barn door open. Four gleaming motorcycles waited within. "How did you get them?" Max asked.
"I never ask Noah how he works his magic," Vincent said. "You know how to ride?"
"Sure, we had a biker gang at the asylum," Max said.
Noah climbed on board his Yamaha crotch-rocket, pulled on his helmet, complete with a Mohawk spike of purple hair. He lifted his facemask. "Go really fast with no fear – that goes for everything." Noah fired up his bike and shot out of the barn.
Jamie's Aprilla growled to life. "Easier than it looks." She pulled down her silver and burgundy helmet, and was gone before he blinked. He and Vincent watched the trail she left behind.
Two identical Triumph Thunderbirds sat between them. "I chose for you. Figured we might have similar tastes," Vincent said, leaving Max to wonder if he was referring to the motorcycle or Jamie.
Vincent pulled out a forest green helmet and tossed it over.
Max caught it. "Thanks, but ..."
"If those fools can do it, I'm not worried about you," Vincent said. He ignored the calls and roars from outside the barn and explained every facet of the bike. By the end of the discussion, Max felt ready to take his chances on the country road, eager to prove himself.
The first fall was less painful than the embarrassment he had struggling to get the bike back up. Noah's laughter had him moving faster.
Vincent and Jamie rode on either side of him, guiding him through the nuances of gearshifts, how to feel the road and let the bike go the way it wanted. As sunlight emerged on the horizon, despite the scrapes and bruises from multiple falls, he was up and felt like he'd stay that way.
"Why don't we stay with the SUV?" Max asked when they took a short break.
"We figured they'd be looking for us after we got you out," Vincent said. "The SUV may have been seen, so we got these for the trip in case we needed to split up."
"Why would they even bother looking," Max said, wondering if there was something more at issue than the Hanover breakout.
Vincent watched the sun crest on the horizon as Jamie and Noah walked over. "By now, they know about the Eye. They know there was a signal. They're after us and we don't have time to be stopped. I know it's not easy, but you have to trust us. Guess it comes down to this - do you?"
Perhaps he didn't know them well enough to have cause to, and there might be any number of reasons why he shouldn't. But Max did, it was the first time in his life that something felt right. "With my life."
*
Riding from the back of the pack, Max noted the way they moved together. Despite Noah's occasional acrobatics, the group had a seamless flow. They leaned into turns as one, burned ahead at the same time, and never left their formation.
Turns were a little disconcerting, but Max really did love it. Just a flick of his wrist and he flew down the highway. He felt free and didn't want it to end.
But after hours of riding, he wasn't alone in needing a break to stretch his legs. They pulled into a rest area on the Oregon-Nevada border. Walking took some getting used to. As he began to loosen up, Max spotted a football beneath a picnic table. The leather was faded and scuffed, but it felt good in his hands. He held it up to the others. "Up for a game?"
Noah and Jamie glanced Vincent's way, hopeful they could enjoy a little diversion. "We don't have a lot of time," Vincent said.
Max saw some part of Vincent was on the fence - even he needed to unwind. "Just a quick one. Fifteen minutes. No more," Max said, already heading into the field without waiting for an answer. Vincent was their leader, not their master. When he turned back, the others still hadn't moved. "Would you just come on?"
Vincent relented at last and took the football. "You'll be sorry," he said with just a hint of humor. He kicked off. The ball shot a half-mile in the air, taking about thirty seconds before it came back down.
Noah caught it, running toward Max, disappearing and taking shape again just past him when he dove in. "Stop!" Max yelled. "Can we just play this as humans?"
He was surprised when they did. They threw wobbly spirals, made wild catches, and high-fived as they spiked the ball in the end zone.
After Jamie intercepted Noah's pass for a touchdown, she came back grinning, handing Max the game ball. "Fun, but next time we do it our way."
While Jamie and Vincent headed back to the bikes, Noah and Max went to grab drinks for the road.
"Doctor Pepper for our little sister, Mountain Dew for yours truly ... what's your poison?" Noah asked looking back at Max.
"Doctor Pepper sounds good," Max said glancing back at Jamie. Noah followed his eyes.
"Wouldn't go there, dude."
Max turned back quickly. "What? I'm not ... hell we might even be related or something. Last thing I'm thinking about right now," he said while thinking exactly what Noah was implying. "Why, are she and Vincent –"
Noah held up his hand making it clear he didn't want to hear any more. "You've been warned," he said.
"Yes, but, are you warning me about him, her, you or is the Eye going to vaporize me or something?" Max pressed, glancing at the clear sky feeling very exposed.
"Does it matter?" Noah laughed and went back to his bike.
Max followed, noticing Vincent watching him before bringing down his dark visor. And there was his answer.
*
The quartet had just passed over the Humboldt River when a cop spotted them. It wasn't the first Highway Patrol they'd seen, but it was the first to U-turn and go after them. That was the moment it became clear they were wanted.
While Max suspected the others didn't need it, they rode with headsets to talk during the ride. Throughout the journey, Max had tried to reach out to them using just thoughts. His sole accomplishment had been to give himself a headache.
Jamie's voice came through first. "Where do you want them to spot us?"
Vincent's crackled in response. "East on 117 toward Cheyenne."
Max glanced in his rear view mirror to see the cruiser pull off at the exit behind them. No one else seemed particularly amazed.
"You can tell them where to go?" Max asked, incredulous, though at this point he knew nothing should seem beyond the realm of possibility.
"I suggest a thought, the idea becomes their own. Want to see what I can make you do?" Jamie chided. He didn't have to see her to picture the Cheshire cat grin behind her smoky visor. He still remembered quite clearly how she took hold of him in his training session.
Max opened the throttle a bit and pulled beside her. "So how do I know any thought is actually my own? How do any of us? How do we know the Eye isn't manipulating everything going through our heads?"
Noah slowed, easing next to Max on the other side. "Just puppets on a string, my man. There's no free will anymore."
Vincent shot forward, forcing the rest of them to catch up.
Max looked at the speedometer needle as it passed ninety miles-per-hour. He still had a hard time holding steady when they passed eighteen-wheelers in any kind of wind. He shut down his fear as they blazed by a trailer filled with horses. "But what if that's happening to us?"
Vincent didn't hide the irritation in his voice. "I'd know. I can feel when the connection's happening."
"OK, but maybe it's more sophisticated than you thought? Maybe you're connected on level A, but not on level B, if you know what I mean. All I'm saying is, isn't it possible that the Eye can plant a thought without you knowing – the same way Jamie can?"
Vincent relented, slowing up a bit. The wind that had been buffeting them eased. "The Eye doesn't have secret schemes. It's just a computer that operates within set program guidelines. It has no more evil intentions than a cell phone."
Max threaded through Noah and Jamie to pull alongside Vincent, lifting his visor so they could talk, or scream, face-to-face. The moment he did, tears welled in his eyes. Bad choice, he put the visor back down. "If that's true, then it's really about the information it was programmed to share. What if the data's faulty? What if there's something that's been left out? They took a shot in the dark sending the Eye to earth. Maybe we're only being given a fraction of everything we should know ..." He trailed off suddenly feeling warm. The world before him shifted and fractured at strange angles.
Vincent looked at him. "What's wrong?"
The warmth intensified. Not just in the base of his neck, but all over. He shook, trying to control the bike, as something inside him seemed to ignite, heating up every cell in his body.
Everything he saw split apart into millions of particles, each one distinct. For an instant, Max saw the world in its pure molecular composition. Then the burning fury coursed through him. His blood boiled, his bones felt like they were melting. He tried ease the bike to the shoulder, but could barely stay conscious through the pain.
Smoke simmered off his flesh. If the lava coursing through him didn't kill Max, the fall at high speed would. He tried to brake, but couldn't tell his trembling fingers what to do. The world angled sideways – he was falling.
Then he felt weightless. As he veered to the shoulder, Noah snatched him with one hand, holding Max aloft. At the same time, Vincent took one side of his bike and slowed to the side.
When Max opened his eyes again, he was lying on the pavement. Fire burned behind his eyes.
Jamie's words cut through the blaze, 'Don't give in. Fight it, just keep looking at me.'
He did, his eyes holding on Jamie's. The others shouted to him, trying to guide him through the agony, but their voices were lost.
As quickly as it came on, the pain subsided. His body cooled and he could move again. Max wiped the hot blood from his lips. He didn't want to stand. He didn't want to move, but he knew they were attracting attention on the side of the highway.
Noah pulled him up. "That, my soul brother, is the true burning," he said. "Now you get it."
"Got it before when I saw what happened to you," Max said, seeing his blood simmer on the pavement like a fried egg. He ground it under his sneaker and climbed back on his bike, hoping he didn't reveal how unsteady he felt.
"You saw before," Vincent said, keeping a hand on Max to make sure he stayed upright. "So let's finish this – cool?" He offered his fist.
Max bumped it with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
Jamie walked over, "Thought I might lose youthere. It's way too soon for goodbyes." Her hand covered his for a moment beforeshe went back to her bike.