Yearning, p.22
Yearning, page 22
went to the very back of the shuttle, finding it eerie to have
the lights come on as she made her way down the aisle
between the crews’ seats. She saw what looked like floor-to-
roof metal blinds, and small consoles next to them came
alive as she grew closer. It took only a few moments for her
brain to learn what to do. Why the NIEC couldn’t tell her
their function wasn’t logical, but she knew just how to hold
her finger against a blue circle and slide it along a red line
upward. The metal blinds on the port side of the ship went
up with a soft, whining sound.
“Whoa.” Darian looked at rows of uniforms leading far
into the storage space. Above them, she saw helmets that
resembled nothing she’d seen on TV when NASA sent up
their astronauts. She took one down, and of course it
switched on. Light blue in the back, transparent in the front,
it was illuminated around the edge in between. The rim that
was supposed to attach to spacesuits seemed to consist of
some sticky silicone, or something similar. Darian put the
helmet back and watched it go dark. Examining one of the
uniforms, which looked quilted in a shiny, light-blue
material, she saw it also held a thick line of “silicone” at the
neckline. These flimsy things were space suits? After she
pulled the suit off its hooks, it too lit up along the edges,
down the sides, arms, and legs.
“Darian?” Samantha called out from farther into the
back. “I suppose this is your area.”
“What?” Hanging the suit back from where she took it,
Darian absentmindedly slid her finger on the console,
closing the blinds again. She hurried over to Samantha, who
looked bemusedly at the contents behind another set of
blinds. “They came well stocked when it came to self-
defense…or potential attacks.”
Darian watched in similar dismay how weapons, at least
fifty rows of them, were kept in the storage unit. On smaller
shelves sat canisters, which she knew were ammunition. Or
what served as ammo when it came to these alien weapons.
How could they look utterly futuristic and weird, yet quite
familiar? She had asked herself this question so many times
already, it wasn’t even funny. “Yeah, enough to take out half
the British army in the war for independence. I wonder if
they did use them back then?”
“No record of strange people dropping from the sky and
firing witchcraft weapons at the Brits as far as I know,” Carl
said from behind. “And those things look like they can
vaporize people.”
“Actually, they’re mainly used to incapacitate the enemy,
not kill them,” Samantha said slowly. “There’s a setting that
will kill, but it’s mostly used for hunting. Uproars and civil
unrest are not considered offenses that require the ultimate
sacrifice of your opponent.”
Darian gaped. “That’s right. Shit.”
“Sounds civilized enough,” Philber said. “We’ve found
emergency rations that have long expired, and so much
technology, we’ll be exploring this place for the next
decades.”
“If we’re allowed to,” Brandon said. “I don’t mean to rain
on any parade here, but we all know what will happen the
moment the government learns of this. Of what once
happened in Dennamore. They’ll move in, cordon it off,
perhaps move the entire population by force. I’m not
pessimistic by nature, but as you have all gathered the
knowledge, I have contemplated what has happened in the
past when something gets classified.”
“Thinking about Roswell?” Carl frowned. “But that’s just
some conspiracy stuff.”
“We can’t be sure about that.” Brandon shook his head.
“I’m not saying Roswell really happened, but we’ve all heard
about enough cover-ups, and they never declassify some
things.”
Darian knew Brandon had a past he never discussed, at
least not with her. Perhaps Camilla knew more about him.
The way he spoke now, assertive and serious, made Darian
think he had some information none of the others in the
team knew about. Perhaps Brandon had worked for one of
the agencies. Or the military.
“So, mum’s the word then,” Darian said and squared her
shoulders. “I don’t want the authorities to move in and shut
us out, even if the risk is minimal, since Dennamore isn’t
exactly a household name.”
“Which is why the aliens chose this location, no doubt.”
Philber had sat down on one of the seats. “Access to wildlife
and water. Timber. Bedrock. And remote.”
“And they never left to go back to where they came
from…Isn’t that strange?” Samantha leaned her hip against
the backrest of another seat. It was silver and white, and
looked pristine. No dust had settled. “Bech’taia, who wrote
in the journal at Camilla’s house, seemed conflicted.
Darian’s translation suggested the settlers wanted to go
home, and we all thought they meant Europe. We found it
curious, obviously, but not unheard of. She and Gai’usto
seemed part of a group that tried to get their Elders to
understand this fact, but the Elders were planning to stay,
for whatever reason, and blend in with the people they met.
This tells us they must have looked human enough.”
Something beeped, making everyone jump. Samantha
held up a hand. “I apologize.” She produced her cell phone.
“I set a timer to remind us when we needed to return. As
you’ve all noticed, I’m sure, it’s easy to get carried away
and forget about time.”
Darian took in the interior of Speeder One. What had
looked so futuristic and alien just a little while ago now
looked…normal. Every console, every reading on the
screens made sense. It was unsettling that all that
knowledge would go away if she removed the NIEC, yet she
would be glad to do so when she was back with Gran. “We
need to take something back to show Camilla and Walker.”
Darian opened another, smaller, metal blind. In the narrow
cabinet, she saw neatly stacked metal boxes. “Why not one
of the crew computers?”
“Oh, yes,” Samantha said. “We should take a few of
them. They’ll give us more answers and allow us to
communicate without using easily detectable two-way
radios.” She shook her head and covered her mouth. “And
we just know these things.”
“We do.” Darian smiled, trying to reassure Samantha.
“The sooner we get used to knowledge being infused when
we don’t even realize it’s happening, the better. I use too
much energy being in awe and trying to figure out how the
damn NIEC works.”
Raoul walked past Darian and opened another cabinet.
“And I’ll investigate their medical kits.” He pulled out a
larger metal container.
Soon, everyone carried something from the shuttle. They
climbed down the steps onto the floor of what wasn’t a
tunnel, but a shuttle bay or sorts, created by the aliens
within the bedrock. It was wider than the tunnel, but the
height was approximately the same.
“What’s that? Over there?” Raoul pointed farther into the
shuttle bay. “Looks like a small shuttle or something?”
“Darian?” Samantha turned to her. “Can you join Raoul
and have a look? We need to use the elevator and start
walking back.”
“Sure.” Darian began jogging along the wall on the
starboard side of the shuttles, Raoul right beside her. As
they neared the object, Darian saw it was more than one. In
fact, she saw eight of them, lined up beside each other by
the wall. “Those aren’t shuttles,” she said as they reached
the first one. She took in the rectangular shape. “These are
haulers.”
“Hell, yeah.” Raoul grinned. “And if they’re in working
order, we won’t have to walk back.”
Darian slid onto the seat of the first one, and just like
with the rest of the alien technology, it came alive and she
felt right at home with the controls. A sort of joystick sat at
her right hand, and a maneuvering console was displayed
across the transparent surface in the front.
“Ten seats in each,” Raoul said as he sat down behind
her.
“That makes sense,” Darian murmured.
“How do you mean?”
“Seventy-six scroll boxes. Eighty seats. I hope we find the
crew manifest somewhere in their database, or something.”
Darian gripped the joystick, for lack of a better word, and
the hauler followed her every movement with ease. “I can’t
help but wonder about their power source. Everything works
as if they’d left the things here yesterday. I hope they won’t
kill human physiology in the end.”
“I don’t think so,” Raoul said. “If it was harmful,
Dennamore wouldn’t exist anymore, considering this stuff
has been here a while.”
Darian wasn’t so sure. Everything had been hidden,
buried, and forgotten. Now they were handling the items
with their bare hands. It was something to keep in mind.
“Aliens have golf carts?” Carl said, making everyone
chuckle.
“Looks like it.” Darian jumped off. “This will make our
return trip a lot easier. This could be why they built the
tunnel in the first place, if a bit oversized.”
“Hm.” Philber claimed the last pair of seats. “Actually, I
think they used it to move the shuttles as well. If you let
them pivot ninety degrees, they’d fit.”
Darian stopped in midmotion after helping load their
backpacks. “And that’s why the elevator is so enormous.
They turned the shuttles, and somehow that elevator is
strong enough to handle them. Now, why is another
matter.”
Samantha sat down next to Darian and studied the
console. “Clever to have the controls on the windscreen…
though it’s not called a windscreen, of course.”
“Still clever.” Darian turned her head and made sure
everyone was securely seated and had their gear. “All set?”
After five affirmative answers, she used the joystick. No. It
was called a throttle. Throttle sounded better than
something that belonged to a computer-game console. She
maneuvered the hauler onto the part of the tunnel that
made up the elevator and stopped in the center. The screen
before her and Samantha shifted.
“Ah. See that? That’s the same as the elevator controls
we saw below. Now that makes sense.” Samantha didn’t
hesitate but tapped in a command. Instantly they began
their descent.
“Wow.” Darian knew it wasn’t the most eloquent thing
she could say, but the word did express a lot about how she
felt.
The ride down felt shorter, but Darian guessed it had
more to do with being less nervous about it than when they
rode up. It took them only ten minutes to drive the hauler
back to the opening that led to Philber’s basement. Darian
stopped just behind it and watched the hauler switch off
after they all exited. Climbing the steps was hard for Philber.
Brandon helped remove the older man’s backpack,
strapping it on top of his own. Raoul wound an arm around
Philber’s waist and supported him up the steps behind
Darian and Samantha. Carl and Brandon took up the rear.
Darian took pride in being fit, but even she was winded
when they exited the staircase. Camilla and Walker had
obviously heard them arrive and stood ready to receive
them. “Oh, darling.” Camilla hugged Darian and then
Samantha. “I’m so relieved you’re back.” She glanced over
their shoulders. “Oh, my. Philber, come here.” She pointed
at the armchair. “Sit down. We’ve prepared food for
everyone.”
“Sounds. Good.” Philber literally fell into the chair. “I’m
going to have to start working out to make it up and down
those stairs.” He shook his head.
“We all will, unless we find another way into the tunnel,”
Brandon said, he too gasping for air, but he’d carried twice
the weight of everyone else.
“I imagine you have tons to tells us,” Camilla said, “but
you can do it at the dining-room table. I hope it was all right
that we found our way around your kitchen, Philber?”
“No. Problem.”
“Just sit for a moment while I check the oven.” Camilla
waved her hands dismissively at Philber, who looked as if he
meant to get up. Turning to Darian, she kissed her cheek
again. “So relieved,” she repeated.
“Me too.” Darian hugged Camilla again and watched
Samantha over her grandmother’s shoulder. “And we have
so much to tell you.”
Camilla pulled back. “I can’t wait to hear it all.”
Everyone but Brandon and Philber made their way up the
stairs to the ground floor. After washing their hands and
removing the NIECs for the time being, they sat down
around the table. Philber and Brandon then joined them,
and Darian could tell that the two men had somehow
bonded during their recon into the tunnel.
Samantha began eating but then stopped, lowering her
fork slowly.
“Something wrong?” Darian asked quietly, knowing she
was becoming increasingly perceptive when it came to
Samantha.
“No. At least I don’t think so.” Samantha looked around
the table. “Listen,” she said, raising her voice slightly. “Is it
just me, or is anyone else retaining some of the things the
NIECs, well, induced into your mind?”
Darian blinked. Was she? She thought of the elevator,
Speeder One, and the hauler. More so, she remembered
some of the symbols and markings on the consoles—and
what they meant. “Yes,” she managed to say, not quite
believing it was possible. She didn’t even come close to
having an eidetic memory and had always had to study like
crazy in school to get decent grades. Now she had looked at
alien symbols and languages, and used technology that
defied all imagination, a few times, and it was beginning to
stick already? She swallowed hard and put down her
utensils. “Does this mean the NIECs are creating changes in
our brains?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As Samantha woke up the next day, she thought back to the
conversation at the table. Raoul had been invaluable in
mitigating fears about the NIECs, even if it was obvious that
nothing could be determined without an MRI, which Raoul
thought was overkill. Perhaps they were all quite eager to
disregard the dangers, as the discoveries were—literally—
out of this world.
She was glad that today was her day off. The library
stayed open between nine and one p.m. on Saturdays, and
today it was her colleague’s turn to hold down the fort.
Checking the time, Samantha hurried into the shower.
Darian was coming over with one of the computers this
morning, and they planned to link up with the others. They
no longer stored all the NIECs at Camilla’s, but kept them in
their homes. They were afraid what might happen if the
wrong person found out.
Exiting the steaming shower stall, Samantha wrapped
herself in her favorite pink terry-cloth robe. She wore a
towel around her hair and added just enough makeup to
look alive. She was paler than normal, which came from
tossing and turning last night. After finally falling asleep
sometime after four a.m., she had awoken several times
after dreaming she was tearing through the tunnel in a
massive spaceship, unable to brake when it came to an end.
The doorbell startled Samantha enough that she nearly
poked herself in the eye with the mascara wand. Staring at
herself in the mirror, she then checked the time again.
Could that be Darian already? But who else would turn up at
this hour on a Saturday?
After hurrying through the hallway, she peered through
the small window in the door. Darian. Relieved, but also
concerned, she opened it.
“Good morning…oh shit, I’m really too early, aren’t I?”
Darian’s expression went from bright to appalled. “I’m sorry.
Should I come back in a bit?” She was holding her backpack,
but also a box that came from the best coffeehouse in
Dennamore.
