Reflective Day
In many places this weekend is a time for reflection. Today Lila has been thinking about people who are no longer here and sacrifices made. Raising a toast to their memory.
Halloween Surprise (pt. 27/30)
Lila reached for the logbook at the same time as Joe. Their hands collided and they fought over the document.
Finally Ian reached between them and grabbed the thin book. “Let’s put it here on the counter where we call all have a look.”
“But you don’t even read Russian,” Lila said incredulously.
“Doesn’t matter,” Ian admonished. “Maybe I’ll see something you miss.”
Lila ran her hand across the cover, smoothing the wrinkled paper. “Let’s start with the front. This looks like some sort of code. I’m hoping for this.” She swept her hands to include the whole setup around them.
Joe picked up from where she left off. “It took Ian going through two locks to get to it, so obviously it’s important. Maybe it’s a disarming sequence.” He looked around for anywhere they could input the numbers. There were two keyboards, one on each side of the vehicle.
Joe quickly walked to one of the keyboards and Lila assumed the ready position by the other one.
“Joe,” Lila called out quietly, “do you see where it says alternate monitor on the screen area? Click into that area and open up an interface.” Joe rapidly did as she said. Lila mumbled to herself as she searched through the system for the right computer program.
Joe motioned toward them. “I’ve found it. Go in through the internal dialogue box where it says system functions.”
“I don’t see it,” Lila said in frustrated tones. “Oh, wait, I got it. Now what?”
“There’s a place on the left hand side to enter letters, and digits on the right. Do you see it?” Joe asked Lila. He glanced at his watch. “And I hope you see it really quickly as we have less than 15 minutes to get this done.” Lila grunted in frustration as she scrolled through screens and received error messages, but she finally managed to access the menu.
“I’m guessing we have to enter everything at the same time. Joe, do you see the little lock icon on the top right of the final square?”
“Yep,” Joe said calmly. “Wait for me at the end and we’ll press enter together.”
“I’ll read out the code,” Lila offered. Ian took up a position beside her and aimed the flashlight at the cover, holding it up in front of Lila. She began to read aloud the series of number and letters. “S, no С. Wait.” She rubbed her eyes briefly. “I’m mixing my languages. Maybe Joe should do this.”
“Steady,” Ian told her, “Take a breath and focus.”
Lila took a deep breath and began once again:
“С Р Н П 2 Х З 8 7 Ц Ю 9 Ш Б 2 4.”
With a coordinated tap on the keyboard, Joe and Lila entered the last digit simultaneously.
“Ready?” Lila asked Joe.
“Ready,” he replied softly. “On the count of one press enter. One!”
They hit enter at the same moment.
There was a pause in the countdown, but then they heard a beeping noise.
“Shit. Error.” Lila’s eyebrows drew together and she pulled the cover closer. “Ian shine the light right… there. Yes, that’s it.” She studied it for a moment. “Crap, it’s Щ not Ш.”
She wiped the moisture from her forehead, perspiring heavily in spite of the rapidly dropping nighttime temperatures.
“It says that we get one more chance,” Joe pointed to the blinking message line on the right side of the screen.
Halloween Surprise (pt. 25/30)
It was dark and spooky beneath the tarp, with a deadened feel in the air. Lila crept over to the closest window and stood on tiptoes to peer inside the vehicle. Shining the red light from her flashlight through the glass, she had a feeling that at any moment she was about to see a horde of shambling zombies lunging toward her from inside the RV. Lila shivered.
“Creepy much,” she whispered.
Lila felt Ian slide in beside her to peer through the window.
“Wow.” He whistled almost silently.
The interior of the RV looked almost exactly like the control room of the Bilibino nuclear power plant that they had just toured, except everything was compacted into about a third of the space. The room was slightly illuminated by the flickering lights on the instrument panel. From what she could see of the space, there didn’t appear to be anyone currently in the vehicle.
Joe was acutely aware of how the canvas covering would move around them as they repositioned themselves. He pushed his hands against Ian’s and Lila’s shoulders, warning them to stay tightly pressed against the vehicle’s surface. “Slide,” he breathed into their ears.
One at a time, with Lila in the lead, they edged their way around the vehicle until they reached its door. Trying to find a joint or handhold, Lila ran her fingers carefully across the icy metal surface. She gave up in frustration after a couple of minutes and moved to the other side of the door to aim the flashlight at the door’s surface.
Ian moved in front of the door and identified what appeared to be a locking mechanism. He withdrew a fancy looking 3-in-1 tool from his pocket, from which he removed a finger-length piece of metal. He inserted the metal tip into the lock and pulled a clamp connected by a wire from the other side of the tool, which he fastened to the edge of the lock.
Pushing a button on the main body of the device, there was a brief surge of current and a spark emitted from the lock, after which Lila heard a smooth click. The door popped open so quickly it nearly brained Ian, and it was only Joe’s quick reflexes pulling him out of the way that kept him from being hurt.
They looked at each other apprehensively, and then Lila reached her foot up onto the first step and started climbing into the RV, taking hold of the railing alongside the short staircase to maintain her balance. She cautiously climbed the steps, keeping her flashlight trained on the area directly in front of her feet. As Lila reached the main level, she could see a closed and presumably locked door in front of her. She leaned down to wave Ian and Joe forward, waiting for them to reach the area next to her before continuing to the door.
Ian knelt down to study the door’s dead bolt before going through the same unlocking procedure with his device. He stretched out his hand, gently pulling downward on the European style handle. At that same moment they heard what sounded like a toilet flushing.
Lila blanched, her eyes huge. Scarcely daring to breathe, Ian released the door handle in slow increments and backed toward the bus entrance. Joe stopped Ian’s and Lila’s backward movement by the simple expedient of placing a hand on each of their backs. He gestured for them to stay in position, and they stood there for a few minutes until there was no further noise. At that point, Joe edged forward to once again open the door in front of them.
Glowing Rose
Midnight
White Light
Halloween Surprise (pt. 15/30)
“You were talking with him. He is still able to converse in his current form.”
“But… he’s dead.” Lila said incredulously.
“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t able to converse with others. It is true he vibrates on a higher level than most – but not all – people. People such as yourselves will be able to see him, as you are more sensitive than others.”
The voice directed the following comment toward both Ian and Lila. “That was one of your tests, when you were able to interact with him at the Trianon. It shows that you are two of those people who have that ability.”
“Great,” Lila muttered, “just what I needed to have, the gift to see – what do you call him?”
“He is an entity, as are we. There is no reason that energy has to disappear, it simply changes form, as your Einstein so sagely wrote. Matter may convert to energy, but the energy is not lost, it has simply changed form. This is what has happened with Sergey.”
“And us, someday,” Lila mused. “In a way it’s nice to know that I may be spooking some people in the future.” She grinned unrepentantly. “I know a few people I’d like to haunt.”
“They will not be able to hear you, but perhaps will sense a tiny bit of disruption around them, unless they are as you are – sensitive to interaction with others.”
“I guess that’s a good thing,” Lila said hesitantly.
“It is most definitely for us. Now let us plan for how you will prevent this potential nuclear holocaust”
Ian interrupted the voice – was it one person or all of them speaking? – to ask cynically, “What is your stake in all of this? Why do you care?”
“We have a vested interest in what goes on here on this planet as we are currently home based here. The ecology is already dire in places like the ocean surrounding Japan, but the possible nuclear meltdown in this location in the Chuvan Mountains is very near our headquarters. There is almost no traffic or disturbances in this area as it is only accessible through an ice road in the winter. It is ideal for our,” the voice paused, “studies.”
“What kind of studies are you doing?” Lila asked suspiciously, thinking about how aliens used humans as a food supply on the 1980s TV show V.
“We gain energy through processing the output of human emotions. It is a simple and harmless technique we use.”
Lila snorted. “Like what, sucking their brain waves from their skulls?”
“Nothing so drastic. We are also conducting further research in the laboratory where you were at this evening. It was useful to see how you interacted so easily with the interface. You are truly gifted.”
“Okay, down to basics.” Ian interrupted. “We need to figure out how, if a crisis is looming on the horizon, we are going to get from here to there.”
“There will be a helicopter waiting for you at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital helipad.”
Lila nodded. “That’s near where we live.”
“Where to from there?” Ian asked skeptically. “It’s a long way from here to Vladivostok, or at least the nearest airport to Bilibino.”
“You are correct. There is a rough road leading from Keperveyem Airport to Bilibino. You will take it one leg of the journey at a time and we will provide tickets along the way.”
“What about food?” Lila demanded. “I’m not going hungry.”
“You will be supplied as needed. Return to the upper level now.” One of the entities waved its hand and Ian and Lila were drawn against their will back to the tree where they found themselves once again standing.
“Hell of a ride.” Ian beamed.
Lila nodded grimly. “But what will tomorrow bring? And what will we find in Bilibino?”
Halloween Surprise (pt. 13/30)
Lila grabbed the hand and twisted it into a wristlock. There was some loud cursing in Russian and then Lila released the wrist and backed away.
“Nice move.” Sergey complimented Lila.
“Thank you,” Lila said modestly.
“She makes it do what it do.” Ian agreed with a twinkle in his eye.
Lila gave Ian a murderous look.
“Why the whole big mysterious thing to get us here?” Lila asked Sergey curiously.
“There is something I want to show you –“
“More etchings?” Lila interrupted him to ask cheekily.
“Hardly. This is another, what would you call it, void?” Sergey began walking with them to a much quieter and more secluded area. A cold chill in the air made Lila shiver, and she could feel goose bumps rising on her arms, which she rubbed briskly to warm them up. “Wish I’d brought a coat,” she mentioned in an aside to Ian.
“Wimp,” he said with a smile.
“Haha,” she said sarcastically. “Well, maybe a little,” she reluctantly agreed.
Sergey continued speaking. “This is a place of natural energy. The research lab requires huge amounts of energy, but this place…” his voiced drifted off. “We are not sure what to think. I would like to get your opinion,” he added respectfully.
After about fifteen minutes of hiking, they reached a spot hidden away from the crowds. There was definitely a mystical energy in the area. She could feel the vibrations coming from the earth under her feet. The vibes particularly seemed to emanate from a tree directly in front of them. “Is that it?” She pointed to the tree from which she felt the energy.
“Yes, it is most – unusual. Please walk over and touch its surface.” Sergy gestured toward the tree. Lila walked over with Ian at her side. Together they placed their hands on either side of the tree, the edges of their fingers nearly touching.
From the moment their hands came in contact with the rough bark, Lila could feel herself being drawn down into a tunnel. She could see several beings in front of her who appeared to be transparent. “Holy…” she whispered.
“I hear you,” Ian said softly, agreeing with her assessment.
As they neared the creatures, they could hear a buzzing in their ears that sounded like a hive of bees was hovering around them. She craned her neck looking for anything that might emit the sound, but all she could see were skinny, pale looking, short people whose mouths didn’t seem to be moving.
Suddenly the buzzing cleared up into speech. “Welcome.”
Lila’s eyes widened and she sucked in a quick breath. Was that them?
“Um, thanks?” she said uncertainly.
Small, But Beautiful
“Bee”
