Into the Aether_Part One(4)

Sitting on the plane, Aaron again rubbed the scruff on his chin. The aircraft vibrated as it descended, and his ears popped in protest. His stomach began to churn, and as he reached for an air sickness bag in front of the red-haired woman, he inadvertently grazed her knee. “Excuse me,” he said half-heartedly, his attention focused primarily on keeping the contents of his stomach in his stomach.

The woman continued to sit silently next to him, her head still on the headrest. Has she moved at all? Aaron thought he recognized her from somewhere. He allowed himself to steal fleeting glances at her; the more he looked, the more he was sure he had seen her before.

He rubbed the back of his head again, where a headache flared in rhythm with his heartbeat. He couldn’t recall when the pain had begun.

He glanced again at the woman. She had a fair complexion, which the onboard lighting skewed into a pale, lifeless look. Pretty cute for a dead woman, he thought. Ugh, don’t be a pig. The ghost of a smile appeared on her face. He was about to let out a sigh of relief that she was in fact alive when the plane dropped.

He grabbed the arm rests at his sides, clenching his eyes shut as his breathing became fast and fierce. Aaron’s heart threatened to leap from his chest; his head continued to throb defiantly. The Bombardier righted itself as gasps and cries of shock filled the cabin. After a few moments, he was able to bring his breathing under control. Aaron looked down to see that he was holding the red-haired woman’s hand. “May I have my hand back?” she asked in a low, throaty voice. A half smile spread over her lips. Aaron looked up at her. He let go of her hand, his now aching slightly from squeezing so hard. She simply wrapped her hands together and neatly laid them in her lap and gazed straight in front of her. He followed her eyes, but saw nothing but the seatbacks in front of them.

“Sorry about that,” Aaron said, shuffling in his seat. “I’m not a fan of flying.”

“I noticed.”

“Were you in Indiana on business?” he asked, noting her business casual outfit.

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s good. I guess.” Aaron looked out the window at the lights below, which were now growing larger. “I’m headed off to a memorial for a friend. Heck, I didn't even know he had died.”

“Not a close friend then.”

Aaron laughed. “He was arrogant, reckless, and a show-off. But damn it if he didn't have the skills to back it up. His name was Jordan Ness, and he was a good friend.” He shook his head and she looked toward him, her gaze not quite reaching his. “I found out from one of the guys who was stationed with me that Jordan had died a year ago.”

“Why did they not tell you sooner?”

“That's something of a long story,” he said with a sigh. “I used to work for a company that built communications networks. Our company had bid on, and won, an infrastructure project in Afghanistan. We were a civilian outfit, completely separate from the military. My team and I were assigned a group of soldiers to protect us when we had to set up equipment in the field. These guys weren't interested in 'babysitting' us; they wanted to shoot and blow things up.” Aaron leaned toward the red-haired woman.

She said nothing, so he continued, “This one night, they managed to get a hold of a cooler of booze and decided to have themselves a little party. One of them got a bit rowdy, Private Sam Parker. He tried to pick a fight with one of my team members, I stepped in, and we got into it. I surprised him by getting a few good shots in when he pulled a gun on me. In a flash, this guy comes out of nowhere and in this Bruce Lee–like move, he removed Parker’s weapon and had him on the ground. He had his foot pressed to Sam’s throat. That was Jordan.” He chuckled. “I know there's still ill will toward me over that. I think that's why they didn't call.”

“So he saved your life,” she stated.

“That was the first time,” Aaron said. “He was their commanding officer, and normally pretty relaxed when it came to command decisions. He did tell his unit to lay off us, but when the fight broke out, Jordan ended it. Things settled down for about a month, when this one day, we were doing a job in a recently cleared area. Jordan got a call that we needed to bug out, so we jumped into their military transport truck, thinking we'd be safe. Well, our vehicle ran over an IED, an improvised explosive device.”

Tiny street lights and vehicles were now visible in the city below, and Aaron glanced down at them.

“I got a nasty concussion, so I don't recall much. I do remember Jordan pulling me out and carrying me to safety. I also remember him pulling out my team and the soldiers from the burning wreck. He was carrying two at a time and moving insanely fast,” Aaron stated, rubbing his forehead.

“What is wrong with that?”

“Well, when you have to carry dead weight, it’s easier to pull a body or sling it over your shoulder. I’ve never seen someone carry two men at a time and move at the speed he was going. It was... inhuman.”

“Adrenaline?”

“Yeah, that’s the conclusion I came to, because what other explanation could there be? I’m just thankful to be alive. I left that job, and life, shortly after I was cleared by the doctors. The pay was great, but if you’re not alive to enjoy it, then what’s the point?” He shrugged his shoulders.