9 Hours Earlier
Nigel gazed at the moonrise; it was enormous. The blood moon and its significance were not lost on him. He tried to think what it might have been like to experience it back in ancient times, when the outcomes of battles were foretold based on the lunar cycle.
“We’re here,” Sally said.
Blanka prepared and launched the zip line toward the massive flying box. Nigel wondered how a ship that wasn’t aerodynamic stayed in the air. Based on the records he was able to retrieve from the windowless building, the craft was capable of sustaining its position in the sky for weeks. Its principles were deeply rooted in magnetics, and it was developed by the US government. He didn’t understand magnetics or materials engineering, but he was fascinated by the outcome. Nigel immediately thought of places like Area 51, where UFOs were reportedly stored. He’d always dismissed those theories as urban myths. He took a mental note to make sure he analyzed the data he retrieved in much more detail when he had the chance, if he didn’t die in the process.
“See you on the other side,” Blanka said as she rode down the zip line.
Nigel waited until she was atop the massive floating object before he attached the tether and flew into the unknown. The exhilaration of launching from a helicopter onto a gigantic structure was fantastical. He wouldn’t have believed that such a feat was possible a few years ago, but he had seen and experienced much since his naïve high school days. Something slammed against him during his descent. Whatever it was, it giggled like a child.
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Is that Jerry?
“Whee!” the kid said as he hung on to Nigel’s pack.
Nigel landed in a heap. Jerry seemed to land better than he had. It was no surprise, since he’d broken the kid’s fall.
“What is this?” Blanka said rhetorically.
“He jumped onto my back during the descent. He must have been hiding in there this entire time.”
“We need to find the entrance, Nigel,” Blanka said.
Nigel wasted no time tracking down the massive wire harnesses that led to a centralized location. As far as Nigel could tell, all the ship’s wiring terminated at the gigantic junction box before him. A smooth surface that reminded him of a solar panel was at the base. He didn’t want to risk breaking it, so he examined the edges for any kind of interface. He couldn’t find anything that suggested that it was any type of access control.
“Let me try,” Jerry said as he placed a small hand on the glassy surface. It filled with light, then slid to one side. A ladder was bolted to one side. Jerry jumped into the newly formed hole and landed like a commando, then was gone.
What the hell is that kid up to?
Nigel descended using the ladder, and Blanka followed. Jerry was nowhere to be found. He was standing on a catwalk. Whatever was below was protected by a massive metal housing. The hum of machinery rattled his mind. Nigel thought he was near the control room, because his gold fillings began to pull. It was like someone had taken an enormous magnet and attached it to his mouth. They seemed to be at the end of a maintenance shaft. He headed in Jerry’s direction, which ended at a junction point. He was about to pick a direction when he was shot with something. He pulled out a dart and stared at it as his vision blurred.