Star Runners (18 page)

"What happened?" Austin asked as he wiped at his eyes.

"Get out, son," a familiar voice said. "Welcome to California."

Austin blinked. "California? What? Where's Chief Sharkey?"

Jonathan Nubern clasped Austin's hand. "Get up,

recruit."

A few feet away, Bear and Skylar stood looking like they were in the middle of an elaborate joke. Skylar stood next to him, her hand on the wall for balance. She opened her mouth and blinked, rubbing at her eyes with her index fingers. As Austin stood, the ground wobbled and he struggled to find his balance.

"It'll wear off. This always happens your first trip." Nubern slapped him on the back. "Come on. We have a schedule to keep."

Austin shook his head, trying to break the haze over his mind.

What just happened? What was this place? More pipes like the one he just crawled out of stretched on either side of him for fifty yards. People entered and exited the pipes at regular intervals. One man carrying a briefcase hopped out of the pipe like he was getting off a train. He nodded at Austin and walked past him.

"Yeah, but how?"

"I said move it, Stone," Nubern called from the other side of the room where Bear and Skylar stood with confused expressions on their faces. He waved his arm. "We got to go!"

Austin rubbed at his eyes as he followed the others. Nubern pushed through a door leading to a massive room. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people moved in all directions. It looked like images Austin had seen of New York City. People moved shoulder to shoulder as they hurried. Still dizzy, Austin looked at the floor as they walked. The glossy black surface showed no signs of wear even with the amount of foot traffic moving across it. The ceiling crossed with steel and security cameras one hundred feet above the floor. Colorful projections displayed data, images from a news program and sparkling star charts. Most of the people passing him had one piece outfits in various colors similar to his Tizona uniform. All of the other uniforms had different emblems on their chest. Other people wore simple business attire as if this was part of the normal morning commute. Different languages chattered around him. He thought he recognized Spanish, maybe French, but the other languages were so odd, so exotic, he had never heard them before. Were they in some kind of airport?

A man dressed in a gray uniform pushed a cart beside him and muttered something in another language, but his intent was universal: Get out of the way.

"Sorry," Austin said.

As the man glared at him and passed by, Austin glanced down at the cart. His jaw dropped. The man pushed a cart of cardboard boxes. The cart itself, however, was unlike anything Austin had ever seen. It glided across the floor, not on it. As far as he could tell, the cart had no wheels. Instead, it floated three feet off the glossy floor.

"That cart has no wheels," he said under his breath before hurrying to catch up with the others. He poked Skylar's shoulder. "Hey, that cart has no wheels."

"I saw it," she shot back. "What's this place?"

"I don't know. I really don't." He gazed at the ceiling again, this time staring at the screen of the star chart.

"I don't like this. How did we get here? Nubern said it's California."

"Down here!" Nubern hurried through the crowd and led them down a wide staircase.

At the bottom of the staircase, more large pipes lined the pristine room. Bright, fluorescent lights mingled with the colors blinking from the pipes. The walls muffled the dull roar of the mass of humanity moving through the room above. Nubern stood in the center of the room with his hands on his hips.

Austin watched other men and women in dark uniforms climbing in and out of the various pipes. "Where are we, sir?"

"I told you: California." Nubern gestured to the pipes. "Let's go."

Skylar's hands trembled as she turned to look at Austin. Bear spoke and cut through the awkward silence.

"I don't know about going into these pipes again."

"They're called tubes," Nubern said.

"I don't know if I like the idea of going into these tubes, sir."

"Come on, big guy, you're first." Nubern offered a silver piece of paper. "This gum will help."

Bear unwrapped the gum and popped it into his mouth. He glanced at Austin and Skylar with a strange expression, as if he expected to be filled in on this elaborate prank. He walked to the tube. Just like before, Bear folded his long legs and they shut the hatch over him with a hiss. When they opened the tube, Bear was gone.

Skylar was next. Her shoulders slumped forward.

Nubern placed his hand on her shoulder. "I promise you that everything is going to be okay. This will be your last tube transport for a while, alright? Come on, let's go. We need you right now."

Skylar nodded, her body shaking as she slipped into the tube. She locked eyes with Austin before Nubern shut the hatch. The room filled with a brief whine of electronics and machinery. The lights flickered.

And she was gone.

Nubern opened the hatch and faced Austin. "I'll be right behind you," he said, handing Austin a stick of gum.

"I don't understand."

"Very soon now, you will."

"But what is all this? Does the school own all this?"

"Actually, we own and operate the school. You are at Base Prime North America."

"Who owns it?"

Nubern pointed to the hatch. "Come find out."

Austin slipped into the tube, static electricity tingling his skin, tickling the hairs on his arms. A loud hum surrounded him as he chewed on the gum.

Nubern looked down at him. "See you soon."

*****

The tingling sensation lingered. The second trip was longer than the first. Austin opened his eyes to slivers as a green haze surrounded him. He stared at the emerald cloud fluctuating. The green light stopped as if someone had shut off the power, and the hatch opened.

"Get out," a voice boomed.

Austin's eyes had not adjusted and before he could respond, strong hands gripped his uniform at the shoulders and lifted him from the tube. His knees cracked against the end of the tube. The sound came through his ears as if he had cotton swabs stuffed inside. Everything seemed muted. Austin heard his own breathing in his head as if he were underwater and hooked to scuba gear. His eyes adjusted as men manhandled him across the room. A lower, cooler blue hue filled the room. The guy who yanked him from the tube was a beast, his muscles bulging beneath a dark green uniform.

Skylar stood near and asked something he couldn't hear. Her mouth moved again as she repeated the statement. He understood one word: okay.

He pointed to his ears. "I can't hear anything!"

Austin chewed the gum in large, deliberate movements, hoping his ears would pop. He opened his mouth like a fish sucking for air.

Pop
!

The sounds crashed through his ears and rushed into his consciousness. Voices conversed from all directions beyond the walls of the current room, which housed six tubes lining the center of the area. Staff in solid uniforms of different colors moved through doors hidden in the dull white of the room. Alarms like a thousand cell phones created a chorus of activity. He focused on his surroundings. The room contained a half dozen tubes guarded by three accompanying staff members. Cobalt blue track lighting outlined the dimensions of the ceiling and floor, creating a shade like a moonlit night.

His head pounded like a full blown migraine and his stomach turned.

"You alright now?" she asked.

"I guess. Feel like I've been through a grinder. Where the hell are we now?"

Skylar shook her head. "I have no idea."

Austin nodded at Bear, who swayed behind Skylar as if he had spent too much time in a bar. "What's up with him?"

She glanced back. "He's been a bit off since we got here. Wherever 'here' is."

"I'm not sure I like this," he said, leaning in closer. "What kind of a mission trip could this be? Is this for real?"

"I don't believe for a second we were in California," she whispered back, staring at the guy in green.

"When they get out steak knives and ask us to stay for dinner and Bear's disappeared, I'm leaving."

Her eyes widened. "Not funny."

"Trying to lighten the mood. I feel like crap and now I'm getting worried."

"When we see Nubern, get some answers!"

Austin snorted. "Me? Why me?"

"Everyone knows he likes you. You guys talk a lot. Better you than me."

The tube nearest him hissed and the muscle man in green hurried, checking a tablet in his right hand. "Incoming from Base Prime," the man said in a deep voice.

He yanked back on the hatch.

"Welcome, captain," the man said as he offered a hand.

When Nubern sat up in the tube, Austin frowned.
Captain?

"Thank you." Nubern stood, nodding at the staff around the tubes. "Gentlemen."

He marched toward the three recruits, his head held high and his hands clasped behind his back. He nodded to the three of them. "Welcome to Atlantis. If you'll follow me, we have a great deal to do and a short time to do it."

Austin paused. "Did you say ‘Atlantis’?"

"I did. Follow me, please."

Nubern spun on his heel and walked toward the featureless white wall. The wall shimmered and dilated as Nubern approached.

Skylar nudged Austin's shoulder and he took a few quick steps to catch up to Nubern.

"Excuse me, sir, but we have some questions."

"I'm sure you do, recruit, but now's not the time."

"But where are we?"

"I told you: Atlantis."

Austin glared at him. "So the school owns Atlantis."

"Nobody
'owns'
Atlantis. It's run by the military and funded by the government."

They entered a long tunnel stretching to the left. The walls gleamed with a fresh coat of wax. Their footsteps and voices echoed while they walked. The door materialized shut behind them.

"The U.S. owns this?"

Nubern laughed, sending the cackling down the tunnel. "They would like to, but think bigger."

"Is it corporate?" Bear asked.

"I think it would be better if we wait for the stories. Let's just say we own numerous schools across the planet. You just happened to be from Tizona."

Austin moved closer as he quickened his pace to keep up with Nubern. "Okay, if you're not going to tell us about the place, at least explain the tubes."

"What about them?"

"Why are we traveling in these tubes?"

"Because it is quicker, safer and more discreet than air travel. Quite honestly, we don't have time for all that."

"Yeah, but how does it work?" Skylar asked.

Nubern cleared his throat. "Think of it as a fax machine only your body is the paper. The tubes simply break you down into particles and send you on your way."

Austin felt his heart constrict. "Break you down? What does that mean?"

"Nothing to worry about. Relax. It is perfectly simple. We've been using them for centuries without a single accident."

Austin shook his head. "Terrific."

“It’s similar to the curvature drive but localized by the tubes.”

“Curvature drive? You mean like the game?”

“Keep moving.”

The tunnel ended into another dilated door revealing a white room with glaring florescent lights above. Nubern gestured inside. "Time for a medical examination."

"Medical examination? Again?" Austin sighed.

"You don't want to enter a new environment unprepared. You have to do the same thing when you travel overseas, right? This is certainly no different. The doc will check on you and give you the green light for travel. No big deal."

Three nurses clad in white with their faces covered approached and led them each individually to a table. The nurse wore a mask, forcing Austin to view only her chocolate colored eyes. Her eyes squinted in what must have been a smile. She pulled out a silver tool shimmering in the bright light of the sterile room and held his hand. The tool pierced his finger tip quickly and she placed the tool in a receptacle nearby. She shined a light into his eyes.

Skylar stared at him from her table. Her expression transformed from worry to frustration, her eyebrows lowering. She shook her head as the nurse took a blood sample. Austin opened his mouth to say something to her, anything to make her feel better, but the nurse thrust a tongue depressor into his mouth.

"Almost done," Nubern said, smiling as he folded his arms across his chest. "After this, we'll head out. You came here for an education, an opportunity. Today, you embark on a new phase of your education. After today, you will never be the same. Do as your superiors command and you will be fine."

Austin closed his eyes as the nurse pressed down on his tongue.

With the physical check complete, the three students followed Nubern away from the examination tables. An entire side of the white room dilated and moved away. Austin's jaw dropped. The wall opened to a room as large as an indoor stadium with dozens of workstations sprinkled throughout. Hundreds of staff worked at their stations, typing or speaking into headsets. Some workstations boasted sleek monitors and computer equipment, while others utilized technology Austin had never seen before. It looked like holograms floating over their desks. Various staff hurried around the room, making the place appear as busy as an ant hill. High above the flurry of activity, hanging like a ghostly aura, loomed the blue orb of Earth. The holographic image rotated as thousands of points of light moved around the planet.