Davis, Jerry – Opposite Ends Meet Here

Another twenty minutes passed, and the commander’s grumbling stomach woke him from a half-sleep. “Where the hell are we?” he shouted at the pilot. “We should be there by now.”

The pilot was sweating. “We’re still on course. I don’t know what’s going on.” According to their instruments they’d traveled thousands of kilometers. Their speed was constant. Their course was triple checked and true. Never the less it seemed like they were standing still. They were no nearer their destination than when the two gunships had disappeared.

Another hour passed. Angry and trying to hide the fact that he was frightened, the commander ordered a course change. More hours passed. The commander ordered another course change. By now they were all starving, and there was no food on board. They passed a canteen of water around, and continued on with grim expressions.

The sun sank in the sky. The hostage stirred again and was hit with another tranquilizer. It was dark when the commander finally ordered them to halt and hover. They sent out a distress signal, and got no reply.

In the eerie light from the instruments, the commander saw a stranger, a heavily muscled man in civilian leather, crouching over the hostage. As he reached for his gun, the instrument lights went out. When the lights came back on, the man and the hostage was gone. “What the hell?!” he yelled.

“Commander!” the pilot yelled back in panic, like a child calling for his mother. “The power is failing!” Even as he yelled this, they were falling. The metal craft dropped like a stone into the ocean, made a big splash, and was gone.

#

Debbie sat up suddenly. She was on a thick blanket next to a campfire, with stars shining above and the booming hiss of ocean waves colliding with a nearby shore. There was also a buzzing sound, and she turned to see Kyle bending and flexing with his gyro stick. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere on the southern edge of Terra Marka. We’re safe.”

“Where’s Finney?”

“Finney didn’t make it.”

“Oh.” She fell silent. Closing her eyes, she listened to the ocean and to the buzzing sound of Kyle’s gyro. After a moment she began to cry.

The buzzing stopped. Kyle sat the gyro down on the sand and came to her. He held her as she cried, held her tight. She cried a long time, crying herself back to sleep.

In the cold foggy morning she woke up again, snuggled against his big warm body under the blanket. She turned and looked with bleary eyes at the smoldering remains of the fire. Concentrating, she marched animated pieces of driftwood across the sand. The wood jumped clumsily onto the coals, and she set them ablaze.

She shook Kyle. “You saved my life, didn’t you?” It was like she just realized it. “How did you do that? I was on a mercenary launch, they had me shot up…I remember you being there, coming to get me. How–?”

“I expanded the space fabric around them, looped it on itself.

It bought me enough time to find a traveling spell and use it.”

“What happened to them?”

“They drowned.”

“Drowned?”

“In the ocean.”

Debbie stood up, moving closer to the fire. “We’ve got to get to town,” she said. “I need access to my account. I’ll have my family arrange transport off this planet, and get a replacement for Finney.”

“If that’s what you need to do.”

“What else is there to do?”

“Savonah is dead. Someone needs to continue his work.”

“What? I can’t continue–” She broke off, frowning. “Of course. You’re the golden boy, the one with the talent.”

“If you really have a passion for magic, we can study it together.”

“I’m sick of it.”

Kyle shrugged. “Okay, I’ll take you to town.”

“You’re coming with me, right?”

“You fired me, remember.”

“I didn’t mean it. I didn’t. Really.” She threw her arms around him. “I’m sorry about all that. I am.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m not ready to leave yet. I’m going to go back to the island.” Kyle concentrated a moment, running a long incantation through in his head. A doorway through space/time opened in front of them, and through it they could see downtown Isbane. “I’ll see you safely off the planet. Then, when you feel you’re ready, maybe you can come back.”

“Maybe,” she said. She stared at the doorway with an uncertain expression.

“Maybe I’ll give you lessons,” Kyle said. He gathered their belongings, killed the fire, and they stepped through.

The doorway closed behind them, leaving a smoldering fire, a few footprints, and the constant crash of ocean waves.

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