Chapter 45: Chapter Forty-Three

After driving only a short distance, Milo was hooked. Despite his initial embarrassment of being in such a primitive car, he could not recall a time when he had more fun. On the dashboard was a glowing blue button, so Milo pushed it. Instantly, the car’s roof retracted and folded into the trunk.

“Wow, did you see that?” he shouted with the excitement of a kid making a new discovery. With the top down and the wind blowing in his hair, his excitement reached new levels. Alex looked over at him and saw how much fun he was having. His joy brought a smile to her face.

As the nearly hundred-year-old sports car raced through the city, it attracted some unwanted attention. Several guardian vehicles spotted the rare car going over 200 kilometres per hour, but none of them bothered to pursue. Alex and Milo left the city and headed east.

The Leader’s compound was located down a long stretch of road about an hour from the city. The GPS notified them when they were getting close. Normally there would be security checkpoints positioned every few kilometres to turn unauthorized vehicles around, but fortunately there were none.

The further Alex and Milo drove from the city, the better they felt, even though the air quality was the same. Perhaps it was the car’s air filtration system that gave them a much needed second wind.

The car drove through the barren terrain, wrapping around several small mountains. On the straightaways, Milo really opened up with the accelerator and quickly changed his tune about the antique super car. Not much was spoken as they both needed the time to concentrate, albeit on separate tasks. The loud purr of the engine was actually quite soothing as they settled in for the long drive.

When they came closer to the Leader’s compound, their headlights reflected off a metallic object in the distance. Unsure what it was, Milo reduced his speed. Pulling up to the object, they noticed it was Aris’ bike stashed in some bushes.

“Let’s pull over here,” Alex suggested.

Milo inched forward, bringing the vehicle to a stop on the side of the road. They made no attempts to hide it. Just like Aris, they continued the rest of the way on foot and eventually arrived at the same ridge where Aris had stopped a few hours earlier.

Alex looked down and noticed a wrapper from an energy bar on the ground. She bent down, picked up the wrapper, and put it in her pocket.

“What are you doing?” Milo asked.

“Picking up litter.”

“That should be the least of your concerns right now.”

Milo peered through his night-vision lenses and observed the Leader’s compound.

“See anything?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, I see where Aris entered the house through a window. He said nobody was around and I think he was right. I don’t see any activity. Let’s head down there for a closer look.”

As they made their way to the fence, they found the spot where Aris had climbed over. Milo went first then waited for Alex to pass the device. She climbed up to the top wrung and carefully handed it to Milo, who was standing on alternate rungs of the makeshift ladder.

“You have it?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got it, come on over.”

Alex was about to make the final step over to the other side when she stopped. She had a look on her face that caused Milo to worry.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” Milo asked, as he turned around to see what she was looking at. Milo was about to break into a full sprint when he saw the dogs running toward him. He quickly realized outrunning the pack of aggressive dogs was unlikely, so he decided on the only logical thing, which was to climb back over the fence. However, as he turned toward the fence, Alex was climbing down, blocking his path.

“What are you doing?” he asked in a panic.

“I didn’t come all this way to be scared off by some dogs. Don’t worry, we can handle this.”

The dogs were now surrounding Milo and Alex, snarling fiercely and showing their glistening teeth. Alex was concentrating intently on the lead dog almost as if she was trying to talk to it with her mind. Her gaze never broke and her body language displayed confidence. After a moment, the dog suddenly became passive and started wagging its tail. He approached Alex and sniffed her hands as he circled around her. She remained calm and allowed the dog to get acquainted with her before she reached out and petted the dog on its head.

“What did you do?” Milo asked in amazement. “You just turned a pack of ravenously snarling dogs into some docile house pets.”

“I just used my Jedi mind trick on them.”

“What’s a Jedi?”

“Never mind. I just believed I could do it.”

“That’s a strong belief system you have. Why don’t you believe you can fly us out of here?”

“Because… physics.”

“Good point.”

The dogs approached Milo and he had yet to fully embraced their seemingly friendly nature.

“It’s okay, Milo. Let them smell you,” she instructed.

Milo allowed the dogs to get acquainted with him before he felt confident enough to pet them. The dogs cautiously circled Milo, sniffing him in different areas.

“The key is to not be afraid.”

“That’s a lot easier said than done.”

“Have confidence and show them you’re the Alpha.”

“It’s hard when I feel more like the Omega.”

“It’s okay, they know we’re not here to hurt them. We can proceed.”

Milo and Alex made their way to the house. The dogs followed behind, wagging their tails. When they arrived at the window where Aris made his point of entry, Milo gave Alex a boost inside, and then climbed in after her.

“It’s weird to think this is your dad’s house. Imagine being able to spend your weekends here?”

“Perhaps in another lifetime,” she responded.

They made their way through the house and eventually arrived at the Leader’s office. When they walked inside, they noticed the holographic image right away. It was a strange glowing mechanism, rotating above the desk.

“What the heck is that thing?” Milo asked.

“I’m not sure.”

Alex instructed the computer to analyse the data.

A soft voice began to speak. “Matter Transporter – Location: rear quadrant of the main hub – Last Transport: Aris Anderson – Status: Successful.”

Alex and Milo were stunned at what they had just heard.

“Did Aris really transport himself?” Milo asked.

“It sounds like it,” Alex replied, equally astonished.

“I didn’t know that was even possible.”

“Yeah, me neither. Now let’s figure out how he did it.”

They both slowly walked over to the nook in the wall and were captivated by the elegance of the matter transporter.

Alex stepped inside.

“Here, hand me the device,” she said.

“Alex, what are you doing?”

“I’m saving the world, remember?”

“I’m coming with you,” Milo said as he stepped inside the phone-booth sized transporter.

“No, it’s too dangerous. I need to do this on my own.”

Milo was now face to face with Alex. He hesitated for a second and then planted a big kiss on her lips. She was taken aback, but did not resist. When they eventually separated, Alex took the device from Milo’s clutch.

“Don’t worry, we’ll see each other again,” she assured him.

With that, Milo stepped back and wondered if her words were true. He watched as Alex gave the command to transport herself to the last known coordinates. The transporter powered up until it reached an intensity unlike anything either of them had experienced. At the height of the surge, a bright light radiated from the machine, causing Milo to turn away. The entire room became white and then the machine emitted one spectacular burst of energy.

As the machine powered down, the light gradually dimmed as well, allowing Milo to regain his vision. When he turned around, Alex was gone. He walked up to the transporter and contemplated going after her, but decided not to. With great sadness, Milo’s chin quivered as he tried to hold back his emotions.

“Farewell my love.”