228
Gordon took in the ribbons pinned to the marine’s dress uniform. He’d done some pretty impressive things in his career. He stepped forward and returned the man’s salute. “I’m Colonel Gordon Crane.”
“Gunnery Sergeant Christopher Endale.”
Gordon smiled and gestured to the soldiers, who were now all smiling at him. “I suppose your security clearance has been escalated to allow you to witness this, so let me introduce you to my squad. Up until yesterday, they were a group of highly trained human soldiers. We were charged with capturing a small group of Silver People. Instead, my people got turned into Silver People themselves. They’re still the same soldiers, but you can’t really call them human any longer. Not that they’ve complained.”
“We can run so fast!” Yablonski gushed.
The squad burst into chuckles, and the marine’s eyes widened at the odd sound.
“Maybe discipline has been affected,” Crane grumbled, and his squad snapped to attention as the argument was over and the two men returned.
“I-I’m at a loss as to why I was ordered to be here,” Christopher said.
The General looked uncomfortable, but the other smiled at the marine. “We want to offer you an opportunity to serve your country once more, as these fine soldiers do.”
The marine looked closely at the man’s grin. “Sorry, who exactly are you?”
Gordon perked up as he watched with interest.
“You can call me Hugh. I’m a special consultant for the Administration,” he said with a humble nod.
The marine watched him critically then looked to the soldiers for a moment.
“You want me to volunteer to become a silver person. You want someone really fast in a wheelchair?” the marine asked stiffly.
Hugh grinned a little smugly. “We don’t really know what will happen. It might enable you to walk, or it might kill you. We were just told it eliminates your genitals. If they’re essential to you, maybe you should refuse the offer.”
Christopher glared at him for almost a minute. Then he looked to Yablonski, whose face was showing the broadest smile.
“Something funny, Corporal?”
“Just imagining you hitting mach one in a wheelchair,” the soldier said.
Crane retook control of the conversation. “Stupid jokes aside, this is completely new territory. We weren’t even sure what the Silver People were until yesterday. The four we were attempting to capture turned out to be two farmhands and their wives from the Midwest US. With their speed, they made short work of my team, then stopped to ask us to leave them alone, and told us how to make more. They even gave us the required materials. I witness my team change and can honestly say, aside from this slight decrease in their discipline, they’re the same people.” He looked closely at the marine. “Hugh is correct. We have no idea what effect it will have on you.”
Christopher took a deep breath and looked at the General. “I’d like to serve my country again.”
“But you’ll lose your…” Baines gestured towards his groin.
Christopher snorted. “That hasn’t worked since I’ve been in this chair.”
Hugh gestured to a group of men in lab coats standing by at the side of the room. They approached carrying three cases and a video camera on a tripod set up facing the marine.
“We’re doing this here?” Christopher asked in surprise.
“We were in a forest when it happened to us,” Mick said gently. “It feels good.”
He smiled nervously at her.
The recording started, and the three cases were opened.
One of the lab jockeys used tongs to lift the glowing mesh from a case.
“It’s water, mesh, then silver,” the Colonel corrected.
A second scientist carefully lifted the glass bottle of water from a case. He looked at Crane in question. The Colonel stepped forward and took the bottle from his hands, and approached the marine. “This is water that fell from a cloud we suspect came from another planet. It’s water, but we’re told it’s required for the rest to work.” He paused, then looked to the Sergeant. “Mick, can you detect anything different about this water?”
She approached and dipped her finger in it. “She looked at Crane in surprise. “There’s an energy. It’s refreshing.” She shook her head. “I didn’t detect that before, as a human.”
Christopher watched her face then turned to the Colonel. “Should I undress?”
“No, that’s not necessary,” Gordon said. “Are you absolutely sure?”
The doubt in Christopher’s eyes disappeared. “Yes, sir.”
Nodding, Gordon poured the water over his head slowly and moved the bottle to cover his arms and legs as well. When he was done, the marine was soaked.
Crane turned to the lab coat holding the tongs. “Can you throw the mesh at the Gunnery Sergeant?” The man looked so nervous, Gordon sighed and took the tongs from his hand to pick up the mesh. He looked to his team. “Specialist Green, collect some of the strips and be ready.”
“Yes, sir!”
Crane turned to the others as the marine tried to wipe the water from his face unsuccessfully. “The Silver People can touch the silver strips with their hands, as after they receive enough, it stops soaking in.” He looked back to Christopher. “This part looked a bit startling, but none of my squad were hurt by it. Let it happen.” He saw Mick move ten feet back behind the marine’s wheelchair.
Without further delay, Crane lobbed the mesh directly at the marine’s face. The man flinched but let the mesh land against his face as Crane saw done to his people. There was a flash of light, and the Marine flew back into the arms of the Sergeant.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“Now, Mr. Green,” Gordon called out.
The Specialist shot to the Sergeant’s side and placed the silver strips on the marine’s face and hands. The cameraman rushed over to get a better shot of the silver foil melting over the man’s face. Green used three more strips before they stopped soaking in.
Mick had a cautious expression on her face, then she touched the marine’s newly silvered skin. She looked at Crane in fright. “Sir! Something’s wrong. A blockage from his spine! He’s losing energy. I can feel him fading! We- we need to get him more energy!”
“The strike zone on the Mall!” Yablonski called out, and the sergeant nodded firmly before looking to the Colonel.
Crane turned to the General. “Sir, contact the guards at the Mall security zone to let them know they’re about to get company.” He looked to one of his team. “Dane, take the camera along.”
The old man looked worried, but he got on his cell as the squad moved in to pick up the prone marine.
They rushed out of the room, Corporal Dane following with the video camera he grabbed on the way out. Once they were outside, they poured on the speed, zipping through the morning traffic to race across the city to reach the Mall. The area was cordoned off, but they crashed through the barricades until they were standing next to a lushly green circle of growth next to the reflecting pool.
Dane pulled back to capture the image of four soldiers supporting and tipping up the big marine’s body as Mick tore his shoes from his silver feet, grabbed his ankles, and held them to the ground inside the circle. Raw power surged up through his feet to the top of his head as he screamed. Mick and the others holding him also screamed, and as a group, they lurched back from the circle to collapse in a pile.
All of them had shared the experience and were severely dazed. Corporal Dane turned off the video camera, pulled his cell from his tattered uniform pocket, and dialed the Colonel. “We’re here, Colonel. One second.”
The big Silver Soldier touched Mick, and she nodded to him as he felt her recovering. He moved to touch the marine’s hand, and the man yanked it back as he crab-walked back to escape the invasion of his mind. He stopped and dropped to his ass as he realized he’d just used his legs.
Dane stood and lifted the cell once more. “It was successful, sir. Yes, we’re coming back now.”
Mick moved closer to Christopher. “How are you feeling?”
His mouth moved, but he was struggling with his words. She held out a hand to him as she smiled gently. He eyed her hand for a moment, then cautiously touched it.
Through their link, she spoke calmly to him. “I’m Sergeant Michelle Tennison, but you can call me Mick. I see you got your legs back. I’m glad. You gave us a scare there for a moment. The break in your spine seemed to be draining your energy, like a leaking bucket.”
“How are we able to talk mind to mind?” he asked.
She smiled and shook her head. “I’ve no idea. All I know is we can do it when we touch. Something else crazy happens when we do, though. Just like when we’re running, talking like this makes our perceptions speed up. Take a look around, and you’ll see how everything else seems to be moving so slow.”
Christopher saw a bunch of soldiers running towards them from the destroyed barricades. They were moving so slowly.
Yablonski reached out from his prone position lying across the other Silver Soldiers’ legs to touch Mick’s foot as he craned his neck to look up at the marine. “Hey, your name is Christopher Endale, right? I just realized Chip is a short form for Christopher. That means we can call you Chippendale!”
The group shared a laugh through the link, and the marine felt their happiness and relief. They weren’t laughing at him; he was being included. They were also shaky from the blast of energy they shared.
“Thanks for doing this for me,” he said and felt their satisfaction for being able to help.
Mick looked back at the human soldiers getting closer. Their weapons were coming up, and their mouths were open as if they were shouting, which they probably were. “We should get back to the Colonel. We’ll start off slow as this is going to be new to you.” She stood and helped him stand. He looked down at his legs, and through her grip on his hand, she felt his intense feelings of relief and joy at being able to stand again.
“Whatever you do, don’t touch anyone while you’re moving fast. The kinetic energy transfer would probably turn their bones to powder,” Mick warned. “Yablonski hit a tree earlier and turned the trunk into splinters.” Christopher nodded with wide eyes. The soldiers all got back to their feet and rushed around the oncoming soldiers. Mick had her arm around the marine’s back to assist with his first run since he lost the use of his legs. Halfway back, she released her grip, and he ran on his own. She watched his face and saw his broad smile.