Call Me Martin

Martin and Little Amber sat in the rear of the large helicopter, watching Ari, Rebecca and Sherman board. The General sat down in the passenger’s seat of the cockpit. He turned and looked at Sherman.

“Are you serious about the Marines?”

“Yes.” Sherman looked down at his stitched-up hand. “If they’ll still have me.”

The General winked.

“They will. Trust me.”

Little Amber yawned and lay her head down on Martin’s lap. He held her tightly as the helicopter lifted off and sailed into the night. 20 minutes later, with only the red tail lights of more than a dozen other helicopters visible in the dark void, Martin glanced through a rear-view porthole.

“Everyone, cover your eyes,” he said.

A flash of light turned night into daylight, illuminating the farmland below and a narrow, two lane road that wound its way through the countryside. The light gradually faded and formed into a spiraling mushroom cloud that clawed its ways skyward. The cloud glowed blue, orange and finally a dull gray.

The helicopter rocked from a burst of wind.

“Don’t you hate it when big pockets of subterranean gas explode?” The General asked, turning around to look at Martin.

Martin nodded.

“Yeah, leaves nothing but an ash-filled crater twice the size of a football stadium and destroys every living thing from a spirochete to a Rhino.”

The General looked back at Martin.

“Just got a call. Two federal agents that were sent to investigate some unusual phenomena in northern Montana are missing.”

Martin laid his head back against the back of his seat.

“Another mess.”

The helicopters veered west like a flock of night birds, with wings that glistened in the starlight. Martin looked down at Little Amber, wondering if she would ever be embarrassed by him. Would she be secretive, perhaps telling some future boyfriend that her father was in the military and that he was overseas?

Little Amber twitched and moaned. She was having a nightmare, Martin thought, probably the first of many. Perhaps, she would one day forget the details and only remember a long bus ride and a helicopter ride.