Chapter 118

Riding in the back of a large military transport vehicle wasn’t new to Adam. He’d ridden in one to different training facilities several times before. It jostled them along the road so that their teeth were chattering, but the soldiers on board didn’t even notice as their minds were on other things. They were shipping out.
At least three dozen uniformed soldiers, wearing the black and olive green of the Quebecian Army, sat shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip on benches in the back of every vehicle, and the convoy stretched on for miles both in front and behind him, as far as he could see. They were on their way to the military airport where they would all board transport flyers where they would take a four-hour flight to the territory now occupied by what was called the Unity, which consisted mostly of forces from Quebec and Seth’s home country of Oklasaw to the north of Michaelanburg and Spanish-America and Aricornia to the south and west.
None of his friends were on this transporter, which was unsettling, although Adam was also a little bit relieved to have some time to think. Not knowing anyone meant fewer opportunities for talking. No one on the truck was speaking at all. They were all looking around, uneasy.
Who were these people? His eyes flickered across faces. All shades, men and women, of every age, they were all here for a reason. He had to wonder what made a person decide to enlist in an army and fight in a war so far from their homeland. What made a person decide to potentially lose their life or their health for someone else’s freedom?
It couldn’t be money. While he knew these soldiers were the highest paid in the world, he knew it wasn’t that alone. It wasn’t for the glory. How many times had he left training covered in mud and stinking to high heaven? It had to be for some intrinsic reason, to find some sense of purpose, to stand up for a cause and fight for a purpose bigger than any one of them.
All of these people were admirable, and they were all there for him, whether they realized it or not.
In the beginning, the four of them from Michaelanburg, along with Seth, had stood out. They had different accents. They acted a little different. But eventually, they’d all blended in with the other soldiers, and then, there were no more stares or questions behind sheltering hands about whether or not they were who the speaker thought they were. Now, they were all just part of the same unit moving into enemy territory, awaiting the opportunity to do their part to make the world a better place.
But for Adam, that included running back into the place he’d run out of not long ago. It wouldn’t be easy to see that place again, to stand in the Insemination Wing and smell the odors that were ingrained in his brain, to see those white walls and the awful chairs. No, he wasn’t looking forward to that at all.
The sound of an airplane engine in the distance let him know that they were at the airport. Unlike the heliobirds the Mothers were so fond of, Quebec still used old-fashioned airplanes. They weren’t old, but the technology was. As long as it stayed in the air, that was all Adam cared about. They did have their own version of heliobirds, but they used them for other purposes, like dropping supplies. They were smaller than the Mothers’, and they were called helicopters.
The transport vehicle stopped, jostling them all against one another. Adam’s shoulder hit the woman on his right. “Sorry,” he said, as the guy on his left said the same thing to him. They were all forgiven. Silence settled over them again.
After a few minutes, one of the commanders came and opened the back of the truck. “All right 305. You’re going to that bird right over there, Q786. Head on over in that direction. Stay in your line, and take a seat quickly. You’re gonna want to get buckled in so we can get in the air.”
As the line of soldiers vacated the truck, Adam paid close attention. He didn’t want to be the one to trip or take too long and get yelled at. The commanders were shouting orders, hurrying them on as they rushed out of the truck and followed one another toward the plane, their backpacks, and weapons hooked to them, their helmets strapped around their heads.
“Come on! Move it!” one of the other commanders shouted as they rushed to the plane. “This ain’t no damned tea party! Hustle!”
It didn’t matter how fast they ran, they would always be told it wasn’t fast enough. It was all a form of motivation, one Adam didn’t quite understand, but at least he knew when the commanders shouted, it was for a reason and not just to show dominance. At first, it bothered him, but he’d grown used to it. Rarely did he mess up enough to be singled out. When that happened, that was when the yelling got really bad. The one time it had happened to him, he promised himself he’d never make another mistake again.
Adam boarded the transport plane with his head down and rushed to the next available seat. They were in long rows across the width of the plane, and they filed in keeping the same order they had been in before. He sat down and strapped in next to the same woman and man he’d been between in the other transporter. His hands were shaking slightly as he buckled his belt. He didn’t know if it was nerves or adrenaline.
Once he was buckled in, his eyes went to the window. Across the way, he saw another line of troops exiting a transporter and boarding a plane. Even with her helmet on, Adam could see a shock of red and recognized Rain’s form. He wished he could catch her eye, but she was also trying to hurry and not mess up.
“Have a safe trip, Rain,” he thought. “I’ll see you back home.”
Once the plane was loaded, the door was closed, and one of the commanders came by to make sure they were all buckled in properly.
“All right! Let’s go!” The commander took a seat up front next to the other officers, and Adam held his breath. He hadn’t ever flown before, though he’d been schooled on what it would be like. As the plane began to roll, he felt his stomach rise into his throat and dug his fingernails into the armrests on either side of him.
The plane lifted off the ground, and even though they were instructed to remain quiet, there was a gush of noise as the other troops like him who had never been on a plane before registered the spectacle of it. The commanders turned and looked at them, and the quiet fell back into place, but Adam’s eyes were focused out the window as the clouds rolled by. He was flying.
The last few months had brought on unbelievable changes. He’d gone from a Dick strapped to a chair to a soldier flying through the air on a mission to free all of the men of Michaelanburg so that they could enjoy the same opportunities he was experiencing right now--or anything else they wanted to do. It was a surreal thought but one that brought a smile to his face. He’d worked so hard to run away, and now he’d be flying back over the very land he’d run through. The next time he left Michaelanburg, though, it would be for good. This was the last time he was ever going back there. No matter what.