Shelby and Shauna Kitt and the Dimensional Holes. P. H. C. Marchesi
“Neither one by one, nor all at the same time,” said Lendox, giving her a weak chuckle. “If you look closely, you will see that you are already neutralizing the poison. In a moment, there will be nothing left.”
Shauna stared at her fingers, realizing that the fingertips were slowly returning to their normal appearance. She glanced at Lendox’s hand, and saw that it was quickly improving as well.
“Aren’t you guys going to thank us for steadying a plane headed for destruction?” asked Marina, turning around from her seat. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice!”
“We did not, regrettably,” said Lendox. “You must forgive us.”
“I do, but I don’t know about Shelby,” said Marina. “It was his flying debut, you know.”
“And I totally aced it,” said Shelby, triumphantly. “I rock!”
“Why didn’t you tell me you knew how to fly, Shelby?” asked Marina.
“I don’t,” said Shelby. “This is my first time on a plane.”
“It can’t be,” she cried. “You had it all figured out in just a few seconds – you must have flown before!”
“Nope,” said Shelby. “Sorry.”
“Well, then you’re a natural,” said Marina, impressed. “I’d say you were born to be a pilot.”
Shelby felt his heart race with excitement. No one had ever given him a compliment of this magnitude before. It was one thing to get a B - and even occasionally an A - on some test or other, and another to be told that you had the makings of a great pilot.
“I see you got rid of that stuff on your hand, Lendox,” said Marina. “What happens if they send another virus?”
“They will not be able to,” said Lendox, leaning on Shauna to get up. “The plane has temporarily absorbed my immunity. I believe it will last until we land.”
“Good, because I think I’ve figured out where we’re going,” said Marina, excitedly. “We should be there in a few hours.”
“Let us hope they are uneventful hours,” said Lendox.
“Will you be able to get back there?” asked Marina. “You look a little wobbly.”
“Perhaps, but I have the steadiest and most reliable crutch in the universe,” he said. ”Shall we, Shauna?”
Shauna nodded eagerly, and slowly walked out of the cockpit with Lendox.
“So, Shelby,” Marina said, “it looks like you’re going to be my co-pilot for the rest of the trip. What do you think of that?”
What did he think of that? It was just too awesome to be true.
General Falconbridge
Upon re-entering the main cabin, Lendox and Shauna saw that the soldiers were regaining consciousness. Ashamed and confused, they both got up quickly, and rudely brushed the flight attendant aside.
“Everything is under control,” Lendox told them. “Unfortunately, a virus infected the instruments, and the pilots were killed.”
“So who’s flying the plane?” one of them asked.
“New pilots,” said Lendox, simply.
The soldiers stared at Lendox for a moment, and then ran into the cockpit.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Shauna and Lendox heard one of them shout. “A kid can’t be flying a plane!”
“He’s co-flying,” replied Marina’s sour voice. “Consider yourselves lucky. I would have never guessed he hadn’t done it before.”
“Ma’am,” the other one started, in a condescending tone, “it’s against regulations to have a minor flying a government plane.”
“This soldier has much to learn,” said Lendox, with a half-smile. No sooner had he finished talking, Marina’s voice exploded from the cockpit.
“Are you deaf?” she cried. “I just told you that he’s co-flying! I’m in charge now, so do me the favor of not patronizing me! I already have the headache from hell from that klodian body-snatching episode back there, so don’t push your luck! Is that clear?”
Shauna and Lendox held their breath. There was no further reply from the soldiers, and Shauna saw that Lendox was smiling as she helped him back to his seat. A few moments later, the soldiers came out of the cockpit, dragging the bodies of the two dead pilots. They placed the bodies in a corner, and Shauna saw them whispering to each other and pointing to the dark marks on the dead pilots’ faces.
“Lendox,” Shauna murmured, “do you think they’ll tell anyone about all this klodian stuff?”
“They must be under strict orders not to,” he replied. “Even if they do, however, there is not much likelihood that anyone would believe them.”
Lendox leaned back and closed his eyes, and Shauna stared out the small, oval window, barely taking note of the light blue sky and the seemingly unending white carpet of clouds far below them.
“What are you thinking about, Shauna?” asked Lendox, still with his eyes closed.
“Just stuff.”
“I sense a lot of restless energy coming from you,” he continued, finally opening his eyes.
“I was thinking I’ve never seen dead people,” she said, finally. “Couldn’t you have saved them, like you saved mom?”
“Your mom was still alive,” he said. “Just barely, but enough. A healer cannot bring one back from the dead, as you will see if you decide to become one.”
“Me? No way. I’m gonna be a writer. I love writing.”
“I see. Would I be right in saying that you write with your left hand?”
“How do you know?” asked Shauna.
“Because all healers are left-handed,” he replied. “The left hand has a special connection to the heart, you see, and the heart is where the power to heal comes from. Did you not see how your left hand immediately started absorbing the virus back there? Only a healer could do that.”
“But I don’t feel like a healer,” she protested.
“Then I must inform you that your feelings are deceiving you,” said Lendox. “If you think back to your short past, however, you will see that the universe has given you plenty of hints.”
“Like what?”
“Typically, healers begin to develop their talents anytime between thirteen and eighteen years of age. Before that, however, there are plenty of indications that one may be a healer. For instance, there was a small tree lizard that lived in my room when I was a child. That lizard lived for over sixteen years, even though lizards of the same species have a lifespan of four years. I am sure you can think of an example from your life.”
“We never had pets,” said Shauna. “Just plants.”
“And I suppose you will tell me that your plants just happened to bloom magnificently all year round?” he asked, leaning back and closing his eyes again.
Now that she thought about it, it occurred to Shauna that none of their plants had ever died. In fact, some of the plants they had in their tiny Chicago apartment had grown so tall that Shauna once heard Mrs. Juniper, the next-door neighbor, enviously make a comment about Fran’s green thumb. Another time, Shauna helped her mother plant a pot of white geraniums, and they bloomed all year round – though, according to the same Mrs. Juniper, no normal geraniums ever did that.
“Actually, now that you mention it, they did,” she said.
Lendox