Los Angeles
10/5/00
“I
don’t want to go out.” Amy said, curled up in a corner with a blanket.
“And I don’t want you to either.” Her dark blue eyes were cloudy and her
blue-black hair was messy. Serena had just awakened her from a fitful sleep
to go on a stuff search. Anything they could find to make their lives better
was worth the risk. Serena repeated this line to Amy who simply shook her
head and groggily lay back down.
“Well, why not Ams?”
“I’m too tired to go out.” Amy said, “I was up all last night. My hormones are all seriously screwed up. And besides, it’s way too dangerous. God only knows what maniacs are lurking around this dead place.”
“Oh, come on Amy!” Serena tugged at the other girl’s arm. “How good’s the chance it’ll happen again?”
“Pretty damn.” Amy replied. Serena had noticed Amy swore much more often than she ever had before. There were even times she said things Serena would never say. Maybe it was because Amy was bitter, or maybe Serena just hadn’t noticed in the past (back when she failed to notice much at all).
“Look, I need you to carry the other bucket of water.” Serena tugged again, “Please?”
“Okay.” Amy grumbled and got up. “I’ll go with you.”
“Reiko.” He nodded and then returned to his work.
“I need to speak to you about something.” she insisted, sitting down.
“What about?” he continued, placing a finished stack of papers to one side and taking hold of another.
“I need to go home.” That made him stop and look up.
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” Minoru Hino shook his head. “It isn’t safe there.”
“I don’t have a choice.” Rei explained. “I know something awful has happened to one of my friends. She needs me. I have to do something.”
“Why do you think this?”
“The dreams,” the raven haired temple maiden said, “I see her every night, and there’s something wrong with her. I have to go home.” Her eyes locked on to his. “Have I ever been wrong before?”
Heavy sigh. “No. Never.”
“I need someone to take me, then.”
“I would have to divert one of the planes.” Minoru read over the list. “I think there is a 717 that I could send. But you remember what happened to the last flight we sent to LA?”
“I’m willing to take that risk.” Reiko nodded. “And maybe this time will be different.”
“Is that fresh water?” a young voice asked. Amy turned to see a little boy, no older than nine. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. His teeth were slightly crooked and dreadfully yellow. He looked underfed.
“Yes, it is.” Serena answered.
“Could I have some?” the boy asked, “I have nothing to give you for it, but my water is all nasty and I can’t drink it. I’m afraid to with all the people getting sick.”
The two girls shared glances. Serena, confused, shrugged. Amy cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. Then Serena shrugged again. Finally, after the two carried out the whole conversation in expressions and gestures, Amy nodded. “Okay here.” and she handed him the full bucket she was carrying.
“Wow, thanks.” The boy smiled broadly. “A whole bucket.”
Amy almost smiled, pleased by him. She leanded over him and said, “You know, if you need food, water, or shelter go to the hospital that’s still running. Ask for a Doctor Diane Anderson. And tell her Amy sent you.”
“Amy?” the boy looked up, “Is that your name?”
“Yes.” the Catholic replied. “Yours?”
“Jake.” The boy smiled again and this time Amy could not hold her own back. He blushed at this and then said, “I think you are beautiful.”
“Well thank you.” Amy mussed his hair, “But you’re a little young for an old gal like me.”
“Okay.” he shrugged. “I’m gonna go away now.” and he scampered off toward the hospital.
The pair of Scouts stood there for a moment, pleased and slightly vexxed. Serena noticed a certain look on Amy’s face. “He was a cute kid, wasn’t he?” she asked.
“Yes, he was.” Amy never took her eyes off the boy as he slowly became a dot in the rubble-strewn distance.
“Maybe yours will be just as cute.” Serena put her arm around Amy, “or cuter.”
“If he even lives that long.” the shorter girl’s shoulders shrank. “Remember, my baby will have HIV too.” she then looked over at Serena, “But we’ll deal with that when we come to it. And who’s to say I’ll have a boy anyway? I could have a devilishly pretty little girl.”
“Heaven forbid we both have daughters.” Serena shook her head, referencing her future daughter Reeny. The two walked along, tossing out jokes and speculations about little girls and how bad they used to be. Amy told the story of when she was seven running from her bath into the backyard, falling into a mudpuddle and then leading her mother on a half hour-long chase through the neighborhood. To escape punishment she had climbed a tree and then was unable to climb back down. She had to stay up in the tree naked and caked with mud for about an hour as the fire department came to her rescue, the whole time having to go to the bathroom. Finally, as one of the firemen was helping her down, she could hold it not longer and peed on his rubber coat.
“You were an awful child.” Serena laughed, “What happened?”
“I was an angel after that little episode.” Amy shook her head with a giggle, “It was winter when that happened and I was cold. What?”
Serena’s back had gone arrow straight.
“Serena, what is..?”
“Hush!” the blonde landed a hand on her friend’s arm. Amy listened intently and soon she heard it too. A wailing, shreiking roar pierced the air. Without pause, Serena plucked her locket from beneath her shirt and held it up. Amy did the same with her power wand.
The Boeing 717 is, externally, an exact copy of the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 series aircraft. It was a low-wing monoplane with a thin fuselage. The two engines were mounted on the fuselage rear beneath the vertical tail. The horizontal control surfaces were mounted atop the tail assembly similar to the 727 or DC-9. Boeing had, the year before, bought the McDonnell Douglas conglomerate and instantly discontinued manufacture of MDD’s airliners save for the MD-90, which they improved and renamed the 717-100.
Not that Rei was at all aware of this, or even cared much. To her, it was a ride home. She looked over the jet. It was unpainted. A coat of transparent-blue corrosion-resistant primer gave the jet any color.
“I wish you luck, Reiko-chan.” Mamoru said over the scream of the jet engines.
“Domo arigato, uncle.” Rei bowed and with that, rushed up the stairs to the waiting cabin. The two pilots greeted her and allowed her to sit in a fold-down seat in the cockpit. She insantly noticed that despite the fact that most of society had gone to hell, air traffic control was still very orderly.
“Boeing Field/ King County International taxi control, good afternoon.” the pilot said into his headset, “This is flight 9362 Seattle to Los Angeles requesting clearance for taxi.”
“Um...roger 9362, taxi to runway one-three right and hold short for priority traffic inbound.”
“Copy that, 9362 taxiing to runway thirteen right, holding short.” With that, the engines wound up and the 717 began moving forward. From the tarmac, they turned right and ran alongside the runway 13L-31R strip. This one was only 3710 feet long, far to short for a commercial-sized aircraft to take off. 13R-31L was 10,001 feet and would easily accomodate even the largest jets.
“Flight 9362 squawk 0277.”
“Roger, setting transponder to zero-two-seven-seven.”
“Why do the runways have odd numbers?” Rei asked after the radio chatter was over. “Shouldn’t they be numbered in sequence?”
“Actually, the runways are numbered according to approach vector clockwise off north.” The pilot explained. “You know how a compass works, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, let’s call north 360 degrees, ok? East is 90, South is 180 and west is 270.” he said as he stopped short of 13R, “With this runway, to land, we’d be heading at 130 degrees clockwise off north. Take off the zero and you have 13. There are two runways with this heading, so right or left is according to approach perspective.”
“Oh.” Rei said, not understanding. She stopped thinking about it as a 777 landed on the runway and slowed to a stop.
“9362, you are cleared for take off on runway one-three right. Contact depature 127.75.” The copilot changed the frequency and then reported in.
“9362, good afternoon, this is Boeing Field/ King County International ATC. Initial climb after V2 to 2500 feet along the Alpha-Romeo-13-Delta departure route. Good flight.”
“Copy, tower.” and the pilot read everything back. “9362 is rolling.” Rei was pushed back into her seat by the sudden acceleration as the 717 turned onto the runway and sped up. At approximately 120 knots, the flight computer called “V1 rotate” and the pilot pulled the nose up to a fifteen degree slant. At V2, the jet had established a posative rate of climb. They were airborne and headed home.
“Mercury, should you be running like this?”
“What makes you think that?”
“The baby...”
“We’ll be fine, Serena.” Amy cut her off rather angrily. “Besides, you and I have a job to do.” As they climbed the next mountainous mass of broken concrete and shattered glass, they saw it. The pebbled green skin, serpent-like neck and dragon head. It was chasing someone, a man, through the street in a frustrated effort to eat him.
“Come on,” Sailor Moon held up her scepter, “What are you waiting for, Mercury?”
Sailor Mercury had a wry twist in her face. Her eyes narrowed even further. “Don’t kill it.” she said, “Not yet.” The moon princess looked down at the creature and its prey. Her bright blue eyes widened in recognition.
“Mercury, you have to put that aside now.” she told the aquabelle, “You’re sworn to protect this place.”
“She shook her head, “He doesn’t deserve protecting.”
“Well if you won’t do it. I will.”
“No, you won’t do it either.” And the water scout grabbed the Moon Scepter and knocked its owner down with it. She then crossed her arms and stood to watch the creature pounce.
He thought he might find shelter here, but any place he had managed to hide along the rubble was discovered by the hungry thing.
When it pounced, he realized he might not have any hope. He searched for a weapon to use. Anything. A rock to break its teeth or glass to jab into its eye. Something to free his pinned legs with maybe.
For some reason, he looked up and saw two figures standing atop a pile of rubble not a football field away. Two of the Sailor Scouts were right there. He might be saved.
“Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury help me!” he cried out. They did nothing. As a matter of fact, Sailor Mercury seemed to be glaring at him. There was something familiar about her. The short blue-black hair and sad eyes. He couldn’t place it. “Sailor Mercury, help!” To his amaizement, she shook her head, then removed her tiara.
He stared at her a moment. It was then that he recognized her. She was that girl he had taken about two months ago. He was too stupified to scream. As the animal reached down to clamp its jaws over him, it crept into his brain that he had signed his own death scentence by harming someone who would have saved him had he not...
“Shine Aqua Illusion!” and the stream of ice-cold water knocked the creature down. It roared in frustration as it made futile attempts to get up. “Okay, Sailor Moon,” Mercury said “take him out.” The moonchild performed the act without much emotion.
“Okay, forget about it.” the pilot waved at him to stop. “I’m gonna set us up for a radio-out flight on runway 25L. That will give us plenty of room to work with. Flaps twenty.”
“Twenty-twenty green.” the copilot reported. then turned to their passenger, “Reiko, you hang on for this, ok?”
“Yes sir.” Rei nodded and strapped herself in.