on to their seats, looking at each other. The fear they saw in each other’s eyes was something neither one had seen before.
The plane was now rocking back and forth. When they looked up at the two experienced fliers who were strapped into the side of the plane, their fear subsided slightly. Each one of them remained calm and collected. There was absolutely no panic coming from Morton or the other airman.
Then as if nothing had ever happened, the plane leveled off. The smooth ride they had been enjoying returned. The hum of the engines, which had not been apparent during the rocking, returned. The next thing that happened surprised Em more than anything else since the plane had left the ground. Jack quickly unstrapped himself from the floor and stood up. Before Em could ask him what he thought he was doing, Jack began to make his way toward Morton. Em remained in his seat and just watched as Jack approached the other two and leaned in close and spoke into their ears. Em could not tell what Jack was saying. The crew members were not too concerned. Em looked at the mountains of equipment and was astounded that nothing had moved even one inch. He began to appreciate the members of the crew that had loaded the massive machinery onto the plane. Jack returned to his seat and strapped himself in once more.
“What the heck are you doing?” Em began. “You can’t just walk around like you are on the ground.”
Jack leaned in close to hear what Em was saying. “Storybook, next time that happens, I will be ready,” Jack said.
“Ready for what?” Em looked at Jack, and the fear that had diminished only moments before returned. “Morton and that Sergeant weren’t too worried, so there’s nothing to be scared of, right?”
“He said that what just happened is almost normal. He says there is absolutely nothing to worry about,” Jack boasted as if he had not been frightened at all. “Turbulence happens when we hit air pockets that are warmer or colder. Could happen again any second now.” Em resumed his grip on his seat. Jack told him that they were only about thirty minutes from landing in Alaska. “We’re gonna refuel and pick up a few soldiers.” Jack learned all this in the few seconds he had been gone. Morton instructed him to return to his seat and not be frightened. Em closed his eyes again and wished silently that he were in Hawaii already.
The landing of the airplane was unspectacular. The roar of the engines was louder, but the payload inside the plane remained securely in place. As the plane decelerated, Em could feel the wheels turning on the ground. Then the roar of the engines began to diminish. As the plane finally came to a complete stop, both he and Jack began to feel relaxed for the first time in hours.
Em’s first experience flying had not been exactly as he had imagined. He had enjoyed it more than he could have thought. Even though he was happy to be on the ground, he could not wait to fly again. He unbuckled himself and stood up. Jack was doing the same. As he stretched and tried to awaken his entire body, he thought of something. “Hey, Jack,” but he only heard the muffled sound of his own voice. He reached up and removed the plugs from his ears. He actually did not feel them in his ears anymore. “Hey. You remember the day Colonel Roth was in the barracks and Sergeant Cannon said he may be flying part of the way with us? I never thought about it much with everything else we were worried about. Do you think he meant here, from Alaska? I mean, he ain’t what we’re picking up, is he? If it is, how did he get here? Why is he going with us? I want to know more about what we’re getting ourselves into. What do you think, Jack?” Em said all this with little more than one breath.
Jack, never one to get too excited, just stood by casually, leaning against the side of the plane. “If you would shut up and calm down, I believe we are about to find out.”
Morton and Smith began to move around. The hatch of the plane was opening. Smith motioned for them to follow him. The first thing Em noticed was the temperature. It seemed as if they had landed at the North Pole. Em had assumed that since it was June, it would not be so cold, but apparently, summer had not arrived here yet. The temperature was most definitely below freezing. Em began to turn around to make his way to his duffel bag. Morton noticed Em’s retreat and assured him he would not need his gear. He said they would only be outside long enough to go from the plane to inside the hangar. He made his way from the plane to the ground. He felt like he was heavier.
He looked around and decided it must be morning here because the landscape did not seem to be awake. He could see a barren field beyond the runway. In the distance, he saw snow-covered peaks. He felt as if he had landed on another planet. This could not be more unlike home, he thought. The only other thing visible was a lone structure, which stood a couple of hundred feet away. It looked like every other hangar he had ever seen. Yet somehow, this one looked foreboding as it stood alone with its doors closed tight.
They followed the two members of the flight crew across the frozen ground and entered the hangar from the side. Directly inside the door was a small room where cold weather gear was apparently stored. Boots were piled in the corner and parkas hung, overlapped, from nails on the wall. Since none of the airmen had any clothing to be removed, they proceeded through the next set of doors. Em thought he would be walking into a cavernous hangar, but the door led to a long hallway. He felt as though he were in one of the administration buildings back in Texas. Morton led the way and seemed to know exactly where he was going.
“What about Cannon, Jack? Do you think he is here?” Em spoke in a whisper. He was not sure exactly why.
“No. I don’t,” Jack whispered back. “I think too much has happened in the past few days. I think everybody’s plans got screwed up.” As soon as he said this, he sprinted ahead to catch up with Morton. “Hey. How long are we going to be here?” Jack asked him.
“Couple hours. We’re waiting on a couple of things. You guys are going to wait in here. You can get something to eat if you want. We’ll be back to get you when we’re ready.” Morton led them into one of the dozens of doors that opened off the hallway.
The room was full of tables with a small kitchen area to one side. There were dishes on some of the tables and dirt on the floor. It was clear that this was the cafeteria; however, Em was not so sure he wanted to eat here. He and Jack made their way to what turned out to be the only clean table. Morton walked past them into the kitchen. He began to talk to an old woman who was standing by a sink. She had a towel and a large pot in her hands. She glanced at Em and Jack and then began drying the steel pot in her hands. Morton stood behind her and massaged her shoulders. He said something to her that made her laugh, revealing a toothless grin.
Over an hour later, he and Jack still sat at the table where Morton and Smith had left them. The old woman remained the only other person in the room. She continued with washing pan after pan along with several handfuls of silverware. Every now and then, she would go to the stove and stir something, which Em thought smelled heavenly. Never did she acknowledge the two airmen. Em and Jack were discussing their situation once again. Both remained clueless as to what they were actually going to be doing. Each of them had come to their own conclusion about Sergeant Cannon. Neither one thought that he would be joining them here. They felt rather confident about this. Whether or not he was to become part of their crew remained yet to be seen. Em believed that the previous couple of weeks’ events would have certainly changed a few agendas.
Em looked at Jack, sitting opposite of him at their table. His back was to the old woman. He was very surprised when she walked up behind him. “You eat now,” she began. She carried two overflowing plates. Food of many different colors was upon them. Em recognized the corn, but the rest of the plate was covered with what must be some sort of stew. The old woman sat the plates in front of them. She then turned quickly around and began to clear the other tables. Jack and Em picked up their forks and began to eat. It was obvious that they were eating seafood of some sort. There were white chunks of fish surrounded by vegetables and gravy. Both airmen were very hungry, so they spoke little.
