Citadel Chapter 3 What Lies Beneath

At first it seemed as though there was no sign of any place to land.  As the helicopter descended that situation did not change.  The only thing that could be seen was a multitude of tree tops, daggers sticking menacingly upward. Closer and closer the craft swiftly drew near to what was obvious to any eye as soon to be deadly encounter.

            “I just can't believe this is happening!” shouted Dr. Schmidt over the roar of the descending craft as its blades labored to maintain control. “We are all going to die!”

“Shut up!” Jessica warned staying remarkably calm “I have to think!”

“We have to do something! Now! Or it will be too late!” He began to lose all control. His thoughts betrayed him. This stupid woman just doesn’t understand. He started to release his restraints.

“Just a minute!”  It did not make any sense.

“We have to make them understand that this is a mistake.” Schmidt continued his plea.

“I don't think so.”

Dr. Schmidt's sense of impending end of mortality gave him an uncontrollable urge to escape what now seemed the inevitable.

“I'm not going to die this way!” he said as he finished unfastening his safety belt.

There was no escape, but it was the fatality of the situation that most intrigued Jessica who still held out a perilous hope that the “lunatics” knew what they were doing.  It was however against her instincts to allow someone else to control how and when she might die.

“Please don't get out of your seat Dr. Schmidt.”

“I have to.”

“It wouldn't be a wise thing to do.”

“If I don't take control of the helicopter we will die!”

“Calm down Doctor.  I don't like it either but perhaps...”

“There is no perhaps you idiot!”

That did it.  Dr. Schmidt finally freed himself from his restraints only to come in contact with the stinging right cross of Jessica who then barred the now stinging Dr. Schmidt from access to the cockpit.  He fell in a heap to the floor of the helicopter.  The fire to escape left as the welt on the side of his face grew.  Trouble was Jessica wasn't sure she should have stopped him.

The faceless voice poured more reassurance into the cabin.

“There is absolutely no need to fear.  You will land shortly.”

“Right!” Now Jessica was shouting. “Your not in this thing!  I think you have a malfunction and in a moment I'm not going to be a very happy person!  That means you better pray I don't survive because what's left of me is coming after you!”

The voice responded calmly “I'd say you have potential.  Good.”

“What! Is this some kind of a joke? Shut up!” shouted Jessica while she looked for a weapon and settled sanctimoniously for her brief case which she threw symbolically at the speaker.

The helicopter descended into the trees.  Both passengers instinctively covered their heads and braced for the impact.  The sensation of immediate contact was overwhelming. Then it happened.

“I don't want to die,” said Dr. Schmidt feebly from the floor.

Dr. Schmidt's weight and high blood pressure had begun to manifest as now large beads of perspiration came his forehead.

Nothing happened.  The blades of the helicopter passed through the trees as though they did not exist.  Dr. Schmidt peered out the window as best he could from his awkward position and made a startling discovery.

“A hologram” Dr. Schmidt observed.

“To be sure!” Jessica acknowledged without agreeing.

Jessica showed little outward sign of obvious relief.  She was cool and collected now.  The transformation from anger to scientific inquiry was nothing short of astonishing to Dr. Schmidt who had witnessed it first hand and was still not certain he could get up safely.

“A very GOOD hologram,” she remarked approvingly.

Her dynamic change from rage back to scientist was fueled more by self-preservation than instinct.  It was how she had learned to cope with an unfriendly world.  Her emotion was quickly replaced with the business demeanor of a respected scientist.

Schmidt observed her change with both relief and disbelief He could only conclude that in the extreme pressure of the moment she had been forced to employ all of her defenses.

            In a way he admired her.  All he did was hide.  Sadly hiding didn't really seem to bother him that much.  It was something he had grown accustom to.  Neither of them could know that the whole incident was recorded and now part of their individual personal profiles.  The tests were only beginning.

The helicopter came to rest.  Just beyond the images of the hologram the forest moved violently under the strain of the artificial winds.  The last glimmer of sunlight faded as the blades slowed to a complete stop.

Jessica peered out of the windows on either side of the helicopter and saw only forest.

“I see no sign of anyone,” she reported.

No one approached.  Moments passed without an outward sign that anyone was coming to welcome them.  She couldn't help but notice, even in the moonlight, the incredible beauty of lush ferns and thick grass adorned with flowers between towering pines.

“Someone has taken great pains to protect whatever it is they have here.  The hologram is an expensive toy.  Such a large and sophisticated one must -mean the presence of a great deal of technological know-how.  What we have to worry about, Dr. Schmidt, is if this is a one way trip if we prove not to be what they want.”

“Surely you don't think they would bring us to harm?” said Dr. Schmidt as he massaged a sore jaw.

“No, I don't believe they intend to yet.  If they had wanted to it would have been a simple task.  But why us?” asked Jessica with a suspicious eye to Dr. Schmidt.

She continued to observe the beauty of the surroundings.

“Everything but Bambi,” Jessica whispered to herself as she aimlessly soaked in the serenity so foreign to her way of life in the city.  The calm was an even stranger sensation than the violence of the helicopter's flight.  That could be understood.  Logically such maneuvers were required to stay in the air and to arrive at the unknown destination,  but this.  The roar of the helicopter still echoed very much in their minds and kept them on edge, ever expectant for the next challenge.

“What are they waiting for?” Jessica half whispered.

“Perhaps we should get out ourselves?” suggested Dr. Schmidt.

“I don't think so.”

Suddenly the ground began to vibrate violently and the entire area around the helicopter moved.  At first Jessica thought that the helicopter was going to take off again.

“How strange,” she said softly.

She became preoccupied with the reasons as to why another take off would be necessary.  It didn't make sense.  In that same moment her inquiry was interrupted.  As the sound grew the helicopter did not rise but to their complete surprise the landing platform began to descend below the level of the forest.

“Of course!”

“I don't understand,” he said.

“Don't worry, you will.”  Whatever it is going on here, to be sure, it is one expensive project!