Never Board A Green Bus... (Flight Knights, Book 3)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Close Call

 

Iris has one of those screams you’d hear in a sci-fi or horror movie. It was loud, shrill and filled with fear.

I felt terrible.

“Iris,” I said, projecting my voice through my helmet. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Stop screaming.”

That didn’t work.

I felt my footing slip as the weight of my suit leaned into the stall door.

“Don’t come near me whatever you are,” Iris cried, backing up against the sinks and dropping to the floor.

That’s when I heard GIL.

GIL is short for Galactic In-Line Translator. He’s the onboard computer in my Flight Knight suit. He kind of sounds like a butler if you ask me.

“Good afternoon Flight Knight, Hanna,” said GIL, “Having a bit or trouble today, are we?”

“Yes, GIL,” I answered worriedly. “I need help . . . power down the suit please.”

“Of course,” GIL responded obligingly.

But it was too late. Hardly a second later—under the weight and pressure of my Flight Knight suit—the door to the bathroom stall broke. And I crashed through just as I heard GIL giving the Power Down command.

Fortunately, the suite disappeared on command.

Unfortunately, I hit the floor with a hard THUD, “Owww—” I yelled, landing on my elbow and falling to my side.

I looked over at Iris who was sitting next to the wall with her face buried in her knees.

Oh boy, I thought. How am I going to explain this?

Iris slowly raised her head.

You don’t explain it, I told myself. Just deny anything she says. You have to. You’re sworn to secrecy remember?

I didn’t like the idea of denying it, because I’d be calling Iris a liar if I did that, or making her feel she was crazy and seeing things. But I had no choice I had to keep the Flight Knights’ secrecy intact.

I quickly stood and approached her.

“Where is it?” she demanded, climbing to her feet and frantically looking around the restroom. “Where’d it go?”

“Iris,” I said reassuringly. “It’s okay. Where did what go? What are you talking about?”

“That—That thing,” Iris stammered. “That Giant . . . Green . . . Robotic . . . Glowing Machine.”

“Iris, it’s just you and me. There’s nothing here.”

“Yes—yes there is,” she insisted. “I saw it . . . Mrs. Bluebaugh sent me down to check on you. I walked in. I heard something about a message. I looked up and there was this silvery-green glowing metal face looking down at me.”

Honestly, I didn’t know what to say until I saw the restroom pass sitting on the sink behind her.

That’s it, I told myself, reaching and picking up the pass.

“Iris,” I said enthusiastically. “It must have been this.”

I held the restroom pass up in front of her. It was the size of a melon, made of wood, and stained green. And it had two dark knots in the middle of it that looked like eyes.

“The door to the stall was jammed and I was holding the pass in my hands while I pushed the door from the top. This is what you saw.”

Iris went silent.

I didn’t know if she would buy it or not. I crossed my fingers.

We both looked at the dented door to the bathroom stall. It was hanging open on just one hinge.

“Oh,” Iris uttered skeptically. “You must be pretty strong.”

Cool, it’s working, I said to myself even though I still felt terrible.

“I just heard something about a message—” she started to say.

“Oh—Yeah,” I responded quickly. “That was me saying to myself that if I only had my cell phone I could message someone for help to get the door open.”

I smiled at her.

She smiled back.

PHEW—that was a close call, I said to myself.

“But fortunately,” I added, “you came along and helped me and—”

Just then Mrs. Bluebaugh came barging into the girl’s restroom. “What on earth is going on in here?” she asked insistently.

“The stall door,” I responded. “It was stuck shut and Iris here helped me out.”

Mrs. Bluebaugh looked at the door hanging from its one remaining hinge. “I see, well the bell is about to ring. You should both gather your things from class. I’ll let the office know it’s broken.”

Iris and I left the restroom smiling. I handed her the green piece of wood.

“I guess it does look like a face doesn’t it?” she laughed. “But more like an alien face if you ask me . . . Sorry, I reacted the way I did. It’s just that things have been really weird lately.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” I insisted. “Real or not, it would have scared me too.”

We both laughed it off. But I couldn’t help but think about the alien alert and the real alien faces I would soon be seeing . . .