The Mantis Effect

Chapter Seven

The aircraft shook in turbulence as we ascended into the air. It was my first time flying and my excitement for the event overrode my nerves. That wasn't to say I wasn't absolutely terrified of reaching our destination.

We sat strapped in our seats and fitted with an oxygen mask to stabilize us in the high altitudes. The sound of each of our breaths seemed in sync except for Ward's. I looked across at her and her eyes were squeezed shut with folded brows. It was obvious she did not like flying but dislike was a light term for it. Every time the craft shook she clenched her harness until she was white knuckled. Hap reached over and clasped her hand and she held it tightly. He loved her so dearly and though it was not something that was easy for her to verbally reciprocate it was obvious she felt the same.

I stared at their hands as I got lost in my thoughts. Rodriguez and I hadn't told them about the meeting with the Brigadier. When Hap asked we told him that Shepherd wished us luck in the field. I debated with telling them or not. Would it be a hindrance to tell them? It might have distracted them from the mission. So we didn't, but it sat in my gut like a stone.

We were in the air for hours. I was waking up to Rodriguez speaking to himself quietly. I looked over at him. He was clutching a necklace around his neck; it was a leathery chord with five earth tone colored beads strung across it. I assumed each bead represented a person in his family. When I asked him what he was doing he told me he was praying. I wondered in times like these who he was praying to that had not already forsaken us.

"Anyone who's listening," he answered.

I touched my bracelet. Rodriguez's eyes shot down to it.

"We'll be fine," he said.

We had both come far from the naïve kids we were when we had first come here and I almost pitied us for that. I was glad to have met him and been paired with him, had it been anyone else I might not have made it to this point. His three simple words gave me courage and I believed we would be fine.

Titus unfastened his seat harness. An officer reprimanded him but with the way Titus looked he certainly was not going to enforce it.

He got up from his seat and walked over to Ward. He crouched down in front of her and I felt my spine straighten immediately. I thought of what Shepherd said and needed to get out of my seat. I half expected Rodriguez to stop me but he was ready to spring too. Titus stared her in the eyes. His body wasn't rigidly flexed and tense as it usually was. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a small hair clip. He fixed it in her hair to hold the curls out of her eyes. Ward stared at him with an indifferent expression but there was a silent conversation happening in focus of their eyes.

"You'll need to keep that mop out of your face once we get boots on the ground," he said through the mask.

Ward continued to stare at him and managed to work out the words 'thank you' as if it were difficult to utter.

"Listen kid. We've had a lot of muck and mud between us, but not always," he said.

Ward looked down at him. She slowly extended a hand and Titus grasped her by the wrist in a shake.

"Armistice then," she said simply.

He smirked and patted her shoulder before returning to his seat. On his way back he eyed me and then looked away as if to say he would admit to nothing. He had just come to neutral grounds with her, perhaps what I said struck a chord. The event was so unexpected that Rodriguez had to ask me if it had really happened.

We flew for a few more hours before it started to get colder. Our breaths turned icy and we exhaled frozen air. An officer came walking down the aisle shouting orders.