SUNGLASESS AND ROCKETS Part 2: The Machine

ON TIME

A thundering noise of a propeller broke the silent scene. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a huge military helicopter was starting to fly over the area.

I didn't mind it too much. I was still looking up enthralled.

Only a few moments later when I felt the wind blow hard, and I looked for the chopper again: it was flying in a circle as it descended. It landed about 100 feet away on the road. Almost at the same time, a black truck was turning the corner.

I followed the scene totally indifferent. I was still in shock.

"Gordo!" I heard Darwin exclaim.

I turned around. A soldier was holding my friend.

"What the hell?" I murmured.

"They're arresting us," he said.

"What?"

"For drug dealing!"

Another soldier was getting close ready to seize me. I looked at him startled and I felt his fingers squeezing my skin like butter.

The painful sensation brought me back to this world once and for all.

"Oouch!" I heard myself moaning. "That hurts a lot!"

I realized then, that the black truck, of a military aspect, had parked a few feet away from the Pterodactyl.

"We're astronauts!" Darwin explained trying to speak Spanish. "We have a wounded man!"

The guards couldn't care less about his protests. They started to pull us, or better said, to drag us toward the truck.

The religious experience that we had recently lived through had turned into a brutal experience. And that applied to the people who had congregated around as well; the soldiers scattered them with blows from a club.

Meanwhile, a caravan of olive green trucks was arriving in the zone and a group of soldiers was starting to encircle us.

"Oh my God!" I said. "They're deploying all the strength they have."

We were approaching the black truck.

We stopped. A military type got off immediately. He was talking on his cell phone. He covered one ear while catching a glimpse of us. He nodded and put his phone away.

He walked in our direction.

The soldiers of the barricade made way.

"Gentlemen, I beg your pardon," he said in perfect English. "Everything has been a misunderstanding. Come this way, please."

Darwin offered resistance.

"We have a wounded man!" he tried to explain.

Lucas! I've forgotten about him!

"We need an ambulance right away!" I seconded. "He's in really bad shape!"

The soldier approved with a gesture.

"The ambulance is on its way."

Indeed, a siren was heard far away. I turned around. An ambulance was showing up from the other corner.

"Follow me," the soldier said.

We undertook the walk.

I still hesitated. I didn't want to leave Lucas. Nervous, I looked at the Pterodactyl.

A couple of soldiers were taking Lucas out on a stretcher.

"Lucas!" Darwin exclaimed.

We both tried to go back, but the soldiers who escorted us blocked our way.

"Your friend will be fine," I heard the man in charge say. "Come on."

Without offering any more resistance, we ended up doing what we were told and walked along with the platoon. A series of military vehicles and soldiers had surrounded the area, in such a way that the section of the road on which we were walking was totally clear.

It was obvious that we were heading to the chopper. Its propeller kept spinning...it seemed ready to take off.

"Could that be possible?" Darwin whispered all of a sudden.

A man with torn jeans and a white shirt was coming out of the chopper. The gale moved his hair to the front, covering his face. His leg was cast.

"It's Felix," I uttered incredulously.

When he put down his other leg, I noticed that he was wearing a black boot, with a spiky point.

"It's Felix Gonzales!" Darwin and I shouted.

We broke into a run to meet him. Many soldiers came with us.

Among the deafening noise of the propellers, we exclaimed a warm "Felix!" as we came closer. He greeted us with a strong hand shake and stared at us for a moment.

"Good job," he said.

Next, Darwin and I witnessed an event that surpassed everything we had experienced up to now, with interest: Felix smiled at us.