Trapped in Time-Extinction (14 page)

“Has something bad happened?”

“No, he wants to discuss the coming attack with you.”

“I’ll head back now.”

“That would be good.”

Tyler turned Tipper and Rory said, “I understand Mindy and you are no longer together.”

Tyler stopped and looked at Rory, “That’s true.”

“She wants to see others, doesn’t she?” Tyler nodded. “Do you think the two of you might get together later after she determines she walked away from the best one?”

Tyler blew out a breath, “Rory, I doubt it. She told me that I’d never amount to much and she needed someone who was going places. She was rather brutal with her assessment.”

Rory shook his head and smiled, “Well, it’s your business and I’ll stay out of it. She’s incredibly self-absorbed and I’ve told her countless times that would bite her on the butt one day. It looks like today is the day.”

“Why is that?”

“Andy has chosen you to command the attack on the forest wall.”

Tyler was shocked and started shaking his head, “Rory, I’m too young. The Fliers won’t listen to me.”

Rory shook his head, “Tyler, my sister sees much more in herself than is actually there. You don’t see half of what is in you. They’ll follow you and I know you’ll do an excellent job. Now go and meet with Andy. We need you to win a war.”

Tyler stuck out his hand, “Thank you for your confidence in me, Rory.”

“You’ve earned it, Tyler. That’s why you were chosen to go and save Olivia. We all felt that if anyone could do it, it would be you. Now get moving.” Tyler smiled and turned Tipper south. The Cursor exploded forward and Tyler wondered if what Rory had said was true. He thought about it all the way back to the Community.

• • •

Mindy and Gordon were sitting next to the river and Rory shook his head. Mindy looked up as Rory walked toward the bridge and smiled, “Hi Roar, how’s it going?”

Rory shook his head, “I’ve got so much to do and not enough time to do it.”

Mindy laughed, “Like what?”

“Well. I’ve got to notify all the fliers that any of them that wish to volunteer to take part in the initial attack on the Destroyer City should report to the storage facility and sign up. They’ll meet with their new Group Commander tomorrow morning.”

Gordon tilted his head, “You’re not going to lead the attack?”

Rory patted his stomach, “No, I’m too heavy to land in a tree. I’ll break every branch on the way down to the ground.”

“Who is going to command the attack?”

Rory looked up and put his hand on his chin and squinted at the sky, “Uhhh, Tyler Foster has been promoted to Group Commander and has been given a seat on the Leadership Council. He’s just accepted the position and is discussing the plans with the other members of the Council.” Rory winked at Mindy and said, “See ya, Sis.”

Mindy’s eyes were wide open. She looked at Gordon, “Could this possibly be true?”

“I think he’s just messing with you. If he’s not, it won’t matter.”

“Why not?”

“What flier is going to volunteer to follow a seventeen year old into battle? When they don’t get any volunteers, they’ll choose someone else.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I wouldn’t follow him. I’m reasonably certain no one in their right mind would either.”

Mindy’s eyes narrowed and Gordon said, “Come with me. We’ll go look at the volunteer roster and you’ll see I’m right.”

Gordon took Mindy’s hand and they walked up the slope toward the storage facility. There was a huge crowd walking away from the facility and Gordon stopped a flier, “What’s going on, Greg?”

Greg shook his head and Gordon and Mindy could see he was angry, “They’ve just closed out the volunteer list. They only accepted the first four thousand names.” Greg slammed his fist into his palm, “I didn’t get word about it until a few minutes ago. This just isn’t fair.”

Mindy looked at Greg and said, “Did you know Tyler has been selected to command the attack.”

Greg started shaking his head and Gordon looked at Mindy with an ‘I told you so’ look. Greg said, “That’s what makes this whole thing so asinine. I’m going to appeal to Maximus. Tyler is perfect for this venture and, darn it, I want to go and fight with him.” Greg looked at Gordon, “By the way, how did you know about this before the rest of us.”

Gordon’s eyes narrowed and Greg said, “You must have been told first.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Every flier in your wing has volunteered and they’re all in the top one hundred names. Maybe you can order one of them not to go and I can take his place.”

Greg looked at Mindy, “I would have thought your name would have been in the top ten. Has Tyler already accepted you?”

Mindy blew out a breath, “No, not yet.”

“I suspect that if your name isn’t already on the list, he won’t break the rules to include you. He’s like that. You can trust him to do the right thing. Excuse me, I need to find Maxius.”

Mindy looked at Gordon, “It appears most of the fliers don’t agree with your assessment of Tyler.”

“I can’t understand this. What is going to happen to my wing?” Gordon looked and saw Maxius walking out of the main gate. Gordon turned and ran toward him. Mindy followed and arrived with hundreds of others surrounding Maxius. Maxius raised his hands and yelled, “The list is final. We’re going to need every flier we have in this conflict and if we don’t find enough in the first group, we’ll open the list again.”

Greg yelled, “But I just heard about the list a few minutes ago!” Many others echoed his comment.

Maxius held up his hands and the group grew silent. Maxius looked around and said, “Did not all of you know we are going to war? Have not all of you learned that you should stay close to the Council to hear what our plans are going to be. Those on the list did exactly that and that’s why they’re on the list and you’re not. You can only blame yourselves and that’s all I have to say about this.”

The group began dispersing and Gordon walked up to Maxius, “Sir, all of the fliers in my wing have volunteered for the attack.” Maxius stared at Gordon and then slowly nodded. “When will they be replaced?”

Maxius looked at Mindy and then turned back to Gordon, “I’d prefer to discuss this in private.”

“I don’t mind if she hears, Maxius.”

“All of your fliers stayed close to the cave to see if there was a possibility of volunteering for an assignment. Harvey questioned them several days ago and managed to finally get one of them to answer him truthfully.”

“About what.”

“Your fliers despise you and all of them want to be away from your command. It was my suggestion that you be promoted to Wing Commander and I hate to admit that I was wrong; you’re not ready. You’re so full of yourself that you alienated those that reported to you. If you can find enough fliers to agree to join your wing, you’ll keep your rank. If you don’t find enough within a week, you’ll lose your rank and will be assigned to a wing.”

“But Sir…”

“There is no but, Gordon. You’re not ready to lead yet. Perhaps in the future you will be.”

Maxius walked off and Mindy lowered her head. She had made a terrible mistake. She looked at Gordon, who was panic stricken. “I’ve got to go and find a new wing.” Gordon ran away and Mindy sat down on the ground. Rory was right. Her pride and arrogance had bit her on the butt. She looked up and shook her head. Maybe it wasn’t too late to get him back. She stood up and went looking for Tyler.

T
yler sat on the platform next to the cliff wall and waited while the volunteers arrived for their first meeting. He saw many of the fliers were thirty years old…or older. He didn’t want to put the Group Leader’s Pterodactyl on his sleeve but Andy had insisted. Andy was made the leader of the Community while still a teenager and he insisted that one of the things that helped him getting the Community to accept him was wearing the uniform of the Community’s Leader. Tyler thought about what he was going to say and he knew this first meeting was the most important. He thought about it all night and was still at a loss on what he was going to say. Finally, the time to start arrived and he looked out at the brave warriors sitting on the ground in front of him. Oh well, might as well be honest. He stood up and every warrior jumped up to their feet. Tyler was surprised at the speed they moved and he smiled.

“I’ve been sitting here wondering what I was going to say to you. Honestly, this is a new experience for me and I want all of you to know that I am open to any suggestion you might want to offer to make our mission successful. Take a seat.”

The Warriors sat down on the sand and Tyler sat down on the edge of the platform. “First of all, I want to make it clear that I am not an expert at landing in trees. One landing does not an expert make.” The Warriors all started looking at each other and Tyler continued, “However, by the time we go to attack the Destroyer City, all of us will be experts, or we won’t be going. We’re going to have to land safely in a forest that is much denser than anything you’ve seen around our community. The tops of the trees overlap each other and you’re going to have to, more or less, crash into the top of your chosen tree. That forest is also inhabited by a huge number of giant carnivores that will know when you arrive. They won’t be able to see you, but they will smell you and try to track you down. I had to dodge a T-Rex multiple times and I couldn’t kill him without alerting the Destroyers who patrol the wall around their city. You will also be faced with that quandary if you undertake this coming mission. I know you and you’ll succeed at remaining hidden. Only fifteen hundred of you are going to go so many of you will be eliminated during our training. I am hoping that every one of you is successful in learning what has to be done. But only the best will go on the mission.”

Tyler paused and said, “What we’re being asked to do isn’t impossible, but it’s pretty close to it. The outcome of this conflict will be determined by how good a job we do carrying our responsibilities. I will work all of you to the breaking point and I want you to know that I won’t be asking anything of you that I won’t be doing myself. When we leave here, everyone who goes will know their responsibility and demonstrate they can carry it out.” Tyler stood up and said, “Keep your seats.” He walked to the edge of the platform and pointed behind the gathered Warriors. “Please notice that there are a hundred circles painted on the ground. Before we attempt to land in a tree, we’re going to learn to land in one of those circles with a retracted glider.” The gathering started murmuring and Tyler said, “I will demonstrate what you’re going to have to do to advance to the next phase of training. You’ll have one week to master this phase.”

Tyler pulled the release chord on the glider pack he was wearing and ran off the edge of the platform into the wind blowing toward the cliff. The warriors in front of him ducked but his glider caught the wind and he rose quickly into the air. He spiraled upward and in a few moments they saw him land on top of the cliff. He waited until everyone was watching him and he released the glider again. Tyler prayed he wouldn’t foul this up. He had practiced on his own for more than twelve hours the previous day and he had the bruises to prove it. The warriors watched him fall in a steep path along the wall of the cliff and then suddenly turn directly toward one of the circles painted on the ground. He came in from directly above it and at the last moment, he pushed the nose of the glider up and stalled it. He retracted the glider and fell three feet to land on his feet. Tyler breathed a huge sigh of relief as the warriors, to a man, stood and cheered. Tyler dropped his glider pack in the circle and walked back to the platform. He didn’t want to admit his knees were so shaky that he couldn’t carry the pack.

He sat down on the platform and said, “You are going to have to dive into the wind to land in a tree. You’ll stall the glider, hopefully, a few feet above the tree, and fall into the upper branches where you’ll catch yourself.” Tyler pointed at the circles. “That is where you’ll practice the skills needed to make it happen. I would suggest you first land without retracting your glider until you get a feel for it. Then, and only then, will you retract your glider. If you can’t land in a circle, you won’t be able to fall on one. There are two hundred circles on the beach and they are each numbered sequentially starting with one through two hundred. On top of the cliff is painted numbers one through two hundred. Whatever number you launch from is the circle you’ll attempt to land in. Practice starts in thirty minutes. For those of you who had enough foresight to bring your gliders with you, you may begin now.”

The gathering broke up faster than cockroaches caught out in the light. Tyler shook his head and lifted the handboard with all the names of the volunteers. How was he going to be able to keep track of everyone?”

“I think you could use some help.” Tyler looked behind him and saw Olivia. “Why don’t I go with you and take notes while you watch what they’re doing.”

Tyler grinned and said, “Thank you, I can use the help.”

“Just call out the name of the ones you want me to make a note of.”

Tyler walked out toward the circles and Olivia followed him. Olivia said, “I’m sorry about your girlfriend.”

“Don’t be. It was for the best. Get ready, the first group has launched.”

“What about this. If what they do is passable, call out their name and an S. Failure is an F, and…”

“Outstanding is an O.”

“Something like that.”

• • •

Mindy sat on top of the wall and wanted to kick herself. She should have thought of helping Tyler but that twit beat her to it. She kicked her feet and watched the fliers leaping off the cliff.

• • •

Tyler looked at Olivia and said, “I won’t be giving them a rating today.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Everyone should have some time to practice before it counts. However, I do want to know those that are good at it.”

“Just call out their name.” Olivia walked with Tyler and he seemed to never tire. She was weary but he watched every effort and shouted approval at those that were successful and encouragement for those that weren’t. Olivia noticed that even the older fliers were determined to get their young Commander’s approval. She knew that Tyler didn’t know she would be going with them and that he was going to have to find a way to get her there, but that was something to worry about in the future. He didn’t need that distraction now.