ABANDON

Chapter 54 -- United

The air around the rocket was still. It was the first thing John noticed because he was in turmoil. He wanted sound, he wanted movement. His weapon was at his feet. Evan stood before him, a few paces off, still held in the grip of the Seehoiah behind him. John watched the claw flex and relax, flex and relax. Like a strange heartbeat, John thought, like breathing.

Evan stepped forward and the claw slipped from his shoulder as though it was merely a draped string. His head was downcast, his chin nearly resting on his chest. He stopped in front of his father and stared at his feet.

John kicked his weapon to the side.

Still staring at the ground, Evan brought his little hand up to his face, right next to his eye. His hand clenched into a fist and then his first finger jutted out, pointing to John's hand. John raised his hand a small measure then let it fall by his side again, unsure of what to do, but feeling intense pressure to perform correctly. His life and his relationship with his son depended on what he did right now.

Evan's head cocked to one side and he gave his father the same look he had given when John tried to draw the eyes in the dirt. Come on father, the look said, get it right. John almost wanted to laugh. John raised his hand. Evan positioned the hand so the palm was facing up. Then he raised his own little hand and placed the tip of his index finger in the center of John's palm. He withdrew his hand, replacing it at his side. Evan looked immensely pleased.

"I don't understand." John said.

Seehoiah jumped, then slammed its two front legs directly in front of John, the claws sunk into the metal floor. John stumbled backwards falling.The monster stood directly over his son, making Evan seem even more tiny than usual.

Evan turned around, looked up, and stared at the creature. John watched with wide amazed eyes. The monster stepped backwards, resuming a more neutral position. John exhaled, he hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath.

Evan faced his father again. He held out his hand, palm up. John looked at it, then looked at Evan. Evan's eyes rolled from his feet to his father's feet, they continued to move up, the usual vagueness in them slowly drawn out until Evan made eye contact with his father. John was completely unnerved, he couldn't say what he saw in his son's eyes, but there was a wisdom in them far beyond his son's eight years. There was something about the way he was holding out his hand, it was in the same position Evan had forced John's hand into just moments previous. Moving to a crouched position, John carefully reached out and touched the center of Evan's palm with his index finger. A wide smile broke out on Evan's face. Shining like the brightness of a thousand lights in the dark and John felt connected to it, felt the same light radiating from his heart.

John checked Seehoiah's position before moving closer. He reached out his hands in the Akai'nii way of greeting. Evan did the same, placing his hands firmly on his father's shoulders. But rather than feel weighed down, John felt like he could fly. "What does it mean?"

For the first time in his life, of his own accord, Evan spoke. "Hope." he whispered back. "Peace." And then he threw his arms around his father.

The transport slowly rose from the ground. After a meter it began to creep forward. Jane watched the altimeter, the display told her they were still on the ground. There was a blinding flash of white light followed by the deafening shake of thunder. The altimeter reading jumped to a height of 1,280 kilometers.

"Did we just get hit by lightning?" Captain asked.

"We're okay. It's okay." Jane eased forward. The altimeter was back to telling her the transport was on the ground. "Just a little further."