Wings of Death

Just like old times

Nathan had been so exhausted by the morning’s training that he went back to sleep again. His limbs were aching and he felt as if his energy had been drained entirely. When Margaret rang the doorbell, Nathan was fast asleep. Mr. Browning opened the door and welcomed Margaret. He knew that Nathan and Margaret had always been best of friends and admired Margaret for always staying by Nathan’s side.

Mrs. Browning was really happy to see her. Before the alien invasion, she used to visit them every weekend. She couldn’t believe how things had changed so fast. Mr. Browning wanted to wake Nathan up but Margaret requested him not to. The three of them had a long conversation about life at the base. Though they were quite happy at Fort Barton they longed to go back home. Mrs. Browning told Margaret that when the crisis was over she would invite her family to dinner. Mr. Browning had always liked Margaret. She wasn’t like any other youngster, she was calm and composed and never acted impulsively.

“I hope Nathan manages to learn a thing or two from you”, remarked Mr. Browning.

“He would become very boring if he tried to learn from me”, smiled Margaret.

After talking for almost an hour she got up to leave. “I will come back in the evening. It was nice talking to you”, with this she bid them farewell.

When Nathan woke up in the afternoon his dad told him about Margaret’s visit and all the things she had discussed with his mom.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” he said gloomily. He could not believe his luck. It had been a week since he had spoken to her properly. When she finally took out some time from her busy schedule, he couldn’t even see her. Nathan was so angry with himself that he punched his bed and cursed himself.

“Hey, calm down son. She said she would come back later” Mr. Browning tried to ease his mind.

Nathan spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about Margaret. He was so distracted by his thoughts that he got up without finishing his lunch. It seemed as if the clock had slowed down on purpose. He waited for evening to arrive so that he could finally speak to Margaret.

It was 5 PM, Nathan was sitting on the couch and counting the hours, when the bell rang. He rushed to the door at once. On opening the door he found Margaret was standing outside.

“I missed you so much Marge”, he cried and hugged her tightly.

“I missed you too; she replied and cuffed her arms tightly around his shoulder.

Nathan wanted to freeze this moment forever. He wanted to just hold her in her arms and listen to her heartbeat. None of them spoke for a while. They knew their words couldn’t express what their hearts felt. The silence was finally broken by the ringing of Margaret’s cell phone. It was Dr. Hart. Instead of picking up the call she did something quite unexpected.  She disconnected her call and then switched off her cell phone. She and Nathan had so many things to talk about and she didn’t want anyone to interrupt their conversation.

Nathan grabbed her hand and said, “Come with me”. He took her to the abandoned guard tower. They could talk to their hearts’ content now and did not have to worry about people disturbing them.

“I have so much to tell you. Last night I was sitting here and thinking about you. Do you remember how we used to watch the stars from our terrace?”

“I do. I still miss those days Nathan. I hope things get back to normal soon. What is the first thing you are going to do when things become normal again?” she asked.

“I think I will go to the museum with you”, Nathan replied with a smile.

“I thought museums and art galleries bored you.”

“Well, you seem to like them. Maybe we should go there together. What about you Marge? What are you going to do when things return to normal?”

“I would like to go out for a movie”, there was a slight pause and then she added “with you”.

They discussed their life at the fort and reminisced about their childhood memories. Margaret eagerly told Nathan about Dr. Hart’s research and he listened with avid interest. Nathan told her about his training and  how miserably he had failed at it.

Margaret clasped his palm in hers and looked into his eyes, “I believe in you. You just need to work a little harder. I am sure you will improve in no time. Just don’t give up”. Those words filled his heart with determination. He was glad that at least she believed in him.

They talked about their dreams and hopes and all their secret fears and comforted each other.  When the moon finally peeped out from under the curtained clouds it was time for Margaret to get back to Dr. Erica’s lab. She bid farewell to Nathan and promised to meet him at the same place next evening. Though so many things had changed, their friendship remained a constant.

Nathan was now ready to give his best and do everything in his power to improve his fitness levels. The conversation with Margaret fueled his confidence and he swore to change himself from that day onward. It was time for him to become the hero of his own story.

He returned to his room in the barrack a few minutes later. Alex and Joshua were waiting for him inside.

“Hey, where have you been, man?” asked Alex.

“I was just hanging out with Marge “he started blushing.

“Listen, Captain Elijah said we are going to start with weapons training from tomorrow. This is going to be awesome bro!” Alex could barely contain his excitement

Nathan could not believe what he had just heard. Finally, he would get to use military weapons. He had been waiting for this day ever since the invasion began! He went to sleep early that night. No matter what happened he could not be late for tomorrow’s training.