I was Only Trying to Help

I had a long career in import/export. I traveled literally around the world on Pan Am flights 1, which circumnavigated the globe going East, and flight 2, which went around going West. Before all these useless membership points, one could become a valued flier with a major airline. I found that when purchasing a first-class ticket on either PA#1 or PA#2, every third flight was free, also in first class. It worked out to be less expensive than three coach tickets.

I had made that trip close to a hundred times. As you can imagine, I was looking forward to staying close to home and relaxing.

Unfortunately, that's not what my wife wanted. She wanted to travel. The closest I wanted to get to traveling was an RV. I know it seems crazy, but after 40 years, our marriage ended over what to do in our remaining years. I guess we could have stayed married with her traveling and me taking care of the house, but that's not what she wanted.

"Either we go together as a married couple, or I go as a happy single, ready to mingle."

She never came right out and said it, but I think she simply felt it was her turn to kick up her heels and see the world. I tried to explain, again and again, that all I ever saw of the world were airplanes, airports, taxis, offices, and factories. I guess it all sounded so glamorous, and it would have been if you could do it without working eighteen hours a day for three weeks at a time, and then doing it all again after a few weeks at home.

The kids heard her say it enough times, so I guess they bought into the idea that I was "galavanting all over the place" instead of working my ass off. I understood their position; they missed me while I was away doing the only thing I was ever good at; talking to strangers. I don't know how or why, but it didn't matter what country I was in; I could always find a way to make the deal.

I sat Michael and Isabell down and tried to explain; I thought they would understand. I didn't do it for fun; to me, it was a job. My son thought it was all bullshit, said I needed to "do whatever it takes" if you can believe it.

"Sorry, you feel that way champ, what about you, Pumpkin?"

"I know it was work, dad, but mom had to stay home while you went to all those exotic places...."

"There's nothing exotic about being in Taiwan when Carter severed diplomatic relations or in Punjab when a Sikh killed Indira. Then there's Delhi during monsoon season, which was fun. Do you know I was stranded three times by hurricanes while doing airport projects in the Caribbean? I was in Moscow when their currency collapsed. China looked like a scene from a 40's black and white film the first time I went there. The shit I went through to make a good living for all of us goes on and on, surely you understand Pumpkin."

"It sounds pretty exciting to me."

I couldn't believe it.

The divorce was quick and finalized in mid-November.

I gave her everything.

She was heading to St. Martin; I tried to talk to her;

"It's a bad idea this time of year, wait until next month, or better yet, you have the money and time, go to Hong Kong, or Australia, it's their spring, and the weather is great in Melbourne."

"You're just jealous that I'm the one getting to travel now."

She left in a huff without saying goodbye,

I laughed to myself, "Why would you listen to the guy who's traveled for forty years."

I finished packing.

A couple of days later, I locked the door and dropped the key in the mail slot. I climber in and left in my new home, a used C Class RV.

Funny, well, I guess not so funny, but it was just about the same time Hurricane Lenny hit St. Martin right between the eyes. It destroyed hotels, power lines, and water mains. The whole island had to get by without water or power for five days; as I said, why listen to the guy who's traveled for forty years.

*****

I had it all figured out, my social security and VA disability would be more than enough to cover my monthly expenses if I was careful. I couldn't afford to pay for an RV site, so with the help of a great app, I was using my GPS and headed for BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and National Forest property. I was also hoping for work as a campsite host, basically just taking my time and watching my budget.

At first, I wasn't sure what I'd do or where to start. I knew I needed at least some direction, even if it wasn't carved in stone. I had always wanted to see Yosemite, so I went there first. It was lovely, just as amazing, and as wild as I had imagined it would be. It was so peaceful there, it gave me a great idea; I would visit all the National Forests and Parks in the lower 48.

So, after seeing the parks in northern California; I continued that way. My budget allowed for only $600 a month in gas, which meant I would only be averaging around 800 miles a week when on the road. That would make it a pretty leisurely trip, which was perfectly fine with me.

Maybe two months into my retirement, I left the North Cascades National Park heading east toward Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. While a little out of the way, it made sense to swing north a bit more, into Montana, and make a stop at Glacier National Park. It was sort of on the way. I was on state highway 2 just outside the small town of West Glacier. Just before Route 2 turns south, I saw a barely visible dirt road that seemed to head off toward Lake McDonald, so I took it. After maybe 20 minutes, I found myself in a lovely clearing overlooking the lake; it would be a great place to spend a few days, maybe even a few weeks.

I settled in, opening the awning and dropping the mesh screen, setting out a couple of chairs (I always like my camp to look welcoming, but it's also a good idea not to look like you're alone). I prefer to cook on a fire, but when I'm someplace where the open fire law isn't clear or known, I use the gas stove in the camper.

Cooler stocked, check;

Bug screen up, check;

Lanterns ready, check;

Relax, now.

After an early dinner, I was looking out at the view from my little screened enclosure, when up above my line of sight, I saw a flash of what I thought was lightning, and then a fireball erupting over the lake. I had no idea what I planned to do, but when I saw the flaming plane, or helicopter, streak across the sky heading toward the near end of the lake, I started running in that direction.

I reached the crash site only a couple of minutes after the 'crash landing.' The plane didn't look like anything I had ever seen before, but there was a partially open door with an unconscious girl just inside. The ground and trees nearby were burning, and I knew I had only a few seconds, so I ran to her, figured out the safety harness, and lifted her into my arms. When I turned around, I saw the fire had advanced, we were surrounded by flames. It was time to go. I wrapped the girl tightly in my arms and covered her face with one hand, and ran through the fire straight toward the lake.

As I ran, there was an explosion that threw me forward, hard. I stumbled but managed to stay on my feet and kept running. I could feel the fire on my back, legs, and head, but kept running. There was a sharp pain that seemed to go right through me. I kept running. I tried to pat the girl's jacket when I saw flames on the fur and kept running. It took me less than 1 minute to reach the lake, but I knew it would be my last; I plunged into the water, I could feel the cold water on my chest when I let the girl go, and then I felt nothing, nothing at all, the pain was gone, and it seemed like I was in a tunnel with the light closing in around me, then nothing.

****

"But he saved my life."

"It doesn't matter; he has to go back."

"Father!!... Mother!, help me!"

I could hear the voices, but it was like being in a fog; I couldn't tell where they were coming from. Was I alive? Was I in a hospital?

"Father?" It was another voice, older.

"No, he's lost too much blood to live anyway."

"Father?"

"What is it?"

"The doctor says that if we put him back, he will surely die, but with the procedure and a transfusion, he may live. Isn't a small chance better than none?"

"And then what? What do you think we should do with one of these creatures then?"

"Father, he's nothing like the rest of them, he didn't even hesitate, this one ran into the fire and carried me to the safety of the water, he saved my life. Shouldn't we, at least, try to save his?"

I didn't understand what the conversation was about, but I heard "blood" and "transfusion" and thought the girl must need blood; she must need blood. I tried to say, "I'm O negative, and dying. If the girl needs it, she can have all of my blood...."

I became aware again; I still didn't know where I was or why I was still alive.

"He's doing better, surprisingly good."

"He looks much better."

I could tell it was the young one; I was so happy to hear that she seemed to have recovered.

I stirred; I wasn't dreaming; I was awake, truly awake. I opened my eyes.

"Well, good morning."

It was the voice, the older girl.

"The doctor said you had healed enough for him to let you wake up."

"I...."

"Don't try to speak. Let's get you something to drink."

I could see her and hear her, but her lips weren't moving. Strangely, I didn't think anything of it.

But then she answered anyway,

"Oh, it's easy, we don't speak your language, but we can communicate with you by thought."

"Wait, you can hear my thoughts?"

"..and you can hear ours."

She came over and gave me a glass of cool water. It felt so good in my mouth and on my throat. It was hard to swallow but felt amazing. I thought I needed more and was given all I wanted, and some easy-to-eat food, very much like baby food from a pouch, but strangely delicious.

"Where am I?"

"This is our medical facility."

"In West Glacier?"

"No, no, we thought it best to get you to a place with much better medical capabilities."

It was clear she wasn't telling me the whole story, but it was more of a feeling than something I knew. Just as I was going to ask more, the door flew open, and the younger girl ran in and jumped up onto the edge of the bed.

"I heard you were up; how are you feeling?"

"Much better, surprised that we can 'speak' this way, have my dreams been bothersome?"

"Oh no, we don't listen to dreams, only thoughts directed to us."

"I guess that's a good thing; what's your name?"

"I'm Leila; that's my much older sister, Ella."

"Hello, I'm Wesley, Wes, Wes Phillips"

I held out my hand, and she took it in hers. It was more like holding hands than shaking. It was nice. It felt like we had been good friends for a long time.

"You'll be able to get up soon, and I'll show you around. Bye."

She left as quickly as she came, after giving my hand a quick squeeze.

"She thinks you're amazing."

"Me?"

"You ran through fire for her; you saved her life."

"...and she saved mine."

"Hmm, what, why do you say that?"

"I heard your father; he isn't a big fan, and thank you for your help too."

"He's the Captain and overly protective. Our encounters with others like you have never gone well."

I thought for a minute and said;

"I'm sorry, for some reason, people from out of town always seem to meet the assholes; trust me, there are a lot more people like me in American, I promise."

"I was thinking more universally, but I'll take your word for it."

I slept, drank, and ate and slowly started moving around. I had a beard, I hate having a beard, so I asked if I could shave.

Ella arranged for someone to come in who gave me a haircut and a shave. It was nice, but I kind of wanted to see how I looked. I was anxious to see how much damage the fire had done.

I didn't have a good handle on how much time that passed or even the time of the day, but after starting with short trips around my room, I was able to walk around the halls and slowly built up my strength.

It was clear I was on some type of vessel, but I couldn't hear the engines or find my way to the deck. I did, however, find engineering and spent time learning and helping a little. I think we built a bit of trust as I learned their general maintenance routine. I even stood watch, allowing the team time to get a break now and then.

"This is the vortex drive," he was pointing at the large cylinder that ran maybe 30 yards down the center of the engine hall.

I asked, "Like a tornado?"

"Yes, only this one is magnetic, positive ions go in one direction, and negative ions go in the other direction. It creates a hole in space, and we are pulled through it as it collapses."

"Kind of vacuum in a vacuum?"

"Yes and no, it's more like a tiny black hole, and your job is simple, just relax and listen, get used to the sound; if the sound changes, press this button. I am going to my rest cycle."

****

One day, as we ate, the Captain sat with us and announced that I was healthy enough to go home. It was apparent the crew had discussed it, as I got a sense of almost unanimous agreement.

"We're going to be near your home soon and won't be back this way for a long time. You've gotten strong and healthy while you've been with us, but it's time for you to get on with your life, and trip."

"I don't want to inconvenience you, just drop me any place, and I'll head back to my camp from there."

"Any place, as you say, could be very far, and you wouldn't be able to make it to your camp."

"I'm not sure I understand; why do you think I wouldn't be able to make it. Would I be able to leave from where you camped? I understand that I have overstayed my welcome."

The Captain held up his hand, "You haven't overstayed your welcome. We are all delighted to have met you and learn there are humans like you in your world. We will always be grateful, and never forget what you did and sacrificed for our Leila. But while you are stronger than you have ever been, the trip to our home would kill you. So prepare to say your goodbyes; after three sleep cycles, we will drop you off, right where we found you, or where you found us."

"Okay, I understand; it will be nice to feel the sun on my face again... speaking of face, is there a mirror I could use? While I appreciate the great job Max has been doing, I'd like to shave before I go."

On the day I was to leave, Leila brought me a mirror and a trimmer. She was sad and left while I set the mirror up at the sink.

It was the first time I had seen myself since the morning of Leila's crash. I didn't know what to expect, but I could believe my eyes.

"What the fu... heck.. wow, just wow. But this is impossible. Not a single scar, but wow, I look like, like, I'm 30" I pulled off my shirt and looked at my back, "how is this even possible... I thought, Leila, please come back."

Ella walked in with her father and Leila right behind.

Ella thought,

"Wes, please sit down" I knew it wasn't a suggestion.

"Thank you... Wes, you were badly hurt when the fuel cell exploded; so much of your back and legs were badly burnt. A piece of the hull went through your back into your left lung and also damaged your heart, but you kept running until Leila was safely in the water."

Leila sat down next to me and took my hand in hers.

"By your world's standards, you died in the water, but Leila wouldn't let you go, physically, mentally, or emotionally, so we brought you here."

Ella waved her hand, and I knew she didn't mean, just to my room.

"The doctors stopped your body from dying; that's when you heard us talking about what to do with you."

I looked at her father; he smiled and nodded his apology; there was no need.

"After Leila, who still wouldn't let go of you, and I tried to convince Father and the doctor that trying to save you was the right thing to do, they knew they needed to heal your wounds and give you blood."

"I remember that," turning toward Leila, I said, "I thought you needed my blood; I tried to say, "I have O negative blood and that, "the girl," I squeezed her hand a little, "could have all she needed."

The Captain, now speaking as a father, interrupted, "Of course it was at Leila's insistence, yes, but when you offered the last drops of your blood to save my daughter, the doctor and I knew we had to try."

The doctor spoke, "Knowing your blood type gave us a direction, but we weren't sure what would happen to your body with a massive infusion of our blood. It took a long time, but we were able to save you, repair you and get your body to accept a blend of your blood and ours, completely."

"I can't believe it; I look so young; how?"

The doctor continued, "The easiest way to explain this is by telling you, we are a race of star travelers. Over billions of years, our race has adapted to space travel. We, and now you, to some extent, age very slowly. By your calendar, even Leila is thousands of your years old...."

Leila squeezed my hand, and I took a breath.

"...so giving you our blood, and using nano-bots and medication, we 'rebuilt' you into a hybrid of something between our race and yours. You are still, and will always be, human; we have just turned back your body's clock a bit and slowed your aging process going forward."

The doctor continued;

"Human genes have a built-in expiration date; what I mean is your DNA, chromosomes specifically, have a limited number of times they can replicate. When they stop renewing, you grow older. There is, however, one kind of human cell that can replicate without any limitations; your doctors call it carcinoma or cancer. We found that by mixing our blood with yours we could, not only grow more O negative blood, we could create a kind of hybrid DNA with the renewal capabilities of cancer, so your cells can now renew indefinitely. It doesn't work with all your cells, so you will age, just a lot slower than you used to."

"Hmm, a second chance to make all the same mistakes."

Leila said, "No, it was her fault she didn't see how great you are... ahh, sorry, you kind of told me about your life before...."

She knew it was alright.

"Just so I understand, physically, I look like I'm in my 30's but I still have all the memories of having lived 70 years?"

The doctor looked at the girls and then their father, "Yes, sort of, you see you've lived longer than 70 years if you include your time with us."

"How old am I then?"

"In your years, about 100."

"103" Leila had been keeping track.

"But if I look like this at 103, then why can't I come with you?"

"Sticking with your years, as an example, you've been slowly aging since we intervened, maybe one year for every ten, but we age one day over a hundred of your years. Even at our speed capability, you'd die of old age before we reached another galaxy."

Leila let go of my hand long enough to wipe a tear from her eye; Ella turned away for a moment to wipe her tears too.

I think they were all surprised when I said, "If 30 years have passed, I don't have anyone to go back to; they're all old and have forgotten me, I'm sure."

Leila jumped in, "No, you have grandchildren, and they are still young and love you. Think about what you can do with them and all the fun you'll have with your great-grandchildren...." She paused to wipe her tears again and then continued,..." Besides, it's not like we can't talk whenever we want, you have some of my blood, our connection is permanent and isn't affected by time or space... Right?" she asked for confirmation from no one in particular.

She looked at her father; he cocked his head in agreement before saying, "Actually you are now related to our family, so we can all stay connected... just don't spend all your time in your head; we'll hear from you if you need us."

I took a deep breath and, for the first time in 33 years, pulled Leila into my arms and hugged her; she buried her face into my chest and finally openly cried. The others left us to say our goodbyes.