I scrambled out of the hollow and saw for myself the familiar shape of the SkyTrain that Sol had previously flown back from the RAF airfield in the other version of this world, landing on the same runway. The aircraft was beginning its final approach, and we made our way quickly to the perimeter fence about half a mile away.
By the time we got there, the SkyTrain had landed and was taxiing to a halt. Climbing over the fence, we rushed to the now stationary aircraft and waited for the doors to open. The cockpit bubble containing the pilot was high above us, and we could not see inside.
Nothing happened.
We could hear no movement from inside, and we walked around the back to the cargo doors and stood for a moment waiting for the crew to disembark. We both had it in our minds that Jarvis, McCloud, Rogers, and Joe, who was probably the pilot of the aircraft, were the crew inside, and I could not wait to see them again.
The minutes ticked by, and I had an uncomfortable thought.
"Sol," I said. Do you think it is possible that it is not our companions on this aircraft, but the enemy, biding their time, awaiting orders on how to proceed?"
"I was thinking the same thing," David," Sol replied. I knew it must be Steven speaking.
"Steven?"
"Yes?"
"Ask Sol if he can force an entry."
Sol's reply was instant.
"I could probably blow the cargo doors, but the Skytrain would no longer be airworthy. I am not even sure that they would have the replacement parts on the base to make a repair, especially if I buckled the main frame."
"What other alternatives do we have?"
"Very few. I could try to climb up and break in through the cockpit, but it would inevitably mean causing considerable damage, and if the enemy were inside, I would be a sitting target through the clear Perspex of the cockpit window."
I began to speak, but my voice was drowned out by the rumbling of the cargo doors as they swung open of their own accord.
"Step back", said Sol."
I could see that he was rapidly assembling his laser."
"No shooting until I give the order," I said, moving closer into the protective shadow of Sol."
"Hello," I shouted. "Who is it in there?"
My voice echoed back to me from the cavernous interior of the Skytrain.
I tried again, without response, and with Sol holding his laser at the ready, we advanced closer. The aircraft was completely silent, and we cautiously stepped inside. None of the interior lights were on, and it was very dim as we moved forward.
Sol went on ahead and disappeared into the cockpit.
"Sol?" I shouted, "What have you found?"
He reappeared and walked back to me.
"It's empty, David. There is nobody here!"
I felt my body begin to shake. Not with fear, but with awareness of supernatural elements that I felt enter my mind and freeze my nervous system. I fell to the floor like a babbling lunatic, crying out for help. Sol picked me up, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and I managed to speak.
"That must have been the remnants of some sort of spiritual form, for good or bad, I don't know, which was still here. I have a special sensitivity to those sorts of things."
"I remember," said Sol softly in the voice of Steven. "Have they gone?"
"Yes," I replied. "They have been gone for some time; that was just the remnants of their visit."
"So, they did not fly the plane," asked Sol.
"Definitely not, and we would have never got on board if they were here."
"Then who flew the plane, and why did it land here?" said Sol.
"I have no answer to either question. It must have flown itself, and that is not as stupid as it sounds. Automatic pilot systems have been around for a long time, but the technology may have now advanced sufficiently to programme an entire flight from take-off to landing."
"Or it could have been controlled by your supernatural friends from a distance," Sol said.
"Possibly," I replied, but the question remains as to the purpose of it all. Why did they do it?"
I walked up to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's seat. The engines had been shut off, but all the dials and switches in front of me were still active. All seemed normal, except that the fuel indicator indicated 'full.'
Not only had the aircraft flown itself, but it had also not used any fuel.
Sol had come up behind me, and I pointed out this anomaly.
"Extra fuel tanks have been added to the aircraft. I noticed them just before we came on board. They must have switched automatically when it landed. It looks as if the aircraft is fuelled up for a return journey."
"With us in it?"
"Possibly. I don't know, there is not enough evidence for me to calculate the probability."
I sat staring at the instruments as I tried to formulate a plan.
"Could you fly this aircraft, Sol?"
"A lot of my basic circuits were destroyed when McCloud neutralised me on the mountain after I went rogue. You have since told me that I flew this aircraft from the RAF airfield to the base in the Andes, in the previous world, but I have no memory of how I did it."
"Do you think you could do it now?" I asked.
Sol paused for a moment while he made the calculation.
"This is not a particularly complex piece of equipment by modern standards, and I know the fundamental aeronautical principles that allow a heavier-than-air machine to fly. I would say that there is an 88% probability that I could do it. Once the aircraft is airborne, the probability rises to 99%. The problem areas are take-off and landing.
" But where would I head for, even if I could fly it?"
That was a question that I could not answer, but the aircraft would not have flown here and landed within our sight without a reason. I was sure we were the intended recipients of this gift from the gods, but what were we to do with it?"
There was a rumbling noise from behind us, and we turned to see that the cargo doors were closing. This could happen automatically if they were left open for too long, or somebody had given the signal.
The doors inched closer together.
Once they closed completely, we were trapped, but we made no effort to escape. I put our lives in the hands of our benefactors; I could only think that they meant Sol to fly the aircraft, and if I was right, we would soon be informed of our destination. I stepped out of the cockpit and joined Sol.
The cargo doors were now shut.
The engines suddenly came to life, and the aircraft began to turn around until it faced the full length of the runway on which it had landed. It remained stationary for a couple of minutes until the engines reached full power; then, the brakes were released, and the aircraft surged down the runway. I fell to the ground under the force of the acceleration, sliding back as the nose raised, and we were airborne.
The aircraft was flying itself.