* * * * *
I couldn't do it. I couldn't read any further for today. We had been good friends all through college. And, we had kept in touch, as often as possible, after graduating. So, you can hopefully understand why I found it so depressing to see what Ken Gambol's brilliant mind now had rolling around in it!
Hence, my closing the manuscript, and putting it back in my carry-on bag, when the chief flight attendant provided me the welcome distraction of declaring that lunch was about to be served. Nor did I resume reading it after lunch was cleared away, serving trays and all. Instead, I settled back in my seat, and restlessly slept until the chief flight attendant announced our final approach to Atlanta.
Twenty-five minutes after she had requested the refastening of our seat belts, I was grabbing the rest of my luggage off one of those chute-and-carousel assembly lines that have been the inspiration for so many airport jokes by stand-up comedians. Following which, I finished pyramiding my suitcases on a two-wheel dolly cart before heading off to the nearest information desk to see which local commuter airline might get me to RDU before nightfall.*
It was while standing third in line at such a desk that I suddenly felt the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. As if someone--or something--was watching me...
...with unfriendly eyes.
That was I why slowly commenced a three hundred sixty degreet circle of my immediate surroundings. But, I didn't see anything. That is; not until I got past the "270" mark. Only, then, did I see them!
For what felt like an eternity, five pairs of eyes were locked on mine. One pair belonging to an African-American Air Force officer with a captain's insignia. The other four belonging to the lovely young women flanking him. Three of them, Caucasian (two long-haired blondes; one long-haired brunette). And, one Chinese-American with long, black hair. But, it was neither their loveliness nor their hair color that was so striking.
Rather, it was the fact that no one else seemed to notice them. Despite the additional fact that they were wearing nothing but sleeveless, crimson-and-black leotards with white go-go boots...
...and black, waist-level monograms of the capitalized letter "g."
Between that, and the silver batons they carried under their right arms (like swagger sticks), it was easy to conclude that I was looking at a quartet of majorettes from the University of Georgia. Complete with military chaperone, apparently! Or, at least, that's what I tried to tell myself in reassurance. Yet, that still didn't explain why nobody was looking at them.
Even for the busiest airport in the U.S., that was stretching the "Hectic Pre-occupation Hypothesis" too far!
So, I now began to think that maybe Ken Gambol was not so paranoid, after all. Which is why I tried to look nonchalant as I turned my head to the left and the right. Searching for any number of airport police officers whose presence, alone, might discourage shrink-napping attempts in this public place.
That was when I heard the voices in my head. Four female voices, "speaking" in perfect unison!
"It's no use, Dr. Grant. We control the airport police. Just as we control Captain Blaine, here! So, even if we did abduct you, here and now, no one in authority would prevent it. That's why you should just give up your insane quest and join our hive mind, voluntarily. Your world will only _benefit_ from our guidance."
These ladies started to say more. But, they were drowned out by the chief flight attendant's public announcement that we were starting our final approach to Atlanta! So, everyone should kindly refasten their seat belts.
tbc
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
Continuing from Jason Grant's p-o-v.
Chapter End Notes:
*RDU: FAA abbreviation for North Carolina's Raleigh-Durham International Airport.