Bermuda Triangle Read Online Free Page A

light. The
angels have no sun and they have no night -- it's always day time where they
live. There are plenty of fruits and berries in the trees and bushes. I thought
I'd miss meat, but that stuff is good and it fills you up. The place was
paradise. Lana made me some wings so I could fly, too." A little smile
came to his lips, his expression distant. Hanlon was relieved to find Swan much
more composed. He made a mental note to avoid the subject of Hell.
    Swan continued, "Course,
you don't need wings to fly. In Heaven you float, because you're virtually weightless.
The wings just kind of direct you. The trees were huge, and their branches
spread out every which way. It's the light, see? It's all around. I don't know
how or why, it just is! I tell you, time has no meaning in that place. If you
want to sleep, then you sleep!" He paused and swallowed. He still had a
wheeze. "Most people sleep in caves or holes that they've dug -- it's
darker that way and you don't go floating away. They catch the water that comes
from underground rivers; eating and drinking is never a problem. And the sex!
Holy shit, you have sex floating right up in the air. If that ain't living, I don't
know what is!"
    Jake Swann's eyes
glittered. With his red face and wild eyes, Hanlon thought he looked a little
crazy, like someone who needed sedation. Or a padded room.
    Swann picked at his
blanket, his fingers moving restlessly. "The women there are all fit, healthy
and beautiful. Every one of them loves sex. It's like eating to them. Wait, no
-- it's more like breathing. Something you do all the time, without thinking, you
know?" He frowned and shook his head. "You don't know, do you? How
could you? You can't even imagine. It's every man's dream. They all wanted to
try me out. Me being a stranger -- something different. And no one gave a damn!
No one is jealous. How can anyone be jealous? Nobody misses out on anything."
    Hanlon knew he
should leave it. The guy wasn't playing with a full deck and he needed rest. Still,
he was compelled to ask, "But what about children? Or wild animals? They must
have enemies."
    Swann whispered,
"No kids, no animals. Just lots of different kinds of birds and they're friendly."
    Hanlon realized
the man was at the end of his strength. "Rest now, Jake," he ordered.
"You're tired. We can talk later."
    Swann nodded and
sighed. "It was Heaven."
    Exhausted, Jake
Swann shut his eyes and his features relaxed. Quiescent, he slept.

7. Uncomfortable Truth
    For a few minutes,
Captain Hanlon watched Jake Swann breathe in calm repose.
    Who was this guy?
He would write him off as a madman except for the weird circumstances that heralded
his arrival. The mystery was like a chipped tooth. His mind -- like a tongue --
continually returned to that irritating spot. Hanlon forced the puzzle of Swann
out of his thoughts. He might know more when he had a response to his
transmission.
    Instead he
thought of his boat -- always a pleasant pastime. He moved through the plastic
barrier, and began stripping off his mask and gown. Within the infirmary Maryland was soundless except for a steady vibration that was barely audible
--more felt than heard. The SSN-774 Virginia -class
boomers had pump-jets which created a stream of water for propulsion. These
significantly reduced
cavitation, that noisy formation of millions of bubbles caused by conventional
propellers. It
resulted in quieter and faster operation.
    Hanlon felt five
degrees cooler as he stuffed his disposable protective gear in the yellow bag.
He stripped his gloves with intense relief and threw them in last. When submerged Maryland could move in virtual silence at
twenty-five nautical miles per hour, which was to say knots. Hanlon knew
most people had no idea what a knot was, but the concept was easy to understand.
Sea and air navigators, working with charts, found the use of knots convenient
because knots measured distance , not speed.
    While
washing his hands, Hanlon automatically did the math.