Mercy followed Annalise’s transfixed gaze and looked out the window. Forked lightning shredded the sky. Towering cumulonimbus clouds stretched to the horizon, dominating the sky.
“Pretty big thunderheads out there,” Jade said, peering through the window. “Looks as if they’re topping out beneath us. This old bird’s got a ceiling of 35,000 feet so we should be OK, what do you reckon?”
Mercy nodded, “Yeah, Dimitri knows his shit. He’ll have seen some serious weather in his time up in the Yukon Territory. Turbulence though… it’s quite disconcerting.” Mercy looked at Annalise.
Better change the subject—
“So, Jade, how’d it go with your dad? I saw you saying goodbye to him back there. Couldn’t have been easy for you both,” Mercy said.
Jade glanced at Mercy, “Yeah, it sucked, but we managed. We’re good, he’s got mom back now and Luke, thanks to you and your crew.”
Mercy blew out her cheeks, “Well, I don’t know about that, it was pretty much a team effort. But yeah, Brody’s had a lot to deal with in the last few weeks. But then we’ve all had a lot to deal with in the last couple of years. It seems as if I’m always lurching from crisis to crisis."
Jade smiled, “I know what you mean. Life’s a form of damage limitation really, isn’t it?”
Mercy laughed, “Yeah, damage limitation, I like that. I should write this stuff down, it’d make a good book. One day maybe I will. But I reckon if we tried to tell the next generation what we’d seen, what we’d done, they wouldn’t believe us.”
“Well, that’s their job isn’t it?” Jade replied, “I mean it’s their job to not believe anything their parents say, it’s their job to feel invincible, and take risks… then to get old. I remember seeing photographs in people’s houses. You know? When you’re scavenging, you get to see into past lives; people’s old service photos with them in uniform, their medals. I used to feel guilty taking stuff from houses. I felt their eyes on me, watching me. I realised that these people were kind of like me; they’d been through war and deprivation, they’d seen bad stuff and survived. Old folks have so much life packed into their bones, think of all the stories their bones could tell.”
Mercy pursed her lips, “Yeah, that’s for sure, everyone’s got a history. You get chunks knocked off you as you go through life, all the hard edges are gone when you reach the end. And it always gets me… it’s like just as you start to get it, life, I mean, just as you start to understand what’s important and what’s not important, it’s all over. It’s kinda crazy, right?”
Jade leant back in her chair, “That’s some heavy thoughts, do you think we’ve aged prematurely? With all that we’ve seen and had to do—”
“I know I have,” Mercy said, she sighed. “But if we can at least get our bodies back, get this NSA biotech out of us, then I feel as if I can start again. Right now I feel… it’s difficult to put into words. I feel indentured, like a slave to the NSA and Cobalt Biotech. Does that make any sense?”
Jade blinked, “Yeah, it sure does. Hey, I like the idea of you writing all this down someday. Just think, one day people might write books and listen to music again.”
“Yeah, and dance, and play sport, and create art. Now wouldn’t that be something?” Mercy closed her eyes and listened to the steady drone of the engines.
Now wouldn’t that be something—?
Mercy’s eyes fluttered. Her ears popped. Jade’s seat was empty, she looked back towards the rear of the plane. Flynn and Tawny were busy checking their gear.
Annalise grabbed Mercy’s arm, “You were asleep. Barnes was here a few minutes ago, he didn’t want to wake you. We’re about thirty minutes out from Winslow airport. Dimitri says fuel is tight, he’s putting his money on Winslow. Let’s hope the runway’s clear, otherwise it’ll be Flagstaff airport, another sixty klicks away—”
Why didn’t they wake me? Well, I guess there’s not much I can do anyway—
Mercy checked her watch; 9:49 am.
We’ve been in the air nearly four hours. Yeah, we’ll be running on fumes soon—
She undid her seat belt and stood up. Her ears popped again.
We’re descending. Dimitri’s making an approach—
Mercy went to the front of the plane. Barnes was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat staring out the cockpit window. The windshield wipers were working overtime against the driving rain. Dimitri’s hands were on the control column, his eyes fixed on the instrument panel. Barnes turned to Mercy, strain clearly etched on his face.
“Spill it Barnes,” Mercy said.
Barnes checked his watch, “We’re twenty minutes out from Winslow airport and we’ve got about twenty minutes of fuel left, give or take.”
I hope it’s give—
Mercy kept her face blank. Her mind went into a spin.
“OK, so Winslow is Plan A, Flagstaff was Plan B… that’s obviously out now. So all our eggs are now in Winslow’s basket, or is there a Plan C?” Mercy said. Her throat was dry.
I’m a glass-half-full kind of girl but this is proving challenging to keep the faith—
Barnes shook his head, “No Plan C, except for maybe landing on I-40.”
“Landing on Route 66? In this thing? You’ve got to be crazy, there’ll be cars, trucks, potholes, all sorts of shit—” Mercy’s voice was tense.
“Yeah, I know. But flying over that storm used up our reserve fuel, so we get one shot, and that’s Winslow-Lindberg Regional Airport,” Barnes said, returning his gaze out the window.
Pressure built up in Mercy’s ears. She swallowed to try and relieve the discomfort. Her ears popped.
I’d better let the others know—
She turned back to the passenger cabin.
“Where are you going?” Barnes asked.
“To tell the others to buckle up,” Mercy replied.
Barnes shook his head, “They know, I told them.” He looked at his watch, “But yes, you should probably return to your seat and strap in.”
Mercy’s shoulders tensed, “Actually, I’d rather stay up here with you guys. I always like to see what’s coming, back there… I’d be blind.”
Barnes nodded, “Suit yourself, hopefully we’ll break through this cloud and rain in another couple of minutes.”
Mercy remained standing. She held on to the two cockpit seats, her eyes fixed on the amorphous cloud ahead.
Come on, come on, come on, let’s see you. Let’s see you Winslow airport. You’re gonna come through for us, you are, I know you are—
Two heartbeats later the Beechcraft King Air burst through the cloud base and the view opened up below. Mercy took a deep breath, relief washing over her.
There’s the airport. Dimitri’s spot on with his navigation. Good job Dimitri—
Dimitri’s shoulders tensed, “Fuck, no, no, no—”
“What?” Mercy said, scanning the ground five hundred feet below.
Barnes thumped his seat, “Sonofabitch—”
“What?” Mercy whispered, she leaned in to get a better view out of the cockpit window.
Winslow airport grew bigger with every second. The runway was straight ahead, clear as day. Mercy’s eyes widened in shock.
Oh. My. God.
Chapter 5
Plan C
Dimitri flew the Beechcraft King Air directly over the wrecks on the runway. Mercy absorbed the spectacle, her face a blank. Barnes swore under his breath.
“Three crashed planes. Goddammit. Not one, not two, but three crashed planes… one of them a Hercules for fuck’s sake. What the hell happened down there?” Dimitri’s voice was shrill.
“Well, we’ve got to put her down sometime soon before she drops out of the sky like a stone,” Rose said, appearing in the doorway behind Mercy.
“So, what’s Plan C?” Mercy asked, her voice calm. “We’ve got to have a Plan C, right?”
Dimitri grabbed some maps from the side pocket beside his chair. “I saw something on here when I was studying the route
the other night. It’s near a ranch… Chilson Landing Strip. It looks rough, not ideal, might not even be there anymore. It’s about fifteen klicks west of here, we could give it a try, otherwise we get to take our chances on the I-40, and I don’t fancy that.”
Mercy nodded, “OK, it’s the desert airstrip then, let’s head there.”
Dimitri studied the map for a few seconds and grunted, “I’ll set a course and take us in. Here goes nothing.”
Dimitri adjusted the controls and banked the plane, turning west. Winslow disappeared behind them. Mercy watched as the sun-baked ground flashed by, five hundred feet below. Nobody spoke in the cockpit. Barnes leant forwards, his face close to the window.
Come on, come on, come on, be there, be there, exist for us, be there, be—
“There, there it is, two o’clock,” Barnes jabbed his finger against the cockpit window.
Mercy leant forwards and peered through the glass. A narrow dirt airstrip materialised out of the wasteland below. It was overgrown in places and looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.
Holy crap—
“Roger that Barnes,” Dimitri responded. “Finalising approach. Shit, it looks rough. I’d advise you people to return to your seats and buckle up. This is about to get hairy—”
This time Mercy complied, she retreated to the passenger cabin with Rose. They shouted at the others to prepare for a rough landing. Everyone checked their seatbelts and adopted the brace position. The right engine coughed and spluttered, then died. The plane lurched, dropping height. Annalise screamed. The plane lurched again. The landing gear clunked down. Mercy put her arm around Annalise.
OK, here we go—
The left engine coughed and died.
Oh—
Silence filled the cabin. The ground sped towards them. Dimitri gripped the control column with both hands. The wheels slammed into the ground and the aircraft shuddered. Mercy jerked forwards, the seatbelt dug into her midriff and she gasped. Annalise screamed and clung on to the armrests. The aircraft shook violently as it careered along the primitive landing strip. Mercy bit her tongue and tasted blood. Bags and gear shot down the narrow aisle. A series of deep thuds came from within the aircraft. With a final thump the Beechcraft King Air came to a halt, listing heavily to the left.
Oh—
A series of metallic creaks followed, then silence. Mercy’s stomach heaved and she vomited on the floor, her head spinning. She looked up, her vision blurry. Jade was wide eyed in the chair opposite, Annalise was doubled over in her chair across the aisle. Mercy’s eyes strayed to the window. A thick veil of dust surrounded the aircraft.
Barnes’s hulking figure appeared in the cockpit doorway, “Everyone OK? Sound off, starting at the back—”
“Rose here, still in one piece, I think—”
“I’m sliced and diced, but OK,” Tawny’s voice came from the rear of the cabin.
“Yeah, I’m OK,” Flynn said.
Mercy raised a hand, “Here—” She wiped vomit from her chin with the back of her hand.
Jade raised an arm, “Yeah, still here.”
Barnes went to Annalise, he put a hand on her shoulder, “Annalise, you OK?”
Annalise lifted her head and blinked. She nodded, “Remind me to never, ever get into one of these things again.”
Barnes looked up, relief on his face, “We’re down. Dimitri did it. We’re on this desert strip in the middle of nowhere. That’s not to say there’s no tropes or other hostiles out there. Someone may have seen us land. It’s time to grab our stuff and bale. Come on everyone. Up and out, we gotta haul ass.”
Mercy felt her mind clearing. She undid her seatbelt and looked out the window again, the dust had dispersed.
My god. It looks like the surface of the moon out there. No lush green, no forests. Well, what did you expect? It’s a desert climate. Come on, move yourself—
The others were up and searching the cabin, retrieving scattered bits of kit. Annalise was first to the exit. She opened the door using the manual release. Heat wafted in from outside. A rich, earthy smell filled the cabin. Mercy breathed in.
That smells fresh, who knew deserts smelt sweet?
Dimitri appeared from the cockpit, his shirt soaked in sweat and his face drawn. He was carrying his maps and a bottle of water. He glanced at Mercy, a glazed look in his eyes.
Mercy raised a hand, “Thank you Dimitri, thank you for getting us down in one piece. That was awesome flying.”
Dimitri remained silent and shook his head. He followed Barnes and Annalise to the rear of the plane.
Jade held out a hand, “You OK Mercy?”
Mercy waved Jade’s hand away, “Yeah, I’m good. Sometimes when things speed up my mind slows down, focuses on details. It’s a thing, maybe it’s the biotech, I don’t know. I’ll be fine, come on let’s get out of here. At least we don’t have to worry about aviation fuel igniting, we’ve used every drop—”
“Damn right, we got our money’s worth that’s for sure,” Jade replied, a wry smile on her face.
Mercy climbed out of the plane.
Jesus, it’s warm—
She took off her jacket and put it in her pack. Dimitri was talking to Barnes and Tawny. They were looking at the maps. Mercy looked at her watch; 10:27 am.
Wait, we’re in a different time zone now—
“Hey, this time zone? We’re two hours behind Eastern Standard Time, is that right?” Mercy asked.
Dimitri nodded and spoke, “Yeah, we’re now on Mountain Standard Time, it’s now 8:27 am local time. Put your watches back two hours everyone.”
Dimitri pointed in the distance, “That’s an old ranch over there to the south. We could check it out, regroup, stay the night… but maybe it’s too close to the plane. If anyone saw us land they could come to investigate. I suggest we give it a miss and head west—”
Barnes nodded, “Yeah, there’s an old tourist site three klicks to the west of here; Meteor Crater. There’s buildings, we could lie low there. If all stays quiet there’s a road north, it’s ten klicks to I-40. Then we’re back on track. We’ll get away from here first. Dimitri will lead you guys to Meteor Crater, he’s got the navigational skills. I’ll be right behind you. I want to scope out that ranch, make sure no one comes creeping up on our six. Everyone happy?”
Sound plan—
Mercy picked up her back pack and AR-15, “Reckon that’s a good call Barnes. Lead on Dimitri.”
Barnes headed south, towards the ranch. Dimitri took a bearing and they started walking west. Mercy put her baseball cap on to shield her eyes from the sun.
I need to find me some shades, this sun is dazzling—
Flynn edged close to Mercy, “Meteor Crater? I like the sound of that, sounds kinda cool, don’t it?”
Mercy moved her rifle to low port, “Yeah, no, it sounds kinda creepy actually, like Area-51 creepy. Know what I mean?”
Flynn pulled a face.
Mercy relented, smiling, “But yeah, Barnes said it’s a tourist site. That’ll be good. I can’t remember the last time I was a tourist.”
Flynn brightened, “If only I’d brought the camera babe, we could’ve got some cool shots of us hanging out at Meteor Crater to show the folks back east.”
Mercy turned to check on Barnes.
He’s gone, vanished. How does he do that? He was only there a minute ago. Sometimes he’s like a ghost—
Flynn walked beside Mercy. She watched the others move ahead, Dimitri in the lead.
Area-51? Why did I have to mention Area-51? I don’t want any weird shit happening. No, not today, no weird shit please—
Chapter 6
Meteor Crater
Mercy marvelled at the variety of desert vegetation they encountered. The three kilometres passed quickly. The ground began to slope upwards. Mercy’s muscles burned with the exertion. Dimitri quickened his pace for a few minutes then stopped abruptly. The others drew level with him one by one. Mercy staggered up the last few feet
of the slope, her breathing rapid. Sweat beaded on her forehead and a strong breeze pulled at her shirt. Her eyes widened.
Oh my—
“That’s one hell of a sight, ain’t it?” Flynn said beside her, wonder in his voice.
“That’s like something out of a movie,” Mercy replied.
Meteor Crater stretched out before them, vast and awe-inspiring.
“It’s huge,” Annalise said.
Mercy’s brow furrowed, “Wait, what’s that?”
Flynn tensed, “Jesus—”
Dimitri pulled out his binoculars and examined the crater floor, “Tropes, thousands of them.” He took a step back, the binoculars still pressed to his eyes, “Wait, they’ve been burned… it’s like a giant funeral pyre.”
Mercy’s eyes strayed to the crater rim. She took in the whole circumference and tapped Flynn’s arm. “Look; four towers, spaced around the edge of the crater. They look like that sound tower the NSA were using in Lincoln Park, back in DC.”
“Yeah, amplifier stacks, like at a rock concert,” Flynn replied.
Mercy shook her head, “It’s a trope sound trap. Draw them in and torch them. Must’ve been a military operation, back in the Fall. They still had the infrastructure and offensive capability in the early days. This is the perfect natural corral, the sound would travel for one hell of a distance in this desert. The tropes would’ve come from fifty, sixty miles away, maybe even further if those stacks delivered a punch—”
“They drew them in from all over, then what? Napalmed them?” Rose said, her voice sounding small.
“Napalm or incendiary bombs from jets or helicopters,” Tawny said.
“You’ve got to give it to them, they tried their best with what they had, but it sure wasn’t enough in the end. How many tropes do you reckon are down there?” Jade said.
“No idea, but you could easily fit fifty or sixty thousand just in that central section alone,” Annalise responded.
Dimitri swept his binoculars to the crater’s north rim, “Over there, that’s the museum and visitor centre. We should get a bit nearer and check it out.”
The Survival Chronicles | Book 8 | Final Mercy Page 3