by Eric Walters
Finally, two boats were equipped to be fishing boats exclusively. They had rods and reels and nets—and of course they never went out without security. It didn’t matter where or for what reason, if somebody was leaving the compound there were always guards and weapons along.
Willow and I had been walking and talking as we passed through the dwindling remnants of the forest. It felt good being out of the sun and in the shade.
“How about we get into bathing suits and go for a swim?” Willow suggested.
“Good idea.”
There was a small beach off one of the breakwaters. It was a popular place, and instead of lifeguards we had real guards. We were also protected by the boats out on the perimeter. There was nothing to fear there except getting a sunburn.
We got to the edge of the runway and I paused to survey the scene. Little heat waves shimmered up from the flat, black tarmac. At the far end was the terminal, now almost completely divided into living quarters and a few offices. The control tower sat off to the side and stood well above everything else so that it had unobstructed views in all directions. Although there was no way I could possibly see them, I knew there were eyes with binoculars looking over the water, off to the city on one side and toward Main Island as well. There were always people up there, day and night.
Off to one side were the hangars. Some, like ours, had been made into living space. Others still held planes, or were used for storage of food and supplies. On the other side, and between the hangars, every single inch of land had been put into cultivation. There were dozens of people with hoes working, weeding, tilling the land, and picking ripe produce. Before all of this I’d never really thought much about food or about gardens. Food came out of the fridge, or, more abstractly, from supermarket shelves. I’d never really thought about people growing it. I’d never needed to.
“There are the Mustangs,” Willow said, pointing up and above the far, far end of the runway.
It took a second for me to pick them out. They were low and coming in for a landing and—“There are three of them!”
“Three Mustangs?” he asked.
“Three planes. There’s a Mustang leading and one trailing, but between them is a smaller plane.”
“But we haven’t put three planes up yet, have we?”
I shook my head. “They look like they’re coming in.”
The three planes were close together, coming in low and slow. They skimmed along the runway; the little plane touched down and then bounced slightly back up into the air before settling down.
The first Mustang pulled up slightly and we both involuntarily ducked down as it shot over our heads and then over the trees. The second Mustang did the same, again causing me to duck.
The little plane kept coming along the runway, straight at us! Was it going to stop before it reached us and the trees? Willow grabbed me and pulled me off to the side but at the same instant the plane jerked slightly, swerved to one side, and then came to a stop.
A rush of our guards materialized out of nowhere. They had their weapons up and they surrounded the plane.
“Hands up!” one of the guards yelled toward the plane.
There were two people in the plane, but neither seemed to react. Then I saw one of them, and then the second, slowly raise their hands. On each side two of the guards came up to the doors while the rest of the guards continued to aim their guns at the plane. The doors were flung open and the two people were grabbed and pulled out of the plane and tossed to the tarmac. One of them screamed. She was a woman—no, a girl, not much older than me!
“Search them!” one of the guards yelled.
I could see them both being frisked, checked for weapons.
“He’s clean!” one of the guards yelled.
“The girl is, too.”
“There’s a pistol on the floor and a rifle inside the cockpit!” another voice called out.
There was the roar of an engine and I looked up to see a truck racing toward us. Colonel Wayne was in the passenger seat. It made me feel safer, just knowing that he was here. The truck’s brakes squealed as it came to a stop.
“Let them up!” Colonel Wayne ordered.
“Yes, sir!”
The two were pulled to their feet. It looked as though they were both teens, no older than seventeen or eighteen. Neither of them looked old enough to fly a plane.
“Have they been searched for weapons?” Colonel Wayne asked.
“Yes, sir. And we have confiscated their weapons from the plane.”
Colonel Wayne nodded in acknowledgment. “Release them.”
They were released. The man—the boy—moved over and put his arm around the girl’s shoulders. He was trying to comfort her, trying to protect her. I could see that his face was bleeding.
“You’re bleeding.” Colonel Wayne pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and held it out.
The girl took it and placed it against the cut on the side of his face. Now she was comforting him.
“Did you do that in the landing?” Colonel Wayne asked.
“It happened when your men threw him on the ground!” the girl snapped.
I had to admire her. I didn’t think there was any way I could have been that brave if it had been me.
“We can’t be too careful,” Colonel Wayne said. “We aren’t used to unexpected guests.”
“Guests? Is that what we are?” the guy asked.
“Perhaps ‘guest’ is the wrong word, but we still need to take precautions when you land at our airfield.”
“Your planes forced us to land,” he said. “This wasn’t our idea.”
“Actually, it was mine,” Colonel Wayne said. “I gave the order when they radioed in your presence. Seeing your plane over the city caught us unaware.”
“Seeing your two Mustangs wasn’t what we expected either.”
“Please accept my apologies for the manner in which you were forced to come here, as well as for your injury, but we felt it would be wise to talk to you and you didn’t respond to our attempts to radio you.”
“I didn’t have the radio on. It wasn’t like I was expecting a call.” He paused, and his tone changed. Pointing to the cut on his face, he said, “This is nothing. Apology accepted.” He held out his hand. “I’m Adam and this is Lori.”
“Robert Wayne,” the colonel said as they shook hands.
“Pleased to meet you, sir.”
“Do you think they could put down those rifles?” the girl, Lori, asked. “I don’t usually expect apologies to come with weapons involved.”
Colonel Wayne signaled and the weapons were lowered.
“I think it was equally unexpected that the pilot and passenger of a plane would be two young people,” he said. “But since you’re our guests, why don’t we continue this conversation over a cool drink and some food?”
“If we’re guests, are we free to decline your invitation and climb back into our plane and leave?” Adam asked.
That was a good question.
“After that rough landing and hard braking I think it would be wise for our ground crew to have a look at your plane before you take off.”
“And if I don’t want that?” he asked.
“I’m afraid it would be unwise and inconsiderate for me to force your plane to the ground and then not take responsibility for making sure it was airworthy. As such, I must insist that you join me for a drink. I could never forgive myself if I sent you up before the inspection took place and something happened to you. We definitely would not want anything to happen, would we?”
“No, we wouldn’t want that,” Adam said.
I could tell that his words and his tone didn’t match. He was uncertain and afraid. I didn’t blame him.
“Take care of their plane,” Colonel Wayne ordered the men. “And, please, be more delicate than you were with the pilot.”
Our guests, along with the colonel, got into the truck and drove off.
“Wow, that was strange,” Willow said
. “What do you think is going to happen now?”
“I’m definitely going to find out.”
We watched as the truck pulled up to the terminal. They got out and went in through a door that led to Colonel Wayne’s office.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“I don’t need to know that badly. I’m going swimming. Besides, you’ll tell me afterwards. You do tell me everything…well, almost…right?”
“You know the answer to that.”
I left Willow and trotted down the runway. As I got close to the terminal I heard my name being called out. It was Ethan. He was in a bathing suit and T-shirt. I wasn’t surprised to see him. He was just as curious as I was.
“I saw the plane land. What happened?” he asked.
“Two people, both not much older than me.”
“That’s strange. Let’s talk to Mom,” he said.
That had been my plan all along, although at this point I didn’t think there was much more to know. We went inside and as quietly as possible moved down the corridor to the infirmary. They’d set up a little medical clinic where my mother and the two doctors worked. It was the closest thing we had to a hospital, and there were regular hours when patients came to be seen.
I pushed the door slightly open and peeked in. I was relieved to see that it was just our mother, alone, sitting at a desk beside the examination table.
“How did you get here so quickly?” she asked.
“We came when the plane landed,” I said.
“You didn’t know you were sent for?”
We both shook our heads.
“The colonel and I both thought it would be wise for you two to meet our guests,” she said.
“Really?”
“Yes. In a while I’m going to tend to the scrape on the boy’s face. I want the two of you to wait out in the corridor until I call you.”
“And then what do we do?” I asked.
“Talk to them, answer questions, just be yourselves.”
“And find out what we can?” I asked.
“And find out what you can. We think the two of you might make them more comfortable and willing to talk. They might relax and say something they didn’t mean to say.”
“Like what?” Ethan asked.
“We have no idea. It’s not like we get planes landing here all the time. Just be friendly and keep your ears open.”
—
From down the hall we saw Adam and Lori being taken in to the infirmary, and then as quietly as we could we moved down the corridor until we were right at the door. I shushed Ethan and then tried to listen in. I could hear voices but not what was being said. We waited patiently—at least, as patiently as we could. Luckily we moved back from the door just before it opened and my mother and the two teenagers came out. He had a piece of gauze taped to his cheek.
“I told you they wouldn’t be far,” my mother said. “These are my kids, Emma and Ethan.”
They introduced themselves, even though we knew their names. They seemed friendly. We exchanged a few polite words but it was clear that they were just anxious to get on their way. We walked along with them, down the corridor toward the exit, and I tried to strike up a conversation without success.
Outside their plane was waiting. Colonel Wayne was standing by it, talking to one of the compound mechanics. The colonel came toward us. He had a smile on his face.
“So both you and your plane are all ready to go,” he said. “I don’t mean to delay you any longer.”
“Thanks. Thanks for everything,” Adam said as he offered his hand and they shook.
Our mother motioned for us to come to her. We slipped back as the colonel led the two of them toward the plane.
“Sorry, I couldn’t get them talking,” I said under my breath.
“No need to be sorry. They didn’t say much to me, either. They’re being very careful about what they share.”
We watched as the colonel continued to talk with them. Finally, they climbed into the cockpit of the plane. They settled into the seats, strapped on their harnesses, and put on their headsets, and then the plane came to life. The propellers became an invisible blur as the colonel stepped to the side. He offered a little wave and then a salute as the plane bumped away to the end of the runway.
The engine roared again and the plane started down the tarmac. It picked up speed as it went, getting faster and smaller until it lifted off, easily clearing the trees at the end of the runway. We watched it gain altitude and then bank, heading almost directly toward the city.
“Do you think we’ll see them again?” I asked.
“Hard to say,” my mother said. “They seemed like decent people, but I’ve been fooled before.”
35
Willow, Ethan, and I stood beside the Cessna. I’d seen it land about an hour ago but was on perimeter duty and couldn’t go to check it out until my shift ended. It had been over two weeks since the little plane had first landed, and I didn’t think anybody thought they’d ever see it again.
Ethan had watched the plane land and he’d run right over to investigate. It was Adam and Lori and some old guy who Ethan thought was probably their grandfather. They’d got out of the plane and had immediately been escorted into the offices. I assumed they were meeting with Colonel Wayne. Mom was away leading a scavenger patrol on Main Island and I didn’t really have a good excuse that would allow me in. Instead we waited out on the tarmac hoping to catch a glimpse or a glimmer of information.
At last the door popped open and an older man walked out.
“That’s him,” Ethan hissed. “That’s the guy who came with them.”
The man gave us a little wave and a smile and walked toward us. He was old but his back was straight and he moved crisply. He moved like a soldier. Was he an old soldier?
“Hello, I’m Herb. I’m assuming that you are Ethan,” he said, pointing at my brother. “And you must be Emma?”
“I am…and this is Willow. But how do you know who we are?”
“You met Adam and Lori the first time they landed here. Your mother is the Marine nurse named Ellen, right?”
“Yes, but how did you know we were them?”
“Lucky guess, I suppose.”
“Are you in charge of the other community?” I asked. Colonel Wayne had not learned much from Adam and Lori when they’d first met, but they had let him know that they belonged to another well-established group. I figured that was why he’d been so polite to them when they were leaving—he didn’t want to alienate any potential new allies.
“I’m part of a committee that makes decisions. Would you like to know one of those decisions?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Ethan said.
“We’re making arrangements for your settlement to have all the gasoline you need for your planes, trucks, and generators.”
“That’s amazing!” Willow exclaimed.
“And what are we giving you in return?” I asked.
“Oh, no, it’s not a trade. We’re giving you the fuel.”
“But why?” I asked.
“Think of it as an act of friendship. We are a very strong community, and our two communities are going to become trusted allies.”
“Why are you telling us this?” I asked.
“I figured you’d know soon enough. Doesn’t your mother tell you everything?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I tell Adam everything. I trust him the way Colonel Wayne and your mother trust you. He told me you’re in charge of part of the guard detail.”
“It’s only the teenaged guards.”
“Only? That’s a great deal of responsibility. Now, I’d better get back into the meeting. I just came out to stretch my legs and get a breath of fresh air and to make sure our plane is ready to go. Nice to talk to you all.” He went back into the building and the three of us stared at each other.
“Well?” Willow asked.
“I think things are going to get a lot more interesting ar
ound here.”
—
The plane taxied for takeoff. I was part of a crowd that had gathered to see them off. There was lots of talk about what was going on, but nobody really knew much. Willow, Ethan, and I knew more than most people. I shared more things with Willow than I did with Ethan, but there were always things that neither of them could know. My mother would find out exactly what had been talked about today and she’d probably tell me, but she wasn’t back from her scavenger patrol yet.
Colonel Wayne stood off to one side. There was a cushion of space around him. I often got the feeling that people were at least a little afraid of him, and I understood that. Not only was he large, not only was he in charge, but he had that take-no-prisoners scowl that was almost standard issue for career Marines. I’d lived on bases enough of my life to not be afraid. Heck, I’d lived with my mother all my life and that was often her default expression.
“I’m going to see what I can find out,” I said, and I walked toward the colonel. As I did, there was a ripple of noise from the crowd and I turned in time to see the plane lift off and climb over the trees at the end of the runway. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to see the world again from the air.
By the time I’d turned my attention back to the ground the colonel was gone. He must have gone back to his office. I ran, opened the door, and saw him at the end of the corridor.
“Colonel Wayne!” I called out.
He turned and shot me that scowl. Then he smiled and gestured for me to come down the hall.
“Would you care to join me for a coffee?” he asked.
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
As we walked by the outer office he requested that his assistant order coffee to be brought. We entered his office. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for me to take a seat across from him.
“You didn’t come looking for me because you want a coffee. You want to know what’s happening. Correct?”
“Um, yes, sir.”
“So what do you already know?”
I almost said nothing but I thought better of it. The colonel wasn’t stupid. “Herb is one of their leaders. They have a pretty big community. They want to be our friends. And they want to give us lots of fuel.”