by Eric Vall
“Tara’s right,” I said. “We need to test it.”
“How do we do that, though?” Anna asked. “We don’t have any ammunition for it, either.”
“I know.” I nodded. “But we’re going to find some.”
“That’s going to take too long,” Paige said with a frown. “This base is huge.”
“It is,” I agreed. “But this is a display, there’s got to be information about it nearby.”
“Right.” Paige nodded. “Like a placard or something that talks about it. There might be some ammunition there.”
“Why would there be ammunition there?” Anna asked.
“A lot of times things like that go on display,” Paige answered. “People just like to look at them.”
“Alright,” the redhead said. “So, where would this placard be?”
“In the commissary you think?” Bailey asked. “It’s the closest building to us.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But it’s not the only one.”
I gestured across the field from where we’d parked. There was a small brick building that I recognized as the Military Postal Service.
“The post office.” Paige nodded. “I bet you’re right. It’s got to be in there.”
The brunette and I rushed across the grass with the other girls in tow. We didn’t have a moment to spare. It had already been at least twenty minutes since we arrived at the Air Force Base, and we still had other shit to do in a short amount of time.
“Is it me, or did it not seem obvious that this placard would be in the post office?” Tara asked as we ran.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed that,” Anna admitted.
“I can see it,” Bailey said.
“Am I missing something here?” Tara asked.
“I don’t think so,” Bailey said. “You probably just haven’t been to a lot of post offices.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the platinum-blonde asked. “Why would the post office have placards about random shit like this?”
“Post offices always have the most random things in them,” Paige explained as we got to the door, and she yanked it open. To my surprise, it opened right up, and I gripped my plasma gun and moved in to clear the small building.
It only took a moment for us to clear the place, and once that was done, we started to look around for the placard.
“I found it,” Anna called, and I rushed to where she stood near the front door.
I’d gone up and to the right when we’d entered, so I hadn’t focused too much on what was by the door on my left, but there was a large case full of pictures, folded flags, pins, and other military paraphernalia.
On the bottom row of the case was a set of three pictures of the skysweeper, as well as a plaque detailing the weapons use, where it had been, and anything notable about its time in operation.
Most importantly, though, there was a box of ammunition next to that plaque.
“That’s it, yeah?” Anna asked me with a grin.
“That’s it,” I laughed. My whole body felt lighter all of the sudden. We hadn’t tested the weapon yet, but at least we had everything we needed to do so.
“You found it?” Paige asked as she, Tara, and Bailey rushed over and crowded around us.
“Dang, there’s like ten shells there,” Bailey said as she looked at the box.
“There’s plenty,” I said. “We have to get them out, though. Everybody stand back.”
The girls did as I commanded, and I quickly looked around to see if there was anything to use to break the glass that would work better than my M9.
I hadn’t brought my rifle with us, or I would have used the butt end of it. Bailey had hers, but it was all the way back in the jeep. I’d send her back to get it if I needed to, but I didn’t want to have to do that.
I spotted a small metal stool set up near a computer, and I figured it was my best bet, so I quickly retrieved it. I held the stool with the legs out, then I swung it like a baseball bat so the metal legs collided with the glass of the trophy case.
Glass shattered everywhere with a loud clattering sound, and I instinctively closed my eyes to shield them from the spray of tiny glass slivers.
“Alright,” I said after the coast was clear, and I opened my eyes and looked at the now exposed items in the trophy case.
“That was more intense than I thought it was going to be,” Bailey whispered.
“Let’s go,” Paige said, and she rushed forward and grabbed the box of shells before I even had the chance to reach for them. They were too heavy for her, though, and she nearly fell over when she tried to pick up the box.
“Give me that,” I ordered as I reached over and placed my hands underneath the box to take it from her.
“Sorry,” Paige breathed as she relinquished control of the box. “I think I got a little carried away.”
“You don’t say,” Tara laughed.
“Oh, whatever.” Paige glared at the platinum-blonde.
“Are we going to shoot one of those now?” Anna asked as we all rushed back out the door and started toward the skysweeper gazebo.
“That’s the plan.” I nodded. We needed to know if this machine worked, otherwise there was no point to spend the time to haul it over to the attack point. I’d sacrifice one of these shells to make sure the device was working properly.
“Do you think the NK troops will be able to see it if we set one off?” Bailey asked.
“No.” I shook my head as I walked. “I don’t think we need to worry about that. They’re still a decent ways away at this point.”
“Besides, we’re even further away than we were last time,” Paige pointed out.
“And if they did happen to see by some chance, they would probably assume it was the American resistance,” I added.
“You think so?” Bailey asked.
“I mean, they wouldn’t be wrong,” Anna laughed.
“You know what I mean,” I chuckled. “They’d think it was the Americans attacking again.”
“You’re probably right,” the redhead said.
“I don’t think we need to worry about it, though,” I said. “We still have some time before they’re close enough to see it, and we need to make sure this damn weapon works.”
As I rushed over to the Skysweepers, I looked up at the sun and calculated how long we’d been on base. From what I could tell, it had only been about twenty to thirty minutes, though it felt like much longer.
It would take another ten at least for us to test the weapon, and then another ten to get it on the trailer, and that was being generous. Plus, we still had to deliver it to the attack point.
At the bare minimum, by the time we got this thing into position, we’d only have three hours left before the NK troops showed up. Give or take a few minutes, of course, but we all needed to be in position at least half an hour before the clock was up. If the Boston troops were early I didn’t want to give them any possible reason to suspect that something was off. We all needed to be hidden long before they arrived.
Finally, I reached the gazebo and set the box of shells down.
“So, we just load one in here?” Anna asked with a gesture at the barrel of the gun.
“No, it’ll go in here,” Paige said, and she pointed at a spot near the control panel.
“Let’s get this baby loaded, then,” Tara said with a grin.
“Will it shoot even if there isn’t a target for it to lock onto?” Bailey asked, and her blonde eyebrows pinched together.
“Hm.” I pursed my lips. “I hadn’t thought about that, but it should.”
Paige quickly grabbed one of the shells and pushed it into the ammunition breach, then she glanced back at me and nodded.
“Alright,” I said. “Everybody get behind me.”
The girls all crowded around me, but before I could push the button I felt Bailey’s hand on my shoulder.
“Is it safe to do this in the gazebo?” she asked.
“Oh, she has a p
oint.” Paige frowned. “Will it hit the top?”
“I don’t think so.” I shook my head. The gazebo was tall enough to cover the weapons and still have room above, so I didn’t think it would be an issue. “Ready?”
“Fire!” Anna exclaimed with a smile.
“Aye, aye,” I said, and I pushed the firing button. The machine adjusted itself so the barrel lifted higher in the air, but it didn’t fire.
“Shit,” Tara breathed.
“Hit it again,” Paige said.
“You really think that’s going to--” Tara started.
“Hit. It. Again.” Paige said with a glare.
“Alright.” I nodded and pushed the button.
The gun jolted slightly, and a used shell flew out next to us as the gun fired up into the air. My ears were rocked for a second, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the noise, but when I opened them, I caught a glimpse of the dark smoke in the sky above us.
The girls were all quiet for a second, then an eruption of excited squeals hit my ears.
“It works!” Paige screamed.
“It fucking works!” Anna yelled back, and they grabbed onto each other’s hands and jumped up and down.
I shook my head.
It fucking worked.
Chapter 10
“Holy shit.” I grinned.
“Thank god, right,” Tara laughed. “I was starting to think we’d come all this way for nothing.”
“So was I,” I agreed.
“We do still have one problem,” Paige said, and she pursed her lips.
“What is it?” I asked, and my eyes narrowed on the brunette.
“We have to figure out how to haul it,” she said.
“Right,” I sighed.
“They’re on wheels.” Anna shrugged. “It can’t be too hard.”
“These things weigh a lot,” I told her.
“At least we only have to move one of them now,” the redhead pointed out.
“That’s true,” I agreed, and I walked around the machine. It was on wheels, and at the front appeared to be a tow hitch system just like the howitzer so it could be easily moved. It looked like we would be able to attach it to the jeep, which was good news for us.
“What do you think?” Paige asked as I circled back around to her and the girls.
“It looks like we can attach it to the jeep,” I said.
“That’s great.” Bailey smiled. “Easy peasy.”
“Then let’s get this thing hooked up and head over to the attack point,” the redhead said.
“How are we going to hook it up?” Tara asked.
“I’m going to have to pull the jeep over here,” I told her. “But we’re still going to have to attach it ourselves.”
“You said these things are pretty heavy, yeah?” Bailey asked, and she bit her lip. “You think we’ll be able to lift it enough to get it hooked on right?”
“We’re going to have to,” I said with a determined nod.
The girls nodded at me, and I headed back over to the jeep and jumped in the driver’s seat.
The tires of the jeep sank into the grass as I drove over to the gazebo and backed up into it. Anna gestured me back further, and just when I thought I couldn’t go any further without hitting the Skysweeper, she held up a hand to stop me.
“Alright,” I said as I hopped out, and I rubbed my hands together and smiled. “Who’s ready for some heavy lifting?”
“Normally, I’d play the pregnancy card here, but there’s some serious shit going on today, so let’s fuckin’ do this,” Tara said, and she leaned down and grabbed hold of the Skysweeper.
“Everybody grab on,” I instructed.
The girls and I gripped onto the triangular pieces of metal that stuck out from the front of the gun, and on my count we lifted. I could hear the girls struggle, and I let out a few grunts myself as we tried to move the damn thing. It was heavier than I had even thought, and after a few seconds I called it.
“Holy shit,” Tara breathed.
“Right,” Anna panted. “What does this thing weigh? Like a million tons?”
“Around ten-thousand pounds, I’d say,” I told her. “So only about four or five tons, but it’s still a lot. Luckily, we have some leverage here so we aren’t having to lift all of that, but it’s still going to be heavy.”
“All we have to do is get the trailer hitch into position, right?” Bailey asked.
Anna had me back up so the jeep tow hitch was as close to the trailer coupler as possible, but we still had to lift the coupler and move it maybe three or four inches so it connected to the pintle mount system. It was an incredibly small distance, but it felt like a thousand miles with how heavy the Skysweeper was.
“That’s it.” I confirmed, and I looked around at the girls. “Are you ready to give it another try?”
We needed to get this thing hooked up as soon as possible. I knew it was a struggle for them, and even for me, but we had to keep pushing since we were so pressed for time. We could take a break once we’d taken out the Boston troops, but until then we had to give it everything we had.
“Let’s do this,” Anna said, and she took a wide stance and bent down to grab hold of the metal once more.
Paige nodded and gripped her section next to mine, and Tara and Bailey each grabbed a section by Anna.
“Alright.” I nodded. “One, two, three!”
I clenched my jaw as I flexed my muscles and pulled up with all the strength I had. I could hear the girls’ ragged breaths and groans as they put all their effort into lifting the ancient anti aircraft weapon.
After a few seconds, I felt something give, and I looked down to see we’d gotten it off the ground.
“Okay, forward!” I called, and the girls and I all yanked the trailer as far forward as we could. We only managed a couple of inches, but I was able to use my strength to guide it to where it needed to be, and once it was in position, the pintle system engaged in place with a loud clank.
“Oh, thank fuck,” Anna breathed, and she wiped some sweat from her brow.
“Hop in,” I told the girls, and I leaned down to check the connection.
Once that was done, I got back in the driver’s seat with the girls and started up the jeep. As I adjusted my rearview mirror so I could see the Skysweeper better, Paige caught my eye and smiled.
I smiled back, put the jeep in drive, and pressed on the gas.
There was a split second where we didn’t move at all, and I felt Anna’s eyes jump over to me.
“Uh, Tav,” the redhead said.
“Hold on,” I muttered, and I pressed harder on the gas.
We lurched forward, and the jeep bounced a little bit as it came down from the concrete floor of the gazebo onto the grass, but the Skysweeper was coming along behind us, and that was all that mattered at the moment.
The gun was ancient, and only one of them worked, but that was enough to get us air superiority against the MiGs, especially if they didn’t see it coming. As long as we could surprise the Boston troops, we’d be able to take them out without too much danger to our group.
I fully expected the NK troops to try and fight back, but the hope was that if they were caught off guard, then they wouldn’t have time to react.
I let out a sigh of relief as I pulled the jeep back into the parking lot of the commissary, then back onto the main drag of the Air Force Base.
There were maybe three and a half hours left until the NK troops arrived, and we still had to blow the bridge near the attack point and make sure everything else was set up.
I knew my crew, and I figured they’d at least managed to get the howitzer set up, but I wasn’t sure what else they might have accomplished in the time it took us to get to the base and get the Skysweeper. It had taken us a good ten minutes just to get the damn thing hooked to the jeep. I had to leave the generator behind, but I knew our forces had more diesel generators on hand we could use, so it wouldn’t render the machine inoperable.
I
pulled out onto the main road in Norfolk and hit the gas. I couldn’t go as fast as I would like with the Skysweeper behind us, but I went as fast as I felt I possibly could go, which still felt like crawling since all I could think about was the time ticking by.
“So, who’s gonna operate this thing?” Anna asked, and she pointed behind us with her thumb.
I pursed my lips and thought for a moment. Usually, I’d say one of the girls should operate it, but considering our attack plan, I wanted them free to move about wherever they might be needed.
“I think it’s best if we get a few of the civilians to operate it,” I answered. “Maybe the doomsday prepper guys.”
“You don’t want one of us to do it?” Paige asked.
“Yeah.” Bailey nodded. “I’ll volunteer. I can do it.”
“Hey, if we get to volunteer, then I want in on that,” Tara said.
“Really?” Anna asked.
“Um, yeah,” Tara said with a look of disbelief. “Who wouldn’t want to shoot an airplane out of the sky? That’s badass.”
“It is,” I chuckled. “But for the time being, I’m going to assign it to someone else.”
“What?” Tara asked. “Why?”
“You all are valuable,” I told them. “And until everyone’s positions are locked down completely, I don’t want to assign you to anywhere in case I need you somewhere else.”
“That makes sense.” Paige nodded.
“If you’re just trying to butter us up by telling us we’re valuable, then you’ve succeeded,” Tara said with a fake glare.
“Good,” I laughed. “But it’s true, too. I couldn’t do any of this without you girls.”
“Oh, whatever,” Anna teased. “If it wasn’t us, then I’m sure you would have just found four other girls to pal around with.”
“Right, because beautiful, intelligent women are everywhere in the apocalypse,” I chuckled.
“You never know.” Tara shrugged. “They totally could be.”
“I mean, we do know, though,” Anna said. “We’ve picked up quite a few women since this all started, remember?”
“True,” Tara said, and she pursed her lips. “Most of them are pretty, at least.”