At first, he was cautious, just sipping the water to make sure it tasted ok. It was cold and so good. He then started gulping the water. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was. After drinking about a quart of water, he laid back on the ground, and his body just crashed. As he laid there, thinking about the last couple of hours and what was ahead of him, he couldn’t help but fall asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
After the laughter had settled down, things took more of a serious tone. Mia started describing the chaos that was going on in Los Angeles. Riots had consumed the city and the turnpikes were bumper to bumper with people trying to leave the area. Also, there had been several smaller earthquakes which seemed to be increasing in strength with each one. The grocery stores that hadn’t been looted were out of food and trying to buy gas for your vehicle always took several hours of waiting in line if you found a gas station that was open.
She described the flight and repeated how most of the major cities seemed to have major fires going on. Carmen spoke up and said how lucky they were to make it out here.
Mia continued and described what happened after her plane was fueled up. “It took two hours before we were cleared to depart. I filed a flight plan, and even that took an hour to get through. Just about the time, we were in the run-up area getting ready to depart, that’s when all the lights went out. The plane right in front of us had just left the end of the runway and moments after the lights went out, we saw a massive explosion on the ground about where the plane would’ve gone down.” Mia started crying when she described it, and Kim went over and gave her a hug.
Mia got back her composure and continued, “All the other planes just stopped where they were. We couldn’t figure out why ours was still running, but I wasn’t going to take off without any runway lights. I couldn’t tell where any of the other planes were. I mean my landing light was like a floodlight on the runway, but I was scared that before I was even able to rotate, a stalled plane would be blocking our path.”
Kim spoke up and asked what rotate meant. I jumped in, “That’s basically when the plane is lifting off the ground.”
Brandy spoke up, “Don’t forget to mention the explosions.”
Mia started to tear up again, “Yeah, while we were taxing back, suddenly we saw several fireballs off at a distance, at different locations. We figured out the next day that they were other planes crashing.
We spent the night in the cafe. We got almost harassed at times with questions from a few people asking why our plane kept running but of course, we had no answers. Betty, the woman that ran the cafe, kept people away from us and let us sleep there.
Anyway, when the sun came up, we took off and flew up here VFR, using the sectional map and the highways. As I told you earlier, we were going to land at Harrisonville, but there was a plane that crashed right in the center of the runway. So, we just followed the highway and roads to here. Thank God, we knew the way.”
Carmen came over and sat down beside me and grabbed my hand. She looked me in the eyes and asked, “Vince, what is going on? I know you know something. Is it that thing you told us about? You know the thing with the initials?”
I looked at her, “You mean an EMP? Yes.” At that point, she squeezed my hand and started crying.
Brandy asked, “What’s an EMP?”
I sat up, “Ok, now listen. We have a lot of news to tell you. I need you guys to keep it together. You need to hear all of this.” I know I sounded a little cold, but I dreaded telling them everything we were about to tell them. I expected them to be a little frantic. Carmen’s parents lived in Kansas City and Mia’s in Detroit.
We explained exactly what an EMP was and what we heard on the shortwave. Then we gave them the news about Washington being nuked.
After being bombarded with several questions from all three of them and being asked if it was just America that got hit, Carmen asked tearfully, “So we’re at war?”
Brandy yelled out, “Oh this is crazy! This can’t be true. This is like some movie.”
Tag, who is normally known for joking to lighten the mood, looked Brandy in the eyes, “You saw it for yourself. What else explains everything you saw and went through?” She sat there staring into space and then she seemed to accept it and looked at Carmen, “Thank God mom and dad are in Italy.” We looked at her a little puzzled, and she said, “Our mom and dad went to Italy for a month to visit some friends.”
Mia broke down, jumped up and started saying, “I have to get a hold of mom and dad. I have to contact them” She ran to our bedroom with Kim following her.
When Kim entered the bedroom, Mia was pacing back and forth talking to herself and trying her cell phone and then our home phone. “Oh man, I have to get through to them!”
Kim grabbed her by the arms and tried to calm her down. Nothing worked. Finally, Kim had to shake her by the shoulders and yell, “Mia!” Mia finally settled down and just looked at Kim.
“Now didn’t you say you talked to your family a couple of times on the flight out?” Kim asked in more of a voice like she was trying to get Mia to think.
“Yes!” She responded, still with her eyes glued on Kim.
“Didn’t you say that they were staying with your uncle at his hunting cabin in northwest Michigan?”
Just about that time, Carmen came into the room and put her arm around Mia.
“Yes, it’s next to the Manistee National Forest.”
Carmen jumped into the conversation and asked, “Is that the cabin that we stayed at for a week a couple of years ago?”
“Yes, that’s where you found that fawn bedded down.” Mia laughed a little, “I remember you wanted to take it back to the cabin and keep it as a pet. We had to keep telling you NO!”
“Mia, that place had deer and game every place around it. Plus, I thought we were never going to get there it was so isolated.”
Kim said, “Then they will be alright. It sounds like the kind of place Vince would love to have.”
Mia laughed again, “Yes, Vince would love it ….” but then formed a worried look, “But dad doesn’t hunt.”
Carmen said, “But your uncle does. He’s a big hunter, and if I remember that cabin right, it was huge. I didn’t even consider it a cabin. It was bigger than this place.”
“Yes, you’re right, and dad did use to hunt. He just doesn’t anymore.”
“There you go. They’re away from the city, and it sounds like they’re away from almost everyone, and they have food to hunt. Mia, you just have to have faith that they are fine.” Kim said in a sweet calming voice.
Mia sat for a second, “You’re right. It’s just when Vince talked about the attack and the EMP; everything hit me all at once. I’m sorry.”
Kim said, “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I was the same way when I thought about our families and I’m still worry. But we just have to have faith that they’re fine.”
Both Carmen and Kim gave Mia a hug, and Kim said, “Come on, let’s go join the others.”
The girls walked into the living room, and Mia acted a little embarrassed and then started apologizing. Everyone started saying that there’s no need to be sorry and that they’ve all felt that way.
I walked up to Mia and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek, “Hey, you’re tough. My gosh, look at the landing you made, and you kept it together. Like I said in the field, I’m proud of you.” She looked me in the eyes and smiled and reached up and gave me a big hug back.
After about an hour of very serious talk, moods and conversations turned to a lighter note. Everybody started having small talk, when I finally said, “Well, I have to go talk to Jake, our neighbor. Red, why don’t you come along. Jake is pretty much a “Jack of all trades” and he has the stuff lying around that will come in handy.” I asked Tag if we could borrow his jeep. He jumped up and tossed me the keys out of his pocket.
As we were walking out, Carmen asked, “Do you mind if I go?”
I glanced at Kim, almost for appro
val and she laughed at me and nodded her head yes.
“Sure but hold on a minute.” I went into our bedroom to grab our Glock 26 and a holster.
Kim followed me to the bedroom and grabbed a birthday card, “Here, have Jake give this to Bethany. It’s her birthday in a couple of days.” She then lowered her voice, “I noticed your glance asking for permission for Carmen to go.”
“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t have a problem with it.”
“Remember what I said? I told you just to be yourself. Before I told you about Carmen, would you have asked my approval to take her with you someplace?”
“No.”
“Then don’t start now. Vince, I trust you. I trust Carmen. There is nothing different now, except for your knowledge of her feelings. Again, just be yourself and do what you would normally do. Remember how I agreed with Carmen about her not telling you because if she did, you would probably start acting differently?”
I looked at Kim with a smirk, “Ok, point made. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll be myself.”
Kim smiled and gave me a kiss, “Thank you.”
We headed into the living room, and I handed Carmen the Glock and its holster, “You’ve shot this several times. From now on, anytime you go anywhere, I want you carrying it. That goes for all of you and if you don’t have a gun, we’ll give you one.”
“Do you think that’s really needed?” Brandy asked.
“Maybe not yet but it will be soon.”
Mike came walking out of the bedroom that he had been sleeping in saying, “Probably sooner than you think, too.”
Wit spoke up, laughing a bit, “Well, we didn’t think you were ever going to wake up. What, did being a hero drain all your energy?”
“Being a hero?” Mia asked.
“You guys fill them in on the story. We need to go talk to Jake.”
As we were walking out, Brandy jumped up from her chair and stuck out her hand to Mike and said, “Hi! I’m Carmen’s sister, Brandy. Listen, I don’t really know how to shoot. You, being a police officer, can you teach me?”
Mike got a smile on his face, “Well, Hello, I’m Mike, and yes I can do that.”
Hearing this while walking out the door, Carmen came out with a high pitched, “Oooooh,” and started laughing.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“Brandy, saying she doesn’t know how to shoot. What a crock! She shoots at least as well as I do. Our dad taught us both at the same time. That’s just her way of flirting with him.”
Carmen and Mia had both shot several times during their visits and Carmen was a really good shot. Mia started out with that typical Hollywood anti-gun attitude but fell in love with it quickly and became pretty accurate after a few lessons.
Mike and Brandy continued talking and walked off together into the kitchen. Wit, who was obviously attracted to Brandy, got a scowl on his face because she was being extra friendly to Mike.
Tag burst out laughing while looking at Wit’s expression. “Well Wit, I guess that answers the question whether she likes older men or not. It looks to me like she prefers the younger ones.”
Wit gave him a dirty look and flipped him off. Mia and Kim couldn’t help but start laughing. Wit turned a glance towards both of them, and Kim said, “I’m so sorry Greg, we didn’t mean to laugh, but that was funny.”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s the story of my life,” and started laughing a bit himself.
Carmen asked me, “What did he mean by hero?”
Red ran into the camper to get his .40 caliber. So, while waiting for him and while on the drive down, I filled her in on the whole Jerome Jackson thing.
As we were walking out to the jeep, Mo happened to be in the driveway and watched us leave. At the same time, Angela was coming out of the bus. She walked up to Mo and started lecturing, “I saw you looking at that girl’s ass. You better quit that shit.”
“What are you talking about and why do you have to come out and just start storming?”
“I’m storming because I saw you looking at that white girl’s ass. Kim may put up with her man messing around, but I’m not.”
“Oh, NO, NO NO, NO NO NO NO! You can get upset because you think that I’m looking at some woman’s butt, but you’re not going to start with any racial bullshit around here. It’s bad enough that I have to put up with your brother’s radical crap, but I’m not going to tolerate that BS from you.”
“Don’t you talk that way about my brother.” She barked.” He…….”
Mo interrupted, “Shut Up! and you better hear me. These guys are my brothers. They’ve put their lives on the line for me, and I’ve done the same for them, and I’m not going to tolerate any racist bullshit from you or anyone else. We have a brotherhood that you can’t possibly understand. I’d take a bullet for any one of them, and I know they would for me.
If Vince and Kim have made Mia and Carmen a part of their life, then I’ll accept them the same way. Vince doesn’t allow too many people on the inside. People have to prove themselves. I know Vince, it may have been years since I’ve seen him, but he’d never accept anyone in his life unless they were honorable and trustworthy, even under today’s circumstances. He was always that way, and I know he’s still today. We may all be a lot older, but none of these guys have changed. My God, they’ve accepted us into their home. What is wrong with you? I can tell you that Vince, no all these guys, don’t judge a person by their race, but by their attitude and actions.
I do NOT want to hear “white girl” or “white man” in the racial way you were saying it. Now I hope you’re hearing me because if I ever hear that shit again, you and I are going to have very, very serious problems. And I’m as serious as a heart attack.” He then stared her right in the eyes.
She stared back at him with a shocked look as she saw how emphatic he was. Like all couples, they’ve had some bigger fights and disagreements in their marriage, but she had never seen him with such an intense look on his face before. Mo hated any racial bullshit.
She felt embarrassed, “Baby, I’m sorry.”
Mo scoffed and started to turn away. “No, really baby, I’m sorry. I don’t know why that monster came out of me. Just with everything that’s happening, it just came crashing down on me all at once. I’m scared and especially scared for Lulu. Please, forgive me. You know that I’m not really that way. I don’t know Vince and Kim, but they seem genuine. I see why you love all these guys. I’m sorry, and you’ll never hear that from me again. I promise.”
MO’s expression turned soft, and he reached down and kissed her. “Baby, I know you’re scared. We all are. You just have to learn to live for today. That’s the only way to survive. That’s how all of us survived more than once, while we served together.
That’s exactly why you hear us kidding around most of the time. We act like a bunch of teenagers, not only because that’s how we acted in the army but because you can’t sit around dwelling on a bad situation. You live for the moment, and you live for the day because you can’t always control what comes next.
But I promise you, every one of us will lay down their lives before we let anything happen to Lulu.”
Angela smiled, “Thank you, baby. I needed to hear that. I know you’re going to look at these girls, I’m just jealous that I don’t look that way.”
“Baby to me, you look just as good as they do, if not better,” and then he kissed her again and they walked to their bus, arm in arm, where Lulu was taking a nap.
We pulled into Jake’s, and before we even got out of the jeep, he was out the door to meet us. As he was walking up, he had his hands out to his side and an expression on his face like, “Ok, tell me everything.”
“Hey, Jake. I want you to meet Carmen, who you’ve heard me speak about and I think you even saw her picture on my screen saver.”
Jake got a sweet smile on his face and stuck out his hand and said hello.
Jake had seen her picture. Months earlier, he had dropped by our
house to show me a gun he had built, and he was glancing at our family pictures on the computer’s screen saver. When Carmen and Mia’s pictures came up, I saw a puzzled look on his face, so I explained who they were. I told him, we don’t introduce them to too many people because, especially with Mia, when some people figure out she’s a celebrity, they act absolutely moronic. So, we just got in the habit of not really telling anyone.
Mia is very cute, but after telling Jake about Mia, he immediately asked, “Who is the blonde?”
Jake is a very religious man. His job is a shop teacher at a Christian school. He’s as close to what a Christian is supposed to be like more than anyone I’ve ever met. I wish I was more like him. He’s the first to help someone without expecting anything in return. He is constantly involved in special school projects that he volunteers for, and he never judges anyone.
As he has said more than once, “I have a hard enough time worrying about my own behavior. Why would I think I have the right to worry about what anyone else is doing?” He’s a very good man.
So, him asking, “Who’s the blonde?” Is like many of us asking, “Who the heck is she? She’s hot!”
I continued with the introductions. “This is Red. He’s one of my army buddies, and he’s also a mechanic, so I think you guys will hit it off.”
After they greeted one another and shook hands, he looked at me, “Now are you going to tell me the story about the airplane or what? I would’ve come out to the field, but Kerry and Bethany have a bit of the bug, and Bethany was having trouble keeping her lunch down at that time if you know what I mean?”
I told him a quick version of the girl’s flight, and he asked, “It was an EMP wasn’t it?”
“So, you haven’t heard anything?”
“No, how could I? Plus, you’re the first I’ve talked to.”
“Well, I have a shortwave that I had in my safe that wasn’t affected.”
I told him about the EMP and the nuke. I also filled him in on what happened in Kansas City, Mike and Jerome Jackson and everything the girls had seen.
Apocalypse Coming Page 22