Day One (Book 3): Alone

by Michael McDonald

“The military does have smaller birds, man. Plus there is also the possibility of it being law enforcement, if it wasn’t military, which makes a lot of sense,” the Second Man added.

  The Leader quickly stopped and the other two, worried more about their surroundings than where they were going, ran into him. He pushed them back and the Last man almost fell, caught himself, and shoved his eyes toward the Leader.

  “What the hell?” The Last Man said in a loud whisper.

  “Watch where you’re going,” the Second man said to the Last Man and pushed him further away.

  “Will you two clowns shut the fuck up?” He hissed at them. “Yes, it could be a smaller military bird or even a police chopper or possibly Elvis, hoping to make a comeback, but unless you two enjoy living in the woods and eating cold cans of beans every damn day, it could also be a way out of here. A better place to sleep at night without fear of running into those things, and a better shot at actually surviving.” He scanned the darkness near the base of the small control tower and saw nothing out of the ordinary, and then turned to face them. “I don’t like any of this shit – running around out here in the darkness like a bunch of damn thieves any more than you guys do. We haven’t seen any other people in days, it’s been raining nonstop, and I’m sick and tired of being cold and tired all the damn time. So unless you two have a better idea, then we’re heading up to those hangers to see if we can see something and maybe find out who and what that was that flew over.”

  Neither of them two Men disagreed with him, instead they crawled back into a single file line and followed him across the wet runway, a small patch of emerald green grass, well kept, and down a taxi way toward a small building where the airport lights and communication hookups were located. Beyond that was a large tanker truck and an open hanger with a crop duster sitting quietly inside, never again would it have the freedom to barrel down onto a field, just feet off the ground, and spray chemicals. Instead, it would sit there for all eternity and rust away to dust. Insects of all kinds would infest every inch of it as the weeks and years went by, turning it from a man-made object into a luxury bug condo.

  At the small building, the Leader used hand signals to tell his friends what to do. With each signal, one of them would nod their head and continue to listen for further orders. When everything had been spelled out, the Leader broke into a sprint and crossed the short distance to the tanker and took a kneeling position at the rear, hauling the long hunting rifle into the ready position and watching the tower for any signs of movement. When he was certain that no one was above them, he waved and one by one they filed across the open and hid with him.

  The lights of the airport were still very much operating and the small doors near the base of the tower were lit brightly with two flood lamps hidden within a small flower bed on either side of the sidewalk leading up to the glass door. The runway was lit also, but the lights were spread far enough apart that they had been able to pick a dim area and cross relatively unseen. There next major hurdle would be getting past the hangers, which had large flood lamps on their arches and shown down upon the asphalt in front and behind. And going further out just brought with it the glow of the street lamps near the highway, so they needed to proceed with extreme caution and be weary of even the slightest noise.

  The Leader pointed toward the tower base and his two friends headed out while he took up the rear and made sure they were not being followed or perhaps chased by anyone. The falling rain and rumble of thunder masked any sounds they inadvertently made along the way and they tried to stay as close to the hanger doors as possible, yet still far enough away as not to be seen in the glow of the hanging lights.

  Any further away and they’d be directly within the light – a lit target to anyone looking for the slightest hint of movement would stand out like a sore thumb, and they were all smart enough to know that others didn’t mean safety. Not anymore. The world was a far different place now than it had once been. Other survivors would kill anyone they presumed to be a threat to remain alive, and three shadowed figures lurking through the dim darkness was fair game.

  The silent three moved past two hangers and were in the middle of a third when the Last man accidently kicked a small stone, which bounded forward, hit the heel of the Second Man and sent it into the large metal door. They all froze instantly, looking back at the one who had started it all.

  Johnny crossed the floor, after taking Kember upstairs and laying her on one of the couches. He’d put a blanket over her and she had fallen back to sleep almost instantly. At the bottom of the stairs he made his way to the chopper to give it a quick inspection and then begin the process of refueling her with a hand pump. It had been built by someone with an engineering background, equipped with wheels, making it mobile to be used in or outdoors. The jet fuel was combustible, as any fuel was, but its rating was lower and safer to use indoors than other types. Suddenly something hard hit the hanger door. His M-4 rested in the front seat of the chopper and was far out of reach, so he withdrew the revolver from his waist and looked toward the gap at the bottom of the door. He could see three bundled shadows, just barely visible because of the direction of the flood lamp on the arches above. He pointed the gun in their direction and slowly crept toward the large door to get a better idea of what he might be up against. If it was bad he would need time to get the chopper ready, however, if it wasn’t, then he needed a plan to deal with the people outside. At the moment, silence was his perfect weapon and as long as he remained that way, they might not even know he was there.

  “Watch what you are doing,” a male voice said in a whisper.

  The revolver offered him the ability to shoot without first having to cock the hammer. All he had to do was pull the hard trigger and the bullets would do the rest. Please don’t let her wake up crying suddenly. His mind prayed. Wait… if this shit jumps off. How are you going to deal with it? Are you going to get her and then start the chopper or vice versa? His mind added to the already overstressed situation he was in, although it was a good question. If he started the chopper first, then he would have to leave it to retrieve Kember, but if he got her first, and then started it, what would the outcome be? “Dammit,” he whispered as quietly as a mouse moving through a darkened house.

  “Are you trying to give our position away?” The same male voice asked.

  “No,” another male voice answered.

  Shit! They are right outside of the hanger door. Johnny’s mind told him.

  “Then watch what you’re doing,” a third voice said harshly.

  He was certain he could handle one of them – two at best if he could get the jump on them, but three was pushing it far beyond any level of comfort he wanted to endure. As far as he could tell they didn’t know he was in the hanger, and that gave him the element of surprise, but if he had learned anything in the past week and a few days, is that nothing went exactly the way it was ever planned or looked. For all he knew – a great possibility – they knew he was in there and was trying to draw his attention toward the large door while a few others raced around the side to the back door and were about to burst in on him. A direct attack from the front is what he expected and was prepared to deal with. An attack that simultaneously came from the front and rear all at once was a nightmare of impossibility.

  Before he had put the chopper down, his gut had told him that landing here probably wasn’t the best idea, especially so close to the highway and interstate. He was here now and could go nowhere at the moment, so he’d have to make due with what he had currently and worry about what was to come, if anything was coming at all, when it happened.

  The gap… oh shit, the gap! If you can see their shadows under it, then they might be able to see us if they drop low enough to the ground! His mind raced and abruptly he wanted to be off the hanger floor, although that was easier said than done considering he was smack dab in the middle and the chopper was the only heightened object nearby. But even climbing onto it would not hide him, as from their ang
le if they were to peer under, everything would be visible to them.

  “Not good,” he whispered and slowly began to move forward, apparently not fully aware of what he was doing until he was at the small door built into the larger door on the left side of the hanger, if you were looking out toward the runway.

  He placed his hand on the knob and was about to turn it and see if it was unlocked when he felt tension and snapped his hand fully closed around it.

  They were trying the doors to see if any were unlocked as he had.

  “It’s locked,” the Third voice said.

  “Are you sure?” The First voice asked.

  “Yes. I’m pretty damn sure I know how to tell if a door is unlocked or not,” the Third voice stated in defense. “What if the flight crew from that aircraft we heard earlier is in one of these damn hangers? What then?”

  “I don’t know,” the First voice replied.

  “Jesus Christ, you don’t know?” The Third voice said almost breaking the whisper rule. “These guys could have automatic weapons, and if that’s the case, then we might as well have squirt guns, because it’s going to go straight to hell the moment they see us.”

  Man one quickly hissed. “Will you shut up, no it’s not.”

  “He’s got a point, man.” The Second man stated. “We have a hunting rifle, a twenty-two pistol, and a damn knife. What good is that against machine guns and a dozen or so soldiers?”

  Johnny felt the fear rising in his stomach. He held the door locked with his left hand and the revolver in his right, giving him no time to react if someone were to enter through the rear of the hanger. He was in a really bad spot, but could do nothing about it. They didn’t know he was so close to them, yet still he was at their mercy.

  “What about a backdoor?” Man Two asked. “There has to be another way in these damn things other than out here in the open?”

  Johnny felt he had at least one of them zeroed in and if he shot that would be one less person to deal with. The other two, and the possibles that could be already at the backdoor, kept him from pulling the trigger though.

  “No, it’s too close to the highway and if someone were to drive by they would see us,” Man One replied.

  “And standing out here with our pants around our ankles is not a good idea either,” Man Two commented snidely.

  Johnny felt the tension on the door knob release, although he kept his own tension on it in case they tried once more. The door was narrow and if they were to somehow get it open, they would be in a single file line to get in and he could start shooting. The odds of him missing several targets at such a short distance was low and quickly diminishing their numbers meant greater safety for him and Kember. Plus the heavy round of the 357 magnum was sure to be a crowd stopper, especially with them in a single file line coming through the door. One bullet could easily enter one target, exit and enter another, which meant he might not have to fire more than two rounds at most. That gave him a slight sense of relief.

  The shadows at the bottom of the large door became active and Johnny watched them, one by one, start to glide away. He followed with the gun until he caught something out of the corner of his eye and shifted his head swiftly in its direction to see Kember standing near the bottom part of the stairs holding a juice box. She watched him closely as she sipped the juice through the narrow straw, just standing there.

  He shot his gaze back to the gap at the floor and could still see the shadows moving slowly from left to right. If Kember made even the slightest sound, they could hear her and would know for certain there were others within the hanger. He placed a finger to his lips hoping she would somehow understand what he meant, but fearing the obvious at the same time.

  A rumble of low thunder cut across the sky as she dropped her juice box, startled by the abrupt noise, and it hit the stairs and tumbled downward in sync with the ambient storm noises, coming to rest on the slick concrete floor just seconds before the noise dissipated.

  Had they heard it? Johnny’s mind questioned.

  Lightning cast the midnight hours into sudden and brilliant daylight, leapt across the sky in a very erratic pattern, and then simply disappeared taking the white hot illusion of day with it. More thunder followed. Kember was on the move. Fear plastered her face and she was headed straight for Johnny. He was positive at any moment she would cry out and he would have to start shooting, forcing more traumas upon her.

  Two of the shadows continued as one of them, the rear man stopped. Johnny grasp the revolver with both hands, readying himself for the massive recoil that would surely come at any moment.

  “Hold up,” the Last man said quickly.

  “What are you doing?” Man one asked.

  The Last Man stood there in silence for a few harrowing seconds, his eyes searching the area as if he were looking for something in particular.

  “What?” man one asked once more, the anger in his voice was becoming evident.

  In a whisper that made it hard for One and Two to hear legibly, he answered. “I thought I heard something.”

  Johnny shot his eyes back to Kember to see she was no longer on the stairs, but what was now making her way toward the chopper. Her curly blonde hair bounced as she lumbered quickly forward, a toddler smile crested upon her face to which at any moment she could laugh out loud or giggle. They would then know the hanger was occupied and if there were more than three of them, then they would initiate an attack. What use would a two year old little girl serve a small band of evil men? None, unless they were a bunch of perverted nutjobs like that professor at the school had been.

  Humanity, even at its darkest, back when the world was as right as could be, always had its shortcomings. However, laws were what governed us and kept those sick bastards out of the light of day. All that was gone now. There was no one to enforce such laws. No one to oversee the punishment for those caught performing such crude acts upon the innocence of others. There was no one to keep the boogeymen from coming out at night.

  All it would take was the single, purely innocent laugh of a little girl to send them all straight to the never-ending flames of hell in the blink of an eye.

  Johnny knew she would make noise. She was a two year old after all. It’s what they did unless they were sleeping.

  “Are you sure this time?” Man one asked.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” the Last Man said. “I know what a fucking noise is.”

  “Where did it come from?” Man one asked further.

  There was a brief and excruciating moment of silence that Johnny could feel running down his spine like razor blades, cutting deep into his soft flesh, tearing and cutting its way into him until he thought he could take no more and would simply drop dead. The foreign voices stopped the unrelenting pain as quickly as the silence had started it.

  “I’m not sure,” the Last Man stated. “It had to be close by though.”

  “Which direction did it come from?”

  The Last Man wasn’t sure of that question, as it had happened so fast he never really got a chance to register where it had come from, only that it had been close. He shrugged his shoulders and Man One shook his head with an angered look held upon his face.

  “There’s a million other things out here with us,” he stated coldly. “It could have been a small animal and it could have come from anywhere. We don’t have time for this shit, now come on before we are spotted by more of those things.”

  Johnny watched the third shadow catch up to the other two and slowly they slipped away. He looked to see Kember trying to climb into the chopper and he moved over to her, lifted her into the pilot seat and placed the revolver back in his waist. That had been too close for comfort and he could have easily taken it out on the toddler, but it wasn’t her fault. None of this was. She wasn’t the one that had thrust the world into hell any more than she had control over what survivors chose to do when they encountered others. She was pure innocence and as her father would have done, he’d die to ensure that she survived
. Her smile and undying wonder of the world around her gave him hope. It had become his driving force, and that made her powerful.

  He watched with a smile forming as she pushed and yanked on the flight stick, intrigued that the device in her hand would always go back to a neutral position each time she let go. She yank it hard toward her and let go, watching it return to its normal position as she laughed.

  “You may be the death of me someday… but I give you my word that no one will ever hurt you. No one!” He told her.

  She looked at Johnny and made a funny face before trying to peer into the rear of the aircraft, glanced from left to right, and then returned her gaze to Johnny. “Daddy?” She said and pulled her arms up, as though she didn’t know where he was and wanted him to help her find him.

  “He’s not here, baby girl…” His words swiftly died away as he didn’t know how to tell her what had happened. He didn’t know how to make a toddler understand anything, let alone something as massive as this. It would be years before she could grasp something as serious as what took place at the school complex, and even then, if they survived that long, he still wasn’t sure he could tell her. How would he tell a Kember that her daddy had died making sure they could escape unharmed?

  That wouldn’t be easy.

  The rain started to fall heavier and with daylight just around the corner, Johnny thought it best to try and get some sleep while they could. He checked both the front and rear door of the hanger and made sure they were both locked tightly before picking Kember up and heading up into the lounge area. They lay there together listening to the rain while Kember played with a small doll, quickly losing interest and being actively sought after by sleep. Johnny followed soon after her, but knew he wouldn’t sleep as well as he could. There were still three threats that he knew about in the vicinity, which made resting more difficult, and then there were the thoughts of Brandon and the sacrifice he had made to save them both.

  How am I going to raise this little girl and give her the best life possible? He thought as he lay there beside her watching her sleep peacefully. That would be something that followed him from that day forward. She frightened Johnny more than those things did, as he was used to taking care of himself. Now he had a child that need constant input and round the clock care.