Speed the Dawn

by Philip Donlay

  “I think—” William struggled to find his voice, coughed again, and then opened his eyes. “I think my left elbow might be broken.”

  “Okay,” Donovan said to Shannon. “I’m going to support William and keep him steady while you unbuckle the strap holding him to the tree. Once we’ve done that, we’re going to put together a splint and then try to move him out of here. William, are you ready?”

  William nodded and used his good arm to wipe his mouth.

  “Was the strap your idea?” Donovan asked as he reached under William’s waist.

  “I knew that with my bad hip I couldn’t outrun the tsunami. My cleats allowed me to get up this tree, but the second outgoing surge was too much. A floating log caught my ankle. I hurt my elbow when I fell trying to get down.”

  “Climbing the tree was the one thing that saved your life. You’re lying on your elbow, so I’ll take your word that it’s broken. Your ankle is definitely broken. Other than all of that, how was the golf?”

  William let out an involuntary chuckle, which quickly turned into a groan.

  Shannon loosened the heavy buckle and slowly fed the strap under William’s belt until he was free of the trunk. Donovan eased him down until William was lying flat on the ground.

  “I’ll go find something to use as a splint.” Shannon hurried toward the truck.

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,” Donovan said. “Where’s your caddy? Where’s Senator Evans and his caddy?”

  “I don’t think they survived. They were still running when the wave arrived.” William’s eyes took in his surroundings. “What time is it? I think I must have blacked out.”

  “You’ve been out for a while. I’m going to very gently remove your shoe. If it’s too painful, let me know.” Donovan untied the laces and loosened the tongue as much as possible. He tried to stabilize the foot below the break and began to slide the shoe off of the blood-soaked sock. William’s sharp intake of breath told Donovan what he already knew. With a final pull, Donovan finished with the shoe and grimaced as William pounded his good fist into the ground in pain.

  “I think this might work.” Shannon laid down one of the rubber floor mats from the truck.

  “Nice,” Donovan said and then tried to think about the proper first aid for a compound fracture. “Look in the pocket of his golf bag for a folded towel. He usually keeps a spare.”

  “Here. It’s wet.” Shannon handed the folded towel to Donovan. She unsnapped the used towel still clipped to the bag, found a clean spot, and used the damp material to wipe William’s face.

  “I’m going to use the towel as a compress, then we’ll engineer a splint.” Donovan swallowed hard, and careful not to touch the bone, he pulled apart the sock and exposed the wound and quickly pressed the towel against the worst of the bleeding.

  “I’m having a little trouble getting a full breath,” William said between shallow breaths. “I need to try and turn onto my back.”

  “You got it.” Donovan moved from William’s ankle to his torso. “Shannon, we’re going to roll him in the direction of the incline. When we start, can you try to ease his leg while I turn him?”

  “I will,” Shannon said. “Don’t forget his elbow.”

  “I’ve got it.” Donovan leaned down toward William. “Are you ready? Are you sure your neck and back are okay?”

  “Just get it over with.”

  Donovan nodded at Shannon and lifted William’s shoulders, and accompanied with a sharp intake of air, and a string of profanities, they turned and rested William on his back. “William, it’s done, can you breathe better?” The silence brought Donovan’s eyes to William’s face where he saw a grimace mixed with tears.

  William gasped and moaned. His breathing was shallow. He shook his head side to side as he fought each wave of pain.

  “We need to get this splint finished and get him out of here,” Donovan said as he grabbed the rubber mat.

  “Where do we start?”

  “We fold the mat a couple of times until it’s U-shaped, then we use it to cradle his leg without the rubber touching the broken bone,” Donovan said. “After we position the splint, we’ll need to find something to secure it in place.”

  Shannon unfolded the towel she’d used to wipe William’s face. “If we rip this into strips, we can use one on his ankle and the other above the break. We may have to improvise, but I think we can use the bag’s shoulder strap to secure the rubber mat further up his leg.”

  “I like it,” Donovan said and looked at William who had closed his eyes.

  Shannon knelt next to Donovan, and together they worked to maneuver the mat into place.

  Shannon tied the makeshift splint with strips of the towel, while Donovan held William’s leg steady. When she finished with the larger strap, she leaned back to examine their work. They’d created a semirigid support around William’s leg.

  “Okay, that’s not bad,” Donovan said. “William, are you hanging in there?”

  William managed a strained groan.

  “We have to get him to a hospital,” Shannon said.

  “Can you back the truck up as close as you can?”

  Donovan watched her go, thankful that her energy seemed entirely focused on the one survivor they had seen all day that she could actually help. Shannon turned the truck around in a half circle, and then inched backwards to where William lay. She jumped from the cab and lowered the tailgate.

  “Okay, buddy,” Donovan said to William. “This is going to hurt, but we’re going to move you to the bed of the truck, nice and gentle. It’ll be quick, I promise.”

  Donovan waited until Shannon was in position to support William’s leg. He told William to support his injured elbow with his good hand. Once everything was set, Donovan went down on one knee and slid his arms under William. Counting on his fear and adrenaline to accomplish what he needed to do, he lifted his friend off the ground. Ignoring the protests from every joint in his body, Donovan staggered upright, swayed, and then walked as carefully as he could toward the taillights.

  Trying his best to ignore William’s cries of pain, Donovan set William on the tailgate while Shannon steadied his legs. Donovan climbed up into the bed and pulled William inside the bed until he was all the way forward. He pulled off his leather coat, folded it, and laid it under William’s head. “Shannon, close the tailgate and drive us out of here.”

  Shannon ran around to the driver’s side, stepped on the side runner, and turned toward Donovan. “I’m not sure which way to go.”

  “Follow our tracks to the left. I’ll help you navigate. Though, I think we might have a different problem.”

  “What?”

  “The evacuation—it would include hospitals, wouldn’t it?”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE HELICOPTER’S LANDING light illuminated Michael, who stood well away from the center of the hospital’s helipad. Lauren felt the skids touch at about the same time as Montero yanked open the door. Michael piled in, and Montero closed the door as Janie lifted off the pad and climbed away. The entire operation took less than fifteen seconds.

  “Any news about Rick’s condition?” Lauren asked as Michael buckled his seat belt.

  “I was able to speak briefly with the surgeon,” Michael said. “Rick was lucky. Thanks to you two, the blood loss wasn’t an issue. He said he was able to reconnect everything that was damaged. He explained to me that the wounds were about the same as a small caliber bullet, through and through, so there wasn’t massive tissue damage. Rick will recover.”

  “And you?” Montero said, gesturing at the wad of gauze that covered half of Michael’s right ear. “Did you get a stud or a hoop?”

  “Hey, I got a meteor through my earlobe, so that’s not even funny. Though my wife asked me the exact same thing,” Michael said with an irritated smile. “She told me I could borrow some of her earrings while I decided on my new look.”

  “Guys,” Janie said over the intercom. “Take a look to the
south. San Jose Tower says we’re about to have more objects enter the atmosphere. They said the estimated impact point should be well out to sea, roughly eighty miles southwest of our position.”

  Lauren dimmed the cabin lights and studied the sky. The first object rushed toward the ground, burning white-hot before it winked out against the distant horizon. Seconds later, at least ten other objects burst into view, burned brightly, and changed to a deep red glow from the smoke before vanishing. Putting her science aside for a moment, she thought of Ernie’s words, about the crowded nightclub, and how easy it was to incite panic and confusion. All she could do with those thoughts was hope that the majority of people were away from the fires, maybe even indoors where the meteors would pass unseen.

  Janie brought the helicopter in over the Pacific Jet ramp, and set down in the same spot as before. The one difference Lauren could see from when they departed were the television cameras being trained on the Eco-Watch helicopter from what used to be a half-empty parking lot. Beyond the fence, she spotted the microwave towers reaching up from the equipment vehicles.

  “I think everyone should get inside as quickly as possible,” Montero said, uneasy at the scene of dozens of unknown people crowding against a fence. “I’m going to stay out here with Janie and help get the helicopter refueled. We’ll be in as soon as we’re finished.”

  Michael slid the door open and he and Ernie jumped to the ramp and then helped Lauren out. The three of them put their heads down against the cameras and hurried to the door.

  “Lauren,” Ernie said. “Can you get me an update from your people in Washington?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Lauren checked her phone for the time. It was late in Washington, but considering the day’s events, Calvin would still be there.

  “I’ll be right back,” Michael said, and they stepped through the glass doors into the lounge of Pacific Jet.

  “What are you doing?” Lauren asked.

  “I’m going to find someone from Channel 10. Want to come?”

  “I have to touch base with Calvin. If there’s anything I need to know, come and get me, regardless of what I’m doing.”

  “Will do.”

  Ernie went straight toward the converted conference room, and Lauren turned down the hallway to the office she’d used before and was relieved it was empty. She closed the door behind her, sat down in the chair, leaned back, and took three deep breaths to try and uncoil from the stress. She told herself that Donovan was nothing if not a survivor. She could let Michael and Montero handle the quickly changing landscape surrounding them, and as Ernie so aptly said, Lauren needed to focus on her expertise. She picked up the phone and punched in Calvin’s direct line.

  “Deputy Director Reynolds.”

  “Calvin, it’s Lauren. I’m back on the ground at the San Jose airport. Cal Fire wants an update.”

  “Lauren, what do you mean back on the ground?”

  “I’m fine, we were out in the helicopter doing some reconnaissance with Cal Fire. First question though, do you know if anyone besides television stations record what goes out on the air? Say a live feed from a helicopter. Does anyone we know monitor that stuff?”

  “The NSA doesn’t, at least not domestically. The FCC is who you need to talk to, but good luck, it’s Saturday night, why?”

  “It’s just a question that came up,” Lauren said, deciding that Calvin was in no position to help, and he’d only worry even more about her than he already did. “We’ll look into it at this end. Never mind, back to business. What can I pass on to Cal Fire?”

  “We just processed the latest intel taken of the meteor’s debris field. There is some good high-resolution infrared imagery that might be useful. I’ll e-mail you the packet.”

  “E-mail is fine,” Lauren said as she moved the mouse on the desk and the monitor sprang to life. “What about the International Space Station or any of the larger platforms like Hubble? Did they take any hits?”

  “No, not so far,” Calvin said. “If you were just out flying, did you by chance see the latest barrage of reentries?”

  “I did. The objects were pretty far south and looked to be breaking up. Were they meteors or man-made?”

  “A mixture of both. They were tracked from reentry all the way into the Pacific Ocean. What’s significant is that collection of wreckage included GOES 15. GOES 16 isn’t responding.”

  GOES stood for Geo Stationary Environmental Satellite, and Lauren knew they were the backbone of the weather forecasting for the northern hemisphere. As far as weather forecasting tools, they’d just taken a huge hit. “What about GOES 12? Can you retask it to give us the coverage we need?”

  “We can, but no one will take it out of its current orbit for fear that it’ll be disabled by the rogue debris we have up there right now.”

  “What about our allies?” Lauren asked. “Can we piggyback off of their weather satellites until a GOES can be repositioned?”

  “We’re working on that.”

  “When you can, pull up the latest data from any orbital platform, and send it to me so I can compare it with the data everyone here is using. I have no idea where Cal Fire or the Forest Service is getting their meteorological updates.”

  “Will do. I also just spoke to the Pentagon about our military assets in the immediate area. We already know that most of the War College in Monterey is damaged or destroyed. Coast Guard personnel have been evacuated as their vessels in port were destroyed by the tsunami. Both bases were evacuated quickly and the occupants have joined forces with local EMS to assist in civilian evacuations. The Pentagon wants six-, twelve-, and twenty-four-hour situation reports of the areas affected by the fire. I told them you were on scene and would take care of that personally.”

  “Do you want me to go through you or contact the Pentagon directly?”

  “They have more staff than we do, so go ahead and contact General Curtis directly, and copy me on the correspondence.”

  “Will do,” Lauren said.

  “Before I go. Donovan? William? Any word?”

  “I’m trying not to think about that right now. If I hear something, I’ll be sure and let you know.” Lauren hated what she’d said the second the words left her lips, and she blew out a heavy sigh. “Calvin, I’m sorry. I hope you understand. I’m not brushing you off. I’ve seen what’s happening here, and I can only describe it as a complete disaster. I can’t focus on them right now, or I promise, I’ll completely unravel. I’m hoping that if I concentrate on the big picture, and try to help as many people as I can, Donovan, Shannon, and William will be among them.”

  “You’re right, that’s exactly what you should be doing,” Calvin said. “And Lauren, if it were me out there, you’re the one I’d want searching for answers.”

  “Thank you.” Lauren said good-bye and disconnected the call. She clicked through the computer screens until she accessed the DIA website, which would let her open her e-mail. Moments later she had the file and began sifting through the data Calvin had sent.

  She skimmed the first few pages, noting the first impact craters in Utah, then sporadic clusters through Utah, Nevada, and finally into California. It quickly became obvious that the satellites that initiated the meteor’s breakup did humanity a favor. Instead of one concentrated point of impact, the energy was dispersed over half of North America. As bad as things were, Earth had dodged a bullet and ended up with just a flesh wound.

  When she came to the high-resolution images of the Monterey Peninsula, she glanced at the printer to her left. A green light promised that it was warmed up and ready to go. Lauren knew better than to flood bureaucrats with too much information, so she selected five of the best images and sent them to the printer. The infrared data was the most damning. Because the cities were without power, they were essentially dark, so each glowing spot was a point of ignition.

  “Lauren,” Montero said from the open doorway. “We found Channel 10. You need to come now.”

  Lauren log
ged out of the computer, snatched the still warm pages from the printer tray, and followed Montero down the hallway. She stopped at the conference room door, knocked, and stepped inside. Ernie was standing over a large-scale map spread out on two tables. There were four other men in the room with him. Lauren ignored them and went straight toward Ernie.

  “Gentleman,” Ernie said. “This is Dr. Lauren McKenna, an Earth Science consultant with the Defense Intelligence Agency.”

  “Ernie, here’s the latest high-resolution images of the entire Monterey Peninsula. Number five is the one you’ll be most interested in, as it’s an infrared picture of everything burning. I’m needed somewhere else at the moment. The information is straightforward, and I’ll check back to answer any questions.” Lauren turned smartly and headed toward Montero.

  “Dr. McKenna,” Ernie called after her. “Thank you. I trust you’re not leaving the premises?”

  Lauren shot a questioning look at Montero, who in turn addressed the men. “She’s not going far. We need her to examine some aerial footage. We’ll be back shortly.”

  As they crossed the lobby and proceeded through the glass doors that led outside, Lauren couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. “Tell me. Is it him?”

  “Slow down. We located a technician from Channel 10, and Michael and I persuaded him to try to find the feed. I thought we should all see it together. Hopefully, he’ll have it up and ready to roll by the time we get to the van.”

  Lauren and Montero wound through several parked cars until they came to a van sporting decals announcing that it belonged to Channel 10, the Bay Area’s News Leader. Michael was crouched just inside the rear sliding door, and he reached out to help Lauren climb inside. Montero went last. All three of them gathered around a young man with curly red hair who was sitting behind a console. Lauren’s excitement plummeted when she saw that the screens in the panel were smaller than the ones used on a common tablet.

  “This is Joshua—he’s the cameraman-slash-engineer on this van,” Michael said.