by Tim Moon
Much to Ben’s disappointment, and Ty’s obvious discomfort, some of the tour group from the previous flight had begun filing in.
4
October 9 | Mauna Kea, Hawaii | 0642 Hours
BEAMS OF LIGHT shot across the sky like spotlights on a fiery background dotted by fluffy pink clouds. Sunrise had always felt like a magical time to Ben, watching it from a mountaintop made it extra special.
“We did it, man. We summited Mauna Kea in just over five hours,” Ben said to Ty.
Experienced hikers typically took ten hours for a round trip climb of the mountain. For no particular reason, they’d decided to beat that goal. The climb was the tough part, and descents were almost always quicker. Unless one of them broke a leg on the way down, their mission was all but accomplished.
Ben had once climbed Mount St. Helens, back home in Washington State, but Mauna Kea was by far the tallest mountain he’d ever climbed. He and Ty had been training in the mountains in Korea, but nothing there compared to the elevation of Mauna Kea. Ben could feel it too, courtesy of an elevation induced headache. However, what Korea lacked in elevation, it made up for with long steep ascents. Switchbacks were unheard of, and it had proved to be good training.
As the sun inched up to begin its trek across the sky, the Big Island’s beauty slowly unveiled below them.
“This view is amazing,” Ty said. “Thanks for inviting me on this trip.”
His voice sounded cheerful, but he had a look about him that made Ben feel like he wasn’t fully enjoying the moment.
“Thanks for coming along. It’s more fun with a friend.”
Ty sat down and began to rummage through his backpack. He pulled out a protein bar and two cans. He offered one of the cans to Ben.
Ben grabbed it from him and looked at the label. It was coconut water. “Thanks, man. I love this stuff.”
He shook it up and popped the top. The cool, pulpy fluid was just what Ben needed. He dug into his backpack and pulled out some aspirin for his headache and a bag of trail mix for breakfast. “It feels like we’re on top of the world right now. Ya know?”
Ty grunted in acknowledgment, busy taking a shot of the sunrise, with his protein bar jutting from his mouth like a cigar. Then he stood to take a panoramic shot.
“Did you know Mount Everest is more than twice as tall as this?”
“Do you think you’ll ever climb Everest?” Ty asked through a stuffed mouth, as he reviewed his photos. Satisfied, he slid his phone back into his pocket and sat down to finish eating his breakfast.
“Sure, if I can manage to save up about fifty grand to make it happen,” Ben chuckled. “Until then, I’ll have to settle for visiting Everest Base Camp.”
Ty nodded and didn’t say anything else. Something was clearly on his mind, but Ben knew better than to ask him what was wrong. He would talk when he was ready.
It wasn’t too difficult to guess what was bothering him. What they’d been through yesterday on the plane weighed heavily on Ben’s mind too. Images of the people and the carnage they’d seen flashed through his mind. It took a mighty effort to push them aside.
To distract himself, Ben focused on the view.
A gust of wind kicked up the Mars-like red dust that blanketed the ground. Other than the occasional outcrop of rock, there wasn’t much to see on the mountain itself other than the observatories. Hardly anything grew on the volcanic slopes.
During the hike up, Ben’s headlamp had only revealed an occasional scrubby bush huddled near rocks along the trail. Although the mountain itself was rather plain compared to what he was used to in the Pacific Northwest, Ben enjoyed the otherworldly look. The real treat was looking down on the lush beauty below the mountain.
“I keep thinking about the stuff on the plane. The people who died,” Ty said. “We sat right by that guy’s body, which was creepy enough. Then, amazingly, he and the other person woke up, or whatever, and started biting people. That’s some horror movie type bullshit.”
Ben nodded as he gazed at the clouds, which now looked like orange cotton candy. He wasn’t sure what to say.
This was the first time since they’d left the airport that either of them had mentioned what had happened. It sure as hell was a lot to process.
Ben’s mind raced back to the first time he’d seen a body. It was his first quarter of college – great way to kick things off.
The school had a plaza with a fountain area where people would sit around and read or talk. Some distraught man had walked onto school grounds, making his way to the middle of campus. He stood in the middle of the plaza and shot a round into the air before firing the second round into his skull, ejecting his life across the intricately laid brick.
Ben had just stepped out of the nearby classroom building as the shots rang out. Not realizing it was a gun, since it was so out of place, he’d walked outside to cross the fountain area on the way to the library. That’s when Ben saw him, sprawled across the heart of campus.
What they’d experienced on the plane was awful too. Much worse in fact, but it helped him to know that the confusion he felt would fade. Ben was still having trouble figuring out why someone would attack, as if they were a starving cannibal.
Scenes from the plane played quietly in the back of his mind. The man biting his wife in the seat in front of them. The crazy woman gobbling down pieces of flesh. The air marshal shooting her.
Ben shivered and closed his eyes. His face tingled at the memory of her blood splattering on him. He rubbed his face to fight the sensation and bring himself back to the present.
Not being raised in a world where actual graphic violence was common, Ben felt like he was at a loss as to how to cope when it did happen. In many ways, he still felt numb. Like it hadn’t been real.
“I know what you mean,” Ben finally said. “It seems crazy, but I’ve never seen a horror movie that real. I’ve tried not to think about it much since we left the airport.”
Ty nodded and took a bite of his protein bar.
“Like I said before, I just hope whatever killed them isn’t contagious,” Ben said. “Especially since most of them followed us here.”
Ty froze for a moment.
Ben didn’t notice the frightened look in his friend’s eyes. He was too busy putting his trash in his backpack. He decided he should get a few photos, especially of the observatories, because he knew his mom would love to see them.
When Ben finished taking pictures, he looked at Ty. “You ready to head down?”
“Sure, let’s stop at that little lake on the way, since we couldn’t see it in the dark.”
“Sounds good.”
“Don’t forget to time our descent too. Let’s beat that ten hour mark,” Ty said, standing up and shouldering his pack.
October 9 | Mauna Kea Visitor’s Center | 1031 Hours
ONCE THE HUMU’ULA trail hit the road near the visitor’s center, they started to run, racing each other back to the parking lot. Ty barely beat Ben back to the car. But like sports and politics, barely was still a win, and Ty didn’t let him forget it.
“You’re getting faster. But there’s a reason your last name is Chase – you’re always two steps behind,” Ty said as he laughed at him.
Ty tossed the car keys to Ben who snatched them out of the air.
After sleeping in the car last night, getting up too damn early, and hiking twelve miles round trip with over 4,700 feet of elevation gain, they were bushed. Losing meant Ben would have to drive all the way to the hotel. The hike had been well worth the effort, but now Ben needed to find some caffeine so he could stay awake on the long drive back.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get you next time.”
“Right,” Ty said skeptically.
Ben noticed the visitor’s center had opened while they were out hiking. He hoped they might have some food and, more importantly, caffeine. He dropped his backpack in the backseat. “I’m going to check out the shop. Be right back.”
“Take your t
ime, slow poke. I’ll be in the passenger seat, you know, relaxing.”
Ben couldn’t help but smile. One of these days, he’d beat Ty and wipe that stupid grin off his face. Ben shook his head as he walked across the tiny parking lot to the shop.
When he entered, the girl at the counter smiled and said hello. Most of the touristy merchandise was to the right, but so was a refrigerated display unit with food and drinks.
Ben quickly browsed the merchandise for anything that might make a nice gift for his mom. The shop had coins that looked like the Mauna Kea summit marker, art and photo prints, and the obligatory astronaut’s ice cream, stacked in a basket in shiny foil packages. Ever since Ben’s grandparents had taken him to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as a kid, he’d been a fan of the ice cream. It was corny, but he always bought it.
Along with the ice cream, Ben decided to pick up a t-shirt and a few postcards for his mom. One of the postcards had a fantastic night shot of the observatories on the summit. She would love to see the sight for herself, since astronomy was her hobby, but this would have to do.
When he turned to check out the food and drink options, he was much less impressed.
The light from the display case shone on a lone gas station sandwich like a lounge singer. Below the sandwich, rows of soft drinks nearly edged out the bottles of water. To Ben’s disappointment, there were no energy drinks. The sandwich looked iffy at best but he was starving. He grabbed a bottle of Coke and the sandwich then stacked his stuff on the checkout stand.
More tourists entered the shop and descended on the merchandise as the girl at the counter began to ring up Ben’s stuff.
“Busy morning?” Ben asked, glancing at the newcomers.
“Not really. Only people hiking the mountain or driving to the summit for photos come in this early,” the girl said. “So which one are you?”
“My friend and I already hiked to the summit. We made it just in time for sunrise.”
“The view up there is spectacular, you picked a good time. It’s peaceful too, not many people start that early. Most of the tourists get here in the evening to look at the stars. We have telescopes for people to use.” She glanced at the register display. “Okay, cash or credit?”
October 9 | Waikoloa Village Gas Station | 1113 Hours
BEN STOPPED AT a gas station convenience store. The bottle of Coke he’d drunk wasn’t cutting it. He entered the brightly lit store, and made a beeline to the drink cases lined with thousands of milligrams of delicious caffeine.
Having bought a few cans of his favorite energy drink for himself and one for Ty, Ben walked back to the car with his treasure and dropped into the driver’s seat. He quickly popped open the can and took a long drink. The crisp snap of the tab woke Ty who had slept the entire way.
For the briefest of moments, Ben felt guilty. But Ty had been extra smug about getting to sleep the whole way back, so Ben decided he didn’t need to feel too bad.
Ty looked at him all confused and then glanced around. Ben gestured at the energy drink he’d bought for Ty then took another gulp of his own. Ben didn’t want to go to sleep until later that night, otherwise he would just be groggy all day. For Ben, groggy meant cranky. Besides, they were in Hawaii. They were there to enjoy themselves not sleep in a hotel.
Ty must have felt the same. He stretched before cracking open his drink, fighting off a yawn before slurping the sweet, caffeine laced liquid.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Ben said, smirking at him.
“Mornin’, thanks for the drink.”
From the gas station it was a short drive west on Waikoloa Road and a little jaunt south on Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway to their hotel. Blue ocean stretched out toward the horizon on their right while rolling hills of black lava rock rose and fell on their left.
Turning off the highway, onto Waikoloa Beach Drive, which wound slowly toward the hotel, it was hard for Ben to believe that they’d already climbed a mountain and it wasn’t even noon.
Thankfully, Ben could already feel the caffeine pumping gleefully through his veins. They still had a long day to enjoy.
5
October 9 | Waikoloa Beach Resort and Spa | 1146 Hours
AS THEY WALKED into their room, Ty rushed past Ben, dropped his pack on the floor and threw himself onto a bed like a little kid, claiming it as his own.
“Ahh, I’m loving this bed. Don’t worry,” Ty said, laughing at the look on Ben’s face, “I don’t want to sleep the day away. Let’s go into Kona and check out that burger place you mentioned. I’m starving.”
“I’m just going to shower and change first. Then I’ll be set.”
Ben dropped his backpack next to the other bed and glanced out the window. Since their chat on the mountain, Ty seemed to be in much better spirits.
Maybe we can still pull off this adventure after all, Ben thought.
Sitting on the corner of his cloud-like bed, Ben slipped off his shoes. After a year of sleeping on a hard, Korean-style bed, and taking a brief nap in the car to acclimate on Mauna Kea the night before, this thing was heaven on Earth. Gazing outside the window from where he sat, Ben could see people playing in the sand while waves lapped at their toes.
Ty snatched the remote from the nightstand between the beds and started flipping through the channels. “Let me know when you’re done. I’ve gotta freshen up too. Always gotta be prepared to meet beautiful women, right?”
Ben rolled his eyes but refrained from commenting. They both knew that Ty was the smooth talker.
“Actually, I was supposed to call my friend when we got here. I’ll see what she’s up to and maybe we can meet up with her tonight,” Ty said as Ben grabbed his stuff and went into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, Ben emerged showered and dressed. “Your turn,” he called to Ty as he continued drying his hair with his towel in front of the mirror on the closet door.
No response.
Ben peeked around the corner expecting to see Ty fast asleep on the bed. Devious thoughts of waking him with a splash of cold water wound through Ben’s mind.
Instead, Ty sat rigidly on the edge of his bed, gaping at the TV. For some reason, he was watching the news. Ben couldn’t recall a single time in all the years he’d known Ty that he’d seen, or heard of, him watching news other than on the sports channel.
“Close your mouth, you look like a blowup doll.”
It took a second, but Ty blinked and seemed to register that Ben had spoken to him.
“You’d know,” Ty shot back reflexively. Like a goldfish gasping for air he struggled to say something more. Finally, he turned to Ben wide-eyed. “They’re all dead.”
“What? Who’s dead?”
“All those Chinese people. The entire group from our flight is dead.” Ty jumped up off the bed and turned toward Ben. “The reporter said most of them died overnight, and the last two died just a couple of hours ago. She didn’t say what it was specifically, just that they’d traveled together and all died within the last eighteen hours or so. The police refused to talk because it’s an ongoing investigation and the hospital had no comment. But the guest contributors think it may be a disease or that they might have been exposed to something toxic. How weird is that?”
Ty began to pace, nervously rubbing his hands together.
“So they mentioned the people that died on our flight?”
Ty nodded. “But they didn’t say anything about the attacks. Just that they died and all of us went through screening after the flight landed, so no one should worry.”
Then Ben realized how many people had been in that tourist group. “Damn, that’s like twenty, or twenty-five, people, right?”
“Thirty-six.”
“Whoa, thirty-six? I knew their group was big, but shit. That’s a lot of people. Did they start attacking people, like on the plane?”
Ty shook his head. “I don’t know. They didn’t say anything about that.”
Ben tapped his chin, thinking. He was certainl
y no medical professional, but he’d never heard of anything like this before, and he watched a lot of news. So, thirty-six people in the same tour group just died, and the media were trying to pass it off as a mysterious disease or strange coincidence, but nothing to worry about? That sounded far too convenient to Ben.
“Do you feel sick at all?”
Ty shook his head. “No, I feel okay. You?”
“Same here, I feel fine.”
“Thirty-six people all dead – poof – just like that, and no one knows why? Or they know and they’re not saying,” Ty said.
“Exactly, I call bullshit. Somebody has to know what’s going on,” Ben said as he hung up his towel and sat down to watch the news.
Ben couldn’t help but think the whole scene in the warehouse had been bullshit too – smoke and mirrors – to relieve the airline and government of liability. Everyone on the plane went through the screening and yet those people were released, placed on another plane, and then all of them had died.
Ben focused back on the news. They had moved on and were talking about smoggy air in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Authorities suspected it was due to an illegal release of pollution directly into the air, but the reporter said there was no specific evidence. Pollution monitors didn’t show a spike in particulates despite the visual evidence.
“Well, that’s not news. Pollution’s been a problem there for years.” Ben shook his head. “Plus, it’s not exactly on the same level as a mysterious disease that drops three dozen people.”
Ty stopped pacing. He ran his fingers through his golden hair then sat down next to Ben. Perhaps a little too close. He looked at Ben intently.
“What?” Ben asked, scooting over on the bed.
“Do you think we should go to the hospital, for, like, a checkup or something? Or, maybe call the police? I mean, we did sit right behind one of the first ones to die. You even got blood splattered on you – more than once.”