“I’m not sure about you guys but after what I saw in Miami, I think avoiding the major cities if at all possible would be preferable,” the Doctor added.
Captain Bannon remained seated and was clearly in deep thought. Suddenly, he got up and moved to the other side of the cockpit where various flight manuals and plane schematics were housed. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for and sat back down.
He turned back toward the Doctor and Gunner and said, “Back in 1919 a young Army Captain was part of a military vehicles convoy that traveled from the White House to San Francisco. I believe they referred to it as the ‘Transcontinental Motor Convoy’. It took them over two months to complete their journey. The young officer was so frustrated by the lack of a proper road system that he vowed someday to do something about it.”
Gunner looked dubiously at the Captain and said, “Your point being, Captain?”
“Thirty some years later, as President of the United States, he championed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1950 something that led to the interstate system that we all now enjoy. It even bears his name ‘The Eisenhower Interstate System’.”
“I’ve seen those signs before,” the Doctor said.
“Of course Doctor,” the Captain continued. “It’s said that if you add up the entire cost of the endeavor since the beginning it would be the most expensive public works project since the Pyramids. But my point is that, although the project had many standards to make the roads easy to use such as using odd numbers for interstates traveling north and south and even numbers for roads traveling east and west, the one that we’re interested in is that the system was designed so that planes could land on them during times of war or emergencies.”
“Really?” said the Doctor.
“Actually, not really Doctor,” the Captain responded.
Gunner and Dr. Sanderson exchanged confused looks.
“It’s an old urban legend that the highways were designed so that at least one mile in every five were flat and straight so that a plane could land on it. Although Eisenhower, as a military man, saw the benefit of such a plan there was no practical way of accomplishing it. But that didn’t stop some bored pilot with way too much time on his hands to research the entire interstate system and list any area in the country where you might actually be able to land a plane. He measured road width, looked for level ground, a straight road, and most importantly, no over passes. He then organized it into this book I now hold in my hand.”
“So you are suggesting that we land on the highway?” Gunner asked.
Captain Bannon was busy flipping through the small paperback and either didn’t hear or ignored the question. He was staring intently at the page he had stopped on, comparing what was on the paper to the map he had on his lap. After a minute or so he looked up and pointed to a spot on the map.
“Just above County Route 36, on I-65, there is a stretch of highway that would be adequate for us to land on. It’s not wide enough for a commercial jet but should be fine for our purposes. That would put you less than a mile from your signal.”
“Let’s do it,” Gunner said.
“Only one thing that could hold us up,” Captain Bannon said.
“What’s that?”
“The highways have been littered with abandoned cars everywhere we’ve gone. I’m going to need enough space to land and then take off again. As long as the road is clear, I should be able to get her down.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Gunner said, “prepare for takeoff Captain.”
As they closed the cockpit door and headed back into the cabin, Dr. Sanderson was not sure but he thought that they just decided to land somewhere on I-65.
The Gulfstream was airborne fifteen minutes later. The trip was going to be a short one so the plane climbed to only 3500 feet before starting its descent as Captain Bannon approached I-65 from the southwest. His plan was to pass overhead first and ensure the road met the criteria for a successful landing and, just as importantly, survey the interstate for abandoned cars. If everything checked out, he would then circle back around and attempt his landing.
I-65 was a four lane north south highway separated by a grass median. As Bannon lowered the Gulfstream to about 1000 feet he saw a straight, flat road open up before him. “Perfect,” he thought. As he descended a little further he noticed the cars on the highway. There were not a lot of them but enough that would make landing impossible. Leveling off at 500 feet he observed that the cars were primarily on the northbound side of the highway; the southbound side was clear. Passing over the proposed landing site, he calculated the distance he would need to land and then takeoff. It appeared there would be just enough room.
Captain Bannon banked the plane and began to circle around for the landing. His first priority was to line up with the “runway”. The two lanes plus the shoulder would provide just enough room to land but there would be little room for error. The Gulfstream descended to 300 feet as the Captain used the slats to slow the plane down. He then used fully extended flaps to slow the plane down further in order to help land using the least amount of road possible. With fixed landing gear, all that was left was to raise the nose of the aircraft roughly five degrees and find the middle of the road.
Captain Bannon had landed many planes under many circumstances but had never landed on an interstate highway before. The rear wheels touched down first and skipped along for a few feet before grabbing hold of the road. Bannon lowered the nose quickly so that he could use the reverse thrusters and apply the brakes as soon as possible. The plane began to slow down as it traveled down I-65 coming to a stop about 2500 feet later.
“All things considered, not a bad effort,” Bannon thought as he finished his landing procedures. He looked out through the cockpit windows at the road before him. He would need a minimum of 5000 feet to takeoff; 6000 feet was recommended. He grabbed a pair of binoculars from the storage bin in the cockpit and trained them on the interstate up ahead. There were two cars in the distance just as the road began to slope slightly downhill. Years of takeoffs and landings told Captain Bannon that it would be close. Very close.
Dr. Sanderson looked out one of the oval windows on the plane and half expected to see a car pass by. John had done it by God; landed on the interstate without killing them all. He started gathering his belongings when Gunner approached him.
“Captain Bannon has put us very close to our signal, no more than a half a mile,” Gunner said.
As if on cue, Bannon emerged from the cockpit all smiles. “Not a bad bit of flyin’ if I do say so myself, I’ll have to check that one off my bucket list.”
Gunner almost managed a smile before turning his attention to his men. They were preparing to open the hatch and head down the steps.
“Well done Captain,” Dr. Sanderson said.
Gunner and his crew had already descended the stairs as the Doctor waited at the top anticipating the all clear signal. Bannon came up from behind him and firmly grabbed his arm and spun him around so that they were face to face. The Captain’s demeanor had changed. He was suddenly very serious and staring directly at the Doctor.
“You can fix this can’t you Doctor?” he said.
Dr. Sanderson looked into the man’s eyes and saw fear in them for the first time. He desperately wanted to tell him yes … absolutely … no problem … but he could not lie.
“I will do my very best John,” was the only thing he could muster. He knew it did not sound reassuring but it was all he had.
Bannon nodded, slowly at first, then quicker as he reached out and slapped the Doctor on the shoulder and turned back around and headed into the cabin.
“Doctor!” Gunner yelled from below.
Dr. Sanderson whipped his head around to see Gunner at the base of the stairs with the black bag slung around his shoulder and replacing the clip in his sidearm.
“Time to go,” he said.
The Doctor, moving swiftly down the stairs, joined Gunner, Mika
el, Stefan, and Ludvig in the passing lane on the southbound side of I-65. He instinctively looked around scanning the area for infected.
Gunner took notice and said, “We’re clear for the moment Doctor.”
Dr. Sanderson shifted the knapsack on his shoulder and looked at Gunner and his men. They had already gathered their weapons and covered themselves in protective gear. A group of mercenaries following orders on a mission they did not fully comprehend; accompanied by a middle aged research scientist trying desperately to save the world from a plague he created.
“Quite a group,” thought the Doctor.
He motioned to Gunner and said, “Lead the way.”
They moved across the grass median as Gunner used the portable GPS tracker to get a fix on their target. The Doctor occupied his usual position in the middle with Gunner out front, Stefan to his left, Mikael to his right, and Ludvig bringing up the rear.
Crossing the northbound lane they entered a dense but narrow group of trees. The ground was uneven and difficult to traverse. Sudden darkness enveloped them as if an eclipse had occurred. Twenty yards later they emerged from the trees into a vast field of tall grass and with a clear view. It was at least a quarter mile across and a half a mile in length. A dirt road from the north cut the field in half.
Gunner checked his tracker and said, “The signal is straight ahead, about a quarter mile.”
Dr. Sanderson looked in the direction Gunner indicated, but saw nothing unusual. At the far end was another row of trees similar to the ones they had just come out of. The Doctor stared at the tree line for several seconds before noticing movement in the underbrush. Someone was materializing out of the woods. Upon closer inspection it was definitely a man. By the way he was moving Dr. Sanderson immediately assumed it was an infected person. He appeared to be alone and was too far away to notice the Doctor and his group yet.
As they crossed the dirt road closing the distance between them and the infected, Gunner instructed his men to fan out and attempt to surround the creature. Meanwhile, the Doctor was struggling to identify him. He was still too far away.
Gunner carefully opened the black bag and removed the collapsible pole with the loop on the end. His men had closed within 500 feet and had formed a semi-circle and stopped. They were waiting for the infected to come to them.
Dr. Sanderson, walking alongside Gunner now, was still too far away from the test subject to positively identify him. There were three males in the group that were approximately the same age. They had encountered one at the stadium. The other two remained at large. He did appear to be wearing the appropriate hospital scrubs and was definitely the source of the signal.
The Doctor looked around and saw they were alone in this field. His mind raced as an idea had begun hatching in his head.
“Gunner,” he said in a hushed voice.
Gunner turned and replied, “Yes, Doctor.”
“Have you tried your restraining devices yet?”
“What do you mean?” Gunner answered along with a ‘now is not the time for this conversation’ glare.
“What I mean is there’s no one else around, infected or otherwise. It might be a good time to use the restraints on this test subject. If it’s Number 5, we’re done. If not, we can … put it out of its misery and move on but at least we might be better prepared the next time.”
The Doctor waited patiently for a response; like a child waiting to get the okay to stay up a half an hour past their bedtime.
The test subject was now less than a football field away.
“We have the advantage. It shouldn’t be difficult,” Gunner finally responded.
Gunner moved toward his men, called them over, and explained the plan. Dr. Sanderson noticed this was the second time they looked at him like he was crazy but the Doctor had no doubt they would follow orders. Gunner removed the hand cuff like arm restraints and gave them to Stefan. He gave the leg irons to Ludvig and finally the muzzle to Mikael. Gunner kept the pole.
They fanned out as before but this time with Gunner in the center position. The Doctor remained a few yards back continually on the lookout for any trouble. He did not need to identify the subject until it had been subdued.
Gunner had dropped the black bag as the test subject was less than 100 feet away. Jerking its head in their direction, it had begun to take an interest in Gunner and his crew.
The test subject’s arms rose up and extended toward Gunner. He had allowed himself to act as bait in order to apply the noose first before the rest of the restraints were used. It was moving closer now as its prey was within reach. Gunner had extended the pole to its full length, approximately six feet.
Gunner raised the pole up as the test subject came within range. He brought it down hard on top of the subject’s head but the rope had bent slightly and slid off the side and onto its shoulders. Gunner gave the loop more slack as he backed away from the approaching zombie. Stefan, Ludvig, and Mikael had closed in from behind and waited for Gunner to apply the lasso.
His second attempt was successful as he pulled the rope down around the creature’s head and pulled tightly around its neck. The pressure Gunner applied would have choked an ordinary man to death but since this thing before him was already dead, it tried to continue forward.
Gunner had plenty of strength to keep the test subject at bay as Stefan came up from behind and with the all the swiftness of a seasoned police officer grabbed both arms and pulled them behind the subject. He quickly applied the hand cuffs and pulled them tight. The zombie thrashed back and forth as Stefan began pulling it down from behind. Gunner pushed the pole forward at the same time. The combination was too much as the test subject, uncoordinated to begin with, lost its footing and was soon on its back.
Ludvig came in and grabbed the legs to steady them. He kneeled down on the creature’s shins as he opened the circular clamps of the leg irons. He attached the left leg, then the right and quickly stood back up. As he backed away, Mikael come from behind and lifted the test subject’s head. The zombie suddenly snapped its head around and tried to take a bite out of Mikael’s hand. He moved his hand away just in time. He pushed its head forward and tried again. This time he was able to carefully affix the Hannibal Lecter like muzzle.
Dr. Sanderson approached the captive test subject who was lying in a beautiful wide open field of grass. He bent over slightly to get a good look. Even with the muzzle covering part of its face it only took a few seconds to determine that this was not Number 5 but test subject number eight, Jacob Hester.
He allowed himself a moment to think about how he once had tried to help this man, maybe even save him; and how this whole thing went so terribly wrong. It was at that instant that he vowed to finish the job. In order to find an antidote, he had to stop thinking of these … things as once being human. All that mattered was finding Number 5 and finding a cure.
He turned to Gunner and said, “Not him I’m afraid.”
Dr. Sanderson turned around before the bullet from Gunner’s pistol exploded in his former patient’s skull. They waited a minute to make sure the thing had stopped moving for good before they removed the manacles.
As Gunner’s men were collecting the restraints, his walkie went off. It was Captain Bannon’s voice, “Gunner, come in Gunner.”
He grabbed the walkie, pressed the button, and said, “Gunner here, over.”
“I recommend you get back here as soon as possible, we got infected coming up I-65 from the south; lots of them, over.”
Gunner turned to his men who had just finished collecting their restraints and were heading to the black bag to put everything back.
“Skynda dig, tillbaka till flygplanet nu!” he shouted.
They threw the stuff in the bag and grabbed it without zipping it up. Gunner and the Doctor had already started for the trees at a full run. As they approached the tree line they slowed down. No telling what was in the woods. They moved slowly through the trees in a tight formation looking in all directions.
A minute later they were safely out of the woods and found themselves about 50 feet north of where they originally entered. Looking left they saw the Gulfstream. It was blocking the southern view of I-65 so they could not see what was behind it. They turned and ran toward the plane.
It was not but a few seconds later when the horde of zombies coming up the road came into view. There were probably a couple hundred of them and they were headed toward the plane. Luckily, they were still several thousand feet away.
Gunner reached for his walkie and pushed the button and said, “Captain, please open the hatch.”
“Copy.”
A few seconds later the hatch was opening as they came around the front of the plane. There was no time to stash the equipment or firearms in the cargo hold so everyone ran for the stairs. Once aboard Gunner closed the hatch as Captain Bannon hurried into the cockpit and closed the door behind him.
Gunner’s men had to remove and stow their armor so they would be able to fit in their seats. Everyone knew the drill by now and had begun buckling their seatbelts.
Captain Bannon had secretly wished that they had time to back the plane up so he had more room for takeoff. But, with the approaching army of infected coming from behind, that was now impossible.
The plane was already set for takeoff. He strapped himself in and began to accelerate forward. He would have to increase speed above the normal 85 knots in order to shorten the distance needed to achieve takeoff.
If he knew the exact distance he had to work with he could accurately determine how much flap to use. Unfortunately, increased flaps increases drag; he would have to make his best guess.
The plane moved past fifty knots as the cars Bannon spotted earlier were quickly approaching and were now visible with the naked eye. He was perfectly centered on the highway and was hoping for a big gust of wind to pick the plane up.
Unfortunately the opposite happened. Calm overtook the area and the added lift Bannon needed was not going to be there. As the Gulfstream passed eighty knots he was able to raise the nose about five or six degrees. The cars were less than 1000 feet away.
The Zombie Principle Page 21