Flightless

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Flightless

  By Robert C. Waggoner

  Copyright 2012 Robert C. Waggoner

  Smashwords Edition

  Novel

  Overview

  Part One of Three

  “Flightless

  Brief introduction:

  Two astronauts return to a world without people. First they blast off in the year 2012 and return in the year 2018. They have been in a state of animation for 3 years.

  Captain, James T. Atwater.

  Captain, Cathy A. Fleetwood.

  They wake up in California after the shuttle lands. First to awaken is Capt Atwater.

  Chapter I

  Groggily the first of his five senses he recognized was taste. The taste in his mouth reminded him of what was euphemistically known as the bottom of a bird cage. Searching his memory banks, Captain James T. Atwater, astronaut, recalled he was put in suspended animation for the long trip back to earth.

  He realized the effect of gravity on his body. It felt heavy as he moved his arms to grasp the sides of the chamber he lay in. The lid had automatically lifted, but his strength was absent. He called out, "Cathy, are you there?"

  "Yes, I'm here somewhere. I'm so weak I can't raise my arms. Are we back home?"

  "Yes, I can feel the gravity and my strength is coming back. I'll help you out in a minute." Captain Atwater slowly climbed out of his 'coffin' he so aptly named the container that held them in animation for the last three years.

  A short time later he had Cathy out of her 'coffin' closed the lid and sat down to recoup their strength. She rubbed her forehead and said, "My God what an experience. My head is pounding for mercy. How do you feel Captain?"

  "Like you, I've a splitting headache and am very hungry. Where is our support crew to help us out of our containers? I'm very curious why no one has made us aware of their presence. I'll be right back after I look out the window up front.

  Captain Atwater made his way forward to the cockpit. He looked out the window doing a panoramic take of the airport. All he could see was desert and the runway continuing on for a long ways. After scanning the entire area, he came back to focus on the runway. What looked like a recent rain had produced green weeds growing up through the runway. If he didn't know better, it looked like an abandoned runway or airport.

  This was Edwards Air Force Base home to over ten thousand personnel and countless other activities such as secret plane testing, weapons training and other classified things; also space shuttle landings.

  James shook his head not understanding what he was looking at as he made his way back to where Cathy sat. He sat down beside her and said, "I've no idea what is going on but it looks we have landed on an abandoned runway. Let's open the emergency belly door and take a look around."

  "I'm confused James. We should be attended and this place should be crawling with personnel. I'm not only confused, but a little scared," Cathy said as she followed James towards the belly door.

  James lowered the door and tossed down a rope ladder. He went first and then held the ladder taunt for Cathy. While she came down slowly, he felt the dry desert wind blowing his longer than usual dark black hair. He was ready to catch her if she fell as the effects of gravity were something neither one were used to. As she reached the bottom he said, "I've got you. Just lean on me and get used to the atmosphere and hope our sea legs return quickly."

  Leaning on each other they turned to look at the terminal area. Both noticed there was not any sign of life anywhere. James looked at the sun and guessed it was early afternoon. Strange, he thought, where is everyone? Cathy said, "James, I've a bad feeling about this place and time. If I remember correctly we left earth January 2nd 2012. Now it should be January 2018. Six years have passed since we left. Well, Captain Atwater, let's take a walk and see what we can find in those building over there."

  They walked past the blowing parachute trailing on the runway. It appeared to both that this runway hadn't been used for a long time. Cathy said, "I'm really thirsty James. Let's find some water first thing."

  The closer they got the more desolate it looked. Tumble weeds lined up against the walls with the prevailing winds doing their job. Vehicles sat around with tall brown weeds surrounding them. There was no doubt this place was abandoned many years ago. The first building they came to was the main seat of command. The US flag flapped in taters on the flag pole. The main door was not locked as they entered. Sand and dust were everywhere and not a sole in sight.

  A grim look was on James face. He said, "Let's see what is in the lunch room we can drink. If memory serves it's right back here down the hall." He led her down the hall and to the last door on the right they entered the lunch room. A large table and plastic chairs sat around nice and neat. Except for the sand and dust, the place was fairly clean. Cathy opened the fridge and found some bottled water still unopened. "Do you think this is safe to drink James?"

  "Yes, no light has shown on it and it looks clear to me. I'm game if you are." Both greedily drank the water. James continued, "Let's see if we can find out some information on the desk of the commander." He led Cathy to the back of the building and each room they passed was bereft of any sign of life having occupied the place recently. Opening the commander's office door, James first looked on the top of the receptionist desk to see what the latest documents had to say. Cathy looked at the calendar and exclaimed:

  "James, the year on the calendar is 2014. Now, if this is what I think it is we are in deep shit here. The only conclusion I can draw is a world war, or a plague has taken place and there aren't any survivors that we know of."

  "Let's remain calm Cathy. We are special trained and can survive without a lot of things that normal people can't do without." He opened the center desk drawer and found a diary or an appointment book. The inside cover revealed that the owner of the book was Lieutenant Patricia Green. James quickly flipped to the last entry and read out loud:

  "The time is ten am January 3rd, 2014. I think this will probably be our last day at the base. The plague cloud is due here tomorrow and we are all leaving to go to our respective homes. I'm riding with Colonel Williams who lives in my neighborhood in Lancaster near Los Angeles. If by chance a lone survivor reads this after we are all gone, then I'll tell you what happened. We think someone released a biological plague. No one claimed responsibility. However, it soon engulfed the entire world. Few survived. Rumor has it that the president and selected members are living underground in the Rockies, but I've no way to substantiate that rumor. God Bless you all. Pat."

  Chapter II

  “Let’s go into the Commanders office and see what we can find there.” James said. The same amount of sand and dust seemed ubiquitous to even the Commanders office. James went to the small bathroom and found some towels to wipe off the chairs. After a hit and miss clean up attempt, he sat down in the Commanders chair. James pulled the top right drawer out first. As expected an appointment diary lay on top of some other papers. James picked the book up and set it on the desk. Cathy came around and looked over his shoulder as he read the last entry out loud. General W.H. Showmaker said:

  “The future appears bleak at best as the biological agent is bearing down on us as I write this. As near as we can tell, once the agent arrives we have about two weeks until death comes. Rumor has it the bio agent came from the Middle East, but we’ve no proof at this time. I’m flying out later today to be with my wife and family until the end comes. I’ve spoken to the president and he and family are safely tucked away in the Rocky Mountains. I refused his kind offer of joining them for personal reasons.”

  “I feel sorry for the two astronauts who will return to a land of waste. Their space shuttle is flown by computer and they are in suspended animation and due to revive upo
n landing in 2018. They are well trained and I wish them the best. Good speed us to a quick flight to the land of promise……….”

  “Well, Cathy, we are on our own. I think we should relax and find some way to wash the space crude off our bodies; then find something to eat.”

  “I’m for that for sure. Where can we find water to shower with?”

  “Now, that’s a damn good question. We need to find a water tank that is plastic and not metal pipes so as to keep the rust off of us.”

  James thought correctly that they would find some stored water at the barracks shower area. Walking was still an ordeal and both were in dire need of a good nights sleep. Walking into the shower area Cathy was first to turn the shower faucet on. It slowly turned on and the water that came out of the shower was full of silt. However, soon it cleared and even though it was not hot, it was warm and not cold.

  “I can live with this James. Excuse me while I strip down and you can choose another shower stall. Wait, we need some soap!” Cathy found a fairly new bar of soap at the sink and so did James. Next they needed some towels. That was easier said than done. James went around the back and found a door that had storage written on the top of it. It was unlocked and when he entered the smell of stale and dirty clothes hit is nose hard. Dirty towels, were still piled up in a cart and in a back cupboard he found some towels that were fairly free of sand.

  An hour later they both felt so much better as they found the canteen. The canteen really didn’t have much in the way of something to eat so they decided to find the PX. Now walking was becoming a real chore. James suggested they find some bikes to pedal around on. They were approaching some housing and hopefully they could discover some bikes.

  It appeared they were in officers housing and as luck was needed they discovered bikes at the third house they checked. However, the tires were flat and both went on a search for a tire pump. While searching for a pump, James discovered a camping stove and a can of white gas to use. Now this was more interesting than a bike pump as they would need to heat their food. Can goods last for years under the right conditions. James yelled for Cathy and she came into a garage where he was trying to make the stove make fire.

  She said, “Now that is a good find Captain,’ as she looked around. “Wow, this guy was into camping and the outdoors.” It was a little dark in the garage and as they came through the side door, Cathy went back and opened the roll up door letting in the late afternoon light. James was still trying to get the stove fired up as Cathy said, “Hey here is a tire pump and a good one too.

  James had the camp stove making fire as he smiled and said, “Well Cathy, what should we cook on our new stove?”

  “Let me go in the house and find some can goods and a pot. Hey if I find some canned goods, why not bring the stove in the house where we can find bowls, spoons and stuff like that?”

  “Okay, go check it out Cathy. I’m going to snoop around here and see if I can find some way to start a car. I know the batteries will all be dead, but in the maintenance shop we can find new batteries to start a vehicle with. One problem will be old gas or diesel. Well, hell we have to try and find some method of transportation. I for one don’t want to live here at this base for the foreseeable future.”

  Cathy went to the side door of the house. It was not locked. She opened it slowly as she had no idea what to expect inside. So far they had not seen any skeletons or any sign of anything that had passed on. By all right bones should be visible. She walked into the kitchen and like most places they had been into sand and dust was coating everything. The kitchen was orderly and she walked into the living room. Here were the remains of a family of four. One skeleton was in the recliner and three skeletons were on a long sofa. No doubt the sofa contained mother and her two kids. The bones were clean, as far as she could see, as the clothes they wore were still hanging on the skeletons. It looked like a scene out of a Hollywood Halloween movie. A faint odor of death was evident as she turned to go back.

  Cathy hurried back to report to James. He’d found some jumper cables and a can of starting fluid in a spray can. She said, “Bring the stove to the kitchen James. The living room contains the remains of the family, but they are a long ways from caring we are using their kitchen. The small entry was is full of canned goods. Soups mostly. Let me go back and see if any water is available to rinse out a bowl.”

  James followed her in with a still burning stove. He sat it down on the table and Cathy tried the water finding no such luck. Bottled water sat on the floor and she used some of that to rise off two bowls and the soup pot. No can opener necessary as pull tabs had replaced the old fashioned can opener. Cathy opened two cans of vegetable soup and poured them into the pot. In a short while the soup was bubbling hot. Meanwhile James had taken a look in the living room and quickly returned.

  He said, “You know Cathy, we have to get used to seeing this picture of dead people. We have to find someplace to sleep and I suggest we go to the officer’s barracks which are empty.”

  “I agree James. I don’t want to sleep in a house full of skeletons. And further more, I don’t want to sleep in a room by myself.” Cathy poured soup into two bowls. A few minutes later both bowls were empty and they both laughed at each other for being so greedy. Cathy said, “That tasted good, but I’m full. Le’s go find that bunk bed and take a long sleep.

  Chapter III

  James woke up with the sun shinning in his eyes. Not a good choice of bunks, he thought. Cathy was across the isle from him still sound asleep. James made his way to the restroom. He decided another shower wouldn’t hurt and a shave this time. It took him awhile to find a razor but as luck would have it, in one of the shower stalls a razor was left. James decided a beard would be best but he wanted to trim it up so it looked good. While he was shaving in came Cathy rubbing her eyes. “Good morning Captain,” she said.

  “Yes, I feel much better and have some energy now. Some protein would be good and let’s see if we can find some corned beef to eat. Some toast would be nice, but that is asking a bit much at this time,” he laughed.

  Cathy said, “Now isn’t the time to discus it but what and where shall we go and do?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that Cathy. I don’t think living underground in Colorado is to my liking. I think we need to make sure no one is alive before we decide where and when. Let’s check out LA and see if anyone survived. We really don’t know what is out there and we must be prepared for the worst case such as a survivor that has been deformed. Also there might be some cases of survivors in gangs. I’m almost afraid to go looking. What do you think Cathy?”

  “I too am afraid what we might find alive in a big city like LA or San Francisco. I vote for going somewhere like Oregon where we can grow food. However, we should make some effort to find out if there are anyone left alive in original human form.”

  “Okay let’s bypass LA and see what is up in Sacramento area.”

  “I’m hungry again James. Let’s go find that corned beef you were talking about.”

  They biked around until they found the PX and in the can food section found what they were looking for. Also they found camping stoves where compressed gas could be used. James set up a stove and using wipes from the baby section, had a pan cleaned and corned beef being fried at the check out counter. Paper plates and plastic spoons, not the best in utensils, but under the circumstances, did the job.

  “Kind of greasy Cathy, but hope it stays down. We probably should be very careful what we eat for a few days.”

  “I agree James. Well, shall we see what we can muster up for a traveling rig?”

  How about a motor home with small pickup truck pulled behind it full of fuel. Also we really need to be armed to the teeth. We don’t need to be caught with our pants down.”

  Cathy saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. “What was that? I could have sworn I saw someone or something pass by the front window,” she said with fear in her voice.

  “I had my ba
ck to the window. I’ll go out and have a look see. Maybe it was just a shadow of a cloud passing by,” James said as he walked out the door. He looked around and saw nothing of interest. The sun was coming up from the east and not a breeze stirred. A little cool, but not cold. He turned to go back when he spotted on the ground some strange sized footprints. Or more plainly, foot prints where someone was running on their toes alongside the building.

  James back tracked and found two sets of prints exactly the same size. So were not alone, he thought. From the size of the prints it was either two small people or kids. He started back when Cathy came around the side of the building curious as to what he might have found. James pointed to the ground and she saw clearly footprints.

  “James, what do you make of this? I’m both happy and scared at the same time.”

  “To be honest with you Cathy, I feel the same way. I hope they are friendly and not changed due to the biological plague. I’m not sure what we should do next.”

  “Well, let’s leave a note on the front door and if they can read and follow the instructions, we will be one step ahead of the game,” said Cathy.

  Cathy wrote the note telling whomever you are to meet us at the commander's office at two pm. She went on to explain they were astronauts and free of any disease. She added they would be happy to meet anyone who is alive and can tell them what happened to life on earth.

  Cathy taped the paper on the door and they rode their bikes to a hanger. James wanted to check on the availability of a jet to fly around and take a look at LA.

  “Here are some problems that face us Cathy. First the fuel is old and probably has water in it. Second we need a generator to run the starting machine for the jet engines and to charge batteries. I suggest we find some Av-gas as it has water preventive chemicals added to it. We can find more additives probably in one of the hangers. Also the planes tires are probably low or flat so they will need air from an air compressor. Man the more I think about it the harder it gets.”