“It’s not that we don’t have the time James. What is our hurry anyway? I’m starting to wonder if my family is alive. I’ve no husband as you know, but my parents are or were living in Florida. I’m curious but not in a panic to determine if they’re alive or not.” They rode on until coming to a row of large hangers. Lucky for them the side doors were unlocked. The problem was light. Inside was dark as hell and no way to open the electric doors.
“Now this sucks,” said Cathy. James laughed. Then he said:
“They have manual folding doors in case of power loss. It will take some time, but half way open should give us enough light to see what is front of us.”
Surprisingly, the folding accordion type doors moved quickly and James gave a quiet thank you to someone. Once half way open there was enough light to see that this hanger had smaller planes rather than fighter jets or bombers.
“We’re looking for a T-38 trainer with weapons attached.”
“I think I see a T-38 off to the side of that far wall. It’s still not light enough in here. Let me take a run at the folding doors.” James grunted a go ahead and continued walking towards the far side. Passing by other planes he noticed most all had flat tires or almost flat tires. He wondered then if the tire would be any good after being flat for so long and the rim making lasting cuts in the tire. Well, pump em up and let’s see what happens he thought.
It was getting lighter as the door continued opening up. Now when she finished that door she would move to the next one and do the same thing. Her arms ached, but the exercise felt good. Fifteen minutes later she had to rest. “I’m worn out James. It’s going to take a while to get back into shape.”
“Hey come over here Cathy. I think we got lucky. We have what were looking for right here. If I’m not mistaken, this trainer was being readied for a flight just before the place was abandoned. The tires are only half flat.”
Cathy walked up and looked the plane over. Her eye was as good as his. With a critical eye from nose to tail, she checked it over. She said, “Brings back lots of memories James. Seems like a life time ago we learned to fly jets. Well, now that we found our plane, we have to find a way to fire it up and take a fly around.”
“I never realized, Cathy, how many people it took to put a plane into the air. Now I have to learn how to drive one of those pull tractors and find a huffer to start this aircraft.
“I know what they are, but haven't ever used one,” Cathy said.
“I’d guess we will learn a lot of new things as time goes on.”
“You know Captain, what I’d like is a cup of coffee. I’d guess those freeze dried sealed containers might suffice for a cup of coffee. Also, I’m anxious to see if anyone left us a message.”
“Okay, let’s ride the bikes over there and have a snack too.”
“James, we need some different clothes. To find clean ones we need to go back to the shuttle and get the rest of our stuff.”
“Good idea Cathy. Let’s slow this operation down and think before we act.”
They rode up to the door and indeed a message awaited them. Cathy was first to park her bike and read the message. “Hello we are Dana and Dan. We are the only ones left that we know of. We saw you land and when we thought it safe, came leaving a clue to our being alive.”
“Wow!” said Cathy. “This is amazing. I wonder where they are right now.”
“Look to your left Cathy and I see two faces peeking around the corner of the PX.” In a louder and nice voice James said, “Come on out kids. We are friendly and would like to meet you. Don’t be afraid.”
A voice that was struggling with change at the age of puberty said, “Okay mister, we are coming out.”
Cathy saw a boy and girl come out around the corner of the building. They were the same height and looked very similar. Twins, Cathy thought.
They were dressed similar in jeans and T-shirts. The day was warm and both had on baseball hats. Slowly they walked up and Cathy moved forward with her hand out to the girl and James followed doing the same with the boy.
All four went into the store and Cathy went looking for coffee and cups. Having found what she needed she hurried back to not miss any of the conversation. In a section of the store they found some lawn chairs and set up a circle around a cardboard box used for a table. James had a fire going and soon the water was hot. When offered, the kids shook their heads no at the offer of coffee and Cathy asked: “How old are you guys?”
Dana said, “We’re fourteen and live not so far away. Our last name is Springfield. Our father was an officer and pilot, but like all the rest, they’re gone now.” A tear leaked from her eye and her brother put his arm around her. She continued, “We thought about moving to another place, but this was our home. We have most of what we need right here. We’re quite surprised when we heard and then saw your shuttle land.”
Both kids hung their heads and waited for more questions. James asked, “How long has it been since you have been alone?”
“We were ten years old when all the rest of the people died. We moved our parents out to the back yard and buried them best we could. We didn’t eat very good for a long time. Then we starting visiting the library and read about nutrition. Soon the fresh fruit and vegetables were gone so we went to canned goods. For the last year or so we have been healthy and feeling good. There’s so much we need to learn and we hope you will teach us a few things.”
Cathy felt her heart go out to these two kids. So hard at ten years old to see your parents die and then bury them is too much for any child to bear. After that to be alone and have to fend for yourself would be very difficult and stressful. Cathy asked, “We’re not sure what we’re going to do at this period of time. We want to fly over LA and see if any life is visible. Have you any idea or have you heard any sign of a human anywhere you’ve been?”
Dan said, “We had the TV and computers for a while. We sent out messages on all the chat sites, but nothing came back. We think, because we are twins that there must be some special DNA about us to ward off the plague.”
James was impressed by Dan’s intelligent remarks. He thought, and correctly, Dan had spent a lot of time in the library. James sipped his cold coffee and looked at Cathy. She was looking at him too and both felt the role of parent coming on quickly. Actually, as they later admitted, it felt good.
James asked, “We have just arrived and you’ve been here a long time. What ideas or where would you go if you had the opportunity?”
The twins looked at each other then Dan said, “We don’t like the idea of a big city, but would like a place along the ocean. Somewhere up by Monterey is worth looking at. We would need to grow vegetables. Fruit trees would be nice. It’s just a thought.”
“Well, first things first. We’ll fly over LA and see what happens. From that experience will tell us a lot. Supposedly there’re people living in Colorado where the government has an underground facility. Both Cathy and I are not keen on that place to hang out.”
Dana said, “We’d like to stay with you and as you both have the experience and we have none; we’d like to help you all we can.”
Chapter IV
The twins had their own bikes. It was about a forty mile ride to their house, so they decided to stay in the barracks with James and Cathy. After a lunch of tuna and canned fruit, they went back to the hanger to see about outfitting the trainer jet for flight. A huffer was found and then a portable generator took an hour or more of draining the old gas and finding a tank of gas that wasn’t full of water. Underground tanks of fuel were discovered and hand pumps modified sufficed in filling up a few cans of gas. By the time it was near dark, the generator filled the hanger with noise. James grinned at Dan. Dan smiled back and high fives were seen by Cathy and Dana as they were trying to get an air compressor running.
Dan and James came over and gave them a hand. Soon the four stroke single piston motor was running smoothly. Dan scrounged up an extra long air hose and soon they had the plane’s tires
inflated. James said, “We need to find some additive that absorbs water in fuel and add it to the planes tanks. If we have trouble finding it here, we can go to an auto parts store. Well, with the generator running we can charge a battery to get a vehicle started. I’d say, all in all a great day.”
A round of applause and all were dirty and tired. Showers were welcomed and fresh clothes from the shuttle helped out. The kids went shopping and found some new jeans and shirts, along with clean under wear. Cathy remarked how fresh they looked and the twins beamed. An early dinner at the PX and by dark, four survivors slept the night away.
++++
The next morning was test time for the plane. James would run it around the runway and then do imitation take offs. The Trainer had two engines. It could take off with only one if need be. A few touch and go take off and landings would be the next test and then when satisfied, they would fly to LA.
By noon they were ready for a test run. It was decided Cathy would pilot and James would watch from the ground with hook up and release. James had looked around and found some way to take pictures. He wasn’t sure how to down load them but thought a USB would work and then download to a computer operated by the generator.
Cathy was visibly nervous and James sought to calm her down. She wasn’t worried about a crash or dying, but that the test would not be successful. With an arm around her he said, “Not to worry Cathy. You’ll do fine. You’ll know if the plane is ready or not. Don’t take any chances. The days are ours to fill as we see fit. Now before we practice let’s go over to the Commanders office and see if we can contact NORAD.”
All four pedaled over to the command office. James was looking serious as Dan and Dana both noticed. As they walked into the office James said, “If the batteries are not completely dead, we might be able to contact NORAD. If dead we need to charge a 12 volt battery and hook it up to the phone.”
James entered the base Commander’s office and sat down behind the desk. He pulled out the bottom drawer where a red phone sat for emergency use in case of war or some natural or unnatural disaster. A red covered leather notebook rested next to the phone with phone numbers around the world. He thumbed through until he found the NORAD number and punched it in and waited.
A low volume dial tone was first heard and then a faint ringing caught his hearing. On the sixth ring, a voice, faintly saying hello and James recognized the voice as female. He told the listener where he was calling from and would call back in a few hours after they hooked a battery up to the phone.
Cathy said, “You know, what we really need is the back up generator running for convenience.”
“I agree and soonest we can,” James replied. “Meanwhile I’ll go fetch a battery and some tools. Dan, give me a hand will you?”
“I’m right behind you Captain,” said Dan. James and Dan left the girls to clean the desk and office a little so it was useable. A division of labor was established and no one thought that cleaning was women’s work, but a job that needed doing.
Two hours later and all anxious to make contact with NORAD, James sat down and listened to a strong sounding dial tone. The ringing was loud and clear. The same female voice was heard on the other end. She identified herself as Major Eileen Broom, spokesperson for the base commander.
James identified her that they were military officers and noted that they were astronauts just having landed a few days ago here at Edwards Air Force Base. He mentioned the two twins and listened to what Eileen had to say back to him.
Major Broom told them that the President of the Untied States had passed on with the plague having affected him and his complete family. The Vice President was made president but went a little crazy from a very high fever. She said, “There’re only six of us left here. I’m the highest ranking officer so technically I’m in charge. What are your plans Captain Atwater?”
“We really don’t have any plan Major. We’ve been in a survival mode since landing and are open to suggestions.”
“We’ve supplies enough to last a lifetime here Captain. Boredom is what haunts us. We’re afraid to move to the outside as someone needs to be here to hear the phone ring.”
“We’ve a trainer jet almost ready to test fly. We thought a recon over the LA area taking pictures would help us decide, where and when and of course what we should do. After lunch we will test fly the jet and then tomorrow morning I’ll call you with an update.”
James hung up and told the listeners what had transpired. No comments were heard. Silence hung in the room like a cloud of heavy black rain about to let loose. James took the lead and said, “Hey let’s go see what we can scrounge up for lunch.”
Cathy still had the test flight on her mind. Dana was arm and arm with Cathy as they went into the PX. It was decided that it would be tuna fish day with canned peaches for dessert. Cathy and Dana found some onion flakes in the spice section and Dan opened sealed pickles. They all agreed it wasn’t a bad lunch considering.
James said, “Well, shall we test run the jet Cathy?”
“Yes, James, I’m ready. I thought I’d take Dana with me. What do you think?”
“I can see nothing wrong with that idea at all. Dan and I have to see about getting the big generator working. We’ll need some big batteries to turn that large diesel over. I think we’re a lucky as the desert here is very dry so not a lot of water gets into the fuel; or makes rust.”
“Okay we’ll hook up the huffer first thing and then see if we can get the jet to start.”
Dana asked, “What’s a huffer, if I might ask.”
Cathy told her it was a machine of compressed air to spin the turbine of a jet motor so when a spark and fuel were added, the jet engine would start.
“Let’ s go guys,” said James. Cathy noticed since the twins had joined them James had slipped into a role of mentor and friend to the kids. Nice, she thought, as they pedaled over to the hanger.
++++
Having found flight suits that fit, Cathy and Dana sat in the trainer jet with the canopy up while James and Dan prepped the huffer. Everything had been checked and double checked. Now it was time to see if the jet engines would start. James gave a thumbs up to Cathy and the huffer began its job. Slowly the turbines began to turn and Cathy felt the old rush of adrenalin take over. Automatically her hands flew over the controls and when it was time, she hit the start switch. Both engines fired and soon were running smoothly.
James disconnected the huffer and he and Dan drug the hose out of the way. Cathy went into pilot mode and with experience she did what was necessary to test and prepare for take off. James smiled at the plane and when Cathy turned; her white teeth gleamed against a dark back ground.
When she was ready, the canopy lowered and Cathy prepared for her first take off, as prior planned. James wished he had a head set on to talk to her, but maybe next time. Now with folded arms, both he and Dan watched the jet taxi and after full power let the jet go down the runway.
Dana was about to pee her pants as the jet powered up and then it threw her back against her seat with a force she had never experienced before. In no time the side of the runway was a blur and then her stomach sunk as the plane lifted off into the air. Dana closed her eyes and waited for the end of her life to come. Cathy said, via interconnecting helmets, “Dana, are you okay back there?”
Dana tried to answer but nothing would come out but a squeak. Then on the second try said, “Yes, Cathy, I’m okay I guess. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”
“Yes, I can remember vividly my first time flying in a two seat jet. There’s nothing like it to compare with. It’s so thrilling and exciting. Enjoy Dana and we will turn around and do a touch and go. Wave to the guys when we go by.”
Cathy did a touch and go then she wiggled the wings and pointed the jet westerly to LA. James said, “There they go Dan. Let’s go see about that generator as they’ll be gone around two hours I’d guess.”
Cathy leveled out at eight thousand feet and cut
back the speed to save fuel. She activated the cameras and every five seconds one of the three cameras would snap and record on the plane’s computer an image. Cathy had a mental picture of LA and thought if anyone would be around it would be near Hollywood and or on the beach.
It’s not easy to see out of a fighter jet so Cathy went south a ways and then did a slow turn to the right over Hollywood. She dropped to one thousand feet and speed was a meager two hundred fifty miles an hour. Both she and Dana could see no sign of life, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t down there waving their arms. They made two circles over Hollywood and then went to Malibu Beach.
Like over Hollywood they did a slow turn around the beach area and that was when Dana exclaimed, “I think I see someone down there Cathy.”
“Okay Dana. Let’s make run on the deck and see if we can see someone outside our canopy.” Just to be on the safe side, Cathy hung about three hundred yards out over the Pacific Ocean from the beach area. As they approached the area where Dana thought she saw someone, Cathy banked the trainer and saw more than one person at a beach house standing on the deck. They to her horror, she saw them point at her with an object in their hands. My God, she thought, they are shooting at us. Cathy hit the afterburners and the plane shot out of there in a flash. Dana was slammed into the back of her seat and wondered what the hell happened.
Cathy said, “Why would they shoot at us. This plane is clearly marked as USA. I wonder how many of them are down there. I think we best head home and talk this over with James.”
Both James and Dan heard the sound of a jet plane coming towards them. James said, “They’re earlier that I expected. I hope nothing went wrong.” They had been working on the big diesel generator draining the water out of old diesel tank. Both got on the bikes and pedaled over to the runway.
Flightless Page 2