by Joe Kelly
But was the risk, acquiring the plane worth it, four men, two landing in ultralight, two more entering the airfield by vehicle. Ultralight lands, Ronny and two men secure the Plane while the ultralight lifts off and returns to launch point. Ronny gets the plane started and takes off with the two-man team. How many zombies, how bad can it go wrong? Can you say crash and burn Jared? He laughed silently at the stupid joke.
Ori and himself for the two-man team. He decided. If he ended up giving the go to secure the craft and that was still up in the air. Pun not intended and as much as he hated to fly, if any one was going to take a risk on something this insane he was and he knew Ori wasn’t going to be left behind.
Besides Ori was the best shot and sneak in the group, possibly in the top twenty shots and sneaks in the nation. Well before it got eaten at any rate. Jason to fly the ultralight out, and of course Ronny as pilot. He made several notes, then tapped the pen on the page as He realized he had already made up his mind.
I am such a sucker, He told himself with a heavy theatrical sigh. He knew what his answer was going to be, no sense in debating it back and forth when I know I am going to cave. Bright side is, if it goes to hell Ronny might be able to fly a couple of people out of danger.
✽ ✽ ✽
The week passed quickly, the weather continued to improve. Most of the snow was gone. Spring was in the air, other than a few snap frosts the weather was getting mild. “ I still don’t like the fact you’re going” Jill said stopping Jared before he could leave their room.
“I know, but who do I send. Steve, Bridget’s expecting. Chris, Shelley, Logan maybe. No I’m the best choice, and I knew you wouldn’t like it when I came up with it.” Jared said with feeling.
“Jared it’s an airfield near Sevierville, do you have any idea how many zombies there are there. A lot” Jill pointed out, not ready to admit he was right.
“Jill, I promise if it looks like there are too many I’ll scrub the mission okay.” Jared said softly, she glared at him for a moment then softened, kissing him lightly on the lips. Her body pressed against his.
“You had better come back” she said, he felt her heat against him and smiled.
“Better believe it.” Jared said savoring the moment then leaned into Jill and kissed her softly. He would come back come hell or high water.
They drove slowly up Newfound gap without a problem. Lloyd had sent some men to plow it three days ago, and they had been working to clear enough of the landslide for the trucks to pass through. Lloyd would even issued some of the dynamite to re block the road once the Group returned, or failed to return in three days.
“You sure you want to do this. You don’t like to fly remember.” Steve said as they passed thru the mountains and began to head down towards Gatlinburg.
Jared gazed out over the scene taken by its beauty; trees were starting to turn green again there was a promise of new life in the air. “I’m sure man. It’s nothing but a thing brother. I mean the worst that could happen is I get gang raped by a horde of zombies. Second worst thing is the plane could crash. And the third worst thing is I piss myself on the flight.” Jared said. Steve shook his head almost smiling. “We’re here,” Jared said a few minutes later, pointing at the old national park visitor center.
They parked and stood watching while Ronny and the others got the ultralight off loaded and attached the wings. Rob checked over the ranger’s SUV they had left behind last fall. Jared, Ori and Steve cleared the visitor center again just to be on the safe side and found that six zombies had dropped by during the winter to see what the winter activities were like. They dispatched them quickly using melee weapons.
As they finished mopping up, they heard the truck start up outside. they looked at each other for a second. I was kind of hoping it wouldn’t start.” Ori said. Jared smiled with no humor.
“Me too actually.” Jared agreed then walked outside Ori and Steve trailing behind him.
Jared and Ori loaded their gear into the Park ranger’s truck and waved to Ronny and Jason as they pulled out. Ronny would take off in an hour. Jared wanted to make sure they arrived at just about the same time. So, Ronny would fly the route that Jared was going to drive. If Ronny found the Truck wasn’t in position yet, he knew to circle and wait.
Jared drove slowly thru the wrecks and abandoned vehicles as they worked their way out of the park and around Gatlinburg. there seemed to be more wrecks now than when they had passed through last year.
Passing through a small town, he saw huge knots of undead pour out of buildings they passed, and stumble after the truck. “are you sure you really want to head out of the farm.” Ori asked looking out the window. It wasn’t an idle question Jared knew. The undead threat around the farm was not that bad, at least not for the moment. It was a nice place, with plenty of food and security. The thought of being on the road without knowing what lay along the way, the dangers they would face or what they would find at the end was daunting. Terrifying for far to many, and yet they were staying with him.
“Not want, got to” Jared replied. “You can stay if you want” Jared said suddenly, totally serious. “I mean it, you and Beth can stay behind. I won’t hold it against you Ori. It’s a good place to settle.” Ori knew Jared meant it, but there was no way he was staying behind. And there was no way Beth would leave those kids even if he wanted to.
“Forget it,” Ori replied grimly. “we are in this together”
It was a shock to see so many of the undead, Jared realized. Since the attack on Christmas day at the farm, they had rarely seen a single zombie. Which might be due to the snow more than anything else, but here and now as they approached Pigeon Forge, the undead were everywhere stumbling out from around corners, and open doorways, climbing out of wrecks, even falling from building windows occasionally.
“What the hell,” Ori said pointing. Jared wished he hadn’t looked. The zombie had been pregnant when she died, her side torn open. But the odd thing was she was slowly pushing a stroller along the side of the road.
“haven’t ever seen that before” Ori commented. Jared nodded in agreement, as he spotted the turn off to the back road that would take them around the bulk of Pigeon forge. He turned onto the street relieved to see fewer abandoned vehicles on this one and sped up.
The back road would help them avoid the larger population of zombies in Pigeon forge, but to get to the airport they would have to go into Sevierville and take 441. and that meant thousands of zombies, and Jared wasn’t thrilled with that idea. But there was nothing else to do about it. “Ronny is in the air by now” Ori commented.
The city of Sevierville, was a wreck. Burned out buildings were scattered throughout the area they drove thru. One was still smoking. They drove past homes, where zombies staggered out of the doors. They could see a horde of zombies trapped in a grocery store as they passed, When the power went out, the doors no longer opened automatically and now the undead, trapped inside, pressed against the huge plate glass windows clawing slowly at the glass as the truck passed.
Playgrounds, Parks, Parking lots, everywhere they passed had groups of zombies standing around, zombies that turned at the sound and sight of the Truck and began to follow.
He drove as fast as he dared, weaving in and out of abandoned vehicles that littered the roads, sometimes he drove up onto the sidewalks or lawns. Finally, they reached 441 and turned, it was a nightmare of wrecks and undead.
Jared made a conscious effort to avoid running down Zombies most of the time, but occasionally he had no choice, he clenched his teeth as the truck bounced and swayed over the bodies, trying not to hear the snap and pop of breaking bones.
Behind them the crowd of undead was growing as more and more zombies poured out of buildings and took to the road following the sound of the trucks motor. “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea” Ori commented looking back at the distant crowd that just kept coming.
“You just started thinking this was a bad Idea. I’ve been thinking that since I sa
w the first group of twenty zombies.” Jared said with a tight grin.
“I don’t think we can cancel the mission at this point. Too many behind us to get out, and the ones coming out as we pass keep the ones behind them excited and moving towards us” Ori commented.
A shadow passed over the truck about then and Ori leaned forward and looked up through the windshield. “There they are.” He said turning on his radio. “What does it look like from up there” Ori asked.
a minute later Ronny’s voice came back. “You don’t even want to know what it looks like behind you. But you can speed up, there are two wrecks over the next mile but you can go around them easily.”
“Roger that keep us informed.” Ori said,
“Hang on!” Jared said and floored the pedal. The truck surged ahead, gathering speed. Ori got slammed against the door as Jared slalomed around a wreck the back end of the truck clipping the corner of a Furniture store as they shot up onto the sidewalk. They could hear glass breaking behind them. Ori looked back and saw two zombies stumble out of the store and begin to follow the truck.
“Turn off in two miles” Ronny said over the radio. “the Air museum hanger area and the airport itself look clear from up here.” A minute later Jared turned off tires squealing.
The faster they could get to the hanger and shut off the motor. The more likely it was that the huge horde a couple of miles back would lose interest and wander off, at least till the plane got started. He drove past the public entrance and went straight to the gate that opened onto the airfield. Not seeing any zombies close by, Jared hopped out with bolt cutters and cut the lock off. Ori drove the truck through the gate and stopped waiting while Jared shut and locked the gate with a chain and padlock they had brought with them.
Finished Jared returned to the truck and drove across the ramp to the large hanger and museum building that contained the plane they had come to take.
Parking in front of the Hanger doors, he and Ori geared up then checked the immediate area for threats. So far, no undead had put in an appearance. “Come on in” Jared transmitted to Ronny. A moment later the ultralight came in for a landing. Coming to a stop near the truck Ronny leaped out, and a nervous looking Jason climbed into the pilots seat.
“I’ll wait till I am sure you don’t need a ride out” Jason told Ronny. Ronny only nodded and ran to the hanger doors. Well that’s convenient, Jared thought as the found the hangar doors were not secured, Ronny waited till Jared and Ori were in position then rolled the doors open. “Looks they never opened that day” Ronnie said looking into the hanger then pointing at the plane he wanted. “there she is.” He said
. “at least it’s by the doors” Ori muttered. The plane a Grumman JF6 or more accurately a OA-12, a refit for the US Air force air sea rescue plane.
The plane, a bi plane with floats on both lower wings, was interesting looking to say the least. The main pontoon or float, was part of the body it was technically a blended body and jutted forward under and past the propeller, the tandem cockpit had the pilots seat forward and the observation seat aft. A third person could actually fit in the aft section at the radio station. A hatch in the side gave access to the two-man passenger section. It had a narrow track landing gear, much like the F4. The float was a deep blue while the upper body was the normal and apparently popular industrial gray of WW2.
Ronny with Ori at his side rushed to the side of the Hanger and got the tug out. Jared kept guard. “Jason, get airborne and give us an update. If we need you to land, I’ll call” Jared said. His only reply was the Ultralight moving forward.
Ronny and Ori got the hand tug hooked up and hauled the Duck out onto the apron.
While Ori unhooked the tug and moved it out of the way, Ronny climbed up and slid into the pilot’s seat. “Fuel, find the fuel truck” Ronny yelled.
“Oh, this is great, of course they wouldn’t keep a fully fueled plane on display.” Jared muttered as he looked around and spotted a fuel truck parked across the field near the small terminal. His eyes lingered on the terminal, guess I am going to find out if what Sally told Clay is correct. Dead on the money as it were.
Jared quickly transferred his and Ori’s gear into the plane. His stomach already doing a slow turn at the thought of flying. “Ori keep an eye on Ronny I will be right back” Jared said as he climbed back into the truck placing his rifle on the seat.
Driving up to the terminal he could see zombies thru the windows, zombies that were milling excitedly around at the sound of a running motor. If we had entered that place we would have died before we could get back to the truck, he thought as he grabbed his rifle and leaped out running the five feet to the fuel truck.
Throwing open the door, he looked in and frowned. of course there were no keys inside. why should this be easy, he asked the universe at large. he climbed into the cab, and closed the door, then stretched out as much as possible on the seat his feet towards the passenger side. He refused to hot wire the truck from the driver’s side with his ass and legs hanging out to get bitten. He thanked Romero for that little tid bit of information.
He worked quickly, hot-wiring not being one of his strong suits. But he had rebuilt, and built enough trucks to know what wires did what on the column. “Let it start” he prayed aloud as he touched the wires. The engine kicked over then died, he tried again and got the same result. He pumped the gas pedal with a hand then tried again. Son of a …He chopped off the curse popping his head up to look and saw at least twelve zombies coming around the corner of the terminal heading straight for him.
The seventh try and the engine coughed and then roared to life, he twisted the wires together, grinning wildly. Sitting up he saw zombies were closer and that even more were coming around the building now. Just then Jason called over the radio. “ Jared You have a group coming at you”
“Thanks, I see em,” Jared replied as he put the truck into gear.
“No that’s the small group, the huge one is the one that’s pouring out of the public entrance to the terminals.” Jason replied
“Oh lovely.” Jared said and floored it. The half mile distance between the hanger and the Terminal should give them twenty minutes before death arrived.
As Jared pulled up, Ronnie guided him into position then pulled out the hose, inserting the nozzle he twisted it locking it into place, before engaging the pumps. Jared hopped out, and turned to face the hanger leaving Ori to concentrate on the terminal.
“we have ten more exiting a hanger across the airstrip” Ori said suddenly.
“ten more minutes and she will be full” Ronny called out.
“are you sure you can fly this thing” Jared called back.
“I hope so it’s a bit late to be wrong.” Ronny said with a laugh that sounded like it was bordering on panic.
“oh crap” Jared muttered as he saw a door across the hanger swing open. The door that led into the museum proper. “Ori, we have one, no three, no hang on. A crap load of zombies coming at us from the museum,” Jared said, realizing that the museum must have been open that day in June after all, in the panic as the undead rolled over the airport, someone had locked the front doors down trying to save those who sheltered inside. One or more of the survivors must have been bitten before the lockdown and died shortly after the doors had been locked.
He could imagine the nightmare scenario, locking those doors had spawned. The end result what ever had happened were the thirty zombies now coming across the hangar right at them.
“Engaging” Jared called out as he lifted his rifle and took aim. The bark of the commando was loud in the hangar. He ignored what the zombies looked like, they were only targets to him at this moment. He would fire, acquire, and fire again. Occasionally he would have to shoot a target twice. The last four were forty feet away when he ejected the spent mag and placed it in a pouch then slapped another mag into the receiver, jacked the charging handle and took aim once more.
“Clear, down one mag” Jared called out.
“Five minutes” Ronny called out. Ori began to fire. Jared tossed a look in his direction and saw seven zombies, dressed as mechanics tumble to the ground. They had come from the hangar across the strip.
“I think there’s maybe a hundred in that crowd” Ori said eyeing the group approaching from the terminal. Jared looked towards the gate they had entered and saw more there. many more than he would have expected. Some of those following the truck must have managed to keep it in sight. In fact it looked like half of Sevierville had come calling
“Ronny get a move on, we don’t have time.” Jared called out as he watching the gate began to sway under the weight of the undead pressed against it.
“Two hundred feet” Ori called out watching the approaching the horde from the Terminal. More undead were appearing across the airport, drawn from where ever they had been
“Lets start picking them off” Jared said as he began to fire methodically at the zombies trying to get thru the gate. He could hear Ori’s rifle firing, as he started whittling down the horde coming from the terminal.