by Ned Sahin
“Both runways are blocked by stalled planes. We will land at an executive airport about an hour away in the south,” he says.
This will delay our plan. We will need to drive faster to get to the restaurant and prepare for the ambush before Leyton and his Saviors arrive.
I go to the cockpit to have a look at what is waiting for us on the ground. Unlike the runways, the main highway seems to be open.
We land in a small airport. The pilots say nobody radioed them to ask for the identification of the flight or instructions for landing. It looks like Saviors don’t have full control over their airspace yet. I am pretty sure that they have an air force though. The airplane I saw with the Hernandez family weeks ago probably belonged to them.
As I guessed, the executive airport is completely abandoned. Only a few jets remain, which are probably not owned by anybody anymore.
The soldiers drive the cars out while I revisit the plan with the captain and his lieutenant. He asks the pilots to wait here for us and be ready to lift off before dark.
Shortly after, three SUVs speed up on the highway. We pass by several gas stations and rest areas patrolled by Saviors. We go through a checkpoint without even stopping. There are no Saviors who would want to stop three black Suburbans with their logos on them.
“Right there.” I point to the restaurant.
The captain radios to drivers about the location of the place.
I had visited The Carolina Oven three times in the first weeks of the outbreak. I wanted to see my so-called bug-out partner was who he claimed to be. I spent a few hours around the restaurant to watch him and his family during their daily routines. I even ate there once to talk to his parents when he wasn’t around. They both seemed to be ordinary people who were just getting by in their lives.
The standalone one-floor restaurant is next to the parking lot of a mall. It has a side entrance and a kitchen door in addition to the main entrance. The tactical team already has the details of the place.
The plan is to wait in the mall parking lot until Leyton arrives. Then three soldiers will storm into the place from each door while another soldier and I wait in the car. The captain will follow the soldiers entering through the main door.
Since we are already late, we skip the first part of the plan and drive to the restaurant right away. There are already two cars with Saviors graphics on them near the front door. It looks like Leyton is already here.
The drivers slam the breaks in front of each entrance. Soldiers rush into the place from all doors. I hear people screaming inside and smoke coming out of the doors and windows.
Leyton is about to face the inevitable. It’s the day he will start paying back for his sins.
Only a few seconds after, I hear the captain’s out of breath voice in the driver’s radio. “He is not here. They said he needed to go back to the capital after church service.”
The driver turns his head to me. I lean forward to take the radio from him.
“How about his parents?” I ask.
“Both are here,” he says.
I get out of the car and run to the restaurant. I see all civilians lying face-down on the floor while soldiers are standing next to them.
“What should we do?” the captain asks. I point to Leyton’s father.
“We will take him with us,” I respond. I turn to the waitress lying on her stomach while watching us. “Tell Leyton to meet me at the cabin. Alone,” I add before heading to the door.
“Who…are you?” she asks with a shaking voice.
I turn back. “Matt Macaine,” I say.
Once we get in the SUV’s, I give the address of the cabin to the captain.
We drive toward the mountains. If Leyton turns back and heads out to the cabin as soon as he gets the note, we should have just enough time to be ready for him.
We arrive at the end of the country road. We have to walk the rest of the way to the cabin. I tell the drivers to take the cars and hide them behind the only gas station on this back road. They leave with another soldier and a lieutenant. Five soldiers, Leyton’s father, and the captain follow me inside the jungle.
I remember the feeling I had the last time I walked on this path. I was cheerful for making it to the safety of the cabin with a then-friend I mistakenly trusted.
There is no one around the cabin. Leyton probably didn’t need to put a guard to keep an eye on this place.
Soldiers tie his father on the fence of the cabin’s patio and cover his eyes with black fabric. He stays quiet and doesn’t show resistance in any way. I give him a foldable chair so he can comfortably wait. He is an innocent civilian, after all. He shouldn’t go through pain because of what their son became.
The soldiers walk away to take positions around the perimeter. I sit on the steps of the cabin in front of the father with the captain.
The captain lights up a cigarette while carefully scanning the area. “Do you think he will really come alone?”
“I wouldn’t think it of it. An army of Saviors must be approaching here right now,” I say sarcastically. He chuckles. Someone else would be probably worried about what is coming to us but he laughs at it. He is a fearless man.
“Well, I should tell the boys to check their spare magazines,” he says, still smiling.
His radio buzzes.
“Captain… Two Humvees and an M35 passed by the station. Over,” a soldier says.
If the Humvees and the military truck are all filled up with Saviors, there must be at least sixteen of them.
“Roger that. Execute the plan. Over,” the captain responds.
We stand up and go behind the parents. Minutes later, Leyton shows up with over a dozen Saviors behind him. They raise their rifles and surround the cabin.
“We changed the roles, hah?” I ask. The captain is holding his rifle against Leyton’s father.
“Leave my father out of this!” Leyton shouts out with a balled fist in the air. I haven’t seen him this angry. I can’t lie. I enjoy seeing him pissed off. It reminds me of the situation I had about a month ago. I was in his position as I tried to control my anger mounting up.
“Sure…if you come with us,” I say.
“Not gonna happen! The whole state force is on the way. We are gonna take your head—”
The captain fired a shot in the air. “Drop your weapons and step back now!” He pushes his rifle against the back of Leyton’s father. Leyton’s raging eyes go between his father, the captain, and me. After staring at us, he turns his head to the Saviors on his right side and raises his hand to indicate that they drop their weapons.
They oblige and relax their muscles in preparation of dropping their rifles. Leyton suddenly takes his hand to his hair and tilts his head back. This was the sign he and I agreed upon a long time ago to notify each other to take whatever action we had planned before the emergency. He must be signaling Saviors to fire.
“Now!” I yell before his Saviors could raise their rifles back.
The sound of a bullet pops in the air as it hits his left shoulder.
“Don’t! You are surrounded!” I yell toward the Saviors. The soldiers and the lieutenant show up right behind them as well as the other soldiers who have been hiding around the perimeter.
The Saviors look around with despair in their eyes. The lieutenant and our soldiers forcefully take their rifles and handguns while they raise their hands in the air. Then the soldiers push them on their knees and cuff them.
Three soldiers wrap Leyton’s wound and move him on a portable stretcher to take him with us. He seems to be passed out.
“Let’s go before the cavalier is here,” I say.
The captain nods. “To the vehicles!” he commands the soldiers.
We go back on the path to the end of the road where our SUVs were parked. Our plan of surrounding them from all sides with the lieutenant and his soldiers coming back from the gas station worked well.
Before gett
ing into our cars, the soldiers slash the tires of the Saviors’ vehicles.
We head back to the highway. I hear a helicopter flying above us in the direction of the cabin. Cavalier is on the way.
We see several patrol vehicles rushing in the opposite direction on the highway. They don’t bother wondering about our SUVs.
“The plane is ready to take off,” the Captain says, attaching his radio back to his shoulder. I share a look with him before speaking. “You go to the airport… Give me two soldiers and an SUV,” I say.
He narrows his eyes at me and purses his lips together. “What do you mean?”
“I will meet you at the airport. If I don’t come back in two hours, take off without me. I have one more thing to do here.”
Chapter 44
“Turn left right here,” I say to the soldier who slows down as we approach the apartment building where I used to live in.
“Shoot those two idiots from their feet for me, please.” I point to the two Saviors patrolling at the corner. They’re the ones who kidnapped Kathleen. It looks like the same two men are still in charge of this street.
The driver pulls over near the patrols. They look at the giant SUV, probably trying to figure out what business the Saviors’ special ops unit has in this part of the town.
“Going after a target around here?” one of the Saviors asks while the two soldiers get out of the car.
“You got some intel to share with us? Where the girls are, huh?” the other Savior says while smirking. Their ugly faces become serious when the soldiers point their rifles to them.
I would never think of having pleasure hearing someone screaming in pain, but I actually enjoyed it when both Saviors crippled to the ground after getting shot from their feet.
The soldiers bandage their wounds before cuffing them and taping their mouths.
“Follow me,” I instruct the two soldiers once they were done with the miserable Saviors.
I walk to the front entrance of the building. A parade of memories goes through my mind as I get closer to the door. I remember the days I rushed home with friends after hanging out outside when I found out that my parents were going to visit me and bringing an ex-girlfriend to watch the sunset at the rooftop. This time, I am entering the building in a completely different mindset with a passion for revenge.
As we storm into the building, Steven jumps off from his chair behind the concierge counter. He stares at me looking like he is completely lost. He probably thought I died somewhere during the first weeks of the outbreak.
He sees the soldiers behind me. He walks around the counter to greet us. I get closer to him.
“Matt! I didn’t think—”
I punch his right cheek, and he falls on his stomach.
“This was for ratting out on Kathleen’s apartment!” I say. As soon as he turns his head to me, I hit him one more time. This time right on his nose. He tries to talk while trying to stop the bleeding.
“What… I… Matt…” he murmurs in shock. I kick his stomach with the edge of my boot.
“This was for all the things you did to this community!” I say. He tries to stand up, but he crumbles back on the floor by holding his stomach and nose. I take the master key from his key chain.
“Wait for me here,” I tell the soldiers, and they nod.
I head for the stairs and walk up to the 9th floor. I stand in front of the door numbered 905. I slide the key in and turn it.
Here I am, my beloved apartment. I am back. I walk to the living room and sit on the couch. I pick up the remote next to the pillow while extending my legs on the ottoman. This was my favorite thing to do after I got home from a long workday.
The TV turns on surprisingly. It looks like Saviors restored the electricity.
The emergency tone fills the apartment. I see the government’s shelter-in-place order they broadcasted about two months ago. I switch between channels. The same tone and message remain. I push the power off button on the remote.
I go to my bedroom and throw myself on the mattress. I move my head over my pillow and close my eyes. No matter where I stayed in the last few weeks, my bed is still the most comfortable surface among everything I slept on.
A loud chirping sound startles me. It came from my alarm clock. The low battery icon is on display.
I get off the bed and walk to the hallway door. A photo in front of my books on the shelf captures my attention. It’s the photo my brother took while my mother and I were standing in the front yard of our house. I take the photo out of the frame, fold it, and shove it in my pocket.
I turn back and look at the apartment one last time before closing the door and leaving memories behind. I wonder If I will ever have a chance to come back.
I walk down to the lobby and go behind the concierge counter. Steven is still grunting on the floor. One soldier keeps an eye on him while the other one scans the street through the window.
I look over the control panel. There is a red button with EAS letters on it. I assume that this is something to do in emergencies. I hit the button. The color on the microphone above it turns to red.
I gently touch the microphone and the tapping sound from the speakers echo throughout the lobby and building.
“Attention, Uptown Sky residents. I am Matt from Apartment 905. We took down the piece of trash Steven and Saviors. We are offering safe passage out of the city. Please come down to the lobby. We are leaving in ten minutes.”
I am sure there are still people hiding in their apartments. Hopefully, my announcement will convince them to come out so they can leave the city safely.
I lean over the microphone again. “If you don’t believe me, look down from the south side windows to see the bleeding Saviors on the street.”
We wait for about five minutes. Nobody shows up. I look at the SUV parked right in front of the main entrance with its engine running and ready to go.
“Is the radio working?” I ask the soldier waiting near Steven.
“No, sir.” He shakes his head. We must be out of the range from the captain and his team.
I hear someone walking down on the stairs. An elderly couple comes out of the stair doors while leaning toward each other. They look afraid first, but a smile shows up on their faces after they see Steven squirming in pain on the floor.
“Thanks for coming down. We will leave in a few minutes,” I say.
“Thanks for doing this…” the man says holding his wife’s hand. He gets support from his wife while slowly walking to the chairs in the waiting area.
A tall guy with a huge backpack appears after the couple.
“No way!” he says as soon as he sees me. I don’t know his name, but I know him. We chatted in the gym several times before things went south.
I walk around the concierge counter to give him an elbow bump. “Good to see you, bro!”
“Good seeing you too, man! I am glad you are alive!” he says with a wide smile. He looks around and sees the soldiers. “Who are they?”
“I will tell you on the way. You can trust them…” I say with a nod. I go back to the microphone one more time. “Leaving in two minutes, folks! We can’t wait anymore. Saviors may bring reinforcements soon.”
Nine more people show up right before we head to the SUV. One of them brings her car from the parking garage and picks up four people. Others get into the Saviors’ patrol car and our SUV.
Our three-car convoy hits the highway toward the executive airport.
“Try radio again, please,” I say to the soldier sitting on the passenger seat.
“This is High-Three. Does anyone copy?” he says.
There is silence. He repeats it. Nobody picks up. He turns to me and shakes his head.
I hope we don’t disappoint these people who trusted me for their safety. If the plane took off, we are stuck in a Saviors state filled with the anger for losing their vice region leader.
I start thinking about doing an
other cross-country trip if we can’t fly away. As much as I don’t want to think about this possibility, the apocalypse taught me to always be prepared for worst-case scenarios.
Another takeaway I got in the last few months is the importance of finding things to be grateful for even in the most challenging situations. If we have to do another cross-country trip, we can stop by Purple Haze. It would be a chance to see Sunshine again. A new trip would not be too bad after all.
As we pass through towns and bridges, I give one more look at the state I spent a good part of my life in. I am hoping that the dark memories I had here will be the last ones for the rest of my life.
“I don’t see the C-17 on the runway, sir,” the soldier in front says. He is using his rifle’s scope to see the airport better. “Oh, no!” he says. “They are preparing to lift off!” He tries to radio again, but he can’t reach them. The plane must be jamming the signal.
I can now see the plane at the beginning of the runway. They are probably about to fire up the jet engines.
“Speed up!” I yell to the driver. I look behind to see the two cars tailing our SUV. They follow us closely. There is another vehicle behind them. It’s a Saviors patrol car. Two more Saviors vehicles show up right next to it.
Somebody is leaning out of the window and pointing his shotgun to the resident car behind us. He fires his gun several times in a row.
“Slow down to let residents pass! Fire back!” I yell to the soldiers. As we slow down, the car my gym buddy is driving gets next to us. I roll down my window.
“Take the exit to the Executive Airport!” I yell. He can’t hear. He looks confused. The woman on the back seat opens his window and leans over it.
“Executive Airport! Take the exit!” I yell again.
She nods. She tells the driver.
The soldier on the passenger seat opens the sunroof and gets on his feet to position his rifle over the car. He empties the entire magazine on the Saviors cars following us. One of the car’s front windows cracks over the bloody holes before the vehicle hits the barriers and rolls over several times.