by EE Isherwood
She decided to antagonize him. “It’s just that you seemed invincible up until this point. I almost thought your weapon was designed by aliens or something. Now that I see it, though I have no idea what it is, I know one hand grenade down in the shaft can destroy all you’ve created here.”
“Do you have a hand grenade?” he asked with interest.
It drove her mad he didn’t seem to rise to her prodding. David seemed to see her as a child who needed everything spelled out for her, and in return, he displayed endless patience at how she didn’t catch on.
“No, I don’t have a grenade. You can see what I’ve got in this stupid unitard.” She pointed to the unforgivingly-tight blue covering.
“But you would blow it up if you could,” he said in a studious voice.
She nodded enthusiastically. “That’s my job. I’m an American. You killed my people. What did you think I would do? Marry you after you showed me this?”
His shoulders slumped, though it was difficult to say if he was putting on an act. “You misunderstand why I brought you here. I don’t need to explain what we’ve already done. I’m showing you what we’re going to do. America is gone. You have to accept it. Other than a couple of pinpricks in Texas and North Dakota, and two lousy ships fighting us off the coast of New York, your people don’t even exist in your homeland anymore. I’m trying to get you to see there is a way out for you. A way to make the best of a bad hand which has been dealt to you.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Let me and my friends go, and we’ll call it even.”
David sighed, finally giving her a moment of triumph over him. He leaned off the rail and headed for the same door they’d used earlier. “Come on, I want to show you what your alternative is…”
She followed, wondering what could be worse than a weapon designed to kill continents.
CHAPTER 6
Glendo, WY
Kyla woke up in the back seat of the truck after a nap. She expected the scenery to be different from what it had been since they left North Dakota, as that would prove they’d made some distance in the time she’d been asleep. However, the world outside was almost the same as it had been. Flat, grassy, and boring.
“There’s a town coming up I’d like to take a look at,” Ted said from the front seat. “It’s called Glendo. It looks like there’s a lake there, too. I see signs for fishing, camping, and motels.”
The clock on the dash said it was a little after three in the afternoon, but she was ready to call it a day. They’d been driving, often at over a hundred miles per hour, since they rolled out of bed. She was beat and was certain Uncle Ted was toast as well, though he’d never say it in front of his important friend in the front seat.
She smirked at her own thoughts. It sounded funny thinking of the president as her uncle’s girlfriend. Was there protocol for such things?
“Hey, Unk, if you and Emily are together-together, does that make you the First Boyfriend?”
He glared at her in the rearview mirror, though Emily laughed as she shifted in her seat to look back at her. “I like the way you think. There’s an office in the White House which could answer your question, but I don’t think they’re picking up their phones. I do, however, quite enjoy the thought of my boyfriend—”
“Friend,” Ted interrupted, without conviction.
“My friend,” she repeated with heavy sarcasm, “being the First Friend, at the very least. That would make you the First Friend’s niece.”
They had a good laugh at Uncle Ted’s expense. Even Meechum thought the naming game was hilarious, which probably embarrassed him even more.
“All right. Here we go.” He pointed ahead to the little town. As he exited the highway, they remained wary for enemy forces wandering around, but the place was like everywhere else. Empty. It was also a postage-sized location, with three or four short streets, at most. They went through without stopping.
A few miles down a remote road, they found a large log cabin near a lake. It sat at the top of a rolling hill, tucked away inside a grove of tall pines, which was unusual for the grassland area. “This is it,” her uncle declared. “We have tree cover from those drones. We have the high ground on this flat terrain. And we have access to a large lake.”
He backed the truck up to the front door, presumably to make it easy to unload their gear. There were no vehicles parked there, which meant they wouldn’t be able to refill on gas, but it also suggested there wouldn’t be any bundles of clothes inside. That was good, too.
Uncle Ted still wouldn’t look at her. When the motor was off, he got out of the truck as if it was on fire.
“Did I say the wrong thing?” she asked the two ladies.
Emily glanced outside to make sure Uncle Ted was out of earshot, then she leaned her way. “Ted is a private man. I think he’s ripped to shreds about having the hots for his boss.”
“Well, he should get over it. He’s not going to do better than you, and I don’t just mean because the rest of the dating field has been wiped off the planet. You’re the freaking prez.”
Emily’s lips curled up in a wicked smile. “It is fun to tease him, isn’t it?”
Meechum chuckled. “I’ll leave you hens to it. I’m going to secure the premises. This is going to be the White House for tonight. Needs to be checked.” She took a rifle, leaving her and Emily alone.
The other woman stared at her for a drawn-out moment, then seemed to snap into action. “Come on. Let’s go see what this place has to offer for food.”
She hopped out, catching sight of her uncle going around the side of the wooden cabin. Emily went directly for the front door, following Meechum, so she tried to take her uncle’s advice and never leave anyone alone.
Kyla found him standing on the crest of a gentle hill leading down to the water about fifty yards away. The deep, clear blue of the reservoir contrasted harshly with the vibrant green grass on the far shore, maybe a mile away. “Hey, Unk. I didn’t mean anything back there.”
He looked over his shoulder for a second but went back to watching the scenery. “You’re a lot like your mother, you know. She loved gigging me about my girlfriends. Except for Priscilla. I should have known my marriage was doomed when your mother didn’t take a shine to her.”
“Nope, she didn’t like her one bit.”
He chuckled. “I always thought it was your mom being dramatic. Like maybe she consulted one of her crystal energy chandeliers and it told her to be indifferent to my wife. I couldn’t see she was trying to help, in her own special way.”
“I’m trying to help, too. Emily really is the total package. If you pass on her, I’m going to go out with her myself, just so I can get a fancy title.”
He glared at her.
“You know what I mean. She’s a catch!”
They stood there, side by side, for another few minutes. The scenery of the afternoon couldn’t have been nicer, at least for their part of Wyoming. The water surface danced with tiny waves. Wind blew through the pine boughs. It smelled like a Christmas tree lot. However, all at once, Uncle Ted patted his pants pockets as if he’d forgotten something.
“Dang it. I left my spare magazine in the truck. Will you hang out here for a sec? I also remembered a story about your mother you’re going to appreciate. Just wait, okay?”
She waved him off. They’d shared a million stories of Mom over the years, so she doubted it was anything new. However, if Mom was gone forever, she was willing to tolerate any repeat stories so they would burn into her memory. “I’ll be here.”
Uncle Ted walked away but stood by the corner of the cabin for a few extra seconds; she heard his footsteps in the crunchy pine needles when he finally strode away. A stunning blue jay squawked at her from up in a nearby pine, diverting her attention back to the big show Mother Nature had put on for them.
Minutes later, her uncle still hadn’t come back. It didn’t bother her at first, but after another brief wait, she started to think he’d forgotte
n about her. That wouldn’t be a surprise, given all the things going on, and with how tired he was, but loneliness made her want to rejoin the group.
She started around toward the front of the cabin, ready to give him grief for not coming back right away. When she arrived in the front yard, she stopped in her tracks. Her stomach rolled sideways, not wanting to be a party to the sight.
“What the…”
The truck was gone.
Glendo, WY
Ted’s conscience nagged him about how things had gone down. He’d shared a tender moment with Kyla while overlooking the beautiful lake, but he’d left her without saying good-bye. Now he and Emily were in the truck racing to get away from the person he loved the most in the world.
“Meechum knows what to do?” he asked.
“Yes,” Emily said sympathetically. “I made it clear her mission in all this was to make sure Kyla stays safe. I have to tell you, she made a compelling case why you should have been the one to stay behind and she should be the one to go with me to NORAD.”
Ted thought back to how he and Kyla had been standing behind the cabin, alone. If Meechum wanted to do it, she could have gone with Emily and snuck off. “Did you think about going with her, instead of me?” It had never crossed his mind to stay behind; he wondered what calculus whipped through her head to arrive at the conclusion she did.
“Well, when you talked to me back at the prairie dog town, I wasn’t sure leaving Kyla behind was the right thing to do. As we got near the cabin, though, and saw how remote it was, I began to wish I was the one who could stay…” Emily swished her hair as she gazed out her window.
“But,” he prodded.
“But apparently, my eyes are required to access the sensitive parts of the defense mainframe. It was either go with someone to the enemy base or send you with one of my eyes. I rather like being able to see with both of them.” She laughed with a nervous energy.
The truck sped through the tiny town of Glendo. In about thirty seconds, he had them back on the empty highway, heading south. It gave him time to digest her statement about picking who she would travel with.
“So, you selected me because of my fighting skills?” They’d been running and fighting for days, so that had to be the reason.
“Not exactly. I think Meechum could take you in a hand-to-hand cage match.”
He chuckled. “You might be right about that.” After a pause, he continued. “So…the reason you chose me was…” He was fishing for her to admit she liked him. Their various kisses notwithstanding, it still felt wrong to pursue his commander-in-chief.
“You have more experience in areas I think I’ll need during this mission. Your piloting skills could be critical when we need to cross a lot of ground. I’ve seen you with a rifle, so I know you’re solid there. Plus, you have a proven track record of keeping me alive. That counts for a lot.” She looked right at him, smiling.
Those were all fine reasons, but not the ones he’d hoped for. “You said I had a blind spot when it comes to you,” he began, watching the road, “and I guess I do. All the joking back when we were all together in the truck makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t really feel that way. Not when I’m alone with you.”
“Ted MacInnis. Is this your convoluted way of saying we’re going steady?”
He shrugged. “If you really want to. I could take it or leave it.”
She sat frozen in her seat for so long he needed to peek over to her. When their eyes met, they both broke into laughter. Being alone with her removed all his inhibitions, as well as the “normal” social order of boss and subordinate. They were simply two people heading out into the apocalypse to do a job. He had to look to the road for a second, but when he returned to her face, he knew he couldn’t keep her hanging. “Yeah, I guess I could take it.”
Having a complicated girlfriend wasn’t exactly protocol for an Air Force lifer such as himself, but Ted accepted the necessity of letting his guard down for Emily. It wasn’t only a result of being attracted to her; he needed her on a more personal level. While she may have joked about ditching him and taking Meechum, he had thought about ditching all three of the women and going on his own. When it came down to it, he found he couldn’t. It wasn’t a journey he could do alone.
In the end, he hated leaving Kyla, but there was no question she would be a lot safer, and that was what he promised to his sister. The second they did their work at NORAD, he was going back to Glendo to collect her.
He looked in the rearview mirror. Kyla and the cabin were already miles behind.
I’m sorry, Kye. I couldn’t tell you to your face, but I think this is going to be a one-way trip.
NORAD Black Site Sierra 7, CO
Dwight had a terrible morning. After the white-haired man took the girl in blue away, he spent hours spilling his guts into the five-gallon bucket serving as his toilet. When he wasn’t tossing his cookies, he yelled for Poppy to come back, though she never did. It was almost a relief when a man dressed in black came and opened his door.
“David says it’s time for your sentencing.” The man spoke dryly, as if Dwight was far beneath him.
“Can we take a car? I’m not sure I can walk.” He sat hunched over on the plastic chair. His prison attire needed a visit to the laundromat.
“Get your ass moving, traitor. I can guarantee you won’t like it if I have to get help to yank you out of there.”
Dwight stood, wobbled for a few seconds, then started for the door. His stomach felt like a dirty dishrag tangled in the garbage disposal, but at least he wasn’t dry-heaving anymore. It was the headache that was going to kill him.
The guard walked him out of the office area and into a dank hallway made of stone. He learned not to ask questions of the man, though he kept what passed for a lookout for his bird.
“Please, Poppy,” he whispered.
The colorful bird never showed up during the walk. His attention went to what was ahead. Double-doors were being held shut by a couple of guards and lots of voices were beyond, as if a party was going on. It reminded him of the celebration back at the warehouse in San Francisco. Things worked out for him there. Maybe this would be no different.
“Put this on before you go in.” A guard handed him a black sack, though his brain couldn’t fathom what it was for.
“Are these pants? Underwear?” He held it at different angles, searching for leg or arm holes.
“Idiot,” one of the men replied. “It’s a black hood. You and the others aren’t supposed to see what’s in there until we say you can.”
“Others?” he said with shock. Based on the posture of the guards, he realized there were other men behind him. They’d walked the same hallway as him, though he was in the lead. All wore the same orange-striped suit as him. Most were injured or infirm, save for one perfectly normal young girl standing directly behind him. When they locked eyes, he asked the important question. “Have you seen Poppy?”
The teen was going to answer, but a guard smacked Dwight on the back of the head. “Shut it! Just put the damned thing on.”
Hood on head, Dwight let himself be led into a big room. He knew the size because of all the echoes. At first, one man was speaking, but applause soon followed. Only when he was stopped did he listen to the words.
“My friends, the last thing on the agenda for this meeting is the sentencing of our traitor. This man—”
Dwight’s hood was lifted. He was on the stage in a gymnasium set up with a basketball court, perhaps at a college or university, though he’d never gone to one. Hundreds of people dressed in black stood around a white-haired man on a raised platform at about mid-court. He appeared to be the source of the talking.
“…is responsible for the death of six legionnaires in Folsom, California. As you know, we are a new nation built on total adherence to laws. The law for murder, such as what he committed, says he must be put to death. But, as you know, I abhor violence—”
A female voice snorted with barely-stif
led laugh. It silenced the whole room. It took him a moment to identify the girl in the blue outfit standing on the podium near the talker. He was sure it was the same gal from his prison cell. The speaking man looked at her, but she didn’t make another sound.
“So, this man’s sentence will be non-violent. Put him in.”
Dwight was shoved into a metal box framed around ten-foot glass windows on the outer walls. It was about the size of an elevator car interior with a roof lined with complicated-looking equipment. When the door was closed, the man spoke, though Dwight could no longer hear him.
Soon enough, the compartment filled with white light. It was so bright, even putting his hands in front of his face couldn’t keep it out of his eyes. Soon, he wasn’t sure he even had eyes…
CHAPTER 7
Fort Collins, CO
Once Ted accepted the need to keep Kyla out of the next fight, he settled into the drive through Wyoming’s high-plains eastern border. They mostly kept to the backroads, avoiding the larger interstates and the enemy troops they assumed were there. All they saw was the occasional hawk and dozens of pronghorn antelope. They were a speck on the endless scenery of rolling hills and wild grass, though the fastest-moving one.
“I’ve been thinking…” he said slowly, after fifteen minutes of silence.
“Uh oh, that means trouble,” Emily replied with a sharp tongue.
“Har-har, Ms. Comedienne. I’m being serious. It seems incredible Ramirez ended up at the one place we needed to go in North Dakota. Do you think they know we’re going to NORAD in Colorado now?”
“How could they?” she replied without hesitation. “Or, more to the point, why would they? If it’s their headquarters, it’s the last place they would expect a small group of American rebels to show up.”
He tapped the steering wheel for a moment. “We have to think several steps ahead of this invasion force, instead of vice-versa. Maybe we can throw them off the scent…”