by Henson, Lynn
He took a moment to digest that then decided, “That’s... that’s pretty cool.”
“I’m glad you think so,” she said, exasperated. “When we took off, I’m not even sure what exactly I did to make it happen. My hands and feet just moved around on their own. The plane got airborne and then we were going to crash into a building. I wanted the plane to avoid it and my body made it happen. I can’t explain it better than that.”
“Bree, you’re cool,” he decided.
“Since we’re talking about it, how do you explain your special power?” she wanted to know.
“What? I don’t have special powers.”
“Come on... back at the convention center? You got us out of there in one try. Crawl through many vents?” she reminded him.
“Uh... no. I guess not.”
“And what about Vegas? I guess you must’ve grown up there since you seem to know your way around so well.”
“No... we all knew where the freeway roughly was.”
“Leaving the base when we did? How about that?”
“Uh... I don’t know.”
“You seemed pretty sure at the time. Explain it.” She said that and then added in a softer tone, “Try.”
“I can’t explain it,” he shrugged, looking at his shoes, “At all those times I remember being terrified. You know how if you’re scared you get a strong feeling that you should run away? It’s like that, except more focused. The vents? I was scared and I was acting on my feelings. I ran away, but I knew that I had to run away using the left vent, or the right vent. Honestly, I barely remember doing it, mostly I just remember being scared and wanting to escape that place.”
She thought about what he said, staring out the windshield. “That’s... pretty cool, no?” she observed.
He sighed, “My super ability is like ultra-running away? I’d prefer to shoot lasers out of my eyes. Now, that’d be cool.”
“Find me a shirt, please? I’ll be damned if I fly us wherever we’re going half dressed.”
fifty-nine
Carrey woke up about thirty minutes later. Kyle had been by his side the entire time hoping that it wouldn’t happen. Carrey’s eyes opened and saw his brother and he immediately tried to sit up and grab him. Kyle had tied him up though using duct tape and Carrey writhed around uselessly as his brother looked into his eyes and saw nothing of the person that had inhabited that body. “He’s back,” Kyle said sadly. “Blake? Would you help me for a second?”
Blake left his seat and knelt down next to the twins, waiting silently. “Could you roll him onto his stomach please?” Kyle asked as he pulled out a combat knife with his good hand. Blake managed this and Kyle took a breath and plunged the knife into the back of his brother’s skull. Immediately, Carrey was still. Kyle worked the knife free and set it aside. He turned the body back over again with Blake’s help. Blake helped Kyle free his twin from the duct tape and got the corpse into a sitting position next to him. Kyle put his arm around his brother’s shoulders and sobbed quietly. Blake quietly went back to the cockpit and sat down again. Both Bree and Blake were painfully aware of Kyle’s mourning. After a few minutes of not daring to speak, Bree finally broke the silence. “Blake? Could you get me some water, please?”
“Alright,” he got up and headed into the back where order had been restored and people were starting to look bored.
“What’s going on up there? Where are we going?” Clayton asked.
“Angel attempted to kill the twins and we lost Carrey. Kyle is injured, but he’s ok. Bree is flying the plane,” Blake said as quickly and as professionally sounding as he could. A potpourri of facial expressions had blossomed on people’s faces but no one said anything yet, so he continued. “As to where we’re going, it’s a safe place.”
“Safe place? How did you find out about this place? Lisa asked.
Blake looked up at the ceiling and said, “You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Trust you,” Clayton repeated dryly.
“That’s right,” Blake replied.
“Shouldn’t we go to where the military is heading?” a middle-aged man sitting next to Clayton asked.
“I thought we agreed that was a pipe dream,” Blake raised an eyebrow.
“I get that we all thought that following after them on the ground was a bad idea. But we’re flying now. So why wouldn’t we meet back up with the people who know what they’re doing?”
“Um, I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure?” Blake asked the man.
“Oh, I’m John. I was an accountant for a company in town and got evacuated to the base when things got bad.”
“Well John, at this point I’m not sure that they know what they’re doing any more than we do,” Blake shrugged. “Most of the people here know each other and together we decided we’d have a better chance on our own. So for the duration of this flight, we’re sticking with our plan. What you do after is your own business.”
“Couldn’t we at least try getting in contact with the Colonel?” Clayton suggested, “This plane must have a radio or something, right?”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll give it a try,” Curtis agreed, letting go of Marie’s hand to free himself from his seat.
“How long until we get to the new place?” Gao asked, sounding impatient.
“It will be a while. Get some rest and eat something,” Blake suggested. “Any other questions?”
Gao looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t and neither did anyone else. “Well, enjoy the flight. I’ll let you know if anything changes,” Blake said returning to the cockpit. Curtis followed after him and gave Kyle his condolences as he sat at the communications seat. Blake sat in the empty seat next to Bree and closed his eyes for a second.
“You told them what is going on?” Bree asked.
“Yeah.”
“I can’t even figure out how to turn this thing on,” Curtis said from behind them. “Is there an instruction manual or something lying around?”
“No idea,” Blake told him, “It’s an old plane, so maybe it’s broken.”
“If someone is legitimately flying this plane, it must have a working radio,” Curtis disagreed.
“Maybe it’s up here somewhere?” Blake thought out loud. “Maybe Bree can look at it. I’ll come back and get you if we can figure it out.”
“Sounds good,” Curtis replied and walked to the back.
Blake looked over the console and it only took a few seconds to feel completely overwhelmed. “Ugh, where’s the radio?” he asked.
“Forget about the radio for now. I want to talk more about your running away ability,” Bree told him.
“There must be a more flattering way to describe it than ‘running away ability’,” he despaired.
“So how come we’re flying to the east somewhere?” she continued, ignoring his complaint, “I mean if you just wanted to escape from the base, wouldn’t you feel, um... compelled to go somewhere easier?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, thoughtfully.
“Ok, what about the convention center? What were you thinking?”
“Um... well, I was afraid we were going to die. And when that sunk in I wanted to get out of that building.”
“So... you were afraid and wanted to get out of the building, and that’s how you managed to get us through the vents?”
“I... I guess that’s a valid theory,” he admitted.
“Ok, another example. What about getting out of Vegas?” she asked.
“I’m not sure that’s a valid example,” he disagreed.
“Pretend it is. What were you thinking?”
“Um,” he began thinking back, “Well, Vegas was being overrun with zombies. And I’ve always thought our best bet to survive was to locate a military base. That a smaller, isolated one wouldn’t attract as much attention as some of the bigger ones.”
“And we ended up at that ammunition depot,” she pointed out.
“Ugh, but we ended up staying in t
hat deserted town first.”
“Which was on the way to the depot. You just got outvoted,” she said.
“Ok, fine. Let’s chalk that one up as a ‘maybe’,” he conceded.
“So that brings us to right now,” she continued, “The base didn’t end up being safe. Right?”
“Yeah. Obviously.”
“So what’s your current idea of someplace that is safe?” she asked.
“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” he admitted, “Now I think it’s someplace with ample food, water, and power. Someplace secret, that not many people know about.”
“And that place... is east of us?”
“I feel that it is,” he answered, “We’re still far away, but it’s there.”
“And you have no idea what this place is?”
“Bree, I’m not even sure if when we get there it will have food, water, and power, much less be safe,” he admitted, “I’ve just got this... feeling... this compulsion to go that away.” He waved at the windshield. “And a lack of a better option.”
“So why not wish us to somewhere that hasn’t been affected? Let the authorities handle it?” came a question from behind them. Kim walked up and stood between the two seats.
“I’m not a genie, Kim,” Blake clarified.
“We could use one right about now,” Kim sighed.
“How long have you been listening to us?” Blake wanted to know.
“Long enough to find out that you might be a mutant,” Kim answered.
“Hey!” Blake complained.
“I’m kidding. Maybe you’re a superhero? We can call you Doctor Discretion?” Kim quipped.
“Oh. Oh, that’s a good one,” Blake observed dryly.
“Human Divining Rod?” Kim offered.
“Are you done?” Blake said in his most mature tone.
“No. One more... Sergeant Safehouse?”
“Ok, please stop. That last one is a stretch and I’m feeling a headache coming on,” Blake pleaded.
“Pussy,” Kim grinned.
“Why don’t you sit here for a while Kim?” Blake suggested, “I’m dog tired, and I’m going to try to take a nap.” They swapped places and Blake stepped over Carrey who had been mostly covered with a jacket and past Kyle who’d fallen asleep. In the back no one was talking, most everyone had fallen asleep or stared gloomily ahead looking exhausted. He picked a spot on the floor and lay down on it. For a few seconds, he wondered if it was possible to fall asleep without any padding.
sixty
He came awake almost immediately, still feeling tired. He looked around trying to figure out what had woken him, but there didn’t seem to be anything obvious. He stood up and saw that Angel was now awake and from the look of it, her face was bruising up pretty nicely. “What woke me?” he asked her confused. She didn’t reply, but Cammy did. “You’ve been sleeping for hours.”
“I have?” his disbelief completely apparent.
“Yeah,” she nodded, “You were totally not moving too. Herbie checked to make sure you weren’t dead.”
“He did? Damn, I could’ve sworn I just fell asleep like five seconds ago,” Blake reiterated, still confused.
Cammy shrugged in response and hugged her stuffed turtle, suddenly shy.
He staggered to his feet and walked back into the cockpit, almost feeling worse than when he’d slept. Even in the cockpit, it was like no time had gone by. “Bleh,” he began, “I feel like I slept for about five seconds.”
“You’ve been gone for hours,” Kim confirmed.
“It’s time to land the plane,” Blake told Bree.
“What? Really?” Bree said looking sharply at him.
“Yup. I feel like we need to get on the ground. My, uh, spider sense is tingly.”
“But is there even an airport around here?!” Bree asked, growing irate.
“There probably is?” Blake said uncertainly, “There’re airports all over the place if you see one just land.”
“Ok, that’s not very helpful,” Kim informed him.
“Sorry. All I can tell you is we’re in the vicinity. You have to put the plane down,” Blake said scratching his head.
Bree looked extremely stressed when she closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “Well, like it or not, we’re landing. We’re almost out of gas anyway. Get everyone ready.”
“Alright,” he said as he headed back. He paused to shake Kyle awake who gave him an icy look as if angry that he dared bring him back to reality. “Come on Kyle, we’re landing. Strap yourself in.”
He went into the back and positioned himself in the middle, much like a flight attendant giving the safety spiel. “In a few moments we’ll be going into our final descent,” he projected, trying to keep it light, “Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened and check around for any loose articles and stow your laptops at this time. We’ll be on the ground momentarily and your Los Angeles based crew would like to thank you for flying Air Escape. We know you didn’t have a choice, but all the same, we appreciate your business.”
“Asshole,” Gao observed.
But everyone did busy themselves with making sure their safety devices were properly fastened, so Blake decided his little show helped decrease the tension a little. He walked near Angel and asked her, “If I take off the tape on your hands and get you into a chair will you behave?” She looked at him for a moment and then nodded. He got to one side of her and kneeled down as she turned away from him to let him access her hands. He tried to get his fingernail under the end of the tape, but it took him about a minute to lift up a corner. He pulled up on it and most of the lifted up corner tore off, leaving the rest of the tape intact. He grunted and repeated the process. He tried the other corner and slowly lifted it up so that the rest of the tape would come with it. Thankfully, it did and despite a few tears, he managed to get the tape off. She brought her hands in front of her and rubbed them. He helped her to her still bound up feet and she asked, “What about my feet?”
He shook his head. “Sorry. Wait until we land.” He hopped her over to a seat and she fastened herself in. He looked around and everyone seemed to be as ready as they would ever be. Really, as long as you’re in your seat and buckled in that’s about all you can do. It’s all in the pilot’s hands after that.
“So Bree’s flying the plane?” Clayton asked.
“That’s right,” Blake nodded.
“And she’s never flown before, much less landed?” Clayton grimaced.
“Also true, but I’m sure you’d agree her takeoff was awesome. And you should see what she can do with a car,” Blake forced a smile.
He walked into the cockpit again, stepping carefully again past Carrey’s corpse. “Everyone’s ready Bree,” he told her.
“Oh good,” she commented as she pulled a lever. Blake looked at the altimeter and noted they were slowly descending. “You better sit down and hold on to something. This will probably get rough.” He hurried to the back and took a seat next to Tiffany who had blissfully slept through the whole ride and would probably miss out on Bree’s first ever landing. He looked across at Cammy, Herbie, Gao, and Doris. They all looked scared except for Herbie who was strangely calm given the circumstances. To his immediate right was Clayton and Lisa, but he could only see Clayton who seemed to have accepted that this could end poorly but was still composed. I guess if you’re old maybe you don’t worry about dying the way young people do when they’re forced to face mortality. When you’re young it just doesn’t seem possible. There was the slight vibration of something mechanical under his feet, and he realized that it was probably the landing gear deploying. The whirring stopped and it was right back to waiting. Damn, I hate this. Landing was the time when you lost your freedom. Can’t get up to take a piss. Can’t screw with your phone. Can’t do anything except read, but since your tray table had to be up, you had to hold your book in your hand. Everyone would just stare out the window if they had one and once the very tiny chance of crashing had been dispelled b
y yet another successful landing, then it was the waiting until the plane stopped taxiing and the fasten seatbelt light turned off with a ‘bong’ noise after which invariably people immediately unfastened their seat belts, freedom finally at hand. There was a screech as the tires touched down on what sounded like tarmac. Wow, did she find a runway? She’s awesome! The plane bounced up and when it came down again there was another screech. Well, that wasn’t so bad. Time to wait for that fasten seatbelt light to turn off.
The plane hit something. Hard. Not enough to stop it, but hard enough to cause a sudden, jarring deceleration. His fellow passengers started screaming and the plane dropped to the right and moments after that started to rotate to the right. Then the plane hit something hard again, then something harder a moment later. Things inside the plane were flying around and one of them hit Blake in the head.
sixty-one
Blake regained consciousness slowly. First, he became aware that he was still alive. Next, he realized his head hurt. And then he realized that his whole body hurt, it was just that his head was complaining the most. He opened his eyes and there was so much chaos that it took him several seconds to process what he was seeing. There was stuff strewn about everywhere, clothing, suitcases, boxes, cans of food, a crowbar, and too many other random things for him to list. Clayton was bleeding from his forehead and seemed to be having difficulty removing his safety restraints. Lisa was walking in front of him and making her way to the cockpit but had to pick her way through all the junk. Cammy was trying to get out of her seat, but Herbie was telling her to stay put, much to her dismay. He tried to stand but was unable to. Shit, am I paralyzed or something? He tried again, fear now powering his movements and realized he could move, but he was still strapped into his seat. Relief washed over him as he undid his seatbelt and stood, only to almost trip on a metal thermal mug. Steadying himself he started to help Clayton get out of his seat, but Clayton waved him away and he said something but somehow, the sound was muffled and Blake had no idea what he said. But the meaning was clear at least, so he nodded and moved down to check on Tiffany. She was awake he saw, and he hurried over to her, pushing aside a sports bag to get closer. He called out her name but it sounded like it was underwater. She heard him though and turned to look at him. Oh no... no, no, no... She wasn’t there anymore, her eyes looked at him but gone was the person behind them. She reached out for him, held in place by her safety implements and jawed hungrily at him. Dammit. He fought back his tears, but they came anyway as he backed away and got his foot caught on a familiar looking sports bag and sat down heavily on it.