by Michael Todd
“There’s nothing like an evening ride to settle down for the night. Who’s with me?”
Only Ava protested, and she was summarily ignored.
Peppy and Gunnar dragged her into the helicopter along with enough guns to establish themselves as a smaller country’s militia.
“This will be great, mates. I promise you that. The most relaxing ride of the whole damn day.”
It wasn’t, at least not to her anyway.
Manny flew them out of the hangar and into the cool night air. That perked her up. Anything was better than the smell of scorpion guts. She’d gotten used to it because she had to, but now that she was clear of the battlefield, its absence was a definite improvement. In the next moment, they rose up the back of Wall Two, higher and higher until they were finally above it.
The evidence of the battle was present everywhere. Human and scorpion blood stained the walkway at the top of the wall and mingled into a thick goo that shone pink in the lights of the helicopter.
Ava saw the civilians and soldiers she’d saved—or tried to anyway—burst out of one of the stairwells and commence firing at the attacking chimesaurus. Blue feathers fluttered to join the carnage the helicopter illuminated.
The pilot flew down the Zoo side of Wall Two. The creatures didn’t attack the gate at all, which proved that the entire affair with the scorpion queen really had been a feint. The repercussions of such a thought terrified her addled mind, but for the moment, she tried to enjoy the simple pleasure of watching the tide of a battle turn.
Confronted by both the civilians and the soldiers who’d been pinned down in the hangar, as well as a heavily armed helicopter, the chimesaurus tried to flee. That of course, made it so much easier as the monsters milled in confusion before the retreat, which enabled the defenders to exterminate them with ease. In minutes, the battle was over.
Ava leaned back in her seat as exhaustion washed over her. Despite all the death she’d seen, despite the slaughter and the smell of scorpion guts and everything else, she was content. They’d done it. Against all odds, they’d contained the scorpion queen and bought humanity a little more time. She smiled and tried to raise her voice to speak. “We’ll always have the Zoo.”
For the second time that day, she slipped into unconsciousness. This time, instead of the sounds of hundreds of claws trying to rend her flesh, she heard only Manny and Gunnar arguing bitterly about whether or not she had used the line properly.
Chapter Twenty-One
Two days passed in a blur of restoration and recovery. Scorpion body parts were scrubbed from the halls of Wall Two. The bodies of the chimesaurus were gathered and burned. Holes were repaired with welds so slipshod that they made Manny’s work on the Flying Bastard look meticulous. The armory was emptied and weapons distributed on the top of Wall Two in preparation for the next attack. Around all this, the inhabitants mourned the dead.
“Come on, Manny. Captain Taylor wants everyone up top,” Ava said and put an arm around the Australian’s shoulder.
“He was so young, you know? All things considered, I was only a dad for like a day.”
“I’ll admit. He’s one bastard I’ll miss,” Peppy said.
Though Ava thought that would have comforted Manny—especially since Peppy didn’t normally say things even halfway kind—instead, it set him to crying again. Big, snotty crocodile tears.
“Oh, man, he was so cool, you know? The coolest damn bastard I ever knew. Remember when he crashed in that storm?”
“Manny, we almost died,” Gunnar said. “And you crashed.”
“I know, I know. It was awesome of me but still…” The big lug was inconsolable.
They made their way up the stairs of Wall Two to the top of the structure and from there toward the area above the main gate. Fresh sheet metal stood out everywhere, welded in place beside old layers still blackened by explosions. Two helicopters buzzed above the top like giant doting bumblebees and lowered massive cannons onto the top of the wall. The attack had convinced Washington to increase the funding for the American section of the Wall. Apparently, Captain Taylor had a shopping list prepared for his superiors.
They joined an assembly facing the Zoo. Ava recognized many of the people, the civilians she’d saved from the machine shop. That group of people had been out of the fight for so long that they’d suffered some of the fewest casualties. She recognized some of the soldiers from the fight in the hangar too, as well as people she’d seen around the wall. More troops were inbound, but this service was for the people who’d perished in the last battle on Wall Two. Or the first, depending on how pessimistic you were.
They took their seats and earned a glare from Captain Taylor. Ava realized, not surprisingly, that they were the last ones to arrive.
“You grunts did well,” he began with a broad smile as if he’d paid all of them the highest honor by calling them grunts. “It’s not often that I thank green-behind-the-ears soldiers, and it's even less often that I thank civilians mucking around a military operation. But here we stand, alive because of all of you.”
“Most of us,” Manny sniffed. Despite it only being a whisper, the commander still shot a glare at him.
“We suffered a lot of casualties—too many—but the Zoo suffered more. Dr. Kessler is still working on the final totals, but we currently estimate that we destroyed a hundred of those damn monsters for every life lost. In any other battle in the history of this planet, those would be the kind of numbers that earn every damn survivor a medal of honor. But here, outside the Zoo, we all know that we barely scraped by. Plus, I asked for more guns instead of filling out the paperwork for unnecessary accolades.”
Captain Taylor smiled at his joke. Cort, who stood beside him, chuckled nervously. No one else laughed.
The commander squared his boots and continued. “What matters is that we survived. We outfought the Zoo and in doing so, all of you proved how important Wall Two is for world safety. Until two days ago, we somehow failed to draw the notice of those Goddamn pencil-pushers in Washington.”
“Can he say that?” Manny said and pointed at Cort. “I mean, the pencil pusher is right there.”
“We—us, those of us brave enough to keep our boots on the ground—know that every day, the Zoo gets closer and every day, the Zoo tries new tactics. We know that we’ve needed more support for a long time, and well, thanks to you, we’ve finally earned it. I’m sure you can see we’ve already added the rest of damn guns I requested. It’s funny how almost losing mankind’s last defense against the greatest foe we’ve ever faced in the history of this planet has a way of changing minds.”
He smiled as if he expected laughter or applause but got neither. Thankfully, his scowl returned. Ava preferred it. Seeing the captain look anything but pissed-off was weird—like watching a lion eat fruit salad with chopsticks.
“We’ll continue to reinforce the Zoo side of the wall but now, we’ll build up the other side too. No longer will the wall be seen as an insurmountable barrier. Now, it will be recognized for what it is—a necessary piece of defense infrastructure absolutely essential to the ongoing mission of containing those Goddamn monsters in there.”
Captain Taylor grinned once more. It was uncanny, Ava thought, like a shark approaching you and asking for a high-five. Again, no one smiled or clapped, and he leaned across and said, not entirely out of the range of the microphone, “The Goddamn ingrates wouldn’t laugh at Jerry Seinfeld.”
Cort shrugged nervously.
“Dismissed!” Captain Taylor barked and the crowd broke up.
“How long do you think I should wait before I demand a twenty-one-gun salute for the Flying Bastard?” Manny asked.
“Um…forever?” Gunnar said.
“Assume there will be a ceremony on the same day I sing songs about your amazing battle prowess,” Peppy said.
“Peppy!” The pilot sounded slightly more cheerful, “I didn’t know you sang.”
“I don’t.”
He con
tinued to puzzle over what exactly that meant when Lieutenant Cort approached them.
“Captain Taylor extends his gratitude for your role in the defense. He heard about what happened when he debriefed the soldiers who fought in the hangar. Ava, we’re very grateful for what you did. The world should be thankful.”
“I’d say it was nothing, but I almost died—twice—so you’re welcome,” she responded.
“Despite my recommendations, Captain Taylor was adamant about not wasting ‘time or the Goddamn oxygen’—his words, not mine—to ask for any kind of recognition in addition to the new supplies for Wall Two, but I managed to pull a few strings. This way.”
They shuffled down the stairs. Ava was lost in thought. So many people hadn’t survived the battle. Normally, voices echoed through the halls, soldiers moved about, engineers brought more of the structure to life, and civilians tried to conduct business and mostly got in the way. Now, those people were mostly gone. The engineers who had survived were hard at work. But whereas before, they’d always been willing to stop for a few words, they worked today like their hair was on fire. She understood, though. More soldiers were supposed to be there by the day’s end, but until then, the automatic defenses of Wall Two were expected to hold off anything the jungle sent at them. And even with new soldiers…well, Ava remembered what it was like to face the Zoo for the first time.
They passed the two cooks who, miraculously, had survived the entire battle. They waved at Ava and resumed their bickering about the spice profile of the shawarma in their stand.
The group finally reached the hangar and Cort started out across the sandy floor.
Manny’s frown immediately twitched upward. “Where…uh, where are we going?”
“Your team was indispensable. Without you, that scorpion would have attacked with her children or even gone out and laid more eggs in Morocco. Although the captain’s not one for honorifics, he appreciates a good piece of machinery as well as the next man. That’s why he was assigned to Wall Two, after all.”
The lieutenant approached the tarped silhouette of some kind of vehicle. Manny hopped from one foot to the other and could obviously barely contain himself. “Cort, buddy, I think I might love you. This had better not be one of those American programs where you lead a fella along and then pull the rug out from under him. Ol’ Jack Mann was on one of those once. They said I won a raffle for a flying car and even drove me out to a car dealership in Louisville. Then they revealed there weren’t no such thing as a flying car, and instead, I had won some damn sport-utility-vehicle with Goddamn airbags, of all things. It was…uh…bad luck for me that they recorded the whole thing.”
“What did you do with the SUV?” Ava asked.
“I drove that sucker across that state border and never looked back.”
“That’s not so bad,” Gunnar said.
“I’ve skipped the best parts of the story, but let’s say I’m not welcome in Kentucky anymore. Not with the footage and all. I guess what I’m saying is, there’s not an SUV under there, is there, Cort?”
The lieutenant shook his head but looked more nervous than he had before. “No. No, definitely something more suited to your…er, talents, but…uh, well don’t get your hopes too high.”
“Just pull the damn tarp already. I want to know what’s behind the curtain.”
Cort yanked the tarp off.
The Flying Bastard stood there in all its non-glory.
“Holy crap, you guys got it back,” Gunnar said. He did not sound impressed.
One of the propellers was still destroyed from decapitating the scorpion queen. Ava could tell the inside was still gutted, and the helicopter leaned to one side, obviously off balance from its missing engine. She had thought it looked like a pile of scrap before its adventure but now, it looked like a tornado had come through a pile of scrap and thrown the worst pieces back together. The runners were gone and the windshield cracked. She hadn’t realized how dented the craft had been when they crashed it, nor how many rivets and welds had popped loose. It was a miracle they’d got it back to the base at all.
“I sent a team to retrieve it—or what was left of it,” Cort mumbled and sounded apologetic. “It’s not exactly a priority and we can’t put a work order in for it because…well, it’s not officially recognized as a helicopter, but…uh, I’m sure we can divert more scrap your way.”
“I’m surprised it got back in one piece,” Peppy said.
“Oh, it didn’t.” The lieutenant stared at the Flying Bastard and shook his head. “It actually cracked in half on the way back. We had to send out another chopper for it and carried the whole thing back like a broken egg in a net. Like I said, I wish we could’ve done more, but…well, it’s what we managed.”
Manny took a step forward., “Cort, Goddamnit, you pencil-pusher, get over here!”
He took a step back, clearly unsure of how best to defend himself against the deranged pilot.
He would never have thought to block his mouth from a kiss.
Manny grabbed him by the shoulders, hauled him closer, and plopped a fat kiss right on the lieutenant’s shocked face. “I can’t believe you did this, you sonofabitch!”
Dumbfounded, he simply remained silent while the excited man ran to the Flying Bastard.
Ava thought him kissing the lieutenant was surprising, but when he caressed the wreck of a helicopter, she adjusted her expectations of what normal was.
“Oh, look at you, little buddy. You busted your belly open, huh? That’s not a problem, no it’s not. Daddy smashed a CH-47 Chinook during the battle against the chimesaurus, yes, he did. It’s still a big ol’ wreck out there and we’ll cut out that big ol cargo bay and reinforce your little tummy, yes, we will. Oh, Flying Bastard, I’m so happy you’re okay!” Manny hugged the helicopter and the action jostled something. Part of the windshield slid off and shattered.
“Does he see the same thing we do?” Gunnar said.
“Maybe we all did die back there. And by some twist of fate, Manny went to heaven and he’s reunited with the only thing that could ever understand him,” Peppy commented, her expression deadpan.
“Then what happened to us?” Ava said.
“We’re in hell, obviously, forced to watch a lunatic repair an obviously unsafe machine and use it to try to kill us again.”
“So you’re saying once he gets it fixed, you’ll ride out there with him again?” Ava asked.
“I’m saying if he gets it fixed, I’m sure we’re the only idiots dumb enough to agree to get back on it.”
“We wouldn’t fly without you, Peppy,” Manny said, “After all, a kid needs a godmother.”
Ava shook her head as she tried and failed to hide her disbelief. “Men and their machines.”
Epilogue
“I’m only saying that we’re a team. Teams should share, mate.” Manny had his hands on his hips and his bottom lip stuck out like a child denied candy.
“It’s not mine to share. I didn’t build the damn thing,” Gunnar protested.
“Yeah, well, if you’re asking to drive the Flying Bastard, I’m listening. He’s ready to fly…almost. I’m sure nothing will blow up this time.”
They were in the hangar, one of the only places that were more or less out of the way of all the rapid-fire construction projects in progress around Wall Two. It had already been outfitted with a sturdier door facing away from the Zoo. Apparently, thousands of scorpions turning the other one into scrap had a persuasive effect. The gate was currently half open. Even that simple truth amazed Ava. The new gate was huge like something out of a sci-fi dungeon, and it was a wonder it could open at all.
“I don’t want to fly the Flying Bastard. I’m not sure I even want to get in it.”
“For the love of kangaroo milk, watch your tone. He’ll develop a complex if he hears his godpapa talk about him that way.”
“For the last time, I said no.”
“And Peppy agreed? I’m sorry, but that don’t make sense. Yo
u’re an honorary guardian, whether you want to be or not. And seeing as how you’re part of the family, I don’t see why you’re so stingy.”
“Ava drove it last time, not me.”
Manny whirled on Ava, his hands on his hips and eyebrows accusatory. “A damn fine point, Ava. I tried to be discreet and let your conscience guide you to do the right thing, but I can see now that you’re as heartless as Peppy.”
“She wishes,” Peppy said. She was currently cleaning a gun and largely ignored the rest of them.
“If you want to drive the soldier suit, talk to Dr. Kessler.”
Manny folded his arms in front of his chest and put his frown on. “He won’t listen to me. The prick says I’m irresponsible like that’s even a real damn word.”
“You do crash everything you touch,” Gunnar said.
“Not everything.”
Ava and Gunnar both glared at him. Peppy barked one short, cruel laugh.
“Okay, but we’re not even under attack right now. It’ll be fine.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to talk to him?”
“Yes, I want you to talk to him.”
They approached Dr. Kessler in his machine shop. Despite the fact that the room had suffered serious damage during the fight against the scorpions, the scientist was at work. His focus seemed to suggest that the blast marks and still-present stench of scorpion guts beneath the aroma of fresh bleach were the smells of the cafeteria and nothing more.
“Dr. Kessler—” Ava began.
“How come Ava and Gunnar get to drive the suit and I don’t? I’m the damn pilot. I’m who flew in the damn Zoo to get you and flew out. It’s not fair.”
Dr. Kessler waved a hand at them but didn’t look up from his work.
“Was that a yes? I think that was a yes,” Manny said and grinned.
“There might be a few kinks still. And I haven’t been able to find the right arm, but otherwise, it's quite operational.” He fussed with something on the table in front of him.