by Newman, AJ
Jack said, “So, you’ve been alone with these two beautiful women for several months. Are you ….”
“No, Dad. Honestly, the thought crossed my mind, but Jill is gay.”
His dad chuckled. “Sorry, I guess I’m just a dirty old man.”
Jon replied, “I’ve been told I’m a dirty old man. I hope you’re using protection.”
“No, son, Cindy and I want to have children. The Earth needs to be repopulated. Besides, there aren’t any birth control supplies on the island.”
“Dad, there aren’t any doctors or hospitals.”
“Son, remember Cindy is a therapist and a nurse, and she’s started training me how to deliver our children.”
Jon said, “Dad, that means I’ll have brothers and sisters running around in diapers with my own children. This is too weird.”
“I’m sorry you’re having trouble dealing with it. We were on the boat alone sailing down here, and there weren’t any other women or men around. Cindy is a lovely young lady. Damn it, Jon, I knew the world had turned upside down, and we didn’t have much longer to live. Was it so wrong to grab some happiness in this chaos? You seem to have forgotten about your fiancée and now have Barbara. I’m no different than you are.”
That shut Jon up.
The six of them sat inside the tourist boat, finishing a meal of freshly caught fish, turtle soup, and baked beans. Cindy was a great hostess, and they had small talk for an hour after supper. Jon interrupted the conversation and asked, “What do you plan to do long term? Dad, there isn’t enough food here, and the desalinization plant will eventually fail.”
Jack replied, “We are convinced we need to stay hidden for about a year before getting around any other people. That makes me wonder. How have y'all avoided getting the virus? We were scared shitless when we had to drag corpses out of the Fort and boats to bury them. We wore gloves, masks, and triple clothing.”
Barbara said, “Jon, Jill, and I are immune to the virus, and Gina will be in a week or so. I worked at the CDC, helping to make a vaccine for the virus. Jon can fill you in later on what happened to all of us, but for now, I’ll tell you what we hope to do.”
Jack’s eyes were wide open, and Cindy clung to his side. “Jon and Jill had transfusions of the synthetic blood that was developed a few years ago for the war in Europe. That made them immune. They gave me transfusions of their blood, and now I’m immune. We started giving Gina transfusions three weeks ago. With three of us donating, we should be done with her in a week. Then we planned to make you two immune and spread the immunity around to as many people as possible.”
Jack said, “Damn, my mind is awash with thoughts, but the most important one is that you need to keep this secret, and only trust a few people until you can spread the immunity to everyone. People would kill to have you three to themselves.”
Cindy interrupted, “Are you saying each of you gives blood every week?”
Barbara said. “Heavens, no. That would kill us. We rotate giving blood, so the recipient gets blood every three to four days with four people donating. It was a longer interval with fewer people.”
Jon told Cindy and his dad several of their harrowing tales about people trying to kidnap and use them. Jon then asked, “Are you two with us?”
“Of course we are. My last question is - how do we safely spread the immunity?”
Jon said, “There are a dozen ladies on the island where we found Gina, who will join our group next. Then we need to go to Mississippi and Texas to find Barbara’s and Jill’s folks. Dad, I know you were a fixed wing pilot twenty years ago. We need a pilot, so we can travel much faster.”
Jack replied, “I haven’t flown in about two months, and before that, it was fifteen years. Cindy and I took a motorboat over to Key West to see if the virus had run its course and ended up fleeing for our lives. We were cut off from our boat, and some thugs chased us onto the airport property. We hid until I found a pontoon plane with full fuel tanks. I had a rough take off, but it all came back to me on the flight back here. I knew to keep the nose up during landing and landed the plane in the bay. The plane is over by the old coal loading dock under some tarps.”
Jon grinned, “Could the six of us use it to fly up to an island off the coast of Clear Water?”
“Yes, but it won’t hold all of the others. It’s a six-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver. It has a range of four hundred and fifty-five miles and can carry two thousand pounds, which includes the passengers’ weight.”
Jon performed some quick calculations and said, “At least the ladies are small, and Bo only weighs about fifty pounds. I figure the six of us plus Bo to be a little over nine hundred pounds. That gives us the ability to bring twenty gallons of gas and another eight hundred pounds of food and gear.”
Jack replied, “You’re faster than I am, but that sounds about right.”
Jon said, “I’m starting to think that we fly on to Mississippi after giving transfusions to several of Gina’s friends. You can teach me how to fly along the way, and we’ll borrow another plane to bring Barbara and Jill’s folks to …”
Jack said, “Yeah, where the hell do we go to find refuge from the virus that will have food, water, and shelter but no people?”
“Damned good question. I don’t have an answer, but we need an answer before we get to Mississippi.”
They debated places where they could safely live the rest of their lives, but there were always pros and cons to every place. They all agreed that it should be remote but have some survivors that could be given the transfusions, so immunity could be spread across the USA.
Jon was at his wit’s end when he told the others to remember this name. He said, “George P. Washington.”
Jill said, “And what does that mean?”
Jon replied, “The password to safety. I’ll explain later.”
Barbara started the transfusions for Jack and Cindy a week later. Jack and Jon checked out the floatplane and began Jon’s flight training. Jack was a good instructor and soon had Jon doing takeoffs and landings around the Keys. They flew over to Key West to a marina that refueled floatplanes and high performance speedboats. They saw rats everywhere, and they were fighting with dogs, opossum, and crows to eat the last scraps from the rotting corpses. Most of the dead had been reduced to piles of sun-bleached bones, but there were a few bodies that appeared to have died recently.
They filled the plane’s tanks and flew away before anyone could get to the airport to hassle them. Jon watched the land as Jack took off and didn’t see any movement or smoke. The city appeared to be a ghost town. They didn’t have to rush because they didn’t see a living soul. They made the flight to Key West twice more and never saw anyone. Jack even flew low over the city, and they only saw a few dogs and a horse. They made the last flight to refuel the day before they were to leave.
Jon studied the instrument panel of his dad’s commandeered floatplane. It was a six-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver manufactured seventy-one years ago. It had a range of four hundred and fifty-five miles and could carry two thousand pounds, which included the passenger weight. It had been updated several times over the years and had recently had a new navigation system added. It had the GPS and autopilot hardware and software added a year ago after a complete rebuild of the airframe and engine.
“Dad, the GPS appears to be similar to the ones in cars and trucks. It has a memory slot. Do you think the memory card from a Jeep would work in the plane’s software?”
“Don’t try it unless you want to walk. It might work, or it might disable the plane’s computer.”
“Good point. I’ll save it for when we need a truck.”
“Another question. Before I left, my AI’s memory was transferred into a Ford truck. The last thing I told her was to follow me. Another long story, but I drove a Porsche, and she was supposed to follow me in case I crashed.”
“Son, you keep talking like your truck was a real live woman.”
“Dad, I didn’t have anyone else to talk to except Bo, and he doesn’t carry a conversation very well. Anyway, could Samantha have tried to follow me?”
Jack rubbed his jaw. “Yes, she has to obey her orders. She would have to follow you until she …uh …the damned truck ran out of gas.”
“Shit, I wonder where she is now.”
Jack pushed the throttle forward and set the flaps for takeoff. The single engine plane roared across the bay and floated into the air. The aircraft rose until they were several thousand feet in the air.
Jack said, “Son, take the controls. We’ll work some more on your training during the flight. Now, push the throttle forward a bit and slowly pull the steering wheel toward you.”
“Dad, I’ve been flying for three weeks.”
They flew along at one hundred twenty miles per hour and were soon low over the Gulf toward the western shore of Anclote Key. Jack kept the plane as low as possible, so it wouldn’t be spotted from the mainland. Jon couldn’t see any signs of the women but figured they’d hide if a plane flew over. Gina dropped a wrench with a note from her to the ladies, telling them not to shoot at the plane. They still didn’t see anyone, so Jack brought the plane down on the west side of the island. Jon told everyone to be ready for a fight if things were bad on the island. The plane skimmed through the water on the way to the shore.
☣☣☣
The Gulf of Mexico – 200 miles south of Pensacola – October 2038
The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), with its carrier escort group, was stationed two hundred miles south of Pensacola and 250 miles off the coast of Florida. It was one of the large ships that had been at sea when the virus struck the nation. The Captain had not allowed anyone to leave or come aboard the ship since he was told about the virus many months ago.
“Sir, we have an unidentified aircraft a few miles east of Clear Water descending down to the deck.”
“Does it appear to be hostile?”
“Sir, it either crashed into the sea or is flying below our radar.”
“I hate to waste jet fuel, but scramble an F41 and have it take a look see. We don’t want a plane to pop up a few miles out and shove a missile up our ass. Also, send up two helos to stand picket duty until I say to bring them back.”
One of the crew said, “We’re lucky. There’s a bird overhead. It’s a small floatplane and no danger to us; however, there is an attack helicopter shadowing the floatplane.”
“Review the footage and tell me where the helicopter originated?”
A few minutes later, the captain heard, “Sir, it took off from that rogue Army unit in St. Petersburgh.”
The captain spoke angrily into his mouthpiece. “Black Widow, you have the green light to splash one old Apache helicopter. It’s one of those Army deserters. Full speed. The satellite jocks will give you the coordinates. Happy shooting.”
A young lady's voice replied, “Aye, aye, sir.”
The captain looked around the bridge. “I should’ve leveled those assholes a month ago. Prepare to launch missiles at those traitors.”
☣☣☣
“Jack, there’s a helicopter approaching from the mainland.”
Jack pushed the throttle to full power, and the plane slowly climbed into the western sky. Jack made sure he flew toward the sun, so the helicopter couldn’t see him. He didn’t know it was a military copter with advanced radar. He was just trying to be invisible until he could disappear into the clouds above.
The plane shook, and something roared by them a few hundred feet above them. Jon said, “What the hell was that?”
His dad said, “I hope it’s the cavalry to keep the Indians away. What can you see behind us?”
Barbara said, “Jack, the helicopter turned back, heading to the mainland. Oh crap, the helicopter just exploded.”
The jet slowed as much as possible, flew by waggling its wings, and then sped west and out of sight.
Jack turned the plane around and lined up to land at the island one more time. Jon said, “I guess we’ll never know who our savior was.”
Jack replied, “It was the US Navy. I don’t know why, but they saved our asses.”
Gina said, “Please stop jacking your jaws and get this plane down. I want to see my girls.”
Jon replied, “Let’s hope we get to them before the people that sent that helicopter visits them.”
☣☣☣
Samantha had stopped on Highway 40 just west of Shreveport when she lost the signal from the backup memory chip. She pulled off the road, cut her engine, and waited for weeks until the satellite pinged on the memory chip again. The chip was several thousand feet above the middle of the Gulf of Mexico heading north. Samantha’s computer calculated the probability of intercepting the chip. The results were to wait until the chip crossed over land north of its current position. The F250 still had a quarter-tank of fuel plus fifty gallons in the auxiliary tank. She waited patiently.
☣☣☣
Jon asked his father to land the plane on the southeast end of the island so they could taxi up to the dock. Jack skimmed barely above the ocean to help reduce anyone spotting them from the mainland. He touched down about a mile south of the dock and had a smooth landing. The island sheltered the water between it and the mainland from the gentle gulf waves.
Jon was the first to exit the plane, followed closely by Jill, Barbara, Gina, and Bo. They all had rifles ready, and their pistols strapped to their sides. They walked the long wooden path to the land and surveyed their surroundings while Jack kept the plane pointed south and ready to take off. After fifteen minutes, Jon waved for his dad and Cindy to join them.
Gina expected to see her friends come to greet them, but the dock was deserted. Her face had the look of fear mixed with apprehension. “I don’t get it. They should have seen or at least heard the plane buzz the island. Where could they be hiding?”
Jon said, “We need to be careful. That helicopter could have landed men days or weeks ago. We need to go to the camp and see if they’re hiding. Dad, I’d like you and Cindy to stay here and guard the plane. The rest of us are familiar with the island.”
“Okay by me. Don’t look too long. If you don’t find the women right away, they’ve been kidnapped.”
Gina shook her head. “Those are my friends. We can’t abandon them.”
Jill said, “They would have come to greet us if they were here. Gina, I don’t see any good news coming soon. Let’s go.”
Jon led the way along the path from the dock to the animal reserve buildings. Jon raised his hand and made a fist when he came to the clearing where the buildings were located.
“Hold up. Let’s take a look around from the bushes before walking into an ambush.”
Gina gasped when she saw the bullet holes in the wall of the closest building. “There’s been a fight.”
Jon walked around the perimeter of the camp while staying in the bushes. There were signs of a fierce fight. The door to the main meeting room lay inside the entrance. It had been riddled with bullets and then knocked off its hinges. Tears formed in Gina’s eyes as they finished checking all of the buildings. She fought back the tears welled up in her eyes. “They’re gone. They’re all gone.”
Barbara tapped Jon on the shoulder and pointed. “Jon, there are several crosses in the sand in that grove over there.”
They walked over to the three crosses and saw they had names crudely scribed on them. Through tears, Gina said, “I know them. They were all good women. We have to find the ones who did this and kill them.”
Jill hugged Gina and tried to calm her down. “Hon, we need to get out of here. We have no idea where …”
Jill was interrupted by the sound of something rushing by overhead. The noise was followed by explosions several miles away on the mainland. They rushed back to the beach and saw clouds of smoke, and several large explosions throw debris high in the air.
Jon pointed south. “Look, over there. I think it’s a cruise missile.”
&nb
sp; They lost sight of the missile, and then there was an enormous fireball followed by the ground shaking. The noise was ear-splitting.
Jon said, “Look, there’s that jet again.”
The jet waggled its wings at them and then roared off, heading west. Jon said, “Gina, I think the people that killed your friends just got their punishment.”
What Jon didn’t say but thought was, I hope the kidnapped women weren’t being held over there.
After searching the area without finding any signs of their friends, Jon said, “Gina, can you get a piece of clothing that you know was worn by one of your friends? I’d like to see if Bo can track the girls.”
Gina said, “Yes, let me search their quarters.”
She came back with a pair of shorts and handed them to Jon. She said, “These were Ann’s.”
Jon held the shorts up to Bo’s nose and said, “Go find,” and Bo just stood there looking up at Jon. Then Jon said, “Bo, fetch Ann.”
Bo sniffed the shorts and took off running east toward the eastern side of the island. Bo stopped at the water’s edge and looked up at Jon and Gina. Jon looked at the sand and bushes in front of the spot Bo stopped.
Jon said, “Look, Gina, there are dozens of footprints and the impression of a boat’s bow in the sand. They were taken aboard a boat and aren’t on the island.”
Gina fell to the sand and sobbed. Barbara and Jill held on to her while they all cried. Jon knew the ones who’d taken the women could come back any minute.
“Let’s go, ladies. We need to go while we can.”
The End
Of
Extinction Level Event
☣
☣ Extinction ☣
Book 2 – Immune: The Hunted should be published about June 2020.
