California

by Jamie Lee Grey

Nadir’s heart pounded. “I’ll check for a radio in the guard shacks! Maybe you can check with the neighbors. Maybe….”

  He knew the cell system was overwhelmed, but didn’t that mean some calls were getting through? So perhaps if they kept trying, they’d be the lucky ones.

  ***

  “Jennifer.” Katie’s voice was low and level.

  “Mhmm?” Distracted eyes turned toward her.

  “You know it’s possible – there’s a possibility we won’t make it.”

  Jennifer nodded. “Maybe we should turn around.”

  “We can’t. The whole state’s on fire!” Katie tightened her grip on the steering wheel as traffic crept around a hill. “Anyway, that’s not what I meant. I mean, a lot of people are going to die tonight.”

  She glanced over, and Jennifer’s eyes widened in the glow of the dash lights, tail lights, and the approaching fires.

  “What, are you trying to freak me out?!”

  “No, I –”

  “It’s bad enough without saying stuff like that! Think positive!”

  Katie sighed. Thinking happy thoughts was not going to change the situation. Maybe this conversation was going nowhere, but she’d take one more run at it anyway.

  “Okay. I’m positive that if I die tonight, I’ll go to heaven.” She didn’t look at her passenger, but kept her eyes on the road. “Would you like that confidence, too?”

  Now she looked. But Jennifer didn’t meet her gaze.

  “I don’t need it! I don’t believe in heaven. Or hell. Or any of that Bible-thumping garbage.”

  A silence descended in the pickup cab.

  Katie swallowed past a lump in her dry throat. She turned her thoughts to the Lord.

  Well, Lord, I tried. Failed, but tried. Sorry.

  She almost chuckled when she thought she heard, “Not your fault, kid.”

  But she felt better, anyway. Jennifer’s life was in God’s hands, and her soul was his problem in the end. And her own, obviously.

  As they came out of the curve around a hill, the mountains opened up before them.

  And the fires! Dear Lord, the fires! Katie stared, aghast, at the flaming mountains. The highway led straight toward them.

  They’d have to go through that?!

  How? Katie gulped, staring at the wall of flames.

  It simply was not possible!

  ***

  Alana stifled another yawn. She blinked her dry eyes. Exhaustion was creeping into her bones and into her brain. She didn’t feel sleepy. She was too wired for that. No, she just felt thoroughly tired.

  For the first time, she wondered at what point they’d call it a night … not for a long time, obviously, with the crisis with Mexico and the plane crashes and the terrorist fires. But at some point, before the fires were out and the terrorists were caught, everyone here would need to get some sleep.

  Would they take shifts?

  Being so new to her lofty position, she wasn’t even sure where they would sleep. Surely the bunker area had sleeping arrangements near the PEOC. But she wasn’t going to be the one to ask.

  She could stick it out as long as Basilia could.

  Rising from her chair, she walked to the coffee counter and served herself. She lifted the mug and inhaled the delicious aroma. Took her first sip.

  Ah… liquid energy, right there. She stirred in more cream and took another sip. Perfection!

  The secretary of Transportation rushed into the room, and all conversation ceased as everyone looked her way.

  “Well?” Basilia asked. “What’s the verdict?”

  “Worse than we thought. In Seattle, we were able to continue landing flights at full capacity because the crash and resulting fire was far enough from the runways. But the other five airports….” She shook her head. “Vastly diminished capacity. The crashes were on, or very near, one or more primary runways.”

  Basilia stepped closer, putting herself in the woman’s personal space. “You’re telling me five of our major airports are handicapped right when we need to land more planes than we’ve ever had to land on that side of the country?”

  “You knew this could happen.”

  Alana winced. Oh, that was dumb! Why’d she have to say something like that? She risked a glance at the president.

  Wrath kindled in her dark eyes. Her nose flared.

  “How dare you.” Her voice was even and very low. “How. Dare. You!”

  The secretary stepped backward. Alana stopped breathing. The president’s chin jutted forward.

  “What…what I mean, is, we discussed this as a possibility,” she stammered. “A probability, even. Not unexpected.”

  She should have apologized, rather than explained. But explanation was better than nothing. The room started breathing again.

  “I want those airports landing planes at full capacity ASAP,” the president ordered. “Get wreckers out there, and pull those crashed birds out of the way.”

  “But – but they’re still on fire, Madame President.”

  “Put them out!” She got in the secretary’s face. “Get them out of the way! Do whatever you have to do!”

  Chapter 25

  Nadir ran out the mansion’s front door, down the steps and back to the front guard shack. The smoke had grown almost unbearably noxious. Coughing, he yanked the door open, rushed inside, and closed it again. The air in there was still breathable.

  He flipped on the light and turned his attention to the workstation. All he needed was one radio. Or a secure phone. Anything to call for help.

  Seeing nothing helpful on either desk, he began rummaging through the drawers. He found spare pens, notepads, paper clips… but no phones or radios.

  A small closet provided no help. He only found rain jackets, hats and umbrellas in there.

  Great. He looked around again to see if he’d missed anything. Now what?

  The massive fire was pressing toward him. He was running out of time!

  What about the rear guard shack?

  Maybe he’d find something there.

  His phone beeped. Time for prayers. That wasn’t going to happen.

  He turned off the lights as he exited, then closed the door. His first breath outdoors filled his lungs with the wretched smoke. Filled with all kinds of chemicals from burning homes and buildings, the stench made him gag.

  Covering his face with his sleeve, he ran for the backyard and the far guard shack.

  That one was locked, but he quickly broke in and flicked on the light switch. LEDs blazed overhead.

  Devastatingly, this shack looked nearly identical to the other one. Two desks with computers, an electronic switchboard with unlabeled buttons, a closet for rain jackets – he yanked it open to be sure – and some desk drawers.

  He pulled open the top one.

  And rejoiced!

  A sleek black radio lay on top of a notepad. He grabbed it and bolted for the house.

  Taking the steps three at a time, he rushed through the front door.

  “Father?” He yelled. “Father!”

  Had he gone to the neighbors in search of help, as Nadir suggested, or was he still here?

  “Office!” The gruff voice responded.

  Relieved, Nadir ran down the hall.

  “I’ve found a radio!” He burst into the governor’s office, holding it out.

  His father, seated at his desk, did not rise. Did not reach for the radio. He just turned heavy dark eyes on Nadir.

  A long silence stretched between them. Nadir approached and set the radio in front of his father.

  “Call for help,” he urged. “We’re running out of time!”

  He’d do it himself, but of course an emergency request for assistance from the governor was more likely to bring help than one from Nadir. Especially tonight.

  But his father did not pick up the radio.

  He sat silently, staring at Nadir. And when he finally spoke, it was with a voice filled with remonstrance.

  “Tell me what yo
u have done.”

  ***

  Staring at the flaming mountains, Katie felt suddenly sick. She sucked in air. Gagged on the smoke. Coughing, she turned her gaze to her passenger.

  Jennifer’s jaw hung loose. Her eyes looked toward the wall of fire. Suddenly, she shuddered.

  “We can’t go through that.” Her voice sounded hoarse. She turned to Katie. “We can’t!”

  “We don’t have any other options,” Katie said. “We have to try.”

  “No!” Jennifer grabbed Katie’s arm. “We can turn around in the median. See, those cars are doing it!”

  It was true, several vehicles were making U-turns in the median between the eastbound and westbound lanes, and heading back toward Sacramento.

  “The fires will catch up with them in a few hours,” Katie said.

  Jennifer’s fingers squeezed into Katie’s flesh. “The fires will catch us first!”

  “Let go, you’re hurting me!” She pried Jennifer’s hand off her arm. “The only way to survive is to try to get out on this freeway. You heard the news updates.”

  “Just because they said traffic is still moving, doesn’t mean we will be able to get through!” Jennifer pointed out the window. “The fire is growing bigger every minute. It’s spreading. Maybe traffic got through an hour ago. Maybe even ten minutes ago. That doesn’t mean we will!”

  Katie’s mouth was so dry her tongue stuck to her teeth. Her eyes burned from the smoke.

  “We will,” she finally said. “We must, and we will. God is with us.”

  “God is a figment of your imagination!”

  Katie looked at the woman. Should she kick her out? No, that was silly. Of course not.

  “I’m not getting into a debate with you,” she said. “My family and I are going through that fire to the other side, where we’ll be safe. And we’re happy to take you with us.”

  “What if I refuse?”

  “You want to get out? Here?” Katie shot her a look, but Jennifer was staring out her window.

  “Maybe….”

  “That’s crazy, Jennifer!”

  “No crazier than trying to drive through that fire! Or believing in God,” she muttered.

  Katie drew a deep breath and expelled it loudly. The smoke brought on a coughing fit.

  “You’re not even safe to drive!” Jennifer said. “What if you keel over when you get to the fire?”

  “Then I guess you’ll have to drive!”

  Why’d she say that? It was dumb. She didn’t need to let this woman get under her skin. She barely knew her, and would never see her again after tonight.

  As more vehicles peeled out of the traffic line and turned back, the rest of the traffic picked up some momentum. Soon, they were traveling fifteen miles per hour.

  Katie’s eyes turned toward her gas gauge. She was literally driving on fumes at this point.

  She gulped. What if she ran out of gas right as she was driving into the wall of fire?

  ***

  Alana took a sip of her rapidly cooling coffee. An aide was attempting to get the Mexican president on the line so Basilia could talk with him again. Within minutes, she should have a good idea whether or not the United States was going to wage war on Mexico so that Californians could flee across the southern border.

  That thought, even this morning, would have been so insanely preposterous that someone who came up with the idea would probably be committed for psychiatric treatment.

  And now, just hours later, it was a realistic possibility.

  She fervently hoped it wasn’t a probability. Time – minutes, now – would tell.

  The call went through. The aide spoke in a hushed voice to President Gonzalez’s aide. Moments later, his heavily accented English filled the PEOC.

  “Madame President,” he said. “I was sorry to learn of the airplane crashes. My deepest condolences.”

  Alana’s stomach gurgled. Her shoulders tensed.

  “Thank you, Mr. President.” Basilia sighed. “It has been a very bad day for us. I am hoping you will help make it better.”

  “I would like to do that,” he answered.

  A collective sigh of relief eased the tension in the room.

  “But I have not heard whether your radiological and nuclear detection teams are in place.”

  Basilia turned to the director of Homeland Security, who shook his head in the negative.

  “They are on their way,” Basilia said.

  “Excellent. Let me know when they are on site and set up,” the Mexican president replied.

  “We will do that, I assure you. Meanwhile, are those ports of entry open?”

  “The army has just regained control of the situation,” he said. “As we discussed, we will begin processing your residents as soon as you are able to screen for the bombs.”

  “NO!” She slammed her fist on the table. “That is NOT acceptable, Manuel! Our people need to exit now. Not in twenty minutes. Certainly not in an hour!”

  “But a terrorist’s nuclear detonation on our soil is not acceptable to Mexico,” he argued. “I urge you to get those bomb teams in place!”

  Basilia curled both hands into fists and spoke very slowly. “And I urge you, President Gonzales, to let our people through!”

  “Against my team’s advice, I am willing to do that, as soon as you begin screening for nuclear devices on your side.”

  Alana pushed back her chair. The countries had reached an impasse. Their presidents were effectively staring each other down.

  Who would blink first?

  Chapter 26

  Nadir gripped the back of the chair. Slowly, his eyes met his father’s.

  “What do you mean?”

  The governor rose and pounded his fist on his desk. His eyes blazed. “TELL ME!”

  Nadir swallowed. Finally, his father had figured it out. Somehow.

  “I will,” he rasped. “I will tell you as soon as you radio for help. I’ll tell you while we wait for them to come rescue us.”

  “No.” His father sat back down. “I’ll not call for assistance until you admit what you’ve done.”

  Their eyes locked in a collision course of wills.

  Finally, Nadir relented. He tried to inhale a deep breath, but his lungs would only fill halfway. He gulped like a fish pulled from a stream.

  “I orchestrated the jihad,” he wheezed. “I will tell you details. But please, call for help. Otherwise it will be too late!”

  Not releasing his gaze, the governor reached for the radio and keyed the microphone.

  “This is Governor Omar Abdullah. Can anyone hear me?”

  Moments passed like ages as they waited for a response.

  None came.

  Nadir’s pulse pounded in his ears.

  “This is the governor. Please respond!”

  Nadir pulled out the chair and dropped into it. His chest tightened. He sucked air that seemed to have no oxygen.

  “This is Governor Omar! Is anyone there?” His father glared at the radio, turning it over in his hands. “Perhaps it’s not turned on.”

  “Give it to me!” Nadir reached across the desk and grabbed it.

  Finding the power button, he pushed it and the screen illuminated. With a low battery warning.

  “The battery is low! Hurry!” He handed it back to his father.

  “This is Governor Omar Abdullah! Is anyone there?”

  The radio beeped and static came through the speaker.

  “This is Sacramento Police. You need to stay off our frequency,” a woman said.

  “I need assistance!” the governor growled. “Send someone right away!”

  “Sir, I don’t know who you really are, but the governor flew out this evening. Please use a different frequency!”

  The governor swore in Arabic. “My helicopter crashed, you idiot! Put your supervisor on the radio immediately!”

  She didn’t respond. Perhaps she’d given up, and hoped he’d just go away.

  “Hello? Hello!”
He swore again, this time in English. Then his face flushed as he glared at his son.

  “You did all this! How could you?”

  Before Nadir could respond, the radio crackled. “This is Captain Miller. Are you there, Governor?”

  “Yes! I am at the mansion. We need immediate evacuation assistance!”

  “I’ll try to dispatch someone.”

  “The streets are impassible!”

  “We are aware of that, sir.”

  “Send a helicopter! Immediately!”

  “We’ll work on getting you out right away.”

  The radio beeped again. The governor looked at it, then keyed the mic again. “My battery is low. I have to turn off my radio.”

  “I understand. Please wait ten minutes, then turn it back on so we can communicate again.”

  “We need to be gone in ten minutes! The fire is coming!”

  “Then turn it on in five minutes, sir.”

  “Fine!” The governor turned off the radio.

  Nadir reached for it. “I’ll put it on a charger.”

  The lights flickered, then the room went dark. Nadir glanced over his shoulder. Not just the room. The entire mansion descended into darkness.

  The only remaining light was the eerie orange glow of the approaching fires, and some headlights out on the street.

  ***

  Katie picked up the walkie talkie.

  “Zach?”

  The radio squawked as he responded. “Yeah.”

  “You still think we can do this?” She cast a quick glance at her passenger, who gripped the assist handle like it was a life line.

  “I hope so.” The uncertainty in his voice sabotaged Katie’s confidence.

  “Maybe we should turn around.” As she spoke, a white Suburban u-turned across the median and headed back they way they’d come. “Like those guys.”

  “We’re so close.” He spoke quietly. No doubt because Timothy was sleeping. “We gotta have faith.”

  The wall of flames seemed to grow higher with each passing second. Katie swallowed hard.

  “I’m almost out of gas.”

  “I know.” Fear edged his words. “We’ll pray our way through. You still believe in miracles?”