by James Harden
He took aim and fired.
At first he was shooting at the infected that had made it past the tankers. Initially I thought he was doing this for fun but then I realized he was just making sure not one of those bastards got through.
He laid down a devastating line of fire. He cut down maybe twenty or thirty infected. Bodies and limbs were exploding all over the tarmac.
He then lifted his aim a little higher.
The bullets sprayed into the fuel tanker in the middle. And in an instant it ignited. I mean one second it was there and the next it seemed to lift off the ground and vanish. There was a blinding flash of light and a huge red and orange fireball that seemed to ride up into the sky on a never ending column of black smoke.
A second later the heat wave hit us and I had to duck my head back inside because it was just too hot to look at.
Kenji had to slide down from the machine gun as well and take refuge inside the cabin of the Humvee.
I was about to ask him if he was all right when we heard another massive explosion and then another. The Humvee began to shake and rock back and forth from the multiple blasts. Jack then seemed to lose control of the vehicle and we actually spun right around and did a full 360 degree turn. In the spilt second we were facing back towards the explosions we could see the full extent of our handiwork.
It was horrific and yet beautiful at the same time. I don’t think I’m a pyromaniac, OK maybe I am, because at that moment I could’ve stared at that blazing inferno for hours and hours.
It was a giant wall of flame that reached up to the heavens. The smoked seemed to billow out and cover the entire width of the runway. Nothing was getting through. Everything in the blast radius and every single one of those poor infected souls would’ve been vaporized instantly in the initial explosions or incinerated by the flames.
Jack regained the control of the Humvee. He was cheering as we sped back to the waiting chopper.
Chapter 43
The wall of fire was working to perfection, keeping the chasing horde at bay. We had bought ourselves enough time to make our escape.
Unfortunately the explosions had attracted the attention of the military bombers. The pilots must’ve have seen it from wherever they were circling. And I guess they realized pretty quickly that this particular explosion wasn’t caused by one of their missiles.
They flew in low, directly over us. They were so low it felt like we could reach out and touch them. We could clearly see the vast array of deadly weaponry they carried on the underside of each wing.
Yep, they had definitely seen us. There was no doubt about it.
The Warthogs banked sharply to the left and began to slowly circle back around.
Thankfully Daniel had finished prepping the helicopter. It was ready for takeoff.
We all jumped on board and Daniel lifted off immediately.
Jack and Maria strapped into the back seats. I’ve never seen Jack look so worried. I guess it was because he was willingly putting Maria’s life in the hands of someone else. And I have to admit, I was nervous as well. It wouldn’t take long for the Warthogs to line us up in their sights and blow us away. We were so vulnerable at that point.
The Blackhawk was armed with two mini-guns, located on each side of the cabin area. They were mounted to the floor and needed to be fired by someone in the cabin. Luckily, Kenji was more than happy to perform this role. He grabbed on to the handles of the machine gun and pointed the multiple rotating barrels back towards the ocean, back to where the Warthogs would attack from.
He was locked and loaded.
Once again, I found myself in the co-pilots seat next to Daniel. Of course, I had no business being there but I didn't know where else to sit. And maybe Daniel needed my assistance.
"Anything I can do?" I asked.
"Just keep any eye out for those Warthogs, OK? You can be my spotter."
"Do you really think we can out fly them?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "We won’t be able to outrun them but we might be able to out maneuver them. The dust storm will help. And then maybe if we stay low, use the tree line and the houses as cover we might be able to make it."
"But won’t they have like, heat seeking missiles or laser guided bombs or something?"
Daniel shook his head. "Hopefully they would’ve used them all up by now. But if they do launch a heat seeker, the Blackhawk comes equipped with flares we can use a defensive mechanism."
"Flares?"
"Yeah. We can fire some flares from the rear. Basically this causes the missile to lock on to the heat signature of the flare, instead of us."
"Oh, so it’s like a diversion."
"Yeah, exactly. But the Warthogs are also armed with 30mm cannons. It’s a machine gun, kinda like the one Kenji is using back there except much, much bigger. And much more accurate. If one of them unleashes with that bad boy it’ll tear us apart in heart beat."
This whole thing sounded like an unfair fight. It was starting to sound more and more like we were a scrawny teenage kid who had taken a few karate lessons at the Y, going up against the heavy weight champion of the world.
"Get some distance between us and the rest of those remaining fuel tankers!" Kenji shouted from the back.
Daniel gave him a thumbs up.
I looked back over my shoulder and saw Jack holding on to Maria who was holding on for dear life. She let out a scream as Daniel maneuvered the chopper up and away almost horizontally.
Kenji fired the machine gun at the three remaining fuel tankers that were parked right next to the base of operations. In an instant the fuel tanks ruptured and ignited in a huge fireball.
The explosion was much bigger than the first, probably because Kenji was able to shoot them all at the same time with the mini-gun. The heat was incredible. Even from the chopper, even as we were flying away, we could still feel the burn.
The explosions didn’t blow anything up, certainly not the Warthogs but as black smoke billowed high into the sky, I realized then why Kenji had done it.
It was a smoke screen. It was our cover.
As the warthogs circled and came back around to focus all their fire power on us, the smoke screen would buy us some time. Not much, maybe a few seconds. But again it was better than nothing.
Kenji kept the machine gun pointed towards the black smoke. He was waiting, watching for the bombers to come flying through.
"Hold on, everyone!" Daniel shouted. "I’m gonna take her down."
The nose of the chopper dipped and we picked up speed. My stomach seemed to do a back flip. Again, I had this feeling like I was on a roller coaster, an extremely dangerous roller coaster where I might be killed at any second.
"We’re gonna head for the Blue Mountains!" Daniel said.
"Where are the blue mountains?" I asked.
"West of the city. It’s a pretty rugged area. Lots of cliffs. Lots of canyons."
Oh great. Daniel was going to take us on a high speed, mid-air chase through the mountains.
"Are you crazy?"
"It’s our only chance. We’re sitting ducks out in the open like this. But if we can fly low through the mountain range, between the canyons, we might just make it."
"Maybe we should land?" I suggested. "Maybe we could hide?"
"Land? Land where? You really want me to put us down in the middle of zombie country?"
I guess he had a point. But flying through a mountain range sounded like a death wish. Unfortunately it was just as dangerous out in the open air. The jets could chase us down easily. They could destroy us with any one of their weapons.
And we couldn’t land. Below us were the western suburbs of Sydney. This area would undoubtedly be crawling with millions of infected.
Suddenly, Kenji unleashed with the machine gun. The damn thing sounded like a chainsaw. The amount of bullets, the rate of fire was just mind boggling.
I looked back at the wall of smoke just in time to see the two Warthogs fly through the black cloud. Th
ey whipped up mini-tornadoes around their wings and their jet turbines as they broke through.
Kenji nailed one with a stream of bullets ripping into its fuselage. The jet dropped out of the sky and began spiraling towards the earth.
As soon as it went up in flames the other one took evasive action, banking sharply and pulling up into a steep climb.
Daniel lowered the nose of the chopper again and we dived again picking up even more speed.
The remaining Warthog was circling back around but again Kenji had bought us more time. They hadn’t expected to be shot at with such a powerful weapon by such an expert marksmen.
We were coming up to the mountains but unfortunately we still had quite a long way to go.
"How much further?" I asked Daniel.
"About sixty miles," he answered. "But I think we’re gonna make it."
And just as soon as he said that a beeping alarm started to ring throughout the cabin.
"What the hell is that?" I asked.
"We're being targeted. They're trying to get a lock on us."
"I thought you said they wouldn't have any heat seeking missiles left!?"
"I didn't think they would!"
The alarm was beeping intermittently but then suddenly it turned into a constant, flat ring.
"They’ve got a lock!"
I looked back over my shoulder and saw a missile launch from the edge of jet’s left wing.
"Sidewinder!" Kenji shouted.
It came for us faster than the speed of sound. It had one, single purpose.
Daniel banked sharply to the right. At the same time a series of blindingly bright flashes shot out from the rear of the chopper.
The flares.
The sidewinder deviated from its course at the last second and exploded in mid-air.
But the Warthog kept coming.
The alarm started up again.
"It’s got more?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. And we’re out of flares."
"We’re what!?"
Once again, the alarm turned into a constant ring, indicating that the Warthog had a lock on us.
Another sidewinder was on its way.
"Hold on to something!" Daniel shouted.
He dropped the nose of the chopper again and we plummeted towards the earth. We flew below the power lines and telephone lines. We banked sharply around a block of apartment buildings, winding and twisting our way through the cluster of high density housing complexes. The missile tried to follow us but it couldn’t keep up. It slammed into a solid brick apartment, exploding upon impact. Concrete and bricks and glass showered the street.
"How many more missiles does it have?" I asked.
"It wouldn't have many left," Daniel answered. "Well, I hope it doesn't have many left. We're out of flares and it's open skies until we get to the mountains."
Off in the distance we could see the Warthog circle around, preparing for another run at us.
"But even if it’s out of missiles we’ll still need to take cover from its cannon," Daniel said.
"Where? How?"
"I don't know. But it needs to be a solid structure."
"Down there!" Kenji shouted from the back.
There was an old building. It was a church. It was made of solid stone and brick. It was built to last.
But unfortunately it was across the road from a fuel station.
"No way!" Daniel said. "Not near the fuel station! Well be cooked alive!"
"Get me a clear shot," Kenji said. "We can create another smoke screen."
Kenji's trademark grace under fire. Literally. I mean, we were taking heavy fire from heat seeking missile for crying out loud. And yet Kenji was able to remain level headed and come through for us when we need it the most.
Daniel swung us around so Kenji was facing the fuel station. Kenji pulled the trigger, spraying hundreds and hundreds of bullets.
Sparks flew as the shells pinged off the concrete and the asphalt. And then all of a sudden the fuel ignited, causing yet another gigantic eruption. It wasn’t as big as the ones at the airport but it was big enough. And again we could feel the heat on our faces. The shock wave buffeted the chopper and Daniel fought and struggled with the joystick to keep us level.
Daniel took us down even lower, using the smoke to hide. At that moment I felt like we were mice being hunted by a hawk.
I guess the one thing we had going for us at that point was the jet’s speed was actually a problem for its pilot. It was too fast. We were able to keep low and stay hidden in and amongst the streets and the houses. Each run the Warthog made only lasted a few seconds before it over overran us completely. It would then fly by and have to circle back around.
This gave us ample time to move and hide.
It was a deadly game of cat and mouse. Or hawk and mouse.
Either way, we were the mice.
A few minutes later we left the minimal safety of the western suburbs of Sydney. Now we were basically flying over bushland and farmland. Daniel spotted a river. He took us over to it and was able to use the trees that lined the river as cover.
We followed the river all the way to the foot of the mountains. Daniel pulled up on the joystick and we climbed sharply, high up into the mountain range.
As we climbed higher and higher Kenji spotted the Warthog. It was tracking us from a distance, waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Daniel took us up and along the edge of a massive plateau. To our left was a huge drop off. It was a sheer, rock cliff face. Off to our right was the Warthog, coming closer and closer. Daniel banked to the left, taking us down below the plateau using the cliff to hide us and shield us from the Warthog.
A few seconds later it flew over. Right out over our heads. Kenji opened fire but he missed completely. The jet was going too fast.
Daniel took us in to the canyons.
I’m not sure how fast we were going. But it was fast. And the narrower the canyon became, the faster it felt like we were going. Pretty soon Daniel was zig zagging us through the mountain range with sheer cliffs on either side. And a relentless hunter behind us.
Suddenly we heard the beeping noise again.
"Jesus! It’s got another missile!" Daniel shouted over the alarm.
"They must have loaded these guys up to capacity," Kenji said calmly.
Kenji was way too calm for someone who was being shot at with heat seeking missiles.
Just like before, the beeping turned into the constant, flat ring, like someone flat lining in hospital I thought.
The sound of death. The sound of our deaths.
Daniel banked sharply around a rock face, diving at the same time, gaining speed and losing altitude.
"Hold on to something!" Daniel shouted.
He yanked backwards on the joystick and yanked hard to the left. The helicopter, the whole thing, rolled over and over. It was like a double barrel roll, I guess. I didn’t even know helicopters were capable of doing that.
Behind us the missile smashed into the cliff face. A fiery explosion of solid rock erupted, filling the canyon.
The Warthog kept coming. It unleashed with its giant cannon. The bullets smashed into the sides of the cliff. All around us rock exploded, showering the chopper. The noise of shrapnel and rock fragments hitting the cabin and the rotor blades was deafening.
At that point I felt like the Warthog had finally cornered us. He had us right where he wanted. We had put up a good fight. We had made him work for his kill. But we had run out of room and out of luck.
And Daniel had run out of tricks.
It was amazing that he had gotten us this far. It was amazing that we had so nearly survived. We were so close. But now we were outmatched and out gunned.
A huge section of the cliff face exploded right in front of us and began falling away into the canyon. Daniel managed to dive underneath and we somehow avoided being crushed to death.
He took us down further, down to tree top level. We could hear the branches of
the taller trees scrapping along the underside of the chopper.
But then suddenly I noticed the firing had stopped. Bullets had stopped smashing into the cliff face.
The Warthog then flew over us. It lifted its nose and climbed up and out of the canyon. It circled high and headed back towards Sydney, back towards the coast.
And then suddenly and unexpectedly we were on our own. We were flying through a canyon, in the middle of a mountain range, surrounded by hundred foot walls of solid rock.
"Is it retreating?" I asked.
Daniel was looking back over his shoulder, trying to spot the jet but he couldn’t see it. "I… I think so. Kenji can you see it?"
"Nope. I think it’s gone. It’s bugged out!"
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Why would it retreat?" I asked. "Was it low on fuel? On ammo? Was it ordered to retreat?"
"Not sure," Daniel answered. "Maybe all of the above."
I guess it didn’t really matter. It was gone. That was all that mattered. And we were still in the air, we were still alive.
Daniel pulled up on the joystick and we flew out of the canyon. A few minutes later we were over the mountain range.
We were finally out of the city and once again we had cheated death. We probably should’ve celebrated this small victory but it was pretty somber mood on the chopper.
I think we all knew our problems were only just beginning.
Chapter 44
We flew west for another thirty minutes or so. No one said much. I think the adrenalin was starting to wear off and exhaustion was taking over.
The sun was almost completely below the horizon now. And it was already pretty dark thanks to the dust storm. The dust seemed to have thinned out a bit up in the mountain range. But back out on the western plains, heading directly for the Australian outback, it was thicker than ever.
Daniel said that we’d have to land before sunset because it would be too difficult to land in the dark. And it would be impossible to know if where we landed was safe. We needed to find a suitable location while we could still see.
"Where should we go?" he asked. "Any ideas?"
"I don’t know" Kenji said. "I don’t really know this area at all. My only advice would be to avoid any towns."
