Arisen, Book Five - EXODUS

by Michael Stephen Fuchs

  Amarie.

  Wesley’s jaw opened, and his heart jumped.

  It couldn’t be. She was… she had been in France. Everyone in France was dead.

  Some kind of escape from France, through the tunnel…

  But the child. Who was the child? Amarie had none when Wesley knew her.

  France was a deadzone… but Amarie was still alive…

  “…seen the Captain anywhere?” came Melvin’s voice, but to Wesley it was a distant warble, and none of the words registered. “I’ve asked around, but no one seems to have seen him since we all fought our way to the front of the ship…”

  Wesley just stood silently in place, his face still slack with wonder.

  * * *

  The peace and relative silence of the cruising warship was broken when loudspeakers outside the island, and at various places around the flight deck, all crackled to life at once.

  The announcement that came over them was clear and audible – including to Handon, still up in his perch at the back of the island; as well as to Ali, who sat now amid the wreckage out at the very front of the flight deck, watching the future come in on them as they steamed east. They both startled and cocked their heads to listen.

  “Attention. Emergency priority aircraft inbound. Repeat, aircraft inbound, clear the stern and angle deck for recovery ops. All shift-one deck personnel report to stations, including crash and salvage crews and firefighters. Repeat, clear the deck for aircraft recovery. This is an UNARRESTED landing, repeat, unarrested. We are raising barricade number one.”

  Ali rose from her spot, looked off toward the stern, and started walking slowly in that direction. Handon was also on his feet now, circling around to the side of the island that looked down on the angle deck. This landing strip extended from the stern to the waist at a thirty-degree angle, and was where manned aircraft came in to land, approaching the ship from the rear and snagging the arresting wire that would bring them to a jerky stop.

  However, Handon could already see that two twelve-foot steel arms were being raised at the end of the angle deck’s runway – with a big, heavy-gauge net of nylon straps strung between them. This was the “barricade” – which was used to trap aircraft with malfunctioning tailhooks or damaged landing gear. Though, in theory, it could also be used to recover an aircraft that didn’t have a tailhook at all…

  And, with this, Handon heard a buzzing sound and looked up to see a little speck coming in from behind them, directly out of the west. Within a few seconds, he was able to make it out as a small civilian aircraft – a Beechcraft Bonanza, one of the most popular civilian small planes, which had been in continuous production since 1947. Handon figured there must be thousands of them still sitting on abandoned civilian airfields across the U.S.

  But as to what the hell this one was doing, why it was here, or who was in it, all of that was a total mystery to him. He started descending the outside ladder to the flight deck, as he saw the little prop plane lining up its approach. In this moment, Handon only knew one thing: that someone higher up had for some reason authorized the plane to land.

  By the time he reached the deck, colorfully jumpsuited flight deck personnel had emerged and were running in all directions. On the other side of this crowd, he could just make out Ali, walking in from the prow. He jogged toward her, and closer to the barricade at the angle deck’s end. It looked like they would meet in the middle, both staying clear of the landing strip itself, as well as the personnel deploying and waiting for the controlled crash-landing they all sensed was coming.

  Everyone was looking up in anticipation now, watching the sky to the west.

  The advantage to modern carriers of having the rear deck angled at thirty degrees to the centerline of the ship was that if landings went wrong, they were less likely to result in the plane crashing into something or someone further up the flight deck. The downside was that, when the carrier was moving forward, as it almost always did for air recovery ops, it required the landing pilot to “crab-walk” the plane to the left periodically as it approached.

  The little prop plane was doing just that, the buzz of its engine growing slowly in volume. But it pretty clearly wasn’t piloted by someone who had done a lot of carrier landings. He or she was struggling to stay lined up with the runway.

  Half looking to the sky, and half trying not to run into anyone, Handon suddenly found himself standing beside Ali. They locked eyes briefly, and Handon reached for her hand and gripped it tightly. As they both watched and waited, an unspoken question hung in the air between them: Who the hell is this?

  And then it was upon them. The plane passed the first hurdle by not crashing into the stern, which was one advantage of not having to catch a restraining wire – namely that it could touch down farther up the angle deck. This it did, but awkwardly as hell, its front-right wheel hitting first. The plane bounced violently, seemingly at the mercy of the winds, the unyielding deck, and its own barely controlled momentum.

  For a terrifying second it looked like it was going to flip over on its side. But the flaps dug deep and the left side of the plane slammed down into the runway.

  Then, for another split-second, it looked like it might miss the barricade entirely, rolling off the edge of the deck and crashing into the sea below. Handon found himself digging his nails into Ali’s hand, and she realized she was biting her lip. A low murmur of alarm floated up among the flight deck crew.

  But it was all over in seconds. The plane stayed on the deck and slammed into the barricade at the end, its single propeller trying to chew through the nylon as it ground down, all its momentum evaporating in a flash and a heavy heave.

  Everyone on deck collectively exhaled.

  And then the sound of ripping nylon grew in volume – and the barricade itself started to give way, tearing into two segments, each anchored at only one end. Fearless aircraft handling crew raced forward, got chains into the plane’s landing gear, and tightened up the slack. Finally, inches from the end of the deck, the plane was secure. Red-suited firefighting and damage-control crews raced forward, checking for sparks or flame, and making ready to deal with any hazards.

  Finally, agonizingly, the double doors on the rear side swung open.

  A woman backed out of the cabin, stepped down to the deck – and began helping two others out. Both were young children.

  In a second, the pair of them stood out on the deck, staring around wide-eyed at the great crowd that surrounded them. It was a boy and girl, the former perhaps seven years old, the girl maybe three or four. Both were angelic, with perfect light-blond hair. They looked innocent and without sin, which was particularly weird in a place of such recent violence and desperate struggle.

  Having gotten the children out safely, the woman turned around to face the crowd.

  Handon’s mouth opened, and stayed that way, though nothing came out.

  It was Sarah Cameron.

  She hadn’t spotted Handon yet. And he couldn’t seem to send any signals to his legs to start them moving, or to his vocal cords to speak. Ali reached up and clutched his arm, even as he held her hand.

  And now the smaller, front-side door opened, which allowed access to the cockpit.

  The pilot climbed out, ducking his head. He wore grimy coveralls of some sort, and also had blond hair. As he stepped out and straightened up, the coveralls resolved as a combat assault suit. And the blond hair, though dirty, was suddenly completely familiar. He stepped toward the two children and put his arms around them; both looked up at him, reassured.

  It was obvious they were his.

  And the man, for his part, spotted Handon and Ali in the crowd instantly. He smiled broadly and easily at them – the smile also instantly, and intimately, familiar.

  Holding his gaze, Ali’s breath caught in her throat.

  Homer.

  Love this book? Share the love, support independent authors, and make us your best friends forever, by posting a quick review on Amazon. Thanks! – Glynn & Mich
ael

  Want to be alerted when the next ARISEN book is released? Just drop an e-mail to arisen@glynnjames.co.uk and we’ll keep you updated. (And we’ll never share your address or use it for anything else.)

  You can also interact with other ARISEN readers, plus the writers themselves, by liking the ARISEN Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZulaAlpha

  Come back and live through the beginning of the end of the world in

  ARISEN : GENESIS, the riveting and bestselling ARISEN prequel.

  Thanks and Acknowledgements

  Michael

  This author wishes to thank Anna Kathleen Brooksbank, the indispensable Mr. Pitliv (AKA Mark George Pitely – the best and deepest seer into storycraft I’ve ever known, or am likely to meet), the newly indispensable Amanda Jo Moore (zombie books! ha!), Sara Natalie Fuchs (y Raul y Raul Leo, and their huge, lovely, editing-friendly home), Richard S. Fuchs, Virginia Ann Sayers-King, Valerie Sayers, Alexander Montgomery Heublein, Matthew David Grabowy, e, and Michael and Jayne Barnard, all for their irreplaceable support. Also, as always, my awesome writing partner Glynn, for conceiving of this ride – and for riding it with me, through hell and back (and despite the inevitable tensions in any creative partnership), all the way to the Hollywood ending!

  The usual extra special thanks to Slayer 155, for his support, promotion, free mil-tech consulting – and especially for his lifetime of service. Off you go, into the wild blue civilian/mil-contractor world. Godspeed.

  This book was largely produced on hardware and software generously donated by the Alexander M. Heublein Foundation & Computer Refurbishing Service for Cheap Bastards.

  Thanks to the “ARFF Ports – All About Airport Firefighting” blog for their awesome inside line on Aircraft Carrier’s Flight Deck Fire Protection systems.

  The bit in the book where Ali considers the traits shared by survivors and the unconquerable nature of man is borrowed from Dr. Peter Suedfeld, as related in John Durant’s The Paleo Manifesto.

  The lines “Keep moving and thinking. Countless millions have spent their last moments on Earth paralyzed by confusion. Don’t be counted among them.” are from Mark Miller in SOFREP.

  Thanks to Rammstein for the incomparable “Mein Teil”, which I listened to over, and over, and over while writing the climax of the battle on the flight deck – at the maximum volume (through EARBUDS) that I thought wouldn’t get me kicked out of the Members Room of the RGS.

  Thanks to the Royal Geographical Society, London.

  Thanks to the procrastination-slaying makers of Anti-Social.

  Thanks to the writers of Breaking Bad, for providing me with not only a masterclass in long-form serial drama, but also the best reason I’ve had in ages to get my day’s writing done efficiently – so I could get home and resume binge-watching the program on Netflix.

  Thanks to the hilariously brilliant tvtropes.com and its community, where anybody who does anything with fiction or storytelling ought to spend some time. (Here are a few favorites/starting points/ARISEN tropes: The World’s Expert on Getting Killed, More Dakka, This Is Gonna Suck, Failure Is the Only Option, MacGuffin Delivery Service, Made of Explodium, Couldn’t Find a Pen, Not Using the Z Word, Our Zombies Are Different, Your Head A Splode – oh, and not to forget: Beard of Sorrow. Also, here’s what will probably happen to you once you start looking at these.)

  Very many thanks as always to our awesome, awesome readers – for your reviews, posts, personal messages, word-of-mouth, and generally amazing feedback and kick-ass support. There’s no ARISEN without you guys.

  Extra super-special thanks to all deployed, serving, and retired military personnel amongst our readers. Getting to meet and interact with you guys and gals has absolutely turned into the single best part of this job. And hearing from you that I’ve got some of the military tech, tactics, and lingo correct is the best indicator that I’m doing it right. Thank you all for your service – past, present, and future. Stay safe.

  ARISEN fans: two of your fellow readers lost their son, Lance Corporal Brendan Macdonald Fyfe, to PTSD after he served three tours as a Marine in Iraq. Their response to this family tragedy was to help raise more than $1.6 million to build a 32-unit housing complex specifically for returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, some of them homeless and others suffering from PTSD, so that they might have a better shot at the transition to civilian life than their son did. More information about this wonderful project, and a link to donate to the Brendan MacDonald Fyfe Fund, is available at http://www.ethep.org/?page=veterans_giving.

  Glynn

  Thanks to all of the Jameses – Julia, for your patience and encouragement, and my pipsqueaks, for just being you (mini me).

  To my parents and my brother for not being too surprised that I write crazy fiction, and for telling me it’s cool.

  To Bill, Sara, Billy, Jim & Jean for taking me seriously and never doubting that I could actually do this, and for demanding signed copies when I thought that whole idea was daft.

  To Jacqui, for patience and editing expertise beyond the call.

  To Michael, for going along with this daft and crazy idea, and turning it into something much more awesome than I originally conceived. From this point on we’re into new territory that is beyond the original plan.

  A world fallen – under a plague of 7 billion walking dead

  A tiny island nation – the last refuge of the living

  One team – of history’s most elite special operators

  The dead, these heroes, humanity’s last hope, all have...

  Fans of the bestselling ARISEN series are calling it “a non stop thrill ride”, “unputdownable”, “the most original and well-written zombie novels I have ever read”, “riveting as hell – I cannot recommend this series enough”, “the action starts hot and heavy and does NOT let up”, “astonishingly well-researched and highly plausible”, “non-stop speed rush! All action, all the time – got my heart racing”, “A Must Read, this book was a hell of a ride”, and “may be the best in its genre.”

  Alpha team will return in

  ARISEN, BOOK SIX – THE HORIZON

  There is a place where nightmares are real. It is a dark and terrifying place, hidden from the world we know by borders that only the most unfortunate of souls will ever cross.

  James Halldon woke up in the dark, alone, without any food or water, without a clue where he was, and with no memory of where he came from.

  It only got stranger…

  Readers are calling the bestselling DIARY OF THE DISPLACED series “fast-paced, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining”, “utterly compelling from beginning to end”, “a fantastic book – gripping from the very first couple of lines”, “ghosts, zombies, London buses and even an evil nemesis. What’s not to love?!”, “truly magnificent”, “the best book I’ve read in a long time”, “one of the finest-written stories you will ever read”, “a brilliant series – right up there with Neil Gaiman and Clive Barker”, and “simply perfect… absolutely enjoyable from start to finish.”

  They are the most capable, committed, and indispensable counter-terrorist operators in the world.

  They have no rivals for skill, speed, ferocity, intelligence, flexibility, and sheer resolve.

  Somewhere in the world, things are going horrifyingly wrong…

  Readers call the D-BOYS series “a high-octane adrenaline-fueled action thrill-ride”, “one of the best action thrillers of 2011 (or any year for that matter)”, “a riveting, fast paced classic!!”, “pure action”, “pretty much the definition of a page-turner”, “The Best Techno Military Thriller I have read!”, “Awesome!”, “Gripping”, “Edge of your seat action”, “Kick butt in the most serious of ways and a thrill to read”, “What a wild ride!!! I simply could not put this book down”, “Pretty bad ass”, “has a real humanity and philosophical side as well”, “a truly fast action, high octane book”, “spectacular in so many ways”, “Up there with Clancy and W.E.B. Griffin�
��, “one of the best Spec Ops reads I have run into”, and “hi-tech and action in one well-rounded explosive thriller.”