by Chris Pike
“Why did you do that?” Kate whispered.
“If anyone takes a quick look this way, they won’t notice the fence has been cut,” Nico explained. “We’re going to run as fast as we can to the hanger where the helicopter is. Stay low and keep Reload quiet. On three, okay?”
“Okay,” Kate said.
“One, two, three.”
Kate and Nico sprang up and bolted to the hanger. Reload followed behind. Hugging the side, they inched their way into the hanger. It was dark and quiet in the cavernous space.
Nico’s eyes swept over the space, looking for any sign another person might have taken up residence or an owner had come to check on their plane or helicopter.
So far so good. The place was void of human activity.
“Hand me two bobby pins,” Nico instructed.
Kate reached into her hair, pulled out two bobby pins, and handed them to Nico. Reload stood panting, looking around while taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.
“Stay close to me,” Nico said. Putting the bobby pins in his mouth, he went to the chopper and slung his backpack to the ground. He reached in his pocket and flipped open a clip-it knife. Using both the bobby pins and knife, he worked his magic and picked the lock on the chopper. The door clicked open. “I told you it was much easier than breaking into a car.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Kate said. “I’ve never stolen a car before. Have you?”
Nico winked. “Only when I needed to.”
“You’re a bad boy.”
“Yeah, but you like bad boys.”
Kate grinned.
Nico heaved his backpack on his back and mentioned for Kate to do the same.
“Should I put Reload in there?” Kate asked, motioning to the interior of the helicopter.
“Wait until we’re in the open. In case anything happens to us, I don’t want Reload locked inside.”
“Good thinking,” Kate said.
“We need to work quickly. While I’m pulling it, I need you to keep an eye out for anything unusual. If you hear or see anything out of the ordinary, tell me.”
“I will.”
Nico flexed his arms, planted his feet near the tow bar assembly, cursing the fact the tractor normally used to pull the chopper out onto the tarmac wasn’t working. He took a big breath and heaved to pull the three thousand pound chopper.
Kate kept her eyes open, scanning the airport for intruders.
Nico straightened his back and stretched.
“You can do it,” Kate said. “Put your back into it.”
Nico laughed. “You sound like my dad.”
“That’s what mine always used to say.”
Nico took several breaths and called upon all his strength. With a mighty heave the chopper moved.
“Keep going,” Kate said. “You can do it.”
Nico kept pulling and Kate kept up the rah-rah, that-a-boy, you-can-do-it cheerleading.
The roller assembly worked and gradually, Nico pulled the chopper away from the hanger and to where they could take off.
“Hop in,” Nico said, “and put Reload in the back.”
Sitting in the cockpit, Nico familiarized himself with the controls. It had been a while since he had flown a Bell Jet Ranger, but he was confident he could fly this baby. He turned on the master switch, then the fuel pump, and depressed the starter button. The electronics came to life. He flipped the fuel pump switch and the rotor blades groaned, thumping slowly at first then faster until the noise was deafening.
Nico yelled, “You ready?”
“As ready as I’m gonna be!” Kate yelled back.
“Let’s find out what this baby can do!”
Taking the controls, Nico eased the chopper off the ground. Kate held on tight to the seat while her stomach flip-flopped. She had failed to tell Nico she got seasick, airsick, and didn’t like to fly or be on a boat where she couldn’t see land. She swallowed and prayed she wouldn’t heave. Reload sat wild-eyed and had squished himself against his seat.
Gaining altitude, Nico turned the chopper to the east, throttled the engine, and guided the chopper away from the hangers.
Kate bent over and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
The chopper climbed higher until Nico decided they had reached enough altitude to safely clear the trees. He looked down at the ground where a man ran after him shaking his fist. Nico saluted the guy as if to say, She’s a beauty. Thanks.
Five minutes later they were far away from the airport, flying over the outskirts of the city void of activity. The freeways were a congested mess of cars and trucks. An eighteen wheeler had been gutted of its cargo. A few cars had been burned and people ran out into the street to gawk at the chopper. Some waved, others stood awestruck like they had never seen a helicopter before.
Kate leaned into Nico. “How are we going to get there?” she yelled.
“We’re going to follow I-37 all the way to Corpus then take the highway to Padre Island. It’s not much to look at, but it’s the quickest way to get there.”
“How long will it take?”
“About an hour and a half. We’ll get there in time for the sun to set,” Nico said.
Kate rubbed her hands together in excitement. “I can’t wait.”
* * *
Less than two hours later they had passed Corpus Christi and when the highway changed, Nico guided the chopper to the east, toward the gulf.
They flew over the Laguna Madre, a long and shallow lagoon and one of the most hypersaline lagoons in the world. Looking at it from the shoreline, there wasn’t one physical attribute which could distinguish it from another body of salty water.
Its wind-tidal flats and barrier island beaches remained the largest suitable habitat in North America for migrating and wintering shorebirds. Threatened and endangered species of birds including the peregrine falcon and brown pelican relied on the Laguna Madre for its protective status, accounting for eighty percent of Texas sea grass beds.
Kate looked down from the helicopter to what appeared to be a wasteland of shallow salty water and scant beaches.
“Is that the beach?” she asked.
“No,” Nico said. “That’s the Laguna Madre. We still have a little farther to go. Up ahead is the John F. Kennedy causeway. It’s the landmark which means we’re close to the beach. On the other side is Snoopy’s. It’s my favorite place to eat seafood, but I doubt it’s open.”
Kate took in the vastness of the Laguna Madre and the Intracoastal Canal which included the bridge on the John F. Kennedy causeway.
“We have to make a quick stop,” Nico said.
“Why?”
“I’m looking for the Home Depot. There has to be one here because of all the development.” Nico scanned the horizon, trying to spot the familiar orange and white sign. “There it is,” he said, pointing toward it. “Let’s hope it hasn’t been looted too much.”
Nico guided the helicopter to an empty part of the parking lot. He set down on the blacktop, told Kate to stay with the chopper and not let anyone in. “If anyone tries to open the door,” he said, “show them this.” He handed Kate a Glock. “Point it directly at them. It should scare anybody off.”
“Okay.”
“If all else fails, sic Reload on them.”
When he opened the door, a blast of humid, salty air filled the cabin, blowing around strands of Kate’s hair. She tucked it behind her ear. It had been a long time since Kate had been at the beach. In fact, she had been a child the last time her parents took the family to the beach. A lot had changed since then.
Various restaurants lined the highway. She saw several pizzerias, a sushi place, there was a Walgreens, a grocery store, a school, everything to indicate civilization, yet it looked deserted. Whatever Nico needed at Home Depot must have been important.
Reminiscing on the decision to leave, Nico was right: she needed to reconnect with her parents and family. There was so much she had missed out on, and whenever her parents had gotten on her c
ase, Uncle Billy had come to the rescue. If only every teen had an Uncle Billy, there wouldn’t be so much trouble in the world. Uncle Billy had a way of diffusing a drama-filled situation with his wisecracks and a unique way of looking at things. The family coined it “Billyisms.”
Going home was definitely a good decision.
Jolted out of her reverie, Kate spied Nico pushing a cart filled to the brim with containers of some sort. She had no idea what he was up to.
Kate opened the door and leaned out. “Do you need help?”
“Yes,” Nico said. He positioned the cart to the side of the helicopter. “Help me open these.”
Kate read one of the labels. “Why do we need kerosene?”
“It’s fuel for the helicopter. We’re running low.”
“You’re using kerosene?”
“Yes. Helicopters use jet fuel, which is basically kerosene with additives. The chopper might not run quite as smooth as it would on jet fuel, but this will do.”
Kate scratched the side of her cheek. “Okay, if you say so.”
They worked together, Kate opening each container and standing ready to hand it to Nico. He poured each container of kerosene into the fuel tank. It had taken longer than he had liked, knowing a helicopter would attract unwanted attention.
“Okay, we have enough.” He tossed the last container back into the cart. “Let’s get outta here and head to the beach.”
Nico started the chopper and as he lifted off, a man came running up to it. “Wait for me!” he yelled. Nico threw a look of contempt his way and shook his head. Undeterred, the man looped an arm around one of the landing skids.
The chopper lifted off, wobbling from the man’s weight.
The man thrust his legs upward and wrapped them onto the landing skid, dangling from it like a monkey.
The chopper listed to one side, and Nico struggled to level it.
“Nico!” Kate yelled. “Can’t you knock him off?”
Nico tossed Kate a grin. “Yeah, watch this. Hold on!”
Banking toward the west at a good clip, Nico piloted the chopper toward the Intracoastal Canal and hovered about twenty feet over the darkest blue water he could find. He spied down below at what looked like a school of some kind of large fish.
Nico took the controls, making the chopper toss violently left and right, and soon the man lost his hold, dropping into the water.
Looking down at the splash the man made, Nico said, “Back to school for you, buddy.”
Kate craned her head and tried to find the man. “Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“Sure,” Nico said. “If he can swim. What’s the use in going to the beach if you can’t swim?”
“Got a point there.”
Turning to the east, Nico guided the chopper to the four lane road leading to Mustang Island, of which there was no demarcation from it to Padre Island. Only a sign on the highway indicated the transition. When they came to a bridge, a man holding a fishing rod waved at them.
The land was flat and dotted with pockets of salty lagoons and vegetation which thrived in the inhospitable land. Grass and some type of low growing weed were the only green in a sea of white sand and blue water capped by breaking waves. A bulldozer sat idle in the tract of land that had been razed for some future development. A deserted hotel loomed on the gulf side of the island. Electric lines ran parallel to each side of the road. A seagull perched on one of the poles. Several cars were disappearing in the sand.
Kate tapped Nico on the arm. “Look,” she said, pointing to the east, “there’s the beach. Let’s go over there.”
“I’m going to look for a suitable spot to set the chopper down. I’m looking for the next access road leading to the beach. There it is.” Squinting, he read the green highway sign, Newport Pass, indicating he needed to hang a right on the blacktop leading to the beach. “I’ll set the chopper down on the road as close as I safely can to the sand dunes.”
Kate could hardly contain her excitement. There was still about an hour left of daylight, and with any luck she could take a quick swim. She wore a bikini she’d snagged from the hotel gift shop under her clothes so she wouldn’t waste any time changing.
Reload sensed the trip was coming to an end. He stretched his cramped legs, put his nose to the door, and sniffed, tasting the unusual scents of the ocean and land. Fish, dead fish, seaweed, jellyfish, grass, dunes…so many different odors he had never processed before. Invigorated by the new odors, Reload barked in anticipation of investigating the new surroundings.
Brain stimulation Kate called it. She reached back and patted Reload on the top of his head. “Are you ready, boy?”
Reload thumped his tail upon hearing Kate’s phrase which he knew meant it was playtime.
Nico slowed the chopper and set down on the blacktop. Kate opened the door, invited Reload out, and before Nico could power down the helicopter completely, Kate and Reload were making a dash to the ocean.
“Watch out for jellyfish on the sand!” Nico yelled. “Even dead, their sting still bites!”
Kate didn’t hear a word of what Nico had said. She was running full speed along the road, while Reload had stopped to sniff the scent of an unidentifiable animal that had stopped the night before. It was a strange scent, not quite a dog’s, but some similar species. The animal had been running, come to a quick stop, nosed the ground, then left its mark. Reload left his own scent on top of it then dashed after Kate, legs gobbling the distance.
Nico could only shake his head at Kate and Reload acting like a bunch of kids. He supposed this little bit of diversion from what they had been through was good for the soul.
It seemed like yesterday when they fought off the Hyatts. Only by the grace of God had they survived.
Nico unloaded items from the helicopter and locked it. He swung their backpacks and the tent over his shoulders, positioned two jugs of water on the top of the cooler, and proceeded to the beach.
It was windy and a bit overcast, with low clouds rolling in over the gulf. It didn’t look like a storm was coming, but one could never know for sure without a reliable weather forecast.
By the time Nico reached the beach, Kate had stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, and set them on top of her tennis shoes. Wearing only a bikini and the biggest smile, she skipped through the shallow water while Reload splashed along the shoreline.
Nico selected a spot near the sand dunes to make camp where the dunes sculpted by the wind and the water offered some protection from the west. Different types of grasses dotted the dunes and a vine of some sort with pink flowers which looked like overgrown morning glories snaked along the sand.
He went about setting up the tent above the high tide line. He put down the cooler and water jugs, then collected driftwood to make a campfire, all the while keeping an eye on Kate and Reload. When he thought Kate had waded too far into the surf he yelled for her to come back. Reload had the sense not to get in too deep.
Smart dog.
Nico stripped down to his swimming trunks and set his clothes and boots on the cooler. He breathed in the warm, fresh air and proceeded to the water where Kate was.
She had on a green polka dot bikini, and though she had lost a little weight, she was a sight for sore eyes.
Whatever extra fat Nico had on him before the grid went down, he had lost too. What remained was lean muscle.
He jogged to the shore, dodging broken shells washed up by the pounding surf. He went to where Kate was in the water and before he could get to her, she took handfuls of salty water and splashed him. He laughed, scooped up a handful of water, and returned a spray.
Kate laughed and playfully ran a few steps, splashing in the water.
Reload barked and ran after her.
“I’m going to dive in. Come with me,” Nico said.
“No,” Kate said. “I’m staying here.” She sat down in the shallow water and dug her toes into the sand. Reload stood behind her and when the water brushed his paws, he skidded back
out of the way.
Nico waded into the water and when it reached his thighs he took a deep breath and dove in, head first into a breaking wave. He dove to the bottom and opened his eyes. The water was murky with churned up sand, making visibility close to zero. He closed his eyes tight and stretched out his hands feeling for sand dollars. His feet dangled upwards and the tumbling water washed over him like a jet stream from a hot tub.
He relished the moment.
The power of the wave dissipated and Nico catapulted up. He shook the water from his head and held up his hand in the waning light. “Kate, look what I found!”
“What?” she yelled, trying to be heard over the crashing waves.
“A sand dollar! There’s more. Come on in and then we’ll body surf back in.”
Kate stood up to get a better look. She brushed the sand off her legs and shook her head. “It’s too deep for me, and it’s getting late. Come back.”
“What?” he yelled.
“Come back.”
“In a moment.” Nico waved to her, and tossed the living sand dollar into the water. He waded into the surf which was now up to his chest. He could still feel the sandy bottom and when he reached the next sandbar, the water was shallower, about waist high.
He stood on the sandbar and waited for a good wave, watching the swells rolling in from the deeper water.
Something bumped his leg, startling him. Nico did a 360 and checked the water looking for a fin breaching the murky water. He whipped around again, looking, searching.
His mind started playing tricks on him and he thought he saw…a…and his muscles tensed in anticipation of a shark strike.
A fish jumped out of the water, then another. His shoulders, which were about up to his ears, relaxed, and he let out a breath he had been holding, thinking it had been a shark. It was only a school of mullet, confirmed when several more jumped out of the water, a common behavior of the species.
Nico ran a hand over his forehead. Even a bite by a small shark could be deadly without proper medical treatment, and the hospital he saw closer into the city looked to be deserted.
He decided he’d better head back in. The sun would be setting soon and with darkness the sharks came closer to shore.
