by Roger Hayden
“Let’s ride,” Jake said.
4
Night of Day 7 (Mike’s Journey)
When Mike, Sean, and Nelson finally made out the sign for the airport sixty yards ahead of them, Mike knew they were making good progress.
The closer the three of them moved to Pittsburgh International the more plane wreckage they saw. It looked like a few of the pilots were able to glide their aircraft in on its belly, but the majority of the planes were mangled heaps of metal. Seats, wings, jet engines, luggage, and fuselages littered the fields around them.
Other travelers along the road were scavenging through the wreckage, hunting through the luggage like grave robbers looking for a quick score.
Mike could see the sun sinking behind the airport itself. The tarmac was still and hauntingly quiet. He could make out the distress signals people painted on the outside of the terminals when the realization of being stuck finally came to fruition. “HELP” and “S.O.S.” were painted in large, red letters.
“Hey, you think we should scope out some of this stuff? It might be a good idea to see what we can find in all this,” Nelson asked.
“I’d rather not stop. We’re still close to the city. I want to put as much distance between the masses and us as possible. We just need to focus on getting to the cabin,” Mike said.
Sean tugged at his father’s sleeve.
“Dad, I’m tired. Can we take a break?” he asked.
“We’ll rest soon. We just need to go a little bit further,” Nelson answered.
Mike could feel the burning in his feet from the long day of walking. Each step hit the blisters on under his toes like knives. He couldn’t imagine how Sean had kept up as well as he had.
“Let’s keep an eye out for a good place to make camp tonight. The sun will be going down soon,” Mike said.
A 727-jet liner fuselage sat a half-mile up the road. The plane had crashed just outside the airport tarmac. Most of it was still intact. The pilot had a successful crash landing. The emergency doors were thrown open and the plane was abandoned.
“Better than a Holiday Inn,” Nelson said.
The sun finally disappeared under the horizon and Mike checked the front and back of the plane for any food and water. The food cart was flipped on its side with each of its drawers pulled open and completely empty.
Mike moved to the first aid stations, but those had been wiped out. The only things that remained were a few small bottles of liquor that had rolled under the cart that nobody bothered to pick up and check underneath.
Nelson and Sean reclined a few seats up in first class and found a pair of pillows left behind from the passengers. Sean passed out within minutes of his head hitting the pillow.
Mike leaned back in the row across from Nelson and Sean. Mike leaned back and Nelson tossed him a pillow, which hit him in the face by surprise.
“Get some rest. I’ll take the first watch,” Nelson said.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Mike could feel the weight of the day bearing down on him. The burn under the bandages on his arm was sore and in need of redressing. Nelson was right. He was in no shape to make it through the night without passing out. He was melting into the chair underneath him.
“Just wake me up when you need to rest,” Mike said.
“I will,” Nelson said.
Mike folded his arms in his lap and closed his eyes. His eyelids slammed shut like the steel doors of the mill at the end of the day.
It wasn’t until Mike felt his wrists pinned to the arms of the seat and heard Sean’s screams that he woke up. He jerked his arms, but they wouldn’t budge. He squinted his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. Nelson’s head was bent to the side, a massive lump forming across his temple.
Mike’s eyes adjusted to the darkness. He couldn’t make out the people in front of him. He could only hear the shuffling of feet and the murmur of voices.
“This is all they have?”
“Yeah, I searched these two and that’s it.”
“What about the other guy? What’s he got?”
Before the man could get close Mike kicked the man’s knee sending him to the floor with a thud.
“Goddamn asshole!”
“Grab his legs, Tim.”
“Screw it. It’s not worth it. Let’s just grab the rest of this shit and go, man.”
Tim sent a nice right cross to Mike’s cheek before he left. Mike’s ears rang. His mind went foggy with pain. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to orient himself.
The sobs coming from Mike’s left gave him a point to focus on. They grew louder until they completely replaced the ringing caused by the punch. He looked over at Sean who was struggling to free himself.
“Sean, are you okay?” Mike asked.
“I can’t move my arms,” Sean replied.
“Just hang on, buddy. Nelson,” Mike said. “Nelson!”
Nelson didn’t move. Mike jerked his wrists attempting to free himself, but it was useless. He bent over and started tearing the tape with his teeth. He picked at the tape over and over until he finally had a tear. He tore the piece, splitting the duct tape in half. He yanked his hand free and peeled the tape off his other wrist.
Sean was squirming, trying to get free. Mike had to climb over Nelson to reach Sean whose tears were streaming down his face.
“Dad! Dad!” Sean cried.
“Hold on, Sean.”
Once Sean was unbound Mike pressed his fingers against Nelson’s neck to check for a pulse. Mike leaned in and listened to see if Nelson was breathing. Nelson was breathing and Mike could feel the faint beat of a pulse.
“Stay here, Sean,” Mike said.
Mike tore out of the emergency exit and glanced around in the darkness, but the attackers had vanished. Lightning streaked across the sky followed by a deep, rolling thunder.
When Mike entered the plane Sean was resting his head on Nelson’s shoulder, hugging his dad.
“Sean,” Mike said.
Sean ignored him. Mike reached his hand, placing it on Sean’s arm, but Sean jerked it away violently.
“Leave me alone!” Sean said.
It wasn’t any use trying to argue. The kid was scared, tired, and the one person who could help him was lying unconscious right in front of his eyes. Mike walked back over to the entrance of the plane to keep watch. He pulled the gun from the back of his waist and clicked the safety off. In between the cracks of thunder he could hear Sean’s faint whimpers.
“Dad?” Sean asked.
Mike’s attention switched from the water dripping from the plane’s emergency exit frame back to Sean and Nelson.
“What happened?” Nelson asked.
“How are you feeling?” Mike asked.
Nelson touched his finger to touch the outline of the lump on the left side of his head and winced when he made contact.
“It was a rough night,” Mike said.
Nelson, still disoriented, turned to his son.
“You all right, buddy?” Nelson asked.
Sean wrapped his arms around his father, burying his face into his shirt. Nelson cradled the back of his son’s head as he rested against him. His eyes looked up into Mike’s.
“Did they take everything?” Nelson asked.
“All of our packs are gone,” Mike answered.
“Well, I’m glad you two are okay. What are we going to do now?”
Mike had thought about that all night. He thought about how they were going to finish the trip to the cabin that was at least another three full days of walking without any food or water. He knew the further they traveled into Ohio where the cabin was located the fewer towns there’d be to try and gather supplies. Right now the only place that was close enough to do them any good was the one place Mike wanted to avoid.
Nelson noticed Mike glancing back toward Pittsburgh International and picked up on what he was thinking.
“I hope you printed our boarding passes before we le
ft,” Nelson said.
The muggers from last night confirmed what Mike already knew would happen: that people were getting desperate and traveling around, looking for easy scores. It wouldn’t be long before people started organizing into gangs to survive.
That’s what Mike feared awaited them in the airport. It had been a week since everything stopped working. No power, no water, no food, no modern conveniences, nothing. He’d already watched his neighbors turn on each other, and that was in the first week. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen a month from now.
Mike tried to convince Nelson to stay in the plane with Sean, but he insisted on coming to help. Mike finally caved. If he did find a stash of supplies he’d need all the help he could get carrying it.
Clothes, trash, and abandoned airport equipment littered the tarmac. The massive jetliners stood motionless. Some were lined up at the terminals, while others stood frozen on the runways, never leaving the ground.
Mike thought about how everyone on board started to complain the moment everything shut off. He could hear the mumbles and groans on the plane, people cursing under their breath that they’d been inconvenienced by what happened, but if they’d taken off thirty minutes earlier they all would have crashed, and most likely would have died.
Mike kept his eyes alert. He scanned the tarmac for anything unusual, or out of place. He couldn’t afford anyone getting the drop on them now. As much as Nelson said he was okay Mike knew that he wasn’t going to be of much use if things went south.
“How do we get in there?” Nelson asked.
“We’ll have to go up to the main entrance. I’m not sure how to get in from the tarmac,” Mike said.
The three of them walked around the outside of the terminal and followed the monorail to the airport drop off and pick up area. A few of the monorails were stuck on the rack in between destinations.
“Dad, what’s that on the windows?” Sean asked.
When Mike looked up at one of the monorail windows, he could see dried bloodstains smeared across the glass.
“Dirt,” Mike said.
Nothing moved. Mike still hadn’t become used to that. All the times he’d complained about people moving too fast, and now he’d give anything to see a car speed around the corner of the building up ahead.
Then Mike saw him. It was only for a second, but he saw the flash of brown hair duck back into the airport. He pulled Nelson and Sean down behind a luggage carrier.
“What’s wrong?” Nelson asked.
“There’re people inside,” Mike said.
“Do you think they’re dangerous?”
“I don’t know, but if they’re keeping watch, then they must be protecting something.”
Mike pulled the pistol from his waist and clicked the safety off. He peeked above the luggage carrier to the door the man had gone inside.
“We should move to the corner by the front of the building. Sean, you stay close to your dad, okay? If anything happens you two run, got it?”
Both of them nodded their heads.
“Stay behind me,” Mike said.
Mike led the three of them in a single file line. He kept the gun clutched in both hands, his eyes scanning the area. He slammed his back up against the corner of the building. Nelson and Sean followed suit, catching their breath. Mike placed his index finger over his lips.
“C’mon,” Mike said.
Most of the automatic glass doors were shut. A few had been smashed and the rest had been opened manually.
The crunch of the glass behind Mike made him freeze in his tracks. Nelson mouthed “Sorry” and stepped around the remaining shards.
Mike found one of the opened doors and stepped through. The airport was musty. A week of no air conditioning and continually being baked in the sun caused everything to stink. Mike motioned for Nelson and Sean to move in close. His voice was barely above a whisper.
“Look for food. You’ll want to take non-perishable items. Anything in a can or a wrapper should be okay. Bottled water is another good thing to grab. Also, be on the lookout for backpacks we can use to store what we find, okay?”
“What about weapons?” Nelson asked.
“I don’t think we’ll find anything like that here, but if you do grab it.”
Mike squinted his eyes, trying to see deeper into the depths of the airport, but he could only see as far as the light from outside would reach through the windows. No windows, no light. The only things visible were security lines and metal detectors.
Tables and chairs from the food court were flipped on their sides and backs. Broken glass from display cases and vending machines scattered the floor. Sean reached down and picked up a candy bar and showed it to his father. Nelson gave him a thumbs up. Just as Sean pocketed it they heard a crash coming from the back of the Burger King kitchen.
“Stay here,” Mike said.
Mike climbed over the Burger King counter, landing quietly on the other side. He could feel his pulse beat faster. A dim light glowed under the crack of the door leading to the kitchen. He raised his weapon, his knuckles turning white against the black composite of his 9mm and burst through the swinging door.
A group of people was huddled on the floor, all of them with their hands up in surrender. A family with two small children, a young woman, a middle aged man, and an overweight man dressed in a TSA uniform looked at him.
“Hey, man. We don’t want any trouble. Just take what you want and be on your way, okay?” the TSA agent said.
Mike kept his weapon aimed, but moved his finger from the trigger. He glanced around at the group. Each time he swept the pistol over them they crouched lower to the ground. Finally, Mike lowered his gun, clicked the safety back on, and tucked the pistol in the belt of his pants.
“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Mike said.
“Mike?” Nelson called from the counter.
“We’re good, Nelson. C’mon back,” Mike answered.
The TSA man extended his hand.
“Clarence Furns,” he said.
The two men shook hands.
“That’s Tom Wrink, Fay Cam, Jung To, Jenna To, and their two little ones, Jung Jr. and Claire,” Clarence said.
Tom wore the remnants of what was left of his business suit. His beard crept down along his neck. When Mike went to shake his hand it was grimy with dirt, skin, and whatever he’d ate at his last meal.
Fay’s hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her nails were long, the nail polish flaking off. Mike noticed the tattoos along her arm, exposed from her tank top.
Jung and Jenna stayed close to one another. They were both dressed in what looked like comfortable clothing for a long trip. Jung Jr. and Claire hid behind their parents’ legs, glancing up at Mike.
Mike introduced Nelson and Sean.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Nelson asked.
Clarence picked up the lantern and walked them back into the kitchen. The group had stacked the kitchen with boxes of food rations, vending machine boxes, and canned goods.
“You can take as much as you need and stay for as long as you’d like, but I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to last here,” Clarence said.
“What are you talking about? There’s enough food here to last you for the rest of the year,” Nelson said.
“When everything stopped working most of the airport was evacuated. They marched people to local hotels, into the city, wherever. There were quite a few that were just left here, and everything was fine for the first few days,” Clarence said.
“Then people from the city started showing up. I guess they thought they could escape on a plane or something. They came in droves and when they got here and found out that the airport was just as broken as the rest of the city, people started losing it,” Tom said.
“It started off with small stuff: where they slept, about personal space, where they could keep their stuff, stupid things. But then people started arguing over food and water. A few of the TSA and law
enforcement officers that stuck around tried to keep things in order, but it didn’t take long for most of them to start causing trouble too,” Clarence explained.
“How’d you manage to get all of this stuff in here with all of the looting going on?” Mike asked.
“I grabbed as many things as I could when I started seeing everything fall apart, but then after the first person was killed it was a free-for-all. People just tore into each other. I grabbed these guys and locked us in the TSA security office. We were there for two days before I unlocked the door. When we came out most of the airport was abandoned. A few other people who had survived by hiding in other spots stayed, but most had left. We decided to gather everything we could find and put it in a central location. This was the spot we chose. It has a good vantage point from the front and if we need to get out quickly there are multiple exits,” Clarence said.
They did manage to find a large amount of supplies even after the looting. Nelson was right. They had enough food to last them for the rest of the year, and if Clarence were a TSA agent he’d have access to the security weapons at the airport.
“You said that you didn’t think you could stay here for long, but it sounds like most of the large groups have gone. If it’s just you guys why would you leave?” Mike asked.
“Gangs,” Fay said.
“Gangs?” Nelson asked.
“A guy came through a few days ago raving about motorcycle gangs coming down from Michigan and Ohio. Groups from small towns roving around like Vikings, pillaging what they want. He was a little off his rocker if you ask me though, so I don’t think he really knew what he was talking about,” Tom said.
“And I haven’t seen a single mechanical engine work in the past two weeks. Everything’s down,” Clarence said.
Mike thought about his 1975 Jeep. He could see his family piled in, supplies in the back, heading for the cabin. These people had no idea about the EMP blast and what it meant.
Day 6 (The Cabin)
Anne grabbed the side of the wall blindly trying to get her bearings. Her foot jammed into the corner of the chair sending it crashing to the basement floor.
