Phoenix Protocol- the Middletown Omnibus

by Brent Abell

  “Dude, you going to let that guy do that to you? Doesn’t he know who you are?” Grant said.

  “Grant, he didn’t recognize you either, or he would’ve said something,” Jason retorted.

  “Guess you’re right,” Grant replied. “Hey, look, there she is.” He pointed to the concession lines.

  Jason’s eyes followed her form beginning with her black canvas Vann’s, up her tight calves, over the black skirt, and ending with a long sleeve red flannel top with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. A bright green bow kept her long flowing black hair tied back into a ponytail ending at the small of her back. To him, she appeared like an angel.

  “Put your tongue back in your mouth,” Grant advised him.

  “Yeah,” Jason replied and began to stroll in her direction.

  “And cover the raging hard-on in your pants, too,” Grant added.

  “Yeah,” Jason replied again and moved in for the kill.

  Jason made his way through the crowd to where Maria placed money on the food counter and took two bottled waters in return. Grant scanned the masses for a lone hottie he could target to invite back to the RV he shared with Jason for the festival. If Jason hooked up with Maria, Jason didn’t want to be left behind without a girl hanging from his arm. He spied a few he’d like to have a go at, but something in the sky caught his eye. A small plane dropped from the clouds with black plumes of smoke trailing behind it. It swung down over the treetops and dropped out of sight not far from the festival grounds.

  Grant found Jason and saw his friend laughing with Maria.

  “Adventure time,” Grant muttered and headed to the dark wooded area surrounding the festival.

  2

  Victoria coughed and slowly opened her eyes. Intense heat surrounded her, and acrid smoke filled her nostrils. Her vision cleared while she blinked, trying to bring everything back into focus, but the smoke stung her eyes as panic set in. In the cabin, she heard someone moan, but she couldn’t see anyone.

  “Harris?” Victoria croaked.

  Outside, the flames licked the window next to her head, and she flinched away from the heat. Metal creaked and popped from the burning fuel. Victoria fumbled with her seat restraint, trying to free herself. Finally, she felt the buckle release, and she escaped her seat. Taking a step to the emergency door, she reached back to grab her small bag, the bag with the Phoenix sample from Xen Pharmaceuticals.

  Victoria clutched the bag tightly to her chest and rushed through the aisle to the door. A few rows up, she heard somebody gasp and moan. The smoke filled the cabin, and Victoria could barely see where she was going. A weak cough sounded out from her left, and she dropped to her knees. The thick smoke overcame her, and she felt some oxygen along the floor.

  Once she crawled for a few rows, she heard another cough. Turning her head, she spied General Harris’s bloody face staring back at her. Blood flowed from gashes on his forehead and pink froth formed around his mouth. The seats were leaning up from the crash. Her row hadn’t shifted, but his did from the crash’s impact.

  “Victoria, help me,” Harris croaked.

  “I ought to leave you to fucking burn,” Victoria spat back.

  “You’ll need me to get into the Center.”

  “You’ll need me to get you into Hell.”

  “Help me, Victoria.”

  Victoria held out her hand to Harris, and the general took it. For a moment, his eyes locked with hers, and she saw madness in his gaze. His grip tightened, and Victoria winced. She tried to pull her hand away, but he squeezed harder.

  “You’re hurting me,” Victoria said.

  “Release my belt, I’m stuck,” Harris replied. His grip remained tight.

  Victoria let the bag slip from her free hand and tugged on Harris’s restraint.

  “It’s jammed.”

  Harris released his grip on her. “In my pocket, I have a knife.”

  “I ought to cut you with it.”

  Harris laughed. “Hurry now, or you’ll die here with me.”

  The cabin grew blazing hot, and Victoria’s skin soaked up the heat. The smoke made her feel light-headed. She fished around Harris’s pocket and drew out the folded knife. Outside, back by the wing, Victoria heard a loud pop. She looked back, and the entire rear of the plane filled with flames. Victoria quickly unfolded the knife and sawed on the strap holding Harris in his seat. She’d almost made it through when she stopped.

  “Hurry!” Harris cried out.

  Victoria backed her hand away from the strap and stared at him.

  “You bitch,” Harris uttered.

  “Dying here would be too good for you,” Victoria stated. She went back to cutting the strap. After a couple more strokes through the material, the strap broke, and Harris fell to the floor.

  Harris smiled at her as he followed her out of the plane, and Victoria smiled back. As Harris held on to her, she used her free hand to slip the vial back out of her bag and place it back in her pocket. Letting the bag drop to the ground, Victoria pressed on. She knew once they cleared the wreckage, he’d have a reckoning coming.

  ***

  Jade moaned loudly inside the sweltering tent. She hoped the temp would drop once the sun went down, but the heat and humidity remained unbearable. Her hips bounced on Bryce, and she loved how hard he gripped her ass. Running her hands through his chest hair, she leaned down and took his tongue in her mouth. Her sweat dripped down on his check, and Jade licked the salty drops off him. She let her nose touch his, and bucked hard when the orgasm exploded in her. Jade felt Bryce stiffen below her and pumped on him quicker. His erection grew, and he cried out, releasing his seed into her. She slowed her riding and came to a stop.

  “Light the joint,” Jade said, rolling off him.

  Bryce searched around the sleeping bag, trying to find the bag containing the joints they rolled up before leaving for the festival. When he saw the bag, he sat up and placed a joint between his lips. Flicking the flint on the lighter, Bryce put the flame to the tip and inhaled deeply. The fire caught on the joint, and he coughed when the dank smoke filled his mouth. He smiled, blowing out puffy white smoke.

  Jade snatched the joint from him and took a deep drag from the weed. She didn’t cough and gave a wink to Bryce, who still coughed from the hit he took. The boy had no future, but she loved him anyway. She passed the joint back and sat motionless, trying to cool off.

  A loud boom made Bryce drop the joint.

  Bryce jerked toward the tent window facing the woods. Jade pulled the window cover down and saw the large black plume in the woods surrounding the festival grounds. People rushed from campers and tents toward the trees. The gawkers stood in groups blocking Jade and Bryce’s view of the scene.

  “Shit, hand me my top,” Jade said, sticking her hand out.

  Jade smiled and flipped off three guys who peeked in the tent before she could get the window flap closed. Jade heard the men scoff and chatter about the smoke. Bryce handed her top to her and snatched the lit joint from the sleeping bag before it caught fire.

  “Get dressed! I want to go look at what the fuck’s going on,” Jade said. She pulled her shirt on, leaving her bra on the tent’s floor.

  Bryce tugged his cargo shorts on and put his shirt on. Outside, the commotion grew louder. More and more people rushed past the tents and campers to get a closer look at the smoke in the woods. Flashlights lit up around the campsite, and the commotion carried on past their tent.

  “Good thing ain’t nobody playing, they’d have to contend with this shit,” Bryce said.

  Jade unzipped the door and stepped outside. She turned back to make sure Bryce followed her. Bryce stumbled through the tent door after her, and Jade laughed. He gave her a hurt look, and she helped him back to his feet.

  “Come on; we’re missing all the action!” Jade said. She let go of Bryce’s hand, and he almost fell over again but managed to right himself before he bit the dust.

  “I think this is a bad idea,” Bryce huffed.<
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  “What could go wrong?” Jade asked. She ran off into the woods with the rest of the crowd.

  Shrugging, all Bryce could do was grab a flashlight and follow.

  ***

  “You saw the plane go down?” Maria asked Grant. She tried to keep up through the crowd while she typed notes on her phone. She smelled a scoop and wanted to get the best accounts before the bigger news outlets caught wind and interviewed the throng of concert-goers heading into the woods.

  “I didn’t want to watch you two gush over each other, so I turned my attention to the sky when it flew by and crashed,” Grant answered. He glanced over at Jason, who had taken to sulking.

  Jason pushed himself, in-between Maria and Grant. “Why are we going to the crash? Last time I checked, we aren’t doctors, and we don’t play them on TV. What’s the fucking point?”

  Maria turned and glared at him. “I’m doing my fucking job,” she spat, storming off in front of them.

  “Yeah, Jason, that’s no way to treat your girlfriend,” Grant chided and playfully punched Jason’s arm.

  “Don’t be an asshole,” Jason said.

  Grant shrugged and picked up his pace to catch up to Maria. He looked back to make sure Jason still lagged behind them before disappearing into the forest with Maria.

  ***

  “I should’ve let you burn,” Victoria said. She tried to figure out where they were, and the only light they had came from the blazing wreckage. Harris groaned in agony, and she struggled to keep him walking.

  “If I’ve learned anything in the brief time I’ve known you, it is you’re a survivor, and you need me to continue doing that,” Harris wheezed.

  I need his hand, or whatever he has to get into the bunker, I bet. Victoria wondered if she needed a body part or if he carried a key card.

  The heavy, acrid smoke from the wreckage grew thicker on the ground and burned Victoria’s eyes. Breathing in the fumes from the plane made her throat scratchy, making her cough. Smoke blanketed the forest floor, and the roaring flames licked up the nearby trees scorching the underbrush. The air felt like a furnace, and Victoria wondered if Hell felt the same way. Heat’s tongue caressed her neck, and she quickened her pace. Harris held on tighter and limped along, trying to keep up.

  “Wait,” Harris croaked.

  “We need to get clear of the crash, idiot,” Victoria snapped at the general.

  Harris knelt down coughing. Victoria noticed blood in his palm when he pulled his hands from his mouth. He shot her a sideways glance and looked at his side.

  “I think I have a broken rib or two,” Harris said with a pained expression on his face.

  “Look, I can leave you here for the rescue team to find.”

  Harris chuckled, and his face twisted into a mask of agony. “After Manhattan, nobody will bat an eye at a small plane that crashes with no flight plan. This flight didn’t exist in the system.”

  “You’re slowing me down.”

  “You need me.”

  Victoria felt the vial in her pocket and smiled.

  “How do we get into the bunker if we make it?”

  “Ha, you think I’m going to tell you my only bargaining chip? Maybe you aren’t the cleaver girl I thought you were,” Harris teased.

  “And maybe you don’t know everything,” Victoria shot back.

  Striking like a snake, Victoria’s hand shot from her pocket and punched Harris in the teeth. He howled in pain and surprise. When his mouth dropped open, Victoria shoved the vial in his mouth. Before he could react, she kicked him in the jaw. Both of them heard the vial break. Harris’s eyes widened like saucers in terror. Orange liquid and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and he shrieked in rage.

  “YOU BITCH!”

  Victoria shoved him back on the ground and rifled through his pockets. Clipped to his uniform pant pocket, she found a badge and ripped it from his body.

  “I’m burning up,” Harris muttered.

  Victoria stood up and glared at him. “That is for my cousin Rex Ross, Middletown, and now fucking Manhattan. Death would be too good for you.”

  Spitting in his face, Victoria turned and ran into the night before he died and rose again.

  3

  “I heard something over there behind those trees,” Bryce said, pointing the flashlight to the north.

  “What was it?” Jade asked.

  “I don’t know; an animal? Maybe we’ll find survivors, and we’ll get rewards and on the news and shit,” Bryce exclaimed excitedly.

  “Slow down; you’re losing your grasp of the English language.”

  The brush around the tree moved again, and Bryce put his finger up to his lips to shush Jade before turning off the flashlight. Pointing to the ground, he slowly got to his knees and then to his belly. Jade watched him in the moonlight and followed suit.

  The rustling continued, and three people pushed out of the leaves. Two men and a woman came out and stopped. Bryce thought they looked like they were lost. Honestly, he didn’t know if he knew where he was either.

  “Man, come on, Maria, we need to go that way,” one of the men said.

  “Yeah, the tree cover is too thick to see the smoke,” the other added.

  Maria turned to them and threw her hands in the air. “Once again, let me do my fucking job. Damn it, Jason, I knew following you was a bad idea. You made us go in a circle, didn’t you?”

  “Do I look like a Boy Scout or some shit?” the first man replied.

  Bryce watched a trail of ants march in front of his nose. One ant changed course and waltzed up to Bryce’s face. Bryce crossed his eyes to see if it would climb up his nose. The ant stopped again, and Bryce blew on it, trying to knock it from the grass, but it continued straight up his nose. It circled his nostrils, and its legs tickled him. He scrunched up his face to contain himself. Finally, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

  Jerking on the ground, Bryce frantically brushed at the ant on his nose, making more noise than he wanted. The three others looked straight at him and pointed. He got off the ground, still wiping at his nose. Three cell phone flashlights shined on him, and he felt embarrassed. When the others laughed, he figured he probably looked stupid.

  “What the fuck is that dude doing?” one man said.

  “I don’t want to know, Grant,” Maria said.

  “I see smoke over there,” the other man said.

  Bryce finally succeeded in removing the ant from his face. “You guys looking for the plane that went down?”

  “I’m not, but these two are. My name’s Grant, by the way.”

  “You look familiar,” Jade said.

  “Oh, we’re…,” Grant said before being cut off.

  “Holy shit! I know you guys are on Eternal Darkness,” Bryce said, jumping up and down in excitement.

  The second man extended his hand to Bryce. “I’m Jason…,” he said before being interrupted.

  “Holy shit, Grant Franklin and Jason Keller!” Bryce yelled. “Holy shit, I can’t believe it. You guys here for the festival?”

  Jason shook Bryce’s hand, smiling the whole time. “Pleased to meet you, but we were coming out to see the bands when I saw the plane go down. We decided to come out here and take a look around for her,” he said, pointing at Maria.

  Maria’s phone beeped, and she looked down at it. Her eyes widened in surprise, and Bryce saw her tearing up. Dropping her hands to her side, she sobbed. Grant put his arms around her and pulled her close to him. They whispered in each other’s ears, and Grant shook his head.

  “What?” Bryce asked.

  “They’re reporting an attack in Manhattan. It’s been bombed,” Maria said flatly.

  “Holy shit,” Bryce whispered. “We should’ve been there tonight,” he said, turning to Jade. She stared back at him, slack-jawed and in shock.

  “How could something like that happen? I mean, how could it happen here?” Jason asked.

  “What the fuck?” Grant questioned.

 
In a moment, everyone’s phone beeped. Everyone all looked at the news flooding the world. Nobody could comprehend millions of people in Manhattan were smoldering piles of ash.

  Flashlight beams appeared around the woods, and they heard the murmurs from other people trampling through the forest looking for the crash site. Bryce, Jade, Maria, Jason, and Grant stood in stunned silence.

  “They must not know yet,” Jade whispered.