by Hunt, James
With a free day to kill, Kate decided to check it out and was blown away by what she saw. Apparently, it was the biggest airshow in the northeast. Planes and jets from all over the world converged for the event, and Kate couldn’t help but admire all of the aviation history that had come before her.
And while there were plenty of modern jets and military craft at the event, there were even more older planes. Old prop engines that had flown for sixty or seventy years. Planes that were stripped of modern aviation equipment that the EMP had rendered useless.
If Rodney was right about the EMP and the computer chips, then all she needed to do was find a plane with hydraulic controls. She could make the trip down to Virginia in a few hours, then fly up and meet Mark and Holly at Rodney’s cabin with Luke in tow. It was a long shot, but it was something.
Mark slowed his pace and sidled up next to Kate. “I think her temperature is getting worse.”
Kate touched Holly’s forehead. It was hot as a stovetop. “Yeah.”
“Her body’s like a little furnace. She’s actually making me sweat.”
“Should we wake her up and give her some more medicine?”
“No, let her rest. I gave her a dose before we left the restaurant.”
Kate nodded and then looked toward what remained of their group. Rodney was up ahead in the lead, guiding them to the docks.
“Listen, when we cross, I’m going to an airfield,” Kate said.
Mark stopped. “What?”
Kate pulled him back into stride with her. “I think Rodney is right. I think that this… EMP has affected the entire country.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Just listen.” Kate placed her finger to her lips, and the pair tilted their ears toward the sky. “You hear that?”
“No,” Mark answered.
“Exactly. No planes, no helicopters, nothing. It’s been, what? Five or six hours since everything stopped working? If this was limited to New York, then there would be helicopters coming to the hospitals with supplies or to help evacuate critical patients. The Air Force would be sending jets over the city on patrol. But there’s nothing.”
“If you know that there aren’t any planes working, then why the hell would you even try and go to the airfield?”
“If I can find a plane old enough, without any computer components, it might work.”
Mark shook his head. “I don’t like it, Kate. We need to stick together. Without any lines of communication, how are we supposed to keep track of one another?”
“I can have Rodney give me the coordinates of the cabin. Once I have Luke, I can meet up with you guys later.”
Mark kept quiet. Whenever he shut down like that, she knew he was getting upset. The only way to get him out of that funk was to let him be, and so that’s what she did.
And while her husband stewed, Kate reexamined her plan from every angle. She tried to recall the types of planes at the show and the owners who stored them in the hangars at the airfield. Fuel could be a problem, or at least retrieving it could be. Without power, the pumps were useless. She could siphon it so long as she could find some tubes to work with.
“Stop.” Rodney spun around, arm extended like a crossing guard, and the group froze in their tracks. Then, after a minute, he gathered everyone close. “The docks are just down this road, but there is a big group of people there.”
“How many?” Kate asked.
Rodney locked eyes with her. “More than we can take.”
“So what do we do?” Mark asked, adjusting Holly on his shoulder. “The moment they see we have a working boat, they’re going to be pissed.”
“It looks like there’s still a guard on duty, and they’ve kept the docks locked up.” Rodney smiled in disbelief. “Who’d have thought of all the organizations, the New York Port Authority would have their shit together.” Angered chants drifted from the mob at the docks. “We move through them quickly. Don’t stop for anything.”
Nervous nods answered in response, but Kate kept her eyes glued to the people searching for escape. They were no different than herself.
“If they charge, there is enough of them to bust down the gates,” Rodney said. “If that happens, run. I’m the last slip on the dock. I’m going to move quickly, so you have to keep up.” He paused. “We can’t wait on anyone. Got it?”
More nervous nods, and then they walked to the city.
11
The chants grew louder on their approach to the docks, and Kate was suddenly reminded of the metro, the expressions of confusion, pain, and anger. She remembered the woman who’d fallen from the rail and smacked against the pavement—the sound had been so dull and ominous, and the unsettling silence that followed after her scream was cut short.
The crowd numbered around twenty. They huddled at the gated entrance and latched onto the chain-link fence, which swayed back and forth from the crowd’s weight. The posts shook, but the fence held.
Everyone followed close behind as Rodney approached the dead center of the mob outside the gated entryway. Kate’s heart rate quickened as they all shouldered their way through, and the deeper they penetrated the group, the more stares bored into the back of her head.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
Because she was in the back, the shout drew closest to Kate, but she kept her eyes forward like Rodney had instructed. They were stopped now, and while the chanting had died down when they first arrived, the angered murmuring hadn’t.
The guard at the post approached the gate, reaching for his keys, and bodies were suddenly pressed into Kate’s back, shoving her forward and smashing her into Mark.
“Hey, they’re letting them in!”
“Give us a ride across!”
“Help us! Please!”
Kate’s feet were driven forward against her own will, and she saw Holly awake on her father’s shoulder. She was squeezing him tight, tears leaking from her eyes. Kate reached for her daughter’s hand. “It’s all right, Holly. We’re okay.”
“Let us in! Let us in!”
The mob pinned them against the gate, and Holly screamed.
“Stop it!” Kate rammed an elbow into a gut behind her, and for a moment, the pressure of the bodies slamming against her subsided. She spun around, shoving people back, but the mob didn’t let up.
The gate swung open, and Rodney jumped onto the docks. Mark grabbed Kate and pulled her through the opening, and Kate watched as the mob flooded after her, filling the empty space where she had stood. The gate swung closed just as the bodies smashed against the mesh.
Fingers prodded through the holes, and the fence buckled from the mob’s weight. Faces and bodies were mashed against the metal. Everyone’s expressions faded from anger to desperation.
“Please!” Lips and mouths pleaded. “Help us.”
Kate was pulled along the dock but kept her eyes on the faces she was leaving behind. Faces of those who wanted to survive. And then she heard the scream of an infant.
“Wait!” Kate yanked her arm free and stepped toward the fence.
“Kate, what are you doing?” Mark asked. “We have to go!”
“I heard something,” Kate said, her eyes glued to the bodies on the fence. “I thought I heard—” And then she saw it. A woman was gently rocking a bundle in her arms. Her face was the only one not focused on their group. Like a mother, her attention was on the baby.
“Rodney!” Kate sprinted across the dock, the wooden boards groaning beneath her feet, then splintering as she skidded to a stop. She pressed her hands against Rodney’s chest. “They have a baby.”
“Kate, we don’t have room.” He tried to sidestep her, but she blocked him.
“We can’t leave those people here,” Kate said. “We have to help them.”
“How?” Rodney asked. “How in the hell are we supposed to do that?” He pointed to the sailboat. “We can’t fit more than ten at a time, and the moment we let those people through the gates, they’ll
sink us.” Every word puffed another breath of icy air.
Kate looked up to the sky and then to Rodney. “The weather is holding. We have enough time to make two trips, and two should be enough to get everyone across.”
Rodney finally turned back to the fence and the bodies pressed against it. Kate couldn’t see his face, but when he turned back around to face her, the hardened expression softened into something more akin to despair. “Kate, we can’t save everyone.”
“I know,” Kate said and then stepped closer. “But let’s save the ones we can.”
Rodney sighed with exhaustion and looked back to the people behind the fence. After a moment, he nodded. “All right, listen up!”
The plan was simple. The guard would let the people inside at a trickle, with the understanding that the kids go first. Each kid would have one parent escort, and after Rodney was on the other side of the river, he’d come back for everyone else.
“It’s important everyone understand what that means,” Rodney said. “It means that anyone who doesn’t have a child stays on this side, and even if you do, the parents decide who goes with the kid.” He turned to Kate and Mark. “You guys let me know who’s staying.”
Rodney disappeared to the front gate, and after he arrived, the angered murmurs slowly morphed into cries of thanks and relief.
“You should go with her,” Mark said, leaning close, his voice a whisper. “Rodney will probably want your help on the boat anyway.”
“No, Daddy!” Holly clutched her father tight. “I want you to come with me.”
Kate stood there like an outsider to her own family. Her daughter latched onto her father’s shoulder, and no amount of prodding or persuasion was able to pull her off.
“Holly, sweetheart, it’s okay.”
“Please, don’t leave me, Daddy.” The plea had turned into sobs, and Holly shook her head, rubbing her face deeper into the shoulder of her father’s coat. “Please, don’t let me go.”
“It’s all right,” Kate said. She gently placed her hand on Holly’s back. “Daddy’s gonna stay with you.” She tossed Mark a glare before he could protest. “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.” Kate kissed Mark’s cheek and then went to help Rodney at the gate.
“It’s all right, Frank,” Rodney said. “I’m taking them on my boat.”
“But what if they start to jump on the other vessels?” Frank asked, his gaze switching between Rodney and the now-quiet mob at the front gate. “What happens—”
“We won’t touch anything.” The voice came from a man with his hands gripped through the chain mesh. “We just want to put our kids on the boat, get them out of here.” Stubble covered his chin and cheeks and looked as rough as his voice sounded. “C’mon, pal. My boy, he’s only six.”
The guard looked away, fiddling with the keys in his hand, and then stepped between Kate and Rodney and unlocked the gate then returned to his post without a word.
“I’m at the end,” Rodney said, gesturing the group to follow. “Kate, get me a head count.”
Kate nodded, silently prodding the air in the direction of the heads that passed. Twenty-three for the group, nine for the kids. It would be a crowded two trips.
There were a handful of people without children, and Kate made sure to keep an eye on them. They were more fidgety than the rest, and she didn’t want to have any unexpected accidents while everyone was getting on board.
The hull of Rodney’s vessel squeaked against the dock as the river water lapped lazily against it. It was like the water itself was so cold that it too had given way to any quick movement. The boat was small, and Kate understood why Rodney had been hesitant to take so many.
Goodbyes were said, and children were peeled away from mothers and fathers, crying, all save for one. Kate’s daughter was already nestled safely into the boat with Mark, her face tucked into his shoulder. Not once did she cry for her mother.
“Kate,” Rodney said, stepping off and pulling her aside. “Listen, a lot could change between now and the time I come back.” He handed her a pair of binoculars. “So you can keep an eye on us as we cross.”
Kate took them and then looked past Rodney to Mark, who was helping Holly protect her face from the wind. “How long will it take?”
“With this wind?” Rodney asked, looking to the sky. “Twenty or thirty minutes. But, hey.” He grabbed her arm and forced her attention back to him. “If the terrorists show up again and the dock is compromised, you need to take everyone farther north.” He looked up toward the shoreline. “There’s another dock about three blocks up. It’s private but easy to get to. The name of the building that it sits behind is the Regency.” He turned back toward her. “Take everyone there if things turn south here. If I come back and you’re not here, I’ll know where to go.” He grabbed her other free hand and then covertly shoved a revolver into her palm. “In case things get bad.”
Kate quickly hid the gun from sight, her body suddenly humming with nerves. “And what if the private dock doesn’t work out?”
A smile crept over Rodney’s face. “I could just toss these people in the river, and we could go across now.” He held up his hands defensively. “If you want to, of course.”
Kate couldn’t hide the snicker and punched him in the shoulder. He reminded her of the younger brother she’d never had. “Be safe. All right?”
“You too.”
The ropes were untied, and Kate and a few of the other parents helped shove off. Mark raised his arm and waved, though Holly kept herself tucked into a ball in his lap. Kate blew a kiss that he caught, and smiled.
The others had gathered at the end of the dock as well, arms waving back and forth, a desperation clinging to the cold winter air. It was a desperation lined with the hope of return, the hope of another chance, the hope of one more embrace.
But as the sails opened and caught the breeze, taking the small vessel across the icy waters of the Hudson, Kate heard loud claps in the city behind her. They were distant but ominous.
“Was that thunder?” a man asked, turning toward the sound.
Kate stepped forward, separating herself from the pack. She shook her head. “It’s gunfire.” And while the noise sounded far off, as time passed and the boat grew smaller, the gunfire became louder. Kate removed the small revolver, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it.
12
Twenty-five minutes had passed since the boat left, and Rodney had nearly reached the other side. Which meant she had about that much time until they came back. And while there was relief at the fact that her family was away from danger, Kate couldn’t shake the fear of being alone on this side of the river.
Of course there were the people still here, and while they all shared the same desire for safety and to be with their families, she didn’t know them.
It was almost funny. Kate had lived in New York for six months, and over the course of the past eight hours, she had spoken to more strangers than she had the entire time she’d been here. And for a pilot who flew strangers around the world, that was saying a lot.
“Hey, thanks.”
Kate turned at the nudging of her arm. She turned to find the woman she had let borrow the binoculars. “You’re welcome.”
The woman smiled sadly and then hugged herself, trying to stay warm. She was an older woman, probably in her mid-fifties. She had faded red hair that flowed long down her back, wound tightly into springy curls. Wrinkles and freckles covered her face in patterns that had somehow made her more attractive.
“How old is your son?” Kate asked, trying not to wince at the sound of the growing gunfire.
The woman looked toward the sound of the gunshots, then answered with her gaze lingering in the same direction. “Nine.” She looked back to Kate. “And your daughter?”
“She’ll be eleven next month,” Kate answered.
“Has she started the preteen phase yet?”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Last week she said she was going to the movies with friends, and the wa
y she said it, you would have thought she was going to ask to use my car to take them.”
Both women laughed, and it caught the attention of the others on the dock. Slowly, they gravitated toward the pair, and after a moment’s pause and awkward silence, Kate introduced herself. Putting names to faces always helped bring down walls.
The fifteen people that remained on the dock varied in age and sex. A little more than half were men, most of them the fathers of the children who had gone across. Three were women. Kate did her best to remember their names, but after their interaction, she only remembered a handful of them. The woman with the red hair stood out the most. She reminded Kate of a girl she had known in college.
It was the freckles and the hair and the way that she smiled. Kate’s friend had been sweet, smart, and reserved but also outlandishly crass upon occasion. Kate remembered one night during her sophomore year when the pair had streaked across their apartment complex with Halloween masks to hide their faces. They got quite a few honks and cheers out the window and more than one invitation for a sleepover. They circled back to their building and then dashed into the dorm. Of course that was before Luke was born. Before Dennis.
Kate had told Mark the story once, and she nearly spit out her wine when he asked if she wanted to do that with him. Which they did. On their honeymoon.
After college, Kate drifted apart from her red-haired, freckled friend. But today, somewhere beyond Manhattan, her friend was out there, wondering what the hell was going on. Maybe she was scared, maybe she was hurt, but Kate hoped that she wasn’t. She hoped that she was making the best of the situation just like she had always done. But above all, Kate hoped that she was safe.
A gunshot thundered, this one too close for comfort. The group stepped backward, the wood dock groaning under the mass retreat. People turned back to the river, searching in desperation for the boat.
“How much longer is he going to take before he gets back?”
“Can’t he go any faster?”
