“Well, you guys need a ride?” Genesis offered.
“No, like I told them Army folk, we’re able and willing to walk. Maybe help someone else that might need it. Don’t feel right getting in nobody’s truck when there could be people out there that can’t help themselves. We’ll be alright. You guys just be careful with all this mess. It’s a shame how those people with them rich suits and all their greed, concerned about their money and what not; always creating problems, treating this damn good country like a goddamn business, screwing up the earth with their drilling and pollution. No wonder these Chinese sons of bitches started droppin their bombs. I been saying it be a matter of time until something like this happened.”
“Come on honey. That’s enough.” The older lady started urging the older gentleman away from the truck. You could tell by the man’s drooping eyes, the dark shadows around them and the way he talked about the government, that he was probably one of those old-fashioned hippies from the sixties. Creed wondered what kind of experiences the old man must’ve had throughout his life. He figured if one was to ask him, he’d probably tell you all sorts of stuff, like if he thought JFK was assassinated by a lone gunman, or was he killed by the C.I.A. He’d probably go on and say that the Apollo landings were all staged in a Hollywood basement. Creed couldn’t help but feel sorry for him; the way he talked along with the abysmal look upon his face. For all that he had probably been through however; it still seemed that the older man was happy regardless to have his health as much as he had his wife by his side.
“Well you guys make sure you stay safe, ye hear? Take care of each other. Maybe if we did more of that around the world, none of this would even be happ’nin.”
“Thank you. You guys do the same.” Genesis said.
The sweet old couple eventually turned and continued towards the big city lights. The older man swung his arm around his wife and they carried on until they disappeared into the growing crowds.
“God, I feel bad for them. They seemed really nice.” Genesis muttered.
“I’m sure they’ll be alright.” Kuruk responded.
Creed and Genesis continued staring out the window at the droves of people moving past the truck while Kuruk started growing impatient.
“Fuck this.” Kuruk opened the glove compartment and pulled out a small container. He lifted the lid to the container and pulled out a recently rolled joint and placed it in his mouth.
“Are you serious?” Genesis replied.
“What?”
“With everyone around?”
“What? You think anyone is going to give a shit right about now? I’m more concerned about having to share once everyone out here gets a whiff.”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
“Please, I think the world needs to get high right about now.”
“Well, that’s probably true.” Creed replied.
Genesis looked over at Creed who was smiling sarcastically.
“See, even your boyfriend knows.” Kuruk passed the joint to Creed who took it with an eager sense of excitability. Genesis just gasped with her mouth hanging open.
“Jesus, what am I going to do with the two of you?”
It took about three more hours for them to finally find get into the heart of the city. Creed’s father had called him to let him know the Army had dispatched them to Sky Harbor airport. The Army had set up one of many safe zones there in the parking garage. As expected the airport was almost unrecognizable by the flood of people. There were massive tents outside that were set up in the front, reaching from the entrance all the way to the parking garage. Swarms of military personnel scrambled to keep everything organized and stable throughout the anxious crowd of civilians. Kuruk managed to find a spot down the road by a burger joint. The parked and immediately headed down towards the entrance to Sky Harbor along with hundreds of others.
“Let’s make sure we stick together guys. We’ll find Creed’s parents and then go from there.” Kuruk instructed.
The scene at the Sky Harbor was slight bedlam at the very best. Anxious parents stood with their kids and tried their best to keep their sanity considering recent events. The Army did their best with organizing the swarming crowds taking over the airport. The men stationed outside had already spent countless hours trying to reunite loved ones that might’ve been separated in the recent attacks, while assigning cots inside the parking garage. Inside the main area of the airport, military personnel had set up a medical wing as well as officer’s quarters. Military planes were now littered amongst most of the runways while the make shift sheds that were previously set up in the back of the airport’s main concourses, were now filled with tanks, trucks, and various equipment. The Red Cross had also shown up and set up near the parking garage. They had set up food lines and medical aid tents for those in need, as well as a blood donation tents to help with anyone that might’ve been wounded during the raid. Creed felt an overwhelming doubt that they’d find his parents anytime soon while the three of them blatantly surveyed the area collectively. Luckily it only took about thirty minutes until Creed’s dad spotted them walking around the second floor of the parking garage.
“Creed.”
“Dad.”
Creed’s parents had found a spot near the east corner of the second-floor garage. They had set up a few cots for themselves and kept a few bags on another cot in the anticipation of Creed eventually showing up. Creed and his parents embraced while Kuruk and Genesis looked on.
“How are you guys?”
“We’re okay.”
“So good to see you finally. I bet it was a madhouse getting here, huh?”
“Yeah, it took us about three hours just to get here once we entered the city.”
“I can only imagine, that’s why your Mom and I left immediately after they announced it on the news. Well, almost immediately.”
Creed noticed the numerous bags around the cot. He smiled and knew that this was the work of his mother. She apparently felt that they had enough time to pack almost everything in the house. But that was Creed’s mom, meticulous at best.
“Kuruk, Genesis, hey guys.”
“Hello Mr. O’Connor.” Genesis responded.
Creed’s dad walked over to the siblings and hugged them both. He paused and looked at the two of them with a tear now trailing down his eye.
“It’s so good to see you, all of you. It really is.”
“You okay Dad?” Creed asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Well here guys, sit down, get comfy.”
Everyone swiftly sat down on the unimpressive cots the Army had set up. A few minutes after Creed got settled, he began looking around at the impalpable scenery surrounding them. Everyone seemed to be struck with feelings of concern and uncertainty. It was hard to find a smile in the mess of people still piling in. “So, you guys okay, everything went without a hitch on the way up here?” Creed’s dad asked.
“Yeah, well…other than it taking us a while to get here.”
“Yeah, it’s all a mess.”
“So, you know if there are any updates on what’s going on with everything?” Creed asked.
“Well, nobody’s really saying much. The Army hasn’t said anything since we’ve gotten here. I think they’re too busy setting up various safe zones around the city. They even started re-distributing people from the airport to hospitals and hotels. They told us just to settle in and eventually they’ll start filling us in on more. Of course, it’s not stopping some of these folks from speculating.”
“Like what?”
“Well, before we left the house, we heard the Chinese had invaded the east coast, New York was hit hard in the missile attacks and for a while we couldn’t get anything but local news channels on the television. Of course, they weren’t saying anything other than what we already knew. People around here are saying the Army guys are more than likely going to start recruiting some of us, that the bombs were dropped sporadically for no reason at all. Even some are spouting
the same old shit my Dad used to tell me about China taking over the world. I don’t know.”
“That’s insane.” Genesis replied.
“Well, what about the phones? They’re still working right?”
“So far yes.”
Creed looked upon his Dad’s eyes while he responded. He had seen a similar expression painted across his face when Creed had been much younger. This time however, it appeared a little more somber than before. He could tell his Dad was doing his best to console the lot of us. Yet something had broken him. Creed’s dad was the type of guy who could have his tires slashed by a young kid yet keep a smile on his face along with a sense of optimism throughout the entire day. Now it just looked like at any minute he was going to break down, unable to assure even himself.
“Well, I’m just glad you guys are safe.”
“Well you guys hungry? They have lots of food over there by the front entrance.” Creed’s mother said.
“I know they always say, how can you eat at a time like this? But I’m starving.” exclaimed Kuruk.
Creed lightly chuckled at Kuruk’s confession. Creed’s dad wasn’t the only one finding it hard to keep it together. You could see it amongst the sea of faces there in that parking garage. Many were attempting to find any type of simple repose just to keep their heads from spinning out of control. It was entirely expected to have multitudes of individuals start losing their minds in this surreal conundrum. It was probably going to be a long time before any type of normalcy would return. Just like what Doctors and scientists were saying when the AIDS crisis broke wide open. Things were going to get a lot worse before they get better. For the time being though, there was shelter, food and good company.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Col. Michael Mitchell had just settled into his post at Luke Air Force base just before China’s sneak attack and subsequent invasion began. He was initially ordered to the base as Gen. Baumgartner’s second in command once the General’s previous second was reassigned to Iraq for diplomatic affairs. After the attacks, the military quickly initiated a counter strike while simultaneously formulating multiple home front defensive divisions sent to various locations. Col. Mitchell was a part of those defensive efforts along with the General, as they set up shop all along Phoenix and its surrounding cities. That all changed when the general was killed in action. Mitchell would now be serving under Posey’s command. Moments after the evacuation began, Col. Posey ended up putting Mitchell in charge of the civilian population pouring in at the airport. Posey assigned a few soldiers to assist the colonel with providing communications with the civilians. As the airport started to overfill, Mitchell was overwhelmed with redistributing civilians to various other safe zones throughout the city. Mitchell was additionally charged with making sure adequate security was set up in and throughout the airport grounds. From time to time he would peruse the grounds himself to make sure everyone was settling in okay. As you can probably imagine during the chaos, it didn’t take long before complaints and rumors started to plague his efforts. Many of them were repetitive and insignificant at best; however, it wasn’t until a few days into their encampment that things began getting a little interesting for Col. Mitchell.
It started with a knock at the door. Without even looking up from his littered desk, Mitchell instructed the visitor to enter.
“Come in.”
The door swung open rather swiftly and a young soldier was peering over at Col. Mitchell with a sense of purpose.
“Sorry to bother you Colonel, but this guy outside said he really needed to talk to you.”
“What’s it about Sergeant?”
“I think I’ll let you see for yourself.”
“Alright fine, let him in.”
“Yes sir.” The sergeant looked away while waving towards the room. Just then a middle aged burly man appeared from the hallway and entered the room. The sergeant closed the door behind him as he exited.
“Good evening sir.”
“Evening.”
Col. Mitchell stood up from his desk and approached the gentleman. The two of them shook hands and then the colonel outstretched his arm, offering the visitor one of the two seats across from his desk.
“I’m Col. Mitchell as you might know, how may I be of service to you?”
“Yes sir, Colonel. I’m sorry to bother you so late at night. My name is Alderman Walsh, I teach English over at Desert Ridge High School. I came across something that happened during the attacks, figured you guys might be interested in seeing.”
“Is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, what would that be Mr. Walsh?”
Mr. Walsh reached into his pockets and pulled out his phone. The teacher took a few seconds finagling with it before approaching the colonel’s desk. “Can I?” Alderman asked.
“Sure.”
Mr. Walsh approached the colonel from the left side of his desk and proceeded to hand him the phone. Col. Mitchell took the phone and looked at it with a grave sense of curiosity.
“I want to assure you Colonel, none of what I’m about to show you has been doctored in any way.”
“Okay.”
“Just push play.”
The colonel gave out a quick sigh before pushing the play button on the phone. The picture was faint, but he could make out a young boy hunching over a young girl while a red glowing mass surrounded them both. After a few seconds into the video, the young boy grabs the young girl and immediately lifts into the sky, eventually flying out of sight. Once the video ended, the colonel immediately sat back in his chair and looked over at the English teacher confused.
“Is this a joke Mr. Walsh?”
“No sir, this is no joke. I saw it with my own eyes; that kid in the video is actually a student of mine.”
“So, you saw this happen?”
“Yes sir, I’m the one who filmed it.”
“Where did you say this happened?”
“That was right outside of our high school sir; Desert Ridge, over in Mesa.”
“What’s his name?”
“His name is Creed, Creed O’Connor sir. He’s a junior. Decent kid, somewhat of a loner.”
Col. Mitchell glanced back down at the phone and pushed play on the video for a second time. After the video ended, the colonel nodded his head in disbelief, glancing back at Mr. Walsh with a piercing expression. “Mr. Walsh, do understand the magnitude of what you just showed me? The video, if it is real as you say, you just captured something most provocative.”
“Yes sir.”
The colonel simply sat there for a moment pondering the implications before belting out a most hideous laugh. He shook his head while continuing to glared over at Alderman.
“So, Mr. Walsh, what is it that you expect me to do with this?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I know it’s a silly gesture, but I just thought that I shouldn’t be the only one to see it.”
“Why don’t you put it on YouTube? Isn’t that the new thing these days? I’m sure you’d get a lot of attention. Is that what you’re after?”
“What? No?”
“I’m sure you could find some pompous journalist to make it worth your while.”
“Forget it.” Mr. Walsh furiously stood up from his seat. “You know what? I’m sorry I even brought it in to show you, obviously there is no merit inside these walls, I’ll just go now.”
“Alright Mr. Walsh, sit down, I was just having a little fun.”
The older teacher paused and stood there for a second. He gathered himself before finally sitting back in the chair. The snide smirk was all but gone from the colonel’s face as he continued.
“Alright, alright. Leave the phone Mr. Walsh. I’ll figure out what to do from here.”
“You pulling my chain now, Colonel?”
“I don’t pull chains Mr. Walsh. You’ll be around though, I assume? In case I have any further questions for you.”
“Yes definitely, whatever you need.” Mr.
Walsh stood up immediately after the colonel stood from his desk. The two of them started making their way towards the door.
“Oh say, Mr. Walsh?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Now, you wouldn’t happen to know if this kid is here at the airport, would you?”
“I did see his father out there, but I haven’t seen him yet.”
“Alright, thank you, we’ll be in touch.”
“Yes sir, thank you.”
As Alderman exited the office, Col. Mitchell quickly glanced back down at the teacher’s phone. While grazing over his face with the palm of his hand, the colonel paused momentarily before finally pushing play for a third time.
Two days later, Col. Posey was making his daily rounds at the airport with his aides, when he became distracted by bellowing laughter coming from Mitchell’s office. Posey stood there confused for a second before knocking on the door and immediately letting himself in.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything?”
As Col. Posey entered the office, he saw Mitchell and two of his staff sergeants nestled around the desk. Once they noticed Col. Posey, they all stood up quickly and saluted.
“At ease gentleman.” The colonel ordered.
“Col. Posey. What a unique surprise, come on in.”
“Thank you, Mike.” The colonel wasted no time taking a seat in one of the two chairs in the office. Mitchell’s assistants were one Sgt. Domingo Ruiz alongside Sgt. Paul Baskins, respectively. They both quickly moved to the side of the desk as Col. Mitchell slipped Mr. Walsh’s phone inside one of his drawers. “How are things going around here?”
“Fine, just fine.”
“How is everything on the civilian front?”
“Really good. I mean, as good as anything could be right about now.”
Col. Posey kept peering over towards Ruiz and Baskins with suspicion. He knew something was going on wanted to see if Mike would be forthcoming at first.
Goodbye Sky Harbor Page 7
