“They got Gunny!” Mia screamed through angry tears.
“They’re going to take out anything that can be of use to the rebel forces,” Katrina said as she turned right down the long stretch of empty road. “Thankfully they got the helicopters out in time.”
“Will they leave after they blow up the vehicles?” Mia cried as she watched the smoking remains of the old tank in the distance.
“No.” Katrina shook her head as she slammed the gas pedal onto to the floor. “They’ll come for the buildings and the people next.”
*
She pulled the ambulance into the emergency entrance and rushed into the hospital. There was a blur of activity as the last of the bedridden patients were being carried to the helicopter. The hospital staff not actively helping were running out of the doors to safety. Dr. C and another doctor balanced a wounded veteran awkwardly between the two of them.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Dr. C paused to whisper to Katrina.
“Katrina,” Natalie Sprague cried out. She was carrying a small child with an oxygen tank in her arms. “Dreya said you got us the flight. Your dad would be so proud of you.”
Katrina nodded. “How many more are there?”
Natalie looked to the waiting helicopter. “I think that’s it. Dreya and Rose are coming with Admiral Neil now. Thirty-two patients. I don’t know how we are all going to fit.”
“It’s all I could get,” Katrina said. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no. You did good. Thank you,” Natalie reassured her and the boy in her arms began to cry. She hugged him closer and whispered in his ear while pointing to the helicopter.
Dreya came out of the elevator pushing the wheelchair of an old man wrapped in a robe and hospital gown. His shoulders were hunched, and his hands were bent with arthritis. When the Admiral looked up at Katrina, she saw his roughly shaven chin quiver, but his eyes were intensely focused.
Dreya handed the wheelchair to Rose and ran over to her little sister. “Oh thank God,” she cried out while grabbing Mia. “How did you get here?”
“Katrina drove me in an ambulance,” Mia mumbled out from under her sister’s gripping hug.
“Thank you so much Katrina,” Dreya turned to face her friend.
“Can everyone please stop thanking me?” Katrina threw her hands up in the air. “We need to move. Like right now.”
The drumming of the helicopter blades drowned out the sound of the machine guns in the sky. Natalie tried to put the child on the aircraft, but the screaming boy wouldn’t let go of her shirt. Dr. C pulled her up the ramp into the back.
“There is not enough room,” Natalie screamed at the doctor.
“I’ll get off,” Dr. C said. “Then the Admiral can fit.”
“We can fit him without the wheelchair,” a Corpsman holding an IV bag of a patient behind the doctor yelled. “We need you ma’am. You need to stay here.”
Rose stood in front of the old man to lift him as Dreya helped from behind.
Admiral Neil turned and grabbed Dreya’s arm. “Leave me here,” he barked at her. Dreya tried to soothe the man, but he turned to the Corpsman with the IV bags. “Take her instead,” he said as he roughly pushed Rose forward. “That is an order son.”
The Corpsman replied, “Yes sir,” and held onto Rose with one arm as she tried to break free.
The Admiral fell hard back into his wheelchair and Katrina rushed to catch it.
“Get me a gun,” he commanded Katrina.
She turned to Mia. “Ask the pilot for a pistol. Tell him the Admiral wants it.” Mia took off running to the front of the aircraft.
“You need to come with us,” Dr. C tried to reason. “You’ll die here if you don’t.”
“When I die, I’m going on my own terms.” The Admiral glared at her and Dr. C shook her head. Dreya and Katrina rolled the Admiral’s wheelchair back down off the ramp as Mia ran over with the pilot’s 9mm. She placed it in the Admiral’s lap to calm him down.
“Katrina,” Natalie screamed as she tossed her keys to the girl. “The gun safe key is green. Take my Jeep. It’s in the garage. Hurry. Get somewhere safe.” Katrina grabbed the keys midair and they rushed away from the rising helicopter.
When the aircraft was in the sky, Katrina turned to look at the destruction that occurred in a matter of minutes. The administration buildings and cafeteria were burning to the ground. The main base entrance was a gaping hole with some of the civilian vehicles thrown to their side. The Osprey from the hospital headed south as the remaining Cobras stopped firing and went North.
The enemy planes regrouped and rained fire down on the remaining structures. The whistle from the rocket headed toward the hospital snapped Katrina out of her daze. She pushed the Admiral’s wheelchair behind a parked ambulance as the rocket made impact. The right wing of the hospital buckled and erupted in flames.
“We need to go now,” Katrina yelled at Dreya.
“Leave me here,” Admiral Neil commanded as the girls tried to maneuver his wheelchair down the street.
“Please Admiral,” Dreya cried. “We can get you somewhere safe.”
“God damnit,” the Admiral spit. “Leave me here. Let me fight.”
Katrina put her hand on Dreya’s back and shook her head. “Yes sir,” she said to him. “Is this spot okay?”
Admiral Neil grunted in response. “Now get those girls to safety,” he told Katrina. “I’ll cover you.”
Dreya tried to plead with the man but Mia dragged her away. The three of them took off running down the hill, heading to the family housing area.
Before they turned down the side street, Katrina heard the whistle of another rocket being dropped on the hospital. She looked back to see Admiral Neil holding the 9mm in his shaking, crooked hands as he fired off shots at the helicopter.
Chapter 16
Smoke filled the sky and the sun turned red again. The girls ran down the empty streets of houses abandoned minutes earlier. Doors were left open, bags dropped on lawns. Please let them all be safe, Katrina prayed as they turned onto Natalie’s street.
The planes had destroyed the air field and most of the military structures. Katrina looked over her shoulder to see them flying toward the family housing buildings.
Dreya burst through the door of Natalie’s house.
“Get food,” Katrina told her. “Fast.” Mia ran to the kitchen with her sister as Katrina bolted up the stairs to find the gun safe. She found the safe in the bedroom closet and quickly pulled out the .30-30 Winchester along with a box of bullets.
Dreya and Mia opened the garage door. Katrina started the engine of the grey Jeep Cherokee and the sisters jumped inside. The tires squealed as she threw the Jeep in reverse, backing out down the driveway. With her foot slammed on the gas, she raced through the residential roads and out the side gate of the base.
“Want me to try and shoot the planes?” Mia asked from the backseat.
“With what?” Katrina’s face contorted in sadness. “The rifle? That wouldn’t do any good. You’d just waste ammunition.”
“Gah,” Mia groaned. “I just want to do something.” Katrina could feel the girl’s leg bouncing on the floorboard behind her. She looked over to see Dreya’s right foot digging into the floor too, willing the Jeep to go faster.
*
Katrina drove the Jeep into the next valley, hitting 120mph on the open desert road. The smoke from the burning base was far over the mountain ridge before she dared to slow down. All three girls were shaking.
“Did they just let us go?” Dreya asked as she turned around in her seat. “How did they not see the vehicle moving?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there were a bunch of people still escaping and they couldn’t hit us all.” Katrina held firmly to the steering wheel. “Whatever it was, we have got to stop pressing our luck.”
“I assume you want to go to the cabin now.” Dreya had been silently crying as she stared out the window, but her voice sounded strong again.
> “Not yet.” Katrina got off the side road and pulled back onto the two lane desert highway. “I have something that I need to do first.”
“Are you going to tell us what that is?” Mia leaned forward, putting her head over the front center console.
“Um. I can’t right now. It’s kind of a surprise.”
Mia blew out a heated breath. “I am so over surprises.”
“To be honest. I don’t know what it is. My dad told me to go somewhere and meet some guy.” Katrina glanced at the dashboard. The tank was a quarter full. “We are going to need gas before then though.”
“Well you missed the signs pointing to a rest stop five miles ago,” Dreya said.
“There is another place coming up that is more off the grid than that stop was. I think we can make it there,” Katrina smiled at her friend.
“What if Jayden can’t find the cabin?” Dreya whispered as she looked back out the window.
“They will get there if they are okay.” Katrina’s voice was blunt. She’d shown James where the cabin was on a map. He’d know how to get there, right? Hopefully this Hawthorne thing wouldn’t take too long. All she wanted, once again, was to get to the cabin and put this whole mess behind her.
The sound of plastic crinkling in the backseat brought Katrina out of her head.
“How can you eat right now?” Dreya turned to look at her little sister.
Mia held up a cookie apologetically and handed it to her. “Natalie had Oreos. Gosh I love that woman.” The girls laughed and finished off the entire package as the needle on the gas gauge dipped into the red.
*
“Up ahead is an old gas station.” Katrina stopped laughing. “Mia get the rifle ready. Let’s hope we don’t have to use your skills.”
“We can’t get gas from the pumps.” Dreya eyed her. “The power is out over here. Unless they have a generator like base.”
“True,” Katrina smiled. “But I’m hoping that we have some options. Either we find a way to siphon gas from a vehicle left there. Or we can pop the cover off the manhole and maybe siphon from there.”
“And this is why we love her,” Mia grinned. “She knows all sorts of information that would be useless unless the world ended.”
Katrina pulled the Jeep into the dirt lot and parked beside the old metal cylinder pump. There were no vehicles around the building. “Option 2,” Katrina said as she got out of the Jeep to look for the fuel cover.
The dirty window of the small store displayed porcelain dolls, cheap plastic toys, and bags of chips. The surrounding landscape was empty except for this tiny outpost. They must have made a killing off stranded motorists, Katrina thought.
She spotted the cover to the fuel storage and opened the back of the Jeep to find a crow bar. The sound of bells from the front door of the shop froze Katrina’s muscles. “Someone’s here,” she whispered as she started to lower the door.
“Maybe they have a generator.” Mia tried to smile.
“Stay down,” Katrina warned as she slammed the back door closed.
“You planning on paying for some gas girl?” A man’s voice called out from the building. Katrina peeked around the pump to see a large man in a stained white t-shirt and grey spiked hair pointing a rifle in her direction.
“Yes sir,” Katrina called back as she tried to quell the rising panic in her chest. “Not exactly with money though. I have some stuff to trade.”
“I’ll bet you do.” The man laughed as he rubbed his protruding belly. “Well fill her up and bring your trade here so I can have a look-see.”
Katrina unscrewed the gas cap and put the nozzle in the tank. When the gas started flowing, she opened the driver door and motioned for Mia to keep the rifle down. “Keep watch,” she whispered to them. “And hand me your sleeping system from your pack.”
Mia shook her head no. “Gunny Drake will kill me!”
“It’s the only thing we have of value to trade. I promise there is more at the cabin.”
“You better not be trying any funny stuff,” the man from the shop yelled. “I’ll shoot your tires out and take everything you got if you do.”
Mia reluctantly handed her the bag and Katrina walked from behind the pump, out into the open.
The man kept his rifle pointed at her head. He sized her up and then licked his lips noisily as he looked her back down again. Katrina’s stomach rolled and she swallowed back bile while she tried to keep a straight face.
“I have a military grade sleeping bag and liner for you. It’s top quality, worth more than the gas.”
“Well now,” the man smiled showing his blackened teeth, “I’m not so sure that equates being as the nuclear explosions and inflation make my gas a rarity.”
“I can find something else,” Katrina nodded. “How much more do you think you’ll need?”
“A lot more,” the man smirked.
“I’ll go check what else I’ve got.” Katrina began to walk to the vehicle.
“Don’t worry about it,” he laughed. Katrina paused in confusion. She turned to face the man just as he reached out a grimy hand and grabbed a fistful of her hair. “I’ll take all of you in…”
Bang.
The man’s head exploded as his large form toppled to the ground.
“Thank you, Mia!” Katrina screamed as she raced back to the Jeep and threw it into gear.
“Ugh. That guy was so creepy.” Dreya shivered as she watched the rear window to see if anyone was following them.
“I’m just grateful your sister is such a good shot.” Katrina shook off the feeling of his hand in her hair. “But yeah, that was pretty awful.”
Chapter 17
Katrina pulled the Jeep onto a back road that cut behind some farmland. “We will be there in about two hours.”
“Those mountains look like the ones we hiked in,” Mia said pointing to the ridge up ahead.
“They are,” Katrina beamed. “You remember.”
“I remember the town too.” Mia looked nervously out the windows. “Wasn’t it somewhere around here?”
Katrina felt the memory wash over her of kneeling in the desert waiting to be shot. She quickly pushed it away. “We are avoiding that area at all costs.”
*
Acres of sagebrush and desert spread out in all directions of the valley that held the town of Hawthorne.
“These little hills look so weird.” Dreya squinted as she tried to process the landscape.
“That’s because they aren’t hills,” Katrina said as she drove past them to the Army Depot. “They are underground bunkers.”
Dreya turned suddenly in her seat to face her. “Katrina, what are we doing here?” She glanced back at her little sister who was busy watching the man altered topography. “This seems dangerous. What are you getting us into?” she whispered.
“I seriously don’t know,” Katrina whispered back. “My dad made me promise that if the new government broke through Southern California then I needed to go to Hawthorne to meet a guy.”
Dreya sighed. “I guess we don’t have a choice then. Just don’t get my sister hurt.”
“I don’t think my dad would ask me to do something that dangerous.” Katrina pulled the Jeep through the Army gatepost. There were no guards at the station, so she creeped the vehicle through the concrete barriers. The small base seemed abandoned.
She parked the Jeep and the girls climbed out. A large tumbleweed blew down the road.
“Now that is cliché,” Mia commented as the dead plant rolled away.
“No one is here,” Dreya said as she put her hand on her sister’s head to quiet her down. “What do we do?”
“We wait I guess.” Katrina shrugged her shoulders.
*
After a few hours, Katrina moved the vehicle further away from the main road. The sun set and they laid down the backseat of the Jeep. Dreya pulled out cans of soup which they ate after warming for a few minutes on the engine.
“Remember the marmot?”
Katrina laughed.
“I remember the rabbit was better,” Mia said as she drained the last drops of broth from the can. They let the heater run inside the Jeep for a few more minutes. Then they unzipped Mia’s sleeping bag to form a large blanket which they shared while laying in the back.
Mia was soon snoring, and Katrina felt her head pounding as she released the tension from the day. Her eyes closed heavily. Dreya rustled the blanket as she rolled away from her sister to face Katrina.
“Are you asleep?” she whispered.
“Not anymore,” Katrina groaned.
“Good.” Dreya said. “Listen. I don’t think we should go to the cabin. I know it’s a safe place, but we still have work to do. After we handle whatever this is, I think we should get to the base in Arizona to go help Natalie and Rose.”
Katrina murmured as she tried to open her eyes and process what she was hearing. “Can’t we just be done with this all?” She blinked. “I’m getting really tired of everything.”
“You haven’t picked a side yet.” Dreya put her arm under her head to use as a pillow. “I have. I want to help.”
“I have picked a side,” Katrina protested. “I am choosing to support the people I love. But I also am tired of bad things happening and I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“Well that’s kind of the thing.” Dreya closed her eyes. “I might need real doctors soon.”
“Are you okay?” Katrina asked, fully awake.
“I think so. For right now. But in about nine months I won’t be.”
Katrina’s eyes almost popped out of her head as she sat up. “Dreya!”
“Shh,” Dreya whispered as she pulled her back down. “Don’t wake Mia. I don’t want to tell her yet.”
“How long have you known?” Katrina laid back on the Jeep bed.
“Just a little while. I took the test three days before the enemy planes came.”
“Holy hell. What do we do?”
“I’ll figure something out, but I think the safest place for me would be at the hospital.”
Katrina nodded as she wrapped the corner of the sleeping bag around her shoulder. “You’re going to make a great mom.”
Project Dandelion: Resistance Page 7
