by S. A. Lowry
Upon piling their equipment and supplies into the back of their newly acquired SUV, Price breaks the machine gun down and props it up in one of the back windows of the vehicle while placing his extra canned ammunition beside the door. Ringo decides to prop up his M249 SAW on the other side window of the back door as Christopher and Reagal hop in the very back of the vehicle to take up rear security.
Gilroy now sits in the middle between Ringo and Price. Trevor takes up the front passenger seat as obviously, Hunter hops in the driver’s side seat and begins backing up. Everyone in the truck is now excited and grateful to find a functioning vehicle which can hold all of them and their equipment. Trevor directs Hunter to follow the road out of the walled off compound inside the truck stop and to head for what appears to be a border crossing only a 1/2 mile down the way at the end of the facility.
It becomes apparent to Trevor that this is the border crossing into Kuwait because the fenced off area has one entry and exit adjacened to eachother. Also there are guard towers with Iraqi flags propped up on them. These were obvious signs.
As their SUV approaches closer to the crossing, they continue to pass even more bodies scattered amongst the facility. Most of them obviously ripped to pieces and mutilated without mercy. The stinch of the dead finds it’s way into the vehicle through the open windows. As a result, most of the soldiers begin covering their noses in disgust with their gloves and their tops.
Once the vehicle passes through the border crossing, they find a road which leaves out the facility and heads straight down to another checkpoint with towers, gates and fences. It only seems to be about five hundred meters away from one checkpoint to the next. All that surrounds the lone road is open desert. As they push forward at a high rate of speed to safety, Trevor now notices the visible Kuwaiti flags flying in the air on the other side. The men begin cheering for joy as they crack jokes at eachother and demonstrate shies of relief.
That is, until they are only now a few feet away from the gate. What they discover, is what they saw on the Iraqi side as well. No one manning the towers or the gate. Dead bodies scattered everywhere at the base of the towers and the gates. It now becomes apparent to the group, as their cheers of joy fade and the look of dread becomes visible on their faces as they retreat to silence, that the long hard road to safety is going to be a longer one than they had anticipated.
Trevor tells Hunter to pick up his rate of speed. It’s all about survival now the group concludes to eachother as Trevor reaches down into his pocket and lights up his last and only Miami cigerette.
CHAPTER 4
KnowingiShalftheBattle Gunshots began to ring out in the street as the rest of the surviving members of the group sprint across the roadway to the awaiting safety of the bus Andrew secured for them.
One of the older ladies of the group, has the child from the little league baseball team whom were attacked in the terminal not so long ago in her arms as she makes her way to safety in a dead sprint to the bus. Automatic fire weezes by in all directions of the survivors as they move in a file.
Some zig zagging on the road and screaming in sheer panic of being shot and left to die in the center of the street. Upon entering the bus while yelling at Andrew to take off and get the bus moving, the Air Marshall, whom was the first to enter, trips over a brutally beaten corpse laid out in the middle of the aisle way. The body is of a man whom seemed to have his head beaten in with a baseball bat. Brain matter, blood and tissue from the man’s head appeared to be scattered all over the floor and on the seats and windows of the bus.
Once everyone safely enters the bus, Andrew attempts to close the front door. However, never driven a bus before and not being familiar with the basic operations of it, he frantically asks for help from one of the survivors.
The TSA employee orders him to move out the way and hops in the driver’s seat as Andrew retreats back to one of the passenger seats of the bus. The door instantly closes within seconds of the man entering the seat. The TSA employee slips the bus into reverse and begins backing out as rounds begin impacting the bus from a distance. Various windows are shot out as stray bullets ripple through the vehicle. All of the passengers, including the older lady, go straight to the floor instantly for cover while she attempts to shelter the small child beneath her.
Once the bus has enough room to move forward, the driver instantly takes off down the street in the direction of the shooting. The TSA employee instantly yells for everyone to hold on as he sees multiple police cruisers blocking the road a few hundred meters down from his location while assuming that is where the gunfire originated. There also appears to be a mob of people in front of them attempting to storm the barricade as the police officers behind it continue to open fire.
The driver decides to ram right through them. Just before impact, he notices the police officers dodging out of the way of the bus which has rammed their blockade. In the process, the TSA employee plowed right through the middle of the mob crushing many different potential attackers or innocent civilians. There was no way of telling.
Upon ramming the blockade, pushing through the violent blood thirsty mob and surviving a volley of fire, The bus has broken through to safety. The Air Marshall asks the driver if they are in the clear as he raises his head up to poke around from the center of the aisle right next to the beaten down corpse which lies in the center of the bus. The driver nods his head with a look of shock on his face and decides to stay silent. The Air Marshall, now taking a seat, yells to the remaining survivors that “the coast is clear”.
Everyone rises up from cover and tries to get comfortable in their seats. All of them now, proceed to stare out the window in awe as they witness the chaos unfold in the streets.
As the bus pushes on, the TSA employee who is behind the wheel informs the group he is headed for the freeway in an attempt to get out of down town Atlanta. Nobody really seemed to pay attention to him as their eyes laid glued to the windows. What they see are people running in panic for cover. Women trying to start their cars up in panic while mobs of attackers smash through their driver’s side windows and rips them from their seats into the street.
Burning cars and car crashes in the middle of intersections. Assailants chasing innocent victims as if they were food and ripping into their flesh with their bare hands upon catching them. In addition, the survivors notice some civilians with privately owned weapons running down the street shooting anyone in sight who comes close to them. There appears to be an attacker on every corner and someone running away from that person. All of the attackers are from all different types of ethnicities and ages as well.
“Oh my god! There are children in that group of people eating that poor man alive!” yells the flight stewardess in horror as they pass the front of a daycare center. What she saw was coming from the playground on the side of the building as the bus passed it up. Everybody is now shocked and frieghtened. Nobody knows what to make of the situation and are shaking uncontrollably, including Andrew.
The Air Marshall has decided that he has seen enough. He releases his magazine from his pistol grip to inspect how many rounds he has left. He then turns his hand to his back belt buckle through his coat to check how many pistol magazines he has remaining. Upon becoming aware of his remaining round count, he stands up from his seat and grabs on to one of the poles in the center aisle.
“Alright listen up people. Now I don’t know what the hell those things are, but if we are to survive, we better stick together,” states the Air Marshall as he overlooks the group.
As he was about to continue, he is interrupted by one of the survivors. “Now wait a damn minute. I’m not sticking with anyone! I need to get to Oklahoma and meet up with my associates,” rudely interrupts one of the survivors who is wearing a business suit which is covered in blood. Parts of his suit are also slightly torn apart. Another passenger follows suite.
“I have to get back home to Seattle. I’m a nurse at a hospital and can’t be late or not show up, they will
fire me. I need that job too, it’s my career. If I lose it I won’t be able to pay my bills,” exclaims one of the female survivors as she stares on at the chaos outside her window.
The Air Marshall looks on waiting for anyone else to add their opinion. He notices the mother in the back of the bus still crying and weeping for her lost children. In pity he places his head down and stays silent for a few moments. Andrew decides to chime in right then and there in the Air Marshall’s defense.
“Do you all see what is going on outside? I am pretty sure this isn’t the only place. Whatever is going on, everything has now changed. If we split apart then we will be left vunerable. Whoever these attackers are, they are women, men and children. It can happen to anyone. If we are to survive we need to stick together until all of this gets sorted out,” Andrew proclaims.
The older lady, who is cradling the small child in her arms as she sits in her seat, makes a statement.
“I agree with the young soldier and the Air Marshall. There have been reports of this kind of chaos going on all over different parts of the country. The TV said it wasn’t happening here, but that was only a few days ago. Now look whats going on. We have to work together. By the way, my name is Linda. Linda Evermoore,” exclaims the older lady.
Andrew decides to introduce himself to the frieghtened group followed by a slight head nod in agreement with Linda. The Air Marshall decides to follow suite shortly after and introduces himself.
“My name is Riggs Donnovan. Just call me Riggs. Whats your name boy?” asks the Air Marshall while leaning over to the small child they just recently saved not too long ago while scruffing the top of his head with his hand.
“Andrew Wilkinson. I am ten years old and some day going to join the Army!” exciteingly responds the child.
“It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I was wondering though, do you know what happened to my friends? You know, my friends on the team?” curiously asks the child. Andrew and Riggs look back at eachother trying to figure out something polite to say. Linda realizes what he is asking and begins stroking his head as she makes him rest on her shoulder.
“Oh kiddo, you know what happened back there was pretty serious and unexpected . . . . ,” Linda is now cut off by the mother in the back walking up to the front of the bus as tears run down her eyes.
“THEY ARE ALL GONE! ALL OF THEM! SO ARE MY CHILDREN. WE LEFT THEM THERE!” frantically cries the mother as she takes seat in a new area of the bus and weeps as she leans up against the window.
The boy, now realizing what fate may have came to his team mates and friends, looks back over to Linda. “They are all dead aren’t they? It’s okay, you can tell me. I am going to be a soldier some day, just like Andrew,” bravely states the child with a sense of acceptance in his voice as he looks over to Andrew in an admiring fashion.
Linda appears shocked along with Andrew and Riggs. The bus driver looks back as if he was going to make a comment, but stopping short of something to say.
The stewardess, now looking heart broken, attempts to introduces herself. “My name is Tammy. I agree with all of you. We need to stick together. The only attachment I have is my fiance who lives in France. I don’t know if I will ever get back to him now,” the stewardess explains as her eyes begin to water with tears.
The business man in the suit rolls his eyes while folding his arms together sarcastically.
Andrew and Riggs stare at the man being insensitive to the stewardess’s plight.
“My name is Mr. Lyons,” the man sarcastically states.
Now Linda turns back and begins to glare at the man in disgust.
“What? Alright fine. Randall Lyons. Are you all happy now? Don’t see how this really matters,” the business man sarcastically states without displaying any emotion. Upon entering the on-ramp of the expressway and mainly clearing most of the commotion and chaos outside, the TSA employee whom is in control over the bus, over hears the conversation between the group. After becoming angered at Randall’s comments, he instantly stops the bus in a dead halt just short of the freeway.
Upon the bus coming to an immediate halt, the doors swing wide open. The TSA employee demands that Randall and whoever wants to take their chances outside can go ahead and walk off the bus.
Everyone in the back remains silent. Without receiving a response, the driver proceeds to get up from his seat and grab Randall by his collar while dragging him out of his seat towards the door.
Riggs and Andrew interfere and break the driver’s grip of Randall’s collar. “What the hell is wrong with you man! Slow your damn roll!” yells Riggs as he pushes the driver back to the seat while he is yelling and threatening to punch Randall across the face.
Andrew keeps Randall secure in his seat in fear of retaliation, however, Randall does nothing.
Riggs defuses the situation by talking to the driver and explaining to him how confusing and stressful the situation is right now. He persuades the driver to sit back in his seat, close the doors and to drive off.
The TSA employee complies while commenting under his breath.
Once on the road, the driver begins explaining his plight.
“Man, I was supposed to get off work in a few hours and see my girl. I had everything planned out, even reservations,” the driver exclaims.
Andrew and Riggs look on in silence waiting for the man to go on while Randall begins shaking his head in his seat. “Whats your name man? I think it’s fair that we get to know each other. What you think boss?” asks Riggs displaying a friendly and inviting demeanor to the angered TSA employee.
“My name is Dwayne. Dwayne Hearst. Just another name in this messed up nightmare,” sadly explains the man as he merges with oncoming traffic which is traveling well over a hundred miles an hour trying to escape the city.
“Well Mr. Dwayne Hearst, glad to meet you. Where is your girl at right now? Maybe we can go get her?” offers Riggs in a comforting tone of voice to calm the man down.
Dwayne begins shaking his head in disagreement. “Nahh man. She lives in downtown Atlanta. Right where all this chaos is going down. While we were just barely surviving back there, on the road I sent her multiple texts and even called her phone. She didn’t pick up. I can only expect the worse,” Dwayne sobs as he passes traffic at a higher rate of speed.
Riggs and Andrew look at eachother with worrisome facial expressions. “I want to go find her, however, I fear the worst. If I go looking for her, I know what I will find. I don’t want to see her like that. She works at that damn day care we just passed up man. I think that I saw her lieing on the pavement as we passed by. There is no way of telling. Man, I just don’t want to know!” yells Dwayne as tears begin to drip down his eyes.
Riggs sits down in the aisle beside Dwayne as he places his head down in sadness. “I am sorry Dwayne. Just don’t think about it. Don’t ever think about it,” a concerned Riggs advises in a desperate attempt to solve everyone’s problems.
That is when one of the males of the group, whom mainly remained silent the majority of the time, sitting beside one of the silent females of the group with his arm around her comforting her, rises up from his seat and marches down to the front of the bus behind Dwayne’s driver seat.
“Listen up ‘bro’, you need to slow your ass down before you get us all killed. I’m not about to put my fiance back there in even more danger! Got it?” orders the man with an apparent aggresive posture as if he was about ready to attack Dwayne.
Riggs rises up and places his hand on Lance’s chest.
“Not a good time, brother.”
That is when Dwayne looks back at the man in anger.
“Sit down before you get put down,” Dwayne threatens as if he’s got nothing else to lose.
The man standing up, wearing a blue Florida Gators jacket, begins yelling at Dwayne in defiance as he slaps away Rigg’s hand.
As a result, Riggs and Andrew attempt to subdue the man back to his seat where his fiance resides. Explosions down the freeway of
f into the distance can now be heard and seen in the direction they are headed. Dwayne quickly hops the median and turns around in the opposite direction while slowing down rapidly as the rest of the passengers clinge to dear life in an attempt not to go flying to the front of the bus. Hundreds of cars can be seen down the opposite direction they were headed just moments ago slamming at high rates of speed into a vehicle pile up.
More explosions are observed as multiple cars are seen flying up into the air. Many of the passengers shy in awe and make comments in shock. Once Riggs and Andrew get the angered man back in his seat, Andrew looks at the man’s fiance and apologizes for the aggresive demeanor they took towards her man. She shakes it off and thanks Andrew. Her fiance glares back at her in anger. Riggs sits in the seat across from the man and tries to reason with him.
“Look, the driver obviously isn’t in his right mind right now. You need to give him some space. What’s your story anyway? I need you to calm down so he can calm down and we can all sort this mess out some how,” Riggs reasonably explains in a calm and cool collective manner. The man, now appearing slightly calmer, introduces himself.
“My name is Lance. This is my fiance Tabatha,” the man explains as his fiance waves her hand up into the air greeting them. “We were on our way from Florida to New York to see my family. I was going to introduce my parents to Tabatha and inform them of our upcoming wedding. This ruined everything,” the man explains while trying to establish himself in a hardened demeanor.
