Sidling to the soldiers by the ramps, I yell into each their ears, “The engine thrust is causing your rounds to be blown to the rear. Compensate but don’t hit the engines.”
They all look at me and then center on their sights once again. “Robert, ask them how many more,” I call.
“They said 6 more,” he responds several moments later
“Okay, tell them to get ready.”
After telling Robert to power back, the ten drop to the ground, scramble over the fence, cross the intervening space and race up the ramp past me into the aircraft. I look over to see Nic on the opposite side of the ramp motioning with her hands; urging the soldiers up the ramp and into the aircraft.
“Okay, bud, once more. Throttle up.”
I feel and hear the engines as they increase their thrust. The creatures are still pinned against the fence on the far side of the tower and the ones circling the wings are being blown backward as they venture behind the giant props, their bodies skip and bounce across the ramp like rag dolls. Some drop to the ramp as a few rounds find their marks through the hurricane winds; their bodies skipping along with the rest of them.
Once the ramp is clear of bodies, I jump on the intercom and direct Robert to tell the remaining soldiers in the tower to exit. I see them exit the doors above and race down the metal fire stairs. As they near the ground, I tell Robert to cut back on the throttles to allow them to make it to the aircraft. As the engines wind rapidly down, the creatures on the fence fall to the ground and scramble to their feet in a disoriented state.
The remaining soldiers drop the final ten feet one after the other and run across the ramp toward the safety of the aircraft. Another streak of luck, I think watching them race across the ramp. Rounds reach out from the soldiers’ weapons stationed on the edges of the ramp impacting into the disoriented creatures as the last of the soldiers run to safety. As the last of them pounds up the ramp, I call out above the din for the soldiers guarding to scramble up, raising the ramp as they reach the interior.
“Keep it steady bud, I’ll be right up,” I tell Robert before unhooking from the intercom.
Coiling the cord extension up as the ramp closes completely, I look around at the soldiers in the rear of the aircraft and lining the aisle along the left side, most of them are leaning forward with their hands on their knees panting from the close call and run across the ramp. I stop by the supplies lashed to the cargo deck to reach in and extract an item from the boxes, sliding it into the leg pocket of my flight suit. I spot Lynn standing near the now closed ramp.
“Sergeant Connell, a word with you in private,” I say catching her eye.
A voice sounds from almost directly behind me, “Captain. Check with me first before calling out one of my soldiers!”
I turn my head over my shoulder to see a soldier standing there with a subdued rank of major velcroed to the front of his fatigues. “And who are you?” I say in return.
“Major Bannerman and you will address me with respect, Captain. So it is sir or Major to you,” Bannerman answers.
“Well, Bannerman, I just flew half way across the world to pick your ass up out of a fire and apparently in the nick of time from what I saw,” I say turning completely around to face him.
“I am the ranking officer here so that places me in charge of this outfit, Captain,” he says placing his hands on his rather round hips and glares at me with a challenge.
The soldiers around who can hear our conversation are all finding very interesting things on the ground in front of them to look at but their ears are glued to the words being exchanged. Nic looks at me with an amused smile knowing how this conversation is going to go and what’s coming next but curious as to how it is going to be received.
“Not on this aircraft it doesn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more pressing business to take care of,” I say turning back towards Lynn.
I notice Nic’s smile and there are small smiles played across the faces of some of the soldiers who continue to find their interest directed at anything but this development. I hear Bannerman start to say something but falls silent as I turn and walk over to Lynn.
Standing before her, I reach out and we hug each other tightly. “I’m so glad you are okay. I love you,” we both say in each other’s ears.
Releasing our hug after a long moment, I reach into my leg pocket and hand her a bottle of beer. “I promised to have one of these for you when I picked you up,” I say as she takes the beer with a smile. “Enjoy it. I have to go up and see if I can remember how to do that pilot stuff. Have everyone strap in as best as they can, babe.”
“It’s so wonderful to see you, hon,” I add taking a step backward. “I’m so happy that you’re safe.”
“It’s so, so good to see you, babe,” Lynn answers in return.
I head back up into the cockpit and strap in. I see a lot of creatures running around in front of the aircraft lit by the landing lights. “Are we going run through them like at Brunswick?” Robert asks once I plug into the intercom.
“No. I’m too exhausted. Let’s just get airborne, fuel up here in the morning and plan our flight back,” I say wearily, not looking forward to flying for a couple more hours after the fourteen plus hour flight here.
I bump the throttles forward and the aircraft responds by rolling across the ramp; the creatures in front of us part as we make our way to the runway. The 130 transitions once again to a creature of the sky as our wheels lift off the asphalt, leaving those earthbound to the earth. I level off at 3,000 feet and set up an orbital path three miles from the camp on the nav system and engage the autopilot. The camp lights come into our windshield with each turn back towards the encampment, looking like a small, peaceful city at night. My thought is be close to the airport in case our fuel supply runs low and to hopefully draw some of the creatures out our way and trap them with the dawn coming just a couple hours away.
We bore holes in the sky until the horizon lightens announcing the next scheduled appearance of the sun. With its tip poking above the horizon, I turn back towards the runway and land. We taxi up to the base of the tower looking at the ruined fence and the bodies scattered around. I shut down and head back to the cargo compartment to lower the ramp. Lynn walks up as the ramp lowers letting the pale light of the coming day inside.
“We’ll gather what food, water, medical supplies, weapons, and ammo we can,” she says.
“Sounds good. We’ll refuel and then I’ll need a few hours of rest. I have to plan our return legs and should be ready around noon,” I say as we give each other a big hug and kiss. “I’m sure glad we actually talked about this rendezvous before. Weird that we actually had to use it huh?”
“No kidding,” she says in reply.
Robert and I refuel the aircraft from several fuel trucks parked along the ramp as Nic and Bri wheel the ground power unit from out of the cargo compartment. Lynn and the soldiers fill up a lot of the available cargo space with crates and boxes of weapons and supplies. After a rest, there is some time to give Robert, Nicole, Michelle, and Brianna an indoctrination to the M-16; letting them fire a few rounds across the ramp until they are mildly comfortable with it. As Lynn gives them a session with the weapons, I plan our return trip. There is one difference in our return path and that being to a runway located just outside Atlanta.
“Why are we going there?” Robert asks, having finished with his lesson with Lynn. He is looking over my shoulder at the maps spread on the small table in the cargo compartment. Lynn, after shouldering her M-16, is looking over my other shoulder. “Why not just reverse our legs out of here?”