Ginger on the other hand, had plenty to say about Rex's inclusion in the rescue party to free the planes.
"I don’t care, Rex," Ginger said. "You're not going with them; I need you. You're not a soldier, and you have a responsibility to me."
"I'm sorry Ginger, I do," Rex said. "But right now that responsibility means I have to make sure there is enough room to fit all of us on a plane."
"There is another option," Jack said. "I mean I'd feel real shitty about it, but we could take one of the larger civilian planes and scat right out of here."
"If only it were as easy as that," said Rex. "But we would need to leave too much hardware behind. What would happen a few weeks from now when we might need that stuff to survive? Trust me, I want to bug out, but I have to consider the longer game of survival here."
Jack nodded his head, "Yeah, I have to agree with you. They would probably shoot us down as we took off anyway."
"But why does it have to be you?" said Ginger.
"You know why," Rex said. "I worked out of there for months. If something went wrong and we had to work around the terminals I know the place like the back of my hand."
"I'm afraid I'm with Ginger on this," Alison said. "This is an unnecessary risk; you should stay."
"I'll look after him," Jack said. "If something goes wrong, I can land on a much shorter runway. I can fly in like Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon and swoop Rex to safety."
Donna picked up Naomi from the back of the truck. "Jack, I don’t like the idea of you going either. I'm not going to let you take Naomi with you on the plane. I’ll keep her with me. You should know we've talked, and the two of us will never forgive you if you do something stupid enough to get yourself killed."
Jacks face reddened and he petted Naomi's soft brown fur as Donna held the cat in her arms.
"Jack," Rex said, "you should tell Leia and Chewbacca that we’ll be fine tomorrow. We’re going to come back and then we’re going to get the hell out of here, all of us."
###
Later that night, the group rested safely inside the hanger. The air in the hanger remained hot long into the hours of the night. Mazie had moved inside the truck to try and sleep on the front bench seat; Kim was laid out on the seats behind her. The windows of the truck were open to keep the temperature in the cab from becoming unbearable.
Rex had ripped off the fiberglass bed cover of the truck so there would be a place for Ginger, Alison, and him to sleep. Ginger had laid their sleeping bags over top of one another to make as thick a mattress as possible. Rex lay inside the bed of the truck spooning his wife from behind. Alison faced the couple on her side as the entire party listened to news the radio.
The city of New York is undergoing a crisis of apocalyptic proportions. Earlier today around four in the afternoon, martial law was declared by the President of the United States. “In New York, in a desperate attempt to contain the situation, the Air Force began a process of destroying all bridges leading to the island. This occurred even while civilian foot and vehicle traffic was attempting to cross the various bridges. The effort proved to be of little use as New Jersey is already reporting mass undead activity. As of eight this evening the New York City Mayor’s office indicated that it is now impossible to contain the outbreaks running rampant in Gotham’s streets. Some estimates put the number of undead in the streets of New York at greater than 100,000.
In Washington D.C., several outbreaks have been contained, but authorities remain cautious as refugee population shifts bring constant threats of new outbreaks. The government shut down the beltway interstates to civilian traffic only to see a major crisis develop in neighboring Fredrick, Virginia and several other towns near the Federal District.
The FAA has closed down civilian airlines in hopes that the spread of the outbreak can be slowed down in other major U.S. cities. The move came perhaps just hours late for the cities of Atlanta, Miami, and Dallas. These cities are now officially reporting undead activity. The outbreaks are also causing problems across the nation as people are making runs on local grocery and hardware stores. The city of Detroit is attempting to put down mass looting and riots in the already economically stricken region.
The crisis is drawing mixed reaction from around the world. Some countries like Great Britain and Japan have offered aid and prayer. In other places such as the Middle East, there are several unconfirmed reports that Americans and anyone they have come into contact with have been quarantined and executed. Similar stories are now also coming out of Africa and Asia.
One thing is for sure, every country around the world is attempting to cut itself off from the continent of America when it comes to air travel and shipping. The growing disaster has caused markets to crash around the world today and most markets have decided to close trading for the immediate future. We are now getting a news alert out of California; I will transfer over to Casey Douglass in San Diego.”
The broadcaster’s voice changed over to a woman’s voice.
“Thanks Mike,” the woman said. “The sun has been set for only a couple of hours here in San Diego and there are now unconfirmed reports of zombie activity among the homeless population of the city. Earlier tonight, several victims were attacked in the gas light district of the city. Police have detained the victims, who are believed to be homeless. Authorities hope to monitor their status over the next several hours. Witnesses report that there are other victims who fled the area. Police are now desperate to locate the attacker and other potential victims. Shore Police from the naval station have been brought in to assist local law enforcement in the search. When asked if they believe these attacks are zombie related, officials’ state that they are not taking any chances when dealing with public safety.”
“Thanks Casey,” male broadcaster said. “In Chicago, the situation has also continued to deteriorate. Early in the day, an accident broke a key water main while the city struggled to deal with the undead. The lack of water pressure wrecked the efforts of firefighters struggling to put out several fires associated with the outbreak. As the day progressed, civil organization collapsed into complete chaos in the downtown area. The Chicago skyline is now ablaze as multiple fires rage unchecked. The inferno can reportedly be seen as many as forty miles away in the night sky. The news around the nation seems bleak this evening; the government is obviously at a loss with how to deal with the magnitude of the disaster that is unfolding. Many governments are outright collapsing in the face of the crisis leaving everyday Americans facing this apocalypse alone in the dark.”
Rex watched Alison while he squeezed his wife in his arms. The side of Alison’s face showed a dark purple in the low light of the hanger. Alison had turned on her back after the broadcaster’s alone comment. Ginger reached out and took Alison by her hand.
“Hey,” Ginger said, “You’re not going to face this alone, Alison.” She spoke her next statement so the others in the truck could hear, “We’re all in this together. We have to look out for each other.”
Hours later, Rex lay awake looking at the shadowy ceiling of the hanger. As far as Rex could tell everyone else was asleep despite the occasional distant pop of gunfire.