the ground and try to buy some times to repair that leak. But this is going to be a hard landing.”
The plane banked hard as it circled.
“Can we fire back? Do we know where that shot came from?”
He shook his head.
“Three different locations, all in the dark. I’ve got thermal signatures, but if we moved back around into firing position, we’d probably drop out of the sky before we reached the landing strip. We’re lucky we were over Boise when this happened. Otherwise, we’d be in the river.”
I looked out the window, my eyes picking up the meandering dark line of the Snake River.
The engines hummed and the flaps lowered as the bank ended, and we dropped quickly. I noticed the lights go out on the wingtips and in the cabin, and I saw the night vision goggles pop on to the helmets of the pilots.
Smart, I thought. At least remove the light, and make the zombies track the noise.
The flat land around the airport slipped beneath the plane, and the terminal came into view. Nothing moved in or near the airport as we coasted above the runway. Then my jaw slammed shut as the plane hit the pavement, jarring my entire body and making me bite my tongue.
Ky screamed and Kate gasped, as the plane’s nose slammed into the ground hard enough to pop some electronics from an upper storage bin. We lurched to the left and I heard the ailerons whine as they adjusted, extending slightly. The plane whipped back into the center of the runway and stopped. The engines shut down immediately, and the blades slowed to an airy whirling. As they slowed, I looked out the window, my night vision having sharpened so acutely that I didn’t need more than the faint light of the half-moon above. The clouds had cleared, with a stiff wind coming from the west.
No bodies outside.
Yet.
Kate released the straps around her chest, and moved over to help Ky. Beside Ky, in the adjacent seat, Romeo whined once as Ky removed the strap she had put around his thick chest. He wagged his stump of a tail and jumped down.
Rhodes’ voice was unconcerned as he spoke, already standing in front of the door.
“I think this kid needs some help,” he said, looking at the young sailor. He was shaking in his restraints, eyes rolling back in his head.
“He’s turning!” yelled Granger, reaching for his side arm.
“Hold on!” Kate said, grabbing Granger’s wrist. I smirked as I saw the young airman grimace at her strength. He struggled, but it was clearly an iron hold. She released him after staring at him for a moment. Then she was rushing to the man’s side, holding her hand to his neck and checking the pulse.
“He’s convulsing, he needs a sedative. His heart rate is off the chart. If we don’t get him something to calm him down, he’s going to have a heart attack.” She looked up at Granger. “Do you have anything on board, in the med kit?”
He looked doubtful.
“No, we just have first aid stuff. We have the small painkiller injectors, but a sedative? No, we don’t carry that kind of stuff.”
I knew where this was heading.
The colonel emerged from the flight deck, checking the clip in his sidearm. Behind him, the co-pilot was flipping through a manual.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked, seeming indifferent to the answer.
“Shock,” she said shortly, checking his pupils.
“Can we do anything about it?”
“Not right now,” she said. He nodded, turning to the rest of us.
“Okay, so here’s the score. We need to repair that hydraulic leak and refill the fluid. The closest hangar should have what we need. We can fly with three engines, but we will need the whole runway to takeoff. Luckily, we still have plenty of fuel. But since we don’t know where those shots came from and, more importantly, who fired them and why, we can’t be sure we’re not going to get hit again when we take off. So,” he said curtly, “that’s the order of the night. We need to get out there and start working before we have company.”
He
The plane banked hard as it circled.
“Can we fire back? Do we know where that shot came from?”
He shook his head.
“Three different locations, all in the dark. I’ve got thermal signatures, but if we moved back around into firing position, we’d probably drop out of the sky before we reached the landing strip. We’re lucky we were over Boise when this happened. Otherwise, we’d be in the river.”
I looked out the window, my eyes picking up the meandering dark line of the Snake River.
The engines hummed and the flaps lowered as the bank ended, and we dropped quickly. I noticed the lights go out on the wingtips and in the cabin, and I saw the night vision goggles pop on to the helmets of the pilots.
Smart, I thought. At least remove the light, and make the zombies track the noise.
The flat land around the airport slipped beneath the plane, and the terminal came into view. Nothing moved in or near the airport as we coasted above the runway. Then my jaw slammed shut as the plane hit the pavement, jarring my entire body and making me bite my tongue.
Ky screamed and Kate gasped, as the plane’s nose slammed into the ground hard enough to pop some electronics from an upper storage bin. We lurched to the left and I heard the ailerons whine as they adjusted, extending slightly. The plane whipped back into the center of the runway and stopped. The engines shut down immediately, and the blades slowed to an airy whirling. As they slowed, I looked out the window, my night vision having sharpened so acutely that I didn’t need more than the faint light of the half-moon above. The clouds had cleared, with a stiff wind coming from the west.
No bodies outside.
Yet.
Kate released the straps around her chest, and moved over to help Ky. Beside Ky, in the adjacent seat, Romeo whined once as Ky removed the strap she had put around his thick chest. He wagged his stump of a tail and jumped down.
Rhodes’ voice was unconcerned as he spoke, already standing in front of the door.
“I think this kid needs some help,” he said, looking at the young sailor. He was shaking in his restraints, eyes rolling back in his head.
“He’s turning!” yelled Granger, reaching for his side arm.
“Hold on!” Kate said, grabbing Granger’s wrist. I smirked as I saw the young airman grimace at her strength. He struggled, but it was clearly an iron hold. She released him after staring at him for a moment. Then she was rushing to the man’s side, holding her hand to his neck and checking the pulse.
“He’s convulsing, he needs a sedative. His heart rate is off the chart. If we don’t get him something to calm him down, he’s going to have a heart attack.” She looked up at Granger. “Do you have anything on board, in the med kit?”
He looked doubtful.
“No, we just have first aid stuff. We have the small painkiller injectors, but a sedative? No, we don’t carry that kind of stuff.”
I knew where this was heading.
The colonel emerged from the flight deck, checking the clip in his sidearm. Behind him, the co-pilot was flipping through a manual.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked, seeming indifferent to the answer.
“Shock,” she said shortly, checking his pupils.
“Can we do anything about it?”
“Not right now,” she said. He nodded, turning to the rest of us.
“Okay, so here’s the score. We need to repair that hydraulic leak and refill the fluid. The closest hangar should have what we need. We can fly with three engines, but we will need the whole runway to takeoff. Luckily, we still have plenty of fuel. But since we don’t know where those shots came from and, more importantly, who fired them and why, we can’t be sure we’re not going to get hit again when we take off. So,” he said curtly, “that’s the order of the night. We need to get out there and start working before we have company.”
He
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