To make sure she would comply, he was wearing one too, although he didn’t normally when he rode his bike by himself.
“Sara Frank never wears a helmet when she rides her bike!” had said Lisa moping.
“Well, Sara Frank can do what she wants. You are wearing a helmet if you want to ride. It’s for your own safety. You don’t want to hurt your head if you fall, do you?”
“Hey, you two! Don’t be too late, I’m making fajitas for lunch, and there’s a surprise for dessert. I think you’ll like it, Lisa,” shouted Lisa’s mother from the porch.
“Chocolate cake?” asked Lisa, excited.
“Maybe. I can’t tell you, it’s a surprise,” she replied with a smile.
Soon, Lisa was riding away on her bicycle, helmet on, and grandfather in tow. The streets of her California suburban community were quiet this time of day. The summer sun was already hot, but the trees provided nice shady areas all along the way. A few minutes later they reached the park. A few other cyclists could be seen on the trail ahead. Lisa approached a picnic table and stopped by the bench. She lowered her bike to the ground and sat down on the grass. Her grandfather was about to do the same when the phone in his pocket rang.
“Grandpa, what’s that?”
“Hold on, sweetie, I’ll be right there.”
“Mike? What is it? The… What…? Slowdown, I can’t understand a word you’re saying. What planes…? Who…?”
“Grandpa!?”
“Not now, sweetie.”
“What do you mean, under attack? The President…?”
At the other end of the call, Colonel Mike Spade was trying to be quiet, making his way to the back of the helicopter, trying to hide from the rest of the staff. Calling friends and loved ones was not part of the protocol in an emergency such as this one, but the colonel couldn’t leave without trying to save his own family. He wasn’t the only one breaking the rules. Walking into the cargo room, he stumbled upon the chief of staff, standing behind life size containers, phone in hand. She didn’t need to say anything. Her deer-caught-in-the-headlights look said it all. She was calling her loved ones as well. They exchanged a quick look without a word.
“Dad, I’m telling you, we have Chinese planes in our airspace. You need to go home, get inside, and wait there. I’ll have a car sent to you as soon as I can. Do you understand?”
“Yes… Yes, OK. I’ll be at your sister’s house, and Lisa is with me too.”
“Ok, that’s good. Wait for the car. Inside! I’ve got to go.” And he hung up.
“Grandpa! Look!”
“Mike? Mike?”
“Grandpa! Look!”
She was pulling on one of the legs of his pants.
“Yes, what? What is it?” he replied a tinge annoyed.
With her arm extended, she pointed at the sky with one finger.
He looked up and noticed a triangular object in the sky. Quietly moving across the blue background, it looked completely foreign to him. His military background didn’t seem to help him identify what he was looking at. It resembled no plane he had ever seen. Dark and unmarked, it looked surprisingly small and slow for a plane.
“Could be a drone, I guess… But I have never seen one like that before,” he thought to himself.
Somewhat triangular in shape and measuring no more than twenty feet in length, the object was gliding slowly above the open field without making a sound. Trailing behind the shadowy form, a thin yellowish fog was spreading wider and wider, slowly descending towards the ground.
“Crap! Time to go! Come on, Lisa.” Grandpa grabbed the little girl in his arms and began running back towards the house, a couple of blocks down the street.
“Grandpa! My bicycle!”
“No time, sweetie. Don’t worry, I’ll get you a new one.”
A few minutes later, the two were rushing into the house.
“Close all the windows! Right now!” ordered Lisa’s grandfather to his daughter, while he locked the door behind him.
“What’s going on? Why are you back so early? Everything OK, Dad?”
“Close all the windows! Right now!” he repeated, as he rushed upstairs.
She could tell the seriousness of the request in his voice. Heading for the nearest window, Lisa’s mother began closing each one.
Half an hour later, she and her five-year-old daughter were sitting at the kitchen table while Jack Spade, Lisa’s grandpa, was frantically trying to reach someone on the phone.
“Thanks Colonel. We will,” he said as he hung up.
“Damn it! I don’t understand. No one knows what’s going on. All they can tell me is that they are receiving thousands of reports of similar sightings all around the country, but they don’t know much else. It doesn’t make any sense. How did unmarked planes get this far inland? How could they have made it pass our military defenses in the first place? And where is that darn car?”
“Mommy, I’m scared.”
“It’s OK, baby. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. You’re safe here in the house with us,” said her mother unconvincingly, trying to reassure Lisa.
Jack looked at his daughter and granddaughter. He felt powerless.
“Where is that darn car? And now, of course, I can’t even reach Mike,” thought Jack. He also hoped his son was OK.
Hundreds of miles away, seated in the main cabin of Air Force One, Colonel Spade was lost in thoughts.
“Colonel? Colonel?”
He finally came back to reality when he realized the President was calling him.
“Yes, sir?”
“I know you are worried about your family, Mike. I understand, trust me. We all are. I wish there had been more time. But we have to get to our destination. I’m sure they’ve been picked up already.”
Mike wasn’t sharing the President’s optimism. The fact that all communication with land had been suspended for the time being, part of the code red protocol while Air Force One was in the air, didn’t help reassure him. He wouldn’t be able to call the outside for the next five hours. That was best case scenario.
Meanwhile, Jack was pacing back and forth in his daughter’s living room.
So far, the news on TV had been of no help. All the channels were showing the same thing. Over most large cities across North America, the same scene was taking place. A handful of mysterious looking planes were spraying a strange yellow gas that seemed to rapidly spread across entire neighborhoods. All of them had appeared around the same time that morning along the west coast. The air force had managed to shoot down a few, but most were only being spotted after they had started releasing the unknown gas. Jack had also just learned from an old captain friend from his Desert Storm days that the foreign planes were undetectable by radar, and it seemed the air force was one step behind. Meanwhile, new planes kept appearing over all major cities. Some had already made their way to the central states. Within hours, they would reach the west coast. All they knew with certainty was that the planes were Chinese. Jack’s friend had also offered to come get Jack’s family to a military base nearby, but Jack declined.
“Thanks, Kirk. I’m sure my son’s people will be here soon.”
As the day went on, the news reports got worse, but all the media could advise was to stay indoors. They were very serious about reminding people of the curfew in place, and that no one should be outside. Also, due to the unknown effects of the chemical released by the intruders, and their rapid spreading all across the country, the government had issued an order to stop any evacuation. Of course, thousands of people were by now rushing through the streets of Sacramento, chaos was already evident, and for Jack, staying put seemed the best plan of action, for now at least. He just hoped that car would show up soon, otherwise, they would have to take their chance in the madness outside. But, to go where? That was the biggest question. It looked like no place was safe. His son had advised for him to wait for the car. So, wait they would. If no one showed up by morning, he would reconsider heading for the country side then.