“Holy shit,” Dave said.
“Now what? We don’t want to just leave the plane,” I said.
“We don’t even know if it’s fueled, or if it’s a plane I can fly,” Palmeri said.
“It had two propellers. One on each wing. Is that something you can fly?” Dave said.
“It could be,” Palmeri said. She drove back toward the way we’d initially come.
“I left the door open to the hangar,” Dave said.
“Forget about it,” I said, and almost laughed.
“What?” Dave said.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“How many do you count?” Erway said. “I see, I’d say, twenty.”
“It’s what I see,” Charlene said.
“We’re not getting out of this Humvee,” I said. Not a chance. “They’re fast, every one of them.”
“While your machete looks really cool,” Erway said, and held up her AK47, “this is better equipped to handle a situation like this. We need that airplane. I have no idea if Mexico is the answer, but New York is shot to shit. Palmeri, circle back around.”
Palmeri pursed her lips, but turned the wheel.
“Stop close, but not too close,” Erway said.
Once the Humvee came to a complete stop, Erway aimed the AK out the window. “Going to be a little loud, folks,” she said, before squeezing the trigger.
I took Allison’s hand.
Not every shot was a headshot. She dropped three quickly. Blood, brains and skull exploding onto the other walkers. Two, she hit in the gut. Bullets ripped away slabs of flab. It slowed them some, but didn’t stop them. Erway paused and took a deep breath. She exhaled and went back to work.
The sound inside the Humvee was deafening. Allison kept her eyes closed, shoulders hunched. She twitched as shots were fired. Charlene and I locked eyes.
The remaining zombies closed the gap, getting closer and closer to the Humvee. I watched Palmeri. She kept both hands on the steering wheel, ready to punch the gas pedal with both feet if those things got too close.
The final few, she took more time. Aimed. Dropped them one after the other. The last zombie was, at best, twenty feet away from the vehicle. Looked like the bullet pummeled the thing in the left eye socket. It took several stumbling steps forward before another round exploded through its forehead.
Erway smiled, sat back, butt of the AK on the Humvee car mat. “I cannot lie. I kind of enjoyed that.”
I didn’t smile and could not see how cutting down even twenty zombies would be enjoyable. These were people at one time, still were, actually. My stomach churned some.
Allison shook her head, staring at me.
“We going back for the plane?” Charlene said.
“I think we should. All that gunfire is bound to attract more of them to the area. We either try to get out of here in the air, or I say we hit the road and just start heading south,” Dave said.
“I agree,” Sues said.
“Ok,” Palmeri said. “We’re going back.”
“You can do this?” Allison said. She leaned up front between the set of seats. “Fly a plane? I mean, you’ve got a license, I know. You said that, but fly a plane, a big military plane?”
I touched Allison on the back. Her fear of flying was borderline psychotic. Many people did not like flying, but flew. Allison flew once with her family when she was young. They were going on a family vacation to California. The flight was choppy at best, as if pockets of turbulence aligned specifically for the plane she and her family were in. Her mother had a hell of a time getting her to fly back home when the trip came to an end. There were bribery attempts and promises made, but it came down to flat out threats and damning punishments that finally convinced her to get on the flight home. That had been seven days later, so there was a good chance they’d have better weather on that flight. Only Allison was not so lucky. The turbulence was worse. The landing gear wouldn’t lower. Fire trucks and ambulances were on standby at the end of the runway when they landed. Allison didn’t just fear flying, she hated it.
“We’ll know, once we get in the hangar,” Palmeri said. That hadn’t exactly been a reassuring statement, however, it had been honest. “If I can’t fly it, I won’t. No sense getting something up in the air just because I can, if I am not completely confident I can bring her back down safely.”
I wanted to clap a hand against my forehead. Did she really just say that?
Allison sat back, her eyes filled with terror. Her lips quivered and her body trembled. I don’t think she could’ve spoken a word if she wanted. I pulled her into my arms, hugged her tight. Charlene just looked at me with a look I knew all too well. I arched my eyebrows, hopefully telling my daughter to show some compassion. Instead, Charlene rolled her eyes and turned away.
The Humvee stopped by the hangar’s back door. We sat inside because it seemed like no one wanted to move just yet.
Palmeri shut the engine, put the keys in her breast pocket. “On three, we make a run for the hangar.”
“A run?” Sues said. “I don’t see any more zombies.”
“That don’t mean it’s time to walk,” Erway said.
“I don’t think I can do this,” Allison said.
“What’s wrong?” Dave said.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Chase.” Allison fisted my shirt as she lifted her head off my chest. “We should drive to Mexico. We should.”
“Why do you want to drive?” Sues said.
“She’s afraid to fly.” Charlene crossed her arms. “Dad, we don’t have time for this.”
My daughter was right. We didn’t have time for this. “Honey, more zombies will be coming. They heard the gunshots. They are going to come from every direction. We’re kind of committed--”
“To flying? No we’re not.” Allison narrowed her eyes at me, wanting me to know there was still room to debate.
There wasn’t. “This flight will not be like the other two you were on.”
“You don’t know that. What did you say? You said this plane, the one in there, has two propellers? Propellers, Chase? I was on a plane with engines. Jet engines. The one in that hangar has propellers, and you think a flight to Mexico with a pilot who happens to have a license is going to be smoother than JetBlue? No offense, Elysia.”
“None taken,” she said.
“We’re going to check out the plane,” I said.
“I’ll wait here while you check. Elysia, may I have the keys?” Allison held out her hand.
“Dad?” Charlene raised her eyebrow at me, this time. She wasn’t asking me to be compassionate though.
“We’re all going into the hangar, Alley. I am not leaving you out here.”
“We’re going on three.” Erway put her hand on the door handle.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Allison grabbed onto my arm. “This isn’t a good idea. Flying to Mexico. It’s not a good idea. We should drive.”
“You said that, already.” Charlene placed a hand on Allison’s shoulder. “We have to go. You can do this. You can hold my hand the entire time. I won’t let go, not once, but we need to move. We need to keep moving and we need to stay together. We’re not going to leave you alone in this truck, and I’m not going to let go of your hand on that plane.”
Allison loosened her grip on my shirt. “Thank you.”
They hugged.
“This is great, but we really, really need to get inside that hangar.” Erway pushed open her door.
Chapter Four
1540 hours
We stood inside the hangar with the doors closed and the Humvee parked just outside the back door in case the plane option didn’t pan out. Staring at the size of the plane, I couldn’t help feeling a bit apprehensive. It was fat, bulky. Despite propellers on each wing, I didn’t think this thing was ever built to fly. Aerodynamically challenged is what I would have labeled it.