Lynn nods and I see her fold inward to her own thoughts. I imagine her thoughts are leading her to think about her friends and family.
“Oh, dang, I almost forgot,” I say watching her eyes track back to mine. “I actually spoke with Craig and your mom.”
“What!? You’re kidding! When?” She asks, suddenly sitting more erect and alert.
“A couple of days ago. It was the weirdest thing. We were just past Chicago calling on the radio when out of the blue, we get a response. He was flying with your mom from Florida heading to, let me try and remember, somewhere in Ohio if I remember correctly.”
“He must be heading to my dad and sister,” she says with tears beginning to well in her eyes.
“Oh, and your cats were okay and with them. He’s going to try and meet us at McChord,” I say watching a single tear leak out and run down her cheek.
Lynn wipes the tear with the back of her hand, gives me a big smile, and kisses me on the cheek, “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”
I rub her cheek with my thumb and smile back. Her smile, and seeing her smile at me, always gives me butterflies. “You know, babe, back to this leadership thing, I think you should take charge.”
Giving a quick chuckle, she says, “Right! We both know you have more experience. Not much mind you, but a little more. And don’t let it go to your head. I can still take you down.”
I laugh, completely enjoying the familiar exchange we have with each other and thinking once again just how lucky I am.
“I don’t want to put you into a bad spot with Bannerman though. I won’t ask you for support in whatever goes down,” I say.
“Don’t worry about me. And the soldiers will follow whoever gives them the best chance at survival.”
“Alright, I’ll just play it by ear then.”
“That’s what you do best Jack.”
“What do you mean by….? Oh, never mind. If you’ll gather everyone up, I’m going up to make sure Robert and Bri haven’t annihilated each other. And to make sure the sun is still in the right part of the sky and we aren’t screaming toward the ocean. It would also be nice if the sky was still above us and not off to the side or below.”
“Are they fighting?”
“No. They’re just tired like everyone else,” I answer.
I lean over and give her a kiss on the lips. “I love you!”
“I love you too!”
Walking into the cockpit, I see that all of the parts of the world, mainly the sky and ocean, are in their correct locations and Robert and Bri are still alive. Michelle glances over from her seat at the navigator table on my arrival and says something into the mic. That apparent something is that I am back as Robert and Bri glance back at me. I hold my thumb up and shrug my shoulder to give the indication that it’s a question. They both give a thumbs up in return. I give the instruments and fuel panel a quick look to ensure everything is in order and that we have a chance of staying airborne a bit longer. The world passes slowly by the windows as we drone ever westward.
With a quick nod, I turn back, and walk once again down the stairs. The soldiers are gathering in a semi-circle as I return. I join in completing a circle with Bannerman on my left and Lynn to the right. We begin by sharing stories, filling each other in on the details of our experiences and what we have learned.
“So basically what we know is this: They prefer the dark due to some adverse reaction to light and seemingly only sunlight as far as we can tell. Light from flashlights and such don’t seem to bother them. So, that gives us the daylight hours of relative safety although we don’t really know what that margin is or how cloud cover affects them. Of course, darkened buildings are to be treated with care,” I yell over the droning engines, summing up our conversations. “I am guessing that they don’t seem to remember who they were or have any cognizance in that regard because of how they behave by attacking on sight. They also seem to strike without provocation and in packs so they’re to be treated as hostile. Their bite seems to cause some sort of infection that is deadly so close-in combat is to be avoided if at all possible. Lastly, this is wide-spread and there are a lot of them. Does anyone else have anything to add?”
Everyone glances around to see if there is anything else but no one speaks up.
“Okay then, we should talk about where to go from here.”
“I’ll take it from here, Captain,” Bannerman says taking a step into the circle.
“Hmmm… You know, I think this is as good a time to talk about leadership as there’s going to be,” I add causing Bannerman to look over his shoulder at me.
“How is that, Captain? I’m the senior ranking member here. You may be in command of the aircraft, but I’m in command of the personnel.”
“I’m thinking time and circumstances have changed that strict hierarchy of command somewhat. We’re obviously dealing with a completely new situation and I think we need to have the one with the most combat experience to lead us. Someone who will give us the best chance at surviving this.”
“And you think that’s you, Captain?” Bannerman asks turning to face me.
“I’m completely open to any ideas on the subject,” I reply.
“Captain Walker, I’m a Major and the highest ranking military member here. Being in the military and an officer, you should understand that. You are also bordering on insubordination and mutiny!”
“Yeah, well, here’s the deal with that. In the sake of honesty, I should tell everyone that I’m not in the military anymore and left some time ago.”
“You’re kidding me!” Bannerman say in an incredulous voice. “Impersonating an officer as well!?”
“I did what I had to do to get over here to find Lynn and if I hadn’t arrived, you’d be in pretty desperate straits right now.”
“Be that as it may Mr. Walker, I am in charge of these soldiers. You may do as you wish once we land.”
“Bannerman, which country and military do you belong to?” I ask.
“The United States of America of course.”
“You do understand that doesn’t exist anymore right? You were listening as I told you that I flew half way across the world without a response from anyone. No responses from any military or civilian frequencies. Nothing!”
“I did. But that doesn’t change anything here. As long as there’s a viable force together, the government and military exists.”
The problem is that I completely understand what he is talking about and relate to what he is saying. He is right. We need that type of cohesiveness if we are to survive. We can’t break down into separate camps and need to build a safe community that works together if we have any chance in the long run. But we also need a leader who can get us there.
“I get that. I truly do. But we need to stick together and also have a leader who can carry us through and, as I said before, someone who will give us the best chance of surviving,” I say, taking a moment to gather my thoughts. “Call it more of a functional versus hierarchal leadership. That is very much a part of military leadership. I trust you do understand those aspects of leadership right?”
“I do,” Bannerman says with a pause.
“I am completely open to whoever that may be. That can be myself, Sergeant Connell here, you, or my fourteen year old daughter Brianna for all that I care. Just as long as it gives us the best chance.”
I glance around the group and notice that most of them have taken a deep interest in their boots. I guess this is an uncomfortable situation for everyone.
“What do you say we all talk about our experience, then put it to a vote and let everyone decide?” I ask, noting several heads and eyebrows rise in interest.
I speak about my experience in Bosnia, Iraq, Korea, and various parts of Africa. Lynn outlines her experience in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bannerman doesn’t have any combat leadership so outlines the schools and training he has. After everyone has had the chance to say something, I find some paper to tear up for everyone to write their votes on and grab my helmet from the cockpit to put them in.