The country road actually seemed to be vibrating as it appeared, and it was impossible to miss its gray belly against the clear morning sky.
A plane.
Not just any plane, but a warplane.
It blasted overhead, the sound unlike anything she remembered — until she realized it had been almost a year since she’d seen a plane in the sky, much less been close enough that her teeth chattered slightly as it went by. By the time she had turned her head, it was already behind her and getting smaller. If the pilot had seen her or Nate, or Danny at the back of the F-150, it hadn’t shown it by stopping or turning.
She unslung her rifle on instinct and flicked off the safety, belatedly realizing how dumb the move was. What exactly did she think she was going to do against that? Shoot it?
The plane was fast, but her perception of its initial speed was off because it had been such a long time since she had seen planes in the air. All this time, they had wondered what had happened to the U.S. Air Force. Or the Army. Hell, all those weeks on the ocean without a single sign of the U.S. Navy had been disheartening for everyone, so much so that they simply stopped talking about it one day because the conversation always became so depressing.
And she was definitely looking at some kind of military plane. Even a civilian like her, who had never been anywhere close to a warplane, could make out the very distinctive shapes of bombs under the craft’s fixed wings. Or were those missiles of some type?
“Shit,” Nate said. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Warthog,” Danny said, walking back to them.
“I’ve never seen one of those live before.”
“Warthog?” Gaby said.
“A-10 Thunderbolt,” Danny said. “I haven’t seen one since Afghanistan. Word of advice: If you hear something that sounds like Godzilla blowing a massive fart, run and hide while you still can, though the chances are it’s already too late.”
The plane had kept going until she could barely make out its shape in the distance. Gaby wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling at the moment. Maybe elation at the sight of the aircraft, quickly followed by massive disappointment that it had kept going as if she, Nate, and Danny didn’t exist at all.
“You think it saw us?” she asked.
“Definitely,” Danny said. “We’re the only things moving down here for miles. The pilot’d have to be blind not to see us, and last time I checked, Uncle Sam doesn’t let blind folks fly his warplanes.”
“Uncle Sam,” Nate said, looking at Danny. “You don’t think…?”
“That the U.S. government’s back in play?” Danny shrugged. “I’ll be honest with you kids. I don’t know if I want that to be true or not.”
“Why not?” Gaby asked.
“Because it’s been a year since everything went tits up, and the Uncle Sam that shows up now isn’t going to be the one I remembered. Or necessarily want.”
Gaby pulled out her map and laid it on the truck’s warm hood, the engine still churning underneath the paper. She glanced down at it, then in the direction the plane had gone.
“Where’s it headed?” Nate asked. “Starch?”
“If it keeps going in that direction and turns right,” Gaby said. “But why would it be headed there? No one knows we’re out here.” She looked back at Danny. “Right?”
He nodded. “Last time I checked.”
“So what’s it doing out here?” Nate asked, looking in the direction of the plane.
Danny opened his mouth to answer, but he hadn’t gotten a word out when they heard something that sounded like a mechanical roar in the distance. It was a long string of noises, so distinctive and loud that even though it had clearly originated miles away, they could still hear it as if it were right in front of them.
Brooooooooooorrrrttttttttt!
“Danny,” Gaby said, breathless. “What the hell is that?”
“The Warthog,” Danny said, looking off into the distance. “That thing I said about Godzilla farting? That wasn’t a joke. That’s it right there. That’s the sound of an A-10 raining death and destruction with 30mm Gatling guns.”
The pavement under her trembled as another long string of brooooooooooorrrrttttttttt! filled the sky, like the bellowing of a great beast that had finally awakened after a long slumber.
CHAPTER 3
LARA
“Lara.”
Will was back. Finally. After all the days and weeks of fearing the worst and almost giving up, he was finally here and calling her name, just as she knew he would if she waited long enough. It was all about faith, after all; not so much in things working out, but in Will keeping his promise because she knew he would if there was even an ounce of strength left in his body.
Thank God you’re back. You had me worried there for a moment.
“Lara, you there?”
No. It wasn’t Will. It was familiar, but it wasn’t Will.
She opened her eyes and blinked against the bright sunlight pouring through an open window. She had rolled into the rays’ path, somehow moving from one side of the bed to the other during the night without realizing it.
“Lara.”
She glanced at the two-way portable radio sitting atop the nightstand.
“Lara,” Blaine’s familiar gruff voice said through the radio. “You awake yet? There’s something you need to see.”
She leaned over, picking up the radio and pressing the transmit lever. “What is it?”
“It’s a body.”
“Did you say a body?”
“Yeah. Showed up along with this morning’s currents.”
“I’ll be right there.”
She threw the covers off and stumbled out of bed with the radio in one hand. A cool breeze from the window kept her from (mostly) having to smell yesterday’s clothing, still clinging to her. Falling asleep fully dressed was nothing new; if anyone ever noticed, no one said anything.
“Has Keo made contact yet?” she said into the radio while standing between the bed and the small bathroom on the other side of the captain’s cabin.
“Haven’t heard a peep from him since yesterday,” Blaine said. “Bad sign?”
“It’s still early.”
In the bathroom, she splashed her face with cold water from the sink, then gave herself a quick glance in the mirror. Puffy eyes. Dry hair. Pale and slightly cracked lips to complement dangerously tanned skin. Even the blue of her eyes looked duller than usual.
The boat was quiet around her, like it always was early in the morning. Even more so these days with Danny, Gaby, and Nate gone.
Because I sent them out there. Would you have done the same thing, Will?
She wiped her face with a towel and left the cabin. She found Blaine at his post inside the bridge, standing behind the helm even though the Trident was anchored in place.
Lara shivered a bit despite her thermal clothing, the December air ventilating from the open sky roof much chillier than the breeze inside her cabin. Fortunately there was always plenty of sun up here in this part of the boat. Blaine, who practically lived on the Upper Deck these days, didn’t seem to mind or even feel the lower temperature.
“Showed up a few hours ago,” Blaine said. “I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but the waves kept bringing it closer.”
Lara picked up a pair of binoculars from the dashboard and peered through it. She had to take a couple of steps to one side to see past the holes that dotted the windshield, the result of stray buckshot. One of these days they’d get around to replacing the glass, but that day was still far off.