Usually he didn’t put on the radio, but on this day he did.
He was glad he made that decision.
At first he thought it was a joke.
After all, it was only four in the morning in Washington D.C.. Yet, the news came on talking about potential attacks, war, and all those things when it should have been music.
‘Right now, they are confirming that Yokota Air Force base in Japan has been hit. There is speculation that it was a nuclear weapon that was detonated…’
“What?” Terrence spoke out loud. “This is insane, that can’t be right.” He switched the station.
‘Confirming that the president has been evacuated to a secure location…’
Switch.
‘Two nuclear warheads on the Canadian Montana Border…’
Switch.
‘There has been no confirmation on whether or not these attacks are a declaration of an all out war…’
‘While there is no indication whether these are anything but strategic hits or isolated hits, probability is high that civilian areas could be next…’
‘Water, dry goods, anything you can, people should prepare and not leave unless they are in the heart of the city. Then again, how many people are listening at four in the morning, it’s even worse on the West Coast.’
The news caused Terrence to pull over. He leaned close to the windshield and peered to the sky almost as if expecting the bomb to just come. His insides shook and he had to think.
He wanted to turn back, go home, but to do what? Stay in the apartment with no supplies? He was only ten minutes from the hotel and while working was out of the question, going there wasn’t. Everything he would need for his family was delivered the day before.
It was in the room right by the delivery entrance.
He would go there, get what he needed and then go get his family and leave D.C. It was early, most people weren’t awake and listening to the news. Most people didn’t know. Hopefully, Terrence would be able to get his supplies and his family to safety without getting stuck in evacuation traffic and before the bombs, if they were on their way.
SIX – Dive
Kit hated those healthy snack chips they handed out on the plane, but it was all she had to snack on. She was glad she asked for two airline size bottles of vodka because it seemed as if the flight attendants didn’t want to be bothered on a red eye. Always assuming everyone slept.
Kit never did.
People around her were out. Including the country guy wearing the green neck pillow. His head was tilted to the right, his mouth slightly open as he exuded a quiet snore. She still had her book open, but had barely read a page. She probably would have played with the flight real time tracker app. Something Kit enjoyed doing, checking to see where the plane was mid flight, but that and everything else went out soon after they left Washington air space.
Her mind kept drifting. She thought of her father and how proud she was of her parents and the way they raised her. It could have gotten ugly, she could have hated her father. However, her mother never let it get there. The only snag was when her mom wanted to move west. Eventually it came to be. Sure they saw their father less, but they loved him and respected him.
Kit was ten when they divorced, Deana and Mark were four and five. They didn’t know the why of it all, they never saw their parents fight. Regis knew. He was going into his senior year when it all went down. Kit supposed her mother used Regis going to UCLA as another reason to be out west.
It was years later, when Kit was in high school that she learned her father had been unfaithful to her mother.
At that point her father had met Sandra and her mother didn’t carry a grudge.
For that Kit was grateful. Her father’s infidelity was inexcusable, however, she never knew enough to be angry, or hate him.
That was the way divorce was suppose to be.
As a divorced mother, Kit learned what to do. She understood that immediate reactions could cause long term damage.
What she didn’t understand was the book Alas, Babylon.
Not that she didn’t get the subject matter, but she didn’t understand how it stayed in print. It was truly a novel of its time. From raw language to past standard remarks that would be considered racist in today’s world.
She found it cute that the main character’s brother was named Mark. Maybe that was one of the reasons her father wanted her to read it. Kit probably wouldn’t have made it to page fourteen had she not saw underline words on page thirteen.
She would have dismissed the underlined word of ‘Mark’ as a reference to her brother, but then in the same sentence, the word ‘Flying’ also underlined.
That prompted Kit to turn pages to see if anything else had been marked.
Next page… double underline… Alas, Babylon.
The next… intelligence
Then the word… warning.
A thump in her stomach caused her to lift her eyes from her book. It was a physical feeling. A sinking twisting that she was used to and was only caused when the plane dropped altitude usually in preparation to land. Kit glanced out the window, then sat upright to look around. At that second one man, then another moved hurriedly up the aisle. They were followed by a woman.
Surely it wasn’t a two a.m. rush to the bathroom.
Something was wrong. Maybe a medical emergency in first class, or technically there really was a problem with the plane. She wanted to ask, but before she could flag down a flight attendant, a man who was dressed like the captain entered the main cabin. His shoulders and chest were broad which gave him a bigger appearance. He looked disgusted, as if he lost an unfair fight. He whispered something to the flight attendant, she nodded, then noticing that Kit was not only awake, but leaning forward and staring at him, he made eye contact. Locked eyes with her for a moment, then sat down in the first row empty seat, buckling his belt.
“What the hell?” Kit spoke out loud.
Country man sat up as if snapped out of a dream. “Are we landing? We feel like we’re going to land.”
“Yeah, it feels that way,” Kit said. “If someone was flying the plane.”
“What?” He sat up.
Kit pointed. “That’s the pilot.”
“Nah, can’t be. Maybe he’s a fancy first class flight attendant or co-pilot.”
“He’s a pilot, I saw him in the cockpit.”
“Then he has to be the co-pilot,” Country man argued. “I mean…”
Ding.
“Ladies and Gentleman if I can have your attention please,” the male said over the speaker.
“See, that’s a different voice than earlier,” Kit said. “The other was husky.” She immediately looked over to the pilot. He just stared ahead.
“We ask that you put your trays and seats in an upright position and secure your seatbelts. We are experiencing a technical difficulty and will be making a forced landing.”
“What… what does that mean? Forced landing?” Kit asked.
“It means they have to put this plane down at any cost,” Country man said,
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
The announcer continued, “It will be a rough touchdown. At worst I promise it will be no more than a few bumps and bruises. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Voices of concern, and soft screams carried in the cabin as flight attendants rushed down the aisles to ensure safety. They checked overhead bins, told people to sit up, all while trying to encourage calm.
“Land? Land where?” Kit asked. “Where are we?”