Before the Dead Walked, page 21
“I can fly that,” Colonel Hatch whispered right away.
“Are you sure, sir?” Darby inquired.
Robert looked at the First Sergeant with a hint of dismay. “Yes, because it has two engines and wings.”
Several Rangers chuckled.
“I have to trust you, Colonel,” the First Sergeant said.
Hatch nodded. “Well, somebody around here needs to trust me.”
There was no mistaking his statement was meant for Lupita’s benefit, but she was smart enough to withhold any comment.
“Now let’s get this straight, men,” Darby instructed the members of Echo Team in a low and serious tone. “We have to take this airplane without any shots fired and no alarm sounded. This is what we do best, so let’s make it perfect.”
In turn, each soldier nodded.
They split up into three groups of two. Hatch and Alvarez crouched down and watched.
The idea was not to kill any of the ground crew, unless absolutely unavoidable, but to incapacitate them. This required not only split-second timing, but the ability to apply non-lethal headlocks that made the victim unconscious.
There were eight ground crew members readying the plane. Since the airport itself was fairly small, the refueling was completed away from the boarding area and pulled to the loading stairs by tug.
With a certain air of pure bravado, First Sergeant Maxwell Darby walked up to the maintenance engineer in charge of the operation.
The mechanic turned around and was surprised to see a man dressed in thawb, the traditional Arabian clothing for men, which was a long tunic. “May I help you, sir?”
“So, are you going to fly this thing, or am I?” Darby asked in a heavily fake stereotypical Middle Eastern accent.
“What?’ the confused man asked.
Darby knocked him out with a single punch, but caught the poor man before he hit the cement.
With relative silence, the ground crew was subdued and quickly secured inside one hangar, all tied up and gagged.
The Rangers beckoned for the pilot and the ensign to join them.
“Ensign Alvarez will act as my copilot, since she has experience,” Hatch informed them.
“How long will it take you to depart?” Sergeant Darby asked.
“As soon as you’re onboard, I’m starting those engines and we’re taking off, without clearance,” Hatch informed them. “This hijacking will be an open act of piracy, so I’m going to fly low and fly fast. The idea is to make it to the Canadian/US border, but not cross over. I’ll land at the first available airfield and then we have to run like hell.”
“Why don’t we just fly into America, sir?” Specialist Powers wondered.
Hatch smiled and replied, “Because I know of this Canadian air defense system that was probably activated to prevent just that thing. We have to cross on foot, because I don’t want to end up charred meat.”
“They’ll catch us for sure,” Sergeant Stillwell complained.
“I’m counting on the end of the word to give us a slight edge, Sergeant,” the colonel said. “They’ll be confused long enough for us to evade radar and hopefully avoid Canadian military jets. Now get aboard.”
Hatch and Lupita hurried up to the cockpit. They buckled up and began a preflight checklist. The best news was the plane was fully fueled.
Ensign Alvarez suddenly looked over at the colonel. “Do you know how to fly this plane?”
He shook his head, but smiled. “Not specifically, but they’re all alike.”
She swallowed deeply. “I sure hope so.”
“Starting engines now,” he announced. “He put on his headgear and turned off the external frequencies.
Lupita looked at him again.
He shrugged. “I just don’t want to be disturbed.”
Hatch disengaged the brakes and applied power. The turboprop began to move forward. The colonel was well aware that they didn’t have much time to pull this off. He couldn’t take off until he had enough power, but also he had to build up enough speed. The engines had to achieve a specific operating temperature, so perhaps he needed to buy some time.
He switched the communications system back to broadcast to the tower frequency. “Jesus Christ, this fucking plane is filled with goats!”
“Pacific Coast Airlines Flight 7694, are you declaring an emergency?” the heavily accented Canadian voice demanded.
Lupita started laughing and it took everything for Hatch to not crack up. “Are you fucking insane Tower? I’m a loser mechanic and you’re asking stupid-ass questions? I’ve got three goats trying to chew their way through to me.”
The turboprop kept moving, as Hatch added more power. The airplane passed the terminal and headed out onto the runways.
“Dear God,” Hatch screamed. “They’re chewing my leg. Dear God.”
Then he shut off the connection and tightened his seatbelt. “Here we go, Lupita. Hang on, babe.”
The Saab 340B took off down that runway strip like a bat out of hell. He didn’t let up, but pushed it. Then, with a jolt, they were airborne.
“Thank you passengers for your cooperation,” the colonel spoke over the intercom. “Wait until I turn off the seatbelts sign and then you can wander about the cabin and steal refreshments and snacks. I’m heading due east, before going over the Rocky Mountains again, but this will be shorter in duration. I’m hoping the Canadian response is a little slower these days, what with them being overwhelmed by zombie Americans and shit like that. As soon as I reach Saskatchewan, I will make a major course correction and head straight for the US border. Until then, sit back and enjoy the flight. This is your captain, signing off.”
He heard plenty of laughter from the Rangers.
Fortunately, most of the flight would be at night, so it would be slightly easier to avoid visual identification. It was a starlight view from 2,000 feet. Of course, as the other range of the Rocky Mountains reared up ahead of them, the pilot would have to gain altitude dramatically.
Robert looked over at Lupita and said, “Thank you for volunteering to assist me.”
She looked back at him and nodded, but said nothing. Lupita didn’t exactly volunteer, but somehow she had to be there to help him. It was so damn irritating, because she didn’t trust men, not any man, but somehow Colonel Robert Hatch was different. The harder she fought her feelings, the nicer he became.
With the sunrise, the view out the windows was spectacular. For miles, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but wilderness. Mountains, forests, ice floes, and rushing rivers headed south. This was the ultimate experience of desolation, but full of promise. They were talking about hundreds of miles to cover, just to reach the American border. In simple terms, eight Americans were crossing British Columbia, then Alberta, Saskatchewan, and maybe even Manitoba, to reach Montana, or North Dakota. In between, the Canadian military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police stood in their way. Sure, Americans were quick to make unfounded jokes about Canada’s military or police, but they were ignorant, uneducated fools. When push came to shove, the armed forces of the Maple Leaf nation could well account for themselves.
Once they reached the other side of the Rockies, Hatch started making some pretty crazy course corrections. He wanted to get across Saskatchewan as quickly as possible, but he also didn’t want to make their final destination obvious.
“Make sure you’re all buckled up!” Hatch warned over the intercom. “I’m about to do some insane flying, so anyone watching us on radar might think we went down.”
He looked over at Lupita again. “Ready?”
Ensign Alvarez smiled and simply said, “Yes, Robert.”
“Here we go!” he shouted. “Geronimo.”
Hatch had a huge advantage, because the turboprop was so easy to handle. He felt confident he could put the airplane through some pretty drastic maneuvers. Saab built a bunch of solid aircraft for the US military that were used to shuttle senior officers all over the place, including Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In fact, Hatch had been pressed into service several times when pilots were unavailable. American civilians were never aware of what really went on within the armed forces.
Losing altitude rapidly in a controlled dive, the colonel wanted it to look like the plane had lost power and was plummeting to earth. He kept a close watch on the airspeed indicator and altimeter, while counting off the seconds. Once under tracking zone of the typical radar search sweep, he would level off and fly low.
That was his plan.
To the passengers, it might have felt like a dive straight into hell, but Hatch knew what he was doing. Besides, Lupita hadn’t taken her eyes off him the entire time. Robert didn’t have to look, he could feel them.
“Now!” he said aloud and slowly pulled back.
The aircraft responded beautifully. It was moving pretty fast, but they were now under most active radar capabilities. There would be some contour-of-earth radar systems, but they were usually situated near major air force bases.
Hatch sighed with relief. “Ensign, please plot a course for near the US border, but not too close. I don’t want to stretch our luck too far. It’s time to put this baby on the ground and skip into the trees like rabbits.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied. “I’m already dialing in the new heading.”
“Thata girl,” he said with genuine delight.
The ensign followed up with, “There’s a municipal airport about forty miles ahead, sir.”
“That’s our baby,” the colonel said. “Please make preparations for an unauthorized landing.”
“Wheels are down and in the locked position, sir,” she reported. “All systems are normal, although we do have a slight oil pressure fluctuation.”
“Ignore it,” he said. “I will soon have the airfield in sight and they probably aren’t expecting us.”
It was indeed a small local airfield, but the runway lights were not turned on. It was possible that nobody was home, considering the state of world affairs.
“Now as soon as I land, I’m going to make a hurried stop,” Hatch reminded everyone of the plan over the loudspeaker. “Sergeant Darby will open the door and you will all scramble out, including Ensign Alvarez. I will only start rolling again when you’re clear. Hopefully the sight of an airplane moving towards the hangars will cause a certain level of panic and I can exit the craft while it’s still moving. Okay, everybody got it?”
He heard a lot of unintelligible voices from the cabin, which he assumed meant they understood.
“Go join them, Lupita,” the colonel ordered.
“I’d rather stay with you, sir,” she protested.
“I’m flattered, but not this time,” he countered. “Now on your way, please. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”
The ensign unbuckled and scooted past him.
Hatch wanted to give her a quick pat on her nice bottom, but he refrained.
Lifting the nose slightly, the pilot lined up on the center line. He gave the engines a little burst and lowered the Saab 340B Turboprop to the runway with precision. There followed the screeching sound of tires, but with no bounce. Hatch revved back and applied the brakes, perhaps a little more aggressively than official guidelines would approve, but he wanted to stop forward progress while he was still far out.
The aircraft came to an abrupt halt.
“Get out, get out, get out!” Hutch shouted over the intercom.
The door lowered and the seven passengers scrambled down the steps, carrying their gear with them. Specialist Powers’ boots had not even touched the tarmac when the airplane started rolling again. He barely had time to put the door back up.
The Rangers, with the ensign in the middle, took off on the run. They went straight for a thick stand of trees on the south side of the airport property. While waiting for the colonel to join them, CWO Collins used his wire-cutters to snip a hole in the surrounding cyclone fence.
Hatch didn’t apply any excess power, but merely let physics play a part. The ground speed of the Saab 340B would do the rest. The colonel steered directly towards the center of the hangars and then pushed the stick forward.
He was already unbuckled, but the force was enough to prevent him from moving at first. Determined, with his head down, Hatch pushed himself out of the cockpit and along the center aisle.
From the cover and safety of their hiding place amongst the trees, Lupita watched. The turboprop sped along the runway.
“Come on, Robert,” she pleaded quietly. “Please, Robert.”
The plane was headed right for the center hangar.
It would make quite an impact.
Inside, Hatch struggled to make headway against the forces of gravity and motion.
The colonel reached the doorway, but the wind buffeted him unmercifully.
“Come on, old boy, you can make this,” he shouted.
Then, with a herculean effort, Hatch launched himself through the open hatchway.
Bracing himself for the impact, the colonel tucked and rolled, skinning both his knees and elbows on the pavement. He popped up to his feet and started running, even though his old body screamed with pain.
Kablam!
The airplane ploughed into the hangar.
The sound of crunching metal reverberated clear across the runway.
Kaboom!
A chain reaction ignited the airport fuel reserves and disintegrated all the private airplanes in close vicinity. The force of the explosion knocked Hatch off his feet. Waiting for a few seconds to catch his breath, Robert got back up ran like the devil himself was right behind him.
After about 100 yards of sprinting, the colonel fell to his knees, gasping for air.
“Over here, sir,” Specialist Thomas called out.
CWO Collins and Sergeant Ramirez went to retrieve Hatch. They picked him up and carried the old war horse to where the others were hiding.
Lupita went to him and knelt down in front of Robert, holding his hand, as he gasped for air. “Oh, you silly old man, are you okay?”
He could only manage a nod.
“What’s next?” Sergeant Stillwell asked.
Specialist Thomas punched him in the upper arm. “Don’t you ever get tried asking that?”
The others laughed.
“We need to get as far away from this place as possible,” Hatch warned, taking puffs of air after every word.
“He’s right,” Sergeant Darby agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”
Two hours later, they were still looking for alternative transportation. There was no point in continuing on foot.
Late in the afternoon, they came across a sleepy little town.
“We need at least two vehicles,” Sergeant Ramirez said.
“We’ll get them,” Specialist Thomas volunteered, including Powers in his statement.
Darby, who was having difficulty thinking of new ways to motivate his men, simple sighed and said, “Okay, see what you can find.”
Less than an hour later, his two specialists returned with two black Chevrolet Suburban SUVs. Everyone climbed aboard, with CWO Collins driving the lead vehicle and Sergeant Ramirez steering the other.
Sure, their progress was slow, but the Rangers weren’t taking any chances and Colonel Hatch was in full agreement. With just two vehicles, they drove only 50-100 miles a day, before taking cover and resupplying. It was eerie and creepy how few human beings they saw during their travels and when they did, the Canadians always fled in terror.
Colonel Hatch worried that the citizens would report the unidentified convoy’s location, but after three days, First Sergeant Darby wasn’t convinced that had happened. More likely was the overriding fear that zombies had crossed over the border and were threatening the Canadian population as well.
Chapter 19
Canadian Hospitality
The convoy traveled only during the day. It was important to cross through the Canadian provinces without anyone discovering them. Headlights would be a quick way to betray their location.
They had successfully traversed British Columbia and Alberta by stealing aircraft, but were now driving across Saskatchewan. Colonel Hatch insisted the convoy enter the United States from either Saskatchewan or Manitoba. His argument was sound. Canadian border patrols would be stretched pretty thin and it made more sense to enter the US somewhere along the 4,000-mile border that stretched from Washington to Minnesota, including Montana, but North Dakota was the most logical choice.
Saskatchewan was tailor-made for backroad driving. There were more roads than any province in Canada. The possibilities were mind-boggling, but so were the chances of getting lost or running into Canadian law enforcement officials or the military. It was obvious that the country was on full alert. Sergeant Darby made frequent stops to scout ahead, thereby hoping to avoid any surprises. Each mile gained was another closer to Manitoba and therefore nearer to the US border. They went through spectacular river valleys to sweeping natural grasslands, lake-studded boreal forest, and wild badlands, some of Canada’s largest sand dunes, breathtaking viewpoints, little-known hideaways, and historic treasures.
All the while they had to stay alert and willing to pull off the highway at a moment’s notice to avoid detection. There were several close-calls. After three days of grueling maneuvering and hiding out in abandoned barns or under bridges, First Sergeant Darby called for a halt, so they could rest, search for supplies, and look ahead for checkpoints, government installations, or closed roads.
Colonel Hatch soon discovered they were in the Cypress Hills. The cool climate, thick stands of white spruce and lodge-pole pines, along with wildlife such as moose and elk, imparted a northern feel to the area. The unique combination of prairie and alpine habitat made for incredible wildflower displays fields. Sergeant Ramirez picked a bunch for Ensign Alvarez and was the gleeful recipient of a hug and kiss on the cheek.
Fortunately, the population in the area was fairly sparse. As the convoy continued east, they entered badland-like hills lining the valley. Coming out on the other side, the road wound its way through gorgeous valleys and hills. Fearing that headlights would give them away, they decided to quit before dusk. With large tracts of undisturbed grassland, bountiful wildlife, and non-stop panoramic views, it was an area perfect to hide out in. Before locating a suitable campsite, they looked down over weathered buttes, eroded gullies, steep hillsides, hoodoos, and wooded coulees. Depending on the light, the Rangers commented on the myriad of colors, ranging from chocolate browns and sandy beiges to shades of gold, rust, and creamy white. In a high rainfall summer, the normally arid slopes turned green and were covered in wildflowers.
