Chapter Five ~ The Airport and the Plan

Even though they had planned to wash up, brush their teeth, and perhaps go down the hall and watch a movie, they all fell fast asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. No one even changed their clothes. The stress was taking its toll. Rob woke up once in the middle of the night and lay there listening to absolutely nothing. Not a noise, inside or outside. He wasn't sure if it was comforting or not. As he lay thinking about what might become of them and trying to wrap his head around this whole unbelievable situation he drifted back off to sleep until the next time he opened his eyes he could just see the sun starting to peek over the horizon.

He looked around the room and saw Lucas already awake and sitting at the desk looking out the window. He walked up behind him and the two of them stared into the quiet city.

 “No one out walking around” Lucas noted

  “I wonder where they all sleep at night?”

  “With how weird this all is, I wouldn't be surprised if they just leaned themselves up in a corner.”

Rob laughed. “Yeah, I can totally see that.”

Carolyn wandered into the room through the connecting door, rubbing her eyes and stretching. “So are we going to head back to our truck and see if we can locate wherever the other trucks are going? And maybe figure out where the ships are taking off from?”

 “Well I was going to suggest maybe we just get ourselves back out of this place, head home, and pretend like none of this happened, but if you want to do your suggestion I guess it's a functional alternative,” Rob said, sighing.

 “We should get going as early as possible. I'd like to be out there when that alarm goes off. See if it's triggering something.”

Lucas got up and went into the other bedroom where Jilly was still sleeping. He picked up a pillow and tossed at her “YO girlie, let's go.”

Jilly rolled over with an uncharacteristically grumpy face. “It's barely light out” she protested, grabbing the pillow and pulling it over her head.

 “Yes, but we want to be downtown when the alarm goes off.”
 
 “You go ahead. I'll meet you there.”

 “That's not how it works”

 “UGH UGH,” She reluctantly sat up and yawned and threw the pillow back at him. “OH great, I slept in my clothes. Yuck”
 
She rolled out of bed and started looking around for her shoes.

They each got ready to go and headed out into the darkened hallway.

They took the elevator down to the lobby and grabbed some granola bars and bottled water for breakfast, tucked a few extras into their backpacks, and headed out.

Outside it was already starting to get warm as the sun crawled slowly upward in the eastern sky. The birds hopped about and complained in the trees that lined the street. There were already people strolling down the sidewalks, smiling and chatting about nothing to each other.

 Rob checked his watch. “It's 6:45,” He reported. “fifteen minutes until the gas release and sirens.”

 “Make sure you have the bandanna handy to minimize breathing the crap in. The last time it happened I about threw up. It was so awful.” Carolyn reminded everyone.

They all rummaged through their backpacks and came up with a face covering that Frankie had provided them with. They wrapped them around their necks as they headed down the street towards the center of downtown. They weaved in and out of the people as the crowds began to grow. They couldn't tell where they were coming from. Some were coming out of buildings, some were coming from alleyways, others were slowly leaving the local park. As the top of the hour drew near they noticed a low flying aircraft coming in from the east. It definitely was not a design any of them had seen before. As they stood watching, a large white cloud of gas came out of the pipes on the underside and started blanketing the city. With every pass, it moved closer to them. They ducked into an alcove in front of a store.

  “This isn't going to protect us very well,” Lucas pointed out.

 Jilly tried the door handle and it opened and they piled in and quickly closed the door behind them. They stood watching out the window as the aircraft passed right overhead. As the cloud encompassed the people outside, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at the sky. The cloud of gas started to seep under the door and Carolyn grabbed a towel that was laying on the counter and stuffed it into the crack along the bottom. They could still smell it but it wasn't enough to make them gag. As the aircraft made its last pass and it took a steep banking turn, an incredibly loud siren went off. All four of them covered their ears and backed up away from the windows. The siren continued to scream for what seemed like at least a minute then went silent. All of their ears were ringing like crazy.

 “What the hell was that?” Lucas wanted to know. “And why did we never hear this outside of the wall?”

 “Who the hell knows,” Carolyn said, wiggling her finger back and forth in her ear trying to make the noise go away faster.

 “Wow,” Jilly winced. “That was louder than the last rock concert I went to.”

 “When did you go to a rock concert?” Lucas wanted to know.

 “Last year. I went with Jenny. I told you all about it.”

 “No actually you didn't but it's beside the point right now”

 “Look” Rob called out pointing out the window. The people had stopped staring at the sky and most of them went back to smiling and chatting. But a small number of them had gathered in a group and were walking, blank-faced away from everyone else.

 “Those guys look just like they did the first time the gas came out of the ship,” Jilly said. “They look like zombies again.” She ran to the door and pushed the towel out of the way with her foot and pulled it open.

 “Wait!” Rob tried to grab at her “You don't know if it's safe yet”

But Jilly was gone and heading over to the group. Lucas bolted out after her “What are you doing?” he called trying not to yell too loudly. He caught up to her and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to the sidewalk. “I swear girl, you're going to get us in trouble one of these days.”

 “But look” she insisted “They look just like they did before. But only some of them.”

It was true. Small numbers of people were grouping together and all the groups were walking in the same direction winding through the affected who had started going about their meaningless business.

Carolyn and Rob gathered with Lucas in the safety of the door alcove. “Should we follow them?” Carolyn whispered.

 “I would guess so,” Lucas replied quietly.

They peered around the corner and made sure no one was watching and then started following the group. As they walked, other blank-faced people joined them.

 “Why oh why do things keep getting weirder?” Rob asked as he hurried to keep up with the others.

The further they walked the more people joined them. They wound their way towards the outskirts of the city then turned towards the highway that would take them towards the airport.

The four of them kept about a block behind them. When they headed out onto the highway Carolyn became concerned that they were getting too far away from the truck.

 “I think we should go back. We don't know how far they are going and for all we know it could be miles and miles until they get there. Then we'd have to walk back. We should get the truck. We can head out this way and if we can't find them we can be pretty sure it'll happen again tomorrow and we'll be prepared.”

 “I second the motion,” Rob said.

 Jilly looked completely crestfallen. “But we need to see where they are going.”

 “We will,” Carolyn assured her. “But we need to do it safely for us. We can't follow them to who knows where with no way to get out quickly and with no protection.”

Jilly sighed deeply. “I guess you're right.”

They watched the wave of people move away from them and slowly disappear and they turned and headed back downtown to retrieve the truck. Nothing had changed since yesterday. There were still masses of wandering people, nodding and smiling. Going about daily business without any purpose. Functional to the point that they were cooking food, gardening in their yard, taking care of themselves but not actually aware of any of it.

After what seemed like forever they got back to where they parked. They slipped into the parking garage over a low back wall and found the truck just where they left it. They took turns changing back into their fatigues in case they had to pretend to be with the military again and after hauling themselves up into the truck, they slowly drove out of the garage and onto the street.

 “Do we go back to the hotel or try to follow the Zombies?” Jilly asked.

 “I think we should at least see if we can locate where they were headed,” Lucas said

  “Yeah” Carolyn agreed “That's probably a good idea.”

 “And what better way to do it than to drive around hoping we don't get caught,” Rob said. “but hey, carpe diem right?”

 “Exactly,” Carolyn said, reaching behind her and patting him on the knee. “Now you're thinking correctly.”

 “Not because I want to. It's because if we don't figure something out this is going to be our life from now on.”

 “That is the absolute truth”

They drove carefully so as not to run over any of the affected because they didn't seem to pay much attention to the giant military truck rumbling down the street. They followed the same road that the zombie people took all the way to the highway which was completely empty and stretched for miles. Carolyn stopped for a few moments staring at it and finally stepped on the gas and headed off. She stayed all the way to the left directly next to the wall that separated the two sides of the highway, reasoning that they would be less obvious than driving down the middle of the lanes. They had been driving for a few miles when they saw one of the shuttles taking off and heading into the sky.

 “LOOK LOOK” Jilly cried pointing out the window. Carolyn stopped the truck and they all watched a gray and blue craft about the size of a small plane lift straight up into the air, hover briefly then take off like a rocket into the clouds with almost no sound and disappear.

 “Holy crap!” Lucas said, “What was that?”

 “Whatever it is, I've never seen anything like it,” Rob said.

 “Should we keep going?” Lucas asked

 “I think we should try to get a little bit closer then find a place to park and see how close we can get to see what's going on,” Carolyn said.

 “That's a good idea,” Jilly agreed.

 Carolyn drove to the next exit ramp and pulled off and under the overpass. She steered the truck around a fence and pulled a couple of hundred feet off the street and parked behind a large cement support pillar. She suggested they carry their rifles this time since they had no idea what was ahead of them. She pulled four out of the back and handed them out. “Remember if we run into any military people let me do as much talking as possible.”

They all agreed and after locking up the truck, got started walking.

This had not been the best neighborhood previously and there was rotting trash and broken down cars everywhere. No affected anywhere because apparently, this was too depressing even for them. Jilly announced a number of times how badly it stunk until Lucas shoved her on the shoulder and said “We got it.”

It wasn't long before they got to the outskirts of the airport. There was a tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounding the end of the runway. There were several planes parked in front of hangers along one end but no sign of movement anywhere. They kept walking, staying close to the fence line where they could hide in the overgrown weeds. Halfway down the runway Lucas suddenly spotted movement near one of the terminals. They hunkered down and watched. It was soldiers working next to a large craft almost as big as a passenger plane. It had three levels and the workers were loading boxes into the lowest compartment. There was a ramp rolled up to the door for access to upper decks and several men were hurrying up and down. It had a very otherworldly feel with no wings and only a row of lights along the upper edge.

 Rob checked his watch. “This must be one of the ships Manny said he could see. It should be taking off in about 20 minutes.”

 “It looks like someone made it out of Legos,” Jilly said. “It's so angular.”

 “That'd be an awful lot of Legos,” Rob pointed out.

They watched as the commotion around the shuttle grew. Then suddenly Rob's stomach lurched. “Look over there. See what's coming around the corner?”

Everyone's focus shifted and they could see a line of slack faced people being led out of the terminal and towards the ramp. They shuffled along and when they got to the long black incline they continued without hesitation right up and into the craft.

 “Oh my god, oh my god” Jilly stood up and started backing up. Lucas grabbed her and pulled her back down

  “No matter how bad it seems we gotta stay hidden. And hush.”

 “I knew it. I just KNEW it” Rob said. “They're abducting us”

 “But why? Is it going to be like the twilight zone episode where they end up eating us?” Lucas asked, “I really liked that one but I didn't want to end up living it.”

 “You think aliens flew a billion miles just to have a snack?” Carolyn asked, “There's got to be more to it than that.”

 “Why don't we just stroll over there and ask them?” Rob suggested more sarcastically than he intended.

 “And why is the military helping them? I don't get it. How are they selectively not affected by this stuff?”

While they were talking, they watched more than 100 people file into the aircraft filling both upper decks. They could see them through small windows that were dotted along the outside moving towards the back of each level and then sitting when they got to the next available seat. As the last person in line entered, the door slid shut and the ramp was rolled away. All the ground support staff gathered up any equipment that was in the area and headed towards the terminal. The lights on the edges of the craft flickered on and if you looked closely you could see the entire thing start to vibrate ever so gently. A cloud of dust began to rise off the ground and a passing breeze sent it drifting towards the four of them as they watched in both utter fascination and abject horror.

 With barely a sound, it lifted into the air and rose higher and higher, completely defying any conventional rules of aerodynamics. They watched it until their necks were completely craned back as far as they could go. It stopped moving and began to turn and tilt its nose upwards and then shot into the sky and disappeared.

 “Can I just go on record that I said this was going to happen?” Rob said. His voice shaking slightly.

 “We don't know where they are taking them,” Jilly said trying to lighten the mood

 “Well maybe they're taking them on an “out of this world” vacation so they can go sit on the shores of a beach of a distant planet, or climb a mountain on a rocky moon or better yet go sightseeing and try the local cuisine on a multinational space station but I didn't see anyone with luggage and somehow no matter where they are going I bet it's a one-way trip.”
 
 “What are we going to do now?” Lucas asked. “How are we going to figure out where they are going and why they are getting taken there?”

 “I have no idea,” Carolyn admitted. “So for right now I think we need to get back to the hotel and regroup. And then somehow get word to Frankie and let her know what we've discovered.”

Everyone was in agreement so they made their way back along the fence and through the stinky neighborhood until they got to their truck. It didn't take them long to get back on the highway and head towards the hotel.

 The ride was completely silent as each of them tried to make sense of what they saw in their heads.

  “What if they DO want to eat us?” Jilly finally said.

  “That only happens in movies and books,” Carolyn assured her.

 “How do you know?”

 “Because that's what they taught us in the military. That if an alien race came and tried to take over the earth it wasn't because we were good to eat. It was because they were assholes and wanted the real estate.”

 “That's not true!”

 “How do you know?”

 “They want us for something but we have no idea what. If it was only the real estate they wouldn't be taking the time to hypnotize us and then haul our human asses off the planet.” Lucas realized he was not adding to the conversation at all but that was the best he could come up with.

They reached their exit off the highway and cut across all lanes and followed the ramp up onto the overpass then into the neighborhood until they got back to where they started this morning. Carolyn pulled around the back and parked the truck out of sight from the street.

 Natalie and Manny were waiting for them at the door. “Oh thank heavens you're alright,” Natalie said “We were worried about you when you weren't here this morning but hoped you had just left early. What happened? Did you find out anything?”

 “So much more than we wanted to,” Rob said. And he went on to explain the gas, the alarm, following the zombie people, and what they eventually saw at the airport.

 “Well, what in tarnation are they doing taking us away?” Manny wanted to know. “Are they gonna take us all away? What happens to us who ain't bothered by their gas?”

 “We don't know,” Carolyn said. “But we've got to do something to figure it out.”

 “Any ideas?” Natalie asked

 “Nothing that isn't dangerous but at this point, it's just as dangerous not to do anything.”

Rob winced slightly, “What dangerous thing are you thinking about?”

 “We're going to have to go back to the airport and get on one of those transports and find out where they are going and what they are doing with us when they get there.”

 “Are you out of your mind? Just who do you think is going to be crazy enough to get on one of those deathtraps on purpose?”

 “Wow! Really? I mean really WOW!” Jilly was obviously beyond excited. “I'll go. I'll do it. This is right up my alley. I always wanted to be a spy! I mean I always wanted to be an astronaut too so this is like double the wonderful because I can be an astronaut spy.”

 “Whoa whoa whoa” Lucas cut in “No way you're going up in a spaceship. And besides, there's no way you could keep your mouth quiet long enough to fool anyone anyway.”

 “That's not true! I can pretend as well as the next guy!”

 “You cannot! Remember that time when...”

 “Children!” Carolyn snapped “This is not helping. We need to formulate some sort of plan that is as safe as we can make it. And arguing about it is not going to help.”

 “I was thinking maybe I should try to contact Frankie and friends now,” Rob said. “Is there a computer in here that still works?”

 “Well there's one behind the desk, but I never turned it on since we started staying here. I didn't think it would have any use.” Natalie explained.

 “I may be able to use that” Rob headed over to the desk and started working on the computer. He got it turned on and worked on getting it to the point where he could contact Frankie's people. He had purposely opened a program on their computer in case he needed to contact them from somewhere else.

Meanwhile, Carolyn and company were throwing around ideas. “I can infiltrate the group of people who are helping load the shuttles,” she said “and try to find out what's going on. I saw at least three of them go in right before it took off so I can try to get on board as well. It would be helpful to have at least one more person with me though.”

Jilly sat on the couch with her arms folded and looking particularly grumpy. “Well I would do it but Mr. Safety Sally over there thinks I'm not capable.”

 “I didn't say that. I'm only trying to protect you.”

 “Well thank you very much but I don't need your protection.”

  “You're not old enough to know what you need.”

To prove his point she stuck her tongue out at him.

 “Are we finished?” Carolyn asked.

 “Maybe.”

 “Good. So like I was saying, I'm open to other suggestions but I just don't see how we're going to figure anything out without actually going to where they are taking the people.”

 “I think you're right,” Natalie agreed. “But how will you get back?”

 “They must be making round trips after they drop off the cargo somewhere. So if I'm successful at getting onboard then I should be able to come back too.”

  “You definitely should not go alone,” Lucas said. “In case you get into trouble. You need back up.”

 “Yes. Absolutely. But what is going to be the best way to do it? I don't think we can get two fake crew members on board so anyone who came with me would have to masquerade as one of the passengers. And who knows how that's going to turn out.”

 “I'll do it and that's final,” Lucas said looking directly at Jilly. “And we should do it tomorrow morning. The sooner the better.”

Rob came over and stared at everyone. “Did I miss something?”

 “Apparently Carolyn and Lucas are going to go get on the shuttle tomorrow morning and fly off into space and that's the final decision,” Jilly said with her arms crossed again.

Rob felt his stomach sink. He didn't really think they were going to do that. It felt like it was a suicide mission. Like he was sure they would never come back. But he could tell by the way everyone was looking that the decision was definitely final and there was nothing he could say to change that.

So he just started telling them about his computer conversation. “I talked to Ethan, back at the compound. Everything is OK back there. I gave them an update on what we learned and he said he would tell Frankie. They want to do anything they can to help but at this point, I don't think there is anything they can do because it was sheer luck we got through the barricade like we did.” He slid down onto the sofa.

 “Well if we are really going to do this” Carolyn said “then we need to make sure we give ourselves every advantage. Are there any small walkie-talkies around here? The ones we have are huge.”

 “I'm sure I saw some in the supply room,” Natalie remembered. “The managers probably used them to keep in contact with maintenance workers. I'll go see if I can find them.” She hurried off with a slightly worried expression on her face.

 “We will need all of us to have some way to communicate with each other,” Carolyn explained. “I don't know how far these will reach, probably not as far as outer space but we will keep in contact with you as long as we can, and hopefully Lucas and I can keep in contact with each other wherever we end up going. We're also going to need some sort of weapon for Lucas. I'll be able to carry a small sidearm since I've seen the other soldiers with them. I'm sure Frankie will have left us one in the trunk that I can use but I don't know if it's safe to give Lucas one. I don't think anyone is patting down the people before they load them on the transport so we maybe we'll get lucky.”

 “I think that's a good idea,” Lucas said. “I'll wear a pair of the cargo pants so I can also carry a knife and one of those tiny tool kits in the pocket.”

 “That's a good idea. Keep thinking like that.”

 “I'll go out and go through the stuff Frankie sent with us to see if there is anything else that I can bring that's small. You never can tell what you may need.” As he got up Jilly jumped off the couch at the same time.

 “Go ahead! Go get yourself killed. You only care about yourself anyway. You're going away just like mom did. And you'll never come back. Just like mom did! And I'll be all alone. But you don't care. You're only thinking about yourself! Just like mom did!”

And with tears running down her face she turned and ran towards the elevators and disappeared. Lucas started to go after her but Natalie touched his arm “You go out and get ready, I'll look after her.”

Lucas stood in limbo. “Shouldn't I be the one to talk to her? She's partly right. I wasn't thinking about how it would affect her if I went to play hero.”

 “She's mad and hurting right now. And scared. She'll only continue to take it out on you if you go and try to tell her she's wrong. I'll go. I've raised five daughters so I have some understanding of what a girl her age needs.”

Lucas looked more pained than he had in a long time but nodded his head. “Thank you. Just when I think things can't get much worse, life finds a way.” He hung his head and headed out back to the truck.

The others just sat looking sad. “Now now. No long faces” Natalie said. “Go and get the things done you need to and it will all be OK. Shoo.”

Reluctantly Carolyn and Rob got off the sofa and headed to get things ready for tomorrow. Neither was feeling as optimistic as they were a few minutes earlier.

Natalie took the elevator upstairs to Jilly's room and knocked softly on the door.

 “Go away!”

 “Jilly, honey, it's Natalie. Can I come in?”

 “No”

Natalie opened the door anyway. Jilly was laying at the foot of the bed with her forehead resting on crossed arms. “I said go away”

Natalie sat down next to her and touched her back. “I know it's hard to understand,” she said. “I know it's scary.”

Jilly sniffled.
“Lucas doesn't want to leave you. He just wants to keep you safe. And if it means he has to go out and do something dangerous so you don't get hurt then that's what he feels like he has to do.”

Jilly lifted her head. Her face was red and tear-stained. “I can take care of myself! And what about me wanting to keep him safe? Why can't I do that?”

 “Big brothers feel an obligation to their little sisters.” Natalie brushed Jilly's hair away from her face where it was stuck to her cheeks. “No matter how old either of them gets, the brother feels like it's his duty to make sure anyone younger than he is, is taken care of.”

Jilly sniffled some more and wiped her nose on her sleeve as she sat up. “He's been doing that ever since our mom left us. Every time we went to a new foster home he made sure I got the best place to sleep and he always let me eat first when there were places that didn't really give us enough food. That's why I want to do something for him. I want to show him that I can take care of myself and protect him too.”

Natalie smiled. “He knows all of that, honey. But it's not going to stop him from making sure you don't get hurt. There is no way he would ever let you do what he is doing, so the best thing you can do is tell him you're proud of him and you know he can do it. There will come a time I promise you that you will be there for him when he needs it and he will find out just how strong and capable you are. Even though I know he knows that now.”

 “Do you think so?'

 “I know so. Now go wash up and let's help everyone get ready so this crazy plan can work.” She gave Jilly a much-needed hug and kissed the top of her head.

 “Thank you,” Jilly said as relaxed into her arms. “I know Lucas can do it. I know he can save the world.”