where we had come, I realized that we had a problem. The runway we had planned to use to take off was blocked. Thousands of creatures were in our way and our planned escape was cut off. More pulled themselves out of the river each second.
“Iron Eagle, you are going to have to pull around. We have to take off to the South, do you copy?”
“Copy that, we’re just waiting for you to jump on.” As he spoke, the hatch on the side of the plane dropped down, and a man in a flight suit waved his hand.
The two sailors bolted toward the plane immediately, but the man in the lead fell suddenly to the pavement, twisting his ankle as he fell over a small discarded child’s toy laying on the tarmac.
I didn’t want to think about why the toy was laying there. Or to whom it had belonged.
Kate moved to help the fallen man, but she was too far.
A group of fifteen of the dead from the plane had escaped Rhodes’ covering fire and were within mere feet of the hapless youth. He scrambled on all fours as his friend backed away, stricken with terror. They had clearly never been face to face with these things.
Four of the creatures were on top of him, teeth flashing and arms pin wheeling through flesh and blood. Kate’s gun fired, and I raised my own, careful to aim high. But it was too late. As the bodies fell back onto the pavement, the mutilated corpse of the young man bled onto the ground. A crossbow bolt flashed into another row of the creatures and I turned to Ky.
“Save it, we need to leave, now!”
She backed up, and Kate grabbed her arm, pulling her forward to the waiting plane. The second sailor was running, arms pumping furiously as he made for the plane.
They were coming at us from three sides, now. The massive herd from the river was within five hundred feet, while the even bigger group from the terminal side was dodging luggage carts and parked planes, returning to the runway from the cargo terminals. The drones continued their cacophonous assault, swooping overhead and toward the west, while from the abandoned 747, they were crushing each other to get to the ground. And there were many that had succeeded.
Rhodes was still focused on trying to stem the tide of bodies flowing from the metal staircase, but he was failing. The airplane was full, and these creatures hadn’t eaten in a long time. I saw the door hanging awkwardly from the fuselage, realizing that it had just been broken down—likely the noise from the landing aircraft was finally enough to push them over the edge, and against the door in enough numbers to push it from its warped hinges.
They streamed out onto the tarmac, and he finally stopped firing when his magazine emptied. He turned toward me, and we ran together toward the open door and the airman inside.
The warplane had turned to the south, and was facing away from the two herds converging on us.
But the first row of creatures from the abandoned plane was too close. I turned, trying to buy Rhodes some time. They were everywhere, and I couldn’t take them all myself. But the plane needed time to complete its turn, and taxi into position without getting zombies jammed in the blades.
As I raised my gun, I saw the closest creature suddenly slump and fall over on itself, a spray of red and white shooting out of the back of its head. Then the next, and the next. Within seconds, the entire front rank of the cohort had fallen, heads destroyed by the snipers positioned on the roof of the control tower, who finally had a shot through the fading mist.
My comms crackled as a serious voice asked calmly over the net, “You have a plane to catch, sir? I reckon you ought to make haste. Good luck.”
I raised a hand toward the control tower in silent salute, then turned back to the plane.
Kate and Ky were already at the door, climbing up and hoisting the dog up an extendable ladder. The huge engines were increasing the power to the blades, and they spun faster as the huge machine moved forward slowly. We
“Iron Eagle, you are going to have to pull around. We have to take off to the South, do you copy?”
“Copy that, we’re just waiting for you to jump on.” As he spoke, the hatch on the side of the plane dropped down, and a man in a flight suit waved his hand.
The two sailors bolted toward the plane immediately, but the man in the lead fell suddenly to the pavement, twisting his ankle as he fell over a small discarded child’s toy laying on the tarmac.
I didn’t want to think about why the toy was laying there. Or to whom it had belonged.
Kate moved to help the fallen man, but she was too far.
A group of fifteen of the dead from the plane had escaped Rhodes’ covering fire and were within mere feet of the hapless youth. He scrambled on all fours as his friend backed away, stricken with terror. They had clearly never been face to face with these things.
Four of the creatures were on top of him, teeth flashing and arms pin wheeling through flesh and blood. Kate’s gun fired, and I raised my own, careful to aim high. But it was too late. As the bodies fell back onto the pavement, the mutilated corpse of the young man bled onto the ground. A crossbow bolt flashed into another row of the creatures and I turned to Ky.
“Save it, we need to leave, now!”
She backed up, and Kate grabbed her arm, pulling her forward to the waiting plane. The second sailor was running, arms pumping furiously as he made for the plane.
They were coming at us from three sides, now. The massive herd from the river was within five hundred feet, while the even bigger group from the terminal side was dodging luggage carts and parked planes, returning to the runway from the cargo terminals. The drones continued their cacophonous assault, swooping overhead and toward the west, while from the abandoned 747, they were crushing each other to get to the ground. And there were many that had succeeded.
Rhodes was still focused on trying to stem the tide of bodies flowing from the metal staircase, but he was failing. The airplane was full, and these creatures hadn’t eaten in a long time. I saw the door hanging awkwardly from the fuselage, realizing that it had just been broken down—likely the noise from the landing aircraft was finally enough to push them over the edge, and against the door in enough numbers to push it from its warped hinges.
They streamed out onto the tarmac, and he finally stopped firing when his magazine emptied. He turned toward me, and we ran together toward the open door and the airman inside.
The warplane had turned to the south, and was facing away from the two herds converging on us.
But the first row of creatures from the abandoned plane was too close. I turned, trying to buy Rhodes some time. They were everywhere, and I couldn’t take them all myself. But the plane needed time to complete its turn, and taxi into position without getting zombies jammed in the blades.
As I raised my gun, I saw the closest creature suddenly slump and fall over on itself, a spray of red and white shooting out of the back of its head. Then the next, and the next. Within seconds, the entire front rank of the cohort had fallen, heads destroyed by the snipers positioned on the roof of the control tower, who finally had a shot through the fading mist.
My comms crackled as a serious voice asked calmly over the net, “You have a plane to catch, sir? I reckon you ought to make haste. Good luck.”
I raised a hand toward the control tower in silent salute, then turned back to the plane.
Kate and Ky were already at the door, climbing up and hoisting the dog up an extendable ladder. The huge engines were increasing the power to the blades, and they spun faster as the huge machine moved forward slowly. We
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