Two Hours Earlier

Nigel listened to the rhythmic sound of the rain against the barn. The wind had slowed to a gentle breeze. During the worst of the storm, Nigel couldn’t hear himself think. Now he thought it was a good time to get his backup plans in motion. He didn’t know a lot about cars, but he wanted to see if this jalopy would work in case the helicopter fuel situation continued to be a problem. He found the car key in the oblong key holder under the seat. The vehicle was old, so a key was all that was needed, but the battery was dead. Unless he could figure out a way to jumpstart the car, they weren’t going anywhere.

“Hey, Nigel, what are you doing?” Jerry asked.

The kid had settled down and fallen asleep shortly after taking shelter in the barn. Nigel didn’t blame him for being scared. Hell, if he allowed himself to think about the full reality of the situation, then he might have been a basket case as well.

“I’m seeing if this car will start. It’s our backup ride to Boston,” Nigel replied, sounding more confident than he felt.

Jerry seemed to perk up at the sound of getting back on the road. “I don’t know, it looks pretty old and beat up,” he said.

“It is old, but old cars are some of the easiest to fix.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. If we can push it to the helicopter, maybe we can jump start it.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Sally said. “We don’t even know if this junker will start. And I don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes our chances of getting out of here.”

“Since we can’t carry everyone in the helicopter, I thought it would be good to have a backup plan,” Nigel said.

“Even if we did have jumper cables, there’s a good chance we might fry the helicopter’s circuits if something backfires,” Sally said.

“I don’t think that’s possible, but I see your point. We would also need to push the car to the helicopter. And that’s tricky, since it’s just you and me,” Nigel said.

“I can help push, but maybe we should ask that farmer for permission?” April said.

Nigel and Sally shared a look of concern. There was a chance that the man, who looked bigger than most professional wrestlers, would not appreciate trespassers.

“Let’s just try to get the hell out of here in the helicopter. We have enough fuel to get us close to the city. And after checking my maps, Plymouth Rock is a lot closer,” Sally said.

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“He’s coming,” April said.

Nigel glanced out the window. The farmer was close enough that it would be impossible to go unnoticed.

“It’s not raining that much; let’s make a run for it. After everything we’ve been through, I don’t want to wait and see if that guy is friendly.”

Nigel and his motley crew made a run for the helicopter. He was relieved to see that it hadn’t been destroyed by the storm. Nigel helped Jet, April, and Jerry into the cargo hold, then jumped into the copilot’s seat.

He helped Sally do the pre-flight checks that were necessary to get off the ground. A shotgun blast broke the stillness of the moment. The rotor blades made a high-pitched sound. The field beyond the barn filled with several vehicles. Nigel looked through his binoculars to see several men with weapons.

“Raiders! Let’s get out of here,” he said.

As the helicopter touched off, the unmistakable sound of gunfire rang out. One of the side windows shattered. The icy breeze wasn’t the only thing that chilled Nigel. There weren’t just a few raiders. There seemed to be hundreds, and many had guns trained on them. Sally took some evasive maneuvers, and soon they were flying high above.

“That was too close,” Nigel said.

“What’s the matter with people? Have they gone mad?” April said.

“The world has,” Nigel said.

They flew in silence until Plymouth Rock came into view. As they entered the Greater Boston metropolitan area, the carnage of social breakdown was evident. The sight of dozens of burned-out buildings, some still ablaze, was incredible. It was a war zone below.

“Unidentified aircraft, please identify yourselves immediately,” a man’s voice said over the radio.

“Should we answer?” Nigel asked.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Sally said.

“Is that Boston airport?” Jet asked.

“Probably one of the regional ones, maybe Norwood or Mansfield. I didn’t expect for anyone to be at the airports,” Sally said.

“This is flight DA100 heading on approach for Plymouth Municipal, over,” Sally said.

“State your purpose, flight DA100, over.”

“Bringing in survivors, over.”

“Survivors need to go to Norwood. Please divert.”

Sally muted her microphone.

“We don’t have enough fuel to get to Norwood, and we’re not landing at Plymouth Municipal, either. It’s possible that raiders, bandits, and other brigands have already infiltrated those places. Besides, there are some large streets near where the memorial is. It will be tight, but we can make it,” Sally said.

Fog was rolling in, and dusk wasn’t too far away, so Sally brought the aircraft in for a low descent.

“Whoa, watch out,” Nigel said.

A gigantic sailboat was washed up on the shore. The highway was littered with dozens of cars, RVs, sailboats, and yachts. It looked like every boat in the harbor had come to play bumper cars with the land vehicles and crashed together in a spectacular wreck. Some of the homes had boats or cars sticking out of them. People emerged from the wreckage and waved at the helicopter. As Sally approached the monument, another helicopter was parked nearby. A figure with a shotgun appeared to be guarding it.

“Land near that helicopter,” Nigel said.

No sooner had they landed than a swarm of townsfolk surrounded them. Most of them looked like everyday people, but there were some cybernetically enhanced. They rocked the vehicle back and forth.

“What are they doing?” Jet asked.

“They’re probably infected,” Nigel said.

“What are we going to do?” April said.

“We fight,” Nigel said, checking his ammo supply.

Several shotgun blasts came from outside. Blood splattered on the windshield. The mob scattered. Nigel turned to see Blanka holding off the crowd, but she wasn’t going to last forever.

“Get out of there quick,” Blanka said.

Moments later, Nigel and his group piled into Blanka’s helicopter. It was much larger than Sally’s.