Torn (21 page)

“You gonna jump out that door?” she asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said smug. “Take you
r
seat or I get the Captain. Your choice.”

Darius laughed and grabbed on to Bret. “At least we have a choice. I don’t believe you do.”

“Excuse me?” she asked
,
confused.

Black and quiet.

At that second, all the lights aboard the plane went out and the engines stopped.

“Now.” Darius, holding on to Bret, turned the crank on the door.

The stewardess peered around confused. The plane instantaneously started to drop.

“Hold tight!” he instructed Bret.

“Oh my God. Oh my God.” She grabbed him and the bar near the door.

“Ready?” Darius opened the door. He was aware of the dynamics of pressurized
sp
aces, and how the opening of the door was an invitation to be sucked out. He was ready, so was Bret. The stewardess wasn’t. She flew by Da
rius and Bret, right out of the
plane, screaming the entire way. “Oh.”

“Oh?” Bret asked.

Darius waved out his hand and spoke over the wind noise. “She was a goner anyhow. Jump.” Without taking a chance on Bret’s hesitation, he grabbed he
r arm and tugged her out of the
plane right along with him.

Against the original grain of plan, instead of heading to Virginia’s monitoring station, Blain figured it best to stay close to Chuck. After all, Chuck was the stor
y to follow. However, Blain wasn’t aware
as to why Colin drove so fast to his house, and moved with the rush of emergency inside.

The comp
uters in Darius’ make shift lab
beeped out of control. “Chuck, hit the mike. Remove the screensavers.”

“Got it.” Chuck said making a motion around the room.

Colin pressed a button on the phone. “Tell me you’re there
.
”

“I’m here,” Virginia said. “We weren’t
a
ffected.”

“Where are we at?” Colin sat in front of the computer. “I know I missed it.”

“By forty seconds.
Its
impact
is just being felt now. My God
. . . .
”
She paused. “Screen two. It’s rippling.”

“Fuck,” Colin
whispered
.

“What’s happening?” Blain asked Chuck.

“Look at this mother.” Colin sated. “Texas, West Louisiana
,
Northern Mexico
.
…”

“I don’t think it made California. Parts of New Mexico though,” Virginia said.

“Were you able to hack into FAA?”

“Yes, coming your way now.”

“Got it,” Chuck called out. “Over here. Looks like a video game.”

Blain added “A
bad
seventies one. The dots are
disappearing
.”

“Colin,” Virginia said sadly. “They’re just dropping from the sky. One, two five, ten.”

“What? What’s dropping fro
m
the sky?” Blain asked.

Chuck answered, “Planes.
Electromagnetic
pulse. Everything running died.”

“Where are they falling t
o?” Blain asked.

“Where
ever they land.” Chuck ran his hand across his face. “Oh, shit.” He looked at his watch. “Bret was in the air.”

Virginia interjected, “Got the text to him.”

“Maybe their plane wasn’t hit,” Colin suggested.

“I have their flight number.
…” Virginia paused. “She’s on the screen. Look. 425B.”

“Foun
d it.” Chuck said. “She’s still.
…”

Pause.

“Gone.” Chuck’s head dropped. “Their plane just dropped from the sky.”

Blain turned left to right. “Is this
real? Is this really happening?
All these planes. People. And these on the ground. Is it real?”

Colin nodded, “Yes. Make your call
,
Blain. Be first on this.”

Blain agreed, but slowly, in shock
as he
grabbed for his phone.

Chuck buried his face in his hands. “I’ll have to call Bret’s kids.”

After a heavy s
igh, Colin regained his composure. “No. Darius was prepared. He really was prepared for this to happen.”

Chuck looked at him. “Did he know?”

Virginia spoke, “No, but he knew the
probability with the increased s
un spots. He was prepared. He got the text.”

“But the question remains,” Colin said. “Did they get off that plane?”

Thump. Grunt.

Thump. Grunt.

Darius landed fir
st, with Bret not far behind
or away from him. They
’d
open
ed their parachutes, and the graceful downward float to the ground enabled them to watch not only their plane fall and crash to the earth, but two others as well. The explosions sent smoke an
d flames billowing in the air, e
specially from one. Though
at
a distance, it was
clearly
seen to have crashed dead on into a town.

Darius was coming out of his roll, and he did it quickly, peering to the sky, just to make sure nothing was falling on him. He turned in a search and saw Bret standing, the straps of the parachute tangled around her.

He unlatched the chute, and headed to her. “Here,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, fine. Thanks. That was a jolt.”

“Tell me about it.” He undid her chute.

“Thanks. Hey. Look.” She showed the diaper bag. “I still have it. Boy, I’ll tell you I held onto it for dear life.”

Darius chuckled. “I would think you would have held on to your chute. The diaper bag was not that important.”

“You
don’t think? I’ll have you know
I have my toothbrush, tampons and ibuprofen in here. It is God.”

Darius couldn’t help but laugh, then he sighed out. “Wow.” He looked about. “We’re lucky.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, a fifty foot patch of clearing surrounded by trees.” He whistled. “We could have easily landed in the trees.”

“I guess.” Bret
star
ed around. “But it looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“Nah, we’re in Texas. That’s somewhere.” He chuckled. “I need you to start folding your parachute. We m
ay need it for the elements if
we’re stranded.” He headed back to where his parachute lay on the ground.

“Stranded? You mean there won’t be a rescue chopper?”

“You’re kidding, right?” Darius asked. “You’re not. Bret? How? Pretty much everyone thinks we’re dead. Planes fell from the sky. If that EMP extended into the metropolis, phones are down, cars won’t run if the
y
were running
when it hit
. No electricity.”

“For how long?”

“Forever, or until they replace the components killed by the EMP.”

“Oh man.” Bret swiped down and grabbed the chute. “What now?”

“Now, first w
e get the chutes folded and put in o
ur packs. Easier to carry. Then
. . .
”
he lifted the cell phone, “Try to get a signal so we can at least let someon
e know w
e
’
re alive. Where we are, I haven’t a clue.”

“Then there’s no way for someone to send help.”

“Not right now, unless they have an idea where we went down.” Darius explained. “Our best bet is to try
to find our way to civilization
and get help.”

“How long will that take?” Bret asked.

“Who knows. But.
…” Darius smiled brightly. “All is not lost. I was ready.
Each of our parachute bags has
a parachute survival pack in there.”

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t. But knowing w
e were going to be hit with EMP
s and knowing we hadn’t
yet
, I figured, if it was gonna happen, it would happen while I was in a plane. Because I have a fear of flying.”

“You didn’t prove tha
t by me. So what’s in the packs?
”

“First aid. Matches. Meals Ready to Eat pack. Which you and I can extend over days.”

“Days!” Bret b
lasted. “We can be out for days?
”

“We’re in the woods, Bret.” Darius said.

“You’re like the outdoors guy. That’s
your work. Can’t you get us out?
”

“I’ll try. I figure we stay one direction, we’re bound to emerge. Right?”

“Right.”

“And.
…” he reached i
nto his bag. “We have a compass…
shit.”

“What?” She stepped closer.

“Look.” He held it up. The needle spun.

“It won’t stay put long enough to get direction.”

“I know. Shit.” He smacked it off his hand.

“Did the EMP do that?’

“No
,
t
he
magnetic reversals. Oh, well. We just follow the sun.”

Bret raised her eyes to the sky
then gave a ‘you think?’ look to Darius.

The clouds were obvious
. “Maybe
not. Well, we always have the North S
tar, right? So
.…” H
e
raised
his voice. “Let’s get our gear, pretend we’re on a hike, and get out of here.”

“Can we? Do you think we can?”

“Oh.” Darius scoffed. “Absolutely. Without a doubt. But first, before anything.” He slipped the battery into his phone. “I know we have a bunch of people worried about us. If we can
only reach
one.”

“That’s if we get a signal.”

Darius turned on the phone. It beeped and he smiled. “We have one.”

“What
. . .
(
s
niffle) has happened today isn’t only an American tragedy, but a world tragedy. At three twenty-two
Eastern Standard time today, f
orty-three planes fell out of the sky. Countless cities are without power and communication. The mid to south west are in scattered disarray
. . .
forgive my emotions, but t
his reporter witnessed it first
hand. Being at the center for solar investigation, we had first view of th
e flare that caused an Electrom
agnetic Pulse that struck without more
than a seven minute warning. I
. . .
was and still am shocked. More so, I am saddened. Two dear friends of mine were aboard flight 425B. God be with them. More later. This is Blain Davis.”

Colin mumbled, “We had it a minute ago. What
happened?
” As he and Chuck worked across the room on a printer.

Blain closed off his one ear while he spoke on his phone. Between the arguing of Colin and Chuck, alon
g with the steady beeping of
Darius’ station, Blain was not getting the reception he needed, or able to hear.

“What? What do you mean it didn’t show?” he blasted. “I did the segment. I t
hought my report aired live. We
. . . .
”

Do-da-beep-beep.

Crinkled brow, Blain’s head cocked. “What was that? I’m sorry, go on.” He nodded. “Responsible journa
lism?” he chuckled. “You’re kid
. . . .
”

Do-da-beep-beep.

He lowered the phone. “Hey, there’s a phone ringing.”

Do-da-beep-beep.

“Someone. Doesn’t anyone hear it?” He shook his head. “I was exercising responsible journalism by reporting about t
he EMP. It’s not responsible to
. . . .
”

Do-da-beep-beep.

“
The phone some one!” he shouted
then continued. “It’s not responsible to withhold the truth from the public.”

Do-da-beep-beep.

He huffed. “Colin! Anyhow, what? Wait for what?”

Do-da-beep-beep.

Blain turned to the phone that lay on
the counter. “Waiting for conf
. . . .
”
his eyes widened when he saw the digital display on the cell phone.

Do-da-beep-beep.

“Shit. Hold on.” Dropping his phone, he snatched up C
olin’s. “Hello? Shit! Missed it
! Redial. Redial.” he hurried and pressed the button. “Nothing. Son of a bitch.” he reached down and picked up his phone. “You still there?” Pause. “Fuck!”

“Good Lord.” Colin walked to him. “What’s going on?”

“Bout time I got your attention. I was on the phone with my producer.” He handed Colin the cell
. “By the time I saw who called
. . .
it was too late.”

Colin peered. “Oh my God. We’ve got to try to call back.”

“I tried. No
luck
.”

“Who?” Chuck asked. “Who was it?”

Colin smiled. “Darius.”

A pin could have been heard dropping; it was that quiet in Bret’s home. Casper and Andi sat on the couch, Luke—head down—in a chair, even Perry, Bret’s oldest
,
was there pacing.

Every once and a while, they’d all
raise eyes to the ceiling at
the sound of a bang or two from Jesse.

Casper huffed. “Who called him anyhow?”

Luke shook his head. “Not me.”

“Me either,” said Perry.

The three of them looked at Andi.

“Okay
. God! I called him; the airlines needed an adult next of kin.”

Casper pointed to Perry. “What is he? He’s an adult, next of kin.”

“He’s
. . .
”
Andi pointed up, “h
er husband.”

Casper rolled her eyes. “Debatable. Someone get him out of here. He doesn’t have a right.”

“And,” Luke added, “h
e won’t let anyone up there.”

“I don’t want him to go with us to the airport,” Casper said. “Perry can drive us.”

Jesse called down the steps. “Do we know where your mother’s hair brush is?”

After a sniffle, Andi answered. “She probably took it.”

With a slow
ly
shaking head, Perry walked to the stairs and aim
ed his voice upward “What about…
what about a hair band?”

It took a moment for Jesse to respond, and he did with a muttered ‘thanks’.

They waded through a few moments of silence
until
Jesse’s thunderous footsteps came down the stairs. “Let’s go.”

Luke stood up. “W
hy do they need a hair band of M
om’s?”

“They need her hair,
” Jesse answered. “For DNA.”

As if programmed, all of Bret’s kids lowered their heads.

“Let’s go.” Jesse reached for the door and opened it.

Luke paused before leaving. “Dr. Reye. Chuck?”

Jesse had a look of shock on his face, but it was nothing to the expression of surprise Chuck ha
d when he saw Jesse in the door
way.

“What are you doing here?” Chuck asked.

“Not you,
too,” Jesse said. “The airline
needs the families of those on the planes. I’m still her family. I’m her husband.”

Colin choked as he held back a snicker. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure your Asian
tinker toy loves hearing you boa
st that.”

Chuck winced. “Colin.”

Luke stepped forward, intercepting their glances between Colin and Jesse. “Chuck, Dr. Re
ye, are you guys here about my m
om?”

“As a matter of fact,” Colin replied. “We are.”

Jesse said, “We’re on our way to the airport. If you’ll excuse us.”

Colin held up his hand. “Then I’m glad I caught you. You don’t need to go. They are requesting the families of those killed.” Colin said as he and Chuck just mad
e their way into the house. “So
. . .
Jesse
. . .
the spending fairy that is dancing in yo
ur head. That little kimono you have your buying sights on
. . . .
”
he winked. “Drop it. Hate to put a damper on the insurance policy collecting day, but, sorry. I got a call.” He held up his phone. “Bret is alive.”

Child dragging behind her, Virginia flew into the Darius’ world of computers. “Tell me nothing’s happened, and you screwed it up,” she said to Blain who stared at a screen, his hands to the side of his face.

“No,” Blain answered.

Virginia exhaled. “Good.” She turned and instructed her daughter to have a seat and not touch anything.

“Why are you here?” he asked. “I have it under control.”

Virginia stared.

“No, seriously, I do.”

“OK, if you do, then why the face?” She pulled out a chair and took a seat next to him.

“Oh,” Blain grunted. “Life sucks.”

Virginia blinked in surprise.

“My piece I did on the planes dropping. Dumped. The FAA or something has capped all stories regarding this.”

“Are you more concerned with the fact that they capped the story or someone else is going to end up breaking it?”

Blain stood up. “Planes dropped from the sky, Virginia. Dropped. What are they waiting for? To see maybe if a few more drop?”

Virginia
lifted her hand
held unit. “If they’re waiting for that, they’ll wait a while. Things look calm right now.”

Blain peeked at the unit. “Where
did you get that?”

“Darius.”

Blain shook his head. “His spending alone should tip people off.” With a chuckle he sat back down. “Planes dropped. How can they keep covering up t
he natural disaster phenomena
that are occurring?”

“T
hey can’t for long. And really
, , , ,
”
She snickered. “Think about it. How can they even remotely cover up this? This will get out. Planes dropping from the sky? No,” She said. “There’s no way around that one. Trust me.”

“In what has been called
‘
one of the worst aviation terrorist strikes in history
’
, President Gr
eene
is vowing to find who is behind…
.”

Colin shut off the news, and shook his head. “Terrorist attack. High altitude nuclear burst.” He grumbled. “They did it. They found an out.” He was more engrossed in watching the news than anything else. Chuck had left to drive Perry back to his place. Jesse was gone, and Colin was hanging out with Bret’s kids until Chuck returned to get him.

“Play it again, Dr. Reye,” Casper asked enthused. “Please play it again. I want to hear my mom’s voice without Jesse around.”

“With pleasure. He did kind of crowd the moment.” He held up the phone for Bret’s family to hear the speaker. It played, “
First message. Today, 2:45 p.m
.
” Static. “
Goddamn it! I got the voice mail
.”

Bret’s voice spoke out, “Maybe they’re busy, just leave a message.”

“Fine,” Darius said. “Hey! We weren’t killed. We’re alive. Fine. But los
t. Right now we’re headed south
. . . .
”

The message stopped.

Colin hit save.

“Can I hear it again?” Casper asked. “I was crying so hard.”

“Absolutely.” Colin handed her the phone. “I can imagine the torment you went through. I know what I felt when I believed Darius was killed. But they’re both fine. Lost in the woods somewhere
,
but fine.”

Luke asked. “So what now?”

Colin shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t gather they’ll be home
tomorrow like planned. In fact
. . .
t
hey’re going to more than likely have to find their own way from where they are to civilization.”

Luke nodded.

“I have an idea,” Colin said. “You guys may or may not want to do it. We don’t know how long your mother will be gone now. She’s fine,” he reiterated. “Bu
t with things they way they are, I certainly would feel better
and I know your mother would if you guys stayed with me until she returned.”

“Is your house big?” Andi asked.

“Very.”

“Do you have kids?” Andi asked again.

“Darius, but he’s with your mother.”

Casper
questioned. “Pets?
”

“Not with Darius around. He tends to kill them.”

Both girls cocked back in shock.

“Sad truth.” Colin slowly shook his head. “What do you guys
say?
”

Luke shrugged. “I’ll go.”

Casper asked. “Can we swim in your pool?”

“Without a doubt.”

“Oh, then I’m in, too,” she said.

Colin chuckled, reached out, and rubbed her head. “Then let’s pack our bag
s
.”

With appr
ehension, Luke spoke, “Dr. Reye
, our mom, she’s gonna be
okay
, right?”

Colin paused before answering. “She’s with Darius. So very assuredly I can say
. . .
absolutely.” He produced an affirmative look. “If he doesn’t drive her insane first.”

The air was stifling
and carried a choking smoke that tickled Darius’ throat as he walked. It was becoming bothersome, but not as much as th
e beeping behind him. “Will you
. . . .
”
He turned and took the phone from Bret. “Stop. Please.”

“I was playing the game.”

“You’re wasting battery power.”

“It passes time as we walk.”

“How about trying something else.”

“Like?”

“Talking,” Darius suggested.

Bret shrugged. “Sure.” She took a few steps to catch up to him. “Can you not walk so fast?”

“I’m not walking fast. You’re walking slow.”

“Is that a dig because I’m small?”

“No,” Darius defended.

“Oh, so it’s because I’m a woman.”

“Bret.” He stopped, looked back. “No.”

“All men are alike. They only
. . . .
”

“Bret,” he cut her off.

“
W
hat?”

“Is this going to be a rant about your soon to be ex-husband.”

“It
. . .
it might be.”

“Save it.” Darius said
then saw the dejected glance she ga
ve. “We
. . .
we may need conversation later.”

“Oh. Okay
. I’ll stew it.”

“Stew it?”

“Yeah, you know, hold it inside, think about it, get really pissed and then build up a good rant.”