D. MacHale - Storm

“This isn’t your show, Tucker,” she scolded. “You think you can do everything on your own, but you can’t. If there’s anything I learned about myself, it’s that. I told you how much we needed you. How much I needed you. Well, you need me too.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” was all I could think of saying, because it was the absolute truth.

Tori smiled and said, “I think we’re way beyond that. Give me one of the charges. With two of us planting them, there’s a better chance of one of them having some meaning.”

Her moment of weakness was over. I knew her well enough to know that it was impossible to talk her out of something once her mind was set.

Besides, she was right. I needed her.

A loud hum came from the hangar. The giant craft stood eight feet off the ground on the same kind of tripod as the smaller fighters. Light appeared beneath the plane as a section of its belly dropped down to create a ramp. A guy wearing a gray Air Force flight suit appeared from inside and walked down.

“This one’s not a drone,” Tori declared.

The pilot, or whatever he was, left the plane and casually walked deeper into the hangar. He had no idea that a gun battle had taken place outside and three people lay dead on the tarmac.

“Give me one of the charges, Tucker,” Tori demanded.

I reached into the bag, pulled out the remaining two disks, and gave her one. I stuck the other into my back pocket and tossed the pack. However this was going to play out, we were going to be in it together.

Kent had gone back to Olivia. He sat on the tarmac with her head in his lap.

In spite of Olivia’s quirkiness and dangerous games, I really had liked her. We’d only known each other since the beginning of summer, but her sense of humor and constant quest for fun made it one of the best summers ever. Once the trouble began, in spite of her constant complaints, when put to the test she always rose to the occasion. She cared for Tori when she was shot. She ran down a Retro plane that was about to blow us away. She saved Kent from being killed in the casino. And in the end she gave up her life to save mine. When all was said and done, Olivia may have been the strongest one of us all.

Not that it mattered anymore, but her sacrifice proved she wasn’t a Retro.

“I’m sorry, Kent,” I said. “I cared about Olivia too.”

As badly as I felt for Kent, I was angry with him for not letting me process my own feelings about Olivia’s death and her sacrifice. But it wasn’t the time to fight that fight.

“Go,” he said while keeping his eyes on Olivia’s serene face. “Set the charges and run. But don’t come back here. If I see you again, I’ll kill you myself.”

I knew Kent was speaking from a dark, raw place, but his words still rocked me.

“Then Olivia would have died for nothing,” Tori scolded.

Kent reacted as if stung.

“She shouldn’t have been here at all,” he said with anger. “If he hadn’t bullied her into it, she’d still be alive. I won’t forget that.”

“Neither will I,” I said. “Try to save your anger for the Retros.”

“I will,” he declared. “And when they’re done, I’m coming for you.”

“Take Olivia back to the dune buggies,” Tori said. “We’ll meet you there.”

“Don’t,” Kent said and turned his back. “I mean it.”

His anger aside, there was a good possibility that we would never see Kent Berringer again. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like the guy. His family’s wealth made him act as though he was better than everyone else, especially those who worked for them, like my father and me. He never missed a chance to put somebody down or show off. We had been thrust together because of the quarantine and then the war. We never would have been friends otherwise. But still, we had been through more together than most close friends.

All of that made it hard to believe that he was a Retro infiltrator. It was beginning to look as though Granger was dead wrong.

I felt horrible that Olivia was dead, and I felt bad for Kent. I truly believed that he loved her. I understood his anger toward me. I wished we could have made peace before going our own ways.

It had come to this: Quinn was dead. Jon was a dead traitor. Olivia died to save my life. And Kent had checked out.

Tori and I were the last ones still fighting.

Maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be.

An explosion rocked the tarmac. It was far away but unmistakable. It was followed by another, and another.

“The first team,” Tori said. “Their charges are going off.”

The sound came from the far side of the base. It was the spot where the initial teams were told to infiltrate. The explosions kept coming, roughly a minute apart as the detonators wound down to zero. Small clouds of smoke drifted up in the distance. It was satisfying to know that each explosion meant another plane wouldn’t fly. Things were going exactly as planned—except with us.

The giant plane in the hangar made destroying the small planes seem like a waste of time.

Another pilot ran down the ramp of the massive plane and joined the first. The two hurried out of the hangar toward the sound of the explosions.

This was our chance.

We took off on a dead run for the hangar.

Explosions continued to erupt in the distance as the destruction spread. The Chiefs’ plan was working perfectly. The noose had tightened around Area 51.

A fire alarm sounded, and the roar of emergency trucks racing toward trouble could be heard in the distance. That meant there actually were some people manning the base. They must have been maintenance people because they sure weren’t concerned with security.

Until then.

As we ran for the brightly lit hangar, I scanned back and forth, looking for an armed soldier, or another pilot, or a firefighter, or anybody who might try to stop us.

“We should put these on opposite sides of the underbelly,” Tori said, breathless.

“No,” I countered. “I don’t want to take any chances.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m going on board.”

Tori didn’t argue. We were past debating anything.

We entered the hangar and stopped only a few feet from the beast. The giant plane loomed over us, looking far bigger than it did from outside. We stood together gazing up at the behemoth in wonder and fear.

“It really is the angel of death,” Tori whispered.

“So let’s kill it.”

We headed for the ramp. Before stepping up, I looked back at Tori to suggest she take out her gun. I needn’t have bothered. She already had it out. She gave me a nod of confidence that I sorely needed. I took a deep, nervous breath and climbed up.

The ramp brought us into the belly of the plane. It was a cavernous cargo bay, which meant the plane was used to transport large items… when it wasn’t wiping out civilizations. The skeleton of the plane was visible, along with the supports and joints. This was a practical vehicle. It wasn’t built for comfort. The entire structure looked like it was made of the same black composite material as the outside skin.

Ahead, toward the nose of the plane, was a closed hatch that looked as if it would lead to the cockpit. Since the two pilots were gone, I didn’t worry about anybody being there. Just the same, I put my finger to my lips as a warning for Tori to be quiet.

There were a couple of jump seats along the bulkhead, but this plane wasn’t designed for transporting people. On one side of the enormous bay was a large silver canister the size of a hot-water tank. I’d seen the miniature version before. It looked exactly like the devices we had seen in the wreckages of the fallen planes.

It was the laser weapon.