On My Own
Sam and Laura's friendship is tested, pushing Sam to join a reckless mission investigating a weather lab in Washington State. But nobody is prepared for what he finds there…or who else is after it…
"Take 'em to Medical One—we've got a couple in real bad shape!" Jack Hall shouted over the whirring of chopper blades. He helped the heavily-bundled survivors out of the Black Hawk, then headed for the Eagle's Nest. It was cheesy, but everything ran on tougher security these days.
"So, how many this time?"
"Twenty-three, which brings the total to 1,317 from New York City, Mr. President," reported Jack. "We found one or two new pockets, but no survivors there."
The President closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "Good work. Reports said the weather over Europe is stabilizing again, and the Iraqi army has almost reached Italy. They—"
An obnoxious little tune filled the air as Jack's cell phone went off. Jack froze, but the President nodded his consent.
"Hello?"
"Jack, I see you're back on the ground. Couldn't reach you ten minutes ago. Could we see you in intel? Something's come up."
"I'll be there in a minute; right now I'm standing in front of the President."
"It's kind of urgent."
Jack sighed, rolling his eyes, and glanced apologetically at the white-haired man. The President nodded a second time. "I'll be right over."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sam Hall jogged out to meet the second round of incoming choppers. Six weeks ago, he'd fallen through a hidden skylight in Pennsylvania and broken his ankle. So his friends had gotten to continue helping with rescue missions while he sat in a tent. It had taken three weeks before he could find decent crutches.
Rescue crews and survivors poured out of the choppers. Sam made a beeline for a slight crew member whose brunette hair whipped around in the wash of the blades.
"Laura!"
His best friend turned at the sound of her name, hoisting a small child onto one hip. "Hey, Sam! Good to see you back on both feet!"
Sam took two more children by the hand and led them away from the landing pad. "So how have you been? I haven't seen you for awhile."
"Actually, I—" Laura's response was interrupted by the arrival of a tall, muscular Marine. Josh Taggert had enlisted in the Corps immediately after graduating high school two years ago, which suited him very well. He was easily a head taller than Sam, and much more athletic. Plus, there was this charm about him, something Sam could never figure out.
"Sammo, I see you're returning to duty. Have a nice break?" Josh commented good-naturedly.
"Don't be mean, Josh," said Laura, though she was smiling in spite of herself.
"Yeah, sure, sitting in a tent for six weeks 'cause you can't do anything else is real fun," Sam replied sarcastically. Laura shot him a half-irritated, half-quizzical look. Where did this attitude come from?
"Ah, don't take it personal, Sammo. What matters is you're back up again," said Josh. "Here, Laura, why you two get reacquainted, since it's been so long. I'll take the kids." He left them to an awkward silence.
"So, what's up?" Laura finally asked. "You seemed so happy when I first saw you, and now you're being rude and irritable."
"I dunno," Sam muttered. He still wasn't sure if he was ashamed or not. "It just happened."
"Listen…there's something I've been meaning to tell you. When you got hurt, Josh took your place on the team, and we were kept really busy." Laura suddenly looked uncomfortable. "We got really close over the past six weeks. I didn't want to say anything at first, because I was afraid it would make things worse for you. You're still one of my closest friends…I just hope you can understand…"
Sam noticed Josh bouncing back their direction. "No, I get it fine. Don't let me stand in your way. He strode off in no particular direction, ignoring Laura's calls for him to come back. He hardly even noticed his dad appear out of a nearby tent.
"Hey, Sam, where are you—"
"Nowhere, just leave me alone."
"I'm going to check out something in intel. Wanna come?"
That got Sam's attention. He was desperate for any news of the outside world, and a direct invitation into U.S. intelligence was an opportunity not to be missed. So he followed his dad across the compound to another tent.
"Ah, Jack, you're here," said a man in a suit and headset. He started forward to shake hands, then spotted Sam. "Is he—?"
"He's with me," Jack said firmly. "This is my son, Sam. Sam, this is Nigel Fredericks, director of intelligence. So, what's kind of important?"
"Come over here." Nigel led them to a screen flanked by speakers. "About two hours ago, we started picking up a weak signal from rural Washington State. It's a research lab set up to monitor climate and such—you would have loved it. Anyway, we want a rescue team up there asap. Who knows what the conditions are up there for survivors.
"I'll go!" Sam volunteered immediately. "I haven't done anything for weeks; let me help."
"Sam, I'm not sure—" Jack started to say.
"How old are you, son?" asked Nigel.
"Almost eighteen," Sam answered before his dad could interject. "I've already helped on several missions. I just had to recover from busting my ankle awhile ago. It's fine now."
Nigel looked from one to the other. "I'll leave you to decide that. Jack, if you'll get the team started…I know you said weather in that part of the country has been a little rougher. But we're going to need you here too much to let you go yourself, even for a day or so. The President wants to talk trying to re-inhabit the Northern Hemisphere."
"I'll get on that," said Jack, edging towards the door. "Would excuse us for a moment?" He motioned for Sam to follow.
"What?" Sam exclaimed impatiently. "Why can't I go? I'm not a kid anymore, Dad."
"You're my kid," Jack corrected. "I thought I'd lost you in Manhattan—do you know how terrifying that was for your mother and me? All we knew was that the phone went dead with you on it. And then there was the skylight inc—"
"I know there's risks, but I'm old enough to decide for myself! You can't keep me here anymore."
"No, I can't. But I'm still your father, and I have a right to voice my opinion," Jack said levelly, relenting only slightly. "Maybe you'll listen to it."
He walked back into the tent, leaving Sam dumbstruck and fuming.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Everybody strap in, it's going to be a long, rough ride!" shouted the C.O. "Dr. Hall said to expect a storm brewing over the target area."
Sam tightened his harness; he'd been through this before. The mission's commanding officer had miraculously let him join up at the last minute, ducking under his dad's radar. Since the conversation with Laura, he'd had this insatiable urge to do something reckless. He couldn't stop thinking about her. They were just friends…
Right?
The world rocked as the adapted Black Hawk rose into the air, and Sam felt a matching lurch of guilt. His dad would not be happy. Most of the team around him knew it, too. But, at the same time, he felt he needed to do this.
"You okay, son?"
Sam's gaze snapped up. The C.O.'s face was only a few inches from his own. Why did I pick this seat?
"Yessir," said his voice. Sam knew this was a boldfaced lie, and to a superior. "Just thinkin', sir."
"Thinking?"
"It's nothing, sir. It won't interfere with my ability to perform the mission."
"Very well."
The C.O. took his seat. It was going to be a very long ride.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Hey Jack, you better take a look at this," said Nigel. His tone was apprehensive, even afraid.
Jack bent wearily over the console. Various dots flashed on a map of North America. "What?"
"These are the signature readings of military vehicles. Notice anything?"
"Blue for American and red for Russian, I'd assume by the positions," Jack guessed. "Wait, what's the goldish-orange? Chinese?"
"The signature doesn't match anything in the database. And no country has mobility like that, at least not registered. The point is, they just crossed into Alaska as we speak, and are already starting to turn south."
"They'll pass straight through Washington. Should we recall the rescue team?"
"That's the dilemma," Nigel said resignedly. "These forces are moving too fast to simply be escaping the harsher weather. It's been too long, and there's been no attempted contact. If the team pulled back, the lab would be open to anyone who waltzes through there. The fact that some of those systems may still be functional is vital to our future prospects."
"But the team would be no match for a force that big."
"At least we'd have a stake in the contest."
"Dr. Hall?"
Both men jumped. Laura was standing in the doorway, looking out of breath and worried. "Have you seen Sam? I think I upset him earlier, and he was avoiding me. Now I can't find him at all."
Jack stared at the petite girl, then back at the screen. The blue dots were inching over the Southwest.
"I think he's gone," he muttered grimly.