"I'm not at a critical status yet," he replied, "but we should probably make a grab and go before we move into more populated areas."
"Agreed. We'll be crossing over the Mississippi River momentarily, once we're into Missouri we'll see what we can find. Out."
Turning to CJ, who still sat beside her, she said, "I need you to get Cowboy up here with the maps."
Shaking his head and muttering, "Yes ma'am," under his breath, CJ did as he was bid.
Moments later Cowboy sat down in the seat previously occupied by CJ. "Your boyfriend seems to be a little bit upset that you asked him to give up his seat for me." The comment did nothing more than earn him a scathing look from Briggs. "Okay then, what exactly did you want me up here for Kenny?"
"We need an airfield, I want you to get an exact bearing on our location and find me one," she replied.
Cowboy went to work and moments later said, "I need you to head south, there should be a little piss ass town coming up with a small airfield, used mainly for crop dusting."
"Affirmative." Briggs reached for the radio, "Masters, follow my lead."
They flew in silence for a few minutes before the airfield came into view. "Not many planes left down there," Briggs commented.
"The planes aren't important, so long as there's fuel and it isn't overrun with those things," Cowboy replied.
"The lack of planes will be important if they drained what was left of the fuel," she countered.
"Leave it to you to look for the worst in things."
"Being prepared for the worst is what's kept me alive this long."
Cowboy couldn't argue with her logic, so he said nothing.
"Take the controls Cowboy, I want you to circle around the perimeter once, try and see if there's any company down there. I'm going to lead the ground team in, any sign of trouble, be ready to lift off. Radio Masters, tell him the plan. I want six of his people on the ground for fueling and support. Make sure he keeps at least one of the other pilots on board with him." Turning, Briggs made her way to the rear of the aircraft where the others sat amidst the supplies.
"What's going on Briggs?" Michael asked, having been unsuccessful in getting any information out of CJ.
"We're going in for a fuel run. Henry, I want you on the controls with Cowboy. CJ, Michael, Sanchez, Kenneth, Roger, Randall and Terry as soon as this bird touches down we need to be outside the door and fueling. Terry, think you can handle the pump?"
Terry nodded, "Yea, I think so."
"Terry you can't go out there!" Nicole shrieked. "Let someone else do it!"
Ignoring Nicole's outburst Briggs continued. "The rest of us are going to be on the lookout for any incoming unfriendlies. The first sign of serious trouble, we haul ass back to the birds." With that, she moved to where the weapons had been stowed, reaching for the semi-automatic Heckler und Koch rifle she had seized from the weapons cache at the mall, adding it to the pistol she was rarely seen without.
"Terry," Nicole whined again, clinging to his side.
"It'll be okay Nicole. We need to get fuel, and there's going to be plenty of us outside to hold off any of those things that might be out there," he told her. "Besides, if I'm fueling the helicopter up, I'll be closer to the door than anyone else. Trust me, if there's any trouble I'll be the first one back on board," he lied.
Although she was still unconvinced of his safety, Nicole didn't argue with him any further.
Briggs motioned for her team to come closer and began passing out weapons and communication links. "I want us all wired up so we're in constant contact. Obviously you know where the receiver goes," she said gesturing to the earpiece. "This," she held up an object that resembled a nylon dog color with Velcro closures instead of a buckle, "is the transmitter. It goes around your neck like so." She demonstrated by placing it around her own neck. Placing the earpiece in her ear she said, "If you have something to say, press here and hold it while you speak. These are on an open channel so you'll be able to speak to the whole group as well as the pilots on board the helicopters."
"I thought we were just taking positions around the helicopter, what do we need these for?" Roger inquired.
"I want to be prepared in case the worst happens and somebody gets separated," she replied.
"You seem to say things like that a lot," commented Fran.
Ignoring her, Briggs simply said, "Be ready," and walked to the door.
They felt the helicopter losing altitude as it slowly moved in for a landing. Henry joined them for a moment. "We don't see anything moving down there, but keep your guard up, they could be hiding, and they travel in packs." Reaching out he placed a hand on Kenneth's shoulder momentarily. "Luck, Brother."
As soon as they felt the helicopter set down, Briggs was out the door, rifle at the ready and moving into position on the far side of the aircraft. "Let's go, let's go," she yelled to the others, causing them to move quickly behind her, taking up positions of their own. Once outside they watched their fellow travelers leaping from the Blackhawk in a similar fashion.
Terry was amazed, thinking of what smooth sailing it was all being, once he'd figured out how to work the old-fashioned fuel pump that is. The damn thing was older than he was, he thought. So engrossed in what he was doing, Terry almost missed the small movement from a broke down old plane sitting beside an equally banged up looking hangar. Peering harder, he made out a human shape stepping from the plane. He reached for the collar on his neck, "Uh, Sergeant Briggs, guys, I think we've got some company over by the hangars."
The creature stepped fully from the airplane and suddenly sprinted towards the helicopters. Sanchez, who was closest, fired off a shot that caught the thing in the chest, momentarily slowing it. Randall dropped to her knee beside Sanchez, aiming a shot that caught the creature cleanly between the eyes. Rising to her feet again, Randall continued to watch the old hangar where more of the creatures began to emerge. "Shit we got trouble," she called out over the radio.
On the far side of the Blackhawk, shots were being fired too. Zombies began to appear from both the airfield's small tower and the trees surrounding the outer edges of the airfield. Glen fired the pistol in his hands completely panicked, running out of ammunition without ever actually having hit anything. He frantically clawed at his pockets for another clip.
The dead continued to emerge from the tree line, pressing forward towards the helicopters. "Shit Briggs, I don't know how much longer we're gonna be able to hold here," Masters called over the radio, watching events unfold from his seat on the Blackhawk.
Firing off three rounds first, Briggs called out, "Return to the helicopters. I say again, fall back to the helicopters."
The groups outside needed no further urging. Terry quickly pulled the nozzle from the Stallion's fuel tank, tossing it away from the helicopter and rushing for the door. Michael and Kenneth continued firing cover shots for Briggs and CJ who had been positioned on the far side of the helicopter. They fell back systematically, finally nearing the door. Terry and Roger were already on board, Briggs urged Michael, Kenneth and CJ to do the same. Sanchez and Randall were slowly backing towards the door, providing cover fire from the rear. Briggs remained by the door, covering their retreat.
The Blackhawk began to lift off, Glen and Cook still struggling to pull themselves inside. One of the creatures grabbed Glen's foot and he began kicking wildly to break free. The helicopter continued to rise, Glen clinging desperately to the doorway. Finally, the creature savagely bit into Glen's leg, the searing pain causing him to lose his grip on the door at last. He fell to the ground below, mercifully breaking his neck before a pack of the creatures swarmed and began dining from his corpse.
"Jesus Christ!" Randall hollered as she and Briggs turned to climb through the door of the Stallion, the last two remaining outside. Whirling from her position in the doorway, Briggs saw a creature biting down on the young woman's neck, pulling a chunk of flesh away in its mouth. Briggs swiftly raised her pistol and fired, the shot taking the creature through its right eye. "No," whimpered Randall, looking into Briggs' eyes, stepping towards the door with her arms outstretched, pleading.
Bracing herself in the doorway, Briggs grabbed the transmitter at her throat. "Take us up now, Cowboy." Taking aim once more, Briggs looked Randall in the eyes one last time before firing. The shot took her between the eyes as the rest of the zombies who'd been working on Glen's body converged on her.
Briggs stepped back and closed the door to the Stallion, wearily moving to sit beside CJ. He looked her in the eyes for a brief moment before pulling her into his arms for a quick hug. "You can kick my ass for that later," he said when he released her.
"Don't think I won't," she replied, then returned the embrace. Turning away from him then, she asked aloud, "Is everyone else okay?"
"How many did we lose?" asked Michael, sitting with his arm wrapped around Ana's shoulders.
"Two for sure. Randall and the old guy from the mall," Briggs told them.
"Oh no, not Glen," Ana said, shocked. She thought about the quiet, soft spoken man she'd known during their time at the mall together. He'd rarely complained about the situation they'd found themselves in, and he'd always done his utmost to help out. Looking at the faces of the others who'd lived all those weeks at the mall and in the cafeteria together she could read similar feelings on all their faces.
They were silent then, watching as Briggs began to pull the communications equipment off, stowing it and her rifle with the supplies once more. Finished with that she quickly moved to the front of the helicopter, momentarily touching CJ's shoulder as she passed by.
"So what's going to happen now?" Fran asked.
"I don't know," replied Michael. "CJ, Kenneth, you two have the best relationship with our military contingent, you know anything?"
"Hey asshole, I'm part of that fucking 'military contingent' so why the hell aren't you asking me?" demanded Sanchez, still smarting over the loss of Randall.
"No offenseintended man, I just didn't want to put you in a bad position with Briggs," Michael quickly said.
Sanchez narrowed his eyes at Michael. "Bullshit motherfucker. You don't think I'm in the loop, that I'm just some kind of fucking nobody peon that they don't tell shit to!" he declared, getting angrier. "I know things, I'm in the loop, hell I even fucking know that that Chica you all are following so mindlessly isn't even named Briggs."
"Sanchez!" Cowboy's voice suddenly barked out. "You say one more fucking word and I'll throw your ass off this aircraft. Understood?"
The rest of the passengers sat looking on in dumbfounded silence, all unsure of what to say. Sanchez looked chagrined over being caught speaking out of turn. Cowboy's anger was an almost palpable thing, seeming to emanate from him. Briggs moved to stand beside him, catching Sanchez's eye. The soldier looked at his feet. Briggs than looked at the rest of the passengers before speaking.
"When we reach our destination we'll clear the air about what just went down here. Until then, I need you all to keep your heads clear and to work together as a team. Especially if my calculations are off and we need to stop for more fuel before reaching our destination," Briggs said. She looked around the helicopter again then, almost as if she was daring them to speak. Finally she spoke to Cowboy. "Why don't you and Henry grab a little sleep, I'll take the controls for awhile." Turning on her heel, she returned to the pilot's seat once more.
Henry soon joined the others in the back, but the cabin remained silent, everyone lost in their own thoughts. A short time later CJ, unable to take the silence any longer,moved to the front of the helicopter, once more taking the co-pilot's seat.
"So do you want to tell me about it?" he asked.
"About what?"
"Was he telling the truth? That your name's not really Briggs."
"Yea, it's the truth. Kennedy Nixon Briggs does not exist. She's a construct," she said, unable to meet his eyes, grateful she could blame it on the need to concentrate on flying the helicopter.
CJ looked away, a pained expression crossing his face. "So is anything you told me true?"
"Most of it's all true, CJ. I borrowed a few background details like the uber political parents, but otherwise..." she paused. "The easiest way to live a lie CJ, and to keep from getting caughtdoing it, is forthe lieto be the truth, mostly."
"So that night, on the roof of the mall, after we left Gull Island..."
"It was all true, CJ. Well, everything except my being married to Cowboy."
"So you were never married?"
"Oh no, I was married, just not to Cowboy. He has been my best friend since basic though. Which makes it easier to pass that story off as fact. Plus he's the only person in the world besides yourself who knows what really went down."
"So who was it then?"
"I didn't ask you for details about your ex-wife," she countered.
"No you didn't, but I'm a big enough asshole to want to know about your ex-husband."
"There's no reason to be jealous CJ, it was a long time ago when I was young and dumb."
"Shit, how old are you? Twenty-eight? Twenty-nine?"
"I'll be thirty in two weeks. Not that it matters."
"You're still young, so don't give me that bullshit excuse."
She laughed then, shaking her head and smiling.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"I'm just taking a step back and looking at this conversation from a whole different perspective." She grinned once more. "I just lost two men to fucking man-eating zombies, my cover was blown by a stupid fucker who's all bent out of shape that the woman he'd had picked out to get his prick wet with is zombie chow, and I'm sitting here debating my non-existant love life with you. Excuse me if it boggles my mind a little bit."
"So you don't think of me as part of your love life?" CJ suddenly asked, smiling as Briggs burst into laughter again.
"Jesus I'd kill for a beer right about now," she said at last.
"Because drinking and flying while being chased by zombies is nothing to concern yourself with," CJ kidded again, enjoying the sight of the smile that crossed her face.
"So you're not completely pissed off about the 'Briggs' thing?" she asked.
"That all depends."
"On what?"
"On whether or not you tell me what your name really is."
She glanced at him briefly, becoming completely serious. Finally she gestured to him to lean closer. When he did, she leaned herself and whispered a name into his ear, then quickly sat up and returned her attention to the helicopter's controls.
"Nice to meet you.."
"Just call me Briggs for now CJ, please," she quickly interrupted.
"Okay, for now, it's just between us," he agreed.