Wings of Death

Family time

Two days had passed since the Bloodwings first appeared. Millions of people had died a horrific death. Those who managed to survive the ordeal were living in constant fear. There was another radio announcement at 10 AM. This time it was Lieutenant Amy Williams making the announcement. She reached out to the survivors and told them to stay in underground shelters and wait for help to arrive. The Lieutenant was second in command to Captain Elijah West. She spoke reassuringly and asked the civilians not to panic. It seemed the military had a plan to evacuate the survivors.

This announcement was like a boon for Nathan and Margaret.  It would now be easier to convince their parents to accompany them to Fort Barton. However, they first needed to disclose the details of their nocturnal quest. Nathan made up his mind and decided to talk to his dad first. He calmly narrated the whole list of incidents to Mr. Browning.

There was pin drop silence in the room. Nathan’s dad kept staring at Nathan in disbelief. He still could not fully comprehend what he had heard. Mrs. Browning could not understand what was happening so she decided to break the stale silence by addressing her husband.

“What did he tell you? Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” she asked.

“Nathan and his friends went outside last night, not only that but he also managed to almost get himself killed by a couple of Bloodwings”, Mr. Browning’s face glowed red with anger.

“I am okay dad”, turning to his mom he said, “I actually managed to kill two Bloodwings! Mom, we can finally find out more about these creatures and take the fight to them”.

“Nathan, you could have been hurt. You did not even inform us about this plan of yours. I know you want to fight these creatures but you are just a college student. This is not our fight son. The military is there to defend us. Let the military fight them and leave the research to Dr. Hart”, she tried her best to make him understand the situation.

“Mom, I am not a college student anymore, just look outside. People are either dead or waiting for death. We can’t depend on the military to save humanity. We have to help them”, Nathan’s eyes filled with tears as he spoke. “I don’t want to lose you people. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. My friends need me and I need you two to support me. The college student you used to know never entered this basement”, he said.

Mr. Browning loved his son a lot even though he did not openly display his affection. He tried, for the first time, to place himself in his son’s shoes. He let out a deep sigh and spoke in a tender voice, “My son, I know you want to help out. I know that you want to save humanity but we can’t stop worrying about you. We too don’t want to lose you. If you want us to support you then you should stop keeping any secrets from us. Let us know about your plans beforehand. We promise we will try to support you but you too must take care of yourself. You are a man now. If you are determined to fight these monsters then I will do my best to lend you support.”

Nathan’s mom kissed him on his cheeks and exclaimed, “You have grown up so fast”.

The alien invasion had instilled fear into every human heart. People were afraid to go out. They were afraid of losing their friends and families. However, the impending sense of doom had given them a chance to reassess what they truly wanted in life. It was a chance for them to reevaluate personal relationships. Mr. and Mrs. Browning used to be busy with their hectic work life before the invasion but now they had the chance to finally get to know each other better. They were determined to overcome all challenges together. When Nathan told his parents about their plan to take the survivors to a secure military base, they agreed to follow him. Abandoning one’s house always feels painful even during an apocalypse but they knew it wasn’t safe to stay there for too long. While it was still raining, Nathan asked them to go upstairs and pack their luggage. They had to leave as soon as possible.

When it was Margaret’s turn to convince her parents she dialed Dr. Erica’s number and requested her to help her out. Dr. Erica was not very good at talking to complete strangers, let alone convincing them to join a cause. She decided that the best thing to do was to hand over the phone to Lieutenant Amy. The Lieutenant was extremely diplomatic and polite. She had been a student of psychology at one point of time in her life and knew how to handle such delicate matters. After speaking to the Lieutenant for over half an hour, Margaret’s parents agreed to go to Fort Barton along with the rest of the survivors.

Alex called up Nathan and Margaret and told them to meet up in the subway near the City Square. The rain had intensified. It was a good sign. Perhaps Mother Nature was extending her secret helping hand to the humans.

They all agreed to leave after having breakfast. Joshua had got hold of a large military backpack from the shopping mall and he put his latest invention inside it. Mr. and Mrs. Smith wanted to reach the military installation as soon as possible. Their daughter was now having difficulty breathing. Alex noticed her condition and rang up Margaret. She consulted her medical encyclopedia and prescribed a couple of medicines. After giving her the medicines she showed slight signs of improvement. Her fever went down within a few minutes but she still breathed uneasily. They had to take her to a doctor immediately.

They were all ready to leave by noon. The pitter patter of the raindrops greeted them as they stepped outside their hideouts after what seemed an eternity. It was a mess outside; the heavy downpour had waterlogged many side alleys and corpses were seen floating on the streets. The whole nation had suffered terrible losses. The survivors marched on with their hearts thumping in fear.