Wings of Death

The leader of men

The darkening sky rumbled with rage and poured out its heart in the form of billions of crying raindrops. Nathan and Alex had managed to safely escort their companions to the subway. Margaret was yet to arrive. Nathan dialed her number but she disconnected the call. Twenty minutes had passed and they started becoming increasingly worried about her. They kept staring at the road anxiously. In a distance they could see some movement. Margaret had finally managed to reach the subway.

“I am sorry for being late. Dr. Grant and Dr. Erica had rung me up”, she paused to catch her breath and then continued. “The scientists are on their way and Dr. Erica has made all the necessary arrangements for us. She wants us to bring any survivors we can find, to Fort Barton.”

Margaret’s mom and dad joined them a few minutes later. They had stopped on the way to rest for a while. Nathan introduced everyone and advised them to stay close to him. They were about to enter the subway when they noticed the doors were shut. Alex had a frustrated look on his face.

“Wow! We have managed to find yet another closed door. Perfect!” He exclaimed in an annoyed voice.

Nathan and Margaret had a good laugh before helping Alex to open the doors. They jammed a crowbar in the middle and pried it open after a bitter struggle. Nathan entered first and asked them to follow him. He had descended the first flight of stairs when he stopped in his tracks. Alex walked up to him and was surprised to see what lay ahead. About forty people had gathered in the subway. Some of them were sitting on the platform while the others were taking a nap. The survivors inside the subway were shocked to see people entering from outside.

A teenage boy with a goatee stood up and asked, “Who are you guys? Are those Bloodwings gone?”

Nathan was about to reply to his question when a stern looking lady interrupted him. She spoke in a rude and unfriendly manner.

“Get out of here right now! I am not going to share our supplies with you beggars”, she said.

“We don’t want your supplies. We already have everything that we need. Just calm down and listen to me”, replied Nathan.

He climbed down the stairs and the group followed him. After surveying the station for a while Nathan asked Alex to find the control office. Nathan had expected to find a train at the station but it was empty. Those who were sleeping inside the subway were woken up by the commotion. They couldn’t understand what was going on and kept whispering among themselves.

“I want you all to come with me. We are going to Fort Barton. You all will be safe there”, said Nathan.

“We are very safe here. Leave us be. Go wherever you want to. We don’t care!” exclaimed a rough – looking man with a red beard. He was an intimidating fellow and it seemed everyone in their group was afraid of him.

However, Nathan had witnessed enough horror already and refused to be dominated by some random biker who didn’t know what was good for them. He walked up to him with a serious look on his face. The man with the red beard was taken aback by Nathan’s behavior. No one had ever dared to stand up to him before.

“I have killed two Bloodwings all by myself. Don’t test my patience. We were asked to evacuate all survivors. These orders came directly from Dr. Erica Von Hart. If you don’t believe me you can talk to the doctor yourself”, said Nathan looking directly into the man’s eyes.

He stretched out his hand towards Alex without looking back and said, “Dial Dr. Erica’s number and give me the phone”.

The man in front was only trying to act tough. He had not expected Nathan to behave in such a manner. Alex dialed Dr. Erica’s number and handed over the phone to Nathan. He put it on speaker mode and informed Dr. Hart about the situation in the subway. Dr. Hart was furious to hear this and shouted in anger, “I swear if you do not step aside I will send the military to deal with you. Do as Nathan says”.

The man with the red beard was terrified by her threat. He apologized to them and stepped aside. Every person in the subway looked at Nathan in amazement.  He looked like an ordinary college student but his eyes were filled with rage. That day, Nathan Browning was transformed from a young gamer to a leader of men. Nathan’s parents understood that if anyone could protect them it was Nathan.

Alex was relieved that the staring contest didn’t turn into a fist fight. He took his phone back from Nathan and went in search of the control room. Nathan asked the people in the subway to be quiet and listen to what they had to say. He requested Margaret to share her findings with them. They all listened with great attention. When Margaret uttered the words, ‘alien invasion’ their eyes widened and their faces turned pale in fear. She told them about the rain and asked them not to panic. When she had finished speaking, her phone rang. On the other end was Alex. He informed her that he had managed to locate the control room.

“I need to divert power from the stations in order to get the train up and running again. Let me know when you guys are ready to leave”, said Alex.

“We will be ready to leave soon. Get the train back in action and bring it to the station”, replied Margaret.

“I am on it. The train will be arriving soon. You guys have about 6 minutes”, he said.

Alex managed to rejoin them just a few seconds before the train arrived. Nathan was the first to step inside and everyone else followed in his footsteps. He asked Alex who was going to operate the train since no one was there in the control room.

It seemed Alex had been waiting for someone to ask that question. His lips curved into a knowing smile as he explained how he had synchronized the control panel with his palmtop. In short, he could now control the train from his palmtop.

Alex closed the doors and walked up to the driver’s cabin. He had always wanted to do this. Holding his water bottle close to his mouth he announced, “Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. Enjoy your ride”. As soon as he had finished making his comical announcement the train started moving. Their first destination would be Hoffman station. The scientists had already arrived at the station and were waiting for Nathan and his group.