Wings of Death

Bon voyage

The train slithered like a snake inside the silent subway. All the lights had been switched off to divert power. People inside the train talked in whispers, it seemed they still hadn’t been able to trust the strangers who had appeared out of nowhere. Nathan understood that he had to earn their trust. He remembered his father’s words, “One is not born, but becomes a leader”. After a few minutes even the whispers ceased and soon there was complete silence. The train kept moving forward, piercing the blanket of darkness which enveloped the station.

As they neared Hoffman station, Alex’s cheerful voice shattered the gloomy silence inside the compartment. “We are approaching Hoffman station. Please do not get down”.

Dr. Grant’s eyes glimmered with excitement when the train finally arrived at the station. The doors opened and the scientists entered one by one. Dr. Grant greeted Nathan and his friends with a smile and said, “You really did it. You actually managed to get the train running again. I am proud of you all”.

Nathan and Alex knew that the journey had just begun. They welcomed Dr. Grant and his colleagues and requested them to sit down. Margaret had a great many things to discuss with Dr. Grant. She sat down beside him and they started speaking just like old friends. Dr. Grant told her that he had asked his most trusted friend to handle the transport of the Bloodwings. He lived close to the research facility and had managed to hide in his armored caravan when the Bloodwings showed up. This friend of Dr. Grant piqued Margaret’s interests. Her mind became cluttered with several questions. Who was that man? Why hadn’t Dr. Grant mentioned him previously? And how the hell did he come to own an armored caravan? Dr. Grant seemed a bit unwilling to share the details so she did not ask him any questions. A few seconds later the train started moving again and Alex decided to make his third announcement, “We are now heading towards our final destination, Milson Row.”

The train journey felt like an adventure for Nathan. He felt as if he had been teleported inside one of his favorite video games. The darkness added to the thrill of the journey. His thoughts drifted towards Fort Barton. He had actually never been inside a military base in his life. His heart started racing in excitement. Perhaps he would be able to get his hands on the new assault rifles he had read about last month. This was going to be far better than spending his days attending boring lectures. Maybe the alien invasion wasn’t so bad after all.

Meanwhile Alex was just hoping he wouldn’t meet any air force officers. They would probably still be pissed off at him for hacking into their drones. He was really interested in meeting Lieutenant Amy Williams. She sounded like a helpful person; maybe she could help him find his mom. Alex’s mom used to work for the cyber crime cell. Since her work was top secret, even Alex did not know where her office was located. He had tried to contact her several times but her phone was switched off. Even though Alex had amazing hacking skills he had been unable to track down his mom. He knew his first priority right now was to stay strong and keep Joshua safe. Alex had noticed Joshua’s new backpack but had forgotten to ask him about it. There were too many things on his mind.

The train tracks were clear and Alex was excellent with all kinds of machines. It didn’t take them long to reach Milson row. The first phase of their journey had finally come to an end. Nathan was glad that everyone had managed to reach the station safely. As soon as the train came to a halt, Margaret got down and called Dr. Erica. Nathan and Alex stayed behind and made sure everyone got off the train safe and sound. They counted the heads one last time before moving forward.

A pretty young lady with curly locks tugged at Nathan’s sleeves and asked in a nervous voice, “Are you sure it’s safe to go outside?”

“I am a hundred percent sure. As long as it is raining you have nothing to worry about”, he replied reassuringly.

She kept close to Nathan and Alex. It seemed she was more comfortable with Nathan and his friends than her previous group. Nathan had started climbing the stairs when Margaret called him from behind.

“Dr. Erica wants us to wait inside the subway. The captain is going to be late. He hasn’t returned from his last mission.” she said.

“Okay, we will just sit down on the stairs and wait for the captain to show up”.

Everyone decided to put down their bags and rest on the stairs. Mr. and Mrs. Smith were becoming impatient. Their daughter’s condition was worsening with every passing minute. Mr. Smith was unable to stay calm any longer and walked up to Nathan.

“I need to get my daughter to a doctor. Please help me”, he begged.

“What happened to her?” Nathan inquired with a worried look on his face.

“She is not breathing properly. We can’t stay here. You said the base was just ten miles away. Maybe we can get into an abandoned bus and drive there ourselves”.

Nathan was in a dilemma now. He did not want to head out on his own. Travelling above the ground meant putting every person’s life in peril. Although it was raining outside, he knew better than to trust the weather. If it stopped raining they would be completely defenseless. The group was so large it would be almost impossible to find a safe shelter once the Bloodwings were back in the skies. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Listen up everyone. Is there a doctor or a nurse in this group?” he asked.

To his disappointment none of them raised their hands. Margaret had talked to Dr. Erica and she had prescribed some medications for the fever but the respiratory problem had complicated matters. Nathan had to choose quickly. Either he could stay there and wait for Captain Elijah to arrive or he could just drive to the base himself along with the group of survivors. Even his dad could not help him out of this situation. It was up to Nathan to make the decision. He thought about asking Alex and Margaret but that complicated matters even further. Alex wanted to reach the safe zone as soon as possible while Margaret advised him to wait for Captain Elijah.