Grabbing all of the supplies that had been gathered but not loaded, they all headed out to Alex's Explorer in the driveway. Alex, fresh bandage wrapping his leg, pulled out his keys and went to climb into the driver's seat.
"Um, are you okay to drive?" JJ asked with a worried frown.
Looking down at his leg he said, "maybe you're right. You drive." He shoved his keys at his friend.
With JJ driving and Alex in the front passenger's seat, both had their rifles close to hand. Karen, Shannon, and Shannon's bag took up the second row, while Tony, John and Marcus sat in the rear seat. Revving the engine, JJ took off at high speed, running away from their dead friend and shattered house.
"Where to, boss?" JJ asked.
"Manhattan Hill." Alex directed him, "we need to see what's going on."
Just a couple of blocks from the hill, JJ swung the truck out towards Juliette Avenue. The streets were empty now except for those cars that had been in a wreck because of their haste. Smoke was thick in the air, especially to the south.
Juliette let directly up the hill where there was a parking area for the scenic overlook. From there a person could get an unobstructed view in all directions for miles around. Alex stopped before they reached the lot, choosing instead to stay within the tree line so as to be harder to spot.
"Oh my goodness," Shannon breather quietly.
To the west, south and east there were dozens of areas of destruction, presumable where aircraft had crashed. Hellish fires roared and smoke rose skyward like spirits of the dead. Herds of vehicles could still be seen stampeding away from the ruined town.
Through the smoke a huge shadow could be seen to the west, looming above the ground like the specter of the grim reaper, hanging there ready to collect souls. A swarm of smaller shadows swooped and soared around the reaper; demons whisking away the remaining spirits of the departed.
"The gods of destruction are out in force today," Alex muttered eerily.
"I guess the Air Force wasn't as kick-ass as we thought," JJ huffed.
"We don't even know what that thing is," Tony said, "are they really aliens, or is this some sort of elaborate ruse? Like War of the Worlds all over again."
"Those fires don't look like a ruse to me," John said, "they look pretty damn real."
"We should go check for survivors," Shannon suggested.
"And do what with them?" JJ insisted, "get killed when they come back to finish the job?"
"Fort Riley," Alex declared, "we need to get to the base. It'll be safer there."
"Are you serious? You saw what that thing did to the choppers and fighters. What chance does the Army have against that?" JJ was on the verge of panic, "what hope do any of us have?"
"It's the safest place I can think of," the sergeant maintained, "unless someone has a better idea? I'm open to suggestions."
"Colorado," Marcus said, "we could get lost in the mountains. They'd never find us there."
"Fine. We'll go by the fort first to see what's happening, and then, if it's not safe, we'll continue on to Colorado. Does that work for everyone?"
"Yeah, okay."
Back in the truck, they made their way through the city. Alex, now driving, slowed at every intersection so he could look both ways. He did this to make sure that nothing was barreling down the street at them, but also to see if there were any enemies waiting in ambush. And maybe to look for survivors.
"Where are you going?" Tony asked, "the highway's faster and more direct."
"I want to check out one of the crash sites."
"What? Why?"
"I'm not sure myself. I just need to see one."
"Okay, whatever."
It didn't take long to reach one; Alex had marked it's location in his head before setting out. The thick column of black smoke helped as well, that and the zone of destruction around the impact site.
Alex parked two blocks away, at the edge of the zone, and insisted on proceeding on foot. Telling JJ to stay with the vehicle, he asked John and Marcus to come with him, and Tony volunteered to go with them.
They made their way carefully, jogging from cover to cover, watching out for threats. Fires still burned in places, and everywhere was charred wood and stone, shattered lives scattered on the ground like broken dreams. Onward they went, trampling them underfoot.
The Apache lay on it's side, the rotors all sheared off as well as the tail section. The top engine spat out flames, as did the mutilated tail. At least one of the pilots had apparently been conscious to have pulled the ejection lever; the entire cockpit area was gone.
"What are we looking for?" Tony asked nervously, eyes darting around trying to see everywhere at once.
"What do you see, John? What brought this helicopter down?"
"Well the bullet holes are a dead giveaway."
"Exactly. They use guns and bullets just like we do."
They were back on the road in minutes. Apparently Alex had seen what he needed to see. So they headed out to the highway and out of town. The great reaper shadow loomed larger and larger as they went, as did the circling demons. Uncomfortably larger. And closer.
As they reached the top of Warner Hill, Alex pulled over and went to the back of the truck. Finding his duffle bag, he pulled out a pair of high-powered binoculars.
"What are you doing now?"
"Taking a look," he pointed towards the fort. The horizon was aglow with pulsing red and yellow flames reflecting off of the thick clouds of smoke rising up to keep the shadow shape concealed.
"Oh," JJ said dejectedly, "that."
With the enhanced optics of his binoculars, Alex was able to see all the way to the fort, as well as the city of Ogden that sat right up against the base perimeter. Both the town and all of the base that he could see looked to be in flames. The shadowy specter appeared to be hanging directly above the fort, though it was difficult to tell through the smoke.
"So much for Fort Riley," he said, "I guess it's Colorado now."
"Looks like," JJ agreed
"The question is, do we try to sneak by on I-70, or detour around on the back highways?"
"Well I-70 goes right by the Fort Riley airfield. That's awfully close to all of that destruction."
"I agree. So it's back roads for us. At least for awhile."
