Starcross

Chapter Nineteen

Hardesty, Oklahoma

 

            Cool water lapped at her feet as Ann dipped them down into the lake that the wooden pier hung across. A shadow crossed over her and she looked up, her eyes protected from the sun by her aviator sunglasses, and watched a heron swoop down and snatch a still wriggling fish from the lake waters.

            “Huh,” Gregory grunted next to her. “I didn’t know there was fish in this lake.”

            She swished her feet around before responding, “Yeah. Maybe one of us should get a pole. It would be nice to provide for ourselves for once.”

            “I’ll probably end up getting the hook caught in my ear.”

            “But you would look good with an earring,” She jeered.

            Gregory smiled at her and splashed her feet. She retaliated by splashing back.

            After Washington fell, what felt like a lifetime ago already, the Air Force was told to scatter to the wind and lay low. What planes could be landed on carriers did so and joined the Presidents fleet; but their A-10’s needed a full mile long runway for take-offs and landings so they were among those who scattered. Most of them got out okay, probably because the Druidth were too busy securing the city than to worry about a handful of planes escaping. Planes that were not attacking, didn’t have anywhere to go, and it was likely that other Druidth forces were going to capture or destroy them in a few days anyway.

            This line of thinking held true for many as one by one they were either blotted from the  sky or caught on the ground by foot soldiers. But not for the Asp team. The pair had made an effort not to fly too close to heavily populated centers; landing only at municipal airports when they needed fuel, food, or rest. Until they came upon an airfield ran by a farmer’s co-op in Hardesty. There they found a potato barn where they could hide their aircraft. A nice farmer by the name of O’Donnell and his family took them in and sheltered them for the past three weeks in exchange for extra help on the farm. Half the country was starving thanks to interruptions of the rail lines and highways, to speak nothing of the fuel shortages, but here they were eating well every night.

            Today though… today was their day.

            “Hey,” Gregory asked. “Do you know what day it is?”

            “July…something.”

            “Screw it. Not important anyway.”

            Settling into a comfortable silence, the two pilots sat next to each other on the pier and enjoyed the cool shade of the hot day. Ann couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was these days without the noise of the highway, or jets passing over. The nights were unbelievably clear as well thanks to the lack of light pollution from the cities that mostly went dark. She bet the heat was unbearable there, but knew winters were going to be unnaturally harsh.