ADAM

 

Wednesday January 15 - 0601 MST

Two hours after Turbocharger was stopped

 

The sun was creeping over the horizon as we came in to land at Dugway. By the time our wheels touched down it was dark again. I suppose that's what happens when you live on a round planet. We would be feeling the sun's comforting rays soon enough once it rose high enough into the sky to illuminate the ground.

Eddie had come around during the flight after shaking off the effects of the tranquilizer. That just left Carlie. But it made sense. She was the smallest of us so the tranquilizer probably hit her hardest. Throughout the whole flight Captain Priestley had stayed by her side, but that made sense too considering they were dating. It made me think of Jessica. I hoped she was alright.

When the cargo ramp came down we were greeted by the sight of humvees and ambulances, and surprisingly another C-130 just like ours. Only this one said US Navy on the side. And Colonel Sterling was talking to its passengers.

When I saw Navy I expected to see guys in white bell bottoms with those weird little hats that look like Dixie cups. Instead I saw some hard men armed to the teeth surrounding the boss.

"We came as fast as we could, Colonel." The leader of the Navy men spoke with authority but he wasn't trying to boss Colonel Sterling around. It was just how he always spoke. "The least you could do is explain what happened."

The Colonel didn't seem intimidated by these men that looked like they just returned from a terrorist hunt in the back hills of Afghanistan. "Unfortunately, that information is hidden behind a special access program and a mountain of paperwork we would have push to get you read into it. Commander, I'm afraid all I can say is we barely managed to stop something very bad from getting into the hands of some even worse people. I hope that will suffice. If you would have radioed ahead we could have let you know that you and your men could stand down."

The Navy commander shook his head. "The SEALs don't announce their arrival."

And that's when it clicked. These weren't the kind of sailors that looked like the Cracker Jack boy but the ones that hunted terrorists. They must have heard Colonel Sterling's call for help to anyone who would listen and just invited themselves to the party. It was a real shame they hadn't shown up earlier. We could have really used their help.

As I was about to ask what was going on I heard my name shouted. "Adam!"

I looked over just in time to see Jessica sprinting at me before tackling me with a hug. If this would have happened before the Change then I might have been knocked over. But I must weigh about three times as much as her, so we didn't really go anywhere. No one had ever been that excited to see me before. Especially not a pretty woman like Jessica. I didn't mind at all.

I wrapped both arms around her. "Hi. I'm glad to see you too. How were things here?"

She buried her face into my plate carrier vest and said only one word. "Scary."

Everyone was looking at us now. At any other time it would have been embarrassing to see all these hardened killers glaring at us like they were, but I had just faced down underworld mercenary soldiers, an armed helicopter, and a demon possessed guy that leapt out of that helicopter. A few disapproving stares didn't really compare to any of that.

Their stares soon moved over to all the people coming out of the C-130 I had rode in on. It was a bit of a sideshow with a couple giants like me, more guys looking like the SEALs, a pretty red head on a stretcher, and a US Senator all coming out to the mass of humvees and ambulances waiting for them.

Senator Carver was probably the oddest one of all. We had found him inside the glass dome hiding behind a bar inside some extravagant viewing room. Like us he'd been fooled into thinking Turbocharger was some spectacle of progress and not a heavily disguised attempt at bringing demon-lords into our world. He was fortunate to have survived being inside there with all the bullets and rockets flying around. Ever since we found him he had this odd, far off look like he wasn't completely there. It was completely understandable because he had nearly witnessed the end of the world and almost died in the process. Still, something was off to me.

"Senator Carver!" Colonel Sterling raised his voice to be heard over all the commotion.

Carver didn't respond until the Colonel called out a second time and walked over. Even then, the way he looked at the Colonel and the SEALs made it seem like he wasn't entirely there. Colonel Sterling guided the Senator away from the others before speaking again. "Gentlemen, this is Senator Pierce Carver, and your trip out here may not have been in vain."

The Senator looked nearly as surprised by his words as the SEALs. "I…uh…"

Sterling waved him off before he could stumble over his words any further. "Say no more, Senator. I'm certain the Commander and his SEALs would be more than willing to personally escort you back to Washington."

And just like that Colonel Sterling got rid of two problems he didn't need while trying to sort out the mess of a catastrophic breakout. It always amazed me how he could do that.

We had a long debrief session in one of the hangars with a hastily assembled projection screen and about a hundred people standing around since we couldn't find chairs for them all. I got to hear all the details of the fight to take back the Underground and they got to hear about the fight at the Stadium. All throughout it Jessica never let go of my hand. But really I couldn't blame her. After hearing about all the nastiness in C-Watch I figured anyone would want someone to hold onto to.

Once all that was wrapped up it was late morning and my stomach growled. Lunch time was fast approaching so me and Jessica went into town to grab burgers.

I lost track of time while we ate and chatted away. It was amazing. For the first time since the Change I felt like I could just enjoy the moment and not worry that I needed to be somewhere stopping the end of the world or training for that eventuality. All I had to do was enjoy my burger and my company with someone else doing the exact same thing.

Everything I had been through seemed worth it for this moment.