“Maybe, I don’t know. I know we need to get out of this bloody airport though.”
“We all do, I’m sick of the sight of it. Things will look better when we’ve gone, I’m sure,” Catherine agrees.
“Definitely, we should go as soon as we can, no waiting until morning.”
“No arguments from me on that, the sooner the better. I’m sure Lieutenant Winters will sort it out as soon as he can.”
“If anyone will, he will.”
They both fall silent for a moment, staring out the window at the airport beyond, letting their conversation settle.
“At least it’s stopped raining. Shall we go back over to the others?” Catherine asks.
“Yes, I’m ready and thanks, it’s good to talk.”
“I’m always here if you need to talk, Josh, it will be good for you, good for all of us to talk about what’s happened.”
An intensely bright light flashes into the night sky. Both Catherine and Josh’s heads dart to the right, in the direction it came from. “What was,” Catherine starts to say but she falls silent as in the distance, a large fireball follows the flash, rising into the sky and lighting up their faces. The light is followed by a dim booming sound an instant later, as if it’s thunder following the flash of lightning.
For a moment, Josh is taken back to the roof of the Orion building and the storm that overshadowed the dire mission. His stomach drops as those feelings return with a vengeance and a horrible feeling hits him that the same nightmare has followed him here.
“My God, that was a big explosion; what was it?” Catherine asks nervously.
“I don’t know, but it came from the direction of Terminal 4 where the landing zone for all those helicopters is. Maybe one’s crashed. I hope that’s all it is.”
“What do you mean, what else could it be?” Catherine asks, worried.
“Nothing, I’m sure it is a crash or some sort of accident.”
“Josh, you obviously meant something, so what was it?”
Josh looks at Catherine, who stares at him with concern written all over her face, waiting for her answer. “I just hope it isn’t anything more sinister.”
A look of realisation of what Josh means spreads across Catherine’s face. As it sinks in for her, Josh thinks he sees a look of fear try to surface but it is only fleeting as her face turns into one of determination and resolve.
“What do you think the chances of that are? We are still a long way from the infected zone and Heathrow is supposed to be well fortified,” Catherine asks.
“It is well fortified. I saw it when we flew over today. I’m probably thinking of the worst; it’s probably just an accident.”
“No Josh, I think you are right, we have got to think that way. Anything could be happening. It already is!”
People are gathering along the stretch of windows to see what the flash of light and noise were. Worried voices are chattering, trying to figure out what has happened. Alice, Emily and Stacey come up behind them, followed by their escort from upstairs.
“What’s happening?” Alice asks as they arrive.
“Don’t know,” Josh says, looking down at Emily. “It looks like there has been an accident over by Terminal 4.”
“What sort of accident?” Emily asks. “Are the Zombies coming, Josh?”
Josh doesn’t know how to answer her because if they are, they need to be prepared. Another even brighter flash of light blazes from the same direction and an eruption of flame and sparks shoot up into the sky. This explosion looks different from the last, the fire travelling into the air faster and spreading its blast wider. The shockwave that travels across the distance from the blast hits the windows in front of them. The shockwave is much fiercer and hits with the sound of a loud crack. The windows rattle in their frames, threatening to dislodge and everybody standing at the window ducks as if they would shatter, including Josh.
“That explosion is different; that was like a bomb going off,” Josh says urgently, not thinking of saving Emily’s feelings.
“Josh, I’m scared,” Emily cries.
The second blast is quickly followed by another and then another. The windows rattle again, visibly flexing in their mountings. Josh pulls Emily away from them, just in case they do shatter. They aren’t the only ones moving back; everyone has the same fear.
Explosions keep happening, some more violent than others. The bright glow in the distance makes it obvious that whatever is going on, the carnage is spreading.
“It has to be the helicopters in the landing zone,” Alice says. “One must have exploded for some reason and it is spreading to the others.”
“Yes, and they were full of missiles and bombs,” Josh points out.
“There had to be well over a hundred helicopters there when we landed. This isn’t going to end any time soon if that’s what it is? The fire teams won’t be able to get near it,” Alice adds.
Everyone watching through the windows goes quiet as they watch the explosions continue as if it were watching an organised fireworks display. A display that shows no sign of ending.
“What are we going to do, just stand here and watch?” Alice asks.
“I’m open to suggestions,” Josh replies.
“Try to phone Lieutenant Winters, see if he knows what’s happened,” Catherine suggests.
“Good idea,” Josh says, getting his phone out.
“What the fuck was that?” Colonel Reed demands to know from whoever is in earshot in the command room when the first explosion happens. Nobody knows; everyone looks confused and looks at each other for an answer.
Major Rees was just about to start giving his report to the Colonel but now he and everyone else is following Colonel Reed. He pushes and barges his way to the windows, shouting ‘Get out of my way’. One man in his haste to get out of the Colonel's way falls over a chair that
