Shaun was going to say something but there wasn’t a lot to add to a phrase like that. Earl’s attention was drawn to what the pilot, Bob, was doing. The plane started to bank heading out and turning around as it made the final approach to land on the highway outside of Camp Dodge army base. Bob hit the radio and said, “Please put your dining tables in an upright position and make sure that your seatbelts are fastened.”
Earl slapped his knee laughing. It didn’t take much to hit his sense of humor in the right way. The rest of the group just shook their heads, the comedy of the moment passing them. The stress of taking off having an angry hoard quite literally following them down the runway and on top of that having a destination that led to an army base that a teenager claimed was there, safe, and that he hadn’t been to in months made none of them feel better. Scott and Mark had tried their best to get Shaun to make a call or communicate in some way to them and verify they were there but he’d only said that it needed to be done in person. He’d been so confident that they’d survived that the group decided to give it a try. They figured in the worst-case scenario they could just keep flying if it looked overrun with the dead until they found somewhere else that was safe.
The entire group on the plane stared out the windows now. The answer of if they would land or continue was answered instantaneously. They flew over the base and saw a few groups standing. Until they started waving and then running to a main building did they realize that the people below were still very much alive. Shaun thought back to how he usually felt on the first day of school, or when he was trying to first date Ellie, and how compared to right now, actually seemed like a pleasant feeling. He thought if he could make it through the next few hours without puking that it would be a miracle. Mr. Li placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “You need to focus on something other than what you are frightened of, Shaun.”
“That’s easier said than done, Mr. Li. I can’t just forget about what I’ve done, and who has been lost along the way.”
“You could shorten your can’t to a can, there’s no t in can,” Mr. Li said with a knowing smile.
Shaun was going to rebut but with nothing to say he wasn’t sure what he could retort with. The plane came in fast, its brakes screeching as the giant plane began to slow down just as quickly as it could. Those standing, who had ignored the warnings from Bob, lost their balance, going down to a knee. Earl tried to sit down as the gear touched, and the force sent him stumbling backwards onto the bench and beyond it. He slid off the rear, reaching in the air for something to catch himself with but found nothing available. The plane went up and back down one time and that was enough for Earl to topple off the bench, landing on his ass and back all at once with his cowboy boots sticking directly up in the air. The force of the hit squeezed out whatever gas he had built up and it echoed through the plane.
Timmy couldn’t and didn’t try to hold back. He roared with a high pitch squeal that only a little boy his age would be able to achieve. Earl let out all of his air, looking over at Timmy and thinking of his buddy Jude, who was probably the same age he thought, and refrained from holding out his favorite finger. Shaun almost smiled, and when the plane straightened back out, held out a hand for Earl and helped him right himself.
Earl climbed cautiously onto the bench and smiled saying, “Good thing I got me a belt on today, or ya’ll might have seen a lil bit more of my pride and joy than you might have wanted to.”
Scott’s son Austin said, “Anything is too much, Earl.”
Scott was going to tell him to mind his elders but he agreed. He was a little worried now that they were landing next to an armed military base with not much more than the clothes on their backs and the guns taken from the Chicago Police Department on day one. The thought that if they were not welcomed, they’d very quickly have an issue had been weighing on his shoulders. They still had ammunition, but it would be very hard to match up to a well-stocked military base he thought. Scott motioned to Shaun when he looked around the plane, taking in their last moments on it, at least he hoped that they’d not be sent away, not that he would be able to blame anyone if they did. At the very least, he hoped these people could stay.
The plane rolled to a stop and Bob walked out of the cockpit stretching his back. Earl asked, “Well, what the hell are we sitting around for? I’d say it’s time to get off this damn plane. Shaun, do you think that there’s any cold beer on this base? I haven’t had nothing but pop, water, and coffee in so damn long I couldn’t tell you the last time any bubbles I like touched these succulent lips.”
Shaun didn’t respond; his head was in a million places and Earl’s question was at the bottom of his list. Brandy put a soft hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Hey, are you okay? You look like crap.”
“I feel like crap. I didn’t think I was ever going to come back to Iowa. I left wanting to go solo, and all I did was pick up
