Kingdom of Monsters by John Schneider (microsoft ebook reader .TXT) 📗

took your chopper and got the hell out of there.  Now we need a place to land.”

There was a brief pulse of static before Travis responded.

“Who's we?  Are you civilians?  How many are you?”

“There's two of us.  I'm a four-star widow.”  Naomi glanced at Jonah.  “I'm traveling with a civilian.”

“What about the convoy?” Travis asked. “Were there any survivors?”

“None,” Naomi said.  “And you lost your outpost sentry as well.”

There was another pause and scratch of static.  When he spoke, his voice was deliberately neutral.

“You'll need to land immediately.  Head west from your position.”

The Coast mountains were not as large as the Cascades, but still maintained some respectable peaks.  Just a few miles off one of the major highways, where the river had carved out a heavily wooded canyon, was what had once been a state prison, mounted high on an isolated peak above the water, and accessible by a single winding road.

Jonah could see why they had selected the site – the access-road was narrow, with a drop-off on one side and rock wall on the other.  The prison itself bordered a sheer drop several hundred feet down to the river.

A runway/landing-strip was built across the modest plateau like on an aircraft carrier, and they could see several fighters tethered in rows.  The tower was armed with gun-turrets on all sides, most likely as defense against pterosaurs.

Jonah circled, dropping altitude gingerly, trying not to overcompensate with the unfamiliar rear rotor, but the brisk side-winds took him by surprise.  Thirty feet above the tarmac, a sudden gust pulled the chopper sideways.

There was a rush of movement from the gathered troops on the landing strip as the blades of the chopper turned briefly in their direction.  Jonah cursed, wrestling the joystick.  He had already started his drop when the gust hit, and was not quite able to get level before the landing gear struck asphalt, one side first, jarring them sharply to one side.

Naomi sucked breath as they felt the metal leg break, even as the other strut hit the ground.  There was a paralyzing moment where it seemed the chopper might tip and roll, breaking the still-spinning rotors like bladed shrapnel, maybe even tossing them off the cliff into the ravine.

Jonah cut the engine.  The chopper rocked itself to a stop.

As the rotors slowed, the troops waiting on the runway surrounded them.  They had their guns drawn.

The leader tapped on the chopper's cabin.  “Please exit the aircraft.”

Jonah glanced at Naomi, who shrugged, unlatching her seat-belt, turning to push open the cabin door.  Jonah followed, stepping down out of the chopper behind her as the soldiers circled the chopper.

Jonah looked around uncomfortably.  This was not quite what he was expecting.

The soldier who had spoken before raised his radio.

“We've got them, Major.  They've landed.”

“Thank you, Sergeant Meyers,” the radio barked back.  “Bring them up.”

“Meyers?” Naomi said.  “We met a Corporal Meyers on the convoy.”

The sergeant's eyes were grim.

“My brother,” he said, in a tone that suggested he'd already gotten word.

Naomi reached in her pocket and held up Corporal Meyers' dog-tags.  She offered them to his brother.

The sergeant frowned.  He lowered his rifle and took the tags.

“You're going to need to come with us,” he said.  He motioned with his rifle, still hung ready over one shoulder.

As they walked, the rest of the armed escort followed

A second soldier stepped up beside them with a clipboard, asking their names and ages.

And then to Jonah he asked, “Do you have any special skills?”

“Well,” Jonah said, a little uncomfortably, “I'm a pilot.”

Beside him, Naomi snickered.  “They saw you land.”

“You're not helping,” Jonah muttered.

The soldier with the clipboard shrugged, making a notation.  He then proceeded to ask further questions about Jonah's health, family history, blood-type, and whether he'd ever had children.

He seemed satisfied just with Naomi's name and age.

Jonah could guess why.

He was a liability who would have to pull his weight.  Naomi, on the other hand, was the most precious resource left.

Naomi's face was touched by a shadow of a frown, and Jonah could see a little of that boundless confidence evaporate with the awareness that things were not as before.

The former prison readily adapted itself for a fortress.  And as they were marched into the main compound, it felt very much like they were off to see the warden, perhaps in anticipation of solitary.

Cages for human beings, Jonah thought, looking at the oppressive bars around him.

Naomi seemed unbothered.

Major Travis was, in fact, waiting in the former warden's office.  Sergeant Meyers handed the Major the clipboard with their – or rather Jonah's – information before stepping outside and closing the door.

Travis perused the notes briefly.

“Alright,” he said, setting the clipboard down, “I'd like to hear how all my troops are dead and you're flying their helicopter.”

“We were onsite when the rex hit the outpost,” Naomi replied.

“And what were you doing on our outpost?”

“Well,” Naomi said archly, “we've been on the road for the last three weeks, ever since you people burned us out of our home.”

Travis frowned.

“You were caught in the last burn,” Travis said.  He shook his head regretfully.  “You were collateral damage.  For that, I'm sorry.  However, your presence here is a bit of a problem, and I'm not sure what to do about it.”

The Major sat back, hands folded.

“This is a high-security base you've stumbled onto,” he said.  “We don't take refugees here.  And since you now have operational knowledge of our assets, you have officially become a security risk.”

Naomi chirped derisive laughter.

“Security risk?  Who are we going to tell?”

Travis nodded.  “Well, that's part of why I'm not sure what to do with you.  Regulations dictate you be detained.  And that rules out transporting you to any refugee facilities.”

“If this base is so high-security, why did you let us land?”  Naomi asked.

“Because we'd lost contact with our convoy and you were flying their chopper,” Travis replied thinly.  “We've also had several other convoys hit in the last few weeks by apparently random rex attacks, just like this one.  And we need to know why.”

Jonah