Bridge to Nowhere

Rough Landing

Friday Afternoon

"Whoo-hoo! If those F-35s hadn't shown up Kobalt and his Scramjets would have knocked us out of the sky," says Rick.

"Thank God for them," says Becky.

"I'm sure glad they showed up, but why would the Secretary of Defense send them to help us? Do you have friends in high places, Rick?" asks Jin.

"Not that I know of. Maybe the military is fighting the New Arcadians but how would they know anything about me?"

"Maybe now we can get to Curtis," says Becky.

"That's the idea. Increasing elevation to ten thousand feet. You guys should be good for oxygen. I can't fly too high since you don't have helmets. Let me know if you pass out, ha-ha! Increasing speed to eight hundred miles per hour. Three hundred miles to go. Let's get ahead of the asteroid storm," Rick explains.

The sky fills with clusters of meteors. Becky looks up to watch the fireballs through the glass canopy. "Sorry, not possible. Meteors incoming. Can this thing go faster?"

"Okay. Here we go! We should be in Vegas in fifteen minutes," says Rick.

A flurry of fiery satellites fly past. Many explode in the distant sky as brilliant flashes while others crash to Earth. It feels like the firestorm over the Arizona desert surrounds the small TX. Explosions fill the air like rolling thunder.

"Luckily they're exploding far away from us. The shock waves would be tough to fly through not to mention all the asteroid bits," observes Jin.

Another cluster of fireballs burns in a wide band across the evening sky. They make a sound that reminds Rick of sizzling bacon. "Hear that? It's so weird. Reminds me of Courtney cooking bacon in the morning. Damn, I can almost smell it."

"It's been a while since we've had a real meal. I hope Curtis has more than soda and crackers stocked in his shelter," says Becky.

Rapid explosions sounding machine-gun fire replaces the sound of sizzling bacon. A powerful blast of wind slams the TX. The aircraft violently rolls to the left pushed by the force of the wind. Phit, phit, phit, phit. Hot spherules pass through the aircraft. The TX creaks and pops as the fuselage bends and flexes in the shock wave.

Becky shrieks. "Oh God, meteorites are hitting us!"

"That must have been a close one, ugh," Jin says, feeling a dull thud in his right shoulder. He lets out a deep grunt of pain.

Rick grips the flight stick tighter working to keep the aircraft stable.

"Rick, the flight nom indicates you're too heavy on the stick. It says the aircraft's digital fly-by-wire system adjusts faster than a human pilot can react. The flight nom will keep the jet stable," says Becky.

"Maybe that's why we're still flying. The TX just took a beating. I think we're OK but that was close," Rick says excitedly.

"Let's pray that's the worst of it. Most of the meteors are flying over the horizon," Becky says, looking at a sky clouded with black smoke.

"I hope they go a lot farther. Los Angeles is over there," Rick says, checking aircraft indicators. "Hey, Jin. Do you have an address for Curtis? We will have to change course for his location soon."

Jin doesn't answer Rick's question. Becky nudges Jin. "Hey, babe. Where exactly are we supposed to land?"

Jin doesn't respond. Becky twists trying to look at him.

Becky squeezes Jin's thigh to get his attention. "Jin, honey. What's wrong? Jin? Jin?" she cries louder.

Jin groans. "I think... I... I'm OK," he mouths slowly in a half-conscious whisper.