After The End

Beacon

"Katherine, Go!"

I scrabble to my feet and run out of the cabin. As I do I hear gunshots from behind me, along with the hybrids roaring and screeching, and Jackson shouting, "Let's go! Come on!" When I catch up to Clem, Jamie, and Mitch they are on the front porch. As I stop behind them, I feel something grab my shoulder. I turn back to punch whatever it is, but as I swing Jackson catches my fist, chuckling as he does. "Hold on, fisty, it's just me." I sigh in relief and shake my head as Jackson, Logan, and I move to the front of the group, trying to time our exist. Once we see an opening Jackson runs out, "come on, let's go!"

Drafting off the porch we still see the dirt flying from the hybrids drilling into the ground. Mitch runs up between Jackson and I. "So, what brings you guys south of the border?"

Jackson and I glance over to him, "we're tracking a woman who bombed our refugee camp in Portland."

"But more importantly, where the hell you been?" I chuckle as I glance at Mitch again.

"Hibernated in a healing tank. Rescued by a fake daughter. Shot real daughter. Found an evil Shepherd device inside my skull. Brain surgery with a farm animal. Freaky new memories brought me here." As Mitch goes through his list we stop next to a tree.

"Really? That's it?" Jackson looks up to Mitch chuckling.

I sigh, "And for us, that's a Tuesday."

We take off again, the hybrids still crashing and squawking around us. As we run toward the copper the ground opens like a sinkhole under it. Logan shakes his head, as we stare on at the sinking plane, "Sarge is not gonna be happy."

Jamie speaks out in a calm voice, "Plan B. Let's get to the truck."

We turn and run towards the truck Clem, Jamie, and Mitch brought here to the sound of hybrids screeching and crashing. Once we are there we pile into the truck. Being six of us in a five-person truck, it was a tight squeeze. But nothing we weren't use to. To try and save room I sit on Jackson's lap in the back with Mitch and Logan side us and Clem and Jamie in the front. Once we are all on the plane we hope out. Jackson is all too happy to be on the plane, after fighting off flying hybrids, "Home sweet plane."

As Clem hops out she comments on the odd noise the truck had been making, "That doesn't sound right." She kneels down and looks under the truck, "That's not good. She's gonna need some serious TLC if she's gonna be road worthy any time soon"

I walk around the front of the truck and see a hybrid in the grill, "Looks like we snagged a passenger."

Jackson walks up and looks at the thing, "I think that'll be the easiest thing we'll ever catch."

As I chuckle Jamie comes over to us, "we're wheels up in five."

Jackson nods, "I guess you can shove a cockpit into a tablet when you've made a fortune off of people's pain." As Jackson comments, I hit his arm.

Jamie sighs, "Look, I know it's cool to hate me right now, but I really am sorry."

"Just save it," Jackson shakes his head. "Right now we need to figure out what those hybrids are doing."

Before we can do anything the ground begins to shake and we hear what sounds like an explosion. As we run to the open cargo bay door we see the volcano erupting, "That might be our answer." Mitch comments in his sassy tone I have missed so much over the past 10 years.

"Uh, you might want to speed up that takeoff time." I look over to Jamie.

Once we are in the air we make our way through the lab, "Which insane thing should we start with? The new hybrid species or exploding volcanoes?" Jackson sighs.