May Day (The Erelong Trilogy Book II)

Fiery Sky

They avoided the townships of Katoomba and Springwood that sat along the main highway. They saw the grid outlines of streets and suburbs, dark and broken in the twilight. The plains stretched out before them. In the distance, they could just make out the outskirts of Sydney. The city had lost its sparkle. In fact, the lights had all but entirely gone out.

Storm watched the ground rolling by below him. There were green trees and grassy fields. Surely the meteoroids fell this side of the Blue Mountains?

In the haze of twilight, he could see the lines of a complex. It was only just visible. As they drew closer, they saw the spotlights on high fences sweeping the perimeters inside and out the large enclosure.

"What the heck's that?" Storm asked using the mic attached to his helmet.

"A government camp," Cameron replied tersely. "Hey, Storm. Remember what I said. Don't use the radio for unnecessary chatter!"

The corporal watched as Storm swerved toward him. He grunted when he saw the boy give him the middle finger.

The sky around them was a blaze of orange. The fiery firmament stretched from the range of hills they had crossed to the distant horizon. Immediately ahead, there lay a city of six million people, more or less. Beyond the city lay the Pacific Ocean, wide and deep.

They saw the sweep of the Great Western Highway and knew it would be well patrolled. They turned from the open plain to follow the edge of the bushland and flew over a massive sinkhole a half-mile wide. The bottom of the pit lay in shadows, deep enough they thought it possible they stared into the bowels of the ancient continent.

A little over an hour later they flew over a large group of men and women. They were the first people they had seen in days. They were stumbling across the fields like a mob of drunks leaving the pub at two in the morning. Not one among them appeared to be paying the others the slightest attention. They were all pre-occupied in their own space.

"Do you think they can hear us?" Storm asked.

"Of course they bloody do," Taylor's voice replied over the headset.

"They don't seem very interested," Storm said.

"Shaggy, can you see the tops of those trees bending?" Cameron asked. He chose to ignore the chatter on the radio. Their flight to the coast had been long, almost three days following a zigzagging route they took to avoid being discovered. There was little chance for conversation either. It was good to hear voices around him. So, Cameron thought to hell with it. Even though he knew better.

"Roger the crosswinds," Taylor called. "The wind's picking up. Over."

"That farmhouse opposite the new housing development looks a good place to land," Storm said.

"Let's land these things," Cameron replied.

Storm watched the mob of people below them. They were stumbling ever onwards. Yet, he could see little but fields and bush ahead of them. Where could they possibly be going? Were they escaping the coastline? Were they already aware of the tsunami that would be coming?

Large raindrops had begun to spatter their faces. In a short time, they were squinting just to keep sight of the farmhouse. Apart from the camp, they had seen little sign of security forces all day outside of one lonely predator drone.

Taylor was flying high on Storm's shoulder, checking the rise of the land for a sign of trouble.

"Bring your rig down to our level, buddy," Cameron called to Taylor.