Hook & Wrench Bender
“There 2 o’clock.”
“I see it.” The pilot sets about getting his helicopter in line with the small airfield. They’d been flying without issue looking for a place to land and possibly resupply when they were hit by rifle fire. Some survivors decided no one should be taking to the skies. The damage didn’t seem bad at first. Then the main engine went. His years of experience and training took over. Autorotation was the only way the bird would land. He lowered his pitch, reducing his lift and drag, and started descending. Keeping the correct glide angle was tough but so far so good. His passenger, a mechanic he’d known for years, now his apocalypse best buddy, held on tight. “Don’t worry man. I’ve got this.” He believed his words he just hoped his skill set was up to snuff.
As they approached the landing zone he pitched the nose up causing a flare. Then he leveled off. The copter touched down without so much as a bump. “Holy hell! Thank you for being a good pilot.”
“Thank me later we gotta get the hell out of here.” They both undid their seatbelts and jumped out. They ran towards the hanger 200 yards away. As they ran the hanger’s main doors began to open. A motor started and someone began towing out a helicopter. A Bell 222. They didn’t stop running. They covered the distance quickly. The person pulling the copter turned, raised a pistol, and shot. “Sonuvabitch!” They dove to the ground as the person continued pulling the copter till it was clear of the hanger. They quickly undid the tug and jumped in. The sounds of the engines starting brought the two men to their feet. They ran towards the chopper just as the first groans of the undead filled the air. Arms waving they made their way. The pilot was trying to take off in a hurry. They made it to the side, “Please, help us!” They looked over their shoulders as the shamblers began hitting the fence. “Please!” Lights begin to show through the trees as something came down the road.
“Shit!” The pilot nodded towards the back door. It slid open and they jumped in. “Thank you!” The pilot gets the bird in the air. The zombies at the fence line continue to grow in number. However, they aren’t a threat. The threat is the fast-moving pickup with muzzle flashes coming from the bed.
“Hurry hurry hurry!”
The pilot continues to gain altitude. The pilot from the downed copter puts on a set of headphones he motions for his companion to do the same. “Thank you!” The pilot doesn’t respond. “People call me Hook. This other guy is a Wrench Bender.” Silence from the cockpit. “We’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for you.”
“Can it.” The only response from the pilot. The two sat quietly. Hook settled into the leather executive chair and closed his eyes. Wrench Bender stared out the window at the passing ground. It was eerily dark. Power went off almost immediately in the area and other than a handful of structure fires and ground fires it was absolutely black. Before he knew it he was off visiting dreamland. He only woke when Hook shook his shoulder. “What man?” He opened his eyes and pressed back into his seat. All he saw was the black circle of the rifle barrel.
“Get out! On the ground now!” The two scrambled out of the passenger compartment stumbling to the ground. “Facedown! Spread those legs! Hands behind your heads!” They didn’t think of protesting. They’d seen bodies on the side of the road. Headshots from behind. They were quickly realizing they be joining those poor unfortunate souls. “Now, who the fuck are you, and where did you come from? Who the fuck were those assholes chasing you? Why were they?”
Hook’s mouth was dry from fear. He tried licking his lips before speaking, “I’m, John. Most people call me Hook. This is Andy. We all called him Wrench Bender.” He tried to look back and felt the barrel press into his temple and his stomach sank.
“Hey, miss. Miss. Please. You saved us. Please.” Wrench Bender visibly flinched as the barrel whipped towards Him, “Please. We were trying to find someplace safe. We got hit by gunfire. It screwed our bird. We didn’t know you were there. I swear.”
“On your knees. Slowly.” This was it. Their time was up. They got to their knees and closed their eyes. “Why’s this shit have to happen to me?” They opened their eyes and looked at the person holding them at gunpoint. The rifle was pointed at the ground. “You’re a pilot?”
“Yeah. Private pilot. Mostly execs and people with money. You?”
“I’m asking the questions.” The rifle was back up near instantly.
“O-okay. Sorry.”
“You don’t know those assholes that were shooting at my copter?”
“I swear to you we don’t.”
“Shit.” She was thinking of what to do next, “Cross your ankles.”
“What?”
“You’re ankles. Cross them.” They did. She lowered the rifle it stayed tight to her on a sling. She unholstered a pistol, “You move you die. Got it.” They shook their heads. She quickly and thoroughly searched each one. She removed several folding knives and a couple multi-tools. “You survived without firearms?”
“Left them in the copter. We were kinda in a rush.”
“Well, you two are damn near worthless. Okay, get up.” They stood. For the first time, they got a good look at the woman in charge of their fate. “You said you’re a mechanic?”
“Yeah.”
“Helos?”
“If it whirls I can fix it.”
“Okay, maybe you aren’t useless.” She turned toward Hook, “That was a nice landing you made back there.”
“Thanks.”
“Name’s Sam, go by Sparrow most of the time now.” She took a step back, “Sorry ‘bout all that. Okay, I’m not really sorry. Still don’t know or trust you.”
“We, totally understand.”
That meeting took place at another time. Since then the trio has hopped from one locale to another. They’ve found more helos than they could possibly fly. The better ones get stashed for the eventual “just in case” scenario. They’ve had more than their fair share of run-ins with undead and unfriendly living alike.
They met Falcon during one of those run-ins.
“Ya, seein’ that.” Hook points off to the left. A plume of smoke rises into the air. “We should steer clear.”
Sparrow is about to reply when a giant fireball explodes up into the sky. “Holy shit!” She banks hard to the right. For the first time in weeks, the radio crackled to life, “zzzt...Major... G... Joe... zzzt... request assist...” Sparrow and Hook stare at the radio, Sparrow grabs it, “Repeat last transmission. Over.” The silence of the radio fills the cabin. “Helo pilot this is Major Falcon of G.I.Joe. We can hear you but not see you. We are completely surrounded and need extraction for four. Over.”
Sparrow immediately begins turning towards the smoke. “The hell you doin’?”
“You heard him. He’s military and needs help.”
Wrench Bender shouts from the back, “Who gives a damn. We gotta steer clear of that shit storm.”
“I give a damn. I took an oath. I’m not going to let them die without trying.” She grabs the radio, “Major this is Sparrow what’s your current location? Over.”
“Sparrow we are on the roof of a warehouse. Enemy has completely surrounded us. Over.”
“What’re my LZ options? Over.”
“There are none. Over.”
She turns towards Hook, “You ever do a hot extraction?”
“Oh shit.” He quickly undoes his harness and squeezes into the passenger cabin. He takes a piece of webbing and clips it from his waist to a D-ring mounted overhead. Wrench Bender follows suit. Once clipped he opens the door, “All clear back here.”
“Falcon listen up. I’m coming in fast. There will be no touchdown. We gotta do a hot extraction. Over.”
“Hot extraction. Best spot is Northeast corner. Over.”
“Received. See you soon Ranger.” She brings the bird in low and fast. Constantly adjusting due to wind conditions, the thermals created by the fires, and the constantly changing visibility. “You ready, Hook?”
“We’re a go back here.” The group of survivors stays low, heads down, as the prop wash blasts roof debris into the air.
“3. 2. 1.” Sparrow keeps the helicopter hovering within feet of the building. Falcon stands and sends his troops over. They run and make the jump from the roof to the copter. First Forge. Then Bowyer, followed by Smith. Falcon takes the rear. As soon as he’s clear Sparrow brings the chopper skyward and swings it back in the direction it came from. Falcon immediately reaches for a set of headphones. “That was some top-notch flying pilot.”
“Thanks.” Sparrow stifled a smile at the compliment. Falcon hands the headset back to Hook and straps into a seat. The adrenaline finally wearing off. Sparrow heads to one of the many safe zones the trio created over the intervening years since they met. After an hour in the air, she touches down. The landing zone is in the middle of the woods, far from the city. The clearing is bordered by a wall made from the trees the trio took down to create the space. A small shack sits in one corner. There is no gate in the wall, the only way in is over it.
Wrench Bender points at the shack, “Head over there we’ll be there in a few.” The passengers get out of the helicopter while Sparrow, Hook, and Wrench Bender go about post-flight inspections. They go over the helicopter from top to bottom. “We’ve just enlisted haven’t we?”
“What do you mean Wrench?”
“I mean, I know you were in the Army, and that was how long ago? We saw you out there. You’re ready to go back. Which means we’ve enlisted.”
Sparrow stops what she’s doing, “I don’t know man. We’re a team. I’m not going anywhere or doing anything without you two.”
Hook chimes in, “Like he said ‘we enlisted’ cause we sure as shit aren’t leaving you to the wolves.”
She laughs, “Guys all we did was rescue a couple people. No one enlisted in anything.”
“Yeah okay.” They all go back to their respective jobs.
The four rescued survivors walk over and find the door unlocked. They step in. The space is small. Opposite the door is a couch, a small table in front of it. To the left a bunk bed. A small table and chair set sits under the lone window next to the door overlooking the enclosed landing area. To the right is a desk with various radio gear, a computer, and several monitors. Solar panels on the roof and several small wind turbines feed a bank of marine batteries that in turn power the listening post. Bowyer takes it all in, “Cozy.” He makes his way to the couch, props his feet up on the table, and nods off.
“How’s he do that?” Smith asks no one in particular while taking a seat at the table. Forge sits across from her, “I don’t know, but I’m jealous.” Falcon pulls out the chair at the radio set up and plops down.
It isn’t long before their rescuers join them. When they walk in Falcon stands, “I can’t thank you enough. We really thought we were done back then. When I heard your chopper...”
Sparrow looks at the grizzled Army vet, “It’s not a problem.”
“You said something on the radio back there. ‘Ranger.’”
“I’m a Warrant Officer, Army National Guard. We all heard the stories of the G.I.Joe team. It was damn near everyone’s goal to make the team. To be a part of it. I studied every bit of info I could find. I read Wild Bill’s book a dozen times. You’re mentioned in it more than once.”
“A Warrant Officer eh. Well, Ma’am, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He offers his hand.
“Pleasure is mine, Sir.” The shake is firm and professional.
The group spends the next couple of days going over their supplies and coming up with a plan. Sparrow, Hook, and Wrench Bender show where all their supply depots are. They’ve established spots all over the country. Each is just within the average maximum range of the various helicopters they have stashed. They explain that there is no shortage of choppers, it’s the fuel they’ve had the hardest time with. Fuel only has so long of a shelf life and all the fuel from the old world is no good. They’ve found several outposts that somehow got back to refining fuel. A couple they’ve made trade agreements with. A couple others ended up in firefights.
“We need to find a place within striking distance of New Springfield,” Falcon says looking down at the map. He’s looked at it a hundred times and at the outline of growing Cobra territory.
“Well, these are the best spots.” Hook points his finger at a spot on the map. “Radio chatter has it relatively snake-free and we have a trade agreement for fuel with this enclave here.”
“Do we all agree?” Falcon looks around the room,a everyone nodding in agreement. “Okay. So we get here and start stockpiling what we can. This will be our new base of operations with these spots being our Bug Out Locations.” He looks at the men and women in the room, “You don’t have to do this. You’re free to leave at any time. This isn’t the military anymore. There’s no contract.”
“Yeah, we know.” Bowyer looks up from the chair, “But what else are we gonna do? Go back to The Bizarre selling crap and doing trick shots.”
“Alright. We start taking the fight back to Cobra.”
