350

Gasping for breath, you step back from Mad Dog’s lifeless body and turn around to give what help you can to your friends. You are saddened to see that Langdon is beyond help: he took the full force of the blast that blew open the lodge door, and must have died instantly. For a moment you fear that all the others have suffered a similar fate, but your panic soon passes when you check them out one by one. Kate is the first to regain her feet. She has just managed to stand when she sees Mad Dog lying dead on the floor, and almost swoons. You support her and hold on to her until the dizziness passes. ‘At last,’ she says, looking down at the HAVOC leader’s face. ‘The nightmare is finally over.’

‘Not completely,’ says Cutter, wiping away a trickle of blood from his brow.

‘That’s right,’ interjects Rickenbacker. ‘We’ve still got to get to Pine Valley.’

Outside you find a pick-up truck. It was the vehicle Mad Dog used to reach the lodge ahead of his clansmen. Now these Detroit Lions cannot be too far away, and they have been reinforced by an additional contingent of Chargers. Quickly the four of you jump into the truck and head west, driving cross-country until you rejoin the freeway near a small town called Boulevard.

During your escape, Cutter makes radio contact with Pine Valley and tells them that you are on your way. He also warns them that you have a clan army hot on your heels. ‘Don’t worry ’bout them,’ comes the reply. ‘We’ve got a little surprise in store for those guys. You just keep your foot down and don’t stop for nothing, y’hear?’

All of you are puzzled by the message; then, as you reach a high peak called Crestwood Summit, you hear the roar of a jet engine, approaching from out of the western sky. It is a fighter aircraft, and Kate is the first to see it as it skims the top of Long Valley Peak and comes screaming towards you, tracking along the line of Interstate 8.

Captain Ed Hughes makes a mental note of his air speed and altitude, and realigns his F-14 Tomcat ready for a strike. His is the last serviceable fighter of the VF213 Blacklions squadron left at the Miramar Naval Air Station, and he is proud to have been the one called upon to fly this ageing but deadly combat machine on what could be its last mission. The target appears in the distance and, automatically, Hughes arms his sidewinders and locks-on his targeting computer. He is seconds away from contact. A last radio check confirms that the target is valid and, with an almost casual ease, he depresses the twin red fire buttons and sends his missiles screaming towards the line of clan vehicles. By the time they have struck and destroyed the clan column, he has already banked out of his dive and is heading west, above the Sawtooth Mountains, on a bearing that will take him back to his base at NAS Miramar—Fightertown USA.

The sound of the F14’s attack hits you like a clap of thunder behind the ears. There is a massive explosion, followed by a long and heavy rumble that echoes for minutes among the surrounding peaks. The suddenness and awesome power of the strike leaves all four of you stunned into open-mouthed silence, and it is not until you reach Pine Valley, and see your fellow colonists waiting expectantly beyond the fenced checkpoint, that you recover your senses fully and comprehend what has happened. You have survived the journey of a lifetime and, at last, you have reached your goal.

Following your reunion with your fellow colonists, you are escorted by the army to the US Naval Hospital in San Diego, where those who require it receive expert medical attention. News of your daring journey spreads quickly, and many hundreds of San Diegans besiege the hospital for a glimpse of those who have come out of the Omega Zone, a region where no civilized man was thought capable of surviving for more than a few weeks.

It is not long before the full account of the hardships and perils you have faced are coaxed out of your fellow colonists by the news-hungry Californian populace. Within a few days you discover that your personal exploits have made you quite a hero in their eyes, especially when it is revealed that you were born and raised in California. Your reputation is further glorified when the full story of your love for Kate Norton is told, and of how you saved her from the clutches of a despised HAVOC leader against all odds.

The army and the civil leaders stage a special ceremony in honour of the indefatigable spirit that you and your colony displayed during your exodus. News of the ceremony comes as an unexpected surprise, yet there is an even greater surprise awaiting you. At the end of the grand ceremony, you are reunited with your family, all of whom have survived the post-holocaust years. It is a joyous and emotional reunion, the memory of which you will cherish for the rest of your life.

For you, Cal Phoenix, the journey is over. You have triumphed where most would have failed, and by doing so, you have earned yourself a special place in the history of America.