Loud concussions sounded from the north. The sky was the eeriest they had seen, causing even Mitch to gaze up wordlessly with an awed expression that probably came as close as he was capable of to dread. With the clearer masses of air coming in from the ocean, the canopy that had remained solid for days with dust and smoke from the conflagrations inland was now a turmoil of fiery clouds rolling down to blot out the landscape at one moment, then a minute later opening into vast vaults of emptiness extending upward like inverted canyons between walls of incandescent colors. All the time, the rumbling of distant thunder and the booms of bodies passing above or exploding in surrounding regions merged in a background of noise punctuated by occasional nearer detonations that were becoming practically continuous.
There was something ironic about the way the familiar sign by the main gate had survived unscathed, still proclaiming it the entrance to AMSPACE INC. ORBITAL LAUNCH & FLIGHT TEST FACILITY. The gatehouse was demolished, and there were gaps torn in the outer security fence. The parking areas beyond had been pulverized, and Legermount had difficulty finding a path through the wrecked vehicles. A mound of recently bulldozed earth near the ruin of what had been the Sports and Social Club perhaps explained the absence of bodies.
Immediately ahead, one end of the main administration building had collapsed, while the remainder presented the familiar scene of a windowless facade with shattered upper levels open to the winds. The second floor was now a reinforced roof, and below, the ground floor had been turned into shelters behind earth banks and walls of sandbags. A number of wrecked military trucks suggested that the site had been used as a relief or evacuation center, probably on account of its large landing field. Behind the front offices, the flight preparation and assembly complex was for the most part a burned ruin, above which the larger vehicle assembly building had split down the middle into two parts that now hung outward in a deformed V against the sky. Legermount brought the truck to a halt. They sat surveying the scene.
“So this is what it all came to, eh?” Mitch said after a silence. “The end of the dream.”
Keene was too overcome by images of how he remembered it all to respond. Legermount murmured, “Maybe Reynolds is right. It all needed a new start over again—but with different people.”
“Don’t tell me he’s got you as a convert,” Mitch said.
Legermount shrugged. “I dunno. But looking at the way it all happened . . . It makes you think.”
They felt the jolt of the rear door being opened. Moments later, Cavan, still toting his submachine gun, appeared by the passenger-side door. Mitch picked up his rifle and got out to join him. They stood, letting their eyes roam over the desolation. “Well, is there any hope here, Landen?” Cavan asked finally.
“There’s always hope,” Keene replied, sliding across the seat to get out.
“So where should we begin? Isn’t there a pad area too, somewhere?”
“It’s two miles away at the other end of the airfield.” Keene shook his head. “Anybody who was waiting wouldn’t hide back there. The only way out of it is up.”
“Look, I hate to sound pessimistic, but shouldn’t we agree on a time limit on this before we start?” Mitch said.
Just as Keene eased himself down off the end of the seat and straightened up, an amplified male voice rang from the administration building ahead of them.
“DO NOT MAKE ANY SUDDEN MOVES. YOU ARE BEING COVERED. EITHER LEAVE NOW, OR ONE PERSON ONLY COME FORWARD UNARMED AND STATE YOUR BUSINESS.”
Keene looked along the bottom level of barricaded windows and sandbagged openings but could see nobody. Cavan moved a few yards from the truck, presumably to show no hostile intent.
“What’s happening?” someone said from behind. Keene glanced back and saw Colby peering around the rear corner of the truck from inside.
“Near the center, just right of the main doors,” Mitch said, keeping his gaze ahead.
“Interesting, but at the moment, academic,” Cavan observed. “I’d say we have little initiative in this particular matter, Mitch.”