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“It’s good, isn’t it,” said his wife, “to hear the planes?” And Jill, catching her enthusiasm,
jumped up and down with Johnny. “The planes will get the birds. The planes will shoot them.”

Just then they heard a crash about two miles distant, followed by a second, then a third. The
droning became more distant, passed away out to sea.

This quote occurs on the second evening, when the family hears the military’s fighter planes. Nat’s wife hopes that a solution has arrived, and they will be safe. The children likewise cheer the arrival of someone with the power to really do something. Not a moment later, though, there’s a loud crash. Nat’s family has placed their faith in the power of the authorities, but the birds have exposed that power as illusory. The birds are merciless in their pursuit of destruction, and there is no power or authority that can prevent them.

Now and again he would look up, searching the sky for aircraft. None came. As he worked he cursed the inefficiency of the authorities.

Nat has this thought as he makes repairs, just before the final attack on the third day. By this time, his neighbors, including his boss, are dead. The wireless has gone silent. The birds have defeated the military’s fighter planes. Nat has no one to rely on for help or direction. Though Nat still has some faith that someone with real power will arrive, that hope is dwindling. Nat realizes human power is useless in the face of the birds’ unified attacks.

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