“So, it appears the night runners have gathered into much larger packs,” Frank says. “If I were to hazard a guess, those we saw on the screen would pretty much represent the entire number of night runners in the area.”
“Do you really think so?” I ask.
“Well, I want to take a closer look today to get an exact count, but with the percentages we have from the CDC and knowing the previous population, I would say it’s close to the amount we’d expect. I mean, there have been losses but from what I saw, I would say they have all gathered together. I can give a better answer after I look it over,” he answers.
“Okay, let’s look at it another way. How many survivors do you think there really are? Forgive the pun, but what’s your frank assessment?” I ask.
“Like I’ve never heard that one before. Well, again taking the percentages into account against the presumed losses, I would venture there is less than one-half of one percent left. I have been trying to come up with a trend regarding locations for the survivors, but if there is one, I haven’t found it. My best guess, based on the factors of night runner gatherings, is most are in rural areas but we’ve found survivors in the urban districts as well. It may be that we have primarily conducted our searches there. We may want to extend our searches into the rural areas but my feeling is that, seeing the ones in the rural regions will most likely survive longer, we should still concentrate our searches to the urban areas,” he replies.
“What about with the large gathering?” I further ask.
“Well, if they are gathering in hordes like that, I would put the chances of other survivors where they are at close to nil. Those left alive will be found and, with those numbers, will be quickly overrun,” Frank replies.
“And the chances of similar gatherings like those we saw last night?”
“If it’s happening here, then I would say we’d have to expect it elsewhere. It seems to be in their nature to gather. With what we’ve witnessed in our outings, it seems that the night runners gather around a leader. We don’t know how that is chosen. It could be strength, intelligence, or some other factor. If they have gathered together in that large of a pack, then I would guess it would have to be around a very strong leader,” Frank responds.
I think back to the strong ones I felt across a distance a while ago. What he says makes sense. The stronger the leader in the area, the larger the gathering. A thought occurs that if we could locate and take out the leader, then perhaps the pack will scatter. That may not be a good thing though. It may be easier if they gather in one place. Locate that place and we could either attack it in strength from afar or know that the other areas were clear. Of course, if we did take out the pack leader, it may be that another would just step in. We know so little.
“Let’s take it a step farther. What if the night runners we saw last night gathered with the greater numbers in Tacoma and Seattle?” I ask.
I seem to be full of questions but I want everyone’s thoughts. The thought of encountering such a vast number of night runners worries me to no end. And worry is putting it mildly. It scares me to death. What I saw last night is scary enough. I can’t imagine a horde numbering in the hundreds of thousands. My questions cause silence among us as we ponder the ramifications. We all saw the video and imagine a gathering of ten times that number.
Frank rubs his chin lost in thought. “I don’t see that happening to be honest, Jack,” he eventually says. “From what we’ve seen of the packs before our cameras were destroyed, the night runners seem to be driven by their need to hunt and by the prey nearby. A much larger gathering wouldn’t be able to feed itself. And given area and hunting grounds will only support a certain number of predators depending on the food source available. If they gather in greater numbers, the vicinity will become devoid of prey in a short time. They couldn’t sustain themselves. Now, while they may be able to migrate, they are limited in that ability by their only being able to be out at night. I really don’t see them gathering beyond what we see on the tape and I’m not sure if a pack that size can sustain itself for very long here. It may be that they can, but if that’s so, it certainly won’t be able to support many more.”
What he says is true and makes me feel a little better. “So, the number of night runners we may encounter in a certain area will be determined by the number of prey and by the previous population?” Lynn says.
“That’s my feeling,” Frank states.
“It’s my feeling that we are pushing them back by searching them out at night and by demolishing any buildings that would house them. We definitely saw them being pushed farther to the southeast last night. I feel the need to keep this up but our time is limited. It’s only a matter of time before the jet fuel becomes too contaminated to use and we have to prioritize what we want to do with that time. We are achieving results here but we also made a promise to the soldiers to look for their families. Which priority do we take?” I ask.
“I think we focus on our attacks in the local area,” Horace says. “I think the morale factor will be improved by knowing we are taking action and securing the local neighborhood.”
“I disagree. While I’m in complete agreement with the fact that we are achieving results here, we owe it to the others to do what we said and search for their families. You mentioned morale and I feel that we will be better served by showing we care. And, as you mentioned, Jack, we made a promise,” Drescoll states.
The debate continues with valid points on both sides. I feel we are pushing the night runners out of the area but feel conflicted regarding continuing our attacks versus searching for the families. Yes, we did promise and holding the faith of others is important but where does that promise lie when the safety of others may be in jeopardy. Seeing the vast numbers of night runners last night eroded some of the security I felt we were building.
I mention that we have enough ammo for the 105mm stored at Fort Lewis for leveling the local area but not enough for places like Seattle and the surrounding areas. We don’t have to rely solely on the Spooky as we can use C-4 and maybe learn to use the heavy calibers of the tanks but the AC-130 certainly makes shorter work of it.
We eventually arrive at agreement to continue to use the AC-130 for during the night until Captain Leonard arrives. We’ll then evaluate our progress and priorities at that point. The consensus seems to be to attack for the next couple of nights and then determine our route in the search for families. We all know that time is of the essence and that every day we delay lessens their chance of survival, but our survival here ranks highest on our priority list. Once we have a certain measure of security, we can then head out in our search. Weather will be a contributing factor for heading out across the distances.
I also mention not finding any night runners in the areas we have already demolished and the absence of them around the Fort Lewis and McChord areas.
“That means the hospital will be clear, right?” Drescoll asks. “We could use some of the equipment inside, especially as we have a doctor on board now.”
“I suppose so but just because we didn’t pick any up on the screen doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” I reply.
“Can you sense them if we get close?” He further asks.
“I can try, but as I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t really seem to work that way. It’s more of a hit or miss type of thing. I couldn’t sense much of anything below us tonight and there were a shit ton of them. Of course, the distance may have been a factor but I’m not going to rely on it being an accurate indication,” I respond.
We talk over a few other items and then break for the day. I head off to find my pillow as my eyes are closing on their own. Nodding to Robert and Bri as they trudge toward to their wooden cubicles, I draw the curtains back and barely make it to my cot before collapsing.