“We aren’t just a bunch of kids. We’ve made it this far and will continue to survive. We don’t need or want anyone else…especially adults. You’re lucky I’m letting you leave peacefully. That’s if you leave now.”
Now, I don’t remember saying anything about leaving, but I will. If there was any thought of asking them to come with us, it’s gone. It would take a lot of deprogramming and I’m no expert at that. They would be unruly and refute any adult authority. However, there is a heart-mind thing going on inside. The heart says bring them and they’ll adapt over time, but my mind says there’s no way I’d want them in the compound. They could change over time if surrounded by adults but…
I don’t get the thought finished before he continues. “You’d better hurry before I change my mind.”
I take a step forward, noticing his eyes go wide with fright. I glower down on him. “I don’t take kindly to being threatened. You obviously have no idea what would happen if you tried anything. You may get a shot off, but this place would be torn apart and it would be over in about twenty seconds with dust settling on your bodies before you could chamber another shell. We’ll leave, but you might want to watch who you threaten in the future. You’re lucky you’ve caught me on a good day.”
With that, I turn and begin walking back toward the Stryker. There’s a part of me that feels bad for just leaving them here, but I don’t really see how they’d come short of kidnapping them. And they wouldn’t take too kindly to that. No, unfortunately, it’s best just to leave them.
There’s so much more I wanted to ask, like how they are dealing with the night runner threat, parents, others in the area, that sort of thing, but now I’m just tired. I’m sure the answers wouldn’t be to my liking anyway. I have a feeling I know what skulls are lying down in that pit, but I don’t want to know for sure. Right now, I just want to climb out of this dark fairy tale and move on.
“Mount up. We’re leaving,” I say upon reaching the Stryker.
“Are they coming with us?” Robert asks.
“No.”
“Did you ask them?” Bri questions.
“No.”
Greg merely tilts his head then shrugs.
“I’ll tell you about it later. Right now, let’s get back to the 130 and plan tomorrow’s leg,” I say.
Leaving the Jeeps behind, we mount the Stryker and depart to chants of “Golddiggers” coming from the trees.
Fear of the Dark
The transition from being out cold to consciousness is abrupt. It’s oblivion one moment and awareness the next. Startled, she opens her eyes. The surrounding darkness is so complete that she isn’t sure that her eyes are open at all. She consciously blinks, feeling her lids contact each other. There isn’t any change in the blackness. For a moment she thinks she is blind but then the darkness resolves itself into dark grays and shadows. Stiff, sore and feeling like a drum corps is playing in her head, focus sharpens. Lynn fully wakes.
Inside of her throbbing head, the memories of her last moments surface. With a panicked feeling, she runs her hands along her body performing a quick check. Her uniform is stiff in places from dried blood but nothing feels out of place. Putting her hands on the hard, cold surface beneath her, she begins to push herself up. A growl comes from nearby causing her to instantly freeze. A jolt of electricity runs through her body. She’s heard that growl before and, sitting here in the almost complete darkness, the sound fills her with fear.
The musky scent of body odor fills the area. Expecting to be immediately attacked, she launches into action. Rising quickly, she turns toward the growl. She grabs for her M-4 but finds nothing. Reaching to her hip, she finds that her sidearm is also missing. With mounting fear, she gropes for her knives. They too are gone. The low growl becomes more menacing — if that is even possible. She’s in a darkened building after being attacked by night runners and there is no more threatening sound than that of one close by.
Ahead of her, a thin line near the ground is just a shade lighter than the surrounding gloom. She notes the door as she braces for an attack. Within the deep gray of the room, she sees five darker shadows near the door.
Night runners, she thinks, not moving but poised for action. Whatever happens, I’ll go down fighting.
The shadowy figures don’t move. Time seems to stop. Lynn and the night runners face each other, neither knowing what the other will do. The fact that they don’t launch at her is perplexing. She’s never faced any night runners when they didn’t immediately attack with whatever number they had. Surely the five of them aren’t afraid of her. Ordinarily, five would attack even if she had all of the teams here. Comprehension dawns that they were in the room with her when she was out. If they meant to harm her, they wouldn’t have hesitated just because she was unconscious. The sheer fact that she is still alive baffles her even more.
The thought of the teams brings back the memories of the night runners breaking in and attacking Cabela’s. She can’t piece together her last visions of night runners overrunning her position and her being here now. She feels that she should be able to span the gulf between her memories and the present situation but she isn’t able to. Another growl interrupts her thoughts. She tenses, anticipating an attack but the night runners maintain their position by the door. She takes a step toward them. All five give a low, warning growl.
Okay, that didn’t work. I guess I’m not going to just walk out of here.
Lynn takes a step back and the growls cease. It’s apparent to her that she isn’t going to be attacked so she relaxes a little. Confused, sore, and tired, Lynn sits back in her original position, her mind cycling through a million thoughts.
Are they alright? she thinks, regarding those within the sanctuary. Did they manage to fight the night runners off, or did they fall as she did? Are there any others captured? How, and why, am I still alive? What in the fuck happened?
It’s apparent that she is a prisoner and the night runners stationed at the door are guarding her. For the life of her, she can’t figure out why in the hell she is captured. Just a few moments ago, she would have thought the very idea of capture would be far beyond the thought processes of any night runner. The fact that she is being held by night runners doesn’t alleviate her tension. If anything, it multiplies it. She’s alone, doesn’t know where she is — only that she is in a darkened room surrounded by night runners, and she doesn’t know if anyone else made it out alive. Her heart sinks and a tear creates a muddy streak down her cheek.
At least Jack wasn’t there and is therefore alive, she thinks.
The thought of Jack and not knowing if she will ever see him again makes her heart sink even more. At this particular moment in time, she feels very lonely and frightened.
Arriving at the 130 in the late afternoon, I watch as Robert goes over the coordinates for the next leg of our flight. Our next stop is McConnell AFB, Kansas. The very thought of the base reminds me of Lynn. I miss her. I’m glad this will be my last trip out. I don’t like being away from her. I know my constant journeying doesn’t sit well and I don’t blame her. I wasn’t such a fan of her deployments either. Although, that was her job and these are, well, more voluntary. I just have a hard time not being there if others are putting themselves at risk. Of course, this puts me into a quandary as I don’t like constantly leaving Lynn. I honestly don’t know why she puts up with me, but I’m happy she does. I don’t know what I’d do without her.