the sightings just a few moments ago. While he has chosen to disclose everything, he hasn’t reached a decision about what to tell the rest of the crew as yet. Leonard asks Krandle to tell his story without mentioning the specifics of the mission itself. The officers sit in silence after hearing the information but are focused on Leonard with rapt attention.
“So, gentlemen, in conclusion, we know that something drastic has occurred during our transit but we don’t know what that is exactly. For now, we will dock the boat in the morning and prepare for our meeting with this Captain Walker. With the exception of the crew on watch, I want the rest stationed topside with arms after docking. We’ll also send a small crew into the warehouses to begin restocking our supplies. I want us stocked and ready to go to sea as soon as possible if we need to,” Leonard says.
“What about the rest of the crew, sir? What will we tell them? They know something is up and the rumor mill has already started making its rounds,” one of the officers pipes up.
“I haven’t decided yet. On one hand, they need to be kept in the loop to prevent the rumors but we also need to keep ourselves together. If they know their families are in danger or possibly victims, we’ll start losing people or they’ll want us to go after them. We can’t afford that kind of fracture,” Leonard answers.
“We could keep the boat offshore so they can’t go AWOL, sir,” his exec chimes in.
“Duly noted but that won’t stop a fracture from happening internally,” Leonard says. “Right now, I think we keep it general. Don’t discuss this meeting or the contents of it with your people. I’ll make an announcement shortly. Let’s get ourselves prepared for the morning. Any questions?” Leonard looks around the cramped mess at each of his officers noting that each has a hundred questions in their eyes but none voice any.
“Okay, if there aren’t any, except for those of you on duty, get some rest and I’ll see you in the morning. Tomorrow will be an all-hands-on-deck once we dock,” Leonard says.
They break up and Leonard heads back to the control room. Grabbing the microphone from overhead, he makes a boat-wide announcement.
“Attention all hands. This is your Captain speaking. As many of you are aware, we missed our rendezvous with our escort and are now lying off Bangor. Something transpired during our transit across the pond. We don’t know exactly what yet but we will dock in the morning, resupply, and meet with another military group to gather more intelligence. I’ll pass information along when we know more. Until then, we are business as usual. That is all,” Leonard says and hangs up the mic.
He then makes his way back to his quarters, slips off his shoes, and lies back staring at the ceiling once again with a hundred thoughts still running through his head.
A Ripple On the Surface
Lynn lies next to Jack listening to his deep breathing and soft snores as he sleeps. Her arms are wrapped around his sleeping body and she knows just how tired he is by his soft snoring. She is tired herself but her mind won’t let her fall over the edge into sleep. Reaching down, she pulls the blankets over Jack where they slipped down and folds her arms over him once again. Lying next to him, she feels contentment wash over her. A part of her still feels the deep disappointment of them not being able to relax and enjoy her coming back in peace.
Her thoughts wander to what that time would be like and the times they’ve had in the past. Lying here, it feels like the world outside of the wooden walls of their cubicle is just a bad dream and they’ll wake from it soon. She wonders if a time of peace will actually happen or is this the best it will get. Their daily life is one of constantly striving to survive another day and pushing for peace and security. As optimistic as she sounded to Jack earlier, she wonders if that will actually occur. She wishes she could wave her hand and make it all go away. Even if she could only remove the threat of the night runners, she would be okay with just that much. They would deal with the aftermath of surviving but they would at least be safe.
Worry creeps into her mind thinking about the transformations in Jack. The physical ones. How will they affect him and are the changes complete? She hasn’t noticed any alterations recently nor has he shown any signs of the once usual headaches. Thoughts wander. She envisions a time in the future when they are safe from the night runners. Where they can rebuild. Where she and Jack can live out their lives in peace and contentment. Build their place of safety and eradicate the threats. Let others run things and the two of them can just exist together. The gap between those thoughts and the reality around them seems so big.
She hears a small rap on the wooden frame of their doorway covered by a blanket.
“Sorry to bother you but we have activity on the cameras,” Watkins says in a whisper.
“I’ll be with you in a sec,” Lynn says.
She slips on her boots, makes her way out of the small room, and follows Watkins down to their little control room housing the radios and monitors. Watkins points to one of the monitors and Lynn sees a thermal image of several night runners gathered a short distance away from the northeastern corner of the wall.
“They arrived just a few minutes ago,” Watkins says. “So far, they haven’t moved much. They’ve just been standing there looking at the wall.”
Lynn watches as the small group runs off to the side by the corner and stops once again. The night runner’s movement vanishes from one monitor and appears on another. The fact that they appear to be looking at the wall in a calculated manner sends shivers up her spine. She sees one of the night runners, which appears to be a female although it’s hard to tell on the thermal image, look down the wall one way and then the next. This heightens Lynn’s worry and she feels goose bumps form on her arms.
“That’s kind of creepy,” Watkins says, standing just behind her shoulder.
“You’re not fucking kidding,” Lynn replies.
They both look on as one night runner begins running at the wall. The screen almost whites out completely and there is a muted roar from outside. The ground beneath her boots trembles ever so slightly. The screen clears and Lynn sees a hole that shows up warmer than the surrounding area. Small wisps of warmer smoke drift slowly upward. The image reveals the small pack of night runners lying on the ground. She sees a softer image of one night runner near the hole. Continuing to watch, Lynn sees the other night runners shakily pick themselves up. They soon turn and run off into the night.
“That’ll teach ‘em,” Watkins says as they vanish beyond sight.
“I hope so. I really hope so,” Lynn agrees. “Keep watch and wake me if you see anything else.”
“Will do,” Watkins responds.
Lynn glances at Watkins quickly before leaving to head back to her room. She ponders how Watkins will sometimes use titles and sometimes not. She’s noticed that he will use them when they are gearing up for action or in it but not when they are standing down. In the past, she would be correcting him, but, well, that’s in the past she thinks shrugging. She enters her cubicle and quietly removes her boots. The chill of the night runner’s actions still remain with her as she lies down. The images on the screen stay with her until she drifts off to sleep.
Sandra returns to her pack and they feed on the small, furry ones that are in mass throughout the rubble of the structures. Seeing the sky above her lighten a degree, she gathers her pack and runs south to their new lair. They have eaten well and have found a significant source of food even if it is hard to catch. For a short time, she had her pack stand off a distance waiting for the prey to come out. Once the food became abundant and in the open once again, she and her pack pounced. She is one of the last packs to return and they enter the lair.
She sees Michael standing just inside the entry to the interior and senses his anger. She sees the image he sends her to join him. Directing her pack to find a place on the floor, she walks over to Michael. He glares at her as she makes her way to him.
In the vocal language, he asks, “Why did you take your pack close to the two-legged lair when I specifically told you not to?”
“There was food in that direction. I followed the scent there,” she answers.
