The others give tired nods and we pile into the waiting vehicles. A gust of wind gives my pant legs a final shake before I climb into the passenger seat. The closing of the doors and engines starting ends the tranquil feel of the morning. Through a gap in the overhead clouds, the sun gives its first peek above the range of mountains turning the blue of the pre-dawn into a dull orange glow. With a final look to Lynn standing in the shadows of the building, we start off. I give a wave to which she replies in kind and watch her get smaller in the side view mirror until she disappears as we pass over the rise of the entrance road.
A tear trickles down her cheek as she watches the vehicles motor up the entrance and vanish behind the hill. This wasn’t the homecoming she envisioned at all. Lynn had pictured coming home to Jack and settling into a routine of them and that of a stateside base. Instead, we have this, she thinks looking around the parking lot bathed in morning light. Silence once again returns. Her thoughts go back momentarily to their meeting bringing a small smile to her worried face. He has skills in the field but he can be such a dork sometimes, she thinks lovingly. I just wish he didn’t think he had to do everything himself or push himself. Or think he is the one making a mistake when things go wrong.
“He’s pushing himself too hard. He plays at not being tired but I know he’s about to fall down from exhaustion and worry,” Lynn says to herself looking to where the vehicles disappeared moments ago. The rustle of the remaining teams, emerging from the interior behind, brings her back to the here and now. With a final “Stay safe, Jack,” she turns.
“Form up,” she yells wiping away any sign of tears.
The drive north is a quick and uneventful one. We pull onto the base and bypass the guard shacks. I think back to when we entered here for the first time seemingly an aeon ago. My stomach flips for a moment thinking back to the discovery there. The pant legs of the guard still project outward from one of the shacks. The terror and fear that must have filled those final moments; trying to fend off the horde with ammo running low and the knowledge that it wasn’t going to be enough. Fighting in the dark, surrounded by shrieks, and perhaps not knowing what was happening, only that someone or something was attacking and your time was limited. Watching your comrades fall as they ran out of ammo. The finality of being surrounded when your own ammo was depleted and being pulled to the ground. Those final moments must have a lingering effect on this place to pull those images into my mind. Yeah, that must have really sucked, I think as we proceed past.
We drive through the empty base that still has a ghost town look. The tall grass of the once perfectly manicured lawns in front of the buildings adds to the effect. The dark windows still look outward giving both a melancholic and menacing feel. I cast my mind outward and have a faint sense of night runners housed within some of the buildings. I feel some of them stir as if sensing my probe. I quickly shunt my thoughts to the back of mind and the feeling of them disappears. I’m not used to this at all and it gives me the creeps. I don’t understand it and am definitely not about to mention it until I do.
The menace of the windows staring back as we pass becomes more and less frightening; more so because I know for a fact that night runners are housed within and less so because of that knowing. Some fear is based on the unknown. Some of the menacing aspect the windows portray is not knowing what is behind them. Knowing diminishes some of that but brings another scary aspect; knowing for sure that they are there.
The tips of the aircraft show behind hangars as we drive closer to the ramp. I look in my side mirror and note the guns on top of the Humvees behind swiveling to the buildings as we pass. Apparently they feel the same menace or are just being cautious. I notice some of the tall grass trampled down in front of the buildings where I sensed night runners. I take note. That will be another indication that night runners are housed within and I put a marker in my mind to mention it. If we didn’t have so much pavement on the earth, we’d be able to ascertain more by the paths the night runners create over time. However, I don’t plan for them to be in our neighborhood for much longer so the thought is kind of moot anyway.
We pull onto the ramp and park behind the C-130 that is going to be our sanctuary for the next few days. The tired feeling is mixed with anticipation. I am also feeling a little nervous. The high clouds indicate a change in the weather coming or that we’ll have enroute. It’s not that I’m worried about flying in the clouds per se but I want to keep an eye on the ground to back up our inertial navigation. I’m sure I’ll feel more comfortable once I can verify its accuracy. Well, I know it’s accurate but I am the type that likes to have that verification, especially without other navigation gear as a backup. Plus, it’s not the best season for venturing to the southwest. My mind is still on the potential for thunderstorms.
The team members begin offloading gear from the Humvees and placing it on the ramp. We’ll load it up once we get the two vehicles we’re taking loaded and strapped down. Robert, Bri, Craig and I head up into the cockpit with the flight planning materials and gear. Setting our gear on the bunk and helmets in the seats, Bri turns on the power so we can start loading our route into the flight computer. Robert steps away from his seat to allow access to the flight computer console.
Shaking my head, I say, “You load it in.”
Robert sits and begins loading the data in, pausing every so often as he tries to remember the various screens and where to input the information. I watch over his shoulder because, well, after all, I’ll be flying in the same aircraft and not all that keen on wandering all over the globe in search of the southwestern desert. Craig crowds in to watch and I give him a heads up as to what Robert is doing.
With the flight plan inputted, we head to the back to load the two Humvees we’ll be taking into the aircraft and chain them down. It’s not the most graceful of maneuvers but we manage to get them both in reasonably straight and secured. We load the gear complete with crates of ammo, food, and water. There isn’t much room left inside when we finish. Red, Echo, and Blue team settle in where they can with most folding down and taking the outside red nylon seats. Gonzalez and McCafferty follow Robert, Craig, Bri, and myself up the steps into the cockpit. Robert moves over to the right seat to take his usual place as co-pilot and buckles in. I tap him on his shoulder.
“What?” Robert says turning around. I merely point to the left seat but he only gives me a look of confusion.
“You’re sitting in the wrong seat,” I say.
Robert continues to look confused but it changes to a startled one as he recognizes what I’m saying. I want him to fly as the pilot-in-command. I direct Craig into the co-pilot seat. I want to give Robert some confidence and for them to work together as they will be flying this one back in a short time. It’s not the most desirable solution but it’s the only one we have. I’ll leave Bri with them and take both Gonzalez and McCafferty with me. It will be busier in our aircraft but it will be manageable.
I look over to the nav station where Nic sat, or at least the seat she sat at in the HC-130, and feel a deep pang of missing her. It seems like she should be with us sitting in her usual place. A tremendous sadness comes over me thinking of my precious daughter. I miss the sound of her laughter and her smile that brightened my life every time I saw it; her dark hair and hazel eyes. I really miss her! Tears well up in my eyes wanting my sweet girl back. “I love you and miss you so much, Nic,” I say quietly before turning back to where Robert, Craig, and Bri are conducting their startup checks.
While not as fast as in previous flights, the checks are accomplished and we taxi out. I am standing just behind Robert and next to Bri in her flight engineer seat. Robert runs the throttles up and we are soon in the air. The clean-up checks proceed smoothly but I can tell Robert is nervous about being in command. His instructions sometimes sound like questions but he is doing a great job. I can kind of understand that though, he is a teenager giving commands to a grown man about flying a large four-engine aircraft. Bri is performing her checks and operating the systems perfectly. I am so proud of them.
Michael lies asleep in his lair after a successful night of hunting, dreaming deeply of the chase. The lair seems empty after being inhabited only a short time ago by other members of his pack. He continues to assimilate his new memories with the old. His relative awareness grows. He hunts alone at night and shuts himself out from the others; the awareness of them placed to the side but still with a vague perception of them.
He sits bolt upright instantly alert. Something brought him out of his dream. He looks around the darkened room that has grown chillier with each coming day. He sees everything in the room despite the inky black of the interior. Something different brushes his mind. He senses more than feels a vibrating and rumbling noise outside but what catches his attention is that faint whisper in his head. It’s different than the feel and touch of the others of his
