Return

product of nature I guess or maybe we are just trying to hold on to something. There was no need for us to carry on like that. Those radio communications were introduced for brevity and to control vast amounts of aircraft in a short period of time. As far as I can tell, we are the only ones, possibly in the world, flying. Yet here we are practicing standard radio communication when we could have just been talking normally. Go figure.

Just as these thoughts are crossing my mind and we are taxiing in, a shadow runs across the taxi way in our lights.

“Is that what I think it was?” Michelle asks.

“I think so,” Robert answers her.

“Lajes, be aware that we may have visitors. I just saw one cross in front of us,” I say into the radio.

“Roger Otter 39, we see several of them heading your way across the ramp from the base.”

“Okay, we should be fine in here as long as they can’t figure out how to open the doors,” I reply as we come to a stop on the ramp. “We’ll shut down here. Once we shut down, be aware that we won’t have our radios on so we can conserve our battery.”

“Copy that.”

“See you in the morning Lajes,” I say and begin shutting down the engines.

“Did you catch that we might have company, Lynn?”

“I did.”

“Okay, I’ll be back there when I finish up here.”

“See you the..” That’s all I catch as the engines wind down and the cockpit plunges into darkness.

Damn, I forgot to switch to DC power, I think reaching up to turn the switch. I’m too tired to think.

The internal lights come back on the moment I click the switch over. “Let’s head into the back,” I say to everyone in the cockpit after removing my helmet. I get no response. The only indication I have that they heard me is their movement out of their seats and down the stairs.

“Robert, put the blackout covers on the windows,” I say once we are in the cargo compartment. The blackout covers will prevent any light from escaping outside and therefore drawing more attention to ourselves.

“There are creatures around and they’re most likely heading our way. We should be safe inside here unless they’ve figured out the secret of opening the doors,” I say gathering the group around.

Noticing some startled and worried looks, I add, “Not to worry, I don’t think they’ve progressed to that point yet. We’ll settle in for the night keeping a watch, meet up with the folks stationed here in the morning and go from there. Silence is our best friend so limit movement and keep talking down to whispers. We need to become a deep, dark, black hole. Let’s settle in and lights out in five minutes. Sergeant Connell, will you see to the watch schedule?”

“Already handled, sir,” Lynn responds.

“Any questions or comments,” I ask.

“How about calling them night runners?” Corporal Horace asks.

“That’s as good a name as any,” I answer. “Anyone have any problems with that?”

“Night runners it is,” I say seeing most everyone shake their head.

SLAM! The first of the anticipated bangs against the side of the aircraft echoes inside startling everyone. This is quickly followed by another under the right side window as the night runners close in and try to gain entry. Muffled howls and shrieks of frustration and calling reach inside as soldiers scramble to get their rifles. Lynn walks to each one and quietly tells them to stand down and be at ease knowing that silence is our best weapon at this point.

“Sir, why don’t we take off and fly around until morning like we did last night?” Sergeant Drescoll asks as everyone settles back down.

“We don’t have enough fuel for that. We’re down to about an hour at best,” I answer thinking I have really screwed up my planned times for landing. Not once have we landed during the day time like I wanted. That’ll have to change, I think. It puts us with too few options and increased risk.

The howls and shrieks continue outside as I step into the cockpit to turn off the battery plunging the aircraft into darkness. Putting on the night vision goggles and looking out of the windows, I see approximately twenty of the night runners gathered around the aircraft moving in an agitated state. Several disappear out of view as they take runs at the aircraft and slam into the side. Further out, I can make out others heading our way across the ramp. At the base of the tower, I barely make out other night runners gathered there. There should be enough of us to handle them if need be, I think removing the goggles.

I settle into the lower bunk in the cockpit and pull the thin blanket over me amidst the frequent slams and the vibrations they cause on the aircraft. I am exhausted and begin to drift off. I feel a coma coming on. The kind of deep sleep that only being on fire will wake you from and maybe not even then. Just as I’m about to fall into that darkness, I hear feet shuffling up the stairs and the blanket is pulled aside. A dark shape settles in next to me.

“I really hope you are Lynn,” I whisper into the ear of the person next to me. “If you’re not, you’re terribly lost.”

“Mmmmm, yeah, it’s me,” I hear her whisper with her back to me.

She reaches back and I feel the zipper of my flight suit zip down. “I guess we’re not waiting for a shipping container eh?” I ask chuckling quietly and pleased that we are not.

“Nope.”

It’s then that I notice that she isn’t entirely clothed either. The sounds of the night runners outside vanish from my mind as we make love on the tiny bunk. Trying to be quiet but the passion of being apart for almost a year makes that difficult. And, as promised, it doesn’t take that long for either of us. Afterwards, we lay quietly in each other’s arms enjoying being close. I fall into a deep, contented slumber with Lynn in my arms.

The night runners continue to try and gain entrance throughout the night but the noises outside taper off toward morning. On waking, I notice that Lynn slipped away from the bunk sometime during the night. I guess to give some aspect of decency or professionalism although I am pretty sure everyone knows we are together. If they don’t by now, then they must be blind. I wish she had not slipped away because, well, I just wish she hadn’t.

The faint light of the sun about to rise shows through the cockpit windows. I rise, stretch my tired and achy bones, and look out of the windows. The ramp is clear of any movement. Down in the cargo area, soldiers are just beginning to rise and move about. Most stretching as I had; sore from sleeping on the cold, steel cargo floor. I peel away the window covers letting light stream in so we don’t trip over everything. Everyone is about in the same shape as me and that shape is in dire need of a bath and clean clothing. A well-used locker room smell abounds. And I mean the high school locker room where clothing is only taken home on Fridays; taken home never to be the same again.

“Good morning everyone,” I say to the mass moving about. Mumbles, groans and a few ‘good morning, sir’ greet me.

Robert raises his head from one of the upper bunks and peers sleepily in my direction. I can tell he is thinking about rolling back over to continue sleeping before thinking better of it and swings his legs over the side. It is then that I see Michelle raise her head from behind him. I merely sigh not really sure what to think or say about that. Probably shouldn’t say anything, I think. He sees me looking at him with my perplexed look and smiles. I nod back in greeting not trusting myself to say anything. Anything I say would probably be wrong. That is something I have a knack for.

Lynn approaches and stands next to me. I turn, give her a hug and feel her stiffen as I do. “You’re just going to have to get used to it,” I say into her ear.

She smiles, relaxes, and hugs me back. “Not until you change your clothes flyboy.”

“What would you like me to change them into?” I ask with a poor attempt at humor.

Seeing Lynn smile up at me in that way, having everyone look in my direction looking for guidance and the “what’s next,” Robert standing with his arm around Michelle, and with Bri and Nic just emerging from their bunks with tired eyes, I am suddenly filled with the overwhelming fact of what has happened in the world; with the fact that we are in a world of hurt — so to speak. The weight of responsibility comes crashing down. What are we going to do? I think looking around at the eyes staring back at me. Are we just