Taken

through the glass pane that occupies the entire upper half of the door.

A long hallway stretches away with lockers placed up against the walls. The only break in the line of lockers is where classroom doors exit off the hall. I see the pale glow of the starlit night enter another set of doors at the opposite end of the hallway. Nothing moves within. I raise my goggles for a quick glance and see it’s pitch black inside. The green glow comes alive again as I lower them back into place with a soft click. Testing the door closest to me, it opens easily and I slip inside.

Silence reigns in the darkened interior. My pulse rises yet again at being in a dark building. My heart hammers in my chest knowing that discovery is only a quick coincidence away. I slide softly across the fake tile floor to the first classroom door and listen. Nothing. The small-paned windows are frosted so I can’t readily see inside. I do notice a gap between the floor and bottom edge of the door. Withdrawing the fiberscope, I slide the end under the door, keeping a large part of my senses oriented to my environment. The viewing screen will cast a small amount of light around me so I listen for any doors opening or hint that the hall is about to become occupied by someone other than me. What I really hope for is that, if any door is going to open, it won’t be the one directly behind me.

With another look around, I turn on the screen. The image becomes instantly visible. The low light capability of the scope shows the interior of the room. A little grainy but objects are distinctly visible nonetheless. Cots similar to the ones in the gym appear and seem to be formed in two or three rows. I see a lump on the one closest but can’t discern anything other than that from the low point of my view. Bookshelves line the rear of the classroom and I see the blinds over the far windows are closed. The vantage point doesn’t allow me to see the front of the room clearly. Movement in the room. A guard stands in the far corner. I make ready to pull the fiber out and beat cheeks outside.

He leans back and is apparently working kinks out of his back. I’ve seen enough here though. I won’t be able to see where anyone is unless I can gain a different angle. That may be difficult as I don’t see any apparent gap on the sides or top of the door. I mark this room as occupied in my head and move across the hall to do the same.

The first four doors, two on each side are subsequently marked as occupied as I slowly progress down the hall. The fifth door is across from another frosted paned door marked “Girls.” Sliding the fiber under the fifth classroom door, I hear the handle move on the next door up the hall. I quickly turn off the screen and pull the fiber out from under the door. I see the door swing open into the hall and creep to the corner where the line of lockers, between me and the door, meets the wall. The beam of a flashlight sweeps out across the floor. I have the lockers between me and yet another flashlight holder.

“Make this snappy,” I hear a male voice echo in the hall.

Footsteps make their way closer; one is the sound of boots stepping heavily on the floor and another is the soft padding of bare feet. Yeah, bare feet slapping on the floor in a darkened building does nothing to steady my nerves. I know it’s not a night runner but it dredges up bad memories anyway. The beam and footsteps draw rapidly near. Once they reach my position, it won’t take much to see me. Maybe I’ll just wave politely and all will be good. This stress must be taking a toll psychologically.

The light flashes on the bathroom door across from me and a young girl, silhouetted in the beam, reaches out to open the door. She steps inside and the man follows; the door closing slowly behind them. The light glows faintly from behind the window pane, catching and keeping the man’s silhouette. What is it with everyone having to go to the bathroom when I’m in a hallway? With a moment of revulsion, I rise and gingerly step further down the hall closer to the entrance and once again seek a corner of the locker and wall. If I was to stay in my previous location, it would have been a given that I’d be seen when they emerged. I do listen closely for any signs of foul play; a scream or a pleading whimper. If that happens, all bets are off and the rain will begin.

I have my signal mirror out close to ground level looking down the hall. A muted sound of a toilet flushing a minute or two later is the only noise that comes from the bathroom. The light against window brightens and the door swings open. The young girl yawns as they both tread back to the classroom they originally exited from. No use looking in that sixth room as I now know it’s occupied.

It is, however, the last room in the building to be occupied. The remaining rooms consist of boxes and assorted goods with the very last two still having their original desks in place. I exit quietly and proceed to the next classroom building to find it is being used as a barracks; at least as far as I can tell. This must be where the dayshift guards stay; maybe trading off with the nightshift. The third classroom building is unoccupied except for several rooms full of boxes. I leave and find myself back at the dumpster outside of the gym.

It’s here that I realize Greg was correct in that I didn’t think this all of the way through. Getting back out will be in the same manner as my entrance. However, that would put me outside in the night with the possibility that night runners are about. I can’t very well wait it out and stroll out through the front gate during the day. I sit and ponder the options. I could take my chances with the night runners but that doesn’t leave me with warm, fuzzy feelings. I could hole up and wait until the day and try to sneak out then. The side towers would be vacant and, if I can make it to the fence, then I should be able to get out okay. The problem with that is the daytime activity is increased. I could wait until Greg and crew assault but that isn’t a very happy thought either.

I guess a third option is to start taking guards out now but my sneaking around would end with the first shots. Yeah, didn’t think this one all of the way through for sure. How did I not think about this before? Wanting to get to the kids blinded my usual pretty thorough planning process. I only thought about getting in. Getting out was obviously left as an afterthought. Well, I guess it’s get out, stay close to the lights, and take my chances with the night runners. Being caught inside certainly isn’t going to do me any good.

With my mind made up, I creep slowly until I’m adjacent to the third tower. On my way across the open ground, I hear shrieks from time to time around the camp. The very sound freezes my soul, especially thinking I’ll soon be on the absolute wrong side of the fence. I should listen to Lynn better, I think crouching close to the tower. I notice the spotlight is fixated on a point in the woods. I crouch and wait.

A loud shriek erupts from within the woods. The spotlight swings a few feet to the left. “See, I told you I saw something,” I hear a voice say in the tower. “Base, we have company in the woods outside of tower five.”

I don’t hear the reply as I’m already on my way back to the copse of trees between the tennis courts and gym. Well, that’s not going to work, I think leaning against one of the trees. Think, Jack, think. I ponder many courses of action but find problems with each one. The best option I come up with is to find a place to wait out the night close to the fence, wait for the guards to leave the side towers during the early hours of morning, and make my way back. It will be riskier with more light but not riskier than wandering through woods loaded with night runners. Several shrieks echo in the forest as if in answer to my thoughts.

The lack of gunfire from the towers tells me the guards can’t see the night runners. Believe me guys, they’ll find a way in through your fence given time, I think looking around for a suitable place to hole up in. I see a depression in the ground close to the tennis courts and just inside the small stand of firs. I edge over. It appears to be used for drainage and is actually fairly deep. I crawl in and up to a point where a couple of bushes overhang the depression.

I look around. From my new vantage point, I should be fairly invisible from the classroom doors and hopefully away the route the guards will take from their towers. With it being in close proximity to the tennis courts and out of the way, no one should venture this way unless they have a specific reason to do so. I cradle my M-4 without silhouetting myself and prepare to wait.

“Greg, this is Jack,” I whisper into the radio.

“Yeah, Jack, Greg here,” I hear him answer.

“I’m going to be a little late,” I say.

“Anything wrong?” He asks.

“I seem to have gotten myself stuck,” I answer and give him a synopsis of my situation. I also quickly brief him on what I found and the layout of the facility just in case.

“Copy that, Jack. I’ll move the teams closer when it gets light,” he replies.

“Okay. If you see a guy dashing madly through the trees like his ass is on fire, be ready for company just behind,” I say. “Oh, and please don’t shoot at said madly running guy.”

“Not to worry, we’ll be able to spot you by the way you run,” Greg responds with a chuckle.