Takedown

“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.

I’ve thought about putting aside the leadership role many times and perhaps it’s time I did. I’ve noticed my constant tiredness and wonder if I’ve lost my edge. Maybe it’s just the weird day. I don’t know. Not so long ago, I would have laughed at the kid and walked away rather than engage in a pissing contest with a fourteen-year-old. Of course, my sweet Nic was alive then and the world, as shitty as it was sometimes, was a better place. As much as I want to look for the families of the soldiers, I want to be back to what I consider home equally as much.

Watching Robert calmly check the figures in the nav computer brings a sensation of pride. I mean, it’s always there, but I guess I’m just feeling emotional. I know, weird, right? He has come so far in this strange new world we find ourselves in and has adapted remarkably well. As has Bri. I think on how diverse the survivor groups are that we’ve encountered - some unraveling at the seams and others maintaining well. Without societal norms guiding us, core aspects are rising up and manifesting themselves in different ways. Yeah, today has put me in a strange mood. Robert finishes and sits back with a sigh.

“All good?” I ask.

“Yeah. I think so. I’ll check again in the morning before we leave. I’m a little tired and the numbers are running together and starting to not make any sense. I stare at them as if they’re alien glyphs and I’m trying to see into their strange coding,” he answers.

“We’re at least heading to the southeast, right?”

“As far as I can tell. That or Canada. If the sun’s on our right en route in the morning, if there is a sun in the morning,” he says, looking outside at the overcast, “then we know we’ll have to turn around.”

“Or if we start seeing any mountains. I’m not sure, but I think the highest point in Kansas is the top of a speed bump.”

“True,” he says, chuckling.

“Whatcha doing, guys?” Bri asks, climbing into the cockpit.

“Apparently inputting random numbers into the computer and seeing where it takes us,” I answer.

“Cool. I’m up for an adventure. Like today wasn’t though, right?!” she replies.

“You have that right,” Robert responds. “Dad, what was that whole radio station thing about? I mean… I get that they wanted to be left alone but why even have it on?”

“I don’t know. I guess they wanted to listen to music,” I answer.

“Do you think there were any adults around, or were they all just kids?” Bri asks.

“I’m thinking there were only the kids,” I say.

“And what about the bones at the bottom of the mine?” Robert asks.

“I really don’t want to know the answer to that,” I answer.

“Yeah. I’m kinda thinking they were the adults as well,” Robert states, saying what I really didn’t want to.