“Consider it done.” He turned and disappeared into the darkened hallway. Candy sighed heavily and hobbled toward the door leading back out to the staging area. She pulled the door open and found the better part of her fighting force slowly making their way into the warehouse.
“What’s happening?” She tried not to sound too concerned, as her people seemed more tired than excited.
Wally looked up and gave her an exhausted glance. “They’re retreating. No idea why, but the rooftop teams said that even the Zulus headed toward us suddenly turned and disappeared the way they came.” He gave her a confused look. “It was almost as though somebody directed them.”
She stared at the man, waiting for him to add to the story, but he either wouldn’t or couldn’t. “I have to see this myself.” She turned and headed for the ladder leading to the rooftop.
“You’re wasting your time.” She looked up to see one of the rooftop members climbing down. “It’s like he said. They just turned tail and took off.” He hooked a thumb back toward the ceiling. “There’s three sentries up there now making sure they stay gone.”
Candy paused and stared at the man. “Any indication as to what caused them to…retreat?”
He hopped from the bottom rung to the concrete floor and lowered his shoulder pack to the ground. “No idea, boss. They just all suddenly stiffened, looked back the way they came, then took off. Like a silent dog whistle or something.” He rifled through the pack and pulled out three Molotov cocktails. “We were ready to light them up and they just bailed. Damndest thing I ever saw.”
Candy stepped out of the way of the team as they walked by her. She heard grumblings like, That was too easy, or I can’t believe they bailed like that or similar remarks as the men emptied their weapons and began putting away their gear.
She limped out to the staging area and to the gates. Two men were wrapping extra chain around the ten-foot-tall cyclone gates as she approached. “Any bodies to clear?”
Both men turned and shook their heads. “I think a few were wounded, but if there were any dead, they took them with them. Streets are clear, except for the Civic and a few random fuel fires.”
The taller of the men slapped his hands together and nodded with his chin. “The fuel fires from the Molotovs are burning themselves out. No other fuel nearby, so we just left them.”
She nodded slowly and peered at the little Honda Civic burning across the street. She sighed heavily, then turned to join them back inside. “First thing in the morning, clear the roads. I want to send runners out to see if any of them are watching us.”
“I’ll see to it,” the shorter man said. “I have first watch, anyway.”
Candy stepped through the now-dented heavy steel doors and cast a quick glance back at the burning car. She had to have a word with Henry Willis and make sure this kind of crap didn’t happen again.
Chapter 15
Hatcher rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn. He glanced toward the east and saw the horizon slowly fading to orange. “Why didn’t they attack?”
Hollis had previously slipped the night vision goggles off and they now hung useless from his neck. “I have no idea.” He pointed along the embankment where they had staged only hours earlier. “There were at least a dozen all along that tree line, but they never advanced.”
Hatcher turned around and slumped to the ground. “I’m too tired for crazy games. If they were going to attack, they should just do it and get it over with.” He yawned hard and laid the rifle across his lap. “I think I’d welcome the long sleep of death right about now.”
“With your luck, they’d just infect you and you’d never sleep again.” Hollis shifted his weight and continued to stare at the tree line.
Hatcher turned and gave him a confused stare. “They don’t sleep?”
Hollis shook his head slowly. “Not that I’ve witnessed.” He sighed heavily and glanced toward the rising sun. “The only time I’ve seen them even wind down was when we had the sonic generator on them. They acted like bored humans, but they never actually laid down and slept. I watched a couple of them close their eyes and sway slowly under the generator, but it didn’t look like sleep. Just…a break from pain.”
Hatcher scratched at his chin and considered his words. “I wonder how they function without sleep? I mean…everything alive needs to sleep, right?”
Hollis shrugged. “Maybe they catch cat naps that I didn’t witness. I honestly don’t know, and right now, I couldn’t possibly care any less.”
He slowly came to his feet and made a low whistle. His men rose from their positions and closed on him. “I know that nobody slept, but there will be plenty of time for that on the trip home. I want everybody packed and ready to go in twenty. Grab a bite, drop a deuce, whatever you gotta do, but we’re on the trail to grab the goo and then we’re outta here.”
There was a round of yes, sir and roger that and other affirmations as the men broke up and began packing the Humvees.
“So much for making camp at the Visitors Center.” Hatcher stretched and barely caught the MRE that Hollis threw at him.
“There’s instant coffee in there. I suggest you get as much caffeine in your system as you can. It could get ugly out there.”
Hatcher used his teeth to rip open the plastic bag and rifled through the contents. He pulled a small plastic bag out with the condiments and ripped it open. He pulled open the packet of instant coffee and poured it directly into his mouth, then washed it down with water from his canteen. “That was gross.”
He pulled another packet labeled pilot bread and ripped it open. Little more than hard tack, he chewed on it as the
