by John O'Brien
“They’re on their way, sir.”
I lean over to Lynn and whisper, “It’s going to be crowded in there. Team integrity is your priority if something happens.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Jack?” Lynn asks. “Are you asking us to just leave them if something happens?”
“No, I’m saying get them out as best you can but if you are about to be overrun and can’t, well, there’s no fucking way we can hold this place with just Echo and Red. All will be lost if it comes down to that,” I say knowing it’s a harsh thing to say but the reality of the situation dictates. All because people have to go to the bathroom.
“Jack, that’s not what we are about — abandoning people. We are meant to defend them,” Lynn says adamantly.
“I know that Lynn. It’s about defending all people. If something does happen and you aren’t able to help, then we lose everyone,” I say hating the words coming out of my mouth. In all honesty, it’s a tough choice. Knowing you did the right thing but losing everyone in the process. There is no right choice but there is a lesser of two evils. I’m just not comfortable with Black Team being split off with all that has happened and only a few chained doors lying between us and a horde of night runners. The ones in ‘dire need’ arrive at the doors to the main gym led by Henderson and Denton. It’s pitch black to the others so they need to be guided down.
“Well, Jack, our guests have arrived. What do you want us to do?” Lynn asks. The question comes from her being uncomfortable with what I said about perhaps having to leave them.
“Take them and keep them safe but tell them if something happens then they are to stop what they’re doing and head back immediately. Laggers will be left behind,” I say wishing for a different situation.
“Okay, Jack,” she says and brings out her penlight to guide the others over.
She tells them to wait and heads out into the corridor with Black Team. They secure the locker room and guide everyone in. I keep Henderson and Denton with me to keep watch over the area. Silence continues to be our guest. Minutes pass.
“You hear or see anything, Lynn?” I ask.
“No, it’s all quiet here. Well, mostly quiet,” she answers with a chuckle.
They return several minutes later without any night runner interruption. The night passes with only the occasional shriek issuing from the darkness. The first faint light from the coming morning begins to show beyond the windows. One last loud howl is heard and the blackness of the night transitions to the gray-blue of morning. We have made it and now the outside is safer than the darkened buildings. We unchain the doors and the teams exit still wary of any marauders that might have also made it through the night. Cautious of an ambush, we set a perimeter around the main entrance — now exit — doors.
The clouds that were distant before now cover the once clear blue sky. It’s a light gray covering but it feels like it may bring rain later. The chill of the morning air tells me that summer is quickly winding down and fall is near. My eyes adjust to the morning light as I doff my NVG’s. Every muscle in my body aches and I become aware of some I didn’t even realize I had. My back and shoulders feel strained and every step is an effort. We do a check within the campus perimeter without going into the buildings. I have no idea what they have inside now that the night runners have access and I don’t intend to find out. I send Greg with Echo Team back to our previous hideout to bring the Humvees and gear back.
“What’s the plan for everyone? How do you plan on getting all of them back?” Lynn asks as I try to work the rest of the kinks out of my back.
“With those,” I answer pointing to the yellow school buses in the lot.
“Those’ll work,” she replies. I have everyone assemble in the parking lot. Gathered together, there are a lot more than I noticed last night.
“Listen up, everyone,” I shout above the heads. “We’ll be leaving here soon and everyone is welcome to come with us. We have a place set up in the old Cabela’s just north of Olympia. We’ll be using the school buses for transport and load up as soon as the others arrive.”
“What about our stuff?” One voice calls out from the crowd.
“Yeah, will you be heading to our places to pick up our things?” Another asks.
“No, we won’t be heading to each individual place to pick up belongings. We have what you need back at our base,” I shout answering. This creates a ruckus and various murmurings amongst the crowd.
“We should be able to go get our belongings and personal stuff,” one voice rises. Other voices say much the same thing but this is only from a few. The others in the lot are mostly quiet but I see a few nods of agreement with others shaking their heads.
“Look, we can’t risk going into darkened buildings. The risk of running into night runners is too great and…” I start to say.
“You can’t stop us from going,” a voice loudly interrupts.
“I’m sorry, did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours? In answer, I wouldn’t dream of stopping you. You are free to go your own way and do whatever you will. If you want to go get your stuff, it will be without our help. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. I’m not going to risk any of us going into dark structures. Feel free to do so if you want but I wouldn’t highly recommend it. Those of you who want to go with us, be ready to board the buses when the others arrive,” I say.
Silence descends for a moment as they digest this information. Then various murmurings occur. Some words of ‘this is ridiculous’ and ‘I thought they were here to help’ rise above the background noise. These are only some as I do hear many others voicing thanks and gratitude.
“Stop it. These folks have come and helped us and all you can do is bicker. If your stuff is that important to you, then go get it and don’t take these people’s hospitality. But at least thank them for giving you the freedom to voice your bickering’s. Seems to me you were a lot worse off yesterday. Go if you want, stay if you want but it seems to me you’d all be fools not to go along,” one voice shouts above the rest. This quiets the crowd and I look over to see Bob, standing with his hands on his hips, nodding after having said his piece.
The crowd quiets again. “Those who go will be expected to do his or her fair share of work and we have a basic training program which everyone is required to go through but anyone and everyone is free to go whenever they want. We don’t hold anyone against their will but there are rules to follow. I’m just saying because I want to be up front from the very get-go. But we do have food and shelter,” I say into the quiet.
“Those of you staying with us, please stay here in the parking lot. Those of you who want to head out on your own, well, I wish you the best of luck,” I add.
Most stay but there are a few who head out on their own. One apparent family heads off with the wife pleading and pointing in our direction. The man just shakes his head and plods steadily on. The little boy trailing behind looks back at us once and turns to catch up with his parents.
“Shouldn’t we do something?” Bri asks.
“What can we do, hon? We can’t force them to stay,” I answer.
I see Bob heading across the parking lot towards the family and pleading wife. He catches up and I see he is trying to talk them out of leaving. At least that is what it looks like to me. He is talking to the younger man, pointing at the woman and child and back in our direction. The voice of Bob and the younger man rise but the individual words are indistinguishable. It’s pretty obvious an argument of some sort is taking place. The scene has drawn the attention of the entire crowd.
The woman appears to be pleading but the man is not paying any attention to her and is intent on arguing with Bob. Bob yells, points to the woman, and back to the crowd. The man shakes his head and yells back. It’s pretty obvious the situation is getting a little out of hand but it’s just an argument. It’s not like it’s two gunfighters about to draw on each other. I begin to edge in that direction to try and simmer them down.
The w
oman sweeps her son behind her in a protective nature. With a last shout, Bob grabs the woman protectively about the shoulders and begins walking back with her and the child. The man reaches behind him and whips out a handgun. The crowd witnessing this altercation uniformly gasps. I stop and do a double-take not knowing how in the hell this man has a gun after being held captive.
He draws the gun up and fires. The resounding crack of the gunshot echoes across the parking lot. A pink mist forms in front of Bob. His head is thrust forward and he staggers a step, another, and then falls to the ground. The woman screams which rises above several other screams from the crowd. She looks down at Bob in shock and then back to her husband who is standing with the gun in his hand; a small wisp of smoke still streaming out of the barrel. He lowers his gun and shouts at her but the words are lost again.
She lets go of an agonizing scream, runs back to the man, and begins pummeling him on the arms and chest. The young boy just stands where his mother left him and stares at the body on the ground. The man tries to ward off her blows and finally shoves her away. She staggers back and turns toward her son.
“Say the word, sir,” I hear Gonzalez say by my side.
I look down and see her kneeling on the pavement sighting down a 110. Her, McCafferty, Henderson, Denton, and the rest of Black are also kneeling with their weapons trained on the man. I am standing with my red dot centered over his body. The man shouts again but she ignores whatever is said. I flip to the 4x setting on my scope and can see the uncertainty on his face. I have the feeling he is deciding whether to force them to go along or just head out on his own. Uncertainty while holding a gun is never a good thing. Anything can happen in that situation. He takes a step toward the woman.
“Drop the gun,” I shout.
I’m not certain he can hear what I said as I couldn’t hear any of his shouting words but he definitely hears the yell and looks our direction. He stops. Apparently seeing ten armed soldiers with weapons trained on him halts any notion he might have of going to the woman. Again that uncertain look materializes. With her son by her side, the woman stops and kneels next to the unmoving body of Bob. A resolute look comes over the man’s face and he takes another step towards his apparent wife and child. I seriously can’t believe we are in this situation and it boggles my mind that we are. It’s so out of the blue but here it is nonetheless.
“Gonzalez, one round on the ground in front of him if you would, please,” I say.
The loud clap of a 7.62mm round leaving the barrel fills the parking lot startling the gathered crowd. The echo of the shot covers the loud intakes of breath from many of them. A spark flares off the pavement of the entrance road just inches in front of the man’s foot as the round strikes hard and ricochets off into the distance. He may not be able to hear our words but there is no mistaking the communication we have just sent. The man jumps from the impact and the whining of the round as it is off to find another target.
I see the startle register on his face as he looks in our direction. Our eyes appear to meet in the scope. He looks to the woman and child and then back to us. The boy is looking at his dad and shies behind his mom. The woman, having been drawn up from weeping at the side of Bob by the sound of our shot, is looking over at the man.
I don’t want to shoot the man, especially in front of his son. Some people are just so driven by anger that it consumes them and leaves them with only that emotion. I’m guessing the forced captivity he endured built it up until it has to be released. But it’s obvious the woman doesn’t want to go with him and the man is volatile. I do not like this situation one bit! The man’s lips tighten and the muscles of his cheeks define more as he clenches his jaw in anger. His eyes narrow. Uh oh, I think trying to gauge his reaction. He looks to the woman and begins to raise the gun.
“Gonzalez,” I say with resignation.
Another loud but muted clap. This time the heavy caliber round isn’t issued as a warning. It streaks out with deadly purpose and closes the distance quickly. A splattering of blood sprays lightly into the air from just beside the nose. The large bullet flattens from the tremendous force and continues into the sinus cavity before rocketing out of the back of the head. The air is filled behind with a chunky mass of red tissue. The man falls hard to the ground on his side.
“Gonzalez, McCafferty, go see to the woman. Henderson, keep them covered,” I say bringing my M-4 down. The women rise and run to the woman and child.
“Okay, how the hell did he get a gun? Did we recover the guns from the guards inside?” I ask addressing Lynn.
“I’m guessing not,” she answers.
I shake my head. I should have taken their weapons but with everything happening, I didn’t get around to it. I feel like shit because this tragedy could have been avoided if I’d paid attention. Disarming a group of people should have been a natural thought but it just plain slipped mine. So many other things to do last night but I never thought to separate the people we were rescuing from any weapons; didn’t think about them using those weapons to harm others in the group. I should have considered of it nonetheless.
“It’s not your fault,” Lynn says seeing my downcast eyes and putting a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I say. “I should have at least thought about it.”
“Jack, that guy wasn’t right and it doesn’t matter if he had the gun or not. He would have found something to use and we’d still be facing the same situation except without your guilt trip happening,” she replies.
“Anyone else armed,” I say looking up and shouting to the group. One hand raises skyward.
“Lynn,” I say nodding toward the young gentleman with his arm in the air. She advances and retrieves another handgun.
McCafferty and Gonzalez arrive at the woman and child, put their arms around them, and guide them back to the group. They return after making sure there is someone to look after the woman and child. They mention that the woman was Bob’s daughter. They noted there were some ‘he had it coming to him’ and similar comments. The sound of vehicles approaching stirs the air. I see the Humvees driving by the far end of the field and they soon enter the parking lot now having to drive around the two bodies in the entryway.
“That looks like it was an interesting story,” Greg says stepping out of the vehicle parked close by. Lynn shakes her head as if to say ‘it’s not the right time or place.’ She takes Greg to the side and catches him up on our recently transpired events.
“There are some seriously stupid people in the world,” Greg says as his only response.
I make contact with the base and catch Drescoll up on our situation. I ask if he feels like he can do without one additional team and to send them our way with some transport vehicles. He says they were just holding down the fort for the day and they would be on their way shortly. I ask the crowd to start loading into the school buses. Several people from the crowd break off and find a tarp over by the stadium. They return, wrap Bob’s body up in it, and place it on one of the buses. Robert and Bri walk with Julie. I see them talking by the front door of one of the vehicles. Well, it looks like it’s mostly Julie talking and Robert and Bri shaking their heads. After more talking and shaking of heads, they hug and Julie gets on the first bus. Robert and Bri walk back and sit by Gonzalez and McCafferty. The others load into two school buses and I send Greg and Echo Team back with them as an escort. I let Drescoll know he’ll have company soon. I would wait until the transports arrive but don’t want Drescoll to be short-handed for long as this has taught us a valuable lesson; there are threats other than the night runners about.
The buses leave with two of the Humvees and, after Greg and Echo Team pull the remains out of the way, head out of the downed gate. A chill wind starts blowing across the lot. The rest of us, Red and Black Team, gather by the remaining vehicles and watch the area. I have seen neither hide nor hair of anyone since last night but that doesn’t mean some of the marauders didn’t make it and are still around.
Lynn and I are standing a little off from the others. Robert and Bri are with the other team members telling war stories or exchanging recipes. I’m not sure which as the hand motions could mean either one and they’re too far away to hear.
“So, what do you think about heading out when Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Teams return and try to find out about the soldiers’ families?” I ask during a moment of quiet.
Lynn pauses for a moment, no doubt thinking of her own family. “What brought that about, Jack?” She finally asks.
“Well, a couple of things actually. One, we’ve been helping out those I know and my family for the most part. I just thought it fair to see about the others as well. We don’t have that long until the jet fuel degrades to the point where we’ll be earthbound and the weather will be setting in soon,” I say looking at the overcast sky.
“Well, Jack, we still have a lot to do but I think the others will appreciate an effort. We’ve been so busy setting everything up and focusing on survival that I think that thought has been pushed down for a lot of them but it will surface eventually,” she answers without really answering.
“That’s my thought as well. So, what do you think?”
“I think we see what we have to do, prioritize, and if we can, then bring it up. If we do go, that will draw away a lot of our teams. I’d like to see us get a few more through training first so we have some semblance of a force ready to deal with things in case something like this,” she answers encompassing the area with a swing of her arm, “occurs again.”
“Yeah, you’re right but we can’t wait long. The weather will set in soon and our chance will vanish with it. It’s not that we can’t fly in it but getting down might not be so easy. I’m not a fan of flying without weather reports and there won’t be anyone to keep the runways clear,” I say.
“Let’s talk about it at our next group meeting,” she says and goes silent.
I know I shouldn’t have brought it up as it has made her think of her own family. I can certainly stick my foot in my mouth sometimes. I look over at Robert and Bri chatting it up with Gonzalez and McCafferty. I am so thankful they are okay and I feel a warm flush of love flood my heart. They are the world to me and I’ll go to any length to see them safe. That warm flush is mixed with a touch of concern though. Seeing the makeshift splint on Bri’s arm reminds me of the same old quandary; keep them safe yet let them get experience and learn. This isn’t the same as watching them drive a car for the first time and letting them stall it out.