A New World: Awakening

by O'Brien, John

  Tonight though, he wants to hunt. He wants the rush of the chase and the thrill of the catch. Michael wants to smell the musky scent of prey and the sweet taste of flesh and blood. With the excitement building, he heads out of the broken doors and into the chill parking lot. The remains of his previous pack members lie decaying on the pavement where they fell. The memory of that night is still fresh.

  Sniffing the air, he sets off toward a lingering scent of food, his feet pounding the hard pavement as he sets off into the night. Running down a street chasing a particularly elusive scent, a flash erupts near one of the buildings, turning the night into day for a brief moment. Adrenaline launches through his system immediately bringing him into a fight or flight mode. He changes direction in mid-step and hides in a recessed doorway. The flash he recognizes from nights prior but he still doesn’t know what causes it. It’s like the flashes from the stick the two-legged ones carry but there isn’t the resounding boom that follows. He edges out of his hiding place and looks to where the light came from.

  He sniffs and tests the night air. Nothing out of the ordinary other than the trail he is following and a stale odor of a pack that passed this way a while ago. He looks and doesn’t see anything moving. Cautiously, he steps out from the doorway onto the sidewalk ready to dart back at a moment’s notice. Nothing happens. Michael walks into the street watchful for any movement. Curiosity takes hold and he walks slowly over to the area. His muscles tighten as he draws near the source of the light.

  There, on the wall of a building close to the street, he sees something attached. He walks closer stepping up on the sidewalk mindful of the flash of light just prior to losing his pack and almost his life. This, however, is just the light without the roaring explosion. Stepping in front of the object, the light flashes again leaving the aftermath of a bright spot of light in his sight and ruining his night vision. He leaps and starts running down the street but halts after a moment. His night vision returns. He’s still alive.

  The curiosity takes hold again and he warily walks back keeping to the side of the object this time. It doesn’t flash. He looks hard at the object on the wall about chest high. Somehow, and he doesn’t know how, Michael grasps it’s from the two-legged ones. A very faint lingering odor from them is attached to the object. Along with the awareness that it’s from the dangerous two-legged ones, he understands it is not here for the good of his kind. It takes some doing but he pries it from where it rests and throws it on the ground with a loud cracking sound. There is a little sound of glass shattering and pieces shoot out from the object. He quickly waves his hand over it but there is no accompanying bright light.

  He opens himself quickly to the others sending an image message to destroy the objects if they’re found. Tucking the others in the back of his mind again, he sets off on the trail he was following.

  * * * * * *

  She and her pack smash the glass door into a large building with the images sent the night before of a new food source fresh in her mind. She is still intrigued about the sudden appearance and then disappearance of this strong one of her kind. Sending a message to her pack, they begin to take items off the shelves and break them open. Some smell like food while others are definitely not. A few cautious tastes and the pack tears into those items that seem edible. She smashes a heavy metallic object on the ground and then against the wall trying to get it to spill its contents, anxious to find out if its food. The can hits wall with a thump and falls to the floor rolling around before coming to a stop. The awareness she felt last night suddenly materializes again.

  A flurry of images enters her mind. They are spoken in a simplistic method so all understand. They are pictures of a certain kind of object that emits bright flashes along with a message to destroy them. She hasn’t seen the objects nor witnessed the bright lights mentioned. What does process is that she will take her pack west tomorrow night to get closer to this strong one. Tonight they will hunt in this place and begin the journey on waking the next night. She knows it will be a far trek but they should be able to make it before the bright, painful light appears in the sky. She sends the information to her pack. They stop what they are doing to listen and then rip into the packages again. The awareness vanishes as suddenly as it appeared.

  The next night, the pack wakes. She turns back at the door to look at their lair after the others have passed outside. She is worried about leaving their shelter but will lead her pack westward nonetheless. With a last look, she turns and heads out into the night.

  They stop at the store to pick up items from their new food source. She tells the pack that they will carry their food and to find items to bring with them. There will be no hunt tonight yet they must eat. It will be a long journey and they will need food to sustain them. The pack rushes in to gather items and rejoins her in the parking lot shortly thereafter. She rubs her stomach and worries about the effects of the long journey on her young one. She is strong so thinks she will be okay. The pack follows her as she heads down one of the large, hard paths leading in the direction of the one she sensed.

  She paces the pack, alternating between a jogging run and walking, as they travel beneath the dark night lit by the other light in the sky. She feels a tingling on her skin from the bright white light hanging in the night sky but it’s only a very small sensation; more of an awareness than anything else. The night is silent with the exception of feet slapping the pavement behind her when they break into a trot.

  The hours pass. They are a large pack running beside trees pressed up against the side of the path. Their passage is marked by the sound of their feet and their ghostly shapes passing by. A strong scent of prey comes upon them. They have stopped to fill up on what they brought but there is a hunger still. The smell brings thoughts of the hunt and the thrill of it. Sensing agitation among her pack as they want to chase the delicious aroma, she sends a message to keep on.

  One previous pack leader heads off into the woods with a small pack chasing after the scent. She calls to have them rejoin her but they continue after the prey. They are a long ways away from any shelter and she knows they will be hard pressed to find one before the night ends. She shrugs and the rest of the group continues on their way.

  Buildings begin to materialize as they draw closer to where she felt the one’s presence. She knows where it came from but feels wary about just approaching. The caution stems from the young one inside her and her protective instinct toward it. She doesn’t know the situation as he keeps himself hidden and she doesn’t want to be relegated to just another pack member in a larger pack. She finds a large building similar to the one she left at the beginning of the night. The portals open at her touch and, not sensing others of her kind within, she enters. She is tired but they have made it. She hopes there is food to be in this new territory but she also saw one of the places nearby that may have one of the new supplies of food. The night is almost over and they will explore during the next night but for now, they settle into a dark corner of their new lair. It’s warm and dry like the last one and will do nicely with the coming of the colder days. She feels a stirring of the one within and rubs her belly. Tired yet content, she falls asleep with her pack huddled around her.

  A Sunday Sermon

  I remove a smaller pack from within the ruck I brought. I don’t want the bulk of the larger pack and didn’t bring all that much gear. I quickly transfer the items from the larger pack to the smaller.

  “Well, that was fun,” I say as darkness almost encircles us. There is still some light as the sun hasn’t completely disappeared. I hope Robert and the others make it down safely.

  “Yeah, if you say so, Jack. I’m pretty sure my stomach completely dropped out of my body stepping off the ramp. It should be landing shortly so I’d look out,” Greg replies.

  I chuckle donning my pack,” Yeah, mine too.”

  Readying our M-4’s, Greg and I head to the small rectangular building rising from the roof nearby. The steel door opens outward but is locke
d. I remove the slim jim and set to work getting the door open. The slim jim has a “T” at the top with one of the ends tapering to a rounded point. It is meant to wedge between the door and the jamb and then press down with the tapered end behind the latch. The tapered end will cause the latch to recede into the door either by pressing down or pulling. I feel the latch recede and pull the door open putting the gear back in my pack.

  “Let’s go to VOX,” I say as we lower our NVG’s and see the top landing of a stairwell behind the door. A chilled sweep of air brushes against my cheeks. Greg and I quietly head down the concrete steps focusing on the landings below us that lead to the ground floor. My heart is pounding in my chest knowing we are inside without a real avenue of escape in case things go sour. The place is large and we can find places to hide if we’re found and manage to elude any pursuers for a moment if need be. I’m also hoping Jim’s card is functional. We’ll need it to get through the security doors which must abound in this place.

  Reaching the ground floor, another steel door, with a small wire mesh window set into it, exits into a wide hall. The door is flush with the jamb so I can’t use the fiber scope but the hall is dark which suggests that no one is using it. I lift on the bar latch to ease the weight on the hinges and open it slowly. Quickly peeking into the hall stretching in the distance to both sides, I don’t see anyone. We step in. Hallways branch off to the sides at intervals and our plan is to keep heading in an easterly direction to find the covered walkway to the east wing.

  We slink down the hall to our left staying against the walls. At the first corner, I hold my signal mirror out looking down the cross hallway. It appears empty and we turn the corner quickly. We proceed slowly making sure to lift our feet in order to not squeak our boots against the linoleum-tiled floor. I keep my M-4 focused down the hall, my laser making a straight line to another T-intersection in the distance. Thick, wooden doors open off the hall at intervals. I test the first one and find it locked without a card swipe associated with it. There aren’t any card swipe doors along the entire length. Greg is keeping a watch behind us as we creep toward the next hall.

  I check each door along the length finding one that opens with my turning the knob. Approaching the intersection, I hear footsteps and voices. I can’t make out what they are saying as it’s more of a murmuring. The footsteps are growing louder and definitely approaching from the side.

  “Company coming from the left hall,” I whisper into the radio.

  “How many?” Greg asks whispering.

  “Not sure. More than one,” I answer.

  “Plan?” He asks.

  I’m not sure. I don’t know how many there are but it doesn’t have the sound quality to be many. We could dart into the open room and let them pass. Whether they will continue down the hall they’re on or turn into ours is anyone’s guess. If we let them pass and take the hall they came from, which is the direction I was planning according to the diagrams Jim gave us, then we’ll have people behind us. That’s not a good situation but if they are expected somewhere or are in radio contact and they don’t show up or answer, that’s not good either. The beam of a flashlight appears in the cross hallway from the left, its round spot bouncing on the ground as the holder of said light walks in our direction.

  “Into the room and we’ll see,” I say. We open the door quietly and step into the darkened room that is lit only by the green glow of our goggles.

  “How in the hell did you know they were coming? I didn’t see the light until just before we ducked in and I certainly didn’t hear anything,” Greg asks.

  “I ate my Lucky Charms this morning,” I answer. People are going to guess something’s amiss if I keep giving hints like that out. Perhaps it’s just time I told them but I want to tell and talk it over with Lynn first.

  A flash of light appears at the bottom of the door. It seems only the steel doors are flush with the floors. I fish the fiber optic cam out and slide the end under the door. To the right, I only see the bright spot of a flashlight in the hall heading our direction. I can’t see anything behind it so I still don’t know how many are heading out way. I slowly but quickly withdraw the camera end. I don’t want the light to pick it up as they approach. Greg and I crouch a few feet from the door training our weapons on it.

  Boots striking the hard floor near and we hear the vestiges of a conversation taking place. The light under the door grows in intensity, fading and growing bright in intervals as the light swings in the hall. I control my breathing focusing on the door waiting for it to open. I don’t think they discovered us or there would have been an excited shout or tone to their voice but you never know. If they pass by, they will definitely be behind us as we make our way to the wing and therefore could show up at the most inopportune time. I’ve edged my way through guards before but it was never a comfortable feeling. It’s a very good thing no one has invented an adrenaline meter as yet or I would have been found out every time. And would now.

  The light fades from underneath the door but the sounds come abreast of it. A peal of laughter rings out and the footsteps begin to fade. I would like to know how many are going to possibly be behind us. I sneak the cam under the door again and look to the left. Three people fill the hall walking away side by side with the beam of a single flashlight stretching into the hall ahead of them. Their purpose for being there is unclear but it’s not dissimilar from a patrolling guard. What they would be guarding against remains a mystery. The hall to the right is clear.

  I hold up three fingers. If we take them out, they’ll certainly be missed. Again, I’m not too keen on them behind us but the risk of them being missed is too great. We’ll let them pass. I watch until they turn a corner at the next intersection and disappear from sight. I open up quickly to determine if I can sense any night runners. I doubt I’ll pick up anything with the people walking the halls but want to check anyway. I don’t sense anything.

  I pull the camera cable back in and stow it. We open the door quietly, slip into the hall, and move toward the intersection the others came from. It’s still dark in this section of the building. Checking the corner again, Greg and I move to the left. We turn down a few more hallways with a multitude of doors opening off to the sides. A corridor branches off to the right of one with a placard on the wall reading “B Wing.” That’s the one we want. A set of swinging double doors opens to a room to the left. I peek in the window set in one of the doors before checking the hall. The doors open to a large room filled with wheeled laundry baskets.

  I slink to the corner and look down the hall. A faint amount of light spills into the corridor through a small window set into steel door blocking the hall about forty feet down. A man sits in a plastic chair near the door; the man and chair leaning against the wall with only two legs of the chair touching the floor. There’s no way through the door without being seen and the only way to the wing is through the door. I almost wish we had taken the other guards out now but that is still probably for the better.

  “One person sitting by the door forty feet down. No way around,” I whisper to Greg. He nods knowing what we have to do.

  We are still in the dark so won’t be seen if we enter the hall as the small amount of light doesn’t filter this far down. Greg keeps an eye behind as I edge around the corner and bring my M-4 to bear. It will make some sound but won’t carry far with all of the twists and turns of the halls. I put the crosshair on his head seeing the laser pinpoint a place just below my aim point. I had set my aim point for 100 yards so the sight and laser are just a touch off at this distance. Not much and certainly not enough to miss.

  I touch my selector switch with my thumb verifying I’m on semi and squeeze the trigger. The corridor lights up with a single flash along with the muted sound of a suppressed gunshot. It lasts only a split second as the round streaks down the hall. The man jerks to the side as the bullet strikes the side of his head with great force. Blood sprays against the hall and door. The man slams against the wall next to t
he door and falls to the ground toppling off the chair. The chair itself scoots across the floor as it too tumbles to the ground. Silence fills the hall once again.

  Greg covers our rear as I walk toward the body alternating my barrel between the door and the man on the ground. Neither moves. I search the body looking for both a radio and key card finding only a card. I pocket the card, pick him up, and throw him over my shoulder thankful he has a small build. I don’t want to drag the body down the hall as it would make too much noise, be slower, and leave a mark. I’m also thankful he hasn’t let go as there is no way I would throw that on my shoulder. I walk back and go through one of the swinging doors setting the body in one of the laundry baskets. I cover the body with some towels and clothing grabbing a few of the towels to clean up the mess by the door. I won’t be able to clean it entirely but will at least not make it readily apparent what happened. I even set the chair back upright.

  With the mess cleared and towels thrown away, we hold at the door. A long hall stretches on the other side ending at another similar door. Only every third light is lit casting a gloom in the hall. There are patches of darkness between the faint glows reaching the floor from above. If someone does look through the far door while we are transiting the patches of light, we’ll be seen. I only hope that, if there is someone guarding the far door, they are as vigilant as the one here, meaning not at all. A key card reader sits against the wall on both sides of our door.

  “Well, here goes nothing,” I say using the key card I just picked up.

  I see a light flash green from the reader and hear a click of the magnetic door latch releasing. Just for grins, I test the card Jim gave us with the same result. I hand Greg one of the cards. Opening the door, we step quickly into the hall.