Wrong Time

by Mitchel Grace

  “Okay, but why don’t you already have that stuff?”

  “I told you that I’ve only been here once before.”

  “I get it. So when are we going to go get some stuff because I have no idea what we’re going to do here with nothing but a bed and ourselves,” Nathan said before realizing how strange his comment sounded.

  Sam looked at him with suspicious eyes as he appeared to have some type of daydream. I don’t think I like the way that one is thinking, she thought while examining the look on Nathan’s face.

  “You know what? I think that we’ll be just fine here with no furniture or entertainment,” Nathan said while showing a hint of a smile.

  “I think that we should go get some furniture and your precious television. Come on,” Sam said as she walked to the door and motioned for Nathan to follow her.

  Me and my big mouth, Nathan thought. When the two of them got back, they had a television and some fold out chairs.

  “It’s too bad that all the furniture stores were closed,” Sam said.

  “Well, at least we have something to watch now while we’re here.”

  “True. I have a question for you, though.”

  “What is it?”

  “You were really eager to accept our new assignment. Why is that? You know that you shouldn’t contact your family, right?”

  “I just wanted to go home for a while, and why can’t I contact them while we’re there?”

  “Well, everything that you know is classified. How are you going to explain why you’ve been gone?”

  “I don’t know, but I could think of something to say.”

  “Look, I want you to be able to talk to them more than anyone, but the less they know, the better.”

  Nathan only nodded and looked off into nothingness with sad eyes. Sam felt terrible, so she gave him the only hope that she could think of.

  “When we do get out of this life . . . you know, when this is all over, we can go talk to them and tell them everything. We just can’t go right now,” Sam said.

  “Can we at least ride by the place so I can see if they’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I think that would be fine.”

  Nathan’s expression seemed to change to one that was a little more hopeful. Sam was glad that she could at least give him some hope of getting his normal life back someday.

  * * * * *

  Jason had just dropped Lee and Jess off at their home, and Lee was beyond excited. He hurried inside and immediately started to get ready to go pick up Megan. Jess, meanwhile, went to check on Trish. She knew that Trish was upset earlier, but she didn’t know why.

  “Trish, can I come in?” Jess asked as she knocked on Trish’s door.

  “Go away,” Trish responded while sniffling.

  The whole time that Lee was getting ready, Jess tried to get Trish to let her in, but it did no good.

  “Hey, Lee, come here,” Jess said as he exited the bathroom.

  “What’s going on?” Lee asked.

  “Trish is upset about something, and she won’t talk to me. Can you see if you can talk to her?”

  Lee was a little ticked off that he had to talk to Trish when he should be leaving to pick up his dream girl, but he agreed to try to talk to her anyway.

  “Trish, what’s wrong? Can I come in and talk about it with you?” Lee asked.

  “Just go away. Why won’t you two leave me alone?”

  “Look, I have a date with the woman of my dreams, and I don’t want to be late, so if you don’t open the door, I’m going to break it down.”

  “Just go on your date. It’s not like you give a damn about me anyway.”

  Her comment hurt Lee. He had wanted to go pick up Megan, but this was more important to him than some date with a woman he actually didn’t even know.

  “I do care about you, and that’s why I’m not leaving until I know that you’re okay,” Lee said as he sat down beside the door.

  Lee heard the door unlock, and he got up and entered the room. The first thing that Lee noticed was that Trish looked like she had been crying all day. Her usually beautiful face was red and puffy. He had never seen her so upset. She didn’t even look this bad back in Tampa when they saw the stadium explode on TV.

  “What’s going on?” Lee asked.

  “You’re going to be here for a while if you’re staying until I’m okay because I don’t ever think that I’m going to be okay again,” Trish said.

  Lee sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm around her.

  “I can stay forever, if that’s what it takes.”

  Trish simply leaned on his shoulder and sobbed.

  “What did someone do to get you this upset?” Lee asked.

  “I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  “That’s okay. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’ll be here.”

  Lee stayed with Trish all night. She never told him what was wrong. She simply leaned on him. Throughout the night, Lee’s phone vibrated many times. Every time Megan called, he hit the ignore button. In this moment, this is exactly where he belonged.

  * * * * *

  That night around eleven, Michael, Zane, and Dan were on their way to meet their crew. Just a few blocks away from the facility, they spotted four large trucks. Zane pulled in behind them and walked to the front.

  “I’m Zane, and we need to get suited up and ready to go,” Zane said to the man in the front vehicle.

  The three of them stepped into the front truck where they were given body armor to put on.

  “Are you ready for this?” Dan asked while looking over at Michael.

  “As ready as I’m ever going to be, I suppose,” Michael said.

  Once they were ready, Zane and the men piled out of the trucks. There were a larger number of people present than Michael expected there to be.

  “I won’t lie to you. The odds are stacked against us. We’re outnumbered, and we’re fighting on someone else’s ground. This will be difficult, and not all of you will make it out of this alive, but if you’ll join me in this pursuit, I promise that you’ll be able to take pride in the fact that you were part of the beginning of what is our retribution as a country for the travesties that were committed just a few short days ago. We will set the tone, and we’ll do it with honor and bravery, no matter what the outcome may be. I couldn’t ask for a better group of young men and women. Thank you for being a part of this beginning with me,” Zane said and began to walk straight toward the large facility just a few blocks away.

  The men followed close behind him. I sure hope that I’m not leading these kids to their deaths, Zane thought behind what looked like confident eyes.

  Chapter 8

  While sitting at a security monitor, a man was watching Zane and his men break into the back of their facility. He alerted his superiors, and there was no doubt in his mind that these intruders would be taken care of very soon. As Zane stepped through the newly opened back door, he let his eyes adjust to the darkened facility. They were in what looked like a large storage area. It was filled with many boxes and crates. As he scanned the area, he saw a large door in the distance and walked over and opened it. It led to a stairwell that went down. This was what they were looking for. Zane and his new unit quickly, but just as quietly, went down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairwell, they were faced with a large door. One man stepped in front of Zane.

  “I’ve got this, sir,” the man said as he walked to the door.

  Other soldiers stepped to the front and readied their weapons for the enemies that they would undoubtedly see on the other side. The first man slowly began to open the door, and suddenly, Zane felt an immense heat and saw a bright light. He collapsed to the floor. All that could be heard were the agonizing screams of the men near the door. Then the sound of gunfire began.

  Michael was standing near the back, and he couldn’t believe that the door in front of them had exploded when they tried to open it. It must have been rigged wit
h explosives, he thought. There was no time to worry about what had happened, though. As the loud sound of screams and guns being fired began to echo into the stairwell, Michael lost his composure. He couldn’t fire, and he couldn’t move. He just stood in that one place and watched as his squad attempted to charge forward, while being slowly but surely picked off. Dan began to retreat.

  “We have to get these men out of here. This is a lost cause,” Dan said to Michael.

  Michael only stood and stared into the distance. He was in the middle of a combat zone, and his mind was broken. Any healing that he thought he had done just wasn’t enough for him to hear the haunting screams of men dying all over again.

  “Hey, snap out of it!” Dan said as he slapped Michael in the face.

  Michael snapped to his senses enough to at least hear Dan.

  “I’m going to try to get as many people out of here as I can. Help me get everyone to retreat back up the stairwell, and if you can, help me find Zane.”

  Dan then walked back toward the few men that were still fighting and began to yell for them to retreat. Michael, meanwhile, started scanning the area for Zane. There were so many bodies, and Zane could have been anywhere, but somehow, Michael spotted him. Zane’s face was visible, but he was buried underneath another man’s body. Michael quickly pulled the man off Zane and began to drag him away from the scene. Zane’s face was somewhat bloodied, but otherwise, he looked fine. His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to be aware of his surroundings. Michael eventually picked Zane up and threw him over his shoulder. Then he started to run up the steps. Dan was close behind him. Once Michael reached the top of the steps, he just kept running until he was completely out of the building. Within a few seconds, Dan and nine others joined him. The twelve men ran as fast as their legs would take them back to their trucks and jumped inside.

  “Zane, can you hear me?” Michael asked.

  Zane was unresponsive. His eyes were open and moving around, but they were blank, and his hearing seemed to be nonexistent.

  “We have to get him to a hospital quickly,” Dan said as he began driving the truck.

  Michael felt hopeless. Almost all of his squad had been wiped out in what felt like the blink of an eye, and what did he do but just stand there and watch it all happen. Dan looked over at the traumatized young man sitting next to him and felt pity.

  “It’s okay. We knew that we didn’t have much of a chance of winning this one. At least you made it out of there alive,” Dan said.

  Michael only nodded. Inside, Michael felt even worse than he had when he was a sniper. Then he did things that directly killed enemy soldiers, but today his inability to control his own body had cost the people around him their lives, or at least that was what he was telling himself. After noticing the look of guilt in Michael’s eyes, Dan spoke.

  “This isn’t your fault. There’s nothing you could have done. I’m just glad that you were composed enough to find Zane and get him out of there.”

  As they pulled into the hospital and the emergency workers took Zane from Michael, he felt hopeless. How were they supposed to fight an enemy that was not only ferocious but also spread throughout the entire world? Michael buried his doubt, and as best he could, pulled together the pieces of his shattered mind. Then he walked into the hospital behind Dan.

  The next morning, Dan made a call to Campbell and began telling him about what had happened the night before.

  “Is he okay? What have the doctors said?” Campbell asked.

  “The sound of the blast made him temporarily lose his hearing, but it’s already starting to return. The bad news is that the blast burned his eyes, and he’s currently blind,” Dan said.

  “Oh, God! Is he going to regain his sight?”

  “The doctors believe he’ll eventually regain his sight on some level. Some of the damage to his eyes is permanent. He’ll be able to see again, but he’ll never be the same sharp shooter that he used to be.”

  “I should have never had him in the field. A decorated veteran like Zane deserves better than to go out like this.”

  “He’ll never be able to serve in the field again, but I wouldn’t feel so guilty yet, sir. Zane will find a way to make himself useful. If you really want to help the guy, you should try to think of something that he can do while he’s recovering.”

  “You don’t think that he’ll want to retire now?”

  “I seriously doubt it. If I know Zane, he won’t rest until the people who damaged his eyes pay for it.”

  “All right, I’ll think about where we can place him. Is there anything else that I need to know?”

  “Yes. I need to get Michael home right away.”

  “Why?” Campbell asked.

  “He needs to talk to someone soon. I think that something broke in his mind back at the facility. He might not be cut out for combat, after all.”

  “Okay. We’ll get him an airline ticket, and I’ll call you back with the details.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Dan said.

  As Campbell hung up, he felt a stinging guilt. He had sent them into a situation where they simply couldn’t win. His hurry to strike had left some of the best men and women they had dead and the most experienced soldier that they had blind. It was with that guilt that he decided what Zane’s job would be when he was ready for it.

  * * * * *

  That same morning, Nathan and Sam were boarding a plane going back to Memphis. Nathan was obviously excited, but Sam was still a bit uneasy about their operation. She received a message earlier detailing the events in Atlanta. If Zane had failed with a large team, what did that say for their own chances?

  “We need a plan,” Sam said as she and Nathan sat down in their seats.

  “I thought we were taking the place by brute force,” Nathan said.

  “We were going to do that, but after what happened in Atlanta, I’m not too sure if such tactics are going to work.”

  “I thought this was the least secure place that they had. Are you sure you aren’t overthinking this?”

  “We may be able to take the place, but if we just charge in like idiots, we’re going to lose a lot of lives. What happened to the Nathan who thought the rushing in tactic was a stupid one?” Sam asked.

  She was right. He had been so distracted by the fact that he was going home that he hadn’t even thought twice about the danger they would be walking into.

  “You’re right. There’s only one way in and one way out of the facility there,” Nathan said.

  “So what’s your point?”

  “If we burned the whole place to the ground from the top, they would have no way to get back up, and if it was done right, the fire would spread down below.”

  Sam was a little amazed, and at the same time, a little put off by Nathan’s idea. They wouldn’t have to lose a single soldier during this operation with his strategy, but at the same time, they would have to trap people underground who would burn to death.

  “That’s a great plan. It’s a bit evil, though.”

  “I know, but it’s the only way I can think of where we wouldn’t have to lose anyone. We don’t have to do it. I was just throwing out an idea.”

  “We weren’t going to go down there to make friends with them anyway. I like your idea, and I think that we should do it.”

  Nathan felt a little bad. He probably wouldn’t be the one who was actually spreading the gasoline and lighting the match, but his plan would ultimately kill a large number of people in a rather gruesome way. Nathan very noticeably gave off a depressed look. Sam quickly noticed the expression.

  “Hey, since this op is going to be so simple now, I don’t want you to come,” Sam said.

  “Wait! Why?” Nathan asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about it. We recruit people like you all the time as pencil pushers. People who are extremely intelligent, but lack purpose, are always recruited. Maybe you could actually visit with your family tonight and feed them some story about being recruited on tha
t kind of basis. Then when everything is over, I could come pick you up.”

  Nathan really wanted to see his family, but he wasn’t about to leave Sam alone during this op. What if something went wrong? She was recovering quite well, but her left arm was still hurt, and Nathan just didn’t feel comfortable leaving her to complete their mission alone.

  “No, this is our mission, and I want to be there with you when it’s complete,” Nathan said.

  “Are you sure about that? I don’t mind doing this one on my own.”

  “I’m positive.”

  Sam was glad to hear that he was committed, but she was still worried about how he would react when he actually saw the facility go up in flames. Maybe I shouldn’t worry about him so much. Maybe he can do this after all, she thought as she looked over at Nathan’s now determined eyes.

  * * * * *

  Lee was very tired the next morning, and he didn’t feel like going to work. Trish had just fallen asleep, and he hadn’t slept at all that night. He also didn’t feel like facing Megan after he had stood her up the night before. He knew that he had to get up and go, however. He drug himself out of the bed and walked to the shower. After dressing, he and Jess got into the car and started the ride to work.

  “Did Trish ever explain what was going on last night?” Jess asked.

  “No, but she was really upset all night. I wish she would tell me what’s going on,” Lee said.

  “I’m going to ask around at work. She left in the middle of the day, so I think that something may have happened there.”

  Once they arrived at the building and Lee walked to his desk, he saw Megan stick her head out of her office and motion for him to come in there. Oh, great. Here we go, he thought. Once he went inside and sat down, the questioning began.

  “So what exactly happened last night? I tried to call you a dozen times,” Megan said.

  “I’m really sorry. Something very important came up. I would’ve called you if I could have,” Lee said.

  “I really don’t like being stood up, you know?”

  “Once again, I’m sorry. How about a do-over tonight?”

  “I don’t think so. It was probably a bad idea for us to go out to begin with.”