by John O'Brien
Greg has the Stryker retrace its steps back up the valley as far as they can go. The terrain rises into the hills and he follows the ravine upwards, wanting to get as far away from the city as they can. They make their way into the hills until the steep slopes and trees bar their way. He wishes he could build a fire to bathe them all in smoke so their odor won’t carry. The cool air of the evening will carry their scent down the narrow ravine and give them away to any night runner pack that happens to come across it. Within the deep shadows filling the high valley, he takes one of the fuel drums and pours some of their precious diesel across the gully in front of them. He hopes that the smell of the fuel will hide their odor.
In the failing light, the soldiers open packets of food and wolf them down. It’s their last chance to be out before nightfall and then it will be all elbows and arms as they try to find some comfort within the cramped Stryker. Kyle sits inside with his sister, feeding her portions of a meal. Those outside feel the cool air rushing down from the mountains above. Birds call from the surrounding trees, singing their farewell to the sun. Many swoop in the twilight to catch a last meal before retiring. It’s a contrasting scene of peacefulness compared to what they just witnessed.
An image from the ghastly scene on the highway below surfaces, but Greg pushes it down. He has a good idea about what is going on, but not the reasoning – as if that really matters. There’s no valid reason for someone to be doing that – purposely staking others out for night runners to feast on. It doesn’t really matter what that person did. The number of bodies alludes to the fact that it’s not done for punishment. Those are definitely sacrifices. Not wanting to relive the memory and have sick images flood his mind, he shuts down his train of thought along those lines.
Greg hears a cricket begin chirping somewhere higher up in the ravine. He remembers an old trick his grandmother taught him. To pass the time, he looks at his watch, marks the second hand, and begins counting the chirps. The second hand passes the fourteen second mark as he counts his fifteenth chirp. He adds forty to the count.
Fifty five degrees out. For all the good that does, he thinks, wondering who came up with that formula. Someone had a lot of time on their hands.
Entering the Stryker and sealing it up for the night, Greg sees that Diane looks stronger. Her eyes still betray weariness, but she doesn’t need the back rest for support. Kyle puts away his meal and tenderly wipes a spot of food away from Diane’s mouth. Nourishment has helped her recover a more of her strength. Between long pauses and sips of water, Diane tells some of her story. She has difficulties speaking at times, and she has a hard time enunciating some of her words, but she struggles through it.
She, her mom, and her younger brother held up in their home as long as they could. Her mom was a strong believer in keeping a pantry full of her canning endeavors, so they were able to eat for some time. Their well supplied water. Living in the hills outside of the city limited any run-ins with the creatures who roamed the night. They could hear the shrieks at night and huddled the evening away in their basement. During this time, they met only one other person who they invited to stay with them. The man told them of the terrors that roamed the night and supplied them with information about what happened.
Eventually, they were forced to forage for supplies. At first they raided nearby houses, but then had to venture into town. It was during one of these outings that they ran into trouble. A group of men found them and took them captive. They remained in captivity for some time with other prisoners. Most days, one of the guards would select someone and they would disappear. Others were brought in periodically to replace those taken. On occasion, their captors would take and beat one of them in front of the main group. A man would orate for a while and then the beatings would start.
“Did they…did they…?” Kyle asks, hesitantly.
“No, they never violated me in that way,” Diane answers.
“Where did they take you?” Kyle asks.
“To the cave…Kyle, they still have Chris there,” Diane answers.
“And mom?” Kyle asks, fearful of the answer.
Diane shakes her head and begins sobbing.
Tears fill Kyle’s eyes. He wipes them away and holds his sister carefully to his chest, caressing her head. “Shhh…Shhh, sis…it’ll be alright. You’re safe and we’ll get Chris.”
Kyle looks to Greg for affirmation of his statement. Greg nods, “If there’s any way we can get him, we’ll do so.”
Diane’s sobbing comes to an end and she pulls out of Kyle’s embrace, wincing from her injuries.
“Diane, my name is Greg. I know it’s difficult, but I need to ask you some questions if we’re to get your brother.”
She takes a deep breath to steady herself and looks into Greg’s eyes. “If I can. Were you…are you Kyle’s commander?”
“That’s not really an easy question to answer so, for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say yes.”
She nods, “Are you really going to get Chris?”
“If it’s within our means to do so, we will. I make no promises, though. The most I can say at the moment is that we’ll try if it’s possible. To be perfectly honest, that will depend on your answers.”
“I’ll answer as best as I can,” Diane replies, still struggling to speak.
“First of all, where is this cave?”
“It’s the Cave of Winds. On the other side of the city,” Diane answers.
“I know it well,” Kyle chimes in.
“Okay, we’ll talk about those details later. How many men are in this group?”
“I don’t know…a lot,” Diane responds.
“By a lot, do you mean ten? Or forty?”
“I don’t really know how many. When I was taken in front of the group and beaten, there were a lot in the cavern. I’d say…thirty…forty…I really don’t know.”
“How many were guarding you at any given time?”
“I think there were four. We were held near the Canopy Hall…I think. I’ve only been in the caves a few times, but I think that’s right,” Diane says.
Greg looks to Kyle to see if he knows of this place; Kyle nods his affirmative.
“The man that was with you, what happened to him?” Greg asks.
“He was taken away shortly after we were captured. I don’t know what happened to him. Well…before today that is,” Diane answers.
“And they take someone every day?”
“As near as I can tell. It’s hard to know night from day down there. I don’t know how much time passes between.”
“How many other prisoners are there?”
“That varies from day to day, but I think there are only about six right now. At least that was how many were there when they took me and tied me up,” Diane replies.
“How were you held?”
“There are chains mounted on the walls. They keep us there.”
“I know this is difficult, and I’m sorry to grill you like this, but do you know where the men stay at night,”
“No. I’m sorry. I heard voices from farther into the caverns, but I really don’t know,” Diane states.
“Sorry to bring up a horrible memory, but you mentioned a man orated when you were taken and…treated badly. What did he say?” Greg asks.
“I don’t know. I was so frightened that I really didn’t hear him. I only remember something about sacrifice and appeasing demons…or something like that.”
“I see. How many men brought you to be tied up?”
“Six I think…it could have been four or five. I’m sorry, I was terrified and didn’t count. I’m sorry I’m not much help.”
“You’ve been great help. You get some rest and we’ll see what we see in the morning,” Greg says.
Kyle comforts his sister and, as night sets fully in, all noise in the Stryker ceases.
Greg works his way through a sea of legs to the front. He sits on the hard floor looking at a map of the area with a red-lensed flashlight. The ma
p is unseen though as he wrestles with his thoughts. It’s the usual dilemma of team safety versus putting them in danger to rescue others. If it were easy, then the answer would be as well. But there are forty armed men situated across the valley. They have but seven; and only five if he keeps two with the Stryker. They have rescued one family member which is more than he thought they would find. Should they count this a victory and move on? In his mind, the right thing to do would be to attempt to rescue those being held, but the right thing is also to protect the team.
Delving further, he ponders whether they should put an end to this abomination or just rescue the hostages. Taking out forty men would be difficult unless they could get them in the open and unleash the firepower of the Stryker upon them. If they just rescued the prisoners, the group would merely branch out and capture others. The atrocity would continue. Wracking his mind for the “right” answer doesn’t bring any clarity. He knows what he’d like to do but doesn’t know if their capabilities can meet that desire.
In his years of service, he’s encountered these situations before, but not to this degree. They had orders and they saw them through. Sure he protected the team as best he could, but the mission had priority. If a situation became untenable, he radioed his command and they made the decision to pull out or continue. He now has an inkling of what Jack goes through. Delaying an answer, he makes a deal with himself to see the situation firsthand before making a final decision.
Greg thinks of their amazing timing. One day on either side and they wouldn’t have been able to help Kyle’s sister. If they didn’t leave the base when they did, they would have completely missed finding her. If they did arrive a day earlier, there’s a chance they would never have known about the captives. They might have checked out Kyle’s house and, finding no one, departed without knowing the fates of Kyle’s brother and sister. If they arrived a day later, stayed on another day with the people of Lamar, well…that would have be one day too late.
Morning arises without interference from the predators of the night. The soldiers stir from the uncomfortable positions and, after a quick check around, disembark from the locker room atmosphere within. The fresh air after a night in the Stryker is invigorating. The morning promises another day of blue skies. A flock of birds crosses the small canyon as their day has begun as well. Diane looks moderately refreshed and the bruises on her face are beginning to fade, turning yellow on the edges. There is an underlying tension with the soldiers knowing that they may see action before the day is out.
Greg calls Kyle over. “Where can we get the best view of this place?”
They pour over the map and Kyle outlines several trails that will take them through the hills south of town and put them directly on a ridge overlooking the city and the vast network of caves on the far side.
After a quick meal, they start forward. Kyle’s selections of trails are narrow, but they accommodate the bulk of the Stryker. The ridgelines keep the team from view and, after a very roundabout foray, they find themselves on a dirt road that climbs the spine of one of the larger ridges. Parking the Stryker below the crest, Greg and Kyle walk the remaining distance to the top, careful not to silhouette themselves.
A lone house sits at the very top to their right. Keeping out of view of the house, the two go prone next to the road. They have a vista-like view of the city below and the hills across from them. Kyle points out the cave location almost directly north of them. Looking through his field glasses, Greg sees a paved road winding its way up the ridge and terminating at a collection of buildings a half mile from the highway. The parking lot serving the facility is filled with a collection of new pickup trucks and Hummers. He continues looking over the area for a long period of time with ideas racing through his head – discarding all of them for one reason or another.
“Well, they’ve picked their place well. Assuming they are in those buildings, there’s no way we can approach without being seen long before we get there,” Greg says.
“Sir. Diane said they’re in the cave. At least the captives and some of the men. I know an entrance to the cave system that we can get to from that valley to the right. It enters the caves near the main entrance, but not many know of it,” Kyle comments.
“Those buildings have a view of that entire ravine. How can we get to it without being seen? I’m not all that interested in heading in at night for obvious reasons,” Greg states.
“From the other side, sir. See that light patch across the ravine on the next ridge over?” Kyle asks. “That’s a quarry and, although it’s a steep route down, it’s doable. We could park the Stryker and head in from there. They won’t be able to see us that way,” Kyle responds.
“Okay. So how do we get from here to the quarry without announcing our arrival?’
“We can cross the highway near the crosses and I know paths that will take us there. It’s a long ways around, but I can get us there without having to go through any housing areas. Plus, the ridgelines will keep us out of view. Again, we’d have to go slow to keep the dust down, but it can be done. We would be coming up on the other side of the adjacent ridge, which will block our noise. They won’t hear us.”
“How long will that take?” Greg asks.
He feels his decision is being guided. As long as there is a possibility of them being able to keep the danger levels to a minimum and get in undetected, he’ll take the chance.
“Unfortunately, with the speed we’ll have to go…most of the day, sir.”
“Point out these paths,” Greg commands.
As Kyle points and communicates the twists and turns, Greg follows with his binoculars. To all appearances, it looks to be almost a twenty klick drive only to position themselves less than a mile across from the caves, but it’s needed to get there unobserved.
“What can we expect inside?” Greg asks, making several mental calculations.
“For one, it’s cold...freezing as a matter of fact…and, of course, dark. A lot of the caves are narrow where they transition into larger caverns. Only one or two can pass abreast. The halls and caverns widen tremendously. Sound carries far. With NVGs, you can see fairly well except where the caves turn or ascend or descend. Once we get inside, we’ll reach the main entrance very shortly. Then the path will turn to the right and proceed to the Canopy Hall. Diane said they were being kept off to the side near that. I have an idea where that may be…though I don’t know for sure,” Kyle answers.”
“Any obstacles in the pathways?”
“Not really. There are a few ice-covered stalactites, but they don’t come down very far.”
Looking across the way at the numerous vehicles in the parking lot, Greg is worried about being caught away from the protection of their armor. Figures emerge from the nearest building and walk to several trucks. From this distance, he can’t make out their facial features, but they seem relaxed and jovial. The pickups depart and slowly wind their way down the road. Hitting the freeway, they turn east. Greg loses sight of them as they pass by the crosses and vanish behind Hogback Ridge.
Soon others materialize and they too drive away to the east. No one slows or stops at the crosses for which he’s thankful. Should they take a closer look, they’d notice that the ropes from their latest victim were cut.
That’s one of those little mistakes from begin tired that can cost the mission, he thinks. We’ll have to rectify that before we cross. If they find those cut ropes, they’ll know someone is around.
With a heavy sigh, Greg makes up his mind. They’ll go. “Okay, if we’re going to do this, we’d better get started.”
“Thank you, sir,” Kyle says.
The day passes from morning, to noon, to early afternoon by the time they make it to the crosses next to highway. Strands of cut rope lie on the ground next to the cross Diane was tied to. Kyle disembarks quickly and retrieves the line. He stays behind while the Stryker traverses the freeway to clean up their tracks. With a glance left and right, he fades into the shrubs and rejoins his t
eam.
Being more than a mile above sea level, the land is arid. This slows their travel over the dirt-covered roads, but they have a few hours before nightfall. Scattered housing follows them for a few blocks and then they transition back into the barren, rough terrain. Their route meanders through the hilly environment. After an hour of travel, they double back down another road, each turn of the large wheels carrying them closer to their destination.
The soldiers are quiet as tension builds within. Each is lost in their thoughts as they contemplate what is ahead. They are going into a place where possibly forty armed men are encamped in order to rescue hostages. They don’t know the layout or have a plan. Details are severely lacking. That’s not because the information isn’t being shared, it’s because no one knows. It’s one of those ‘play it by ear’ missions. Not a one doubts the operation, but their thoughts are turned towards their being able to survive it.
They follow the outline of the hills coming back almost to the highway before intersecting another road that travels up a ravine one canyon over from the caves. Kyle points out a dirt road leaving the pavement that travels along a large ridge. To one side of the path is a steep drop to the bottom of the ravine. The other ascends sharply, but the road was built to accommodate heavy machinery, so the Stryker manages – barely.
The large quarry they enter has almost taken off the entire top of the ridgeline. However, as fortune would have it, there is a still part of the ridge between them and the caves. Greg parks the Stryker in the lee of this remaining ridgeline.
With Kyle, he scales the bluff to the side and looks over the valley separating them from the caves. A quarter of a mile is all that separates the two ridge tops. The sun is still above the tops of the mountains to the west, but it is sinking fast.
“There,” Kyle points to an opening near the top of the ridgeline near the buildings.
Greg has a difficult time finding the opening as the far hill lies in shadow due to the westering sun. With help, he finally makes out the entrance. He was looking for a cave in the cliff face instead of a sink hole. The cliffs below and on the other side are almost vertical, but he trusts Kyle’s knowledge that they can navigate their way. He hasn’t led them astray so far.