Taken anw-4

by John O'Brien

  There is absolutely no way we can take this place with the teams we have. We couldn’t clear this complex with ten times that. There is a multitude of supplies inside that we could really use but it looks like we may have to try a smaller hospital. The wall seems to have been a waste of time, I think climbing out of my Humvee at the administrative entrance. I’m sickened at the thought of wasting so much time and manpower to put it up. I should have known though seeing it’s one of the largest hospitals in the country. I just wasn’t thinking. I was too focused on the kids being back that I didn’t do a fair job of scouting it out before we started building the wall.

  I look to the front doors and, of course, the glass panes are broken. I can’t even imagine how many night runners must be inside. I mean, there could only be ten but my imagination leads to thousands.

  “Told ya it was big,” Drescoll says standing beside me. I’m sure he said that noticing my jaw hanging down to my knees. At least the enormity of it makes this one of the easiest decisions ever in my life.

  “Well, I guess we’re not going in there,” I say to Lynn and Drescoll.

  “We could get a diagram and find the pharmacy location. If it’s close, we could form a moving perimeter and get what we need,” Lynn suggests.

  “Yeah, I suppose we could do something like that but we’ll have to plan that carefully. We definitely can’t go too far in or we could easily be cut off,” I say still in the mind that there’s no way we could step foot in this place.

  “I’m thinking we should try someplace else. Like a small clinic or small-town hospital. They would have fewer night runners around and a place we could most likely clear,” I add still mesmerized by the size of this place.

  “We could do that but if the stuff we need is near the entrance, then it’d be the same as going in any other place,” she says.

  “True. Let’s drive around and see what we see. Let’s find the ER entrance and take a look. I’m still not going in without diagrams and a plan,” I say.

  “Jack? Are you sure you’re okay?” Lynn asks chuckling. “That doesn’t sound like you at all. I mean, do you realize you actually used the word ‘plan?’ Did it really only take a fever to drive some sense into you? If I’d have known that was all it took, well….”

  “You missed your calling doing stand-up,” I reply.

  We head into the Humvees and drive around to the ER entrance. Several ambulances are parked in the large overhang of the entrance. We exit and I walk to the windows. The glass is broken here as well but either the rain or time has erased any sign of night runners. It used to be that the broken glass on the ground would be mixed with bloody footprints. I suppose the hospital could have been raided while the world was coming apart or after. That actually makes some sense. I step warily to the edge of the door.

  The teams fan out around the entrance and the Humvee guns are manned. Lying on the tiled floor are the decayed remains of people. There really isn’t much left of them to decay other than some hair on the top of their heads. The rest has been stripped clean leaving just a few pieces of dried flesh and tendon clinging tenaciously to the bone. The clothes they once wore have been shredded and several of their bones lie a distance away from the rest of the bodies. Although the scene is similar to the one when I went into the hospital at McChord, the smell isn’t as bad as it was there. Time has seen to that.

  The thought surfaces that this is a hospital and there could be so many other bodies lying inside. Diseases must be rampant. Of course I’m sure they must be in the same condition as the ones just inside the door if there are night runners present. A faint scent of body odor drifts out of the broken door. I nod; there are night runners inside. The smell replaces any lingering thought that the broken doors have been caused by raiders.

  As with any building before, the light from the day fans a short distance across the linoleum floor. I step inside the door. The rest of the large room opens up. There are various pieces of artwork lining the walls with padded chairs and tables against the walls under them. Plants, wilted and brown, are set into corners and scattered about the room. They, at one time, must have given a more serene sight to this place of pain. I mean, that’s what an ER is. You don’t go to the ER if you’re feeling good just for a visit. And as far as I know, very few bingo games or family fun nights are held in emergency rooms.

  A nurses’ station is situated against the far wall with swinging doors branching off the room in places. We could grab a diagram here, I think looking around the room for any sign of night runners lurking in corners. I’m still in the light so I feel relatively safe. The safety of daylight is just a couple of steps behind. I’m pretty amazed at how much light is actually penetrating as I can see most everything in crystal clarity. Yeah, it’s in shades of gray but I can make out magazines strewn on the checkered linoleum floor with some still opened on the tables in front of the chairs. It’s to the point that I think I have lowered my goggles. I reach up to raise them only to discover they are already set in the upward position. I look back to see Drescoll and Lynn hovering at the front door; silhouetted against the door with the light behind.

  “Can you see the nurses’ station?” I ask.

  “Jack, I can’t see shit past the first twenty feet,” Lynn answers. “Use your goggles.”

  “Oh yeah, duh,” I reply covering the fact that I can see pretty well without them.

  “Jack, are you sure you’re okay?” Lynn asks.

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Just still stunned about the size of the place,” I say trying to cover an uneasiness that has come over me.

  I turn back around before lowering the goggles. The room is like it was; in shades of gray. I lower the goggles and turn them on. The room brightens more but only incrementally and the gray changes to green. The shock I feel has nothing to do with the enormity of the complex. I really don’t know what to make of it. I lift the goggles and they shut off. Gray replaces green but that’s about the extent of it. I’m not sure I should tell anyone.

  “You can use mine if yours aren’t working,” Drescoll says.

  “No, I’m good,” I reply. I really don’t trust myself to speak and don’t know what to do or think about this. What the fuck happened to me?

  I have a clue but I’m not about to voice it even to myself. It’s like thinking about it will bring it into reality and I’m not sure I want to do that. I can literally feel my body shaking. The filters in my mind shut out my completely focusing on it, but shit, what else is there possibly to think about that has a higher priority in my head? I hear a very faint shriek echo within the vast interior. Well, that has a higher priority, I think hearing the scream die away. It was very faint and seemed to come from the depths of the building.

  “Okay, let’s get two teams in and let me see what’s at the desk,” I say.

  I look at the enormity of the room and the many doors leading out. “Make that three,” I say. “I think someone knows we’re here. We have to make this quick.”

  “How do you know we’ve been discovered? Oh never mind. I don’t want to know,” Lynn says and turns to Drescoll. “Go get Black, Blue, and Red teams.”

  That’s not a good combo of colors, I think watching Drescoll walk quickly away from the doors. Wait, Red Team? No, wait, I think and am about to say something to Lynn before checking myself. This is only to the desk and back and the exit lies scant feet away. It’s as good an introduction as any and you can’t get much safer inside a building. The fear that momentarily struck my heart, and to be honest, still sits there, is because Bri is supposed to be attached to Gonzalez. Again that ‘no right decision quandary.’ Sure enough, Red Team approaches and there’s Bri right next to Gonzalez. I see the nervousness in Bri’s eyes. Or maybe it’s my own nervousness projecting outward.

  * * *

  Bri stands next to Gonzalez and Robert covering a section of the big parking lot. Her M-4 still is a comfort but this is the first time she’s been out as a member of a team. It was all training unt
il now. Sure, she’s been around night runners during their trek across the world and felt the fear of those long nights, but this is the first as part of a team; honorary or not.

  To Bri, Gonzalez looks relaxed but intent on scanning the area and Bri tries to mimic her. If she looks relaxed on the outside, it certainly doesn’t translate to the way she feels inside. She feels a tightness in her stomach and is apprehensive. She knows she can put a bullet on target but what if something does happen. Will she freeze? After all, the targets don’t shoot back or try to eat you. She looks to see the same relaxation in Robert. There is tension around his eyes but to all intents and purposes, he looks like he’s thinking about his favorite pizza. He’s alert but it’s a relaxed alertness.

  “Don’t worry, Bri, we’re all nervous. It’s normal,” Gonzalez says beside her as if she has read Bri’s thoughts. Robert looks over at her and gives her a verifying nod.

  The words comfort her and she feels like she can relax a little. Not much, but some. She still feels tight inside. Her thoughts go back to her training and she visualizes the scenarios Lynn put forth. She relives each one and what her reaction should be. Mostly, she will be keeping close to Gonzalez. That much her dad was very clear about. She actually feels a sense of pride fill her kneeling beside Gonzalez and Robert and being a part of a team. Not just any team but her dad’s team.

  She sees Gonzalez turn as Drescoll arrives. “Jack is gathering Red, Blue, and Black teams to go inside. They’re at the entrance door,” he says.

  “Okay, we’re on our way,” Gonzalez says and the entire teams rises.

  Bri doesn’t get up with them as she’s not sure if she should be going or if being just an honorary member, as Gonzalez put it, means not going into buildings. That part her dad was equally clear about.

  “Come on,” Gonzalez says clearing up Bri’s doubt about what she should do.

  Bri catches up with Gonzalez. “I seriously doubt your dad will let you go in but if he does, you stay close to my left side. Always,” Gonzalez says.

  Drescoll looks at Bri joining Red Team. He’s not sure if he should say something or not but then shrugs and heads over to relay Jack’s request to Horace’s team.

  They arrive at the entrance doors where Black Team has already gathered. Bri sees her dad standing just inside the doors having a conversation with Lynn. He looks at her and then resumes talking and pointing to places within the building. She can’t tell what the look meant if anything. He seems a little distant, she thinks as his gaze leaves hers and glances quickly at Robert before turning back to Lynn. Her anxiety increases. So, this is what it’s like just prior to going in a building, she thinks feeling everyone’s tension.

  Horace arrives with the rest of Blue Team. Lynn then outlines the layout of the room.

  “Red Team enters first and takes up a position thirty feet in and covers ahead. Make sure all of the doors are covered. Black is in next and to the right. Blue, to the left. Jack is going to the desk at the far end to find a building diagram. If anything happens, cover the room until Jack is through our lines then withdraw to where the floor is lit and back out,” Lynn says.

  Bri rises with the rest of Red Team. “Bri, stay here with Drescoll,” Lynn says. Bri’s shoulders slump a little but she understands. She actually wants to go in with the team. She feels that steely part, which was prevalent on the firing range, settle in.

  “It’s okay, Lynn, let her go with her team. We’re only just a step inside,” Bri hears her dad say.

  She watches as Lynn shoots him a look which he ignores. Lynn gives her a nod towards where Red Team is gathered at the door with the broken glass. Lynn takes Gonzalez aside for a moment but Bri can’t hear any of the conversation. She’s pretty sure what the gist of the talk is about though. She feels small and doesn’t like the feeling. Her heart is thudding hard as Gonzalez rejoins them.

  “Okay, you heard Lynn. Red Team, stay to the right a touch so you don’t shoot me in the ass,” her dad says.

  “I think they’re onto us. Let’s move,” her dad adds.

  With a nod from her dad, Red Teams enters. Bri stays close to Gonzalez as she enters. The darkness beyond the first few feet is complete. Bri reaches up and brings her goggles down. The room lights up in a green glow. She sees Gonzalez go down on her knees and Bri slides down beside her. She hears Robert slide into position beside her a short distance away. He lifts his M-4 and concentrates on the several doors to their immediate front. Adrenaline courses through her as she brings her own weapon up lining up the IR dot on one of the doors. She sees the thin beams of the lasers move about the far wall and doors. Duh, she thinks reaching up and turning her own IR laser on.

  “You and I will cover that main door,” Gonzalez says in her ear and points. Bri’s own thin line of light settles next to Gonzalez’. She listens as instructions are given to the other team members.

  A rush of boots and swish of clothing fills the room as the other two teams enter behind. So, this is what it’s like? Bri thinks as the sounds stop and the room goes silent. She watches as her dad walks slowly to the counter close to the wall ahead and to her left. He has his M-4 up and ready. She feels her skin prickle with each small crack or groan of the building. Her imagination turns each sound into the start of night runner hordes pouring through the doors like she’s heard in the stories others have told. She knows it’s just the building heating up with the warming of the day but that knowledge doesn’t stop her skin from jumping with each one.

  She looks down at the floor and sees a decaying body between her and Robert. Revulsion grips her insides but then she becomes intrigued and looks closer. It’s just a rib cage with the head still attached. The medium-length hair on top of its head doesn’t hide the white facial bones lying at an angle to her. The mouth is open as if in an eternal scream and shreds of skin are still attached in places. The grisly sight is almost too much but it has her attention as she wonders what it — she can’t tell if it’s was a male or female — did in life before all this happened. Did it meet a sudden and gruesome end as it looks or fall dead before being eaten? What dreams in life did it have? She shakes her head and looks back to the door.

  * * *

  The teams rush in and I see Bri hustle in behind Gonzalez, settling in right beside her and next to Robert. It’s just a quick in and out, I think watching. It’ll give her an idea of what it’s like inside a darkened night runner lair. I don’t have quite the warm, fuzzy feeling these thoughts indicate because I also have a feeling our entrance is known if the distant screams are indicative of anything. I mean, do night runners cry out in their sleep or have nightmares? I hear a repeat of that muted shriek. It seems to be closer than the last but it isn’t accompanied by the cacophony that I’ve come to know.

  With everyone in place, I step forward into a room filled with dancing beams of light. I have both of the kids inside a night runner lair. I’m not comfortable with that idea and not really sure how it came to be. I do know I should kick my own ass but on the other hand, they do need to learn. I walk to the left of Red Team kneeling on the floor and up to the counter. Behind it are two more bodies lying on the floor next to chairs that look like they’ve been kicked to random places. The whole of the interior speaks of past mayhem. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in here in the final hours. The desk itself is a mess of papers and charts. Another howl; closer this time. I brush papers off the desk frantically trying to find a diagram or directory of some sort. It’s not that important of a piece of info so I’m outta here if they do get close. I hear the pounding of feet just as I see a tan binder at the far end of the counter.

  “They’re coming,” I say feeling my boot step on one of the bodies.

  * * *

  Bri glances at her dad as he starts rifling through whatever is behind the raised portion of the counter. He looks up and toward the door she and Gonzalez are covering. He glances back down at the counter and, from the looks of it, starts sweeping things off an unseen
shelf. The next words send the adrenaline in her body into overdrive and bring rivulets of sweat to her brow.

  “They’re coming.”

  Her mind tells her to rise and flee. There’s a night runner horde on the way and it will engulf them; sweep over them like an unrelenting tide. The beating of her heart is so loud it should be shaking the building and she can feel the pulse of it in every fiber of her being. She glances at Gonzalez and notices the relaxed aspect has disappeared leaving behind a very steely expression. Her lips are tight and she is focused on the door a few feet in front of them. She glances to her dad and sees him dart to the other side of the counter. What does he see or is he running from something? He stumbles but recovers.

  A look to Robert and she sees the same tense expression. The goggles cover his eyes but she can imagine they match the tightness of his mouth. She can hear the pounding of feet and screams issuing from behind the door. Why aren’t the teams running to get out of here? She thinks and then remembers they are waiting for her dad to get back behind them. Hurry up, Dad! A mighty bang startles her out of her thoughts.

  The swinging wooden doors burst open as if by a sudden tornado. “Fire,” Bri hears Gonzalez shout. The doors banging open, Gonzalez’ shout, and the sight of night runners, pale in the green glow of the goggles, threaten to sweep her away. So many shocks at once. She feels frozen and doesn’t know what to do. This is so different than her vision of wanting to kill every night runner in existence she had such a short time ago. The kick against her shoulder feels foreign and at first, she doesn’t recognize it for what it is. Another one and she is just as surprised as when the night runners entered to find herself firing into their midst. She realizes she has been firing since the shout from Gonzalez.