The Dark

by Jason Brant

  “How did this start?” Aaron asked finally.

  “Aberdeen Proving Ground,” Walter said. “I saw the entire thing from my boat. The darkness started there and then spread over the rest of the city. Who knows what those bastards were up to.”

  Chapter 12

  The whoop of a helicopter’s rotors passed overhead as it flew toward Aberdeen.

  Miles and McKenzie craned their necks, watching the bird as it approached the sheet of darkness.

  “I think they’re going in,” McKenzie said, more to himself than Miles.

  Only a single flashing light on the bottom of the helicopter made it visible. They flew low, a few hundred feet above the ground.

  “Officer! Can you reach them on your radio?” Miles cupped his hands around his mouth, trying to shout over the drone of the helicopter. “Tell them not to go in there!”

  The civilian being dragged into the darkness had shocked all of them. No one had moved for a full five seconds before pandemonium erupted. The rest of the onlookers fled, screaming and wailing in random directions. The officers stayed by their cars, drawing their weapons and shouting incoherent orders at each other.

  Miles and McKenzie had shared a look of fear and awe. Even though they thought they knew what Operation Doorway was trying to accomplish, they had never expected anything like this. It defied logic. Hell, it defied imagination.

  One of the police officers turned around, raising a hand by his ear. “What? I can’t hear you?”

  Sergeant Miles pointed at the helicopter. “Get them on the radio!”

  It was too late.

  The bird passed through the veil.

  It banked hard, veering east. The flashing light on its underside disappeared as the helicopter flipped, plummeting to the ground.

  A ball of fire erupted as it crashed less than a hundred yards past the line of darkness. The flames illuminated the surrounding area.

  McKenzie spotted a handful of cars sporadically placed along the road. From what little he could see, it looked as if the area shrouded in darkness remained intact, but the residents were gone.

  “Holy shit.” Miles’ jaw hung so low it almost unhinged.

  A bright light from behind them cast their shadows forward. Two people moved past them – a reporter and his cameraman. The reporter squawked into a microphone, shuffling backward as he tried to stay in the camera’s frame.

  “The explosion you just witnessed came from a helicopter that just fell from the sky! We don’t know exactly what is happening, but I, James Walton, will be here feeding you the news as it comes in.”

  McKenzie had seen this yahoo on the late news several times before. He came across as a self-important, grandiose fool. His over dramatizations of small events became grating after only a few minutes. Seeing him here, as they fell into an episode of The X-Files, made the colonel cringe. The last thing they needed to deal with was this knucklehead.

  The colonel trotted after them, grabbing the cameraman’s shoulder and spinning him around. The bright light atop the camera blinded him for a moment, forcing him to squint through its glare.

  “Hey—” Walton started back to them, his brow furrowing in anger.

  “Shut up, dipshit.” McKenzie turned his attention to lens of the camera. “The city of Aberdeen is under quarantine. Do not attempt to go into the city under any circumstances. Anyone caught within a half mile of the city limits will be arrested immediately. I repeat, Aberdeen is under quarantine.”

  He had no authority to say or do anything about their situation. His superiors would be there soon and would probably put him under arrest for what he had just said. Still, he felt that he had to do something from a moral standpoint. Having people running into the dark, getting taken by God knows what, was something he couldn’t stomach.

  “And who the hell are you?” Walton asked, stepping beside his associate, thrusting his microphone in the colonel’s face.

  “No one of importance. Don’t go beyond this point, or I’ll have your ass arrested too.”

  “You can’t suppress the media. Our first amendment rights—”

  “Sergeant, move this jackass back.”

  Miles grabbed both men by their shirt collars and pulled them behind McKenzie. The reporters grumbled and swore, tripping over each other as they were dragged away.

  If he hadn’t been in deep shit before, he would be now. The Pentagon, or whoever was running the show, would have his balls for what he just said into that camera. They were already discharging him for asking questions – what would they do to him for this?

  He pushed his personal concerns aside and tried to focus on the problems at hand.

  Had everyone in Aberdeen disappeared? The fire from the helicopter allowed them to see that physical objects were still there, but not the people. What did that mean?

  McKenzie’s mind reeled at the possibilities.

  “Colonel, I hate to question you, but was that a wise move?” Miles asked as he came back.

  “Wise for me? No. But you saw what happened just now. We need to keep people as far away from here as possible. If that means throwing myself under the bus, then so be it.”

  Sergeant Miles nodded. “Yes sir.”

  “Beyond that, I’m at a loss. Any suggestions?”

  Chattering between three police officers caught McKenzie’s attention. They were shouting at each other, tempers flaring. One of them took aim and fired his pistol at the area where the civilian had disappeared.

  McKenzie stormed across the two dozen feet between them and towered over the officer. “Are you fucking retarded?”

  “What?” The officer tried to puff his chest out, obviously unused to being spoken to in such a manner.

  “Are you mentally fucking ill?”

  “You can’t talk to me like—”

  “You just shot the air, as if you expected something to happen.”

  “I shot at whatever took that man!”

  “You shot at a big shadow! What did you think that would accomplish? How did you know you wouldn’t make the situation worse? Have you ever seen something like this before? How do you know that guy isn’t still over there somewhere? There could be civilians hiding, and you’re shooting your gun like a moron.”

  “I—”

  “Why don’t you do something of value and use your spotlights? Get as much light in this area as possible.” McKenzie didn’t wait for a response before heading back to where Miles stood, trying to contain a smile. The colonel called over his shoulder to the officer. “And if you shoot at nothing again, I’m going to shove that gun up your ass.”

  McKenzie could hear the cop grumbling, but he paid it little heed.

  “You’re really giving the locals a piece of your mind.” The grin finally cracked Miles’ face.

  “The guy shot a shadow. I’m as freaked out as anyone, but this kind of stupidity is going to get more people killed.”

  The rumble of large diesel engines came from down the road. McKenzie didn’t need to look to tell that they were government issue. He was surprised that it had taken them so long to show up. They’d just lost an entire military post after all.

  “Do you think everyone is dead, sir?” Miles’ smile had evaporated.

  The colonel crossed his arms over his chest and lowered his eyes. From the moment the man had been taken, McKenzie realized that anyone caught in the darkness was gone. The power outage killing all of the lights meant the likelihood of there being any survivors was slim.

  Both Miles and he had several friends and colleagues that worked on APG. They could only hope that most of them were at home, somewhere outside of Aberdeen, when the incident had occurred.

  “I don’t know, Sergeant.”

  They both knew that was a lie.

  Dozens of black SUV’s pulled up behind them, parking in the middle of the road. The colonel took a deep breath, knowing he would need all of his patience to get through this, and turned to meet his government contemporaries.


  A short, out of shape man with wire-rimmed glasses and male-pattern baldness stepped from the lead vehicle. Others followed him, falling in line behind him as if they were squires following their king. McKenzie thought that was probably not too far off.

  “Why did I just see you on the news, speaking on behalf of the United States government?” the man asked. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Colonel John McKenzie.”

  One of the subordinates whispered in the bald man’s ear. Baldie straightened his tie and looked McKenzie over from head to toe. “So, you’re the man who was removed from his position. Where’s your uniform, Colonel?”

  McKenzie felt his blood pressure rise. He didn’t take guff from civilians, no matter who they were. Some pencil-pushing pentagon shill might think he was hot shit, but that didn’t make it so. McKenzie had been in more firefights than he cared to count and he wasn’t going to take a browbeating from a man whose combat experience consisted of playing Halo.

  “I see that my reputation precedes me. And my uniform is none of your concern.”

  “Oh, yes. I know exactly who you are. Who do you think ended your career? You’re a grunt, Colonel. A grunt that never seems to know his place.”

  Five feet of pavement was all that stood between them. McKenzie figured he could cross the gap and get two or three good shots in before Baldie’s goons got their hands on him. It might be worth it.

  “Maybe I am a grunt.” He pointed at the powerless city behind him. “But it seems like my concerns were valid. You guys were fucking with things you couldn’t possibly understand, weren’t you? That’s why you shit on my career – you didn’t like me figuring out just how stupid you really are.”

  The short little bastard yawned. “Arrest these two.”

  Two men, both the size of the Jolly Green Giant, came forward, grabbing Miles and McKenzie by the shoulders.

  “I’m not just going to end your career – I’m going to put you into a dark little hole somewhere. You’re going to wish you’d kept your mouth shut.”

  McKenzie knew that he shouldn’t be surprised by the man’s arrogance, but he was nonetheless. Thousands of people had probably just died because of an ill-conceived experiment and this guy was more concerned with having a dick-measuring contest.

  Handcuffs cinched around his wrists as the colonel glared at Baldie. “You think arresting me is a good idea? Are you not seeing what’s happening here? I’ve been in the deep shit before – I can help.”

  “And what is a grunt going to do against this?” The man swept his hand toward the darkness. “Are you going to swear at it? Maybe point a few guns? We’ve been monitoring this situation since it happened, Colonel. You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

  “Considering you just lost an entire city, I’d say that you don’t know what you’re dealing with either. You know, it’s people like you that always get innocents killed. Pencil necks like you are always messing with things that are better left alone. You have to poke and prod. It’s in your nature to want to conquer anything that is beyond you. You don’t understand it, so you have to tear it down. How many more people are going to die tonight because of your Napoleon complex?”

  Miles stood in awe of the colonel’s rant, as did the other government officials that surrounded them.

  “John... can I call you John? People like me make the hard decisions that put people like you in war zones. You don’t like it because you’re a simple man. You see the world in black and white.”

  He looked at McKenzie like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. “I think I’m going to put your wife in a nice hole alongside you. Someone should keep you company.”

  McKenzie did his best to ignore that last jab. “Hard decisions? Look at what you’ve done! You might as well have dropped a bomb on Aberdeen.”

  “What I’ve done? What exactly do you think has happened here, John?”

  “Operation Doorway. You were trying to—”

  Baldie gave his behemoths a curt nod.

  Pain exploded in McKenzie’s jaw.

  Star bursts flashed in his vision.

  His knees buckled.

  And he was gone.

  Chapter 13

  Walter stuck his mouth under the nozzle on the water cooler, relishing the feel of the cool liquid on his parched throat.

  For the past five minutes they had shared their survival stories. Each had been fortunate enough to have a battery-powered light source.

  The teenagers sat on the floor, huddled together, their arms wrapped around each other.

  Aaron clearly had a crush on the pretty Stephanie, though she seemed completely oblivious to the fact.

  Their situation reminded Walter of his own early romance with his wife. He’d been enamored with her from the moment they’d met. She hadn’t given him the time of day. For a full month he’d asked her out, called her home, and spoke to her friends – using any resource available to pull her to him.

  He’d practically been a stalker.

  Later on in their marriage she’d tried to deny that she hadn’t been interested him initially. Walter smiled at her, appreciating her attempt at revisionist history, and told her she was full of it. But that was how they were. He’d loved her truly and completely the second he’d seen her. She took a little longer to come around.

  Looking down at Aaron and Stephanie, he wondered if the trajectory they would follow might be similar.

  Assuming they survived their present circumstances.

  “So you think that a secret military experiment caused this?” Stephanie asked.

  She sounded incredulous, though the situation they found themselves in should have allayed any questions as to what was possible. If the darkness surrounding them was some kind of a living thing, then the government having secrets shouldn’t be a stretch.

  “Short of believing in crazy lady’s Hell theory, what do you think this is?” Walter asked her.

  “This is like the Philadelphia Experiment.” Aaron’s cheeks reddened a bit at his suggestion, but he held Walter’s gaze nonetheless.

  “The what?” Christy asked.

  “That’s a false story, Aaron. A ridiculous tale, actually.” Walter pulled a chair out from under a desk and sat down, sighing at the pain in his back.

  “More ridiculous than this?” Aaron asked.

  “Does someone want to fill me in here?” Christy chewed on her lower lip, looking back and forth from Aaron to Walter.

  “I don’t know what that is either,” Stephanie said.

  “It’s a stupid science fiction story that—”

  Aaron cut Walter off, his excitement for his theory showing on his face.

  “The Philadelphia Experiment happened in the forties or fifties—”

  “Supposedly in the forties,” Walter said. “It’s not true though.”

  “—when the Navy tried to cloak a ship.”

  “Cloak? You mean make it invisible?” Stephanie asked. She turned toward Aaron, giving him her full attention.

  “Exactly. The Navy tried to bend light around a ship, making it invisible to the naked eye. When they tried the experiment, the ship did disappear, but when it reappeared some of the sailors on board had fused into the hull. Others had lost their minds.”

  “Aaron—”

  The teen continued, undeterred. “So it sort of worked, but the Navy wasn’t satisfied. They made some adjustments and tried again, but this time the ship didn’t just disappear, it teleported somewhere else.”

  “Where did it go?” Christy asked.

  “Florida or something like that,” Aaron said.

  “Virginia.” Walter didn’t want to give credence to the story, yet he found himself helping with the ‘facts’. He shook his head at his hypocrisy.

  “Yeah, Virginia. Anyway, it lasted for a couple of seconds and then reappeared in Philadelphia. They say that the crew was totally messed up.”

  “I just want to make sure that everyone knows that story is bullshi
t. There has never been a shred of evidence that the Philadelphia Experiment ever happened. It’s crazy and ludicrous.”

  “Crazy like the dark trying to kill us?” Christy asked.

  Damn it.

  How could he argue with that? Here he was, trying to tell them that some kind of explosion on the military post had caused their present peril, and at the same time arguing that a story about government experiments was ridiculous. Logic didn’t apply here. That was something he still struggled with.

  “Touché.”

  “Holy shit. This is like Croatoan!” Aaron pumped his fist in the air before wincing and lowering his arm back to his wounded side.

  “Aaron, please stop—”

  “What is Croatoan?” Stephanie asked.

  Walter closed his eyes. He wanted to argue with the boy, but he found it hard to use reason and not speculation at a time like this. Could anything he said explain away what was happening to them? Even if Aaron wanted to blame it all on aliens, how could Walter prove otherwise?

  “There’s this island off of... uhh...” Aaron looked to Walter for help.

  “North Carolina,” Walter sighed. “Roanoke Island.”

  “This island off of North Carolina. These settlers started a colony there in the fifteen hundreds. The local Native Americans were hostile to them so they sent a dude back to England to get some help. I can’t remember why, but it took the guy like three years to come back. When he did, everyone was gone. I mean totally gone. The cabins had been taken down. There weren’t any signs of a battle or a massacre – nothing. Carved into a tree nearby was the word ‘Croatoan’. The entire village had disappeared.”

  “Holy shit,” Christy said. “Just like Aberdeen. Just like us.”

  “Aaron is being a little liberal with his facts, but he’s got the basic idea.”

  “Seriously?” Stephanie asked. “That story is real? The entire town was gone?”

  “It’s true. It’s referred to as the Lost Colony,” Walter said. “There was the Croatoan Island nearby though – some think that the colony integrated with the locals there.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Christy said. “We’re going to be a conspiracy theory.”