A New World: Chaos (41 page)

“Yes, Sergeant Connell,” Horace responds walking over to retrieve the med kit.

Taking bandages and tape from the inside, Horace wraps Turnbull’s arm.
 
Private Turnbull then pulls his sleeve back down over the bandage.
 
All three check their ammo, insert their last fresh magazine into their receivers, and gather up their empty mags, putting them into their pockets.

“What about Private Manning?”
 
Horace asks as she pulls the flap over her pocket.

“We’ll clear the rest of the barracks, pick up my gear, and pick him up on the way out.
 
I’ll lead in the middle.
 
Corporal Horace, you are behind me on the right, Private Turnbull, behind me on the left.
 
Same plan as before.
 
Clear each cubicle on the way to the back,” Lynn says answering.
 
“If we’re attacked, fall back side by side to the door.
 
We don’t have enough ammo for a sustained assault like the last one.”

“Yes, Sergeant,” they respond and quickly take their stations moving toward the rear of the building.

Bodies litter the corridor with barely any of the concrete floor showing underneath.
 
They step over and between the bodies as they make their way back.
 
The beating of her own heart sounds loudly in
Lynn
’s ears.
 
The only other sounds are the breathing of the others and the soft step of their boots on the floor.
 
Cubicles are cleared one by one but nothing rushes out to greet them as they head toward
Lynn
’s cubicle in the rear of the building.

Just before rounding the corner leading to her cubicle,
Lynn
picks up a faint rustling sound coming from within.
 
Both Horace and Turnbull pick it up as well.
 
Three lights and barrels move in unison, focusing on the opening.
 
The bunk where Lynn’s sick roommate was the night before is empty.
 
The bunk is unmade and blankets are rumpled on top of it.
 
There is another shuffling sound from deeper within the small enclosure.
 
She motions for the other two to remain in place and cover her while she side steps across the corridor opposite the opening keeping her light and weapon trained on the cubicle entrance.
 
Crouched low,
Lynn
leans to her left bringing the entire cubicle into view.

She immediately picks up the cause of the sounds as her light catches on a figure against the back of the cubicle.
 
In a flash, Lynn recognizes it as that of her roommate, who is turned away from her against the far metal wall.
 
As soon as her light hits upon her roommate, the figure turns around quickly and, with a snarl and shriek, the gray blotchy figure launches toward
Lynn
.
 
The building interior is once again lit with triple strobes and the sound of gunfire as
Lynn
depresses the trigger of her M-16, sending three projectiles out into the space between them.
 
The three rounds converge upon the figure’s chest launching her backward and slamming her against the wall with a ringing thud.
 
Her now ex-roommate topples to the side and, after knocking against the wall locker, slips slowly to the floor.

With the return of silence to the interior, Lynn retrieves her ready pack from her bunk and they head back to the front of the building with more dog tags added to the ones gathered in her almost full pocket.
 
Shouldering their weapons, Horace and Turnbull pick up the body of Private Manning and they step out into the heat and light.
 
The transition from the cooler and darker interior causes them to blink and an immediate sheen of sweat coats their skin.
 
They set Manning’s body into the rear of the Humvee and, after replacing their depleted magazines from the ammo in the Humvee, they make their way to Horace’s barracks and then to Manning’s, encountering none of the creatures within either of them.
 
Finished with gathering their ready packs, they return to the TOC.

They are the last detail back and meet up with the rest of the group.
 
Each detail quickly shares their very similar stories.
 
In all, they lost three soldiers and have two additional wounded counting the loss of Manning and Turnbull’s injury.
 
However, they found six other very frightened and exhausted soldiers within the various barracks.
 
Mounting the vehicles once again, the group heads over to the Intel shop gathering up and destroying the sensitive documents within.
 
While there, they also try contacting other units within and outside of the camp with no success.
 
Finishing, they then head across the camp to the small airstrip and control tower.

Driving out from between buildings lining the ramp serving the airstrip, they see the control tower off to one side adjacent to the ramp.
 
The light gray concrete ramp is empty of aircraft but several ground carts and fuel trucks are parked neatly in front of one of the buildings.
 
Several other Humvees are parked in various locations in front of other buildings.
 
Bringing the small convoy to a halt on the ramp, Lynn gets out of her vehicle and studies the control tower.

It is a small portable tower; a cross between a smaller control tower and a glass enclosed RV hybrid.
 
There is an outside metal walkway encircling it and it bristles with antennae pointing skyward from on top.
 
It is mounted on top of five concrete-filled cargo containers with metal stairs running up the side to the top and the entrance.
 
The stairs are similar to external fire escapes with the bottom portion able to be raised about ten feet off the ground.
 
The entire structure is enclosed by a chain link fence in close approximation to the tower with razor wire encircling the top.

Lynn
salutes Major Bannerman as he steps up.
 
With the heat rising in waves off the concrete ramp, he returns her salute and looks toward the tower with her.
 
“I think this will make an ideal defensible structure, sir,” she says.
 
“We can hold out here for a number of days if needed and will make a logical destination for any arriving force.
 
We’ll need to clear it first though.”

“Take whomever you need and clear it, Sergeant.”

Given the small nature of the tower, Lynn selects Horace and Turnbull as part of her team having already been in action with them and knowing their reliability under fire.
 
She also selects Sergeant Drescoll to go with her.
 
She details another group to provide security around the structure outside of the fenced area and the remaining soldiers to remain in place at their current location as a reaction team.
 
With instructions in place, her team and the security detail load onto vehicles and drive slowly over to the tower line abreast.
 
Stopping just outside the fence enclosing the tower, Lynn and the rest dismount.
 
The security detail takes station around the fence and
Lynn
, along with her team, approach the gate leading inside.

The chain link gate is unlocked so she pushes the gate open and proceeds to the stairs which are currently in their down position making the upward entrance easier.

“I’ll lead up with Private Turnbull behind me.
 
Sergeant Drescoll and Corporal Horace, follow behind.
 
Once at the top, we’ll break into two groups.
 
I’ll go left on the walkway, Drescoll, take Corporal Horace and go right.
 
We’ll recon the inside from the windows meeting up on the backside.
 
If it’s clear, we’ll head through the door and clear it from the inside.
 
Anyone have any questions?”
 
She asks completing her instructions.

They all shake their heads and, with their barrels aimed upward covering their ascent, head up the stairs.
 
Each flight of stairs rise upward to a point level with the top of each container to a small landing at which the next flight begins.
 
On the first landing, a small winch housing a cable is attached to the first flight leading to it allowing it to be raised and lowered.
 
The sound of their steps on the metal stairs is drowned out by the sound of a generator on the ground behind the tower.

Leaving the stairs in their lowered position, Lynn and her team proceed upward.
 
With the heat index now rising above 110 degrees, they are bathed in sweat by the time they reach the top.
 
The low humidity and high heat work with each other to claim the moisture from their bodies; the heat making them sweat and the low humidity wicking it away almost as soon as it appears leaving them feeling dry and parched.

At the top of the stairs, the metal grating and barred railings of the outside walkway leads off the left and right around the tower.
 
The windows of the tower angle outward and are tinted making it difficult to see directly in from their position.
 
They break into their respective groups and proceed up to and around the tower.
 
Lynn
peeks in the windows to her immediate front, cupping one hand to allow better vision within.
 
The front interior facing the runway is filled with consoles running around the front and sides of the main tower room.
 
To the rear, a small hallway opens off from the main room and seems to lead to the back of the tower.
 
Doors open up to the outside walkway on both sides of the control room close to the rear of the room.
 
There is no movement or signs of anyone inside other than Drescoll peering in the window opposite her.
 
Continuing around the tower, windows open up into two rooms at the rear of the facility; one is an office and the other sleeping quarters housing two bunks.

“I don’t see anyone inside,” she says meeting up with Drescoll at the rear of the small tower.

“Me either,” he says in return.

“Let’s head in both doors and do a quick check down the hallway.”

Drescoll nods and they both retrace their steps to the entrance doors.
 
Peeking in the small window set in the door and with one hand on the handle, she checks the door assuring herself that it is unlocked before looking over at Drescoll peering in the door on the other side.
 
Giving him a nod, they both open their doors and quickly step into the coolness of the room.
 
The light from the outside illuminates the entire room but in a dimmed fashion due to the tinted windows.
 
The control panels are lit with both steady and flashing lights and a panel against the rear wall houses a radar scope, its lighter green line rotating around the scope.
 
The fact that the radar and lights are working gives the indication that the generator outside provides power to the tower.
 
The closing of the outside doors shuts off the sound of the generator running outside.

They step into the hallway leading to the back.
 
The hallway extends all of the way to the rear of the tower with four doors leading off it; two to each side.
 
They check each door and find a small latrine behind the first door to the right.
 
The first one on the left leads to a small storage area with the two at the rear leading to the office and sleeping quarters.
 
Back in the main control room,
Lynn
sees a pull-down ladder leading to a trap door set in the ceiling.
 
She pulls the steps down and proceeds up them to the trap door.
 
Turning the handle on the trap door, she opens it and hot sunlight pours through the opening.
 
She climbs out onto the roof.

The flat roof is covered with large and small antennae towards the front along with the rotating arm of the radar.
 
From her vantage point, she sees almost the entire encampment with its lines of tan convex buildings in neat, orderly rows.
 
Main avenues divide the groups of buildings and lead to the various zones of the camp.
 
Far off in a corner of the camp, she can make out a section of storage containers piled on top of each other and vehicles are scattered throughout.
 
In some places, she sees what appear to be very small shapes of bodies lying on the avenues and small alleys between buildings.

An ocean of sand stretches outside of the camp in each direction, merging with the horizon in all directions.
 
Other than the occasional bird flitting here and there and the group standing around the Humvees on the ramp, there is not a thing moving.
 
The only sound disturbing the surreal quietness around her is the generator running some fifty feet below her and out of sight against the containers.