A New World: Taken (13 page)

I hear a shuffling of feet.
 
I’m surprised I can hear them over the pounding in my head and I notice the scratch on my neck burns a little more than usual.
 
I shrink further against the corner making sure not to put too much pressure against the dumpster.
 
The last thing I want is to press too hard and cause it to move.
 
Not like I’m the man of steel but the thought forms anyway.
 
I hear the shuffling draw closer but don’t see anything appear at the corner.
 
Odd
, I think.
 
I should see something as the sound seems to be coming from just around the corner.
 
I fold quickly to the opposite side of the dumpster and become just another dark space in the corner.

A minute passes.
 
I take out my signal mirror, move forward, and hold it toward the bottom of the large green dumpster.
 
A light forms at the corner of the building, swaying back and forth slightly; common to a flashlight being held by someone walking.
 
Great.
 
We sure missed any roving patrols
.
 
I’m not sure this area was visible from our position but we should have spotted lights moving about.
 
Perhaps it’s not a regular patrol.
 
Maybe the tower did report something odd when the light stopped behind me and someone is checking it out.

The light pans across the trees I was in a few moments ago and then sweeps in my direction.
 
I pull the mirror back in order not to cast a reflection and move back to the corner.
 
Stowing the mirror, I grip my M-4; keeping it closer in order not to create a larger profile but ready to use.
 
The light casts its beam on the dumpster; illuminating the ground directly in front of me, creating a shadow of the dumpster that envelops me.
 
I slowly reach down and quietly loosen the knife wrapped around my ankle.
 
This is the part of my winging it, the aspect Lynn so fondly referred to, that I’m not a big fan of; the waiting for a situation to develop.

The light begins to swing.
 
Whoever is holding it is on the move again.
 
It’s not aimed directly at the dumpster anymore but the round spot is on the ground directly in front of me.
 
It does move forward with each slight sway of the light.
 
I’m not overly worried about whoever is holding the light, unless there is more than one, but more of what will happen afterward if I have to take them out.
 
Will they make a lot of noise, which I can minimize to an extent if I don’t have to fire, or will the flashlight beam bounce and catch the attention of the tower guards?
 
Crazier things have happened.
 
This is one time I wish I had three arms and hands.
 
But I’m stuck with the two I came with.
 
One will be guiding the knife and the other to prevent a scream the “guiding” will most likely produce.
 
I would use my suppressed sidearm but I want to completely minimize sound and the flash, although limited, may catch someone’s attention.

The light continues to advance along with the faint swish of feet moving through the grass.
 
A foot steps into my view by the outside corner of my little hideaway.
 
This is quickly followed by another foot swinging in step and the guard comes fully into view.
 
I keep my head lowered yet keep the guard in view through the top of my goggles.
 
Any facial registration of surprise or head movement in my direction on his part will cause an eruption of movement on mine.

He is carrying a pistol in one hand but in a relaxed manner.
 
He also has a bolt-action rifle slung over his shoulder.
 
This is indicative that he isn’t expecting anything but this doesn’t make me relax any.
 
My heart is pounding with the increase in adrenaline which isn’t doing my head any good.
 
I don’t notice as most of my focus is directed to the ten feet in front of me.
 
He stops.

Sliding his handgun into the holster, he reaches into an upper pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes.
 
Cradling the flashlight in the crook of his arm, he pulls one out and jams it between his lips.
 
A flare of light from a lighter follows.
 
I’m thankful for the light he has chosen to shine in his own eyes killing any night vision he may have acquired.
 
The cigarette flares in the view from my goggles, he gathers his semi-auto pistol, and moves on leaving a trail of cigarette smoke scent behind.

Idiot
, I think.
 
You really have no grasp or concept of night runners
.
 
If a horde truly gathers and there is no telling if or when that could happen, as they are wily, this place will be overrun in moments.
 
The thought penetrates that I should just take care of him here and now as that kind of stupidity or carelessness shouldn’t be allowed to propagate any further.
 
I am relieved that he moves on though.
 
He rounds the corner and disappears from sight.
 
I still hear the swishing of his feet moving through the grass for a short time and then all is still again.
 
I slide my knife back firmly into the sheath.

I wonder if he is doing circuits of the gym, the entire campus, or if it is a one-shot deal.
 
I radio Greg and advise him of the guard.
 
Edging to the corner where the guard went, I am just in time to see him swing one of the gym entrance doors open and disappear inside.
 
The soft tink of the door closing reaches my ears moments later.
 
I notice a light over the top of the door casting a large spot of light around the entrance.
 
Well, that way is out
, I think slinking back to the dumpster.

Gathering my thoughts, I crouch to the opposite corner of the gym wall and peek around the corner.
 
There is another light by the opposite entrance to the gym but the door to the pool, lying closer to my position, is concealed in shadows.
 
That’s my way in
.

I quickly move against the wall to the door and listen.
 
The gray metal door doesn’t disclose anything that may lie inside.
 
I crack the door thankful it’s unlocked.
 
There’s no sound and I see the soft shimmering of water reflecting off the concrete brick walls.
 
I open the door and slip inside coming to a crouch just inside.
 
The lights of the large pool are on.
 
Ribbons and streams of light from the pool bounce off the ceiling and walls reminiscent of an aurora borealis light show.

A small office jutting out onto the concrete flooring is dark as are the entrances to the locker rooms and showers on the far end to the left.
 
Okay, let’s do this
, I think observing no movement within.
 
The lights from the pool are my only company.
 
I walk quickly in a crouch across the hard floor, making sure to keep my footfalls silent, and come to rest against the wall leading to the first locker room.
 
The problem with these concrete enclosures is the complete lack of anything to absorb sound.
 
And sound bounces off water to a greater extent.
 
Have you ever been out on a boat in the middle of a lake where you can hear voices from a campground far away?
 
It’s the same with locker rooms; nothing to absorb sound.
 
This is either a benefit or liability depending on the situation.

Nothing but a slow drip of water comes from within.
 
I slide into the dark room.
 
I feel anxious about being in a dark interior but that is only from prior experiences with night runners.
 
I’m pretty sure there aren’t any night runners about so I shake off the increase in anxiety.
 
I don’t know what’s worse; marauders with guns or night runners.
 
At least I know about the marauders, along with a little more knowledge about their capabilities, and human nature to an extent so I think I’ll take them over the night runners.
 
Yeah, I’ll take that any day.

The usual showers along one wall with stalls, sinks, and benches fill the interior.
 
A wheeled basket with towels is shoved up against one wall.
 
The smell of soap and the humid nature of the room let me know it’s been used recently.
 
This must be where they take the “captives” after their meals and let them clean up.
 
A pile of dirty clothes sits in one of the corners.
 
I slink through the room to the other entrance door.

I know there is a long hallway past the door leading to the entrance doors of the gym.
 
There are also doors at the far ends that lead into the gym entrance foyers.
 
I crack the door and put my signal mirror out into the hall.
 
I would use the fiberscope but the doors are too tight fitting.
 
The hall appears dark with exit lights shining at either end.
 
A small amount of light streams in from small windows inset into the gym entrance doors and hits the wall in an elongated rectangle.
 
Most importantly, no one is in the hall.
 
There aren’t any places of cover though.
 
From here on out, if I encounter anyone armed, they go down.

My thumb caresses the selector switch making sure I’m on semi.
 
If I do meet up with anyone in the hall, hopefully the sound will be contained within.
 
I can switch to auto if needed but the sound of one round is much different than that of auto fire and can be dismissed by anyone hearing.
 
With a deep sigh, I snake into the hall.
 
Next time, I’m going to be the one sitting on a hill watching others do this
.

I creep down the hall with periodic looks behind.
 
Nearing the light from the door’s window casting a dim outline of the window against the opposite wall, I ready myself for it to swing open.
 
That seems to be the way my luck runs.
 
I sneak a peek through the window.
 
The mirror might cast a reflection inside so I use my Mark 1 eyeball.
 
The gym is dimly lit by a few overhead lights hanging from the ceiling far above.
 
A row of folded bleachers sits just inside with cots spread in lines across the wooden floor.
 
Lumps on the cots indicate they are occupied.
 
An upper gym overlooks the main gym on the far side and two guards stand by metal railings.
 
I look at the lumps on the cots searching for a telltale head.
 
Those I can see appear to be males.

There, on the second cot down in the first line of cots closest to me, is the familiar short hair of Robert.
 
My heart soars at the sight of him.
 
The thought of darting in, grabbing him and vanishing in the darkness of the compound enters my mind.
 
Or, I could take the guards out and do the same.
 
This thought however subsides as there is Bri, Michelle, and Gonzalez to get out as well.
 
Any action taken now will result in our presence becoming known and make it more than doubly difficult to get any of them out.

I head to the doors a short distance away at the end of the hall.
 
The metal doors, with larger panes of glass set into their upper frames, look over the entrance foyer.
 
Two guards sit in plastic chairs by the front entrance.
 
I’m conscious of the one roving guard from earlier and check the hall behind.
 
Empty.
 
I head back to the door to the gym.
 
Waiting for the guards overlooking the main gym to both have their attention focused elsewhere, I slip inside and ease the door shut as I fold into shadows of the bleachers where they meet the wall.

I turn off and raise my goggles.
 
The inside is in fact very dimly lit but I’m able to see clearly regardless.
 
I kneel and wait for another opportunity.
 
I may not be able to take Robert out on this trip but I at least want him to know I’m here.
 
The guards become involved in a conversation and I slide out to the first cot, coming to rest on my stomach adjacent to it.
 
The cot shields me from the guards above should they look in this direction.

“Mister, what are you doing?”
 
A voice whispers just above me.

I look up and see the face of a young lad peering down at me.
 
“Shhhh…
 
Lie back on your cot and go back to sleep,” I whisper.
 
The face sinks back to the cot.

I look to Robert on the next cot down.
 
He is looking right at me and smiling, apparently alerted by the youth above me talking.
 
I place my fingers on my lips and he nods.
 
I raise my head a touch and see the guards still locked in conversation.
 
I slowly slide until I’m next to Robert; our heads only a foot away.