John O'Brien - Reckoning

With Lynn driving and the others in the bed, the truck creeps forward. Bri and I walk alongside, staying behind the cover it affords. A portion of the fence has been pushed inward, toppling a large section of it to the ground. Lynn drives the truck over the top. Bri and I step over the chain links trying to do our very best to keep from getting snagged by the barbed wire that once lined the top.

Walking between a couple of outlying buildings near the fence, each gutted by fire, we cross a drive that circles the main structure. The pickup halts and Red Team exits. With the team providing cover and my M-4 at the ready, I cautiously approach the window, walking toward it from the side to provide the best cover.

As I approach, I note the trails of smoke rising up the sides of the building from each of the windows, partially faded from rains that must have swept through the area. The breeze carries a hint of smoke, like a faint lingering odor of burning brakes. As I noticed earlier, there is very little glass remaining in the windows. What is left has turned opaque and is melted along the edges, the sharp corners rounded.

Stacked next to the window, I call out. My voice echoes inside and is quickly carried away on the strong wind. Receiving no response, I take my signal mirror and edge it around the corner, turning it back and forth to view the entire inside. There are only piles of debris. Feeling the thud of my heartbeat, I round on the window with my carbine pointing inward. Checking the sides, up and down, I only see a mix of shadows and light. Nothing moves.

Looking to the floor just inside the window to see if I can spot any tracks, I’m startled by the sight of a skeletal body. Strips of desiccated sinew cling to parts of the skull with remnants of long brown hair still attached. Tattered clothing hangs to the body in places with more strewn throughout the room. The rest of the body has been stripped clean.

It’s lying under the window on a pile of bricks, concrete slabs, and pieces of lumber that escaped the flames. The fact that it’s on the debris and the bones aren’t burnt means that this person died here after the fire. The condition of the body makes it obvious that night runners were here…or still are.

I open up my senses and feel the presence of several night runners nearby. They appear to be almost directly below and are definitely within the confines of the building. There must be a basement that they are using as a lair. I motion the others forward and relate my perceptions.

The wind blows through the open windows, creating a low, moan-like howl through the building, much like the sound of blowing across an empty Coke bottle. The movement—and I want to say person—I saw definitely came from this window. However, there aren’t any tracks or sounds. If there was, I should be able to hear and smell them even through the lingering odor of the smoke. There isn’t a sign that anyone is here, other than a pack of night runners below.

The sound of the wind moaning through the building, the destruction within, and the body below where I saw the ‘person’ contributes to an eerie feeling that sends chills racing up my spine.

“Are you seeing ghosts again, Jack?” Lynn asks.

“Apparently,” I answer, peering into the building.

I call inside once again. No answer. We walk around the building, keeping a sharp eye and our weapons on the open windows as we pass.

The front of the building has double, full-paned entry doors that have been twisted out of shape. Like the windows, the glass is missing from the entrance. Peering inside, debris covers a lobby that served as an entryway, with still more strewn in the hallways beyond. Light shows brightly through the collapsed roof. Several slabs of concrete hang from above, attached only by strings of rebar. The upper floors have been entirely burned away leaving an unobstructed view of the sky and what remains of the roof. Many of the concrete structural support walls have fallen, creating large debris fields spanning across hallways and rooms. Once more, I call inside without hearing a response.

“Are you sure you saw someone?” Lynn asks.

“I don’t know. I suppose it could have been a trick of the light, but I swear someone, or something, was there,” I answer.

“Are we going in, Dad?” Bri asks.

“I don’t know. Surely if there was someone in there, they would have responded. The smoke masks some of the scent, but I’m pretty sure I would smell something, or at least hear if someone was inside. Also, the floor may have been damaged. The debris can be covering weaknesses or holes,” I reply. “Plus, I really don’t want to dawdle here for long.”

Bri shrugs and turns to descend the steps leading to the entrance. The rest of us turn to follow. Deep within the building, from one of the upper levels, I hear the sound of a large rock rolling and bouncing down the debris. My heart beats with a solid thump as adrenaline shoots through my body. We all turn to the noise, going to our knees and bringing our M-4s to bear. There’s a muffled scurrying sound from somewhere in the back and above before everything goes quiet once again.

It takes a few seconds for us to recover from the initial shock of the sound. Our fingers shy away from the triggers but keep them close.

“Well?” Lynn whispers.

“Could have been from anything?” I respond, still hesitant to enter the building.

“That was a big ass rock that moved. And something heavy was moving afterwards,” Lynn states.

“Be that as it may, if anyone is in there and they were interested in talking to us, they would have done so already. Anything could have dislodged the rock. I think we find trouble enough without having to actively go looking for it,” I state.

“Alright, Jack. For once we happen to agree. We’ll just leave your mystery as is.”

We rise and turn to go. As I put my boot down on the first step, I hear what sounds like a muffled cough. It’s so faint that I doubt anyone else heard it. Spinning around, I see startled faces reacting to my abrupt turn. I stare past them to the inside of the building.

“What is it, Jack?” Lynn asks.

“Shhhh…”

I strain, listening to see if I can hear something else. There, the same sound. It definitely seems like something is trying to conceal the noise.

“Do you hear that?” I ask, whispering.

“No, Jack, I don’t hear a thing except the wind blowing. What do you hear?” Lynn answers.

“Anyone else?” I ask, putting off Lynn’s question for the moment.

Each of the others shakes their head.

“I swear there’s someone in there. I heard them try to cover up a cough, twice.”

“What do you think?” Lynn asks.

“Fuck it, let’s take a look, but we’re not going far,” I say. “Spread out once we get inside. Keep in sight of each other and watch your footing.”

Entering through one of the glassless entry doors, I step over a small pile of bricks. Most of the interior has fallen in on itself, creating large open areas surrounded by the partial remains of concrete support walls and the outer brick ones. Several large beams, scorched by the fire yet not completely burned through, lean at angles against the remaining walls or stick out from deep piles of wreckage. To me, it resembles a bombed out building. The feel of the place is like walking into an abandoned factory …one of those places that seem to carry the ghosts of activity, hidden from sight but still present within the emptiness, as if there is a thin line separating this time from then, that any moment you might see the outline of workers crossing the floor.

One of my initial steps disturbs a brick, shifting it against another one. A flock of pigeons takes wing from high above, startling the shit out of me. I flinch and crouch down, close to feeling a warm trickle flow down my leg.