John O'Brien - Reckoning

Checking the gauges and our flight path, I settle into my seat and turn to the first legible writing.

…writing this. It’s probably a waste of time, but I have to do something to keep myself occupied. There are long moments between scavenging and nightfall and I’ll go crazy if I don’t do something…

…was in the USAF. No biggy. It’s…

…canned goods are running out. I’ll have to start looking through the neighbor’s houses soon. That’s a hell of a walk though. I suppose I’ll have to fire up the old truck. I’m not…

I heard those things closer last night. Their screams are as annoying as fuck and kept me up. I hope they don’t make it all of the way out here. I’ve seen what they can do. When I went to see…

It’s been a while since writing here. The food ran out and I made some runs to Tom’s and Sam’s. Cleaned them out and running low again. Worked on barricading the old place as those things seem to be spreading out. I haven’t seen any near here yet, but they seem to be getting closer each night. I’m going to have to run into town and get some supplies there. The well is holding up so I just need food. I’ll start with the houses on the outskirts. I hope th…

That didn’t work out so well. Pulled a few items from some houses and ran into a group of people in the area. I guess they didn’t appreciate me taking stuff from ‘their territory’. By heading through backyards, I managed to eventually lose them. This fucking leg of mine made it hard. Broke my fucking knee when a Humvee clipped it while in the sandbox during Desert Storm and it’s never been the same. Of all the luck, in a war zone and I get hit by our own security. Fuckin…

…the group driving around during the day. They haven’t found my place yet, but I need to do something soon. It’s them during the day and those fucking shrieking things by night. It’s pretty obvious they don’t come out during the day. I’m beginning to wonder if there isn’t something about daylight they don’t like. Maybe UV rays? I have a couple UV lights, but I don’t know if that will work. Thought about going out to scavenge at night and using those but I am reluctant to try. If I’m wrong, well, I only get one chance considering what I saw them do to Tom and his family. I may ha…

…going to have to figure out something else. Those creatures found the house and damn near got in last night. Pulled the boards right off the walls. Had to hold them off on the stairs with my shotgun. What a fucking mess. I should have had those UV lights with me. Not sure they would have worked though. Those motherfuckers are fast. Heard them on the roof too. And those other scumbags drove too close for comfort about an hour ago. I’m gathering my shit and heading to the maintenance hangar where I have worked since leaving the AF. That will be a more secur…

Set up shop. It took some doing, but I’m settling here in the hangar. It’s a little better than the house. It will be harder scavenging but hopefully I’ll be left alone out here. I fucking hate crowds and it seems even more crowded since this shit went down. I don’t even know why I continue writing in this thing. Keeps me sane I guess. Tomorrow I’ll se…

…lost this thing. It’s been several days. I suppose I should keep track of them but couldn’t really be bothered. Ran out of supplies and emptied the vending machine. Damn they make those tough to get into. The pipe wrench I used damn near hit me in the head when I swung at the Plexiglas. Luckily there’s a well with a hand pump close by. Those fucking things keep trying to get in every night. So far I’ve been able to keep them out, but they are persistent motherfuckers. They have to be in one of the buildings on the airfield. They keep me up all night and I’m starting to feel the lack of sleep. I’m going to have to do someth…

This idea didn’t work out so well. I set fire to the hangars on the west side hoping to get rid of any place that those things can hide out in. Earlier I burned the guard base buildings and had no problems there. I was going to burn each hangar individually but the fucking wind shifted. Now the whole place is going up. Explosions and streams of fire from the fuel are pouring across the taxiways. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches here. Going to have to get some shit together and take one of the aircraft out of here. I have no idea where I’ll go, but I need to leave.

That’s the last thing written. Whoever it was apparently dropped it in their haste to get out of there. At least the story of why the airfield was burned is known. Not that it will do any good but it’s always nice to find out what happened when confronted with a mystery. Closing the journal and sticking it back in my pocket, I wonder where the person who wrote it went.

The flight back is an uneventful one. The sun seems to be winning the race west, drawing ever closer to the horizon as we drone along in the clear, afternoon sky. It will be a close one to see whether we make it to the compound before the sun vanishes below the horizon.

A fair distance out, with the bottom edge of the sun resting on the horizon, I call the compound, getting a reply on the first attempt.

“Did Robert arrive?” I ask.

“Yes. He landed several hours ago.”

“How is Greg?” I ask, worried to hear the answer that he didn’t make it. From what Lynn had said, he had been in pretty bad shape.

“The doc is with him but he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. I don’t have word if he’s stabilized or not.”

“Anything else I should know about?”

“Not that I know of, Jack. Frank’s here. Would you like for me to get him?”

“No, that’s okay. We’ll be there in about an hour,” I say.

“See you then.”

The western sky transitions from yellows to deep oranges. Droning along with the forming sunset ahead, with the blue overhead deepening toward twilight, lends itself to a very peaceful scene. It’ll get busy in a short bit as I set up for the descent and landing, but that is still a few minutes away. Even with all that has transpired and all that is pressing, I lean back in the seat and relax, taking in the moment, worries diminished for the time being.

With the sun just sinking below the mountains to the west, casting the land in twilight, I bank the aircraft and line up on final. The runway carved out within the compound walls is a lighter shade than the surrounding field but barely visible in the fading light. With the gear and flaps lowered, I descend toward the narrow strip.

Off to the side of the runway, I make out the dark outline of Robert’s 130 parked on a makeshift ramp. The outer walls of the compound flash under my nose, briefly illuminated from the intensity of the landing lights. The guard towers, standing at the corners and at intervals along the walls, are no more than dark shapes that pass by quickly. The inner wall, meant to enclose the compound and provide for a secondary defense, flashes underneath. Easing the power back, I flare and feel the aircraft settle onto the narrow, dirt strip. We’re home.

Shutting down, I just sit in the seat, utterly exhausted. It’s been a hell of a day, and past few days. Although we can’t totally relax within the compound walls, we can at least feel a measure of safety. Now, with us being targeted by a group that has access to far greater technologies, even being within the walls carries a certain tension. While we may have a basic understanding of their capabilities, we don’t know for sure. The fact that they attacked Greg’s team with only an armored column gives credence to the info Harold found, with regards to what they have available for use anyways.

Looking out of the window into the gathering darkness, there are headlights from several Humvees that have come to pick us up. With effort, I unbuckle and make my way outside. Robert, Bannerman, and several others are waiting for us.