John O'Brien - Conspiracy

Leveled off at five thousand feet, the hospital becomes visible on our nose. Our checks have been completed and we are good to go for our run in to the target. Images of the night runners inside as Lynn and I were chased through the darkened corridors flash through my mind. There may not be that many inside, but any dent we can make in their population can only help. And, unlike hitting what we thought was a major lair previously, the night runners inside won’t have had a night to escape. It is certain that they are still there.

The hospital slides to the side of our path as I make a change to our heading and set up an orbit. I feel a pang in my chest seeing the front of the structure where we were trapped by the sniper and lost McCafferty. Seeing the entire complex sends a shiver up my spine as I can’t help but think about the ordeal Lynn went through and how close we came to not making it out. I hear Robert make a last minute check-in with each station as we circle.

“We’re ready to commence back here,” Robert says.

“Roger. Can you spare Lynn?” I reply.

“Yeah. She’s monitoring the low-light TV and I doubt we’ll be needing that.”

“Lynn, there’s a ringside seat up here. Want to come up and watch?”

“On my way,” she states.

I wait until she is standing at my shoulder and looking out of the side window.

“Robert, you’re cleared to engage.”

I feel a slight vibration in the airframe as the M102 105mm howitzer sends its payload downward. Below, the shell impacts into the side of the facility with a crash. Smoke, with pillars of yellow flame mixed in its depths, billows away and up. The trees near the building bend from the blast and debris rockets outward. Chunks of concrete, brick, and metal rebar land in a fan pattern across the area, some hitting vehicles in the parking lot. The section above where the shell crashed into the building falls on itself in a pile but is lost behind the billowing smoke.

I feel a second vibration as another shell punches downward. Another section of the hospital is hit with a fiery explosion as the ordinance collides with the structure. I glance back at Lynn and see a small smile on her lips as she watches the shells tear into the hospital. I would reach out to sense the night runners inside but I don’t want to feel their fear or their pain. I keep that part of my mind locked down.

Before long, Robert ceases fire. Looking through the smoke pouring from the devastated facility, the thermal images show a complete ruin. As the smoke clears, I see the destruction. The hospital is nothing more than piles of rubble with some portions of ruined wall structures standing amongst the tumble of stone and distorted metal. Twisted metal rebar sticks out of some of the crumbled walls. Pillars of smoke pour skyward as fires smolder in the ruins.

Looking at the ruins, there is no way any night runners could survive, unless they were buried deep in some basement. If that’s the case, they’ll have a hard time digging themselves out. I open up and sense nothing. My senses in this area aren’t entirely reliable, especially from altitude it seems, but there isn’t a flicker from below. There isn’t any use in continuing as we’ll just be pounding some of the larger debris into smaller rocks. And, we don’t have an unlimited supply of ammunition.

We secure the stations and make ready for the second part of our mission, finding the sniper’s team members that I believe lie hidden in the area somewhere. If they’re close, they will have heard the thunderous destruction of the hospital below and know something is up. The thought that we should have looked for them first surfaces, but there isn’t anything we can do about it now. I was focused on taking out the night runner lair before night fell. Lynn squeezes my shoulder and gives me a smile before making her way aft and back to her console.

“I’m going to climb higher and set up a grid search pattern to the south. Robert, have all monitors on. We’re looking for vehicles without a coating of grime, tracks, people…anything that looks like there might be someone around. My guess is that they’ll be encamped a distance from the city to minimize the night runner threat. Look for barricaded buildings or something similar. Speak up if you see anything that looks slightly out of place,” I say.

With that, we turn south, leaving the destroyed night runner lair smoking behind.

For the second time this day, Michael is awakened from his slumber. This isn’t the panicked waking that the previous one was, but more of something that gradually pulls him from the dream world to the waking one. He is groggy at first and rolls over to fall back asleep, noticing many of his pack within the large interior are restive as they too have come awake. His eyes open as he realizes there are images of pain and fire entering his mind.

He pushes himself to a sitting position. The low noise of his pack jostling around the interior increases. Many rise to a sitting or standing position as the images fill their minds as well. Waking more, Michael reaches out and knows instantly the images of fear and death are coming from where Sandra’s pack was. He senses, through the minds of the distant pack members, the explosions that are rocking the lair. He also senses the agitation that is sweeping through his own pack.

Fear of the unknown thing that is tearing the lair apart emanates strongly from the far pack. Flashing images of individuals running through the halls to escape. Multitudes are running randomly, hoping to escape the fire and destruction. Floors and walls rock, knocking many off their feet. Images of plaster falling from the ceiling enter Michael’s mind. Other brief pictures are of entire hallways disappearing in a tumult of falling debris. Members from the far pack vanish from his mind, never to return.

Shrieks from Michael’s own pack echo as they share in those images. Some run around the interior as terror from the distant pack enters their minds. Michael’s own fear is mixed with frustration because he doesn’t know what to do. He wants to send some message that will help, but he doesn’t have a clue as to what that should be. The faraway lair is coming apart and he doesn’t know why. He does have the deep sense that the two-leggeds are responsible but has no idea how. The only thing that comes to mind is that thing that deals death from the night sky.

With the images storming into his mind, Michael looks up at the ceiling far overhead. He dreads that the destruction he is witnessing in his mind will come to his lair next. If it does, there is no place they can go. Heading outside into the bright, painful light is certain death. Thankfully, the lair that is being destroyed is some distance away. He anxiously stares at the ceiling while the other pack vanishes from his mind by the tens and then the hundreds. Soon, there is not a single flicker of life left that he can sense.

The rest of his pack settles down after the last of the images fade from their minds. They feel his apprehension and huddle in corners or in groups, waiting for the same to happen to them. Whimpers and moans fill the vast, darkened interior of their lair and Michael wonders what Sandra has brought upon them. He thinks, belatedly, that he should have killed her when he had the chance. Whatever destroyed her lair is far more than he can deal with. Michael no longer thinks of his place as a sanctuary. He thinks again that he and the two-leggeds can’t inhabit the same area. The answer, however, remains elusive — run or attack?

Time passes without the concussive noise or destruction arriving. Michael begins to relax, and the pack eventually drifts back to sleep. Even though the other pack didn’t come close to the numbers he has, he knows numbers won’t mean a thing if the lair is attacked like that. Sandra’s demise and the way the two-leggeds accomplished it escalate the danger of them. The destruction of the lair, and in such a short period of time, intensified this feeling ten-fold.