John O'Brien - Takedown

A door exits into another hallway out of view of the main hall crowded with night runners. However, with the number of night runners, the hall on the other side of the door could easily be filled with them. I ease the fiber scope under the door, careful to check for feet prior to inserting it all of the way out into the corridor. It’s empty for the moment, but the shrieks still shaking the walls let us know that the night runners are still very close. I also can’t assume that all of the night runners in the building are actually at the door. There may be many others hunting the hallways or rushing to join.

“Okay…it’s clear. We’ll creep along and make sure each hallway intersection is clear. I’ll lead. If we’re discovered, we make a run for the east side. Those are the closest outside offices which will give us access to daylight. That’s our goal,” I say, putting the scope away.

“Let’s do it,” Lynn says, readying her sidearm.

I ease the door open and, with a last check, we slip silently into the hall. I don’t know how long we’ll go undiscovered. I’m not sure that the smoke still covers my scent and I know they’ll smell Lynn. I just hope they are so focused on the doors that it will go unnoticed. We glide down the halls, avoiding the empty gurneys and rolling carts crowded against the walls.

At the first corner we come to, I look down the hall in both directions. Toward the room we escaped from, several packs of night runners are running to and fro in frustration, attempting to find a way in. They are some distance down the passageway but there’s no way we’ll be able to cross here without being seen. I notice a change in the tempo and tone of the shrieks. The night runners that are visible all turn and look in our direction. As one, they begin streaking for us.

“They’re onto us. Straight ahead, go!” I yell, grabbing a grenade at my vest.

Pulling the pin, I let the grenade fly down the hall toward the night runners quickly closing in and take off after Lynn. I catch her just as we cross through the next juncture. A rocking explosion temporarily drowns out the screams. As I have the greater firepower, I take the lead in case we encounter any night runners that attempt to block our path. I glance behind and see night runners pouring into the hall behind us. I ready another grenade.

“Right at the next intersection,” I shout.

I toss the grenade behind as we near the crossing. The turn is to take us out of the hall so we don’t get peppered by shrapnel. As we turn, five night runners enter the corridor at the junction ahead of us. We are charging toward each other and the distance quickly dwindles.

I raise my carbine and begin firing bursts into their midst just as the grenade goes off behind. The first two go down as if tripped, hitting the floor hard. Still, we race toward each other. Another burst sends a night runner crashing into a rolling cart, tipping it over and spilling its contents to the ground with a crash. I hear two gunshot reports over my shoulder and watch as the two remaining night runners fall. The first flips backward with its feet in the air and the other follows in the same manner a split second later making it look like the two executed a poorly timed synchronized swimming maneuver.

We push past the bodies and turn left as we make our way once again to the east. The halls are filled with such a volume of noise that it seems like a physical presence — which, technically, I guess it is. Doors fly by as we streak down the passage. The grenades slowed the night runners, but they are catching up again. It’s a race for outer offices. It’s one I’m not sure we’re going to win.

As we pass another hallway crossing, I glance left and see night runners streaking past just one hall over. Some stop and turn after us with others surging ahead. They’re faster than we are so there’s a good chance they can draw ahead and trap us. The doors at the far end of the hall draw closer. I feel the toil of the morning beginning to take hold. One can rely on adrenaline for only so long before the body wilts, and we’ve been at an all-out sprint. My breath is starting to get ragged despite my best attempts to push my body on. I don’t know how Lynn is holding up as well as she is. That’s one thing I’ve always admired about her — her toughness.

Crossing yet another junction, I see an unlit sign indicating a stairwell with an emergency exit sign next to the door. This must lead to the stairs I initially attempted to enter. I curse the fact that the door is still tied off or we’d be able use it to escape to the roof. Looking left, night runners are halfway down the hall coming toward us. If these were from the same group that we passed a junction ago, they are gaining a half hall’s length on us with each intersection we pass through. That means we’ll collide head on at the next intersection with the others who plowed ahead. With the night runners now close on our trail, we’ll be trapped between the two groups.

There’s only one more hallway passage after the next intersection between us and the outer offices. We’re so close but if those night runners gain entrance ahead of us, we’re done for. The next crossing looms with the scream of the night runners just behind us shaking my very fillings. It’s so loud that it vibrates my skull. Lynn is running beside me as we near the next intersection. The moment that will tell whether we make it or not is fast approaching. The night runners will either enter the hall ahead of us or we’ll streak by barely in front of them. If we make it through however, it doesn’t guarantee that we’ll make it to the outer offices. It just means that we’ll be alive for just a little longer.

I grab one of the carts as I pass and pull it into the hall behind us in an attempt to slow those on our heels. Even as loud their screams are, I hear the cart clatter as several night runners trip over it. The intersection looms…my breathing is ragged. As we close on the corner, I see the first movements of night runners an equidistance away in the intersecting hall. We’re about to collide into each other at top speed.

I open up and push the pictorial equivalent of ‘Noo! Stop! Death!’ out with force. It’s the only thing I can think of. Any slowing to shoot will only allow the ones behind to catch us. Grenades are not an option due to our proximity and, with the fuse time, even though quick, it will still allow those closest to be past it when it goes off.

The night runners closing from the side slow with startled expressions. Lynn and I race by. They are quick to recover though and resume the chase, colliding with those that were directly behind us. This gives us just a touch more breathing space. I begin tossing the occasional cart and IV stand against the wall into the hall behind. I raise my carbine and fire at the handle of the door directly ahead seeing rounds splinter the wood of the jamb and around the latch.

Lowering my shoulder, I smash into the door at full speed, only slowing as I hit the solid object. It gives under my momentum, crashing inward. I see blinds pulled down over a window, similar to the ones in the office through which I entered. Slivers of light leak through the minute openings. My momentum into the room slams me against a desk. I feel my thighs immediately bruise from to the impact. Ignoring the pain, I reach up and pull on the hanging cord. Sunlight streams into the room.

Two night runners that crashed into the room with us fall to the ground with agonizing screams of pain. Yeah, it was that close. The others pull back from the light, some with screams of pain and others with shrieks of frustration. We’ve made it. I bend over with my hands on my knees, panting heavily.

“Are you okay?” Lynn asks between gasps of breath, her hands also on her knees.