John O'Brien - Taken

The words comfort her and she feels like she can relax a little. Not much, but some. She still feels tight inside. Her thoughts go back to her training and she visualizes the scenarios Lynn put forth. She relives each one and what her reaction should be. Mostly, she will be keeping close to Gonzalez. That much her dad was very clear about. She actually feels a sense of pride fill her kneeling beside Gonzalez and Robert and being a part of a team. Not just any team but her dad’s team.

She sees Gonzalez turn as Drescoll arrives. “Jack is gathering Red, Blue, and Black teams to go inside. They’re at the entrance door,” he says.

“Okay, we’re on our way,” Gonzalez says and the entire teams rises.

Bri doesn’t get up with them as she’s not sure if she should be going or if being just an honorary member, as Gonzalez put it, means not going into buildings. That part her dad was equally clear about.

“Come on,” Gonzalez says clearing up Bri’s doubt about what she should do.

Bri catches up with Gonzalez. “I seriously doubt your dad will let you go in but if he does, you stay close to my left side. Always,” Gonzalez says.

Drescoll looks at Bri joining Red Team. He’s not sure if he should say something or not but then shrugs and heads over to relay Jack’s request to Horace’s team.

They arrive at the entrance doors where Black Team has already gathered. Bri sees her dad standing just inside the doors having a conversation with Lynn. He looks at her and then resumes talking and pointing to places within the building. She can’t tell what the look meant if anything. He seems a little distant , she thinks as his gaze leaves hers and glances quickly at Robert before turning back to Lynn. Her anxiety increases. So, this is what it’s like just prior to going in a building , she thinks feeling everyone’s tension.

Horace arrives with the rest of Blue Team. Lynn then outlines the layout of the room.

“Red Team enters first and takes up a position thirty feet in and covers ahead. Make sure all of the doors are covered. Black is in next and to the right. Blue, to the left. Jack is going to the desk at the far end to find a building diagram. If anything happens, cover the room until Jack is through our lines then withdraw to where the floor is lit and back out,” Lynn says.

Bri rises with the rest of Red Team. “Bri, stay here with Drescoll,” Lynn says. Bri’s shoulders slump a little but she understands. She actually wants to go in with the team. She feels that steely part, which was prevalent on the firing range, settle in.

“It’s okay, Lynn, let her go with her team. We’re only just a step inside,” Bri hears her dad say.

She watches as Lynn shoots him a look which he ignores. Lynn gives her a nod towards where Red Team is gathered at the door with the broken glass. Lynn takes Gonzalez aside for a moment but Bri can’t hear any of the conversation. She’s pretty sure what the gist of the talk is about though. She feels small and doesn’t like the feeling. Her heart is thudding hard as Gonzalez rejoins them.

“Okay, you heard Lynn. Red Team, stay to the right a touch so you don’t shoot me in the ass,” her dad says.

“I think they’re onto us. Let’s move,” her dad adds.

With a nod from her dad, Red Teams enters. Bri stays close to Gonzalez as she enters. The darkness beyond the first few feet is complete. Bri reaches up and brings her goggles down. The room lights up in a green glow. She sees Gonzalez go down on her knees and Bri slides down beside her. She hears Robert slide into position beside her a short distance away. He lifts his M-4 and concentrates on the several doors to their immediate front. Adrenaline courses through her as she brings her own weapon up lining up the IR dot on one of the doors. She sees the thin beams of the lasers move about the far wall and doors. Duh , she thinks reaching up and turning her own IR laser on.

“You and I will cover that main door,” Gonzalez says in her ear and points. Bri’s own thin line of light settles next to Gonzalez’. She listens as instructions are given to the other team members.

A rush of boots and swish of clothing fills the room as the other two teams enter behind. So, this is what it’s like? Bri thinks as the sounds stop and the room goes silent. She watches as her dad walks slowly to the counter close to the wall ahead and to her left. He has his M-4 up and ready. She feels her skin prickle with each small crack or groan of the building. Her imagination turns each sound into the start of night runner hordes pouring through the doors like she’s heard in the stories others have told. She knows it’s just the building heating up with the warming of the day but that knowledge doesn’t stop her skin from jumping with each one.

She looks down at the floor and sees a decaying body between her and Robert. Revulsion grips her insides but then she becomes intrigued and looks closer. It’s just a rib cage with the head still attached. The medium-length hair on top of its head doesn’t hide the white facial bones lying at an angle to her. The mouth is open as if in an eternal scream and shreds of skin are still attached in places. The grisly sight is almost too much but it has her attention as she wonders what it — she can’t tell if it’s was a male or female — did in life before all this happened. Did it meet a sudden and gruesome end as it looks or fall dead before being eaten? What dreams in life did it have? She shakes her head and looks back to the door.

The teams rush in and I see Bri hustle in behind Gonzalez, settling in right beside her and next to Robert. It’s just a quick in and out , I think watching. It’ll give her an idea of what it’s like inside a darkened night runner lair . I don’t have quite the warm, fuzzy feeling these thoughts indicate because I also have a feeling our entrance is known if the distant screams are indicative of anything. I mean, do night runners cry out in their sleep or have nightmares? I hear a repeat of that muted shriek. It seems to be closer than the last but it isn’t accompanied by the cacophony that I’ve come to know.

With everyone in place, I step forward into a room filled with dancing beams of light. I have both of the kids inside a night runner lair. I’m not comfortable with that idea and not really sure how it came to be. I do know I should kick my own ass but on the other hand, they do need to learn. I walk to the left of Red Team kneeling on the floor and up to the counter. Behind it are two more bodies lying on the floor next to chairs that look like they’ve been kicked to random places. The whole of the interior speaks of past mayhem. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in here in the final hours. The desk itself is a mess of papers and charts. Another howl; closer this time. I brush papers off the desk frantically trying to find a diagram or directory of some sort. It’s not that important of a piece of info so I’m outta here if they do get close. I hear the pounding of feet just as I see a tan binder at the far end of the counter.

“They’re coming,” I say feeling my boot step on one of the bodies.

Bri glances at her dad as he starts rifling through whatever is behind the raised portion of the counter. He looks up and toward the door she and Gonzalez are covering. He glances back down at the counter and, from the looks of it, starts sweeping things off an unseen shelf. The next words send the adrenaline in her body into overdrive and bring rivulets of sweat to her brow.

“They’re coming.”

Her mind tells her to rise and flee. There’s a night runner horde on the way and it will engulf them; sweep over them like an unrelenting tide. The beating of her heart is so loud it should be shaking the building and she can feel the pulse of it in every fiber of her being. She glances at Gonzalez and notices the relaxed aspect has disappeared leaving behind a very steely expression. Her lips are tight and she is focused on the door a few feet in front of them. She glances to her dad and sees him dart to the other side of the counter. What does he see or is he running from something? He stumbles but recovers.