The lowering sun casts the ravine in shadow. The mountains to the west silhouette themselves across the landscape. Shadows and darkness come early near the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. The night runners enjoy longer periods of their nocturnal activity here. With abundant food sources, aside from those tied to the crosses, and the long nights of hunting, it’s amazing that anyone is left alive.
Greg has the Stryker retrace its steps back up the valley as far as they can go. The terrain rises into the hills and he follows the ravine upwards, wanting to get as far away from the city as they can. They make their way into the hills until the steep slopes and trees bar their way. He wishes he could build a fire to bathe them all in smoke so their odor won’t carry. The cool air of the evening will carry their scent down the narrow ravine and give them away to any night runner pack that happens to come across it. Within the deep shadows filling the high valley, he takes one of the fuel drums and pours some of their precious diesel across the gully in front of them. He hopes that the smell of the fuel will hide their odor.
In the failing light, the soldiers open packets of food and wolf them down. It’s their last chance to be out before nightfall and then it will be all elbows and arms as they try to find some comfort within the cramped Stryker. Kyle sits inside with his sister, feeding her portions of a meal. Those outside feel the cool air rushing down from the mountains above. Birds call from the surrounding trees, singing their farewell to the sun. Many swoop in the twilight to catch a last meal before retiring. It’s a contrasting scene of peacefulness compared to what they just witnessed.
An image from the ghastly scene on the highway below surfaces, but Greg pushes it down. He has a good idea about what is going on, but not the reasoning — as if that really matters. There’s no valid reason for someone to be doing that — purposely staking others out for night runners to feast on. It doesn’t really matter what that person did. The number of bodies alludes to the fact that it’s not done for punishment. Those are definitely sacrifices. Not wanting to relive the memory and have sick images flood his mind, he shuts down his train of thought along those lines.
Greg hears a cricket begin chirping somewhere higher up in the ravine. He remembers an old trick his grandmother taught him. To pass the time, he looks at his watch, marks the second hand, and begins counting the chirps. The second hand passes the fourteen second mark as he counts his fifteenth chirp. He adds forty to the count.
Fifty five degrees out. For all the good that does, he thinks, wondering who came up with that formula. Someone had a lot of time on their hands.
Entering the Stryker and sealing it up for the night, Greg sees that Diane looks stronger. Her eyes still betray weariness, but she doesn’t need the back rest for support. Kyle puts away his meal and tenderly wipes a spot of food away from Diane’s mouth. Nourishment has helped her recover a more of her strength. Between long pauses and sips of water, Diane tells some of her story. She has difficulties speaking at times, and she has a hard time enunciating some of her words, but she struggles through it.
She, her mom, and her younger brother held up in their home as long as they could. Her mom was a strong believer in keeping a pantry full of her canning endeavors, so they were able to eat for some time. Their well supplied water. Living in the hills outside of the city limited any run-ins with the creatures who roamed the night. They could hear the shrieks at night and huddled the evening away in their basement. During this time, they met only one other person who they invited to stay with them. The man told them of the terrors that roamed the night and supplied them with information about what happened.
Eventually, they were forced to forage for supplies. At first they raided nearby houses, but then had to venture into town. It was during one of these outings that they ran into trouble. A group of men found them and took them captive. They remained in captivity for some time with other prisoners. Most days, one of the guards would select someone and they would disappear. Others were brought in periodically to replace those taken. On occasion, their captors would take and beat one of them in front of the main group. A man would orate for a while and then the beatings would start.
“Did they… did they…?” Kyle asks, hesitantly.
“No, they never violated me in that way,” Diane answers.
“Where did they take you?” Kyle asks.
“To the cave… Kyle, they still have Chris there,” Diane answers.
“And mom?” Kyle asks, fearful of the answer.
Diane shakes her head and begins sobbing.
Tears fill Kyle’s eyes. He wipes them away and holds his sister carefully to his chest, caressing her head. “Shhh…Shhh, sis…it’ll be alright. You’re safe and we’ll get Chris.”
Kyle looks to Greg for affirmation of his statement. Greg nods, “If there’s any way we can get him, we’ll do so.”
Diane’s sobbing comes to an end and she pulls out of Kyle’s embrace, wincing from her injuries.
“Diane, my name is Greg. I know it’s difficult, but I need to ask you some questions if we’re to get your brother.”
She takes a deep breath to steady herself and looks into Greg’s eyes. “If I can. Were you…are you Kyle’s commander?”
“That’s not really an easy question to answer so, for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say yes.”
She nods, “Are you really going to get Chris?”
“If it’s within our means to do so, we will. I make no promises, though. The most I can say at the moment is that we’ll try if it’s possible. To be perfectly honest, that will depend on your answers.”
“I’ll answer as best as I can,” Diane replies, still struggling to speak.
“First of all, where is this cave?”
“It’s the Cave of Winds. On the other side of the city,” Diane answers.
“I know it well,” Kyle chimes in.
“Okay, we’ll talk about those details later. How many men are in this group?”
“I don’t know…a lot,” Diane responds.
“By a lot, do you mean ten? Or forty?”
“I don’t really know how many. When I was taken in front of the group and beaten, there were a lot in the cavern. I’d say…thirty…forty…I really don’t know.”
“How many were guarding you at any given time?”
“I think there were four. We were held near the Canopy Hall…I think. I’ve only been in the caves a few times, but I think that’s right,” Diane says.
Greg looks to Kyle to see if he knows of this place; Kyle nods his affirmative.
“The man that was with you, what happened to him?” Greg asks.
“He was taken away shortly after we were captured. I don’t know what happened to him. Well…before today that is,” Diane answers.
“And they take someone every day?”
“As near as I can tell. It’s hard to know night from day down there. I don’t know how much time passes between.”
“How many other prisoners are there?”
“That varies from day to day, but I think there are only about six right now. At least that was how many were there when they took me and tied me up,” Diane replies.
“How were you held?”
“There are chains mounted on the walls. They keep us there.”
“I know this is difficult, and I’m sorry to grill you like this, but do you know where the men stay at night,”
“No. I’m sorry. I heard voices from farther into the caverns, but I really don’t know,” Diane states.
“Sorry to bring up a horrible memory, but you mentioned a man orated when you were taken and…treated badly. What did he say?” Greg asks.