Read Online A New World: Return by John O'Brien - Free Book Online

without the bodies in the road.   Where did everyone go?   I wonder to myself.   Did they evacuate or did they truly exterminate all of the sick?   Well, if they did, then that means less of the night runners around .
    The drive to the BX is almost peaceful.   The setting close to one of tranquility.   The sun is out and it’s a nice summer day.   We pass parks where there should be children playing and picnics enjoyed.   Dogs chasing Frisbees.   All are empty.   The buildings stare out at us as we pass by them slowly.   The tranquility does have an underlying tension that doesn’t go unnoticed.   I find myself wondering if those buildings are harboring night runners.   The serenity depicted gives a false front to the very real danger lurking behind, just waiting for night to fall.   The only sound of mankind existing is the engines of our vehicles and the whirring of the tires on the road.
    Pulling into the BX parking lot, we stop a short distance from the front doors.   The lot is empty with the exception of a couple of parked cars scattered haphazardly.   The building itself is your standard concrete block, warehouse style store, painted in the brown color the Air Force has taken to.   Both the BX and Commissary are combined and have quadruple glass entrance doors.   We step out onto a pavement warmed by the sun and are met with silence.   Small scraps of paper blow across the mostly empty lot propelled by the light sea breeze.   A ghost town only the buildings are modern.   Across the lot sits the base movie theatre still advertising the latest blockbusters as if expecting the usual evening crowd of movie goers.
    “Corporal Horace,” I call out softly.   For some reason, the atmosphere dictates silence as if the very air desires stillness.   Perhaps nature itself is confused by the sudden change.
    “Sir,” she says back.   I guess it’s only me that feels the weight.
    “Take Blue Team and set up a small perimeter here.   I don’t want any surprises.   Remember, keep in pairs and we don’t need to go far.   Just keep an eye on the surroundings.   Call me with any movement or if anything looks odd,” I say realizing at once just how ridiculous that sounds.   Everything is odd now.   “We’re going to check out the entrance.”
    “Yes, sir,” Horace responds and sets about putting Blue Team in position in the parking lot.
    “Robert, you stay close by me,” I say as we walk towards the BX entrance with Red Team on my heels.   I look back and see them constantly checking the surroundings.   With what all of us have been through the past few days, tension and alertness are constant factors.
    “Right with you,” Robert says.
    Drawing closer to the entrance, I notice one of the glass doors has been broken.   I slow my pace bringing my M-4 up ready to use.   The metallic sound of rifles being raised sound behind me.   Inching toward the broken glass door, I motion for Henderson and Denton to cover the sides and I squat down in front with Robert.   Several glass shards are just inside the door with a few lying about outside near the bottom.   The entire glass portion of the door has been broken out with the exception of several jagged bits of glass still in the door frame.   A large rock sits just inside the door resting on the tiled linoleum floor amid the broken glass.
    The hair on the back of my neck stands up as I notice the blood streaks on the pavement leading to the broken door and the dried blood covering the shards in its door frame.   Squatting there looking at the mess, a closer look at the edges of the glass in the door reveals hanging bits of torn cloth along with what appears to be pieces of dried flesh.   The faint, bloody drag marks continue on the linoleum inside.
    “What do you think, sir?”   Henderson asks.
    “Looks like someone threw the rock to break in and cut themselves in the process,” Robert responds.
    “Possible but I don’t think so,” I