A New World: Taken by John O'Brien Page A

answers.
    “They’re right there.   Five night runners milling just outside of where the light ends on the south end,” I say directing him to where the night runners are.
    “Still don’t see a thing,” he says as he reaches for the night vision binoculars by his side.
    I don’t understand why he can’t see them.   I distinctly see their gray shapes moving back and forth in a parking lot across the street from the camp.   I certainly can’t see them with the same clarity that daylight affords, but their gray outlines are clearly visible.
    “Oh, yeah, there they are,” he says focusing the night vision binoculars on the area I indicated.   “How in the world could you see that?”
    “They’re faint but pretty clear,” I answer wondering how bad his night vision has to be not to see them.
    I am thinking the light beaming from the stars overhead is enhancing the light in the area.   I grab for another pair of night vision binoculars and the area becomes even clearer through the greenish glow.   I don’t know why the night runners aren’t attacking the fence as I’ve witnessed them do many times before.   They seemed to be relentless in their attacks but here they are just milling around.   Occasionally one bends forward with its mouths agape, apparently issuing its all too well-known shrieks; the shrieks again faintly reach our ears moments later.
    One of the night runners steps into the light.   A spotlight immediately focuses on it and a flicker of light emits from the closest tower.   The night runner is flung back into the darkness and the sound of the shot echoes a split second later.   The other night runners turn and flee, vanishing behind a building as they run further into a residential area of town.   My thought is that the night runners have learned not to go close to the camp at night and prefer to find easier meals elsewhere.   An occasional shriek resounds through the night but is not as prevalent as I would have thought.   I am thinking that the people in the encampment may have cleared out an area and have been alert enough to take on any who enter into the light at night.   I am also guessing there weren’t that many night runners here to begin with and the people in camp haven’t seen the hordes we have witnessed.   If night runners were here in the numbers we have seen, those fences and towers would have quickly been overwhelmed.
    The fact that the night runners are staying away from the camp may be both a benefit and a danger to us.   The benefit is that we may still be able to conduct a night operation against the compound.   However, if there are still a lot of night runners in the area, they may be venturing out into the country for food which means possibly out our way.   The fact that there is some loitering in the shadows on the edge of the light may make that a danger zone if we try to infiltrate through that area.   I’ll have to see what happens on subsequent nights as a one-time thing doesn’t mean a pattern.   The night runners coming close to the camp may just be an out-of-the-ordinary event.   We listen to the radios as the towers check in seemingly every hour on the hour.   The only exception to this pattern of radio calls is when one of the towers reports the sighting and shooting.
    I turn it over to the night shift and head into the back to rest.   My headache has returned but is only a light throbbing.   I lay back but rest doesn’t come easy due to my anxiety and the night passes with only restless bouts of sleep.   By morning, my headache has diminished and the faint glow of the dawn appears in the eastern sky.   My back is sore from sleeping on the hard metal of the Humvee.   I’m way too old for this , I think making sure the area is clear and slowly exit.   I work the kinks out as the sun begins to crest the mountains sending rays of light streaming through the gaps in the trees.   Wisps of mist rise from the plants and forest floor