Infiltration - 1930 Hours

The harmless drops of rain pattered against the glass window pane. It was a night in with me and the guys as usual. Leo, my brother, was joking with a division member, laughing like a hyena with a drinking problem on the white couch. I on the other hand, was on the floor playing 21 with a friend. I took a swab at my own bottle, letting out an impatient sigh.

“Yo, Captain,” Alan called, playfully punching my shoulder.

“Heyyy,” I chuckled, returning him the favor.

“Work hard today?”

“Tell me about it,” I complained, “as if our entire network depended on me being in charge of twenty extra men.”

“Not easy being you huh?”

“Dude, its like another squadron of them. Inexperienced nuisances.”

I gulped down some more of my drink and revealed my cards to my opponent.

“People love you man, people love you.”

I elbowed him in the stomach for that retort, in which he laughed at too. Suddenly, it came. Slithering through my nose was an aroma that would never grow old on me.

“Alright!” we all shouted, racing to the long dinner table.

At this point my stomach was aching with anticipation. C’mon. Show us the goods. Circular sections of the table made a pleasing “click” sound, and lowered. When they came back up: pots of the delicious meal. Our forks frantically scraped and stabbed against the pot. Without thinking twice, I shoved two meatballs into my mouth. I closed my eyes, savoring every bit every flavor they had to offer to me. Nothing could be heard but the clanking sound of dozens of forks against plates as it echoed through the large, white room. Leo lifted his head.

“It’s raining a lot tonight. Looks like a storm’s well on its way.”

We all gave a quick glance outside. Everyone said “hm” and dropped their heads back towards their plates to continue stuffing themselves. Did I just see...Taking a thoughtful sip of my beer, I became aware that the table was vibrating slightly. The sound of clinking bottles filled the air as the floor began to shake beneath our feet. Across the table, Alan caught my eye. “Markus…?” That’s when I knew he was worried. Alan never forgets to address me by my rank of captain. I rose from the table, pushing my shaking chair back with an earsplitting squeak; but by then, the shaking was over, stopping as quickly as it had come. I quickly set my bottle down on the table and, before I knew it, I was standing by the window, my eyesight shifting from one side of the street to the other.

“Uh, Captain?”

I swiveled around, meeting the confused eyes of the everyone seated at the table.

“Yea?” I managed to ask, somewhat embarrassed.

“You alright?”

“Yea, yea, it's just...there was a guy out there in the rain.”

“Maybe it was Nate. He still hasn’t gotten home yet.”

It couldn’t have been Nate. This guy clearly didn’t like the fact that I had caught him staring at us.

“Yea…” I simply said, leaving it at that.

I silently hoped the nuisance had not come from a plot of the ERA: Eleutherian Rebel Association. If we were seen making contact with them, there was bound to be consequences. Pretty soon everyone was satisfied with their meal, and there was still a portion left for Nate.

“I’ll take care of the dishes. You all go to your rooms. You have a whole lot of work cut out for you tomorrow!”

“Yes sir!” they shouted firmly, and they all left to their assigned rooms.

I grabbed all of the dirty dishes and walked over to the wall with the two silver buttons. Pressing one opened a square section in the wall which revealed a surface. It acted almost as an elevator, as did everything else in our cubes. I carefully the dishes in and pressed the silver button again. There was a strange type of joy in pressing that stupid silver button. I felt somewhat powerful pressing it. Boop. Open. Boop. Closed. I walked over to the table and spooned out some meatballs onto a plate. I left out a bottle for him too. A strange whistling sound filled the room. The wind was picking up. I walked to my own space and changed into my grey sweat pants and t-shirt. After brushing my teeth, I plopped myself onto my bed and took out my tablet to begin reading tomorrow’s schedule. Morning showers, breakfast, we were assigned to air dogfights all morning, lunch break...

Suddenly.
I froze, rising quietly from my seat.
The rumbling was back, more forceful than ever.

Searching for a good explanation, I tiptoed my way across the floor. Perhaps Nate was just playing tricks. Or perhaps there was something more sinister at work.Stop it, Markus. I scolded myself. You’re just being paranoid. If the boys see you scared over nothing like this you’d be the most pitiful captain alive. I paused. How much did I really trust my own instincts? Nearing the basement, I noticed that the vibration was intensifying. When I reached the door I could hear the sound of muffled cursing. Intruder! All other concerns left my mind as I flung open the door and leaped down the stairs, flooded with the overwhelming urge to track down my prey. A shadowy figure stood casually against our water rations tank, face concealed by a black hood. I leaned against the wall out of sight, getting my handgun ready. I carefully cocked it and stepped out of my hiding place, pointing it straight at his forehead.

“Identify!” I yelled.

The vibrating slowed. The intruder took a few steps back, revealing his purpose - a jagged hole had been wrought in the side of the tank, and water flowed freely into a crude container on the floor.
He was stealing, stealing our closely rationed water, taking the only thing that anyone truly could not live without

“Don’t you dare move,” I warned, stepping closer to him, “Identify!”

“Stay away from me,” he said.

But it wasn’t a threatening tone, it was a pleading tone. He rapidly closed the container. The pipe continued to bleed onto the floor.

“Stay the hell away from me!” he yelled when I moved myself closer.

“I told you not to move.”

He took yet another cautious step back, rolled on his side, and rapidly yanked the pipe from its place. Water exploded from the opening and shot in all directions, knocking me off of my feet.
Surfacing with a cough, I scrambled to find my gun.

“Hey. Hey!”

Water was everywhere, rising higher and higher, making it nearly impossible to see. As I felt something shove past me, I took aim and pulled the trigger.

BANG.

I couldn't tell where I had hit my target, but the puddles of red dissolving into the tide told that I had succeeded. I took off after him, splashing blindly through the flood. Footsteps pounded on the stairs - had the rest of the guys finally come to my aid? Focus, you idiot, focus! It’s him! He’s getting away! I made a break for the stairs, but the intruder was fleet and nimble. By the time I reached the top, shards of glass were already strewn around my feet and a piercing klaxon was blaring, letting me know that the window had been broken.
Some of the guys who were now awake rushed towards the stairs as I sprang through the empty window frame. After recovering from my fall, I glanced around as rain sprayed my face, impeding my vision. I couldn’t see the intruder, let alone try to give chase. I jogged a few feet before admitting to myself that it was time to give up. I heard Alan’s voice back from inside the cube as it echoed through the night.

“Hey! What happened?! We heard a gun go off!” he yelled through the screaming wind.

“Meeting. My quarters. Now!” I ordered over my shoulder.

They did as they were told. I stood there like a soaking idiot for a second longer, watching for any sign of any other suspicious characters. Thunder began to roar and lightning sizzled and cracked not too far ahead. The ground shook one last time beneath my feet, a taunting reminder of my failure, and I finally decided to go back inside. I had to find this guy. Something was completely off about him. Maybe...just maybe.. ERA.

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