Dreams Remembered

Chapter Six: War, Part One

            Three doors led into a small inner chamber, much like a lobby. Light flooded in the windows as the last beams of sunlight were dying. The walls were cold and wet inside. The air was cold and humid. Every object was covered in graffiti. There were two staircases on the left and the right inside the lobby, opposite the doors, and separated by an 8-foot bench. Up the 12 steps we rushed with anticipation and entered into the main room. We were standing on a 15-foot-long platform and gawked. It was an Olympic-sized pool.

            The water separated our landing from the other landing on the opposite side of the  pool. The water was dark and oily, lapping with serenity against the walls. The only way across was to swim. Without fear myself and several others plunged into the black, bottomless pool and tried to swim across the darkness.

            I reached the other landing first and got out of the water. This landing was identical to the one I had just left. The rest of my group had stopped trying to cross and stayed behind, some getting out on the first landing. Several stayed to play in the water and everything was quiet and calm, except for the laughter of play and splashing water. It seemed too calm.

            I walked through the doorway and down the stairs on my right into a lobby. The stairs of this lobby were identical to the first pair, but there was another bench mirroring the first and there was a door on each side. I went to the door on the right and looked out.

            The sun was out and shining brightly from the east, almost blindingly. When my eyes adjusted there was a large, open field to greet me.  It was about a 300 feet across. The road was just to the left about 30 feet from the building and the field continued to the right for about 600 feet. Surveying the area, I lastly looked to my right. The scene was mindboggling.

            I saw the tents. There were roughly fifty, all lined up five across and ten deep in perfect rows. They were all surrounded and patrolled by black Humvees with 50 caliber machine guns. Everywhere men were swarming with various assortments of military equipment. Every man had a face covering of some sort: masks, bandannas, gas masks, dark glasses. All had automatic weapons, body armor, machetes, communications and supply equipment. Everything was all black.

            Two Blackhawk helicopters suddenly flew overhead from behind me as I surveyed the camp. They dropped down and hovered over the tents, depositing ten women and children down with ropes. They were all chained together at the neck and ankles, each heavily guarded. Five men forced the group into a tent as the helicopters flew off. Cold chills rippled across my skin when I realized that this was the most feared and advanced human trafficking organization known to mankind. They had no name and no known origin, but they were feared by all.

            Grey vans drove up from the south and the guards began to herd women and children from the tents into the backs of the transport vehicles. Once loaded with the sobbing individuals and their guards the vans took off to the east and out of sight. Terror stricken I ducked back into the lobby, panting and my heart pounding.

            After slowing my heart a little I looked back out. Across the field to the north was a thickly wooded pine forest. I saw that just behind the first line of trees hid a 14-year-old Asian boy and an 18-year-old Mexican boy. They were crouched and tense.  They both seemed as terrified as I was. At that moment they broke from the trees in a full sprint toward the building in which I was hiding. Halfway across the field they were spotted by the camp.  Snipers began to fire off rounds at them.

            They were almost across, miraculously evading the shots. The Asian boy reached the doorway as the Mexican boy lagged only ten feet behind. We made eye contact. A sickening pop sounded as a bullet suddenly pierced his left temple. His brain exploded out to the right and blood gushed everywhere as his body fell straight to the ground, not more than three feet away from me. His eyes rolled back and slowly his legs continued convulsing in an effort to keep running. I ducked my head back inside, numb.

            The Asian boy was inside safe, but he was panting and shaking uncontrollably with terror and shock. Then we heard the Humvees mobilizing. The traffickers headed in our direction. We both were too afraid to run so we crawled under the bench across from the stairways. I could hear the other boys from my group still splashing and playing in the water, oblivious to what was happening. My heart sank, knowing what was about to happen, unable to do anything.

            KA! KA! KA! KA! KA! KA! The sounds of machine gun blasts burst into the room, echoed with screams that resounded through the cinderblock building. Each shot reverberated in the darkness, growing louder and louder. Then the sounds of shackles being latched on the captured and the gurgling of the maimed and drowning mingled together in a horrific, loud, calamity of chaos.

            Green gas. Vaporous, mysterious, and terrifying. Canisters flew through the doors from the pool room, releasing green gas to pour into the lobby in which we were hiding. We watched as some of the boys fled from the pool room into the lobby we were in. They tried for the doors but none could make it, all knocked unconscious to the floor by the gas floating above us at knee height. Then there was only silence. And the men came.

            Silent, swift, and deadly. They seemed to appear and vanish in the midst of the thick green mist. Now, each wore a black gas mask to avoid the affects of the vapor. They chained the unconscious boys into groups of three and began to drag them out. All of the militants eyes were obscured but one. He was taller, more formidable, and seemed to move with inhuman speed as he strode through the room. He had a sense of immediate death emanating from his presence. He surveyed the room for anyone not yet found.

            We shrank back under the bench. The boy said under his breath, “My name is Shin, thanks for hiding me.” We both knew we were going to die and braced for it, no fear in our hearts, only dread. I looked out once again and focused on the formidable hunter. His eyes burned bright, hollow and yellow. His gaze can only be described as petrifying. His eyes seemed to emit a searing heat onto anything in their sight. He slowly scanned the room. As he glanced over to us, our eyes met. He seemed to look at me for an eternity, but it was a mere moment. I realized he had not seen me. Then as swiftly as they came, the intruders were gone with the last of my original group of boys. Only Shin and I were left.

            To be continued.....