Just relax, he told himself, I’ll figure it out. He closed his eyes and tried to let his mind go blank. He could hear a coyote howling in the distance. Another seemed to be answering the call a few seconds later. I thought they only howled at the full moon, he mumbled to himself. There goes another myth out the window.
He laid his head back on the top of the seat and wondered about the events of today and what they really meant in the grand scheme of life.
Looking up at the stars reminded him how insignificant we really were as people in the vast cosmic realm. What had transpired needed to be reported to the President immediately. He knew that President Sampson would want time to consider the implications as well.
He decided to take a leak, so he got out of the vehicle and looked around quickly in all directions. What the hell am I doing, the thought? Looking to see if another car is going to pass? He unzipped his fly and started to urinate when he heard his windshield shatter followed by the roar of a gun off in the distance.
Ducking, he quickly tried to locate the direction but it was useless. It seemed to come from all directions at once. He stayed down, waiting to see if another shot was fired. He crept over to the Hummer and turned off the lights. Darkness smothered him like a wet blanket.
"Damn," he said out loud. He had managed to pee on his pant legs. He could feel the warm wetness. It just added insult to his misery. He wasn’t sure what to do next.
He felt he had three options. Stay in the Hummer until the sun came up, press on toward the main base and his quarters, or try to make his way back to S-4. None of them appealed to him that much.
He opened the door of the Hummer and climbed back inside. No other shots were fired. He could see the hole and the spider web like cracks spreading out from where the projectile had punched through the glass. It wasn’t bulletproof glass, that was for sure, he thought. To head out in either direction he would have to turn his headlights on and he wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.
Finally, he decided he would just stay in the Hummer and wait for the sun. Then he could get his bearings and head back to his quarters. He was already cold so he started the engine and let the interior heat as best he could. The soft top on the Hummer was no match for the cold desert night.
He rummaged around in the back and found a pair of coveralls. He had topped off the gas tank just before going to dinner with Lynn and he was grateful for that. He slipped on the coveralls. They weren’t much but it was better than nothing. The backseat looked like the most logical place to try to stretch out so he climbed in the back, leaving the engine running.
He closed his eyes and tried to think about Lynn and the pleasant evening he had just spent with her. Keep things in perspective and think positive, he told himself. It could be worse.
The Hummer was easy to spot though the night vision glasses. It was only a few hundred yards away. They had been watching it since it left S-4 and laughed when they saw that he gone off in the wrong direction.
“Think we should go help him?”
“Hell no. Let the dumb bastard slide off the road into a gully. I don’t think the general would shed any tears.”
“You’re right about that.”
They continued to watch as he went down one road and then another. They sat on the hood of the Jeep Cherokee watching him trying to figure out which way to go.
“Want another beer?”
“Hell yes. This sure beats just watching the stars. We have us a show,” he laughed.
They watched as the Hummer finally came to a stop.
“Did he hit something?”
“Nah. I think he’s trying to figure out what to do. Dumb shit probably figured out by now that he is totally screwed.”
The Hummer just sat in the road unmoving for several minutes.
“Now what the hell is he doing?”
“He got out and is looking around. Hold it, look at that. He’s taking a leak. Being lost probably scared the piss out of him,” he laughed.
“Hey, watch this. I’ll scare the piss out of him” he said, aiming down the night vision scope attached to the M-14.
The M-16 was a full automatic rifle but the older M-14 was a hell of a lot more accurate. The gun recoiled and they both broke out laughing when the windshield shattered and Eller dropped to the ground.
“That should help him pee faster,” the shooter said, slapping his partner on the back.
“Damn, this is the most fun we have had in quite some time. What do you think he will do now?”
“Haul ass. Someone just took a shot at him and he is out in the middle of nowhere. What else is he going to do?”
They watched as the lights went out on the Hummer.
“What the hell is he doing now?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see him. I know he got back in the Hummer. The engine is running, see the exhaust?”
“Yep. Maybe he just decided to hell with it and went to sleep.”
“Yeah right. He’s lost, probably freezing his ass off and you shot out his windshield. Would you go to sleep?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I ain’t him.”
