He hid. He didn’t know why he was doing it, but every instinct in his body pushed him behind a group of tall palms and bushes. He then spread himself flat on the ground and held his breath. The moon was out, but he was in the shadows.

The sounds of the rotors grew and David finally spotted the helo as it passed in front of the moon. Its lights were off. Usually helicopters only did that when they didn't want to be seen. It was probably military.

David didn’t even hear her. Lena walked right by him, only a few feet in front of his hiding spot. She was alone, wearing some sort of helmet with a clear visor over her face, and walking straight toward the runway. A moment later the helicopter touched down, blowing sand and small shells into the air with its rotor wash. Someone from the helicopter ran out to Lena and then followed her back into the communications building.

They emerged only seconds later, carrying a large man slouched over their shoulders. It looked like the man was completely limp; either unconscious or worse. If David could have pressed himself completely underground, he would have. Something felt terribly off about this. It was hard for David to see clearly in the darkness. The sound of the rotors made it impossible to hear much more. He held his breath and lay completely still as they passed the bush.

Then he saw the limp man’s face in the moonlight. It was Bill. They were dragging Bill to the helicopter. Holy shit. Was he alive?

Lena and the man from the helicopter slowly carried Bill under the spinning rotors and into the cabin of the aircraft. She then left the helicopter and walked back up toward David. His blood chilled. It looked like she was heading right toward his bush. Each step took her closer and closer. The sound of the helicopter was still loud. If he yelled, no one in the building would hear him.

Just as David thought that Lena had spotted him, she stopped and turned toward the runway. The helicopter lifted off and dipped its nose, accelerating and climbing into the night. David could just barely make out the outline of the aircraft, but he was pretty sure that it wasn’t a Seahawk, like the one his sister in the Navy flew. This helicopter looked different. It was smaller and had an enclosed tail. Like the Maryland state police helicopters that he saw around D.C. Or maybe a Coast Guard helicopter. Could that be a Coast Guard helo? No way. Not this far from home. So who was it? And what the hell was Lena doing dropping off an unconscious Bill into the back seat?

With the helicopter out of sight, Lena walked back towards the communications building. David couldn’t see the entrance from his hiding spot, but he lay in the bushes for a full ten minutes to be sure she was inside.