The darkness was thick around them but far in the distance lights danced from a solitary area. A dry residual heat still flowed from the rocky ground underneath them, but the night air was crisp and cool. As they lingered on a small outcropping on the top of a hill silence overwhelmed them.
“Are y’all ready for this?” one spoke trying to find reassurance in the others.
“Of course! We have to know.” a girl replied to the leader in a matter of fact tone.
“The world needs to know.” The last man was there only to prove he wasn’t insane.
“When we reach the gate we move fast. Understand?” the leader notioned.
“Yes” the others replied in unison.
The leader nodded and they began to move at a steady pace down the backside of the hill towards the fence line. Past the fence had been this group’s focus since they were old enough to understand what the world was hiding from them. A gateway to another place. A connection to a higher intelligence. A chance to commune with the gods. Why the government wanted to hide this place from its citizens they could never know. They reached the gate and nothing seemed to stir. Was it really this unguarded? Had the internet been right in saying that they could slip unnoticed into the facility? No looking back now. They hopped the backroads style metal fence and began to sprint for the dazzling lights in front of them. Suddenly blindingly white lights lit up all around them. A bullhorn sounded from somewhere past the lights.
“You have officially trespassed on U.S. military property. Get on your knees and put your hands in the air. Otherwise we will be required to restrain you by force.”
The group kept sprinting. They wouldn’t be dissuaded from the importance of their ideals. The girl looked to her left to see the leader abruptly collapse. She could no longer see the other man either. Tears began to form as she reached towards the twinkling lights in the distance. Salvation wasn’t too much further off. Something solid hit her in the back of the head and she fell to the warm earth below. The military police gathered the three believers and put them in the back of a truck. Where they were headed, they wouldn’t be able to look at the stars and wonder what may lay beyond anymore.
