Who know what evil lurks....

From John in Bagram:

As the winter months come crawling our way, the nights here in Afghanistan have begun to chill and it often appears that they have taken on a life of their own. As the sun goes down the very appearance of normality is replaced by a hidden force. The sky is filled with a smothering dust that makes the moon fight for the very right to shine. What is this strange phenomenon in Afghanistan that causes one to feel safe and secure in the light and yet allows depression and despair to assault you at night?

You see, evil thrives in the darkness. It is under this shroud that my enemy does his work. In the black of night, Improvised Explosive Devices are hidden on the road ways waiting to steal life from the next convoy that dares to drive by. It is in the cover of darkness that would be heroes of the insurgency draw close to our base and launch missiles over our walls. They slither back and wait to hear if their prayers will be answered when their offering of terror strikes my base. The Afghans and the Americans both know that the night is owned by the Taliban. It was just a few nights ago that we found ourselves facing this very evil.

In the middle of a war zone, things that are harmless and gentle in the light of day become mysterious shadows well suited for evil in the black of night. On this day, as if frightened away by some unseen force, the sun had quickly fallen from the sky. A series of fighter jets had just taken off with a deafening roar and we were left with an eerie silence that sent chills up our spines. Wasn’t it “The Shadow” from the 1930 who taunted us with the line, “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” The thought of these words can haunt a man as he moves through the dim alleys of our base.

The path from our office to our living quarters is sporadically lined with a poor attempt at lighting. Instead of providing a path of security, we find that the faded glow from the overhead lamps only intensifies this world of shadows. Even when surrounded by thousands of soldiers, each one of us knows that in darkness, our enemy is always near.

Chief Warrant Officer Biggerstaff, whom we call Mr. B, was the first who dared to go out that night. Having traveled this path a hundred times Mr. B ducked his head and as the dust blew across the lot he shielded his eyes and began the walk toward his room. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw a dog lurking in the shadows across the parking lot. But there are no dogs on the base. Was this a dog in the darkness or a man couched down to the ground? He would have ignored the very idea had he not noticed that when he stopped… so did the figure.

The hair stood up on the back of his neck as all of his senses became aware of the danger that he faced. Slowly, he lowered himself down as his hand dropped to his holster. As his fingers took hold of his pistol he saw the figure also stop and duck down. As he contemplated his situation and began to evaluate maneuver options, he noticed that the figure in the darkness seemed to be mocking him. If Mr. B moved right, the figure moved with him. When Mr. B made a quick move left, the figure was there almost before him.

In a moment of revelation he noticed the two overhead street lamps, one forward and one to the read, both capturing him as what would appear to be a murky shadow on the other side of the parking lot. Mr. B moved on to his room pondering the unanswered question, “Do you get a medal for shooting your own shadow?”

- Major John Parker