People flinch with each building creak. Every noise causes all eyes to dart to the entrances expecting a renewal of the night runner assault. The stench of the night runners dead on the floor below mingles with the lingering smell of gunpowder. Everyone waits with bated breath for the sun’s arrival. The evening passes with little or no rest. With each minute seeming like an hour, the glow of dawn finally bleaches the eastern sky. A collective sigh passes through the survivors huddled within the sanctuary – although the term sanctuary feels like a misnomer at this point. The shrieks that inundated the interior just a few hours ago seem like a hellish nightmare and the fact that they are still alive seems rather surreal. Snapshots of the evening’s events flash through every mind as they relive the horror of the night. With the first rays of dawn streaming upon the scared group of survivors, Drescoll begins the cleanup operations. He directs the teams to clear the bodies, load them into transports, and take them to a nearby field where they are burned.
