LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 1

Within the first twenty minutes of Ralph's group's arrival at the Norfolk International Airport in Virginia, the following two helicopters filled with the military school boys had landed. Once all four groups had been reunited in a small, otherwise empty corridor not far from where they came in, an airport security employee approached the boys and the four Marine pilots.

"Has your crew given instructions to the families?" the employee asked one of the pilots.

"They should be heading to the west wing. That whole wing will need to be cleared of other travellers" the pilot explained.

"Yes, we've directed all traffic to the north wing. My employees will be IDing the parents. One of your crew members has complied a list of those we are authorized to release each of the children to?" the airport employee looked to confirm.

"Commandant should be on the next helicopter in. They've got the finalized list and release details."

"Once we've completed the guardian identification process, we can open the wing to the boys" the airport employee confirmed, earning a nod from the responding pilot.

"Have a seat, boys" one of the other pilots requested, as all 22 boys began plopping down onto the floor.

A few minutes passed as a few hushed conversations occurred around them. A muffled request came through on one of the pilot's walkie-talkies pinned to his shirt.

"Report to the heliport" he told the other three pilots, "commandant needs us to meet with the arriving Army personnel before we proceed."

"You three go head, someone has to stay here to redirect traffic through the other corridors."

With that, three of the four pilots headed through the door at the west end of the corridor. Ralph wondered why it seemed to be so important that they didn't have any contact with other travellers coming through the airport. Was it to protect the boys or to protect everyone else from them?

The remaining pilot stood watch a few feet away from the boys, an equal distance between the door and the middle of the hallway where the boys sat and continued to do nothing but wait.

Several other boys separated Roger and Jack from Ralph. They all leaned their backs up against the wall, half of them lining one side, the other half lining the other. Some of the little ones sat in the middle of the corridor between the two sides, their little bodies small enough to fit without creating a feeling of claustrophobia.

Roger looked over at the pilot as someone tried to come through the door to venture down the corridor. The pilot turned his back on the boys to give the travellers directions to the north corridor. Roger elbowed Jack, who turned his head to look at his friend. Roger silently nudged his head towards Ralph sitting a few feet away. He urgently raised his eyebrows at Jack. Jack sighed heavily. It was now or never. While the pilot was still busy, Jack stood to his feet and began stepping around the rest of the boys piled between himself and where Ralph was sitting on the very end. Just then, the pilot turned around and Jack stopped in his tracks.

"Time to head in, boys" he announced. Immediately, all the cadets rushed to their feet around Jack in anticipation. The little ones were becoming especially squirly and emotional at the thought of seeing their families for the first time in months.

"Listen up. I know how difficult this is going to be for all of you, but you cannot go running off the second you see somebody you know. Once we confirm what we need to confirm on our end, we will open the stanchions and allow you to go find your parents who will be waiting within the borders. You will not be allowed to just leave with your parents. They have been informed that our next stop is the hospital, and that they can meet us there. Once you've all undergone a medical examination and have been cleared by a doctor, only then will you be released to your parents. It is important that you all know that every one of you will be contacted and expected to cooperate as the investigation continues. The whole country is relieved to have you boys back on U.S. soil safe and sound, but there is still a lot to work through before this is really going to be over. Do we all understand?"