It's quite late at night and there's no moon, I can't see anything beyond the car lights. I've been driven very nervously for the las 45 minutes fearing that one of those things could jump on our vehicle attracted to the light; usually I'm a soldier with nerves of steel, this knot I'm feeling in my stomach is new to me and I don't like it. Ruby remains silent sitting next to me, she's realized that I need all my attention focused on this bumpy rural road which seems deserted. Her dogs are snoring in the backseat, they're so calmed and well-behaved... I'm amazed because they haven't barked or jumped on the seat during the trip. All of a sudden, a metal gate appears out of nowhere a few feet in front of us; a high brick wall with barbed wire on top stretches both sides as far as the eye could see. On one hand I feel relieved because we've arrived finally, on the other hand... we're not inside yet and we're going to exposed ourselves to danger more than ever before getting to safety.
"Ruby, I need to go out to enter a code on that keypad." My wife looks at me scared and her hand grasps nervously the gun I gave her. "Keep calm, this is what we're going to do: I'm going to get out of the car and you're going to move to the driver's seat. I'm going to open that gate and you're going to drive the car through it while I make sure that nothing sneaks in behind you. Then I'll get in the passenger's seat and you'll keep driving. All right?"
She doesn't seem very happy with the idea but swallows hard and nods. She's a brave girl. I get as close as I can to the gate illuminating the little grey box of the keypad with the car lights. I check my gun and take a look around me: it's too dark to see anything. "Fuck!" I just move my lips, I don't want Ruby hearing me cursing and getting more nervous. Then, I take a deep breath and get out. The cold feels like a blow after spending hours inside the warm vehicle but it also helps me to wake up. I walk quickly the few steps to reach the keypad, aiming my gun carefully at the gate and doing arc-shaped sweeps while I scan the surroundings, keeping my eyes and ears open. And that's precisely the moment I hear it... I frown trying to identify that noise, it's a constant background hum in the distance. It seems familiar to me but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I don't think is good for us: this is a very isolated area and we shouldn't hear anything but birds.
I don't bother to check behind me if Ruby has moved from her seat to mine, I'm assuming that she'll obey my orders as fast as she can. In the army, you learn to trust in your comrades because teamwork is the key to success in your missions and I've decided to trust her. I remain more vigilant than ever before in my life when I enter six numbers that I memorized by heart long time ago. A little green light flickers and the gate opens, sliding to one side quietly. Someone has kept it well-oiled fortunately. First I check the other side, making sure there's nothing strange there with my gun ready and, once the gate is open enough for the car to cross, I wave to indicate Ruby that she can move on while I monitor the surroundings behind us. I press the button on the other side of the wall and the gate closes. Well, so far so good. Technically, the wall is high enough to prevent anyone from jumping it and the wire at the top is electrified, we should be safe but I think it's best if I stay alert. I don't like that constant noise in the background, it's getting on my nerves.
I jog around the car quickly and get in the passenger's seat. "What's...?" I cut Ruby's question with a sharp gesture of my hand and she keeps driving. The road is paved here so it's easier for her to control the car and we move fast till we find a new gate a few feet ahead, very similar to the one we've already crossed. I nod at my wife and we repeat the same procedure: I check my gun, get out of the car, I walk quickly scanning the surroundings, I type while I keep my gun ready, I check the other side, Ruby drives through the gate while I watch and get in the car again. It only takes us a couple of minutes but they feel like an eternity while we can hear that annoying hum in the distance. I know that I've heard that somewhere else but I can't remember where.
