After I finish showering, I discard the old bandages in the trash and bind my chest with the roll I'm holding in my hand. I get dressed and walk past the bunks to head for the base control tower. Walking alone in the sparsely lit night wasn't much different from my hometown, except that our town didn't have expansive slabs of concrete everywhere. I salute the guard standing at the entrance to the tower and enter the building, heading for the staircase and walking up to the very top, where a large radar antennae stood. I sat on top of the roof and watched the runway from my perch, waiting in the soft breeze.