I opened the door, and flipped the light switch. The dim light came on and I saw the grey concrete steps and walls; the area was empty all but. Normally when I checked the portals, a cool breeze would come from the bottom of the pit this time it was still and the cold concrete felt warm. A chill went up my spine, like a low current of electricity. I turned allowing the door to shut behind me; again on one knee I surveyed the launch cover. Suddenly, a squelch came from my radio; I must have jumped a foot. “- All clear –” I whispered back. I proceeded to the north side of the hatch searched the cover for any foreign objects, shown my flashlight down the exhaust events checking the wire seal. The seal was not broken, but I noticed the low drone of the equipment deep inside the silo, and beside the quite I started to beware, that is was warm, that the air temperature was about 10 degrees warmer on the site then it was on the access road. My mind was registering that things were not right, but nothing concrete to put my finger on. I searched the three other sides of the cover with the same results, nothing here. After calling the sarge on the radio with an “All Clear” began the perimeter search checking the motion detector cones and stands, then to the fence line. As I was walking along the fence checking for breaches, any digging or tunneling. As I was doing this, I noticed the temperature on the outside of the fence was definitely cooler, this continued to bother me, so I studied very feature both sides of the fence before I approached them. I made the complete circuit, of site with nothing really to report. I called down to the launch center and reported the site was clear.

The voice asked are you sure? “Yes, why” I said? A pause of silence then, “well nothing”. The gate unlocked, and I stepped out, by this time the sarge had moved the truck to the gate I secured the gate and got in the truck. “Well”, the sage urged, “Nothing there, nothing at all, nothing was wrong” I replied not to reveal my intrusion or gut feeling that this was very strange. We started to drive around the perimeter road checking the barbed wire outer fence, and the lagoon system. Suddenly the sergeant slammed on the brakes, stuck his head out the window and said “shhhhh do you hear that?” I sat motionlessly listening for whatever. After a few seconds I said, “No what?” He waved to me to be quite. We sat looking and listening to everything, the road in the lights of the truck, the shadows in the lagoon, and the stars. “The locusts are making noise again, I can hear the corn rustling in the breeze, why there’s a breeze again”, sarge ranted. I felt comfortable again; at least the sarge had noticed the oddities of the night like I did. We than exchanged the feeling we both shared. As we left the site, he said we should go into town and come back later.