A Brief Respite

Much to my chagrin, life is beginning to become a bit overwhelming. I am left unable to continue this website at the time being, but the chapters will remain posted and once things are sorted out I will begin once more.

Chapter 13

Like cattle, the seven surviving Bolivians and one surviving Adventist marched out from the church and began a long ascent up the hill. The transport vans were more than large enough to hold all eight, though no one expected more than five. They began to secure the site, which mostly involved looking for runners. Snipers were set up at every corner and even began installing video traps in the highest sections of the trees. As they did all this, both Sorenson and Atlas returned from their chase. To the bewilderment of the soldiers, they returned with no prisoner.

“Sir,” said Szekely, “I am not of the rank to question you, but we were unable to receive your transmissions and I would like to know where the Adventist is.”

Chapter 12; Part 04

The sound of ducks could be heard not far off and the wind itself made a shuffling sound against the trees, which sat no further than twenty feet away. The water slowly came to and fro, leaving only to return again, seemingly gathering more steam each time, only to later calm. And, as he slowly faded into a dream, he could feel the wind dancing on his face, brushing through his hair and even warming his shaken body. As though it knew what to do before it even happened, a cold chill ran down his back and then, as he let out a snicker, he felt the horribly cold edge press against his throat.

“My name is Atlas,” he began as he slid his hand behind the man’s back and slowly pushed him forward until he sat upright, all while holding the knife gently against his throat. “I’m an Inspector with Black Sun. I don’t think I have to go into why you’re being arrested, do I?”

Chapter 12; Part 03

As they fought, the three units surrounded the outside of the house and began to open the three main entrances: the backdoor, the front doors, and a ladder which led up into the second floor of the church. Atlas left Sorenson where he was and rejoined the first unit, which the captain should have been leading. Instead, Corporal Alec Szekely gathered the men and whispered the orders, leading them to the front of the church doors and, within a few seconds, breaching them. An electric current seethed from a small pack they placed in front of it, immediately sending a charge through the doors and melting the hinges. They fell over and down the concrete stairs.

The unit, under command of Szekely, readied themselves and tossed a WP779 Canister into the long corridor of the open church. With a horrible pop, the canister exploded, pouring a large amount of white smoke into the air. The very presence of it would burn exposed flesh, though not to the point of death. Instead, it felt like salt on an exposed wound.

Chapter 12; Part 02

They took crouched positions and began to fire into the trees madly, forcing the AnR soldiers to fall back into their cover. Nevertheless, as they hid behind cover, the captain ordered a charge. Soon, the sound of rifle barrels cracking as the snipers began to fire sounded off, echoing in the small hillside. The sound of the trees being riddled by bullets filled the air and the captain stood stoically from behind a rock.

“Charge,” he said, shouting into his communicator

Chapter 12; Part 01

It took longer than he first would have thought. By the time that the drivers gave the five minute warning, the sun had begun to crest over a long row of hills which surrounded the road. The soldiers were checking their armor and their weapons, making sure everything was where it should have been. Atlas, on the other hand, fell in and out of sleep. His head fell from one side to another, only waking when the transport van jerked.

Captain Sorenson leaned forward to Atlas and tapped him on the shoulder, saying stiffly, “Sir, it’s time to wake up. We’re nearly there.”

Chapter 11; Part 03

“How many are there?” the captain asked, this time hoping for an actual answer.

Helios walked back over to the table and shrugged.

“For all we know,” he said “they’ve got a thousand people hiding in that basement, but something tells me they don’t. These men are fanatics and they are not afraid to kill. They’ve been attacking soft targets near Mexico City for the past three months, killing politicians and kidnapping the children of highly influential individuals.  Then again, they’re little more than Bolivian thugs sent on a mission by some zealot who thinks John Haley is actually God incarnate,” Helios suddenly stopped as the men all let out a chuckle. “Our mission this evening, gentlemen, is as simple as they come: kill the Bolivians – no prisoners will be taken – and capture all Adventists.”

Chapter 11; Part 02

“Officer Atlas,” he said as he passed. Unlike the others he did not salute and he did not continue on down the hall. Instead, he stood there and waited for a response, only to receive a blank stare. “I’m Captain Aaron Sorenson of Black Sun AnR Unit 10o5.”

Atlas nodded and turned, ignoring him thoroughly. After a few steps, however, the sound of Captain Sorenson’s boots against the concrete floor echoed. He was being followed, much to his chagrin. It wasn’t necessarily that he disliked the Black Sun soldiers, but there was just something which rang out as wildly offensive to him. Perhaps, as he thought about it, it was simply jealousy. When he was the captain of the 5o5 they were never given anything even close to the R5290 combat armor.

Chapter 11; Part 01

It was a fortress to say the very least. OC:3 was a house that could not topple, at least not in any way that Atlas saw possible. Above ground it appeared to be little more than a refinery, granted those had been largely outlawed. For the most part, the OC:3 Armory was nothing more than a place to house weapons, armor, and vehicles. Nevertheless, it was also able to hold at least two hundred soldiers at once.

There were theories abound that Black Sun used the armories as a place to study the habits of their soldiers. Whether this was true or not was unknown, but it didn’t matter much. Once you joined Black Sun, you were unable to leave.

Chapter 10; Part 04

Nathan froze in terror, his hands clenching down hard onto her shirt and his eyes closing so tightly he was worried they would never open again. As for his protector, her eyes popped open immediately and she quickly turned her head back towards the car behind them. It was an old beat up sedan from the United States. It was built before the unification of North America, when cars still used gasoline. The sun was on her back, which unfortunately meant it now glared into her eyes as she looked upon the man who got out of the car.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

She jumped to her feat and pushed Nathan onto his, shouting as she did, “Run, run!”