The Decay

Chapter 42 - Departure

42

They all took a deep breath as the soldiers left the town empty-handed. "That was way too close," said Richard, surprised to still be alive. "We weren't quite done with our conversation yet. I want to know the rest of that sentence," said Mike. Richard wiped his brow briefly before starting. "I wasn't sure whether or not I could trust you, but your actions have proven that I can." Mike and Anita looked at him, silently, waiting for him to continue. "I am a member of 'The Resistance'. It's a company based to the South East of here composed of soldiers falling under the command of a man known as 'The Deer'. He founded the company some years ago in direct response to the rise of U.S.G.A and has been competing with them ever since." Mike looked at him, puzzled. "And what does this have to do with us exactly?" he asked. "You see, if John is working with U.S.G.A, then he's working against The Resistance. I could get you guys allied with them, meaning you'll have a whole company behind you to take them down." Anita looked at Mike. "We need their help. We got lucky with Epsilon. How are we supposed to take down a whole military organization?" Mike looked down silently for a few moments. "What do we need to do?" he asked. "Come with me. Together we'll get to the headquarters and I'll introduce you to the second in command." "Where is this place?" asked Anita. "The Resistance has its headquarters in the building of the John F. Kennedy Library. The main building still stands to this day; the University of Massachusetts converted into an enormous courtyard and training field."

"Give us half an hour," said Mike. "Meet us at the town exit. We're coming with you." Richard nodded. "You won't regret it, Mike. Neither of you will." With that, Richard left to prepare himself for the journey ahead.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Mike. Anita nodded confidently. "It's our best shot. If these guys are good we stand a chance at stopping this madness." Opening the blue backpack, Anita started filling it with their belongings. "Don't forget the duffel bag on the way out of town. We're going to need our weapons." "Oh yeah, I was totally going to forget," said Mike sarcastically. He put on a serious face before he continued. "I was thinking. Are we sure we can trust this guy? I mean, he comes out of nowhere and starts talking about John and everything that's been going on. And the whole joining The Resistance thing, he was really open about it." Anita shrugged. "We did save his life." Mike sighed heavily. "Let's... let's just be careful. You never know, right?"

With all their equipment in hand, the three left Earhart Town and proceeded South East. Mike had no idea if their plan was going to work, if The Resistance would become allies, or if they'd even survive the four hour trip there, but what he knew was that they had to try. John had to be stopped.