The Decay

Chapter 51 - Headquarters

51

The headquarters of The Resistance were located in the old University of Boston. The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum complex served as the main building, with the entire area surrounded by a large concrete wall. Despite its destruction during the war, a few bright minds and a lot of muscle had rebuilt both the library complex with a great number of modifications, and some of the other buildings of the university. It was thanks to these builders, that the founder of The Resistance succeeded in creating a main base of operations.                                            The inner fortress-like complex of the library contained the main office, armory, control room and other such important facilities. The old university hall served as a garage, containing the functioning vehicles in their position. A little more to the south was the old science building, serving as barracks for the soldiers. A central area served as café and social place.

The NFAD flew overhead and hovered over the landing pad on top of the garage building. It landed with a loud metal 'thump' jerking the passengers slightly. Cole was the first one out, followed by Roger and Mike holding onto Anita. Richard and Douglas came out a few seconds later, leaving the pilots behind to shut down the NFAD. As they exited, they were greeted by Angelo, a high ranking officer accompanied by two members of the emergency medical team. They quickly guided Roger and Mike to the medical facility. Richard stopped in his tracks as the officer came up to him. "Ah, Richard, a pleasure to see you again," said Angelo. He eyed Douglas. "Would you care to leave us for a bit? Good job on the mission, by the way." Douglas nodded in thanks before taking his leave.

"Richard, a word please?" said Angelo before beckoning for Richard to follow him inside the main building.

"The surgeon will be here in a minute. Prep for emergency surgery!" barked one of them at three persons inside the facility. A nurse ran to prepare a tray with equipment. Another left the room, shouting at someone on the other side, whilst the third one turned on a strange looking machine filled with a blue liquid. The other emergency doctor faced Mike. "We are going to remove the bullet and disinfect the wound, after which we will use the RRS on her," she said. Mike looked at her, a blank expression on his face. "What's RRS?" he asked. "RRS stands for Rapid Resuscitation System. We managed to restore this machine despite it dating back to the era before the war. The blue liquid enters the skin through special patches and passes through the circulatory system, destroying foreign organisms whilst giving her energy and keeping her hydrated," explained the doctor. "Although, you might want to know that it's likely to provoke hallucinations, delirium or trigger random memories as it enters the brain. This is however short-lived and not harmful," she added. Mike nodded. "As long as she survives, I'm happy," he said.

As the surgeon entered in a hurry, he placed some patches over head head and chest before hooking them up to the strange looking machine. Anita, barely conscious, felt tingling all over her body before a bright, white light filled her eyes.