- Doomsday - Volume One: Gods and Monsters

Chapter 91: Radiation

[Several Months Later, September, 2059, Somewhere Within the Lower-Midwestern United States, Exact Time Unknown]

"-Church of Eternity has been creating quite a splash recently, now boasting tens of thousands of followers across the nation, but also abroad. Why do you think there has been such substantial growth in your organisation, Brother Eternity, am I correct?" The fields went on forever, golden fields of corn stems as far as the eye could see, with a few assorted farmhouses and barns every so often, but no major population centres for miles. It was surprising that in one of the world's more populous nations there existed areas still that held so few people, and looked not that unfamiliar to what it had looked like over one-hundred years earlier. Food was still needed as ever, and it certainly was in abundance amongst the hundreds of acres of farmland that they crossed through.

A small convoy of unmarked black trucks drove fast down the isolated highway, comparatively miniscule compared to the large-scale agriculture all around them, what their purpose was or where they were headed out in the middle of nowhere was a mystery. It wasn't everyday that such heavily armoured, covert-looking vehicles crossed the relatively peaceful and quiet pastures, their engines roaring as they tore up the road. Their destination, wherever it was, must have been important, as they drove with an almost anxious uncertainty, though what exactly was unclear.

The radio fizzled with static, the connection bumpy in the more rural area, but it was enough to make out what the voices were saying, "Yes, brother. That's my name, a little odd I know, but my devotion to our great order is unshakeable. I wanted to thank you once again for allowing me onto your show, It's a great honour. Why people are flocking to our church is obvious I would think, the world around us is getting crazier and crazier by the day, governments aren't helping the people and it's getting harder for average citizens to even live in this country..." The first truck bounced along the road, snagging a loose rock, but leaving them relatively unharmed. The convoy consisted of only five vehicles, two larger transportation trucks and three escort cars. It seemed a little overkill for the drivers, but it wasn't their job to raise concerns.

Though what cargo they were actually carrying was unknown to them, it was on a need-to-know basis, and they just had to do their job. None of them were greenhorns however, they had done similar work for years, moving back and forth government or corporate assets deemed important, classified materials not meant to be seen by the public. And they did their job well, not asking questions or poking their heads into areas that didn't involve them, they didn't even really know exactly who they were working for, only getting in contact via a middle-man of sorts. "The America of today isn't the America that so many of my fallen comrades gave blood, sweat and tears for, and even their lives. The amount of men and women, family and friends that I had to bury after the Crisis, it would be enough to make any person crazy..."

"Omnics now live alongside us with no repercussions, even after showing their true colours and killing so many of us, and the statistics show that machine crime, and machine-on-machine crime, is only increasing. We've surrendered our national sovereignty to international armies like Overwatch, who only serve the interests of corporate heads and politicians, while us, the common folk, toil away as ever, forced to stay in line and go along with the madness..." The man in the passenger's seat soon reached over, grabbing a hold of the radio dial, "What a crank." Yet, just as he went to change the station, the driver smacked his hand away, "Hey, I'm listening to that." He recoiled his hand, giving the driver an concerned expression, "Don't tell me you're taken in by all this 'Church of Eternity' stuff, right? They're a bunch of psychos."

The driver glanced at him from out the corner of his eye, "I don't think that's fair, yeah maybe they're a little extreme on some issues, but a lot of what they say makes sense. And hell, did you not hear about their healing ceremonies? I have a friend who's sister's cousin had her cancer completely cured after meeting with one of their priests, or whatever." The road seemed to stretch on long after the horizon, and they were no closer to their end-point than they had been hours earlier, with still a few more days of travelling left in store for them. "You don't actually believe that bullshit do you? It's some scam, like the placebo effect or something."