Artificial Earth

36

Kennebeck Stadium
7:45 a.m

LUIETENANT GREENE, MP MCDONALD AND Brian Cobbs stood just outside the tunnel that led towards the generator. Several MP'S and five army commandos were also present, gaurding the entire entryway. The hallway was dark, two MP's were carrying small gas lanterns and the rest were holding small flashlights .Four men wearing bio-hazard suits came out of the tunnel carrying the body of "Old Ted" on a stretcher, after them, a fifth man, also wearing a bio-hazard suit came out then walked over towards the Lieutenant.
"Lieutenant....Chief Medical Examiner Wilkins.." the man introduced himself, taking off his protective head gear and extending his hand.
"Nice to meet you Doc." the lieutenant replied, shaking his hand. "So...What do you got?" he added, asking the M.E.
"Well...Good News is, no spills, there wasn't anything radioactive....but..."
"But What?" Greene interrupted, clearly concerned.
"Body's as dry as a desert. Two large puncture wounds on the neck.... ..We'll still need time to run tests to determine cause of death, if there are any contagious and dangerous diseases..."
"Give me something to work on Doc."
"Well, ahem,...body's drained of blood...They could have bled him to death....used some sort of apparatus to suck him dry...can't say for sure unless we run our tests. Maybe some sort of Cult ritual..."
"Think some kind of wierd Cult did this?"
"It's either that or Dracula suddenly became real...."
"Are you suggesting that there's a possibility that..."
"Of course not lieutenant....Vampires aren't real."
"So what do you think did this?
"Can't tell...but this definitely is a work of a disturbed mind, definitely psychotic."
"Any clues? Anything the killer left?" Greene asked, eyeing Brian.
"We vacuumed the crime scene, my team will start analyzing everthing we got. Should take at least Twenty to Forty Eight hours." the M.E said. "Oh,...One of my crew found this on the floor." handing over a broken Hand Radio. "Someone must've dropped it....another one like that's still attached to the victims belt, thought you should know." he added.
"How long before we get a preliminary report?" Greene asked, looking at the broken Hand Radio.
"Twelve hours at least and that's pushing it."
Lieutenant Greene frowned, obviously not satisfied. "That's too long... Killer's still out there."
"We'll do our best and work faster lieutenant, let you know as soon as we get results." Wilkins said. "I'd better head back. Nice meeting you Lieutenant." he added, hurrying off to catch up with his crew.
Lieutenant Greene turned and faced the entryway, motioning for one of his men to come over.
"I want that area sealed and gaurded. Whoever's reponsible might come back. If anyone of them sees anyone or anything suspicious, report immediately back to me." he ordered.
"Yes Sir. I'll station MP's to gaurd the entryway, sir!" the commando replied.
"You two..." Greene called out, calling MP McDonald and Brian.
"You mentioned two of your crew found the body..."
"Yes Sir."
"Where are they now?"
"I..I..don't know sir."
"Does this look familiar?" Greene asked, handing him the Hand Radio.
"I think this is one of ours, looks like its Jimmy's...J's been carved at the back." Brian said, turning it over, looking at the back.
"MP McDonald.." Greene said, turning towards the MP.
"Sir?"
"I want You and Mr. Cobbs to look for his crew, I'll send a few of my men to join you in your search."
"Yes Sir!" MP McDonald replied.
"Wait here while I..." the lieutenant was saying.
"Lieutenant!" cried out one of the commandos, rushing towards the lieutenant.
"A report just came in...MP asking for immediate assistance, said they were attacked down at the East Wing."
"Attacked? By what?"
"Nothing else was mentioned on the report, sir."
Lieutenant Greene thought for a while, "What the hell's going on? An Attack? Here? A murder, missing people, the generator torn by who knows who....On top of it we have this unusual Storm and more people coming in..."
"Sergeant!" Greene called out.
"Yes Lieutenant!" the Sgt. replied, moving towards the lieutenant.
"Take four men and bring MP McDonald and...and..." Greene was saying.
"Brian Cobbs Sir..." Brian inserted.
"And Mr. Cobbs with you over the East Wing. Find out what's going on back there then report back. After that you help find Mr. Cobbs crew and detain them for questioning."
"Yes Sir!"
"I'm issuing a curfew and I want a tighter security on the evacuees, limiting the places they could wander about. I want more men patrolling the stadium, advise the men to be on their gaurd, keep their eyes open, remember...the killer or killers are still out there. Lastly, Keep this quiet. We don't need people panicking. I want all this effective immediately. Understood?"
"Sir yes sir!"

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Kennebeck Stadium

CAPTAIN STUART LEFT THE MEETING room then headed to his private office, an office temporarily built to accomodate his stature during this ongoing crisis. The room was small, devoid of the usual ameneties given to officers with ranks such as his. Stacks of textile materials were piled on the far end of the room, a solitary desk and a small folding bed lay near the doorway, barely enough room for a man of his status.
"That damn Major Michell, always the good samaritan!" he thought, sitting down.
"How can we accomodate and save all those people by bringing them all here...What we need to do is take half or even less of the population to ensure the continuity of Marble City. That means, taking in the rich and those that have something to contribute and leave the rest."
He took out his phone and dialed.
"Lieutenant Grant...Start operation Take Over, Yes, We'll have no problem, I'll deal with that bastard Michell. Call the Secretary, tell him we're good to go."
"Will do sir."
"And Grant...Don't touch the Major, he's mine." he added.
Captain Stuart stood and walked over the end of the room. A large rectangular box lay near the wall, locks were placed on all sides of the box. He then opened each lock and took an A90 assault riffle out, loading it.
"I won't let that asshole destroy Marble City's legacy. Mitchell's a boyscout, shouldn't even be a member of Artificial Earth's Elite. That will all change today." he said out loud to himself.
"Artificial Earth should belong to the elite and finest! Not to beggars and less fortunate, world must change." he said.
The Door opened and five Army Commandos in full battle gear walked in.
"Captain. Our team is ready." said one of the commandos.
"How many have you convinced to join us?" the Captain asked, turning and looking the soldier in the eye.
"Seventy strong, sir."
"Good. How about Lieutenant Greene?"
"Haven't reached him yet, but i'm sure he'll comply, he has no choice."
"If he doesn't...eliminate him. We don't need any screw ups."
"I sent two men to talk to him, let's wait for the results, if he says no..."
"I know Greene. He's a team player, follows Mitchell like a dog. Give him just a fraction of a chance...if he disagrees, which is what I believe he'll do, just do him quickly and silently, he still has a strong influence on his men."
"That wouldn't be much of a problem, we already turned most of his men, they're all in place and are waiting for your go."
"Good then."
Captain Stuart stood up and walked towards the soldier, carrying the A90 assault riffle.
"Where do we start?" asked the commando.
"We'll be the spear heading the group, we strike on top...the Major."
"Is the Secretary alright with this?"
"Boy...The Secretary's not in command of this operation."
"I'm sorry sir...but I thought..."
"The Secretary's only a pawn, he will be dealt with later on. There are higher forces at work here."
"I see. So..."
"Follow me... Let's do this."

Major Mitchell was sitting inside the temporary headquarters of the evacuation area. He was drinking coffee and was facing the opposite side of the room when his door suddenly flew open.
"I said... I wanted some time alone, who..." the major said, turning in his chair.
A barrage of bullets flew, shattering glass and puncturing holes on the wall. The Major turned and dropped to the floor, pulling his side arm out, firing back at his attackers. He managed to crawl and take cover underneath the wooden desk in front of him, firing two more shots before a bullet penetrated through the wood, hitting the major on his forehead, spilling his brains on the floor. His attackers walked right in then showered the Majors body with bullets, ripping it to shreds. Captain Stuart then strolled casually in, looked at the major then spat on his face.
"One down...next.." he said aloud, making himself a cup of coffee.

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Authors Note

Hi there! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all you readers out there...It really really means a lot for an author to have readers...so Thank you sooo much! I hope you keep reading, more thrilling moments to come! If you enjoyed reading the story, please don't forget to Vote, Comment and Share with friends! Thanks again!