Eden's Gate

Chapter 27 - Let's get creative, then

Boomer, Peaches, Cheeseburger and I walked back to the Death Wish, ready to head over to the next place to save. I opened the doors and let Boomer, Cheeseburger and Peaches climb into the back before closing the door and jumping behind the wheel. I reached to turn the engine on when my radio crackled to life. 

"The weak always see themselves as heroes. No matter their cause, they think only of themselves as 'warriors'. But they're not warriors. They're children." Jacob's voice echoed out from my radio. "These 'Whitetail Militia' are not soldiers, they're frauds. Their leader Eli is not a hero, he is a coward. They are not strong. They are weak. And they're being hunted." The radio went silent after Jacob finished his speech. I turned the engine on and began driving back to the Wolf's Den. When we pulled up to the entrance, I had Boomer, Peaches and Cheeseburger wait outside whilst I went down the ladders, into the Wolf's Den. I walked through the bunker, looking for anyone I could help. I spotted Wheaty hunched over device he was tinkering with.

"You guys seem really prepared for this. Well stocked, well-armed and hidden." I asked. Wheaty looked up from his work.

"Whitetail Militia's been ready for this fight for years. Eli made sure we had caches stashed all over the place. Guns, ammo, you name it. Gotta be prepared for anything, y'know? But the way things are going, we need those supplies here, not sittin' in some bunker waiting to be found..." Wheaty explained, still tinkering this his device. "Last thing we need are the fuckin' Peggie's stumblin' across our shit. So, if you could get those supplies it'd be a big help for us. But uh... there is one problem: we don't keep a map of the caches here – don't ask me why. "Safeguards" or some bullshit... There's a scout up at the Jefferson Lookout Tower who should have one. Place is just west of here."

"No problem, I'll see what I can sort out." I replied, smiling at him.

"Good luck and... be careful out there." I walked around the corner, Eli was stood facing numerous televisions.

"Hey, Eli" I said. Eli turned around, clipping his walkie-talkie to his hip.

"Hey, Dep, got a sec?" Eli asked. I nodded in response. "Got a job for you. You remember the Grandview Hotel? That shit hole we pulled you gotta? Need you to head back there. Jacob nabbed a Whitetail by the name of Briggs and he's using the same brain-melting nonsense he tried on you – all in the hopes that Briggs will give up the Wolf's Den. I don't think our boy can hold out as long as you did... and if he gives up our location, we're done. So we gotta move on this quick. Some folks here think it would be the smart move would just be to off him... but if we start killin' our own to save our asses, how's that make us any better than Jacob?" I felt a shiver run down my spine as I remembered being tied to that chair, forced to watch as Jacob talked to us, lectured us on survival. I shook the memory from my head before looking back at Eli, watching him shake his head before he continued. "Nah... I ain't goin' down that road. Here's what we're gonna do instead: Wheaty's cooked up a little deprogramming package – same thing we used on you. Need ya to swap out the tape they got runnin' in Briggs' room with the one I'm gonna give ya and then... well, then we'll see what happens. If everything goes smooth, our guy comes back to Earth. If it doesn't, well..." Eli lowered his head, eyes shut for a moment before looking back at me. "we'll deal with that when the time comes." Eli pulled out a VHS tape from his rucksack and handed it to me.

"Don't worry Eli, I'm sure it'll work," I reassured him, trying to bring even a glimmer of hope into the bleak situation. Eli gave me a small sad smile before he turned back to the monitors. Shoving the tape into my rucksack, I walk through another door. Tammy stood hunched over a small desk, fiddling with a small electrical generator. A Peggie, with a cloth covering their face, was strapped to a chair in a paddling pool of water. I walked over, my eyes wide as I realised what the set up meant. Tammy looked at me as I walked over.