Lt. Col. Daniel F. Hunter: Rebuilding The Country

Chap.24 "The Weapons Facility"

I woke up in a cold sweat, it felt like I was going into extreme arctic waters with sharp winds. Looking around was of no help because most of the street lamps didn't have electricity or any source of power going to them but I knew I was inside the tank, as my eyes adjusted to the dark, Maleter was gone. I didn't want to speak due to the fact that the area around me may be infested with overwatch soldiers or rangers, I put my hand on my pistol grip and pulled it out, footsteps were sounding on the right side of where I was positioned. It took some courage and willpower to literally open the hatch but I wanted to open it slowly as noise was not needed in a situation like this, I put my left hand on the handle that opens the hatch to the outside, with a gentle manner, I managed to open it without a slightest sound. I slowly rosed up and got a great view of the stars, I saw the Pleiades Constellation and Orions Belt, the night was so clear that it reminded me of how my granddaddy use to take me to Sequoia National Park in California. Then the footsteps started again and I slowly aimed at of where they were coming from, I pointed my M1911 at the origin with my finger laying on the barrel due to the fear that whatever I was aiming at could be Maleter, Collins, or someone else. As they got louder and louder, step by step, and with an ease tension, I finally broke silence. I shouted out the words with a commanding matter: "WHO GOES THERE!?", then a familiar voice came out of an outlined silhouette of a figure, it was Darlington. Darlington said to me that everything was okay and that everybody including O'Duffy was now back in Charleston, I got out of the tank and on to the ground with Darlington, Maleter was sitting down on the grass off to the right on a steep hillside. I called Maleter down and gave him a pistol which was a HDM semi-automatic silencer, this pistol was used in several conflicts back in the 50s and early 60s, Pal was optimistic but he still was cautious about going into the facility. Looking at the entrance to the facility was an absolute mess, the guard posts and towers were being reclaimed by nature, bits of wood and metal covered most of the parking lot. The concrete in the parking lot was bombed to hell even though the Combine wasn't even close to this area of West Virginia, this thus led me to believe that something else was going on here, back during the Uprising, I was getting reports and rumors about this place saying that men in black uniforms were parading here and supposedly torturing poor bastards here.

As we walked calmly with an ease up to the main steel doors, Darlington had a old Colt 1851 Navy Revolver which he carried all threw the First World War, I was carrying the same equipment that I had when I was in North Dakota, the same M1903 Pedersen, M1918 BAR, and M1911 Colt which were all modified to my liking. I do have to admit that I was a bit freaked out when we were walking to the steel doors, it felt like someone was watching us from all sides but I shrugged it off as simple paranoia, we all finally got to the doors and they were wide open. The entire entrance had looked like a wild animal tore through the place, bodies of guardsmen were decomposing which made it smell like hell, a few critters like possums and raccoons were chewing on some rats that were scavenging for food, I saw a few zombies just walking around and a few more sleeping. We all gunned down the zombies and proceeded into the narrow hallway leading down into the facility, however, I was a bit concern due to Maleter's tank just sitting there on the side of the road, I took a glance at it and hoped that it would be there once we got back to the surface. I still can't describe of how fucking tight I was holding the BAR, I literally cemented my hands on the gun and kept it close, I barked the order of the importance of staying together as going off into uncharted areas could get us killed.

This whole place was darker than the midnight sky that I had to use night vision to see of what was around us, when I turned my night vision on, I saw something just like of what we all seen back in that asylum in North Dakota. Skeletons rest peacefully on the murky damp ground, pipes were spouting from the walls, cracks here and there in the concrete while a creepy hissing noise from a steam vent added to the uneasy environment of this underground bunker. Tin cans that were empty were just scattered around, dirty clothes were wrinkled and scattered all over the place, we saw several books and personal belongings that made us even more saddened than we were before. I saw a teddy bear lying on the floor for which I started to tear a bit, but then, we all heard a loud crashing sound and ultimately ran towards it. We ran through several corridors and finally realizing of how big this place really is, we came to of what looked like a security station or an outpost, there were two military police guards dead on the ground. These poor souls didn't stand a chance and were wiped out, the thing that I would lay eyes on that would fill me with rage was the crucified people that were located near the southwest corner wall. They were hanging just like of how jesus had died on the cross, to be honest, I am not a religious person but this was the most grotesque and disturbing shit that I've seen of what the Combine had done. However, most of us would discover that this was not the Combines doing at all, this was the doing of an cult. Pentagrams were located in a ammo supply room, when we walked in both Maleter and Darlington were horrified even I was horrified, I contacted MacArthur over the radio to tell him of what the hell we found. I told him that we founded ritualistic shit in this facility, the flame that was brewing inside of me was so much that I literally was a pissed off general cursing like a sailor, Darlington was sitting down with his head Buried into his hands while Maleter was praying for guidance. I was on my knees with tears running down my face, after so much hell that not only me but the country gone through, I immediately had to do of what was right and that was to make an ultimate decision of what to do with the cults in America. I told both Maleter and Darlington that we have to start a eradication like program against the cults, they looked at me with judging eyes, I knew damn well of what I was asking for was going over the Constitution and going as far as ordering the deaths of thousands and maybe even a hundred thousands of those who could be all innocent of any wrong doing, but with this horrific scene, this crosses the line completely.