There were no doors leading from the armory to the church’s nave, we have no choice but to go outside again. As we opened the door, we are faced by the wasteland’s strong chilling winds, it’s already dark, no wonder the winds are much more aggressive and frigid. We turned our flashlights on whilst keeping our weapons ready as we head to the church’s main entrance.
It turns out the armory was a separate building from the church, it seems like it was it was recently built for the sole purpose of keeping supplies, now that I’ve mentioned it, I wonder where do this raider group got their supply from? Who’s giving it to them? Where did they find it? If they got these decent kinds of arms, wouldn’t it be easy for them to raid and took over our settlements? So why didn’t they do it yet? Wouldn’t that be more efficient than ambushing a single caravan team? Do they lack the troops? Are they still getting the hang of their new arsenal? Are these guys even raiders in the first place? So many questions are filling my head.
A loud squeak from the rusting hinge echoing through the building’s interior as Ren opened the Church’s door, it was pitch black inside. “Remain Vigilant” Ren said as we set foot inside the church in a file formation led by her. Our flashlights illuminated the church’s interior to check if there’s any kind of threats, it seems that the interior of the church were untouched, from the nave, the transept, the altar, everything!, it was rather odd since this was a raider base, they should’ve put reinforced walls or barricades to call this place their own, perhaps maybe they were religious? Maybe they just respect God? Nothing really seems to make sense.
We continued to inspect the church, “Seems to be clear” Ren said while keeping her voice down. She then leads the squad to search for rooms or other entrances. We searched every corner of the church for almost half an hour, we had no luck. “Dammit where are they keeping them?!” Ren said with anger and frustration. As we’re about to give up hope, one of troops was tripped and fell into a trap door, the whole squad rushed to where she was, “Are you okay?!” Corporal Watson asked her, She replied that she was fine and got up, we we’re relieved that she wasn’t badly injured and can still continue.
Ren instructed her to inspect the surroundings if it was safe for the squad to descend, she then confirmed it was safe. The whole squad then descended. The trapdoor was small in nature, it was oddly placed in the center of the church’s transept and it blends in well with the church wooden floor, it was really easy to miss. It was hard to call it a cellar because it was just a narrow underground corridor that leads to something, we turned our flashlights on and kept our weapons ready in case of any threats. Because of such a limited space, the squad utilized a line formation while traversing the corridor, the path seemed to be sloping down little by little, further sending us underground. Despite the combined illumination of our flashlights, the end of the corridor seemed inconspicuous, as if it was never ending.
As we keep traversing down, we were then greeted by the same malodorous stench earlier, it was much stronger this time that one of the squad members threw up. It was odd since there were no visible sources of where the smell should come from, there were no corpses, decaying bodies or biomass. It was also hard to tell if the odor is coming from another room since the corridor lacks any kind of air vent or exhaust. Ren instructed the squad to put on the gas masks we found in the armory, it was a good thing that Corporal Watson suggested that we take it in case of situations like these.
After walking for minutes, our flashlights had illuminated what seems to be a wooden door, it seems that this is where the corridor ends. Ren instructed the squad to halt as she and Corporal Watson inspected the door. “As if this place doesn’t get any weirder” Ren murmured, “All that walk for a door? What’s a door doing here?” she added as she kicked the door open, she and Corporal Watson rushed inside the room to eliminate any possible hostiles, they continued to inspect the room, the coast seemed clear, Ren then instructed the rest of the squad to follow.
“Man, are these guys even raiders or psychic hippies? ‘cause they’d be messing with my brain on how weird their hideout are!” Ren said jokingly with a little bit of frustration, “Watson, Analysis” she adds, “It looks like the door led us to some storage unit” Corporal Watson answered “These crates looks like they contain medicine and medical paraphernalia” he added as he inspected the nearby crates in the room.
“Maybe it was some kind of an underground medical facility constructed before the bombs dropped?” Corporal Watson continued to inspect the crates and other packages, “None of these makes sense! These crates are not pre-war, they look...new, as if it was transported here recently, not only that, but the huge quantities...like…what are they using it for?, don’t you think….”
Corporal Watson continued to inspect the nearby surroundings. “A tunnel? Train tracks?” unfortunately the passage is blocked by rubble, it seems that the ceiling collapsed. “A rail system perhaps? Maybe this railway leads to the...supplier?” As Corporal Watson continued inspecting, he eventually found an entrance to the facility. Ren instructed the squad to follow her lead.
The facility was compact in nature, there is no need for the squad to split up as it wouldn’t be hard to explore, it only has three floors, the ground floor, the top floor and the underground. The facility seem to be out of power, the inside was really void of light, on the ground floor there were nurse stations, a pharmacy and the different department clinics, the squad inspected each site and room thoroughly, oddly enough nothing seems to be in the state of disrepair, the rooms were clean and in order, the medicines and other paraphernalia in the pharmacy seemed fresh, as if the place isn’t really completely abandoned, unusually, there seems to be no sign of raiders nor any other hostiles in these parts.
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After having no luck in the ground floor, the squad then decided to explore the top floor after, it was all rooms and wards, hospital beds were abundant, just like the previous floor, everything is well organized. The squad examined every area of the floor, unfortunately, there is no one to be found.
Ren is starting to get even more frustrated “Where the hell are they keeping them?! Where even is everybody?! Nothing ‘s making any sense!” She said angrily whilst trying to stay quiet. Having no luck on both floors, Ren led the squad to the underground floor. As we descend, I could feel my head getting heavier and heavier in each and every step, maybe it’s just my growing anxiety and fear of this unknown horror we’re facing. “Are you guys feeling that too?” One of my squad mates asked “The atmosphere of this place feels heavy, it’s making me dizzy” she added, Ren asked her if she could continue and she said she’s fine.
As the squad kept descending down, we we’re once again greeted by the same malodorous, the odor is a lot stronger compared earlier as it can now penetrate through our gas masks. “What in the world?” Ren said with a surprised yet confused tone “Watson, are you seeing this?!” she added. The whole squad was petrified on what they saw. It was roots, creeping from the underground floor, it was no ordinary roots, it seems to be made from biomass, it’s alive! Literally! You can even see it pulsating and wriggling. “Are we still dealing with...raiders?” Corporal Watson said with a confused and nervous tone, he then instructed the squad that it’ll be best to not come in contact with such anomaly. As the squad finally sets foot in the floor, we can feel the stench gets stronger and stronger and the atmosphere heavier and heavier.
“Remain Vigilant! Don’t lose your head! We still got some comrades to save and I ain’t leaving this place with more casualties!” Ren said with confidence and valor as she’s trying to boost the morale of the squad. The squad finally started their inspection of every room in the floor, slowly but surely. It seems that this floor contains the operating room and what seems to be asylum cells. Unlike the two previous floors, the underground floor was completely in ruins.
“I can’t comprehend what I’m seeing right now” Corporal Watson said, the nervous tone in his voice is becoming stronger as the squad examined the operating rooms of the floor. “Where not dealing with raiders anymore” Ren added. Disfigured human remains and gore were still fresh on the operating tables, the instruments and other equipment in the room were all in disrepair, the pulsating roots had completely covered the room’s walls and ceilings slowly claiming it as its own. Ren instructed the squad to get out of the room quickly as she was beginning to feel bad omens and surely enough as soon as the squad egresses, the operating room’s door closed abruptly and was sealed shot by the pulsating roots. My body begins to shiver more uncontrollably by seeing such scenery that I nearly threw up.
The squad searched the cells thoroughly, three out of the five cells were either busted open or was unlocked. These cells were extremely disorganized and were covered by blood and gore, one even had cadavers inside and the roots are starting to claim it. “They must be keeping them in this room” Corporal Watson said as the squad shifted its attention to remaining cells that were locked, he took out his hatchet and break the clasp. Corporal Watson opened the cell door quickly and there they were. We finally found our kidnapped comrades along with some wastelanders and traders, they were lying on the ground unconscious, Ren and Corporal Watson rushed to aid and check their vitals hoping we’re not too late. Me and my other two squad mates were anxious by the results.
After minutes of checking, both Ren and Corporal Watson sighed and relief. “No need to worry, these fellas seem to be okay, no wounds or trauma present, c’mon let’s get them outt’a here!” Me and my other squad mates were relieved by such info. We woke up our comrades and the other bystanders asking if they’re okay and if they can stand-up and walk. These people seem to be in the state of confusion as soon as they woke up and have no idea what happened earlier and how they got here. “We’d spare them the details as soon as we get out of here! Let’s go!” Ren instructed Corporal Watson and the other two squad mates to lead and escort these people back to safety.
I can’t help but notice that the malodorous stench and the heavy feeling magically disappears inside the room, oddly enough, the throbbing flesh roots seems as if they are being repelled from claiming this area, not to mention that the room is well decorated and the furniture and other utilities were well organized, did our comrades did this? The bystanders perhaps? As I continue to examine the room by illuminating the dark areas, I was startled by what I saw that I almost dropped my flashlight and weapon, there’s someone sitting on the bunk bed, it’s...writing? On a notebook? It’s...a girl?