Dead Ones

Chapter 9: Rescue

I ran to the manor, bursting inside. I rushed up to my room and put on all of my armor and gear. I equipped all of my weapons. After doing so I rushed downstairs and out of the manor. I ran to the armory. I requested an entry. "We aren't supposed to let anyone inside without Cyrus's permission," the one guard said. "Are you slow or something? I'm one of the five soldiers going to get back our men. Move!" I shouted. They stepped aside. I entered the armory. I grabbed two boxes of my rifle's ammo and a box of ammo for my pistol. I grabbed two spare magazines for my pistol and a third extra for my rifle. Evening out my magazine count to three and three. I loaded thirty bullets in each of the rifle magazines and seven in each of the handgun magazines. I loaded both the rifle and pistol. I placed the pistol in its holster and the magazines were tucked into my belt. I put the two spare rifle magazines into my left pocket. I grabbed a poor quality nylon strap for my rifle. It would have to do for now. I secured it to the sling points and swung it over my head and around my body. I pulled my mask over my face and put the hood up on my camouflage outer wear. I of course, brought the bulletproof vest. I would be stupid not to. I looked around the armory for anything else that might be of use to me. There was something. Sitting idle on a shelf of some home-made looking explosives were a couple of stun grenades. I grabbed one of them and stuffed it into my back pocket. I left the armory without a word to the guards. "God be with you," one of them called out to me. I sure hoped so. We were walking into a situation blind. Cyrus was no military commander, but I had to listen to him. I met up with the other four at the front gate with Cyrus. I studied each of my friends weaponry. John had a  M1014 shotgun. Otherwise known as the Benelli M4. A semi-automatic eight shot shotgun. Which was his standard issue for the army because he was a close range operator. He also had a Beretta handgun chambered in 10mm. His close range was a standard issue military bayonet. Father Elijah carried a M16A4 rifle, a Glock 17 handgun, and a Kukuri machete. Aaron had similar weapons to his load out when in service. He was equipped with a HK 416, Glock 17, and his close range was an ice pick. Both Aaron and Elijah's primary weapons were 5.56.  Maria carried a M14 EBR, which was a semi-automatic battle rifle in the large caliber of .308.  She also had with her a .38 special revolver and a Bowie knife. Everyone had weaponry they were comfortable with. The people who dared to oppose the Refuge weren't going to know what hit them...

Cyrus handed each of us walkies. "Everyone remembers your call signs when we were on duty, right?" I asked. They did. In case I needed to refresh some memories. John was Blackbear. The Father was Savior. Aaron was Gearhead. Maria was Nightshade. And I was, well, you know that already. Each of us were given plain black balaclavas to wear, except me. "Go save our people," Cyrus instructed us. The gate opened and we began to walk out of the community. "Wait!" said a voice from behind. Sophie was running from the direction of the manor. She collided with me, giving me a humongous hug. "Be safe please," she said, a tear coming to her eye. I wiped it off of her cheek as it fell. "I cannot make a promise I cannot keep, but I will try," I told her. She stopped crying, being reassured by my statement. She let me go and I joined my ranks with the other four. We began our walk down the road which led to the city, and more importantly, the hospital. "Y'all up for a bit of a run?" I asked. "It would cut our travel time in half," I said. No one really wanted to run, especially since every ounce of energy was needed to fight if we had to, but I was looking forward to the mission being over and getting home once again. I began to jog. The others followed stubbornly. It was about an hours walk from the community if we kept a speed walking pace the entire time. By jogging, we arrived in about thirty minutes. It hadn't changed much since the last time I had been there, at least from the outside. The main difference I noticed was people carrying weapons stationed at each door. We approached the building from the side. We hid nearby, out of sight, but with the door and guards in view. Maria pulled a suppressor from her belt and fixed it onto the muzzle of her rifle. She took a knee and propped her rifle on the edge of the building. She focused in and took aim through the sight. She fired twice, striking both of the men. The one was hit dead in the center of the head. He dropped to the ground, leaving a stain on the wall. The second was hit in the neck. He crumpled to his knees and grasped his throat, struggling for breath. We rushed to the door, now that the guards were out of the way. As we got to the door, Maria drew her knife from the sheath and finished off the guard who was still living. We breached into the building. We broke off into teams of two. I myself, was alone. Maria and Elijah were going to search the upper four floors. Aaron and John had the lower four. I had the ground level. The reason I had the ground level was because I was most likely going to encounter the most resistance. I counted on it. Before we split, I took the flashbang from my pocket and handed it to John. "As a breacher, I figured you might want this," I said. He thanked me. "Alright everyone, from now on, we refer to each other by call signs, clear?" I said. They nodded. "Alright, best of luck," I said. I tore open the door to the stairs. All four of them rushed upward. I stayed on the floor I was on. Since I had been here before, I knew the layout of the building. I raised my rifle and began to walk the halls...