Yesterday night at 8pm sounds of gunfire were reported in the east district of Santa Fe in the Mountain Side Gated Community.
Members of the Sante Fe Guard were dispatched to investigate and found the remains of Second Adventist priest Tim Baker in his home. The autopsy report stated the cause of death was blood loss from gunshot wounds to the abdomen. Coroners were unable to determine the number of gunshot wounds due to the damage, but 23 bullet casings were found at the scene.
Eyewitness reports are recorded as saying they saw a member of the Mother Mary’s Gospel affiliated group Eve’s Enforcers breaking into the home shortly before the gunshots started.
A spokesperson from Mother Mary’s Gospel responded to this by stating “We had nothing to do with this, Mr. Baker probably just had a bad fall.”
A statement released by the Sante Fe Guard stated that they ‘Are looking into all possible leads and evidence before making any arrests.’
65 year old Tim Baker is survived by his wife 38 year old Cathy Baker and daughter 23 year old Elizabeth Baker who is currently in the ICU due to injuries sustained from a fall in an unrelated incident.
- Santa Fe Tribune, September 12th, 2147
Something is off here.
My waking brain examines the bare walls and strange layout with suspicion before my mind kicks in and reminds me I'm in Santa Fe. They dropped us off at the barracks and I dropped into an open cot among the rows of beds in the large shared space. This time deliberately choosing not to remove my uniform in the unfamiliar sleeping quarters.I use the washroom and splash some water on my face before deciding to get a head start on whatever contract might need doing since I’m limited on time.
Heading out into the dim light of early morning I begin moving toward the direction of the guild’s admin building located in a separate spot from the barracks and immediately run into a bit of an issue. I brought a map, I always have a map, I just don’t have one that shows where the trolley lines go. I’ve also never even ridden a trolley before though it seems like the few people also awake are just hopping on and off as it passes. I hesitantly jump on to the next one that looks like it’s going in the general direction of the guild branch and hope I’m going the right way.
There’s not much for me to do while I’m riding on the trolley so I look around and admire how absolutely beautiful everything is. There’s so much more greenery spread out in Santa Fe and the buildings are made of some kind of clay called Adobe instead of the steel and concrete of Dallas. The material gives them a more intimate and personal touch, more of a home than a house.
I only get lost and have to backtrack a few times, but I don’t even care as I’m too busy admiring all the different buildings and landmarks. I finally get to the guild branch which is inside an old museum located next to a Cathedral with the cross and ‘M’ symbolizing a church of Mother Mary’s Gospel. I even see a few women decked out in armor with the snake and apple denoting them as part of the Eve’s Enforcer section of the church. Seeing them is like a cool glass of water in the desert because if there’s anyone on the planet that hates the adventists more than me it’s Eve’s Enforcers.
I’m not sure what I was expecting when walking in, but the museum section still being intact hadn't been it. There are posters for exhibits lined up against the walls leading up to the front desk, some clearly preserved from before the apocalypse. There's a poster advertising a feather from the Roc that catches my eye and I make a note to check it out on my off day.
The guild clerk behind the counter is a wiry guy in glasses frantically shuffling papers and he vaults over the counter as soon as he spots me, a folder gripped tight in his hand. Having him rush up to me like this is ringing all kinds of alarm bells, but I ice over my nerves and calmly stay in place.
“Thank God someone showed up early. Please tell me you're here for a mission.” He hastily fixes his crooked glasses while giving me a pleading look. This is either a gift or a curse, but either way I nod my head to his immense relief.
“Great! The mission is at oh seven hundred which is… twenty minutes from now. Good luck!” He shoves the folder into my hands and sprints out of the door, leaving me with only the paperwork as explanation. With a shrug I start flipping through the file to see what I've just gotten myself into.
Cursed, this is definitely cursed.
Normally I would be happy, I get to work with Eve’s Enforcers after all.
Except this is a rescue mission.
A rescue mission for a nine year old boy.
The fact that the kid went missing some time this morning is the only thing giving me any hope. At least, I’m really hoping this is a rescue and we’re not just here to bring the body back to the family.
The neighbors spotted the kid running down the street sometime around five in pajamas carrying a blanket and a stuffed animal. Miss Margaret, an elderly neighbor, followed to check on him and found him scrambling inside a gap into the sealed off tunnels around and out of town. The ones people made to avoid creatures in the sky until they found more creatures in the ground.
Small and enclosed with a time limit is not really my forte, but I do have the enforcers coming with me. Still I think I could use some back up. Kayla would be perfect for this, but also I'd feel a bit bad about dragging her into this mess.
I have enough time to ask at least, and hopefully grab breakfast.
She opted to stay in a motel nearby, said she preferred the privacy. It's much closer than the dorms and I have a feeling the place is located nearby for that reason. It's large but not glamorous and I step inside to find a yawning clerk lounging behind the front desk. She directs me to Kayla's room since my name is listed in her contacts which puts a smile on my face.
A few knocks and only a couple seconds later she opens the door in full armor and ready to go. Guess she wasn’t planning on sleeping in either.
“Hey, good morning. Heading out somewhere?” I ask cheerily, cracking a small grin.
“Good morning and not at this moment. Rather I was exercising as I do my best to maintain optimal fitness levels.” she says as she gives a couple jabs like she’s shadow boxing.
“Wow, that’s impressive dedication.” I respond genuinely.
“More impressive than practicing archery and gymnastics every evening for hours?” She states flatly with a slight tilt of her head.
“Ahah, that’s more of an obligation…” I didn’t realize anyone was paying attention to that.
“Why would it be impressive on my part and not yours?” She presses, not taking her eyes off me for a moment.
“Oh that’s right, I had an urgent mission I was going to ask you about.” I deflect, feeling embarrassment creep in. “Eve’s Enforcers requested help with tracking in the tunnels to rescue a kid.”
“Let us make haste.”
Without another word she grabs my arm and starts dragging me down the hallway, more than enough for an answer. When we get outside she picks up pace and I have to break into a light jog to keep up, I hadn’t expected her to be this motivated. As we’re closing back in on the guild building I spot a couple vendors setting up outside and my growling stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten.
“Hold up, I’m gonna grab a bite. Should only take a sec.” I rush over to a hotdog stand while fishing out a mark, the guy throwing together one the moment he sees me. He loads it up with everything by my request and in less than I’m minute I’m back beside Kayla while chomping on the delicious mess.
She stares at me through her helmet visor for a moment and mutters “Hotdogs are not optimal.”
I just shrug, I’m hungry and it’s food.
We make it into the lobby as I'm finishing my meal and are greeted by five very intimidating women. They’re all heavily armored in dark grey military gear and helmets, chest emblazoned with the Eve’s Enforcer symbol and armed with a combination of axes and what I’m almost certain are FN P90 submachine guns.
“Greetings, I am Seraphim Elizabeth and this is my squad. You must be our hunter.” Says the one with the wings around her symbol. Her voice is hoarse and gritty but oozes confidence.
“Yes ma’am I’m Alex, um and this is Kayla. She’ll be coming with me and we’ll be splitting the reward.” I answer with as much professionalism as I can manage. Kayla gives a polite curtsy and I can see a few of the enforcer’s shift uncomfortably at that, though one gives a perfect return curtsy.
“Understood. I’d love to do proper introductions but we’re pressed for time so we’re heading out now. I hope you have everything you need.” Elizabeth eyes Kayla when she says the last part and immediately my friend’s armor ripples and a layer peels off to become a longsword and kite shield.
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The woman doesn’t react to the display and just signals the squad to head out so we follow after them, except to the roof. Because they have a helicopter.
God. Damn.
The military vehicle blows a storm of wind across the rooftop as the blades spin beyond my ability to track, a deafening rush of wind buffeting us as we pile into the side. I am trying hard not to bounce off the walls with excitement because I’m riding in a freaking helicopter. Once the door slams shut the loud noise cuts to a low rumble and the inside of the cabin shakes as we take off.
Okay Alex, calm down, try to remain professional. Focus on something that isn’t riding in a helicopter.
“Anything from the parents about why he might have run away?” I say after thinking it over for a minute. The stoic expression on her face drops into a grimace.
“We were unable to question them directly. The mother was being treated for injuries at a clinic and the father was too inebriated to be of help.” she grounds out.
I suck in a breath through my teeth “I think that answers a lot of questions on its own.”
“Yes, it likely does.” she responds curtly.
“So how did Eve’s Enforcers end up on this and not the guards?” I question, since runaway seems like a guard thing.
“Do you know our motto?” she asks.
“Um, yes?”
“Defend the defenseless, punish the abusers, and drag the tyrants off their thrones.”
Suddenly it clicks as my eyes widen “You already knew.” I half accuse, half state.
She doesn’t seem bothered by my accusation, though a few of the others are, she just looks sad. “We heard rumors, we hear a lot of rumors. We try to keep track of all of them and prevent the worst from happening, but sometimes we don’t make it. I’m hoping this time we aren’t too late.”
There’s still quite a bit of time left before we arrive and Kayla seems to be meditating so my mind wanders toward a less unpleasant topic to pass the time.
“Excuse me, Seraphim Elizabeth. I was wondering, how’d you end up in the enforcers? If you don’t mind me asking.” I question, hoping I haven’t stepped on a landmine.
“No need to walk on eggshells. I’m here because the gospel is something worth believing in, even when many are liars, greedy, and vicious.” She answers with fire in her tone and a feral look that’s aided by the wicked scar covering the left half of her face. “I believe in a compassionate higher power, but the bible is written by people not God itself. If it sounds like some bullshit that could be used to hold power over others then does that sound like a kind and caring being? No. That is what Mother Mary’s Gospel preaches and that is what the enforcers live.”
I nod my head to her, I can’t say I’m fully on board, but I respect the idea behind it. She gives me a toothy grin in response. I'm out of things to talk about so I keep silent for the short remainder of the trip, waiting only a few more minutes before we get to the tunnel entrance. There doesn't appear to be any space to land, but before I can say anything Elizabeth starts barking orders.
“Kayla I want you in front, Alex right behind you. You’re our trackers so we need you to point the way.” Her tone is somehow even more intense than usual.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kayla and I respond at almost the same time.
“Good, Dawn and Bridgett you’re on guard duty for the hunters. Z is center point, me and Kira are rearguard. Single fire with heavy suppressors, do not fire unless ordered. Expect Stalkers so no talking and if you need to shit your britches do it now so we can get rid of the smell before we’re stuck in a tunnel together.” She orders and everyone tenses up when she mentions the monsters.
I am not mentally prepared to deal with Stalkers. I prayed for no cosmic horror so of course I get the closest thing without it being one. If it weren’t for this being a rescue mission I might have ditched at the mention. In a twisted way this increases the chance we find the boy alive because what better bait for us than a child.
The enforcers put on their helmets and finish attached large cylindrical suppressors to their guns as Elizabeth slides open the helicopter door, turning the background noise into a hurricane of sound with wind whipping through the compartment. She kicks a rope ladder off the edge and shouts “Move Out!” before disappearing over the side.
The remaining squad quickly follows in practiced motions until it’s just me and Kayla left, I shake the tension out of my body and flip onto the ladder, sliding down the rungs. The rope shifts as I quickly descend, but I spent far too much time training my balance to be bothered by a little swaying. The only way to utilize high ground is to get to high ground after all.
I jog up to where the squad is gathering and turn around in time to see Kayla leaping the entire twenty meters down to the dirt ground. My stomach drops for a moment as she falls before hitting the ground with a loud thump. Her armor is rippling, but it solidifies when she stands up looking perfectly fine.
Right, Slimesteel, I forgot it could do stuff like that.
Part of the armor peels off into the sword and shield she showed off earlier while she walks over to join us. One of the enforcers Z, the really tall one, is taking apart the mass of boards and steel panels blocking the entrance so I pull off my pack and check for anything that could prove useful.
Stalkers Stalkers Stalkers, how am I going to deal with Stalkers.
I grab the tapedeck speaker combo with a copy of ‘Not a Monster’ in it, the super famous earworm from boyband ‘Out of This World’. It’s a bit embarrassing since people think of them as a tween girl obsession kind of band, which is not wrong. Ignoring that, I also pull out a couple of dazzlers and attach them to my grenade belt.
Z is almost done dismantling the obstacle when I go over my plan with the squad. My cheeks are only slightly burning at the chuckles when I mention the song name. They’re on board though so I’m hoping this works as planned.
I attach my nightvision goggles to my helmet while the rest of the squad activate theirs and Kayla uses some kind of enchanted contact lens. The soft glow from the equipment is enough to see and hopefully won’t piss off the Stalkers. We have to walk a fine line of seeming weak enough to be prey without getting killed or they’ll eat the kid and leave.
With that we gather in formation in front of the ominous looking box of wood and steel that leads into the ground and slowly shuffle in. It’s dark, that much is obvious, but it’s also suspiciously clean. There’s no dust or grime or loose dirt and the walls are perfectly smooth stone, a clear sign of a Stalker nest. They love to erase all traces of passage and any possible distinctive features, easier to get lost and be unable to find your way back.
There’s a tiny flicker of safety that comes from having others around, but it's crushed under the oppressive tension of the dark and narrow space. I can touch the walls with my hand, close enough for a spindly limb to reach me. The illusory feeling of a scythe blade against my neck haunts me as we creep deeper into the tunnels. I catch myself rubbing my throat several times to make certain it’s in my head. Echoes of boots marching are the only sounds aside from breathing and I’d swear there were a few too for the number we have.
Several tense minutes in and we get to the first Y split in the tunnel. We need to pick a path to follow and luckily I have a trick up my sleeve, it’s the entire reason I’m here after all. Adjusting the lens on my goggles, I pull off my pack and take out my field copy of ‘The Compendium of Enchanting 7th edition’. Flipping to the section on tracking I find the synesthesia circle and start carefully copying it onto the rock floor while Kayla hovers nearby, only activating it after I check it three times for accuracy.
The circle lights up and suddenly the smells in the room become distinctly visible, there may be no tracks but there’s still traces of scents lingering in the air. It’s a chaotic swirl of colors, but only one is a solid path going off to the left and is much denser and likely newer than the others. We have a direction, but the number of different trails present is unsettling.
I take this time to start enacting my plan of ambush, pressing the play button on my tape recorder. An upbeat steady pop rhythm starts playing that normally makes me want to tap my feet, but the contrast with the current situation is freaking me out a bit instead.
“Baby, you’re a hunter got a contract on my heart
Already in your snare, but you know that’s just the start”
Ugh, I didn’t realize how weird this plan was going to feel, if it doesn’t work out like I hope I’m not sure I’ll be able to look Kayla in the eyes for a while.
“Can’t stop you from reaching me and I know I don’t want to
Baby I’m not a monster, but you know I’ll be one for you
Not a monster ohh
Not a monster oh-ohh
Not a monster ohh
But girl I’ll be one for you”
I slam my finger on the pause button like it personally offended me, but nobody is chuckling. The possibility of being slowly tortured to death by a sadistic nightmare tends to take the fun out of things.
We’re back to trudging along in the perfectly smooth tunnels in a heavy silence, only the tap tap tap of boots echoing down the path. The scent trail helps ground me in the monotonous location, giving me a faint hope that things might actually turn out okay.
Why did I think that? I’m just inviting disaster now.
A couple more tense minutes pass like this and we stop for a moment to check the map again at a cross split. My ritual should last for a little while longer, but it’d be prudent to activate it again so I go to reach for my pack when I hear it.
“I think I see him down the tunnel on the right. We should check it out.”
I really should laugh at hearing Bonnie J’s singing voice giving orders like that from seemingly right next to me, but I don’t. Instead my palms are starting to sweat as I reach for the Dazzler on my waist. Kayla turns her sword and shield into a heavy looking chain with long curved hooks on the end while the two enforcers assigned to us ready their guns.
Snapping my fingers together a few times and waving my hand frantically to get everyone else’s attention, I wait until all eyes are on me before I start. Counting down from three with my fingers in the air holding the lever on the Dazzler, swallowing nervously as I hit one and throw it down the tunnel on the right. Everyone closes their eyes and looks away as what feels like the light from a second sun floods through the tunnels.
The Stalker doesn’t make a sound, but it’s writhing on the floor having fallen out of a hole that hadn’t been there last I checked. It’s horrifying, long spindly arms with scythelike hands and a thin bipedal skeletal frame that looks like it’s covered in a layer of flayed human flesh. Spines come out of its back and the sharp spiderlike mandibles rapidly snap open and closed in front of a row of razor sharp teeth.
The enforcers hold their fire while Kayla whips her chain over the thing, digging the hooks in as she yanks it back, managing to loop it around the Stalker while dragging it toward us. Elizabeth calmly walks up to the thing with her axe out, hacking off its flailing limbs with earth shattering force. With one final gruesome swing its head is sent rolling down the tunnel while its body collapses in a heap of severed limbs.
Once she’s done she points to me then to the corpse. I don’t bother to argue and immediately carve a drain rune.
+50 SP
I’d hoped to catch more of them on the initial ambush since I doubt that will work a second time. The lack of resistance sends an ominous shiver down my spine and makes me wary of what we’ll find further in.