Can't have Shit in Kentucky ch. 19 (Patreon)

+++

The group continued their advance through the orange mist, weapons always at the ready and with the Buyer at the lead. They stopped every now and then, stumbling corpses shambling towards them with glass eyes and rotten flesh falling from them. They were dispatched quickly, falling on the ground with unceremonious thuds and coin-sized holes in their heads. The anxiety which had gripped Jacky steadily lowered as they made progress. The sight of fallen infected and the skill of the Buyer and his men had given her courage. It was certainly heartening to know that the men knew what they were doing. They had done most of the work though, the undead always being ahead of them than behind them. That was good. If it came to it then they would be able to flee. 

​Elis walked by next to her, rifle hanging limply from a sling. He glanced down at the rotting corpse puppets they passed by and harumphed. 

"They ain't runnin no more," he observed. 

Jacky nodded at that. The usual runners had become less frequent and most of the mobs they encountered had become far easier to deal with.

"It's the rot, I think," Roy interjected, looking at another fallen corpse. It had once been a man dressed in farmer's clothes, a bite wound visible on his shoulder. His skin was a sick grey and had started the process of rapidly degenerating. 

​"The body isn't as fresh anymore?" Jackie theorized. It made sense after all. If the infection had effectively killed the body and only kept the brain somewhat alive then they were just walking dead people. 

"You're right on that," Roy nodded. He then continued, glancing ahead. "If this makes them slower then dealing with them should be easier. Shamblers aren't much of a threat compared to bodies flying at you."

"They're still biters though. Little bastards," Elis sneered. He shook his head, unslinging his rifle. The cause for it was apparent as a larger shadow loomed in the distance. Even if the fog was thick, the shape of structures was too notable to not miss. 

"We're here," the Buyer announced through their comms.

The outline of barbed wire fencing as tall as trees was visible, each one connected towards two guard posts jutting outwards towards the forest. In the distance, she could make up watch towers or light-towers, she couldn't accurately see however thanks to the fog. She turned her attention away from it and on to the lone building ahead, a juggernaut amidst the fog. There was considerable distance to be crossed before that building could be reached however with the big courtyard in the center. 

Said courtyard containing shuffling shadow figures all turning towards the group. 

"Sir, requesting permission to go loud?" the Gage operators radioed in. 

There was a momentary pause. The figures howled and shuffled towards them, hands raised.

​"...Granted." 

Jacky's ears rang as heavy staccato booms echoed throughout the mist. Bright flashes of light erupted from the Commando Gages as their .50 caliber machine guns fired. Bullets arced forward as thin yellow lights and tore through them. Strips of meat, bones, teeth, and blood erupted in fits of gory beauty as the Gages loosed upon them. It was not just the APC's firing now but all of them. The pitter-patter of suppressed weapons joined in, followed by the click and clack of rifles. 

​What had been a whole mob was now writhing corpses on concrete. 

"Advance," the Buyer commanded. 

At that, the Buyer's men formed up into a larger wedge with the APC's forming up behind them. The Kentuckians were directed to stay at the rear to cover them, Jacky gasped as Roy dragged her away, her attention having been fixed on watching. Formed, the Buyer and his men advanced in a beat, the occasional firing of weapons echoing as stragglers were dealt with. As they walked, Jacky stole a glance at the bodies on the floor. Unlike the ones which displayed an array of clothing, there bodies here were either dressed in prison orange jumpsuits or sported sleek black jackets that looked military.

She blinked at that before turning her head to the horizon. It wouldn't look good if she tripped.

Not a second later, the distance was crossed and they had entered the facility proper. The building ahead had glass windows and doors for its front, each one of whom were smashed open. The Buyer's men had lowered the rifles but still kept alert stances. The voice of their boss however carried over the comms. 

"I want the APC's covering the entrance. The last one, station it by the front side of the building. Deploy the barricades. I want us fortified now," he ordered. Immediately, a whirlwind of activity descended on them. The APC's moved as ordered while the singular army truck they had halted near the gates. The men on the back dismounted and opened the backdoor. Jacky peeked to see what they were doing and found them grunting as they pulled out what looked like obstacles made of wood. On the other end were jagged spikes, the purpose of which was grasped by her. Not only that, they too also pulled out rolled wire. The soldiers moved quick, deploying them by the gate. 

As Jacky watched, the Buyer's voice became clear as was his foot steps. She turned to see him pointing at a party of men. "All of you, with me. The rest of you all, defend the gate." 

​Roy and Ellis were selected to join the Buyer. She wasn't. 

A part of her felt relief at that.

She wasn't sure what use she would get inside the building. 

"Gasmask!" the Buyer cried out.

"Yip?"

"You're in charge on the surface. We're going in and sealing the building."

+++

Shards of glass getting stepped on shouldn't have spooked him but it did. Hell, there were lots of things for him to be spooked at. The fact that the interior atrium showed signs of struggled, the looming dark that was only illuminated by red emergency lights, the moaning and groaning of the dead inside the building. It did not take long for the pitter-patter of suppressed weapons to echo in the hallways as shapes moved to greet them. Said shapes fell to the floor quickly, coin holes on their foreheads. 

Elis took a breath as he lowered his Carbine, smoke emanating from the silencer of his weapon. Behind him, Roy had foregone his rifle for a pistol and a flashlight in his hand. 

"The emergency power is kicking. The facility must have suffered a power outage or the generators aren't working no more," The Buyer observed, stepping forward to glance ahead. He lifted his flash-light up to reveal a flag hanging on the walls. It was a simple flag of the country, he saw. He shook his head.

"Let's purge this place," he ordered. 

At that, the men all advanced with one singular thought in mind, to burn away the darkness that permeated from this place. They descended deep into the halls, ignoring the bloodstains against the wall and the signs of struggle evident on each room and fallen rifle on the floor. What had been its occupiers greeted them, hands raised in stiff greeting and eyes lifeless as glass. They fell quickly with well-placed shots. 

​Time loses its meaning to Elis as they descend deeper into the chasm of the facility. His shoulder loses its feeling the more they walk. He notes the clothes of the undead greeting them. Many of whom wearing orange prison fatigues. 

"You reckon that this place was using them inmates from Rosewood Prison?" Elis whispered. They had cleared a room of undead and were moving on to the next one. The Buyer was ahead, his flashlight illuminating the hallways with one thick column of light. 

"It's obvious, ain't it?" Roy muttered, shaking his head. His attention however was at the black uniformed bodies they would encounter. Some were still wearing vests, others didn't have it. A relative few had gas masks on but had their clothes torn by scratches and bites. They didn't look like grunts to him. Each one of them screamed Men in Black.

"In Vietnam, we had these plain clothes fellas showing up here and now at base," Roy continued. "We'd see them talking to officers about this and that. Next thing you knew, we were in Huey's headed for the deep jungle." 

"Shiet," Elis cursed but his eyes betrayed his interest at the topic. "I love me some conspiracy folk. My buddy Keith? He swore he met some of them Men in Black fellas. Said they were aliens or something."

It was then, the Buyer joined in. "I don't know about you all but we're about to find out." 

The pair turned ahead. They had seemingly marched into a wing of offices. At the very last one, the Buyer shone his flashlight on. It had read 'Director's Office'.

"That's going to be our ticket to blackmail the Government after this," the Buyer explained. "If the Government so as much dares to bury us all alive, this is going to be our ticket to protect ourselves. I reckon the public ain't gonna be so happy after they learn about those papers. And believe me, I have systems in place to ensure that the United States will be condemned with the same energy Nazi Germany did, should anything happen to us." 

Roy was aware that America had done things in the name of national security or in the name of protecting freedom. If he were the young idiotic patriot he was, he would take his weapon out and shoot the Buyer for voicing such treasonous thoughts. His oath had him swear to defend America from enemies foreign and domestic. The way the Buyer was harping made him sound like one of them kooky conspiracy types. He was however older now. While still just as stupid as he was when he was younger, he could understand the necessity of his actions. Plus, they would need some leverage to ensure the right heads would roll.

​To Elis, young as he was, he was far too excited with what was going on. He already could imagine it now, the drama that would be gained after the papers were made public. To think that he was going to be a part of history and he was just nineteen.

The Buyer moved forward and tried for the door. The door budged and revealed a clean and untouched office. It did not look all-too different from a typical CEO's office, what with its wood furnishings and book cases. The Buyer however ignored all those and made his way for the desk. He sat down on the leather office chair and inspected the desk. 

"Nothing," he muttered. He then turned towards Roy and spoke up. "Look at the filing cabinet." 

Roy nodded, heading for the steel cabinets. Pulling them open, he blinked to see numerous files inside. He pulled one out and shone his flashlight to read. He frowned as he saw that it was nothing more but a logistics list.

"It's just a requisition form," he announced as he glanced at the other files. As he did so, Elis walked around the room, examining the bookcase that stood in one corner. He marvelled at its size, wondering if he could get himself a library like that. Not for him, of course, but for his family. Ma always loved reading and though she tried to instil the same love to him, he was never interested in that. He shook his head, examining them closely. Each one of them looked quite right...except one.

​Gingerly, he reached out to pull it...

He froze as an audible click echoed in the room. And in the corner, a part of the bookcase opened, revealing a small safe attached inside the wall. Roy and the Buyer watched as Elis quickly held up his hand, exclaiming. "I didn't do nothing!" the young man defended himself. 

The Buyer merely chuckled, standing up from the chair. He made his way to Elis, patting him on the shoulder before he turned his attention towards the safe. He leant closely to inspect the safe before turning outside. "Eliva!" he cried out. 

Not a second later, one of his men marched in. "Yip?" 

The Buyer motioned for the safe. "You reckon you can get this open?" 

​Eliva turned towards the safe and leaned in. "Give me five minutes, then." The man proclaimed as he reached into the toolkit around his belt. But before he could even get his tools out, the men in the room shuddered as an electronic enhanced voice spoke.

"The password is 1-4-2-4-3-7-3," the voice proclaimed. The voice was that of a man, elderly and refined. There was however a hint of a accent.

The Buyer glanced up, eyes narrow, and weapon raised. "Who is there?" he demanded. 

There was silence. Then, the voice continued.

"My name is Dr Heinrich Beck," the man introduced himself. "I am the Director of this facility. And you, my friend, are in my office." ​​

​

+++

A/N: I love me some plot developments.