Chapter 3 – Know God, No Fear. No God, Know Fear
The turrets have stopped firing outside, so I don’t have much time. I’m not sure how long the inside turrets will last especially since there are ways that the Carrion can destroy them. It seems like most of the Carrion in the city is going towards the building since it’s quiet out here without any of them out here.
“Help!” I hear someone say close by.
“I’m here. Where are you?” I say as I look around for the source of the call.
I can hear someone groaning nearby and follow the noise to a car with debris on it. I let several other people die. I’m not going to let another go as well!
“Hang on,” I say as I pull apart the debris to find…nothing, “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”
There’s nothing in the car. The radio is on and it plays nothing but static that sounds like moaning. Man, was I hearing something? As soon as I leave, I see a window break from a nearby apartment window. Ok, this has to be someone. Quickly heading over, I go to the apartment room that the window was broken in to find a Carrion child pinned to the wall. Now that’s f-ed up. It lifts its head then cries as several other Carrion children come out of the shadows. I use my submachine gun to kill the screaming one then take care of his little friends. I’m surprised children can become Carrion as well. Did they break the window here or-wait, this is the wrong room. The window isn’t broken here, but it seems to be the right room. I walk outside and look back at the building and see that a window isn’t broken. How the hell did I imagine that? Is the Carrion affecting me?
Anyway, I better go to the church. No more distractions. I make it there and the place is definitely heavily fortified though it doesn’t seem like anyone is here. Slipping through the cracks of the barriers and entering the church, I see that the place is completely empty. It’s still a beautiful place though. This is perfect if Nova is actually here especially since I have my ring.
“Hello?” I call out, “My name is John. Nova? Ben? Pascal?”
There is only silence. Oh, hey a confessional booth. I might as well confess my sins while I’m here. Going into it, the priest’s side of it opens. So, there is someone here thank God! Literally. I still might as well confess.
“What is it my child?” the pastor says.
“Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It has been…God knows how long since my last confession, and these are my sins. Uh…I guess I’ve pulled mean pranks on my friend Pascal…Not much honestly.”
“I forgive you for your sins. Go in peace to serve the Lord.”
“Thank you, father. Now that’s done. Father, can you tell me who else is here.”
“…”
“Father?”
What’s his problem? Oh. Once I go to check out his booth, I see that he’s a skeleton. Ok, I’m officially losing my mind. There has to be someone here. This place is too fortified for it not to hold anyone. There’s a basement to this church and oooooh boy. There are a ton of bodies down here. What’s this writing on the wall? I can barely understand what it says and it’s all chicken scratch. What are these texts? These don’t look like they belong to a church like this one. Oh, I see. A scientific, evolutionary cult formed after the Carrion outbreak according to this book. They thought they the Carrion is the next step for mankind that unites them together under one hive mind. What a bunch of dumbasses. All flesh and no spirit. They seem to have sacrificed themselves for the Carrion down here. None of them have transformed yet though. Probably because of the barriers outside keeping out the Carrion that transforms them. I hope Nova didn’t get mixed up in this.
I remember there being this legend back on Earth. God kept one eye on Earth and His other eyes on the cosmos to keep them in order. His childlike side experimented with what materials He made and tried to make other forms of life. Nothing else like mankind could be made and He just left His other creations alone on other planets tethered by each other. These places weren’t meant to be discovered by mankind. This is probably why it took so long for us to be able to travel to other galaxies. If anything, this is what the legends were talking about.
Shifting through the bodies and the cult’s possessions, I find another video message. It’s of Nova and my crew when this place was full of people.
She says, “Hey John. I hope you’re doing well. We’re-”
“Just peachy. Thanks for the luck you’ve given us,” Pascal interrupts, “It’s about time you shared it jackass.”
“Can it Pascal,” Ben says.
“This church is amazing, John. Hint, hint,” Nova says with a wink. I knew she would like this church to get married in. I’m surprised she’s hinting at it.
“If you don’t find us here, we should be at the hospital a couple blocks from here getting supplies. This’ll be the place we’re going to stay. I left something else for you babe hidden under one of the pews. I hope you like it. I miss you. Love you, lucky charm.”
I love you too. Hidden under a pew eh? Let’s see…which one…here it is. My baby knows what I like. She managed to find me modifications I can use to give my gun a sniper mode and a silencer, but I have to get rid of the pistol mode, which is a small sacrifice to make. Now I have a; sniper, shotgun, submachine gun, and welding modes on my gun. Pretty badass if you ask me. Suddenly, I see something moving in the distance.
“Hello?” I say since it seems to be a person.
As I get closer, it actually is a person. They’re dressed up weirdly, but I’m not judging.
“Thank God I’ve found someone who’s alive,” I say as I get closer to put my hand on their shoulder.
As the person’s head turns around, something appears to be wrong, so I move my hand away in time before it gets slashed away. This is some kind of Carrion in disguise with hidden pincers. Its face is a dead giveaway though. I use the shotgun mode of my gun to tear off all its limbs, so it can’t attack me anymore. A few of the other corpses come to life and I shoot off their legs. More will probably come this way, so I can’t waste my time with them. I light the candle in the church and burn the church down. It’s already defiled so God shouldn’t mind.
If this place has gone bad from within…No. I have to stay focused. Nova wouldn’t die so easily. Ben and Pascal better be alive too. I hope they all are.
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