National Guard

CHAPTER 10: NATIONAL GUARD

After restocking on ammo, the trio reached the National Guard Training and Recruitment Centre, an unassuming collection of buildings in a quiet suburb. They included several barracks, a small warehouse, and two office buildings connected via tunnel. The fence surrounding the facility was mostly destroyed and the dead bodies of both Infested and soldiers surrounded the lot. Some Crawlers and Walkers also stalked the area.

"Here we are," said Manny, "If anyone's got answers, it's the fuckin' military."

"I don't know," said Louie, shooting down a Crawler, "Look at this place. It's been hit hard. I doubt there are even any soldiers left."

"So? Maybe they got documents or somethin' layin' around for us to find."

"Manny, I admire your 'enthusiasm' but this is a hell of a longshot. You're talkin' about fightin' our way through a Slime-infested building for information that may not even exist! It's just a trainin' centre, for Christ's sake!"

"Got somethin' better to do? There ain't nowhere else to go, unless you wanna head to Rodham and take another crack at Lenny!"

"Manny's right," Jimmy interjected, "We gotta at least try."

Louie sighed, "Fine, whatever. Let's just hurry this shit up."

The trio made their way to the first building, closest to the fence. The interior was quiet, though signs of a battle were evident.

"These bullet holes," Jimmy observed, "They're fresh. Someone was in here shooting recently...Like less than an hour ago, for sure."

"Be on your guard then," Louie said, raising his gun, "We know by now the Slime can use guns so I ain't rulin' nothin' out."

The trio cautiously moved about the building. Though there was slime on the walls, there were no signs of any living hostile creatures. After climbing to the second floor, they found an office.

"Come on," said Louie, "Let's search this shit."

Manny and Jimmy searched through some filing cabinets, while Louie searched the desk.

"Nothin' here," said Louie, "Just junk."

"Bah!" exclaimed Manny, "Nothin' here either."

"What are we even looking..." Jimmy began, but stopped upon hearing a noise.

"You heard that?" Louie whispered.

"It came from across the hall," Manny replied, "Come."

The trio raised their weapons and stalked the hallway toward the source of the noise. Whatever it was, it was not the low, inhuman moan of an Infested, nor the sound of a Crawler dragging itself across the floor. It was the sound of papers being frantically flipped and tossed about.

"Sh," said Louie, "It's comin' from in there. Ready?"

Manny and Jimmy nodded. The trio approached the door of a random office, which was left partially ajar. Inside, they saw a National Guard soldier combing through a desk, just as the trio had been doing. He was young, in his early twenties, and had a Browning automatic rifle slung on his back. He appeared nervous and sweaty. The patch on his uniform indicated he was a Private First Class.

"...I have to find..." he muttered to himself, "...Have to get inside...We can't hold..."

"Kid," said Louie, "We need..."

Frightened by the sound of Louie's voice, the soldier drew his rifle and fired a few shots at the door, narrowly missing Louie. The three men took cover against the wall on either side of the doorway to avoid getting shot at again.

"WOAH!" Louie yelled, "Take it easy, there! We're not infested. We just need answers..."

"You sh-shouldn't be here," warned the soldier, "This p-place is dangerous!"

"Don't worry about us, kid," said Manny, "We can take care of ourselves, alright? Now, tell us what it is you're..."

"I-I'm fucking warning you," said the kid, pointing his rifle at the doorway, "Y-You better get outta here, n-now!"

"Now what?" asked Jimmy, "He ain't cooperatin'."

After a moment, the trio heard the sound of rustling papers again. Louie once again peered around the corner and saw the soldier grab a stack, then pocket it before running off.

"Shit," said Louie, "He found somethin'. Hurry, he's gettin' away!"

The soldier ran to the back of the room, where a secondary doorway stood, leading to an adjacent office. The trio pursued the young private.

"Get back here, kid!" Louie yelled, "We're just tryna help!"

"This guy knows somethin'," said Manny, "And we ain't leavin' till we get answers, goddamnit! I knew this place would have what we were lookin' for!"

The trio pursued the private until they were back in a hallway. At this point, he was gone, but several Infested emerged from nearby rooms.

"Aw," said Louie, "Fuck me!"

The trio worked together to kill everything in their way.

"Watch your back!" Jimmy warned.

"Got him!" said Louie, smacking an infested soldier in the face with the butt of his weapon.

Once the enemies were taken care of, the trio heard footsteps from a nearby stairwell.

"Downstairs!" said Jimmy, "He's headin' for the exit!"

The trio headed for the stairwell and climbed down, blasting more Infested out of the way. Their pursuit led them to through the tunnel, to the neighbouring building, where gunshots could be heard.

"Sounds like a war's goin' on!" said Manny.

They eventually stumbled upon a lobby crawling with both Infested and Slime creatures. Fortunately, half a dozen surviving soldiers, including the private they encountered in the office, were present to help eliminate the hostiles. While most of the soldiers were young privates, the commanding officer was a grizzled old veteran.

"What the fuck is goin' on in this place?" Louie wondered.

"Fuck if I know," Manny replied, "Just shoot!"

Once the Slime was fully taken care of, the soldiers immediately turned their weapons on the trio, prompting them to raise their weapons as well.

"Colonel John Ridgewell," said the old soldier, "U.S. National Guard. I don't care you who are, or what you are doing in this facility, but you have five seconds to evacuate these premises, or I will have you shot. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"We ain't goin' nowhere 'til we get some answers," said Louie, "I think we deserve at least that for savin' your asses!"

"You are entitled to nothing, civilian!" snapped Col. Ridgewell, "This is a secure facility and you have no right to even breath its goddamn air!"

Louie gnashed his teeth in rage. Both sides kept their weapons drawn, each refusing to back down.

"What are you guys even doing here?" Jimmy asked, "Why aren't you out on the streets? Where's your back-up? Are you defending this place or something?"

"We're under orders," said one of the privates, "We..."

"SHUT UP, MAGGOT!" snapped the colonel.

"Or," continued Jimmy, "Are you trying to keep something from getting out?"

"As I said," began the colonel, "What happens in this facility is none of your goddamn business. Now, if you don't walk away, the Slime will be the least of your worries. I will rain hellfire down on your miserable little..."

As Col. Ridgewell droned on, Jimmy glanced up at the ceiling and saw a black substance leaking from the ducts. He nudged Louie's arm to get his attention.

"I see it," Louie whispered.

The trio took a step back while keeping their weapons trained.

"...And by the end, not a goddamn one of you will be recognized by your own mother!" Col. Ridgewell's rant had come to an end.

"Uh, sir?" said a private.

"What is it, Thompson?" asked the colonel.

Before anyone could react, slime began to drip onto Col. Ridgewell's uniform.

"What in the name of all that is holy?" he demanded, "GAAAAH! GET IT OFF!"

Several soldiers rushed to the aid the colonel, who struggled to remove the slime from his body. Taking advantage of the distraction, the trio opened fire on the soldiers. All of them were soon dead, except for Thompson, the private that they had been chasing earlier. He had sought cover behind a nearby sofa and was now on the run again.

"There he goes!" yelled Manny, "We gotta..."

However, not only was slime continuing to pour from the ducts, but Infested were beginning to show up as well.

"Aw fuck!" snapped Louie, "Not now!"

"Listen, Jimmy," said Manny, "You gotta get to that soldier at all costs! Do whatever it takes, kid. We're countin' on you."

"But..." Jimmy began.

"Just go!" Louie commanded, "Manny and I'll hold off these fucks. We'll rendez-vous later. Just hold onto your radio, alright?"

Jimmy nodded, then ran off in pursuit of PFC Thompson. Along the way, Jimmy would occasionally encounter an infested soldier, prompting him to quickly dispatch it. He was not far behind Thompson now.

"Wait!" Jimmy pleaded, "You need to help us!"

Jimmy headed down a flight of stairs, which led to a dingy old basement. He pursued Thompson into a very narrow corridor that only had one room at the end. Thompson had nowhere else to go but inside that room.

"Gotcha now, ya bastard," Jimmy said.

However, as Jimmy approached the room, Thompson's mangled body came flying out and crashed into the opposite wall at high speeds, leaving behind a large crack.

"Jesus!" said Jimmy, observing the body.

Jimmy glanced into the room and saw a humongous Infested, over six-feet tall and extremely muscular. As the creature spotted Jimmy, it let out a huge roar. Among the tattered remains of its uniform, Jimmy spotted a grenade belt holding three unused grenades.

"You wanna piece o' me?" Jimmy taunted, "Come and get me, big guy!"

The beast charged Jimmy head-on, but Jimmy held his ground. Just as it was about to strike, Jimmy rolled to its side, dodging the attack, and leaving the creature glancing around in confusion.

"Lookin' for somethin'?" Jimmy said, holding the pin to one of the grenades.

The creature glanced down at its belt and saw one of the grenades had its pin removed, then roared in terror. Jimmy dove for cover under a nearby desk just as the grenade exploded, destroying the creature.

"That was close," Jimmy muttered to himself, "Wonder what this place is..."

Jimmy looked around the room. It was cold, dark, and plainly decorated. At the far end, he saw a massive bulkhead. Jimmy approached it to get a better look, and noticed a rotary combination lock above the handle. All attempts to force the door open by hand were futile.

"Huh," he said, "Now what?"

Just then, Jimmy heard a grunt. When he turned to look, he saw that Thompson was still barely alive, and immediately ran to him.

"...Must go down..." Thompson gasped, "...Must stop..."

"What are you talking about?" Jimmy asked.

"Project Alpha..."

In his dying breath, Thompson reached into his pocket and removed the piece of paper he took from the office, which Jimmy grabbed and unfolded. A four digit code was visible on it: 2471. Jimmy grew hesitant about opening the door, but the sound of an Infested horde approaching from down the hall convinced him it was the only way out.

After grabbing the dead man's rifle and some magazines, Jimmy re-entered the room and approached the metal door. There, he turned the dial until he heard a click, then opened the bulkhead by pulling the handle, revealing a nondescript elevator on the other side. With the horde just outside the room, Jimmy had no choice but to board the elevator and see where it led.

"Here goes nothin'," he said to himself.

Jimmy slid the elevator's accordion door open and promptly entered. The only option was to go down. After sliding the door shut, Jimmy pressed the button, beginning the elevator's long descent into the abyss. Jimmy was about to discover just how deep this rabbit hole went.