Dark Absentia: Blood Infernal Chapter Three

The basement of this Church was more of a bunker than anything I'd seen before. There was space for at least fifty to a hundred people down here. We'd taken a ladder down a few hundred yards into the forest. The tunnel led directly under the Church. I noted the hardened barricade inside the escape route. 'Were they preparing for a threat to enter through the tunnels, too?' There was food, water, and supplies to last for months, perhaps even years down here. The depth had to be more than fifty feet down. There were workshops of various kinds. As Tate and I followed Deputy Gaines, we sensed this was a doomsday sanctuary. I jot down the presence of that same crude armor Eddie referred to. Seems like it was made here. It wasn't crude to me, unlike the smoldering shells above. Great care and effort were put into the design and craftsmanship of each piece. Perfectly etched crosses adorned the shiny armor. I look closer and discover the strange text my brother spoke of. It was definitely different from what we found at the other crime scenes.

"Tate, look at this," I said, hovering over the armor.

She looks over the set with keen eyes. "Yeah, this is definitely some occult-level bullshit," Tate said with a mix of New Jersey and Italian accents.

I hadn't been her partner for very long, but I knew her well by this point. She was a feisty one and didn't mince words. Her bleach-blonde hair dangles over her shoulder. I couldn't help but admire her beauty. Between her and Detective Kyle, someone at One PP had to be out to get them to stick such beauties with me and my brother. I didn't know the details of either of their circumstances. What I did know was that I was stuck with these ritual murders. No one wanted to even touch them. That meant I had no help in my unit at all. Up until Tate arrived, I was investigating these matters alone. That left me with little personal time. I paid that price, too, when Camilla split just like Eddie's girl. I suspect it was a tag-team effort between the two. I didn't blame them for that damn debacle a couple years ago. That's how it was for everyone else. It wasn't like that for me and my brothers. Not one bit at all. People don't just disappear into thin air. Not Dad and there was no way that man would let any harm come to Mom. It would take an army to take our Pops down. If I knew that, so did Ben. He never let it go, and we all sank with the ship. I pushed those thoughts back to the back burner. Gaines was calling for Tate and I.

"What do you have, deputy?" Tate asked.

"I've seen something like this before," Gaines said, holding a large cross. "Last year, one melted into the floor over at an elderly couple's home. Right next to their ashes. We got the call a few days after their neighbors noticed they weren't home," Deputy Gaines said.

She and Tate talked over the details of what that case was about. I focus on the similar crosses hanging on the walls like an armory. I couldn't help but notice the shocking, stunning Deputy's physical appearance. Her black hair was in a French bun. Gaines's seemingly green eyes seemed to, in the right light shimmered purple, glanced at me momentarily. Offering a pleasant smile. She had rosy high cheekbones, full eyebrows, a short yet soft nose, and full lips. Her skin was quite pale, like Tate's or Kyle's. I wondered how many well-endowed women could be in one place at one time. Gaines was the biggest I'd seen in a while. Sheriff Waters sure did know how to pick them. Her matching tush was no different. Filling out her tan slacks in an excellent apple bottom shape. I could see her panty line, and I took note of the thong she sported. A hard elbow hits my rib cage, and I squint, holding a painful grunt. Tate was eyeing me with daggers. My cue to stop sizing the Deputy up who hadn't noticed yet. That's one thing my brothers had in common. A hearty appetite for the female gender. It wasn't saying much that Hannah and Camile were similar in demeanor and attitude. Thankfully, I hadn't made the mistake of kissing her like my idiot brother did with his partner. He'd told me all about it. When Camilie left, I made sure to check myself vigorously around Hannah. Although that might have helped her zero in on my personal life. Tate got a lot of flak in our department. Most thought she'd slept her way up the ranks, but I knew better than that. This gal was the real deal. A hardworking perfectionist. A fact that she hounded me with my betterment in this case. I knew she was watching out for me so I wouldn't make a fool out of myself. Funny how Camilla was like that too.

I glance over to a gun rack. From the looks of it, these were custom-built rifles. There were strange modifications that I wasn't familiar with. We move around the large basement more. Coming to a halt at where the basement led to the Church above. 'What the hell am I looking at? A pillbox out of war or something?' I'd never seen this kind of fortification, let alone in a bunker. Two pillboxes and a full battleline right in front of a long corridor to the above door.

"Fuck, is this a kill box of some kind?" I whispered.

Memories from my time in the middle east came back. All that death and carnage hit me like a pile of bricks. I'm not talking about the stuff publicly available. No, I'm talking about the unmentioned war we fought in the desert. 'How my brothers and I survived our combined tours was beyond me. I barely survived myself. I didn't even know they'd been on the same battlefields as me until it was over, and we were home again.' I don't ever want to see the horrible things I saw again.

"Have you seen anything like this before, Detective Hunt?" Deputy Gaines asked.

Her words hit me hard. I didn't want to tell her that I did. That I saw similar setups at the mouths of those God-forsaken caves. That I'd seen similar bunkers in isolated villages. Where every single soul was slaughtered like paper. I took a deep gulp as the memories flooded my mind. I look over the .50 caliber machine guns pointed at the entrance. Seeing how the gaping hole was bent inwards like something burst through. The hundreds of shell casings on the ground. What was worse was the setup was made for at least six people. The thought of children firing those weapons of war sent a shiver down my spine. 'What came through those doors was all I could think about.'

"Hey, Thomas… are you okay?" Hannah whispered. Her voice was gentle and soothing. Enough to break me out of my trance.

"Oh, yeah… once before…," I whispered.

That was a lie. I'd seen it entirely more than once I couldn't forget. Gaines looked a little shocked and embarrassed at the same time. She held her hands on her belt as she observed me. Hannah crossed her arm, but I knew both were worried now. The thing is, I no longer felt safe. Not above ground, that is. We needed more information. There had to be something here.

"Let's take another look around," I whispered.

Before we could do that, a woman poked her head through the hole in the doors. For a moment, I was puzzled. Then a sense of dread came over me. I rushed up to her and yanked her inside. I looked up at the winding stairs with my hand on my sidearm. She leans up against the wall, puzzled and shocked. Whoever she was, she was definitely green behind the ears. After a moment passes, I ease up. Turning to see both Tate and Gaines's weapons drawn. Pointing up the stairwell.

"Um… what just happened?" the brunette asked.

"What are you doing down here?" I questioned calmly.

"I'm Agent Diane Aniston. With the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Aniston stuttered. "My partner said to come looking for you. He said I couldn't miss you," she added.

"Yeah, and who's your partner, Ah?" I inquired, still looking over the corridor.

Something wasn't right about it. Whatever came through that door had force. It was big, too big to fit in this small space.

"Um, my partner is Special Agent Benjamin Hunt," Agent Ainston revealed.

"You're kidding, right? I must be the ass end of your partner's joke," I countered.

"No, No, No, I'm serious. My partner is Benjamin Hunt," The Agent assured.

I holstered my sidearm, studying her vivid blue eyes. This young nymph couldn't lie if her life was in danger. She was telling the truth. If Ben was here now, this was much more complicated and severe.

"Stay with Detective Tate and Deputy Gaines from here on out. Don't go anywhere alone. Gaines, show her everything you showed us. I need to see what the Feds are doing here," I said.

"I can tell you that, Detective Hunt," Aniston snapped.

Her eyes were fierce and determined. I eased up a bit more. She was a Federal Agent. Still, she was too green to be put in danger, whether she signed up for this or not. My gut said she was vulnerable and in danger. Tate caught on to my intentions as well.

"Come on, rookie, you might want to look at some evidence here. Maybe you can shed some light here," Hannah said. "I can't make sense of this gabbled language we keep finding," she added.

The rookie's eyes lit up, and the defiance she had vanished in an instant. Replaced by honest curiosity. I watched as the three disappeared into the basement. My gaze turned back to the corridor. The high temperatures seem to have stopped just atop the stairwell. Yet, nothing melted like the above grounds. I trail my hand over the rails. No damage whatsoever. It was like the heat had just stopped. Or it wasn't willing not to burn anything further down. That line of thought didn't sit well with me. It was reminiscent of the shit we faced in the desert of Afghanistan. I came out near the back of the Church. A molten shell surrounded me. As if hell itself had descended on this place. 'But how was that possible? Hell was below the Earth.' I gaze up at the sky, and I feel genuine fear for the second time in my life.

"What am I seeing?" I whispered.

A familiar voice jolts me back to reality. Ben was standing beside me. Two women were with him wearing County Crime Scene Investigator gear.

"You better get down to the basement and take a look, Ben…," I whispered.

He studied me for a minute. There was a quiet understanding between Eddie, Him, and I. We knew when shit was severe. This was one of those times. Neither of us was here by happenstance. A series of events brought us to this place. That was an idea that didn't sit well with me.

"Alright, Officer Craig here can stay with you. I'll go with Officer Quinn and take a look. It's good to see you again, Thomas," Ben said, patting me on the shoulder. "You need to know there have been a series of similar circumstances. There may be a larger force behind this," he added.

The tall blonde stood awkwardly as her colleagues followed my brother down the stairs. She was a pleasant-looking woman. She kept her hair in a double bun. I'm drawn in by her baby blue eyes, and she notices. Looking away as if she was intimidated. I wasn't too surprised. I towered over her petite frame. Her facial features were terrific. Bright red angular eyebrows, an upturned nose, and heart-shaped lips fit nicely amongst her oblong face. Officer Craig wore a dark blue form-fitting jumpsuit with a county badge on her left breast and her name on her right breast pocket. Those oversized melons of hers only made her uniform more sung against her body with the added help of a full peachy tush. This gave her an unintended cameltoe, like her fellow colleague. It was hard not to miss such an erotic seducing sight. I caught an instant blush as she caught on to what I was looking at. Instead of scolding me for inappropriate gawking, she merely uses her toolkit to block my view timidly. I decided to respect her and get on with my duties. Thomas was talking to a pair of coroners, looking at some of the bodies. Maybe Craig had an idea of what caused the fire.