Lumber Mill

“So the Lumber Mill has prisoners?” I queried, she nodded before parking up with the Lumber Mill barely in sight we crouched down by the Peggie truck, “Nick don’t engage, there’s civilians in the outpost!” “What do you want me to do?” he queried flying over, “You still have Jerks with you?” “Of course Ash, what do you need?” the resistance fighter queried waiting for my response, “Nick, fly over the territory, I want to know of any outpost, radio towers, enemy strongholds, allies and any other weird shit going on hear, Jerks will update your map, also find me the Whitetail’s hideout! Hud’s you nearby?” “About half an hour away, why?” “Meet us head, me and Grace are going to check this out!” “Roger!” with that I looked up to see Grace crouching down by the tree on the small hill she spoke, “Why is him name Jerks for anyway?” “He owns the town record for eating the most beef jerky in 3 minutes. It’s not what your thinking which is sad because the Cult castrated him for not siding with them...” “Really?” I nodded before studying the area for myself heard Grace ask, “So we take this Outpost and free Jess what next?” “Simple, Jacob will hopefully be anticipating us to go East to the Henbane, by now he would know of us killing John and our minor but significant attacks to Faiths region. He won’t be expecting me here. We carve our way to Jess, with her intel on the ground and Nicks intel in the sky we can carve a path for our resistance to the Whitetail’s, before Jacob can realise what is happening we will have either taken outposts of his or destroyed some of his operations, if we’re lucky. The resistance in the East are providing rest bites to the resistance in the East!” “Hey Rook?!” Nick butted in, “Yeah?” I queried waiting for his response, “They are using Bliss to control wolves... these wolves are killing other wolves with little struggle...” “Find what’s controlling them!” “Yes Ash!” there was silence until Grace returning spoke, “Three snipers, two alarm bells and at least 6 alive prisoners, Jess is the most gobby with the last threat which to quote was “I going to fucking fuck Jacob’s ass with my knife you fucking Peggy fucks!” “I like her!” I laughed seeing Nancy climb out with her shotgun and me to throw my rifle with an silencer on, “Nice and quiet!” she nodded waiting for the command, “Grace you take the sniper’s on the roofs out, I take the one around the back out, after hearing the three gunshots, Nancy you will sneak around and work on the alarms. Grace and me will take one side each, after the alarms are out of action focus on freeing the resistance fighters!” Nancy nodded maintaining her position watching as we began to scale around and find a position to take our shot then after the three small *bang* shots that were barely hearable, we moved in. I started from the back taking out the Peggies who were preoccupied with a prisoner, one clean slice and they were on the floor before looking up saw the alarm tower’s light go off, I grabbed one of the body’s before throwing it took another Peggy out as I opened the nearest cells and signalled the resistance fighters to keep low and flank both left and right before breaking another’s left heard an smash from the second alarm tower before shooting down another target Nancy pressed the detonator take the mounted guns out before Grace threw a Peggy off the roof leaving one Peggy left holding his shovel looking at us, “Drop the shovel boy!” “And what? Kill me!” “Give us answers!” “Never!” “Three questions, that’s all it takes!” he nodded before lowering the weapon asked, “What do you you want?” “Why are people caged here?” “We have to separate the strong from the weak, if you are deemed strong you will go to Jacob’s barracks and be tested to see if you are worthy of his elite fighters or purely a sacrifice” “Animals controlled by Jacob?” “Judges these are the strongest of animals that are part of Jacob’s elite ****, controlled by towers and the bliss!” I nodded before turning back to look at the roads asked, “How is Jacob fairing here?” “The Whitetail’s Militia is small and have been **** to retreat back into their hideouts but Jacob hasn’t been able to finish them off. Instead he keeps making more super soldiers and more judges. It’s almost like an belt of never ending soldiers!” “Bullshit... for every super soldier he finds 4 more die!” the hooded figure spat kicking him in his jaw, “And their abilities don’t stop a bullet between the eyes from killing them!” I muttered, “You said 3 questions!” I nodded before signalling him to go heard him cry when an arrow landed through his head and now sheathing her bow the girl spoke coldly, “He would have told Jacob! The name’s Jess!” “Dutch’s niece, I’m” “The Deputy who killed John, I know who you are but I have other things to deal with then caring about introductions. I was hunting one of Jacob’s chief butchers but I was ambushed and he fled. I must find him before the trail goes cold, so you can either help me or get out of my way!” “Hudson stay here and wait for the resistance to arrive, I want a constant feed of what is happening here, Grace you’re with me!” Grace nodded throwing the old clip and reloading stated, “Let’s go!”

“So how’s the situation here?” I queried following her up the muddy terrain studying what I could of the area, “A lot fucking worse then that Mansy pansy preacher fucker John. Here it’s all out war between the Jacob’s Peggie fucks and the resistance who despite their advantage over the other groups of actually being organised are up against the worst of the fucking Seed’s” I nodded before contemplating it spoke, “We have two advantages. One The South will be coming to help and me. He doesn’t know I’m here!” Jess laughed before asking, “And what’s your plan?” I shrugged before flicking my wrist plainly spoke, “Get me in close and my blade will go straight through his throat. We just need to lure the bastard out!” she smirked and laughing Grace stated, “This nutjob is worse!” “John had the power of ‘YES’ Grace he had an catchphrase, nothings worse than a nutjob with a catchphrase! We had reports of an man from the Rook islands, known for its **** trade had a leader that went around saying, “Do you know the definition of Insanity?” and went on to explaining it every fucking time. At least John just stole Daniel Bryan’s yes chant!” Grace laughed before saying, “You should use that on Joseph the next time we see him!” Jess however maintained her seriousness as she spoke, “Jacob’s is, ‘I cull the weak. That’s what I do!’ which means anyone who isn’t deemed strong is either target practice, food for the wolves or sacrificed. You either fight or die in some horrible way, even those who follow him are dead on the inside!” I nodded returning to all seriousness, “The wolves that’s the third time I have heard about them... what’s so special about them?” “The strongest wolves are **** on Bliss and are controlled by the very best of Jacob’s men!” “Better watch out Rook...” “Why?” I queried which Grace now crouching down and pulling me down to see the trapped resistance fighters Grace spoke, “We got the midwife and Dr Larry Parker, yes I know he is nutjob but he is still and doctor. Anyhow, you know why you keep seeing Faith when you are near the bliss even though you are far away from her influence and her messages are different?” “Why not?” “It’s because you are allergic to it not by touch but ingestion it. It explains why you are more resistant to it, your body is in overdrive trying to flush it out but it also explains the swelling and dry throat!” “Makes sense but the funeral... she was there right?!” “Yes, that much is true” Grace confessed, “You and Faith?!” Jess spat, “She’s my friend or was, we were together a while ago. I want to take her away, it’s my deal with the resistance in the south and soon will be in the North. It’s just the Eastern resistance who concern me” Jess laughed firing an arrow through the nearest Peggy, “So Jess, who’s looking out for you?” Grace queried untying the binds to an resistance fighters, “Me, myself and I!” “That’s cool but after all this has blown over if you need anywhere to stay my and Rook’s door will always been open!” Grace offered but laughing Jess stopped only for a few moments before focusing back on the job spoke, “You really think this will be easy, huh?” “They all have weaknesses and from the bug I planted on John’s sleeve I heard the overconfidence in the man who believes his way is best. I heard the disagreement between Jacob and Joseph. It makes me think that for now at least I am safe from ****. Why? I don’t know. If we can take our pinpointed areas before Jacob can respond he will be on the backfoot!” “Not much further, you can smell him by the burning bodies!” Jess barked as she continued to lead the way, “So you and Faith go way back?” “I knew her when she was still Rachel Jessop, we were friends so when people say she’s a demon remember this... Demon’s are not born but are made. John was made by Joseph and his abusive family, I’m gonna assume something happened to Jacob in a war and I already understand why Faith would have gone to Joseph...” “Really? Explain it then... I wouldn’t have even gone near him in my position!” “Rachel, was bullied by her friends, by her schoolmates, hell even her own family hated her, the community saw her as the black sheep and she was always alone. Her only friends were me and my friends who in turn went with the flow and turned on her because it was “cool” I stood by her until the end!” “Really? Then why is she this monster?” “Her family moved away, saying I was an bad “influence” I was fucking saving her from depression. My family adored her as much as me and we welcomed her with open arms, when it got too much or her parents heckling got too much she stayed at mine, I don’t know the rest I heard something about suicidal attempts and ****; but she was alone. If you are that low in life and a person comes to you offering you comfort and redemption would you accept it or simply slip off into the abyss?” she sighed before admitting, “I suppose you’re right but after fucking killing Jacob I’m going to blow the bliss production plants to the fucking ground!” “I like her...” I muttered which caused Grace to roll her eyes, “Concentrate Ash, concentrate! So the cook...” Jess nodded reaching the top of the hill before smelling the burnt flesh from the cooks victims began to start her descent, “He once captured an family and starved them all and tied there parents up, when a week had passed he asked the children if they were hungry? They said yes so he asked would they like some Pork? they said yes and he began to cut their parents toes off one by one like it’s this little piggy. Of course they didn’t know and ate it but eventually they grew hungry again and he asked if they were hungry? and this time when they said yes, he torched the parents in front of them, the smelling of burning fresh haunted them and now he’s one of Jacob’s top dogs! Something wrong Rook, gonna stop joking now?” “No, I’m more confused. You see with John there was very little order apart for loot everything and every non-atoned person is to either be captured or shot. Here it seems everything has an order: ‘Judges’ so they can help hint, track down enemies and fight. An system to separate the potential recruits from the ‘weak’, I then assume an indoctrination building and then a training building, of course he will also have his Base and a bunker similar to John. This just seems off... this isn’t going to be intimidation because everyone who know about this dies, not separating the strong because they all die. So where does this fit in the grand scale of Jacob’s plan?” “Almost like he is rogue” Grace muttered finding a position to overlook it, “Exactly and if that’s the case or Jacob just leaves him to his own devices, we have an opportunity here!” Grace nodded before looking over to Jess spoke, “Go in clear it out and hide the evidence. Jacob will at least spend a day or so trying to track him and the others down by time that happens we could have gotten a strong foothold!” I nodded before stating, “We deal with this and then silently dismantle his production line or we can get resistance in and hit them hard and fast!” “Let’s just worry about him first!” Jess muttered, we agreed before lining my first shot up spoke, “Grace take the far right one out, Jess the left. Wait for my shot!” “What are you gonna do?” Grace queried before watching his movements through my scope spoke, “Watch!” there was silence before the cook started to bark out his orders and in one deep breath, *Bang* one piercing round through his flamethrower tanks blowing him, the oil and nearby Peggies sky-high and the others to hit them targets, “Three left!” I muttered taking and scrambling Peggie out, “Make that one!” Grace muttered firing around and me seeing the last one duck behind cover shot at the cage to release the wolf, “Grace when he’s finished with the Peggie kill it!” she nodded as I signalled for Jess to hurry and free the sitting ducks of prisoners.

“So what now?” Grace queried ticking off the location and name gathered, I dithered as I reflected on it before stating, “Our reinforcements are hitting from the south, with our small group concentrating on secure a path from Holland Valley here, we should... focus on stage one, this being: A stopping them from holding people prisoner so this includes destroying their transport depo’s and freeing resistance fighters but also B destroying their mode of actually indoctrinating people. If we cut this off then they won’t be able to make as many troops” “Wait are you making it up as you go along?” Jess snapped and nodding my laughter returned, “That’s pretty much how it works here. So Miss Black where could they possibly hold prisoners?” “There is an hotel called the Grand View Hotel... it’s West of here, it’s massive with at least 60 rooms and guarded by Peggies” “We’ll go there then. Grace get a hold of Nick and inform him in his new objective: find out where captives are going!” she nodded as I looked back and smirking asked, “Coming?” “Coming!”