Chapter 198: Changes on bases.
The Rainhounds base had been reduced to something as small as Stone village. It was nothing like the fortress for humanity that Pastor Salem had once dreamed of turning it into. The mountain had become desolate, and the walls were already freezing.
Songs of worship did not come from the church which was once housed zealots. Prayers had become a thing of the past and those that remained now spoke of the past with distaste on their lips.
They spoke of Pastor Salem with bitterness, calling his reign a dictatorship that ruined them. Sometimes, Moon’s named was mentioned with curses. If Pastor Salem was the grenade that destroyed the base, Moon was the one that launched it.
After she left and the pastor died, things had changed. The once heavy population had been cut down to one hundred thirty-two. Zadok, the new leader, wanted a firm grip on the base so he sent most people away starting after the acid rain stopped.
Supplies had been given to them and then guns had been pointed their way. Those who refused to leave were shot and buried.
Only Zadok’s men and the wealthy remained. What was once a strong base in the apocalypse before Sunshine’s rebirth was now equal to a small private homestead.
The residents had locked themselves away in a bunker. They planned to emerge only after the winter ended.
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Cory King was a meticulous man. He had built his fortress on a foundation of calculation and control, not leaving the survival of his family and his men to chance. The wall that surrounded his small compound was thick, frozen stone reinforced steel plates and electric wires weren’t enough, and he knew it. Walls could be climbed; the electric wires could malfunction.
So, he had decided to turn the ground itself into a weapon. A ring of land mines circled his small base like a bracelet of death, carefully placed with narrow paths that only a handful of the people inside his base knew. To strangers, his land was nothing but snowy white deadly grave.
But Cory was not completely heartless. He had nailed a crude hand painted sign along the perimeter: WALK AWAY IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, BOMBS EVERYWHERE.
He did not do it out of kindness. Cory simply thought that it would such a shame for the landmines to explode and be wasted before the five years of the apocalypse were up.
In his words, he did not want to waste good bombs on vagrants. But if any dared to ignore the warning, they would pay the price.
For months his base had been quiet, his mines remained undisturbed like they were bears hibernating in cave during winter. Silent and patient, waiting for the snow to crack. But the previous night, night everything changed.
A sharp, thunderous ’BOOM’ had torn through the night air, rattling windows and shaking the ground beneath the compound. The men rushed from their houses, rifles raised, hearts hammering in their chests.
Cory himself stepped onto the balcony in his quarters, jaw clenched, rifle in hand, scanning the darkness. He had only one wall; his base was small. He could not risk having trouble knock on his gates.
He had waited impatiently for whatever set off the landmine to show up. He waited for an unwelcome pair of hands, a greedy set of eyes. But nothing came!
The night had remained silent, and the only scream heard during the long wait came from Cory himself when the belt around his silk robe loosened and his night gown opened, exposing his nakedness.
He had rushed back inside, dressed warmly and come back outside. But all remained still for hours. Could the mine have gone off by itself? Cory had wondered.
"What do you think is out there?" he asked his guards.
"Could be an animal, one of those mutated ones." One of his guards muttered, his voice tight. "No human would be stupid enough to walk through a mine field."
Cory said nothing. But sleep failed him for the rest of the night. He had eaten some coconut beans which he had acquired as a steep price. For the rest of the night, his eyes had remained fixed beyond the perimeter where smoke had briefly bloomed in the darkness.
At dawn, he had gone with his men to investigate. A part of the snow was scorched black, forming a wide circle. Mildly burnt flesh lay scattered like discarded scraps, blood soaked into the snow. An arm, half jaw, shreds of heavy fur coat, a leg even an eyeball. There was no mistaking it, the body had been human.
"Animal my ass." Cory had said, crouching near a torn boot, his breath fogging in icy air. A slow grim smile had stretched across his face. "When a fool fails to listen, he dies."
But even he felt a knot tightening in his stomach. Was this just stupidity or braveness? He had recalled the fact that there was a dangerous superhuman somewhere on the mountain.
"Take poloroid photos of everything." He had ordered his men. He wanted every detail, all bone fragments, every shred of flesh. "Attach them to the wall, such that all those who try this bravery see what will happen to them."
Later in the evening, in a gathering of the billionaire’s club, Cory laid the photographs on the table. His hands moved with precision, setting each grisly picture down as though dealing with cards in a game no one wanted to play.
Jin looked away, he just had stake for lunch. Some leaned in, their breaths held. Others cursed under their breath. Even though the images were lifeless things, they around fear in some.
Jon Kingsley, weary eyed, rubbed a hand across his face as he stared at the photos. "You should not take this for granted, this was a determined person and soon many will come." He paused. "And not just to your base but to ours as well." His eyes flicked up, desperate, searching the faces of the men around the table. "We are not as invincible as you think, even with landmines."
Silence pressed down on the room. Cory folded his arms. "I beg to differ."
Jon’s mind raced. "Mines do not automatically replicate themselves Cory. Eventually, your base will become vulnerable when they are all used up. If marauders come in large numbers, some will be blown up, but some will climb up your wall and find a way to get inside. Curb the victory dance."
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Sheldon asked.
Jon let out a short sigh. "We need to be each other’s back up, and most importantly we need Hades Quinn to get into an alliance with us. He and his wife have weapons. They have a more secure base. They have these bubbleswm which are something out of a fantasy. Who knows what else they have over there?
All I know is that they are protected and ready for each season. We need to hide in their base if ours fall for any reason. It is no longer enough that we just live within close proximity of them."
"We tried to propose an alliance; Hades is not interested." Jin stated.
"So, we try again, and again." Jon’s voice broke with urgency. "Even if we cannot secure permanent residency in Fortress Four, we should get temporary one, even if we must pay a high price for it."