![\"Soldier](\"https:\/\/www.benjamincheah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Soldier-2.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, he\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
The innkeeper flipped his record book around, showing it to Freeman. \u201cMr Johnson and his party checked out late last night. Right after the incident at the hospital. See?\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeman checked the log. Jude Johnson and his drivers had checked out at 0345, about an hour after Freeman and his team returned to bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say why he left?\u201d Knight asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was too dangerous to stay here. Something about too many demons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYet he left his guards without telling them anything,\u201d Bates said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I asked, he said you\u2019d completed your contract with him, and he and his crew can look after themselves.\u201d
\n\u201cThat makes no sense,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
The innkeeper shrugged. \u201cDid he pay you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust our signing fee,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh boy. Looks like you need to file a case against him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he say where he went?\u201d Knight asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNah. He didn\u2019t tell me nothing. He screwed you good, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cGot a job board around here?\u201d<\/p>\n
~<\/p>\n
There were no motors in the caravan. Just wagons pulled by teams of oxen. No suspensions, no frills. Everybody left their belongings inside their assigned wagons and walked the broken road.<\/p>\n
On the morning of the third day of the journey they arrived at Bernalow. It was a bustling town, but not so rich they could afford dedicated DNA testers and high walls. Once released from their caravan, Freeman, Knight and Bates dumped their rucks in their rooms and scoured the city in their assault packs and exos.<\/p>\n
They visited the market and asked the merchants about Jude Johnson. They queried innkeepers about the man, and they asked the sheriff too. The response was always the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just missed him,\u201d the sheriff said. \u201cHe was right here, talking business, looking to see where he could sell his stuff. I\u2019ll get my boys to keep an eye out for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson was everywhere and nowhere in the town. Sometimes he sold goods, sometimes he just spoke to the people he met. But he was always one step ahead.<\/p>\n
As dusk fell, the three men headed to the town square. Centred on a water fountain, there was Town Hall, people dining in the open air, merchants yelling out closing-time discounts, and most importantly, a church.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink they\u2019ll let us in this time?\u201d Bates asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to try,\u201d Freeman replied.<\/p>\n
Inside, candles filled the stone building with light. The priest walked along the walls, extinguishing the candles one by one.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood evening, Father,\u201d Freeman called.<\/p>\n
The priest turned to them. \u201cGood evening. What brings you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re travellers. New to town. Is it a good time for confession?\u201d<\/p>\n
The priest smiled. \u201cThere\u2019s always<\/em> time for confession. Who\u2019s first?\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman glanced at his companions. Bates raised his hand. \u201cI\u2019ll go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExcellent. Come, right this way.\u201d<\/p>\n The priest led Bates around the back where the confessional booth stood. Knight and Freeman planted themselves in the pews.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long has it been since confession?\u201d Knight asked.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo years, eight months and twelve days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou keep track?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n Knight snorted. \u201cAfter everything we\u2019ve done along the way, it\u2019s hard to remember everything we\u2019ve got to confess.\u201d \u201cLike with all things, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Gunshots ripped through the air.<\/p>\n Freeman\u2019s rifle flew to his shoulder.<\/p>\n Another burst of fire.<\/p>\n Bates staggered out of the confessional, smoking pistol in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cThe priest! He\u2019s a demon!\u201d<\/p>\n A creature burst out of the booth. It had the face of the priest, but it had a thin proboscis for a mouth. Black blood dripped down its chest.<\/p>\n \u201cDown down DOWN!\u201d Freeman yelled.<\/p>\n Bates threw himself to the floor. Knight and Freeman cut loose. The demon sprawled face-first in a welter of gore, twitching.<\/p>\n The ground shook.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n Tendrils sprouted from between the cracks in the floorboards. The wood blackened and softened, transforming into Bloom. Grey crystals condensed on the ceiling, long spidery lines cracking through the rock.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n Bates stood, swaying.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d Freeman asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI…\u201d<\/p>\n Blood gushed from his mouth and nose and ears. There was a thin ragged hole in his throat, surrounded with purplish flesh. A murky black substance plastered over the wound. Bates scratched frantically at his neck, drawing blood.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh,\u201d Freeman said calmly. \u201cYou\u2019ve been infested.\u201d<\/p>\n Bates opened his mouth, gasped. Black pustules burst from under his skin, hardening into carapace.<\/p>\n Freeman\u2019s breath caught in his throat. It was Arkham all over again. It was a boy clawing his eyes out as the Bloom took him, a woman screaming as an infester mounted her, Father Abrams administering the last rites with Bible in one hand and pistol in the other.<\/p>\n \u201cDo it,\u201d Bates said. \u201cYou have to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman aimed. The weapon remained silent.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t kill myself! DO IT!\u201d<\/p>\n The trigger was stiff under Freeman\u2019s finger. Nothing happened.<\/p>\n Bates\u2019 voice dissolved into a growl. His flesh blackened. Bloom punched into his feet, engorging his torso, growing a hump on his back.<\/p>\n The trigger broke. Freeman howled, firing as fast as he could pull the trigger. The newborn demon dissolved under a hail of flechettes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m\u2026 I\u2019m sorry,\u201d Freeman whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can apologise later.\u201d Knight fished an incendiary grenade from a pouch, pulled the pin, and tossed the bomb on the body. \u201cWe gotta go.\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman ran. Behind him, something, someone, screamed.<\/p>\n Bloom erupted all around the town square. People fled. Tentacles smashed through buildings, reaching for the sky. Roots erupted from the Earth and shattered the fountain. Water gushed forth for a moment, then a thick black patch smothered the spring. An arch, thick and sturdy, grew from it.<\/p>\n Jude Johnson and his four drivers strode from a side street and stood before the newly constructed Hellgate.<\/p>\n Freeman loaded his grenade launcher. Along the surface of every patch of Bloom, eyes and mouths opened. Dripping fangs and tentacles protruded from the openings. The eyes\u2014dozens, hundreds of them, big and small\u2014pinned the Crusaders with their wide, unblinking gazes.<\/p>\n \u201cFreeman! Knight! So good that you came!\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson\u2019s voice echoed in the square, his back still turned to Freeman. But Johnson had lost the accent, and now he knew where he had heard his voice from.<\/p>\n The creature from beyond the Hellgate.<\/p>\n \u201cYou!\u201d<\/p>\n A deafening cackle spread throughout the square.<\/p>\n \u201cTurn and face me!\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson laughed again. Flesh and clothes melted and regrew. He was turning himself<\/em> around, rearranging his body so he now faced Freeman. The drivers mimicked Johnson, turning themselves inside-out, becoming perfect copies of the former human.<\/p>\n \u201cHere we are, men of the cross,\u201d the five Johnsons said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou used us,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n It was obvious in hindsight. During the attack on Metro City, no one had screened the refugees streaming into the city. No one had stopped Johnson dispensing his medicines to the wounded. No one had stopped them from being evacuated to the hospital.<\/p>\n The demon laughed. \u201cOf course I did! You were so\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cPete.\u201d<\/p>\n Stepping up, Knight cut down the Johnsons with a long burst. The bodies went down, and the Bloom absorbed them all. \u201cThat\u2019s rude.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow the hell?\u201d Freeman muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are one. We are all. We are coming. Behold, our true form!\u201d<\/p>\n An unearthly sound issued from the arch. It was a thunderclap, a howl, a tear, and a rip all rolled into one. A force of nature that forced the men down. Red light blasted from the opening, and for a moment Freeman saw the benighted lands of Hell.<\/p>\n A black mountain of carapace-covered flesh crawled through the opening, blocking out the light. Eyestalks and tentacles sprouted from its body, dancing in the air. It had no legs, oozing across the ground like a slug, sucking up the Bloom as it rolled over the substance. The ground shuddered and cracked.<\/p>\n And it was still coming.<\/p>\n Footsteps echoed behind Freeman. Turning, he saw the sheriff and his men. They were outfitted in a variety of antique firearms. Against a monster like that, he didn\u2019t think there was anything they could do.<\/p>\n \u201cCrusaders! I heard about the\u2026\u201d The sheriff\u2019s face paled. \u201cWhat in the name of God\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBoss, if you have any ideas, now\u2019s a good time,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n Freeman checked his grenade launcher. A fresh HEDP shell waited within.<\/p>\n \u201cPete, on me. Sheriff, take your men, get the civilians out, and distract the demon. I\u2019m gonna blow down the Hellgate.\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff nodded. \u201cGodspeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Donning their masks, Freeman and Knight ran clockwise around the creature. The sheriff and his men went in the opposite direction. Rifles popped and shotguns boomed, but the Elder Demon didn\u2019t seem to notice. It squirmed and writhed, forcing its bulk through the Hellgate.<\/p>\n Limbs whipped through the air. Looking up, Freeman saw a massive appendage falling towards him.<\/p>\n \u201cGet clear!\u201d Knight yelled.<\/p>\n The men jumped aside as the tentacle slammed into the ground. The shockwave threw them off their feet. Groaning, Freeman picked himself back up.<\/p>\n The tentacle was gigantic. Clad in thick armor and twice as tall as he was, it lay across the plaza, resting in the ruins of a three-storey building. Bloom sprouted from its tip. There was no way around it. Freeman scanned its surface, looking for handholds, but it was completely smooth.<\/p>\n It rose, twisting towards him, and fell again.<\/p>\n Cursing, Freeman leapt.<\/p>\n BOOOOM!<\/em><\/p>\n He landed on his belly, his mask pressed against a pile of rubble. Getting up, he looked around.<\/p>\n Knight wasn\u2019t with him.<\/p>\n \u201cPete! You okay?!\u201d<\/p>\n A voice called out from the other side of the appendage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m good!\u201d Knight shouted. \u201cFinish the job!\u201d<\/p>\n A desperate cacophony of gunshots filled the world. Explosions and tremors answered them. Freeman ran, placing himself directly behind the Hellgate. From this angle, the Hellgate\u2019s mouth opened into an infinity of darkness.<\/p>\n He lased the arch of the Hellgate. His HUD told him how high to elevate his weapon. Taking careful aim, he fired.<\/p>\n The grenade smashed into the edifice. The Hellgate shuddered and crumbled. The portal winked out, leaving behind the monster\u2019s remaining mass in Hell.<\/p>\n And opening an enormous wound.<\/p>\n The demon cried. Again the earpro saved Freeman\u2019s hearing, but he felt its voice shaking his bones. A flood of black blood gushed from the wound, covering the square and filling the drains and gutters.<\/p>\n The demon was still in the fight. Fresh tentacles sprouted from its body and sucked up the Bloom. The gaping wound began to close. As Freeman reached for a fresh grenade, motion caught his eye.<\/p>\n A fresh tentacle, small but lithe, reached for the ground, winding around and snapping up a man. Peter Knight. The tentacle was wrapped around Knight\u2019s lower body, leaving his arms free. Knight pointed his weapon and ripped off a long burst. Freeman aimed carefully and fired too. Their flechettes simply bounced off its armour.<\/p>\n Swearing, Freeman advanced on it, trying to get a better angle. Another enormous tentacle came crashing down. He dodged it, but now he was cut off.<\/p>\n Knight\u2019s weapon ran dry. He drew a knife and stabbed at the tentacle, but the blade did not penetrate. The monster\u2019s body reformed. A pair of jaws opened in its flesh. Knight screamed, freeing one hand, then the other. He dug into a pocket, producing a small round object.<\/p>\n The tentacle flung him into its mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cDEUS VULT!<\/em>\u201d Knight screamed.<\/p>\n The monster swallowed him.<\/p>\n A moment later, an explosion rippled through its flesh, blowing out a large chunk of alien matter. The monster screamed, its voice filling the world.<\/p>\n ENOUGH. THIS ENDS NOW.<\/em><\/p>\n Eyes emerged all over its flesh. Its wound had become a massive mouth, lined with strange suckers and razor teeth. Crimson eyes turned on Freeman. Strange geometries danced at the edge of his vision.<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t look away. He couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n COME TO ME.<\/em><\/p>\n Unbidden, he walked to the mouth. He willed his muscles to stop. They didn\u2019t obey. Unearthly laughter filled his ears. One step, another, a third.<\/p>\n The maw yawned wide.<\/p>\n Under his shirt, Freeman\u2019s crucifix crackled against his skin.<\/p>\n Breath filled his lungs. His lips and tongue moved.<\/p>\n \u201cDEUS VULT!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Freeman\u2019s vision cleared. The voices fled his mind. He was himself again. He snapped up his M891 and fired.<\/p>\n The 40mm grenade hurtled into the darkness. A muffled blast followed. The monster roared in pain, its appendages flailing and trashing. Switching to full-auto, Freeman fired long streams of ultra-high-velocity metal into the mouth, tearing up its insides.<\/p>\n The creature squirmed, its eyes blinking shut. When his weapon went dry he primed an incendiary grenade and flung it into the hole. A glimmer of white flame shone in the dark. It grew larger and larger, consuming the Eater from the inside out.<\/p>\n The monster screamed, thrashing and wailing and gnashing and crying. One last spasm, and it went limp.<\/p>\n The demon was dead.<\/p>\n ~<\/p>\n Clearing out the remaining Bloom took another day. The caravan he had joined left without him. Freeman stayed for another week, helping to rebuild. When it was over the townsfolk buried the dead in their cemetery. The priests offered prayers for everyone \u2012 believers and seculars, excommunicated and faithful, they didn\u2019t discriminate.<\/p>\n Freeman stood in front of the graves of Knight and Bates. Their headstones were marked with their names and simple stone crosses.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now it\u2019s just me,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n The dead offered no solace or remonstration.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to finish what we started. Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Crossing himself, he walked away.<\/p>\n ~~<\/p>\n Freeman signed on with another caravan to New Rome. During the Fall, a regiment of Old World soldiers had retreated here and set up shop. They worked with the Church to restore order and preserve knowledge. Between the two, in the centuries since the demons came, New Rome had never fallen. If anything, it had grown.<\/p>\n They still had his biometrics on file. After a cursory inspection the gate guards let him through. Inside the city, after collecting his pay, he took a long, luxurious shower and fell into bed. When he woke, he discovered he had slept for nearly a full day.<\/p>\n He spent three days asking around, looking for directions, restocking his supplies. In the morning of the fourth day, the Sabbath day, he dressed himself in his freshest clothes and walked.<\/p>\n The church was tiny but well-kept. The kind of church given to new priests to gain experience, old priests as a final post, or priests who had fallen out of favour but could not be expelled.<\/p>\n In the courtyard, a balding man in a black cassock, his back straight, his eyes clear, swept the lawn. He looked up as Freeman approached.<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning, Father Kelly,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n \u201cMorning. Beautiful day, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou look like a man looking for something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Father. I am William Freeman, formerly of the Order of Saint George. I am here with my brothers in spirit. We have walked the redemption road, and have come for confession.\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly smiled. Stepping back, he opened the door to the church.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in. We\u2019ve been expecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n ~~<\/p>\n Previous parts: 1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 4<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe do our best to remember. God will take care of the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nJohnson\u2019s voice issued from every mouth in the Bloom.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBoss! Need some help here!\u201d Knight called.<\/p>\n![\"PSX_20170918_044151\"](\"https:\/\/www.benjamincheah.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/PSX_20170918_044151.jpg\")
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