*Early Morning*
Barely
slept. Didn’t feel like it. I finally perfected the Double Sledge (getting it
stable wasn’t the hard part; it was filing down and taping over the nails so
they didn’t pierce my hands in combat). Too bad I’m not using it today. I’m
going to be a sniper with Julie as my spotter (don’t really need one, but I’m
not complaining. She didn’t seem too happy). Other than my knowledge of
constructing weapons, I’d say my sniping accuracy is one of the greatest skills
I gained while at The Hill. I would’ve never gotten this good had the men there
not taken the time to instruct me. Maybe I should be teaching here as well.
I should
give the people at this base some credit. A few men followed the two Valors
after they left and now we know exactly where they are. From what I heard, they
have themselves stationed in a building at the top of a hill. It is heavily
armored, secured, and wider, but not as tall as the one that burned down though
for them to have established a base in this area so quickly is saying something
(might explain why we hadn’t received any word from them for so long. I still
don’t know how they found our base in the first place).
Everyone’s
either grinning with excitement or shaking a little in quiet fear. Everyone
except for me, I guess. I just want this all to be over. I bet Ann’s going to
get a kick out of all this.
*Late Morning*
I found an
apartment complex off in the distance that had a good view of the base from the
south end. The twins were somewhere in the area, Mike told me they’d be
covering the south wing as well, but he didn’t tell me what weapons they’ll be
using. Much like our own base, they have lookouts, one positioned on each
corner of the roof and what appeared to be a short-range sniper in a roughly
built crows nest. Mike’s team was waiting quietly in the woods and I watched
for his signal. That’s when I saw 40 men marching up the back, 4 by 10 rows.
Those who weren’t carrying guns were lugging a tall crate, nearly 10 feet tall,
chained to the cart it was on. More and more men kept coming into sight as the
minutes passed and I knew we were outnumbered. I put down my rifle and told
Julie to stay put while I went to signal Mike to call off the attack. I managed
to reach him before he gave the signal. Instead of retreating, Mike came up
with a different plan though it didn’t really make much sense to me. As I
understood it, whenever an enemy would spot them, I’d take them out (I guess he
wanted more time so he could strike at the right moment). I went back up on the
building and did what he said. I should’ve told him no and got everyone out. I
don’t think he knew just how many there were. I sniped three men, but when they
were spotted, that’s when the bullets started flying. I quickly took out the
sniper and the four men on top of the building, seeing as they had an advantage
in their field of vision. Death came to both sides of this war with bodies
hitting the ground like the beat of a drum. Any men that came onto the roof, I
killed though a few Valors were firing back at me with their own rifles
(luckily, their aim stinks). Our groups were retreating and once they were at a
safe distance, Julie and I did as well. With out troops gone, I’d only be a
matter of time before they’d come after Julie and me. We ran back to base with
our tails between our legs. Now, I’m waiting for our next “battle strategy”
while sitting up in my lookout point with my gun to the horizon.
*Noon*
I saw it. I
would’ve sniped the guys bringing it, but they were pushing the crate from the
back. It smelled rotten and putrid and the box swayed back and forth. I
couldn’t shoot out the wheels because they were just metal cylinders. Once they
wheeled it in front of the base door, the sides of the box fell and the men
dived behind a tree. It was the giant soulless I’d seen from when I went to
rescue Mike. It looked even taller and larger than before. The wounds that were
previously inflicted on it were gone, but I could see the gore laying on top of
the pinkish, brown flesh. It’s facial features, the skin covered eye sockets
and the handsome human like shapings of the head and face were the most
disturbing of all its traits. The blade on its arm had been sharpened and
pulled and yanked at the chains that bounded him to the cart. There came a
shout from the tree the men hid behind "Give the girl, or we'll destroy
you."
Normally, I
would’ve fired, but it didn’t do much the last time except draw its
attention and I didn’t want to risk prompting the men to free it. As I came
down from the lookout, so many questions ran through my mind: how did they get
it, why is Julie so important, and what in the world is it?! Had they formed a
legion with those men who captured Mike or was this just a similar monster? It
could no doubt destroy the walls of the base and I didn’t want to see what
this thing could do at full strength. Mike opened the door and Mike, Moses, and
I stared at it. I don’t back down from challenges and I am tired of losing my
home and friends. Then again, I don't see how I came save both and live to tell about it.
To be continued…
- Jack's Diary
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