be killed.
The police officers, glorified gunmen in this mess, were too slow to dodge the assault.
But they were quick enough to fire their more advanced weapons before the deadly blows landed.
The cult member on the left was struck in the chest by one shot. His partner got his in the throat. Blood from his wound sprayed the soldiers in the face and chest. Both roadblock guards fell down, two more pieces of debris in the road.
Chapter 29
The search party returned. They stepped from the jungle, slumped in defeat. They had let down their leader, Rosalo. They knew there would be consequences. Already they were planning schemes of escape. They really couldn't take any more death. Their yearning for another way of life, albeit one without a happy ending, had reached a nadir. And quite simply, they didn't want to die.
They defiantly spoke about not even returning to the village. Just abandon Rosalo. Abandon their families. Wives. Children. They were all but abandoned anyway. Make their way around the village and down to the town. To the city. Get lost there and try to forget everything.
It was callous, but this is what they preferred. They couldn't face Rosalo. The self-appointed leader had his devout followers in his hand. Those followers were psychotic, always more than willing to carry out his orders. His sacrifices.
But what did they expect? They knew this before they moved out here to be part of something once promised as glorious and eternal. They were just as psychotic as their leader, just not as willing to get their hands dirty. Cowards in all respects, they let that point rest in the back of their heads. At the forefront was the matter of staying or fleeing. Before they could decide their course of action, they found themselves staring down the long barrels of soldiers' guns.
***
The village men were pulled away as Raymond looked on. The captain smiled. This was going easier than he expected.
The villagers were being held in the middle of the village, out in the open. They were comforting each other. They knew the soldiers weren't going to execute them for the attack earlier against the other soldiers. No. These soldiers, they were civilized. That was their weakness. They wouldn't do anything wrong in the name of what's right.
While the villagers plotted and waited, Raymond's men began to search every hut, pulling out men, women, and a few frightened children here and there.
Jacoby just sauntered around, pretending to work.
Chapter 30
Nolan ran out of another hut and into the chaos of soldiers and villagers. He had to find the baby. Now.
He dashed into another hut, curling his nose as he did so. Some kind of small animal was split open in the middle of the main floor. The creature's entrails were splayed out in a bouquet of thick yellows and reds. Nolan wasn't sure if the thing was on its back or stomach or if it was ever real in the first place.
The hut yielded no baby.
He made for another hut and halted in his tracks.
Coming his way was the man who had trailed him in town earlier in the day.
The man was just as frazzled as some of the villagers who were being chased by the soldiers around them. The man saw the priest, but didn't immediately recognize him. When he did, he made a hard stop, almost tripping over his feet.
It was a replay of their previous encounter on that dirty town road. The two men stood off. Nolan with the rifle in his sweaty hands. The cult member with no weapon in his. Both uncertain on what to do. Nolan's uncertainty was the first to vanish.
Nolan raised his rifle up with the poise of a man who had done this before. Once the other man was in his line of shot, Nolan stepped closer to his target, insuring a direct hit to the chest.
Nolan saw the fear in the man's eyes. That didn't faze him at all. The man was one of them, one of Rosalo's cult. That made him guilty. That made him a threat to all of Nolan's promises -- those promises to take care of the grocer's children and little
The police officers, glorified gunmen in this mess, were too slow to dodge the assault.
But they were quick enough to fire their more advanced weapons before the deadly blows landed.
The cult member on the left was struck in the chest by one shot. His partner got his in the throat. Blood from his wound sprayed the soldiers in the face and chest. Both roadblock guards fell down, two more pieces of debris in the road.
Chapter 29
The search party returned. They stepped from the jungle, slumped in defeat. They had let down their leader, Rosalo. They knew there would be consequences. Already they were planning schemes of escape. They really couldn't take any more death. Their yearning for another way of life, albeit one without a happy ending, had reached a nadir. And quite simply, they didn't want to die.
They defiantly spoke about not even returning to the village. Just abandon Rosalo. Abandon their families. Wives. Children. They were all but abandoned anyway. Make their way around the village and down to the town. To the city. Get lost there and try to forget everything.
It was callous, but this is what they preferred. They couldn't face Rosalo. The self-appointed leader had his devout followers in his hand. Those followers were psychotic, always more than willing to carry out his orders. His sacrifices.
But what did they expect? They knew this before they moved out here to be part of something once promised as glorious and eternal. They were just as psychotic as their leader, just not as willing to get their hands dirty. Cowards in all respects, they let that point rest in the back of their heads. At the forefront was the matter of staying or fleeing. Before they could decide their course of action, they found themselves staring down the long barrels of soldiers' guns.
***
The village men were pulled away as Raymond looked on. The captain smiled. This was going easier than he expected.
The villagers were being held in the middle of the village, out in the open. They were comforting each other. They knew the soldiers weren't going to execute them for the attack earlier against the other soldiers. No. These soldiers, they were civilized. That was their weakness. They wouldn't do anything wrong in the name of what's right.
While the villagers plotted and waited, Raymond's men began to search every hut, pulling out men, women, and a few frightened children here and there.
Jacoby just sauntered around, pretending to work.
Chapter 30
Nolan ran out of another hut and into the chaos of soldiers and villagers. He had to find the baby. Now.
He dashed into another hut, curling his nose as he did so. Some kind of small animal was split open in the middle of the main floor. The creature's entrails were splayed out in a bouquet of thick yellows and reds. Nolan wasn't sure if the thing was on its back or stomach or if it was ever real in the first place.
The hut yielded no baby.
He made for another hut and halted in his tracks.
Coming his way was the man who had trailed him in town earlier in the day.
The man was just as frazzled as some of the villagers who were being chased by the soldiers around them. The man saw the priest, but didn't immediately recognize him. When he did, he made a hard stop, almost tripping over his feet.
It was a replay of their previous encounter on that dirty town road. The two men stood off. Nolan with the rifle in his sweaty hands. The cult member with no weapon in his. Both uncertain on what to do. Nolan's uncertainty was the first to vanish.
Nolan raised his rifle up with the poise of a man who had done this before. Once the other man was in his line of shot, Nolan stepped closer to his target, insuring a direct hit to the chest.
Nolan saw the fear in the man's eyes. That didn't faze him at all. The man was one of them, one of Rosalo's cult. That made him guilty. That made him a threat to all of Nolan's promises -- those promises to take care of the grocer's children and little
Similar Books
