The Cross of Mithras Vol. 1: EOD Operation Welcome to Hell

by Douglas Howell

  Dawson thought for awhile before he said anything. He should have thought a little bit more carefully before he said what he did. What he said would put enough doubt into their minds so as to question his motives. His actions (including their own) afterwards would turn the tables against him. He came close to victory, but only if he didn’t say what he did.

  “Is it possible that you can find out where Shackley is for me?” Dawson said. He then had the look that he regretted saying that which only aroused their curiosity.

  “Isn’t he stationed in Raspberry?” Rymer asked. Dawson didn’t respond, he only had the look that he didn’t want to answer the question because it made him feel uncomfortable.

  “Is he in any type of trouble?” Coville asked. Again Dawson said nothing, he only put his face into his right hand and then rubbed his face. He then sit back and looked away.

  “How important is it for us to find him? I can easily find him, but I need to know why you need for us to look for him. There are regulations you know.” Averillo mentioned. Dawson gave her a dirty look when she said that.

  Dawson, who just realized that maybe he shouldn’t have said anything, got up and left without saying a word. His actions told everyone that it was indeed important to find Shackley, which only confused everyone. If it is that important to find him, then why won’t Dawson say anything? Dawson’s biggest mistake is when he left the room leaving them with an unanswered question. Their next action would rob Dawson of any victory that he may have had. There was only one person that they could turn to, to answer their questions about Dawson’s strange behavior. It was a person who they knew was there, at Golden Hyperion, but did not know their current status. It was a person who outrank Dawson.

  “What do any of you think we should do? Do you think that we should look for Shackley?” Rymer asked everyone.

  “Isn’t The Hammer of Doom in orbit around this world?” Spender asked everyone.

  “Yes.” Rymer responded.

  “Isn’t that Lenkov’s ship?” Spender asked Rymer.

  “Yes.” Rymer responded.

  “Well, let’s contact him then.” Coville mentioned.

  “What if it’s nothing?” Rymer asked.

  “Then it’s nothing. Besides, I don’t think Lenkov would care.” Coville responded.

  “Alright then, I’ll contact him.” Rymer responded.

  Rymer had a hard time in contacting Lenkov. The normal method wasn’t working, which only deepen everyone’s concern. They knew something was seriously wrong and Dawson had to know why. Their suspicions of Dawson was growing by the minute. Rymer was only able to contact Lenkov when he did an emergency contact.

  “What can I do for you lieutenant?” Lenkov asked Rymer. The quality of the video was poor, but the audio was crystal clear.

  “We think that there is something wrong with Shackley sir?”

  “Why do you think that?” Lenkov asked him.

  “Captain Dawson is here and he asked if we could find Shackley. When we asked why, he remained silent even after we pressured him for an answer.” Rymer responded.

  “Did you tell Castillo?”

  “He left shortly after Dawson arrived sir.” Rymer responded.

  “Where did he go?” Lenkov asked.

  “I think that he headed back to Tyos Prime.”

  “Did Dawson mentioned anything else?”

  “He asked if the Demon Cy-Xs are ready and we informed him we are having control problems with them. And that’s it.” Rymer responded.

  “If you do find Shackley, do not under any circumstances tell Dawson. You are to report back to me, or to Captain Maxwell. Was he armed?” Lenkov ordered Rymer.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Captain Dawson lost his mind and is directly responsible for the lost of Colonel Blackburn and all of his personnel. I have reason to believe that he used the Demon Cy-Xs against them. He also used the LMPG to zap my ship so we will not be of any help for some time. Dawson is to be treated as a traitor. Try your best to delay any attempt by him to release the Demon Cy-Xs. If you fail, then they will kill all of you. I know that there aren’t any weapons there, but you can find some at the security station located in the ghost town near the old regional capital. If he does let out the Demon Cy-Xs… under no circumstances are any of you to come to any city with people living there. The Demon Cy-Xs will kill them. If you can find a way to do it, kill Captain Dawson. In the meantime try your best to learn where Shackley is. He is obviously far more important than originally thought. Any questions?” Lenkov ordered him. Rymer’s face went white when he heard all of that.

  “N-N-No sir.” Rymer responded.

  “Over and out.” Lenkov responded.

  Everyone was shocked when they heard all of that. Nobody knew what to do since there are very few military personnel there. The base relied heavily upon both Colonel Blackburn and the Demon Cy-Xs for defense. Combine with it’s size, the underground sector, the automated defense systems, it is no wonder why it was left alone. Lenkov (who at the time didn’t know about the Demon Cy-Xs) ordered most of the military personnel to assist Colonel Blackburn in the defense of Golden Hyperion before Colonel McIntyre arrived. Since nobody in High Command, nor Colonel Blackburn, would tell Lenkov what was in the underground sector, and since the enemy may no attempt at taking the huge base, it was decided by both Lenkov and Colonel Blackburn that it was no longer necessary to keep anyone there other than a skeleton crew. When Lenkov learned of the existence of the Demon Xs and Cy-Xs, he realized why Colonel Blackburn pushed so hard that it was not necessary to keep that many military personnel there. Lenkov was furious when he learned that all the weapons was removed by order of Colonel Blackburn. But there was nothing that he could do since Colonel Blackburn had the approval of High Command. Dawson knew all of that so he made certain that he was well armed. He even had the audacity to place a rifle on the table. It was his way of reminding them of something.

  When Dawson left he immediately headed over to talk to Inferno of Terror 154T. One thing that his experience with Dark Serpent 109T taught him was, is what Demon Xs and Cy-Xs truly want – blood. And they don’t care who. It’s the one thing that he loves about them (so does the EOD), they’ll kill without remorse or conscious. In order to achieve his revenge Dawson will let the Demon Cy-Xs feed upon all those who oppose him. They will feed until either they are all gone or everyone on that world is dead. Given the total number of people that there are on Golden Hyperion, Dawson knows that the only way to really control the Demon Cy-Xs is to let them kill everyone. And he doesn’t care.

  Other than the Demon Cy-Xs, there was nobody there. There didn’t have to be since all of the Demon Cy-Xs are in a holding cell. (The holding cell were the equivalent to a prison block.) Combine with the auto-guns, there was no chance that the Demon Cy-Xs could escape. Unless someone, like Dawson, let them out. But it would take someone, like Dawson, to override the auto-guns. Dawson knew that the Demon Cy-Xs were smart enough to know all of that.

  “You must be Inferno of Terror 154T.” Dawson said to him. “I’m Captain Dawson… and if you and your kind do as I say, I will give you what you want.” Dawson said when Inferno of Terror 154T did not respond.

  “And what do you think we want?” Inferno of Terror 154T asked.

  “To feast upon the souls of those whom you seek revenge upon.” Dawson responded.

  “And to whom do you think we wish to seek revenge upon?” Inferno of Terror 154T asked.

  Dawson pulled out a PDA and brought up some pictures. He then showed Inferno of Terror 154T the images on it. He then said, “As you can see, I served with your kind before. And as you can see, your kind was slaughtered wholesale by those who mock your kind by surviving. And therefore depriving your kind of your thirst for revenge.”

  “What do you want us to do then?” Inferno of Terror 154T asked.

  “There is a laboratory that must be retaken from the enemy. The laboratory is the only way to contact a man by the name
of William M. Shackley. What makes him so important is that he must be stop from performing his duties. If he does, then he will unknowingly set off explosives within this world. Those explosives are powerful enough to destroy this world. I am the only person that can contact him, but I must do it from there. If anyone else tries to contact him, or if I try from anyplace else, then he will set off those explosives. We have only two weeks to contact him, or else. Once the laboratory is retaken you and your kind can do as you please with this world. I, on the other hand, would have left. But first, I need you to kill everyone here.” Dawson instructed Inferno of Terror 154T.

  What neither Dawson nor Inferno of Terror 154T knew is that a Demon Cy-X was eavesdropping on both of them. This particular Demon Cy-X, along with his mate, was given permission to roam around the base unattended. His name once was Dark Serpent 110T and as his name suggests, he came after Dark Serpent 109T. When Dark Serpent 110T was born something went wrong and he lapsed into a coma. The only thing that could explain it was that one intron woke, and another simply disappeared. Nobody could explain it, but it changed the behavior of Dark Serpent 110T so much that they renamed him Ghost Killer. But that’s not the only time that it happened.

  The only other time that it happened is with the female equivalent to the mate of Dark Serpent 109T. Although everyone called her the soulmate to Dark Serpent 109T, it was rumored that he’d killed her. But the very female that came after her suffered the same fate as Ghost Killer. When she woke from her coma she was renamed Night Stalker. Unlike Dark Serpent 109T’s soulmate, Night Stalker had nothing to worry about from Ghost Killer.

  Both Ghost Killer and Night Stalker was unique in another way: they were too nice to be a some type of a Demon Cy-X. In effect they were more human than anything else. But nevertheless, not one single Demon Cy-X showed them any respect. Perhaps that is the reason why they were reclassified as a Dark Lord. They were just so different from a Demon Cy-X that it didn’t seemed appropriate to call them something associated with a demon. So why was Ghost Killer listening in on the conversion between Dawson and Inferno of Terror 154T? Suspicion about why would this stranger come down there to talk to some monster.

  While both Dawson and Inferno of Terror 154T was letting out all of the Demon Cy-Xs, Ghost Killer left to find both Night Stalker and one of the humans. Ghost Killer found Night Stalker and they found Rymer shortly afterward. Rymer quickly contacted everyone and ordered them to respond by way of the intercom. He ordered those at the vehicular base to quickly bring some vehicles and pick everyone up. Spender did asked Rymer about informing The Hammer of Doom, but Rymer reminded him of the fact that The Hammer of Doom is no longer in orbit and won’t be for another three hours. Rymer then reminded them of the only place that they can go. They left shortly before the rest of Demon Cy-Xs were released.

  “I want you to send a couple of Demon Cy-Xs to the conference room.” Dawson ordered Inferno of Terror 154T.

  Nine minutes later Inferno of Terror 154T received a message saying that the two Demon Cy-Xs were in the conference room. Inferno of Terror 154T then informed Dawson who ordered all the personnel, at the airbase, to report to the conference room immediately. He then ordered Inferno of Terror 154T to kill everyone once they get to the conference room. Fifteen minutes later Dawson received a message saying that nobody showed up.

  “What?! Goddamn it!” Dawson yelled when he received the message. He then went to the intercom to yell at Rymer. After yelling for Rymer to answer the intercom, Dawson finally realized that all the personnel had left each of the bases.

  “Are any of you guys a pilot?” Dawson asked Inferno of Terror 154T.

  “I am.” Inferno of Terror 154T responded.

  “Hunt ‘em all down and kill ‘em. Kill anyone who helps them.” Dawson said through his teeth.

  “With pleasure.” Inferno of Terror 154T said, smiling in a wicked manner.

  It took eighty-eight minutes for Inferno of Terror 154T to find Rymer. Although it was clear to the military personnel that Inferno of Terror 154T was an amateur pilot, he nevertheless crippled the two APCs and drove them into a ditch before he himself was shot down. Much to everyone’s dismay, while they were witnessing the attack helicopter crash, they saw the pilot eject. But luckily for them, nobody was killed and they were near a small abandoned farm town.

  “Report!” Rymer yelled out after they made it to a farm house. When the APC that he was in ran into the ditch, he dislocated his right shoulder and broke his right ankle.

  “Everyone is present and account for, sir!” Corporal Halsey yelled back after he’d checked.

  “Look for weapons and take up a defensive position.” Rymer ordered him. Rymer saw the pilot eject and he knew what they will face without any weapons.

  Several minutes later Corporal Halsey came back and told Rymer that there are no weapons anywhere in the small town. (Rymer suspected it.) While Halsey was looking for weapons (or anything that could make a good enough weapon) anyone who could do it, made barricades and boarded up the windows with whatever they could find. When Halsey got back Rymer ordered him to make weapons and find any flammable liquid. They then waited through the darkness for Inferno of Terror 154T to make his first move. The wait made the night seemed too long to bear.

  Shortly after one in the morning a fire broke out. The fire consumed two of the nearby unoccupied buildings and was burning one side of the outside part of the farm house that they were stationed in. Corporal Cotswold ran out with a bucket to a water pump to put out the fire that was consuming the farm house. While he was pumping the water Inferno of Terror 154T attacked him. Cotswold yelled out and, out of fear, Carlson threw a homemade grenade. The grenade damaged the water pump and killed Cotswold. Inferno of Terror 154T dove out of the way and landed in the fire that he started. He got up and cried out in pain because his right arm, right chest and the right side of his face was on fire. He then ran off. Nobody could pursue him (nor did anybody wanted to) because the fire blocked any pursuit. Everybody was standing around Cotswold’s body.

  “Take his body and put it near the street. Find something to cover it up with. We have to leave now.” Rymer disappointingly mentioned.

  “We can’t leave it here.” Spender responded.

  “We have no other choice! He’ll slow us down!” Rymer responded.

  After they covered up Cotswold’s body and started to leave, Coville asked if they should say a prayer. But nobody said anything, they all just left. Coville stood there for several moments, she wanted to say a prayer, but she was too afraid to stay behind. She ran to catch up with them when she heard a noise. It was too dark and they only had flashlights to guide them.

  By three in the morning Cottrill started to complain that he was tired and wanted them to stop. When nobody would, he mention that he was not as young as he used to be, and still nobody would stop. He then yelled at them to stop. Ghost Killer then went back, picked him up, and placed him on his back. Forty-two minutes later, Cronin started to complain himself. Night Stalker turned around and went back to put him on her back and they continued on. Shortly after four in the morning Rymer could no longer hide the pain. Ghost Killer caught up to him and told him to wait. He then took down Cottrill and picked up Rymer to carry him. Eight minutes after five only Halsey, Private First Class Gwynn, Sergeant Merritt, Ghost Killer and Night Stalker could continue on.

  “Alright! Let’s rest here.” Rymer informed everyone.

  Twenty-five minutes later everyone heard birds fly off in the distance and it told them that Inferno of Terror 154T must be there. After everybody was rested and after they left, it became apparent to them that Inferno of Terror 154T wanted them to know that he was there. He would break a thick branch, scare off some birds, or make some other type of sound. Everyone was too scared to take him on, not even Ghost Killer and Night Stalker. Both of them, as everybody knew, was too human and, like them, was too scared themselves.

  “We know you’re there! You fuckin’ traitor!”
Susan Vanasse yelled out to Inferno of Terror 154T after he scared off some birds. She just stood there cursing him and fending off their attempts to make her continue on.

  “Susan! Susan! Either you come with us… or we will be forced to leave you!” Rymer yelled at her.

  “You know that the EOD will hunt you down and kill you if you kill us!” Vanasse yelled out again at Inferno of Terror 154T. She neither heard nor cared (at that moment) that they left her behind. All she did was to stand there cursing at Inferno of Terror 154T.

  Inferno of Terror 154T knew that she was weak minded and that sooner or later it would get to her if she knew that he was following them and making noise. It was her knowledge of Demon Xs and Cy-Xs that kept on heightening her fear. She knew that, either they had no fear of death, or they just didn’t show it. Either way she knew they were very efficient at killing. They gave her nightmares, including both Ghost Killer and Night Stalker. She hated all of them. Thought nothing less of them other than some type of a monster from hell. She was terrified of them. It’s no wonder that he got to her.

  When Inferno of Terror 154T realized that the others are too far away he stood up. Vanasse, realizing that she made a horrible mistake, stood in shock staring at him. Inferno of Terror 154T reach down and picked up the corpse of Cotswold. He then threw it back down, pointed at Susan with his left hand and then pointed at the ground. Vanasse, trembling with fear, shook her head. Inferno of Terror 154T then reach down and picked up a bucket filled with old dirty baseballs, he then started to walk towards her with a limp. (When Inferno of Terror 154T parachuted out of the helicopter he came down in some trees and injured his left knee.) Susan then turned to run for her dear life.

  Vanasse didn’t get more than three feet before the first of many baseballs came and hit her. The ball hit her on the upper right side of her back. The next one hit her in the lower back which caused her to stumble forward. The third ball hit her in the back of her head and caused her to fall. While she was on her hands and knees a forth ball struck her in her left buttocks. She then reached back and put her hand on her injured buttock and was struck at her left elbow. Each ball that struck her was traveling at least at 90 mph. Everybody could hear her screams down the road and nobody wanted to go back to save her. It reminded them of who and what they are dealing with.