Not 20 meters out we saw a structure that looked to be a chapel that was still in good condition. In front of the chapel were 2 vehicles, them being a police patrol car and a regular civilian Dacia. Our squad leader approved the order of searching the place as well as the cars to check for survivors.
I stepped upon the entrance of the chapel before signaling my squad to form up behind me so we can breach and search the front. The squad leader was at the opposite side of the chapel and remained ready to breach through the rear doors of the chapel. my knuckles wrapped around the knob of the large door and gently turned it to find it unlocked.
The operator in front of me nodded and proceeded to pull the pin from his flashbang and kept his palm over the lever. Immediately I opened the door just wide enough for him to throw the flash inside, along with the safety lever. I slammed the door shut and waited for the bang that resounded off the chapel walls.
I hear the bang reverberate on the door which prompted me to swing open the door. The operator in front of me went in first and then I did, followed by my squadmates from behind. He checked the first corner to find nothing and then I went inside to check the left corner only to find nothing as well.
Once we were all inside the chapel we checked the inside of the chapel only to find nothing. The squad leader's group checked the back of the chapel but no one was to be found. We all shouted "clear!" as we checked the corners for anything, however, nothing was to be found. We looked around for a couple of seconds before one of my squadmates found a Remington 370 underneath the podium. The squad leader told him to place it back as it probably wouldn't have served us any purpose, so he placed the shotgun back underneath the podium.
However just as he did that, the door to the front of the church opened up to reveal a priest in black clothing. At first, he looked at us in shock before saying, "The congregation doesn't start at 5 PM."
The entire squad pointed their rifles toward him, which prompted the priest to drop his book and crucifix on the ground. The squad leader yelled, "Get down on the ground now!" The priest responded by getting his knees on the wooden floor before placing his hands behind his head. Despite the situation he was in with rifles pointed toward him, the priest remained unfazed. The squad leader then asked him a question.
"Are you human?" The priest looked at him with a frown.
"I'm as human as I can be son." The priest said as he kept his gaze on the squad leader's face.
The squad leader sighed and signaled to everyone to lower their weapons. One of my squadmates who had picked up the gun earlier helped the priest up from off the ground. "What's your name sir?" the squad leader asked to which the priest picked up his bible and crucifix.
"Joseph Mendez, or Father Mendez." He said.
My squad leader looked at him weirdly before asking him again, "Do you realize what's happening here?"
"Of course, I know! It's been a while since the Military has sent anybody down here to save us. What unit are you boys in?" Father Mendez finished. His tone albeit firm was soft when he asked us what unit we were in. I was worried if my squad leader was gonna reveal such information, but seeing as it'll be one civilian my squad leader found no opposition.
"We're part of the 2nd Battalion, 6th SF group. Unfortunately, we can't tell you our names."
"Green Berets huh?" the Father smirked.
My squad leader was about to question his reaction before Father Mendez spoke up again.
"I was in the 75th, I was a chaplain's assistant during my service." The father gave a calm smile of proudness.
"We'd thought that all the civilians had left Keithman. What are you still doing here?" The SF operator asked him.
"Those things out there, they don't really come through these roads since there isn't that much noise that attracts them here, besides the bell of course." He said as he shrugged. I looked at him curiously as I had never seen a person so calm before in a situation like this, no less than an operator.
"The bell?" One of my squadmates asked.
"Yeah, I ring it every morning and night. Those god-forsaken demons are always moving around and once they hear the slightest bit of sound, they'll instantly be here in 2 minutes flat, sometimes even shorter." The priest said before walking towards the podium. He then grabbed the shotgun from underneath and showed it to the squad leader.
"Of course, I use a shotgun in case they burst through the doors or glass, but most of the time, they run outside without going in." He holstered it over his shoulder before placing the crucifix and bible down on the table next to the podium as we all watched him. Some of my squadmates even sat down in the rows to rest for a while.
"Of course that goes without saying. Where are you boys heading?" The priest asked us out of curiosity.
"That's classified." My squad leader abruptly said before signaling to another squad mate.
"Well, it's only us out here. Hell, I'll even help ya'll out." The priest said confidently.
The squad leader hesitated for a moment before giving in. "We're heading towards the power plant. Our mission is to link up with another team on the opposite side of the desert region."
The priest scratched his chin as he gave a grim expression. "So your here to restart the power?"
My squad leader responded with a nod before the priest continued, "The power station is on the south side of the city, but you'll be far away, you'll have to go through the town a few blocks away from here."
"Is there anything we should watch out for?" The squad leader asked, to which the priest let out a sigh.
"That area's infested with them, you'll find about 10 or 30 of them around that place." The priest said as he sat down in one of the rows. The squad leader pinched the bridge of his nose as he contemplated what to do. Surely we could try going through the woods towards the town, however, we run the risk of running into those things in an enclosed environment.
It doesn't help when we're only a 10-man team without air support watching over us. I looked at my squad leader who seemed to catch my gaze. "I got an idea," he said to me. I raised a brow at him before he got up from where he was sitting and walked towards the front door, I followed suite. He pointed at the vehicles at the front saying,
"We'll use the vehicles to make our way through the town, we'll be fighting them on the roads regardless so it's best we have a way of transport to protect us from any ambush, although that doesn't mean we'll be completely safe." He finished. I gave a nod towards him before I signaled to my squadmates to load up inside the Dacia and the patrol car. I stopped one of my squad mates at the front door and told him,
"Hotwire the cars and keep the engine running till we're all clear." I finished, and he gave a firm nod before rushing outside towards the cars. That's when Father Mendez came walking outside and talked to my squad leader. "Before you go, I should warn you that there's this one android you have to be careful of?" Father Mendez trailed off as he looked out towards the forest.
"Gimme a description." My squad leader responded. "It's got pink hair and black clothes, she has this crown over her head or something but, she's got this large scythe with her all the time. I don't know much else, but we sent a convoy through the town to look for supplies, at first we sent 10 people down, but only 2 came back. They talked about this android like it was some sort of devil, of course, that makes 300 of them."
I looked to my squad leader who shared the same look as I did, which was a hint of worry. My squad leader looked back at father Mendez and gave him a firm handshake. "We'll keep in mind, what will you do." He asked him. Father Mendez gave a short sigh, "I'll stay here and continue doing services, but I'll pray that you finish your mission successfully." He said as he gave a half smile. "Let's hope it's god's plan, oh and thank you for your service, Father." My squad leader said as he gave him a salute.
Father Mendez returned his salute, "The honor was mine." he said.
Both me and my squad leader rushed toward the cars, and I got into the right front seat of the Dacia. Since there were only 4 seats in each car, one of us had to sit inside of the trunks. I felt bad but it was necessary, as we were leaving the church I saw the father motioning his hand from his forehead to the bottom of his chest, and then to both sides of his shoulders.
