Morningstar/Alignment by Keith Trimm (people reading books txt) 📕

The crowd shifted and many fell as they were struck down by gunfire. Many pushed closer, fearless of the barrage of bullets spraying in their direction.

In a panic the rear gunner flicked the switch on his gun resetting it to full automatic. Without looking, he pulled the trigger and swept the area in one smooth motion cutting down Easton who was still standing on the hood. Easton fell dead almost cut in half. To the rear gunners horror he watched as Easton bounced off the hood of the ATV and fell to the ground with a thud.

Moments later the ATV was swamped and the remaining four men were pulled off the vehicle and carried away. Along the entrance gate, twelve long poles jutted forth from the ground rising twenty feet into the air. The men were hauled to the poles and strung up, tied by leather straps, lifting them a foot off the ground. Easton’s dead body was laid at their feet.

"What are you going to do with us?" Adams yelled to the crowd. There was no response, just murmuring. "Who is in charge?" he yelled in vain scanning the faces in the crowd. He looked to his right at the two men hanging beside him then to the man on his left.

The leather dug into his wrists and the pain was unbearable. He knew this was going to end up bad but he did not plan on the suffering.

"Look!" one of the men, shouted. "Easton is moving!"

At their feet Easton pushed off the ground and stood erect. "What the hell?" Adams thought. "Easton! Cut us down!" Adams yelled to the man standing before him.

Easton looked blankly at Adams as if he did not know who he was. He turned to the crowd and a man walked forth and handed him a long knife. He took the knife and approached Adams hanging before him.

"Cut me down Easton," Adams whispered.

Easton took the knife and cut Adams across the belly spilling his insides onto the dirt below. Adams gasped for air and looked into Easton’s lifeless eyes waiting to die.

Chapter 26

Three days had passed with no word from the recognizance team. The burned out ATV was salvaged and pulled into camp. Its rear mounted machine gun, still in working condition, was set up as the main defense for camp. Four tripod-mounted machine guns were flanked around the ATV manned at all times.

"Hey captain! When are we going to eat?" one of the men yelled out.

"I’m working on it!" Ramsey shouted back.

The food supply was gone and sixteen men remained at camp growing hungrier each hour. Ramsey needed to find food in a hurry. "Rhine! Get over here!" he shouted across camp.

Tony came running over and stood before the captain. "What is it?" he asked.

"You’re a doctor right?" Ramsey asked.

"Yes I am."

"I guess you’re pretty damn smart, what around here do you think is safe to eat?"

Tony frowned at Ramsey and said, "Don’t they teach you survival skills in boot camp?"

Ramsey chuckled at Tony’s ignorance. "Yes they do," he responded. "But this place isn’t normal. I have no idea what is safe and what may be poison."

"And you think I do?"

"This was your mission. I expect you have some answers."

"I don’t know any more than you do commander," Tony snapped back and turned to the tall grass prairie. "What would you usually eat in a situation like this?’

"You don’t want to know."

"I may not be military, but I am in this just the same as you."

Ramsey bent over and picked up something from the dirt. In his fingers was a six-legged insect squirming, trying to escape. "If it comes down to it, these make a pretty good lunch," Ramsey said tossing the bug at Tony. The captain laughed at Tony when he jumped away from the insect. "Do you wonder why there would be bugs in Hell?"

"I suppose they sinned against God," Tony said

"You should know," Ramsey said sarcastically. "If you are who our prisoner says you are, you should be able to break bread and feed us all. Why don’t you give it a try?"

"I am not who he says I am. I am sorry."

"Too bad," Ramsey said sighing. "I’d like a free ticket out of here."

One of the soldiers walked over from the campfire and stood next to Ramsey. "Captain?" he asked.

"Yes private."

"I have an idea," the soldier said looking to the ground.

"Go on."

"When we captured those three, they were riding some big hairy cow or something," the private said.

"You want to eat one of those things?" Tony asked. "They have been sitting out in the sun for four days!"

"Me and the other men are hungry sir," the private said.

"I realize that. Eating rotted meat will kill you!" Tony snapped back.

"We plan to cook it sir."

Tony looked to Ramsey. "I would advise against it," Tony said.

"Desperate times doctor," he said to Tony. Looking to the private he said, "Get three other men, go out and retrieve some of it. We will make a determination then." Looking back to Tony he said, "If you get hungry enough, you will eat your own arm. Believe me, you don’t want to know what I know."

The private took off to camp to gather a party.

***

Twenty minutes later a voice cracked over Ramsey’s radio. "Commander come in."

"Ramsey here," he responded.

"Sir, one of them is gone.’

"Probably some scavengers dragged it away. Is there a problem?"

"It just seemed strange sir. There are no remains. It is if it got up and walked away."

"The other one is still there?"

"Yes, it is in better condition than I thought it would be."

Ramsey thought for a moment. "Continue with the mission. Contact me if there are any problems, over." Ramsey put the radio back on his belt and scratched his forehead.

"I nailed both of those things dead," Pvt. Jackson said startling Ramsey from behind.

"I know. I saw them myself." Ramsey said, his heart still pounding in his chest. "Who knows what they have for scavengers around here. It may have been drug off."

***

An hour passed and Tony sat on the ground next to Seth and the other two prisoners. "Who are your friends there?" Tony asked Seth.

"That’s rude Tony. You can ask them, they won’t bite," Seth replied.

"If you don’t mind, I’d rather speak to you," he said to Seth. "I hope you guys don’t mind," he said looking to the other two bound to the tree.

"If that’s the way you want it fine. This is Brother Follett, and next to him Brother Thomas."

Tony smiled at them and said, "Glad to meet you," with a sarcastic grin The two men looked over at Tony and glared at him. "What’s wrong with them?" he asked Seth.

"You are the enemy, remember?" Seth replied.

"Yeah, that’s right," he said laughing. "So how long have you been here uncle?" Tony asked.

"I crossed over in 1970. I believe that was the year of your birth?"

"Yes it is. What an odd coincidence," Tony said.

"Maybe not as odd as you think," Seth said.

Tony smiled at Seth and dug his foot into the dirt. "So you have been here thirty years now?"

"Doesn’t feel like it," Seth replied. "Seems like only yesterday."

"I bet it does." Tony smiling at his uncle. "Is this place all you dreamed it would be?"

"And more my nephew. You can not fathom the glory of his presence."

"Who are you talking about?" Tony asked.

"The Morning Star of course," Seth replied.

"Satan?" Tony asked.

"If that is what you wish to call him."

Tony looked over to camp watching the men eating. The smell of the roasting meat sickened him and the sight of the massive beasts’ leg cooking over the fire made him ill. Ramsey walked over and stood before the prisoners and looked down to Tony.

"Are you going to eat?" Ramsey asked.

"I think I will take my chances on the vegetation," Tony replied.

"I agree," Ramsey said. "The maggots make me sick. Jackson isn’t touching it either."

"Why not?" Tony asked.

"Jackson is a farm boy. He said spoiled meat is like poison. He is out scrounging in the woods for some nuts and berries."

"That is a wise choice," Seth said.

"Why? Is there something we should know?" Ramsey asked Seth.

"If you have been observing Commander Ramsey, nothing here stays dead for long."

"Oh my!" Tony spoke up. His eyes wide open.

"What is it?" Ramsey asked.

Tony looked to Ramsey and said, "The other beast. It wasn’t dragged off. It got up on its own and left."

"Very good nephew," Seth said with a grin.

Ramsey looked back at his men and then back at Tony. "Are you saying that thing will come back to life?"

"Inside them. If they eat the meat it will come back to life inside the men. It will kill them!"

Seth began to laugh out loud. Then Follett and Thomas joined in. Ramsey ran back to the campfire and yelled for the men to stop eating. Tony watched from his seat becoming flush with heat. He jumped as he saw the massive leg of the beast twitch as it cooked above the fire. Its clawed feet jerked back and forth knocking it off the rack and into the hot coals kicking up sparks and embers.

"Throw it up!" Ramsey yelled to his men. "It is poison!"

The leg now in full motion jerked violently trying to get out of the fire disembodied. From the edge of the woods the agonizing screams of the animal shot across camp.

The men scattered in all directions buckled over in pain. Some were trying to throw up and others were falling to the ground dead as the reanimated meat inside them killed them like poison.

Bursting forth from the woods, the massive longhaired beast lumbered into camp on its remaining three legs. It hobbled towards the campfire and with its open jaws, clenched down upon its remaining leg and pulled it from the fire. With the leg in tow, it limped back into the woods disappearing from view.

Tony looked in horror as one by one all of the remaining men fell lifeless to the ground. Ramsey was helpless to stop it.

***

Twenty minutes later after the commotion died down, Tony, Ramsey and Jackson walked among the dead. The strained horrified looks on the dead men’s faces sickened them. Seth and the other two prisoners sat silent watching them survey camp. Tony walked over to Seth and kicked dirt on him. "You bastard! You knew this would happen!"

Seth spit out dirt and blinked his eyes clearing his vision. He looked up to Tony hovering above him. "Of course I knew. I have come to baptize you all. I only have three more and my mission is fulfilled."

"We ought to put a bullet in him!" Jackson yelled.

"What good what that do?" Tony asked. "You can’t kill the dead. We found that out the hard way."

"There must be something we can do," Jackson said. "We have some control over them. If you can tie them up you must be able to kill them for good."

Tony looked to Seth. "How about it uncle? Is there a death beyond this?"

"Do you think I would tell you?" Seth replied.

"There must be," Jackson said. "There must be something beyond this. We just need to find out what it is."

"We better find out fast," Ramsey said. "I don’t think our men will stay dead long."

"What are you saying?" Jackson asked.

"Nothing stays dead here Jackson!" Ramsey yelled. "Weren’t you paying attention?"

"These are our men. They wouldn’t do anything to us," Jackson said.

"Our men are gone. We need to dispose of these bodies before it is too late."

"Too late for what?" Jackson asked.

"Before they stand up and kill us!" Ramsey yelled. " I for one want to stay just the way I am." Ramsey pointed to the camp and said, "Start grabbing bodies and pile them up by the ATV."

With that order the three men dragged the bodies to a central point twenty feet from the ATV and lined them next to each other.