Location 078U part 2

This post is the conclusion to "Location 078U" where we hear from actual agents from the agency about what happened in this location. Do they know what the event was? What the creatures are? Read on to see if these questions are answered.

Location 078U

Testimony 2013-04-11-A

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Asher Steele regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross. Statement begins.

Coltr. Steele: My team and I—

Arch. Cross: State their names for the record.

Coltr. Steele: You have their names on file. In my file, in Ingrid’s file, in Josephine’s file. You have their bodies—or what’s left of them—in autopsy right now. I don’t think you need me to state their names.

Arch. Cross: It is procedure, Asher. Full names, if you would.

Coltr. Steele: Fine. Ingrid Schmidt, Josephine Roth, Natasha Cash, Arthur Fox, Jacob Meyer, and Grayson Collins—my team. We went to Location 078U where the containment division was in the process of setting up a perimeter fence and signs. Custodian Gregory Everett informed us that we would be looking for survivors and we’d be joined a member of support team Zeta, Brady Simmons, who had been sent there to assist. He’s also the one who requested that, if possible, we try to bring one of the things back alive. I suspect he’ll be getting a lovely bonus and maybe a reassignment to Warden, won’t he?

Arch. Cross: I’m not sure. That doesn’t concern either of us.

Coltr. Steele: We passed through the perimeter and entered Location 078U. It was a bit like entering Location 024C, except hotter, drier, and with less fire. We were confident this would be a quick mission. Clear the area, rescue any survivors, head out before dark. Of course, we weren’t properly prepared. We hadn’t listened to what the survivors—Kit Spence and Nadia Gibbs—said about what happened there yet, but we’d been reassured that our training would be sufficient to deal with whatever was present in town.

            We continued down Main Street. Meyer and Fox were making jokes about visiting a ghost town in the making. Collins was talking to Simmons, trying to keep the kid calm. And Simmons was a kid. I think we all forget the human part of the support team. Simmons, despite being a support team Zeta member, was just a kid and wasn’t cut out for what we do. He shouldn’t have been there, but hey, he was just a member of support team Zeta. He wasn’t important, right? He was expendable.

            Cash was supposed to take the lead, but she was focusing on the landscape. I mean, it went from a small, thriving town to an abandoned, decrepit rubble heap practically overnight. Only two survivors in a town of two thousand? That’s not normal. Even natural disasters of epic scales have a few dozen. We figured there would be at least one or two more, probably more. Cash focused on the area, though she was more interested in the landscape than in looking for survivors.

            Roth and Schmidt were more alert, though Roth seemed a bit distracted. She never liked Zetas. She even snapped at Collins to stop telling Simmons such personal information—he was reassuring him, telling Simmons about his family, telling Simmons there was nothing to be scared of here because he’d protect him. That was just how Collins was. He cared about people and Simmons was about the age of his oldest.

            I think if there had actually been a survivor, we would’ve shot them. Given how tense we were, how ready for something to leap out at us, we would’ve shot anything that moved. When we heard the first creature moving around behind one of the abandoned and burning cars, we all had our guns trained on that car and Collins was shielding Simmons. It came around the car and...it looked at us.

            It was human in the same way a mannequin is human. It was just human enough to be unsettling. It looked at us and cocked its head. It was black, like the absence-of-light kind of black. Except its teeth. Those were so white they practically glowed. It looked at us for a moment, cocking its head side to side like it was trying to figure out what we were, then dropped to all fours and ran off.

Arch. Cross: It looked at you? Could you describe its eyes?

Coltr. Steele: I don’t think I need to, considering we did what Custodian Everett wanted and brought one back. You can see its eyes for yourself.

Arch. Cross: Please. For the record. What did the eyes of the one you saw in Location 078U look like?

Coltr. Steele: They were amber and swirly, kind of like flames. We didn’t see them from that distance at first. We saw them when we tracked it down, hoping to capture it. Because Custodian Everett wanted one alive, we began tracking it. Simmons was against this idea, but Roth snapped at him that this was part of his job, if he didn’t want to do this then he was perfectly free to go back to prison. He didn’t argue after that. Collins glared at her, put an arm around Simmons, and reassured him.

            We followed it to one of the houses. Fox and Meyer went around the back, Cash and Roth took one side, Schmidt was with me in the front, and Collins went with Simmons on the other side. Fox and Meyer radioed they were in position, followed by Cash, Roth, and Collins for both him and Simmons. Schmidt and I went inside and began our sweep of the front room. It was destroyed, utterly trashed. Furniture was smashed, the TV screen was shattered, the couch cushions and pillows were shredded. The kitchen was a war zone of destroyed dishes. We heard snuffling sounds from the kitchen so we made our way in there.

            There was one in there. It wasn’t the one we had followed. It was smaller. It rooted around in one of the cabinets, sniffing and digging around. It was acting like it was hungry and looking for food. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t kind of cute. Schmidt must have thought it was because she lowered her weapon and began to approach. I tried to call to her without arousing the thing’s notice, but she ignored me. Then it looked at us. Schmidt was about five feet from it at that point. Its eyes were green, but swirling with amber. Like they were changing even as we watched. Schmidt stopped for a moment, then began speaking to it in German. She only does that with her kids, you know. I have no idea what she was saying to it, you’d have to ask her. She kept approaching it, talking soothingly to it in German.

            It began to approach, cocking its head at her words. As she approached, it grinned. Its mouth opened wide in a grin. Its teeth were so sharp and white against its black skin. It stopped and waited for her to approach as she seemed intent on doing. She reached out a hand to it and its grin widened. I snapped out of whatever trance I was in and shot the creature before it could take her hand off. She was furious at me and let me know very loudly. She stopped, though, when we heard a sound from upstairs.

            Glass shattered and Cash radioed that the thing was fleeing, asked for permission to pursue it. I told her no, we weren’t going to go off on our own until we learned more about what these creatures were capable of. I radioed to Collins and told him to mark this area for the support team to come in to retrieve the creature’s body. He did, then we began tracking the creature that escaped.

            As we tracked it, the whole town was silent. There weren’t any sounds at all. No birds or wind or anything. It was so quiet. Just our footsteps, echoing through a dead town. We hadn’t seen any bodies, but then, we didn’t need to. With how silent it was, death was the only explanation. Simmons was scared and jumpy, but didn’t say anything, more scared of being forced to go back to prison I think. Collins kept close to him, protective. Collins also shot glares at Roth whenever she looked at Simmons.

            I suppose it was then that it occurred to me that we were in over our heads. I mean, yes, we were trained and we were sent on some of the more dangerous missions. You know that. You’ve got the records. You’ve got our statements, too, from debriefing after missions. I don’t know why exactly I got the feeling that we were in over our heads, but I got that feeling then.

            We arrived at the church and graveyard. The dirt was disturbed, the church crumbling. I was on edge. One of those, a juvenile, had managed to hypnotize Schmidt. We had no idea what an adult could do. We didn’t even know what these things were.

            Collins went down first. Pretty sure he’d shielded Simmons from the attack. One of the creatures pounced on Collins, biting and tearing into him. No idea where it even came from. Behind the gravestones, maybe? Maybe it burst from the ground, from one of the graves. I don’t know. One moment, we were alone in the graveyard, the next we were being attacked by these things. We all started shooting. We didn’t even care that we could hit each other or that Custodian Everett wanted one alive. We just wanted to make it out alive.

            I was by Collins’ side, checking him over. The wounds were bad, he wasn’t going to make it. After all, I had limited knowledge and medical supplies with me. He asked me to look out for Simmons, made me promise that I would. That’s what I intend to do.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Collector Steele left abruptly and refused to pick up where his statement left off so I will have to hope that Schmidt and Roth provide more insight. Collector Steele will be returning to the field within a week after he recovers from the injuries he obtained in Location 078U.

Testimony 2013-04-11-B

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Josephine Roth regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Coltr. Roth: I’m transferring, you know. Archives. Seems a lot safer than field work. After Location 078U, I’m not going back into the field. Don’t see how Steele plans on going back to it. I suppose you want me to pick up from wherever he left off?

Arch. Cross: If you’d be so kind. He left abruptly, right after he began telling me about the graveyard attack.

Coltr. Roth: Ah, right. Nothing else happened of note aside from Collins sharing personal information with support team Zeta member Simmons.

Arch. Cross: You didn’t like Simmons, did you? Collector Steele mentioned that you never liked the Zeta support team.

Coltr. Roth: I don’t. I think it’s a foolish idea to allow them out, even if we have them monitored and prevent them from leaving site unless they’re working with a field team. I know they’re microchipped. I know they’re monitored. I don’t like working with them. We have other support teams, better support teams than Zetas. They should all be locked up. They’re all monsters. They just wear human skin. But you’re not really interested in hearing my opinions on Zetas. You want to know what happened when we were attacked in the graveyard. I suppose Steele told you about Collins being the first down. What he didn’t tell you, because he didn’t see it, was Collins pushed Simmons out of the way. It should have been Simmons that died in that graveyard. But that doesn’t matter, does it? He got what he deserved.

            Collins went down and we started shooting. Steele was over by Collins once we got the thing off him. I don’t know what Collins said to Steele, but Steele nodded. I think we all knew that Collins wasn’t going to make it. His throat was ripped open for fuck’s sake. The creatures retreated and we placed a marker for another team to come in for body retrieval. That was when Steele did a head count and drew attention to the fact that Simmons was missing. Cash said that she thought she saw one of the creatures drag him off during the chaos. I said he probably took the opportunity to run.

            We went looking for him, against my advice. We were all wounded and needed to figure out how to capture one of those creatures, but instead we were looking for a Zeta. We shouldn’t have been wasting our time looking for him. He’s a Zeta. He’s replaceable, all Zetas are.

            Fox and Meyer brought up the rear, guarding us in case the creatures attacked. It was silent, again. That silence you find only in horror movies when places are deserted, but the monster’s hiding in wait.

            I don’t know when Fox and Meyer were grabbed, but when I looked back, they were gone. I saw the blood trails leading to one of the houses we passed. It was just Schmidt, Steele, Cash, and me. We found Simmons. He was surrounded by the creatures and...one of them was on top of him. It was...absorbing him, I guess, is how best to describe it. It was quite a painful process if Simmons’ screams were anything to judge by.

            We were ready to start shooting, but Cash advised against it. She wanted to study the process. Always the scientist. I agreed with her. Schmidt and Steele were against it, but Schmidt eventually came around. Steele was still against it, but he waited to do anything. The absorbing process carried on, slowly. Simmons kept screaming and crying. It must have been extremely painful. Cash kept recording it.

            I think he saw us then. He looked in our direction and begged us to help, tears in his eyes. He pleaded with us to do something, anything, just help him. Steele intervened, blew our cover. He shot one of the ones that was standing guard while the process went on which startled the thing absorbing Simmons. Schmidt provided cover fire, though I noticed she didn’t seem eager to shoot the smaller ones that were edging closer. She hesitated when one got close to her and Cash. That’s how Cash ended up dead. Neither her nor Schmidt shot the small one before it pounced and ripped Cash’s throat open and tore off half her face. I shot it when I saw what was going on, but it was too late for Cash at that point. I saved her recording of the process, though, as you’ve likely seen.

            Schmidt, when she finally seemed to be aware of her surroundings again, radioed for backup, radioed that it was urgent. Steele was over by Simmons and the thing that was absorbing him, trying to get it to stop. I remembered that we had tranquilizer darts just in case and I shot the thing. By that point, the thing had practically absorbed Simmons entirely and there wasn’t any part of Simmons that wasn’t part of that thing now.

            Our backup got there, support team Alpha, and got us out of there. Most of the creatures retreated when they arrived. Scared of the Humvees, probably. They got the Simmons creature loaded into the transport cage, retrieved the bodies of Cash, Fox, Meyer, Collins, and the dead creatures, and got us bandaged for the moment, then we left. Came back to headquarters for debriefing and medical attention. Now, if that’s all, I have to put in my transfer request.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Collector Roth will begin archival assistant training as soon as possible. Given her previous field experience, she will likely be better able to handle some of the more complex and hazardous tasks required of assistants. The recording she provided from the late Natasha Cash depicts exactly what Collector Roth described regarding the absorption of Brady Simmons. It is...quite unsettling to watch and listen to, especially when Simmons begins pleading for help. A copy of the recording will be filed with the rest of these statements.

Testimony 2013-04-11-C

Arch. Cross: Statement of Collector Ingrid Schmidt regarding the clear out of Location 078U. Statement recorded direct from subject by Archivist Declan Cross.

Coltr. Schmidt: I’m through. I’m done. I’m retiring and there’s nothing that anyone can say or do to change my mind. I’ll sign whatever damn non-disclosure agreement Superior Read puts in front of me. I’m. Done.

Arch. Cross: I understand that, Collector Schmidt. We just need your statement for the record regarding what happened in Location 078U, then you’re free to go talk to Superior Read and fill out your exit paperwork and the non-disclosure agreement.

Coltr. Schmidt: Right. Where did you want me to start?

Arch. Cross: With what happened when your team first entered the house the creature ran into. When you and Collector Steele entered the kitchen to find the smaller creature.

Coltr. Schmidt: We entered the kitchen and there was a small creature there, rooting through the cupboards for food. It was so small. Then it looked at us and it...I couldn’t look away from it. It looked like one of my kids and very clearly scared. I began talking to him soothingly in German. That always calms down my children when they’re scared. Then Steele shot him and it was a creature again.

            It was the same with one of the smaller ones that was guarding Simmons during the merger. It looked at me and it looked like my daughter. She got closer and closer, then attacked Cash. Roth shot her and she was a creature again. After that, I radioed support team Alpha for backup. They arrived, got us, got the sedated Simmons creature, got the bodies of our team and the creatures, and we left. That’s all there is to it. Can I go now?

Arch. Cross: Yes, I think that’s everything.

Coltr. Schmidt: Good.

Arch. Cross: Statement ends. Thanks to Collector Schmidt’s statement, we now know that the creatures—the juveniles, anyway—are able to hypnotize humans into believing that they are children, specifically children that are in some way connected to the person who is hypnotized. This is useful information that we likely wouldn’t have otherwise as Inmate 056 is an adult creature and those do not seem capable of the hypnosis. This information will be passed onto Omega scientists while they continue to study Inmate 056.

So that's the conclusion of "Location 078U." Regarding Inmate 056, there are plans for an interview with him to be written in the future and that story may involve my fiancé Myrrh's character Ellis. Once it's written, I'll be sure to share it here. 

In the meantime, happy Halloween to everyone and happy almost-NaNoWriMo to those who participate in that month-long novel-writing endeavor. Stay spooky, readers.