Reading over the note again, you decide that maybe it’d be best if you just met up with Jack at Dot’s in a little bit. You’re not exactly sure what path he took, and you don’t want to chance running into whatever caused that bloodloss in the front. After thinking it over a bit, you also decide it might be a decent idea to grab some provisions and throw them in your Jeep, just in case.
After rooting aorund the house for a bit, you find some bottled water, some canned tuna and crackers, and some trail bars. All in all, not a bad haul. You also manage to find a box of ammo, another forty-eight rounds.
Guess the gun was Jack’s, then, you think. Wonder why he left it?
After gathering the gear, you think that maybe it’s best to just shelter up in Jack’s room until it’s time to meet him. You already cleared the house, so you know it’s safe enough, and it’s better than driving aorund while god-knows-what is going on. You look around for something to do, and notice a shelf of books in the corner. Since you have nothing better to do, you grab a much-read copy of At The Mountains of Madness and set to reading.
What seems like moments later, you hear an enormous explosion. You realize that you had fallen asleep, and after checking your watch, you see that three hours have gone by.
Jumping up, you run to the window to see just what exactly is going on. Though it’s still dark, the residual effects of the explosion light up the horizon, along with what look like several small fires to the north.
I hope Jack’s okay, you think. That’s right about where he said he’s be.
Still feeling safer in the house, you wait out the remaining several hours, the trudge down to your Jeep with your new gear and start it up, warier than ever.
You drive slowly, watching carefully for any movement, any sign of life. And there is still none. No animals running around, not even a breeze running through the trees. Absolutely nothing. It’s eery. Of course, reading Lovecraft earlier was probably not the best decision, but at least Mountains is an interesting read.
It doesn’t take you long to get to Dot’s, and the first thing you take notice of is the fact that there are a few other cars parked outside. You recognize one as Jack’s pickup.
Stepping out of the Jeep, you see the dingy bar as a beacon of hope. A glimmer of light shines through the covered windows, the first real sign you’ve seen of other life. You hurry across the lot and into Dot’s.
Inside, you’re greeted with about a half-dozen faces, two of whom you know. One–Jack–smiles as you enter, nodding in your direction. The other just looks at you then turns back to the radio she had been working on. Dot always was a woman to keep busy. You wave.
Jack speaks up.
“Well, folks, that about wraps up the crew I’ve been trying to put together. This here is one of my best friends, and–like the rest of us–a pretty smart cookie. We can use the help on this.”
Jack looks back over at you, then points around the room, first to a young woman holding a large shotgun. “This is Mary MacGregor, one of my old friends from Harvard. She was visiting a mutual friend of ours when the ‘event’ happened.”
He ushers to an older couple. “Doctors Harry and Samantha Foore, local doctors from the other side of town. They saw me leaving town earlier and I told them where to meet.”
Finally, he points at the last two men, both larger and very muscular. “And these two lovely gentleman are Sergeant Ryan Connor and Private Shane Dodson. I picked them up at the temporary military base the Amry’s got built up north. They’ll pretty much back up everything I have to say.”
He looks around the room again, the opens his arms. “Well, folks, we’re sure in the shit-hole on this one. Something seriously bad is going on up north, and the Army isn’t letting anyone in that area. I took some of the back roads and cut across Ol’ Shaw’s field, but I got some idea of what might have happened. And trust me, it ain’t good. What it looks like happened was–”
He didn’t get to finished. Before he could, another massive explosion shook the bar. The windows blew out, throwing all of you to the ground. Your ears hurt from the concussion, but you seemed to be okay. No blood, at least.
Shaking your head, you get to your feet, looking around. What you see turns your stomach.
Four armed soldiers–probably Army–are standing over you and your compatriots, assault rifles trained on you. You see that everyone else is much the same as you–dazed, confused, but not damaged. Except for Mary…you don’t see Mary anywhere.
Then Jack catches your eye. He has a hand behind his back, where you see a large revolver held.
Mary must be behind the bar, you think, waiting with that shotgun.
And you. You have a pistol. So what do you do? Do you follow Jack’s lead and defend yourselfs? Of course, you don’t know what’s going on yet, and these guys are the Army. They’re supposed to be the goos guys, right? Maybe you should warm them, tell Jack not to do anything stupid. Or maybe you should just cut all and run. The door is wide open. So what’ll it be? What’re you going to do?
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