When I first felt that power burning inside me I wondered just what it was. It was like I had felt this overwhelming emotion I couldn't name and it had been given shape and form by my desire to blow those mother fuckers away. I Just wish I had found it sooner, instead of having to put up with those assholes for those first few weeks.

- A snippet of the remaining files of one 'hammerhead'. No one ever discerned his true identity, but he is considered one of the paladin's truest companions. His whereabouts after the thirteenth advent are still unknown to this day.

-----

Author's notes: Sorry this chapter took so long. I had some issues to deal with home-life wise. ah well. Life happens, and then you flush.

Chapter 13: The darkness and the fog..

A low growl escaped from the jaws of the timber wolf as it gazed defiantly at the beasts before it. Their rotten flesh gave off a stench so sickening even it's cultured taste buds were not enjoying the thought of tasting the morsels before it.

They kept coming, wave after wave. Usually a few at a time, but the trickle of undead kept pouring in.

She could smell the excitement radiating from the flesh of her pack mates. Father wolf had asked them to keep these strange inedible creatures away, and they'd do it.

A blue-grey streak raced out suddenly and lept upon the largest. The eldest of their tribe having decided today was a good day to die apparently. Though the death witnessed was not his own.

A loud piercing howl erupted from her lupine mouth and the rest of the pack followed suit. Then the battle began again.

----

In a shallow cave not too far away, a tall man of indistinct features smeared an herbal concoction upon the open wounds, and badly mangled flesh of his 'brother.'

A soft whine came from his side as freckles seemed distressed by the prone man's disposition.

'Indeed, he is Freckles. He may not survive till dawn at this rate. Already he slips into the twilight area of brother Silence's domain."
Thought the man, to his companion.

Freckles whimpered lightly and rested her head upon her feet. This was horrible. Now she'd never get a cookie.

Scott moaned softly in the fevered sweat that had broken out in him. As he slipped closer to death, the power of that dread spectre began making its presence known inside of him. Working with ever increasing strength to drag his soul down into its domain with finality.

Freckles lifted her head and growled at this. A soft plaintive growl.

"He must find the strength to survive on his own, dear one. We have done all we can." stated the man, before he shimmered lightly and became the wolf.

His giant lupine frame curled around Scott and rested his head near Freckles and the injured she wolf that was still sleeping after her treatment.

------

"What are they doing now?" asked the man, his breath misting in the strangely cool night air. For it to be late summer it sure did get cold at night near here. Maybe it was the river and the large lake?

After gazing through his nvg's for a moment, the man flipped it up onto his helmet and said, "They're just standing guard. I don't see anyone but the two guards in the tower, and those two guys roaming around on that big ass wall of there's."

"Think I should call it in? It's not like they've done anything." asked the man.

"Nah, you know how the s.o.g. gets when someone wakes his ass up."

The men snickered at that for a moment and then they wandered off to their up-armored humvee. They'd catch a few hours of sleep, and call this in in the morning. They were supposed to both stay awake all night, or at best at least take turns, but generally they didn't give a damn.

Base camp wanted to know of any good fortified structures in the area, and these people had the best around.

"Wonder how those fac's will love army life?" snarked private first class Anderson as he leaned back against his incredibly not comfortable seat.

Specialist Jenkins, the one who'd been using the nvg's earlier snorted. "Same as you do."

"Not a whole helluva lot." grumbled the man as he rolled over and tried to cuddle the blue force tracker without much success.

"Get some sleep dick, and don't fuckin start bustin ass like last night." muttered the always irate specialist.

Pfc Anderson snorted then gave a half assed salute and said, "Yes, my captain."

"Fuck that shit, the captain got eaten yesterday." came the mumbled reply of the exhausted former artillery soldier. Everyone was pretty much infantry now. Not that 'everybody' amounted to more than a dozen soldiers that had survived till today.

Anderson blinked tiredly and yawned. "That really happened? I thought it was a beautiful dream man."

"Dude, you're as gay as the captain. Beautiful dream.. fuck.." grunted the man.

The junior soldier yawned and said, "He was really gay?"

"Yeah man, didn't you hear about how he got eaten?" asked Jenkins in reply.

The junior ranked enlisted soldier said "No.. how?"

"Duh, first sergeant was sucking his dick before he turned and bit that shit off." said the man casually as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Anderson broke out into muffled laughter and tears came to his eyes. "You're shittin me right?"

"You go on believin that.. now fuckin shut up and go to sleep."

The private first class smirked a little then grinned to himself and adjusted his position. A little mental count down and then an eerily soft brrrrrt.. fled outwards from his general direction.

"GOD DAMMIT ANDERSON!" Screamed Specialist Jenkins as he slapped his helmet hard in anderson's direction.

A gale of laughter erupted from the man under attack by the helmet of righteous anger.

"Oh god, it went down my throat!" howled the specialist in despair as the noxious fumes threatened to make him gag.

"There's more where that came from big boy." teased the lower ranked man as he off-handedly fanned the air towards his supposed senior.

A gagging sound came from the man at that and his helmet lost it's attack strength while he tried to cover his mouth and nose with his unauthorized underarmor shirt.

"I fucking hate you man.." said Jenkins a half hour later after the extremely noxious odor had finally dissipated in the small confines of the vehicle.

"Aww,.. you'll always be special to me.. specialist." snarked the man, as he adjusted his seating again.

"Shut the fuck up with that gay shit.. and lay off the fucking chili mac!" snapped the man irately.

Anderson's only reply was a soft, burrrrppplt

"Oh mother fucker..!" exclaimed Jenkins as he seriously contemplated shooting his brother in arms.

----------------------------

He awoke in darkness. A deep cloying fog had enveloped the area.

Scott sat up, surprisingly light and looked around. The entire area had a strange black and white quality like an old movie. There seemed to be no color anywhere.

Stranger still, he saw no source of light and yet he could still see.

He looked down and noticed he was naked, but lacked the multitude of tiny scars that had formed on him from prolonged usage and wear of heavy armor pressing against his skin. He was as white as a sheet, and his musculature stood out as though he were cast of marble instead of flesh.

Slowly he became aware of a strong noise nearby, and he moved towards it. In the deep fog he could barely make out the outlines of trees, and rocks.

He steered around these as best he could, but still managed to run into a few things. Though these run ins did not hurt for some reason.

He could hear rustling all around him, as though something moved in this fog. As though it were hiding secrets everywhere.

The rustling became shuffling, and the shuffling lead to soft moaning. All of which came closer to him by the moment.

The hair on the back of his head stood on end, as he realized the implications. He was alone, naked and unarmed in a forest of the dead.

He picked up his pace, moving towards the original sound he had heard. A soft lilting noise akin to music but not quite what a normal person might consider as such.

More like a sensation or emotion than a noise.

Scott found himself suddenly on an old dirt road as he left these woods. The fog thinning slightly.

Unfortunately this did nothing to assuage his fears as this thinning revealed dozens of dark figures all around him moving closer.

Soft unholy whispers began flowing into his ears. Words of despair, fear and pain. These words struck at his very will to live. They beckoned him to go down into the long lonely darkness with them. To give in and join with them.

Scott turned away and ran along the dirt path he had found, diving past one of the dark figures and rolling with the momentum.

Behind him, he could hear the dark whispers coming for him even as he righted himself and kept running.

Off in the hazy distance, beyond a lake sat what looked like a plateau.

He knew instinctively that this plateau housed whatever made the music he was drawn to.

The landscaped flew by in a blurr, as his legs moved as fast as his will would take him. He felt no burning in his lungs, no pain in his legs or side.

It was as though his body knew no limits. As though he had no body at all.

The whispers behind him grew quieter with distance but never ceased. New whisperings of dark things began to come from nearby.

More of these creatures must be near.

The song was stronger now, as he could finally recognize it as such.

It seemed to have no words, but it spoke to the very core of his being.

In a world of darkness and despair, it filled him with light, a sense of hope and faith in a better tomorrow. He found strength in that song, and it fed his will. He picked up speed.

As he neared the lake, he saw a boat and beside it a dark robed figure with a long pole.

Scott ran up as far as he would allow and then called out to the dark figure. "Who are you?"

The figure pointed turned to the side and pointed at the plateau, then turned back and gestured at the boat.

The man figured this meant he was the way to reach the plateau but he couldn't trust this. "What is this place i've found myself in..? Who.. WHAT are you?"

The figure stood there with no answers. Scott muttered to himself but when he heard the dark whispering getting louder, he knew that he had no choice. He had to take a ride with the ferry man.

A thought occurred to him before that though. "What'll it cost me to get a ride across?"

The figure tilted what was probably its head at him and then tilted it back. A word appeared in Scott's mind clearly and with distinct finality.

Mortality..

The man was more than a little shocked at this, but he had no choice. Did the figure mean it would cost him his life? That's a steep price for a boat ride.

Scott turned as he heard a louder whisper behind him. An enormous dark image in the fog behind him had joined the slowly growing army of spectres.

"Take through... to the other side." said Scott to the ferry man.

The man gestured at the boat and Scott slipped hesitatingly over to it and got in, making certain the robed whatever it was stood in front of him on the boat.

After they'd pushed off Scott chanced a glance back at the bank and saw the dark figures standing there, the fog pulled back enough to show him what they were.

He thought at first they would be zombies. Instead he saw ordinary looking people. Sad and empty. They were forlorn and it seemed to him as though they had lost all hope.

The song grew steadily more powerful as they approached the other side. There was no fog here, but instead he saw a spiraling path of cut stone stairs that seemed to wind around the plateau.

As he got off the boat, the ferry man pointed to the torch lit stairs and then stood silently. His part was done.

Scott turned to look at him and said, "Thank you. I'm sure you don't hear it enough, but thank you."

The figure took a step back at that, as though it had been physically struck. Soon after it righted itself though and then gestured at a different path. One that had been carefully concealed.

"Is that a better path then..?" asked Scott.

The figure nodded and then went still. As though it were a statue.

Scott wandered off in the direction of the shadowed entrance and entered the earthen darkness.

-----

Maribeth glanced over at the grumpy grey creature and sighed. He just didn't get it. "I know you're supposed to watch me, but I have to GO."

"You're not going anywhere! I keep telling you! You're gonna sit right there and be stuck in here miserable just like me." snapped Reject for the tenth time.

The little blond girl sighed again and whimpered to herself. She really really, had to go.

"Crying won't work!" snarked the little beast harshly.

Maribeth closed her eyes and whispered, "Hurry.. my Scott."

------------------

Hammerhead yawned to himself as he searched the cabinets, once again searching for cheerios. Every morning without fail he searched. Rarely did he find his elusive cereal of choice.

Sure, there were plenty of boxes of corn flakes, and random things of that nature. Fuck all that he needed cheerios.

He was too busy in his search, and too groggy from the shift he'd just pulled on guard, to notice the small canister roll into the room.

He did notice the the pain in his eyes, and the burning in his nostrils a moment later as he screamed. Mucus ran in rivers as he flailed around and ran desperately for the door. His attempts to escape leading him to the outside and directly into the barrel of a M-4 Carbine.

As he staggered around, the single medic in the group of soldiers that had infiltrated and incapacitated the small guard force of their happy group, barked "Flap your arms, and don't touch your face."

It had been rediculously easy to overcome the guards on watch, since they'd been asleep on duty.

Eventually he complied after he began getting clear air into his lungs again. The streams of mucus hanging from his nose, and tears from his eyes made him look a sorry sight indeed.

"Is that all of them?" asked a man in digital camouflage. His ACU's looking fit for a garrison environment as opposed to the field work he'd had to do of late. How anyone could manage to keep such a crisp and clean uniform in days like these would be a story to be heard in and of itself.

"Yes, first sergeant." stated the next highest ranked Nco. Staff Sergeant Greene.

"Though the dog, seems to be less inclined to behave."

First Sergeant Dent nodded and said, "If it keeps being a problem, then put it down. It's just another mouth to feed anyway."

"Don't you fucking touch Russell!" snapped ol' Dougie from his place on the ground, before getting a boot to the side.

The sergeant Greene shouted, "Watch your fucking mouth and be quiet. You'll speak when we want to know something, otherwise shut the hell up."

The first sergeant smirked and said, "Well, this was easy. This'll make a proper base for us, while we acquisition supplies from the area. Hell, might even make it a permanent camp."

Several of the younger soldiers got excited at that thought. Finally no more moving out at o' dark thirty, never knowing if they'd be alive to reach the next call to halt.

"What manner of new recruits do we have?"

The sergeant checked his note book and said, "Two females, one of which is blind. Six males, the youngest of which is fourteen maybe fifteen, and that dog."

"Hmm, the blind woman might become a liability." stated the first sergeant matter of factly.

Specialist Jenkins nudged pfc Anderson and pointed at Chloe. Then is a harsh whisper, "Bout time we got some tale in the unit. Check out those tits man!"

Chloe overhearing this tried to hug herself a little tighter against the ground. She never thought overly much about her breasts but she was aware that they were viewed as 'large' in general. The only person she wanted to notice them though, was also the only person not here.

"What kind of supplies and equipment have we acquired?" asked the first sergeant, while he patted the strongly reinforced solid wall of concrete.

"There are three heavily uparmored vehicles, apparently a former Hummer of civilian make and two hybrid cars. There's a Barge with five large drums of fuel, and an even dozen more in a storage shed out back. Three generators" began the man, before taking a breath,

. He continued a moment later with, "Five handguns of varying calibur with silencers and scopes. Three rifles, standard hunting variety. Several thousand rounds for each weapon, as well as abundant cleaning supplies for them. One M4, with accompanying clip. As well as a 50. cal with several hundred rounds in the guard tower."

"Add in around a hundred pounds of home made explosives in the form of pipe bombs. Oh, and three medieval sets of armor in varying states of repair, three ACH's and two IBA's. One of which has fully intact SAPI plates."

The first sergeant whistled appreciatively. This little fortress had been a major windfall. More personnel, and some decent equipment. Best of all there was fuel.

He gave a command to radio to base camp and have the officers and support crew move in. The island fort was their's.

-----

The greater darkness paced slowly around the room, his thoughts on the shift in Father Silence's mood. Their creator had become moody of late. Truly a strange occurence since he rarely showed any emotion at all.

Currently, the children were out assaulting the resting place of that betrayer. Curiously enough the local wildlife had risen up against the children and were keeping them at bay.

It made no sense to the undead fiend. The creatures of nature had no great love for the betrayers. Why would they stand so fiercely resolute against them taking one betrayer.

He had nearly decided that it was a sense of pack loyalty, or territorial instincts when he felt the touch of Father Silence in his mind.

'He nears the plateau.. he must not reach the heart of darkness. Destroy him, with any means necessary my beautiful darkness...'

The creature shuddered in an approximation of pleasure at the almost erotic sensation in his mind. Whenever their father spoke to him, it was with a seductive sensation he knew not how to define. Death perhaps, is sexy to the damned.

Knowing better than to respond with an affirmation and waste his father's time, the greater darkness sent out a mental command to Leroy. One of the psy-devils created by brother silence.

A rail thin creature with absurdly long arms, and clawed fingers faded into the room. The greater darkness was not fooled though. He knew these creatures had no power to teleport. They simply played with the minds of others.

'Father has decreed death to the betrayer. Use all means necessary to destroy him, every resource. The wolves must be broken, and your fangs must find the jugular of our enemy. Go and do not return without his cold dead heart.' Thought the greater darkness to his minion.

Leroy the psy-devil bowed his head and faded out, a single thought sent towards the greater darkness. 'understood.'

----

Well there we have chapter 13.

Oh and I apologize that I did this, as some of you saw the original chapter 13. I decided to add what I had written for chapter 14 to this, as it made more sense and fleshed out the chapter. Plus I had to fix my insert at the beginning so it at least made some sort of sense. lol.

Fac's means, Fat Ass Civilians. hehe.

I'm sure i'm the only one that will find two soldiers in this situation hilarious, but it was an easy part to right.

There are many questions raised in this chapter, and many answers coming.

Look to the skies true believers! That way I can lift your wallets while you're distracted.