*** Disclaimer ***
The following story may contain themes of hypnosis, mind control, non-consent, paranormal, cheating, cuckoldry, voyeurism, incest, gang bangs, and other forms of debauchery. This may not be the story for you.
This is a work of fiction. All characters depicted are at least 18 years of age. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
***
Debauchery Falls chapter 06
***
They stood in the kitchen of Emily Tanner's last stand, peering through the boards and chain link fence that had been used to barricade the windows. There was a sense of unreality as the fireball rolled skyward from their camp.
It seemed an eternity that none of them spoke, although it was only a second.
Then Galloway was barking orders and the men were running. "Delacruz, Foster, secure the front. Quinn, on me. We're going back, right now!"
Andrea was frozen in place. She hadn't the first clue what to do. Her mind was processing all of this, but much too sluggishly. She felt like her brain was moving in slow motion.
Galloway reached back and grabbed the girl by the arm, nearly yanking her off her feet. "C'mon, kid. Fight or flight. Never freeze," she was saying.
By the time she reached the front living room, a new series of explosions shook the house. These weren't nearly as epic as the one across the valley. They were loud and crisp, like party balloons breaking in rapid succession.
"Shots fired, shots fired!" The men were shouting. Foster and Quinn dove to either side of the front door as the frame splintered. Delacruz, who had been halfway out the door, staggered. A mist of pink momentary hung in the air by his leg. He dove behind a mini backhoe before he went down.
"Down!" Galloway grabbed the Tanners and threw them to the floor. She had just the briefest glimpse of multiple shadowy figures moving in the grasses beyond the driveway. Men in black hoods.
More shots peppered the front of the house. Periodic bursts of light from the grass marked the flashes of rifles.
"Stay here," she ordered Brad and Andrea. The good humor gone from her face. Her expression severe, all business now. She scrambled forward on her elbows to rejoin her men.
Foster was blindly returning fire, cursing around the mouthful of tobacco tucked into his lip. Quinn was moving from window to window, trying to see who was attacking them, and how many.
"I count eight, maybe as many as ten," he said.
Galloway swore. That meant there were probably more they didn't see. She remembered the dire warning of Emily Tanner-- their failed last stand here in the barricaded house, and she shivered.
She rolled to the nearest window, bringing her rifle up and peering out into the night. She spied Delacruz crouched desperately behind cover. Their fellow officer had taken up a position behind the rental tractor in the front lawn. He was kneeling. His leg was bleeding. They could hear him screaming at everyone to stay back.
Beyond his position, they were advancing-- hooded monks from the darkest of nightmares. They were carrying weapons, rifles.
"Holy shit," Quinn said as gunfire was exchanged between them. Bullets were pinging off the tractor, fired from several of the men.
Galloway zeroed her sights and fired. One of them dropped. The rest scattered. But they were still advancing, hiding in the grasses, the woods, behind cover. They were outnumbered and had no information as to who these people were, or how many. When outnumbered, the best strategy was to retreat and regroup.
All they could see was ghostly robes and hoods over the wild eyes of lunatics. The word 'cultists' came to mind, although none of them were sure why. And the focus of the cultists was on the nearest officer-- the fallen Delacruz.
Delacruz was struggling to reload his rifle. The look of primal fear in his face was apparent.
"Quinn," Galloway shouted to her Sergeant, "On my mark, we're going out there and pulling Delacruz back inside!"
He nodded his understanding.
Galloway used the muzzle of her rifle to break the remaining glass away from one of the already boarded up windows. She fired into the trees. Several of the men scattered. They slowed their approach, but in a second, the rifle blasts replied. Galloway ducked as the boards near her head splintered.
Foster retreated to Andrea and Brad, keeping protective watch over the two of them. Andrea had covered her ears, cowering and sobbing. Brad protectively hugged his daughter. They were all confused, but Andrea had a look of complete terror on her face.
Galloway and Quinn both returned fire. Her rifle clattering, mixing with the thunderous booms from Quinn's shotgun. It was blind fire, meant to send their attackers running. It didn't seem to have an effect. These lunatics were charging up the driveway, almost like they had no regard for their own safety.
Delacruz fired a shot over his shoulder, holding his rifle with one hand. With the other, he was struggling to remove his belt. He clenched his teeth as he synched it around his thigh and pulled it tight. He was putting a tourniquet on his leg.
He didn't have a chance to finish before one of the cultists lunged at him from around the tractor. The hooded zealot grabbed him, trying to wrestle his rifle away from him. Delacruz rolled and grappled with the lunatic, struggling like mad not to lose the rifle.
Inside, it was chaos. Quinn was firing at the shadows as they darted among the grasses and cover. Galloway was trying to get a clear shot at Delacruz's assailant. Everyone was shouting at once.
Then Delacruz drove an elbow into the face of his attacker, knocking away their hood. He recovered his rifle and scrambled backward, just as the cultist stood.
As he lined up his sights, he got his first good look at this person. Not a man, but a woman. Her hair was scraggily and her face was blank and pale, but Delacruz suddenly realized that he knew this person. They all did. He was staring into the blank, uncomprehending eyes of Emily Tanner-- the missing woman from the video. The one who had warned them not to trust anyone, not even her. The one who had spoken of a fate worse than death.
Galloway gasped as they all saw it. Andrea's sister was no longer herself.
Emily's eyes were haunted and zombie like. Suddenly it all clicked into place. The missing town's people... the hooded lunatics. They were all one and the same. How many were there? Why were they acting this way?
Emily hesitated only for a second, swaying on unsteady feet. Not even seeing Delacruz, but seeing through him, like a sleepwalker. Then she came at him, making another lunge.