//------------------------------//
// Infamous Dunwich 
// Story: Thanatos' Creed 
// by Shadowflash 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 4



Infamous Dunwich

Edited by:
Gunsmith  
Eldorado
Narlepoax III
RainbowBob





***




A group had made their way through the desolate wastes, all sporting a set of black, metallic armour. They paced along the destroyed Earth as they made their way east. They all carried assault rifles and flashlights, except one, who was carrying a large, green box.
"So, where are we taking these explosives?" a burly voice came from the man with the box.
"Dunwich," came a reply from a lighter tone.
"Dunwich? You's gotta be kiddin', right?" an accented man exclaimed.
"They're our orders, Deimos. The Captain ordered us—Billy, Jarogniew, you and I—to deliver this to the lowest level of the building. After that, we scram and get our 5-K reward." 'Deimos' looked over at the man who spoke, nodding.
"Well's, if you's say so, Jaime."	
Jaime, Deimos, Billy and Jarogniew all trucked along the long dirt path to the place known as "Dunwich". The reason Deimos seemed to be scared of the building was due to the build-up of rumours about it. Dunwich was said to be  the site of innumerable religious killings, honour killings, and generally a dark and cryptic place. Many people in the Wasteland would believe this, and if asked about it, would not mention a word to its name.
Jaime never was one to put a lot of faith in rumours. He always found a way to doubt them or prove them false. His father made his way into Dunwich and came out alive. His father even said there was "nothing bad in there, just a lack of light," which is why Jaime brought powerful flashlights with him. 
The dilapidated ruins of what once might have been an office building sat in the middle of the jagged, rocky terrain and steep cliffs before them. The usual husks of cars lay abandoned in front of the building, yet somehow they looked more menacing than ever before. The building almost radiated a creepiness, the endless unknown of what could be inside gnawing away at them. The dry wasteland winds were either muted or absent, lending to the gloomy paranoia of the structure.
As the group made their way closer to the Dunwich building, the sound of a baby crying could be heard just west of them. Looking over, all they saw was the rocky outcrop, a baby carriage and a large scorpion nearing it. As the scorpion's tail stabbed at the carriage, it exploded, sending the small beast into oblivion.
"Shit. Glad we didn't head over there," Billy noted, as he adjusted the green box within his hands.
"Don't drop that. Grenades and ammo are in there, bud," Jaime warned with a grin plastered on his face.
"Oh, shut up. I got this," Billy retorted.
"Much like I got your mother?" Jarogniew jabbed, making the group laugh at Billy.
"Hey, fuck you!"
"I'll gladly fucks your motha'!" Deimos retorted, a small roar uprising from both Jaime and Jarogniew.
"Alright, enough of that," Jaime chuckled one last time, making his way up the small incline to the parking lot, "we have a delivery to make."
The group followed and walked to the desolate lot where only cars resided. The sound of the building's metal bending could be heard as they neared, which caused a small stir of fear in Deimos.
"Kinda creepies. Don'cha think, guys?" Deimos smiled nervously.
The group didn't pay any mind, and only pressed on. They reached the large metal door that stood between them and the interior. Jaime reached his hand forward and gripped its handle.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, lad," a voice called from Jaime's right. 
His eyes darted to the right, and he saw a burly man standing tall. He wore a dirty trench coat and a cavalier that covered his face. All Jaime could see was the small glow from the cigarette he was smoking.
Deimos immediately withdrew his assault rifle, aiming it at the man. "Who the fucks are you’s?"
"My name is not important. I'm not here to fight you people," The man spoke softly, his voice quite deep and muffled from the cigarette in between his lips.
Deimos didn't stop aiming at him, continuing. "Then what’s ya here for, eh?"
"To warn people like you  adventurers, mercs, wastelanders, travelers, tourists, dead Chinese people, you name it  about this building," Jaime just chuckled.
"You seriously want us to believe this building is haunted? You realize that's stupid, right?" 
The man shook his head. "I never said it was haunted. There are dangers in there, yes. It's a lot different now than it was, oh, say, two years ago."
"Right. Well, get out of our faces, we have a job to do," Jaime opened the door, and the man just laughed.
"Try not to die. You Talon Company always die the fastest when walking in there. I'll be waiting to loot your corpses," The man sat down, put out his cigarette and gave one last laugh before the group entered the building.
The darkness of the hallway that they entered covered every inch of the place. Unable to see, Jaime pulled out his flashlight and turned it on. The hallway lit up brightly, and the two doorways on either side became apparent; one leading to an office, the other to a larger room. The office was just a cubicle, while the room had a few tables and Nuka-Cola machines  presumably a "break room".
"Set up shop in the room with the machines. I'm going to check that cubicle and see if it has a working computer. Jar, go with Deimos and find some spare wood and a barrel," Jaime started to make his way to the cubical, only to be stopped by Deimos.
"You sure that's a good’s idea? Startin' a fire in a small’s area?" Jaime nodded.
"Yeah, don't worry. It won't be big. Might create a bit of smoke, for sure, but we'll put it out if it becomes too hazy. Just grab a little bit of wood. Break some doors if you need to," With that, Jaime went to the cubicle while those two gathered wood.
Billy just sat down at one of the tables, guarding the green box he had with him. The place didn't seem too creepy now that he was inside of it. The flashlights helped illuminate the hallway and get rid of the darkness that over-encumbered the place. Having time on his hands, Billy withdrew a cigarette pack from a pouch at his side. Pulling out a cigarette he swiftly put it between his lips and lit it up. Inhaling deeply through its filter, a sense of calmness flowed over him, along with a burning sensation in his throat.
Deimos and Jarogniew had started busting up rotted doors in search of firewood. Splinters of wood and chunks of decaying glass shot in every direction, narrowly hitting them many times. It wasn't much of a chore, but it was no less a hassle. Once they gathered a few more broken pieces, they made their way back to the break room, grabbing a nearby metal bin and tossing it all in. Deimos lit up a couple of rotted pieces of paper and placed them in the barrel; he added a few more pieces of tinder afterwards.
Jaime was sitting down at the cubicle where an old terminal lay. Minor power was being fed into it from a nearby fission battery, along with a small lamp radiating a yellow glow around Jaime. Typing into the terminal, Jaime pulled up some old files. Many were junk about office work, some guy bitching about the untidiness of bathrooms, and then a corrupted note. The note read:

Tu!1 B*ck N&^. T(er) ar* things th!@ ^@# *^# be seen. Honestly, I can)@ imagine the last time I've been so sca6*(. Please, whoever reads this, tu^) back. &^59$ %@$% %@#899@$% )!)!)# ) (#@ $!(@34  !@#$!@# !71$!@#    !@#$!#. Oh, God. % hear them whispe#@ng. Th#) !re scratching the walls... I’4 losing my mind... I need t

The text ended at that. The cursor slowly blinked after the letter "t". Jaime - not being stupid - typed in a few commands onto the terminal to access the original posting date. After a few minutes of digging, the posting date was:
"Twenty-Two-Seventy-Seven, August eighteenth. Just three days ago..." Jaime muttered to himself. 
Jaime's thoughts jumped to many conclusions, but one poked out the most: "Whoever typed this was pulled away at the last minute. Something grabbed them."
Looking down Jaime could see the gentle crimson illumination from the keyboard. Jaime put a finger on the area and brought it to his nose, inhaling. The metallic smell was undeniable: blood.
"Mmm... We have a job to do. Better not let suspicion drive me insane," Jaime stood up, powered down the computer, and his way back to the other mercs.
"Find anything?" Billy inquired as Jaime took a seat next to him.
"A lot of corrupted files. Useless junk. No maps, no files detailing the buildings layout, nothing," Jaime sighed, scratching his head.
"Well, even if there is no map on the computer, there's bound to be one around the halls or something," Jarogniew offered, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.
"Yeah’s. Coulds be a maps or somthins," Deimos smiled to offer a bit of optimism to the conversation.
Jaime nodded. "Good point. We should take a few more minutes of rest, then begin trekking through this hellhole."
The group agreed. Jarogniew took a few Nuka-Colas from the vending machine and passed them to everyone, standing next to the fire himself. Deimos was kicking some rubble and debris out of the room—secretly, he was a neat freak and the sight of dirty rooms really got him going—and occupied himself that way. Billy chugged back his Nuka-Cola whilst he watched the delivery and Jaime was making a holotape recording:

"Why the hell would he come all the way out here? Dad's been a little nuts for some time now, but not like this. Anyways, I made enough selling the meds Billy and I scrounged to have kept myself fed for weeks. Decided to join up with Talon Company and see some excitement. Well, this is excitement right here. Currently, we're in Dunwich, and delivering a package to a man living in the basement. Probably going to leave these around so people can follow the trail. Can never be too safe."

"Just going to leave this holotape right here. Don't pick it up," Jaime set down the metal holotape recording on the table, and then withdrew his assault rifle.
"Ready to head out guys?" Everyone nodded to his question, standing up and withdrawing their own assault rifles except Billy, who was too busy carrying the box.
They all made their way down the hallway. As they reached its end, a collapsed wall was covering the entrance to a different half of the building. Looking around for a different access point, Billy found a stairwell. They made their way up the stairwell and to the second floor. They were now in a small corridor which let off to the left and right. A door was just around the corner to a maintenance closet, as well.

Hisssssss...

"Anyone else hear that?" Jarogniew announced.
"Yeah, I heards it," Deimos answered.
"Mhm," both Jaime and Billy agreed in unison.
Jarogniew raised his rifle and locked its butt to his shoulder. He slowly moved forward to the end of the corridor, making swift left and right turns to check for signs of danger. Nearby, a pipe hissed steam. Jarogniew lowered his gun.
"Heh. It was just a broken pi--" 
Before he could finish, the floor beneath him collapsed and he descended down to the floor below. Jaime and Deimos ran forward quickly and aimed their lights down the newly created hole. Jarogniew laid there grunting in pain.
"Jar, you okay? Not dead, are you?" Jaime called.
"Just fucking peachy, Jaime! Jesus fucking Christ..." he answered, slowly rolling back and forth on broken tiles.
"Do you’s see’s anythin' down there?" Deimos asked.
Jarogniew looked around the darkened floor. Realizing he still had a flashlight, he grabbed it and flashed it around at the ceiling. Looking around, everything above was supported by still-standing concrete and metal pillars. The section above him seemed to be missing a lot of its support. Jarogniew squinted and could see claw marks made at the ceiling.
"Yeah... Lots of claw marks around the collapsed area. Someone thought it'd be funny to spend days weakening the floor, I guess," Jarogniew slowly moved himself in an upright position; joints popped as he did so.
"Hold on, let us come down," Jaime looked back to Billy. "Got the rope?" 
Billy nodded, setting the box down and withdrawing a rope from a sack on his back. He gave it to Jaime, who tied it to a nearby pipe and threw it down the hole.
"Let's-a-go," Jaime gripped the rope and slowly eased himself down, his body weight made him nearly fall as he did so.
Tease it... Tease it... Jaime finally made his way to Jarogniew, who helped support his way down.
Soon, Billy and Deimos followed. Once all of them reached the first floor, they could make view of the collapsed offices around them. A giant crater made its way into the ground, and a few pieces of corrugated metal acted as bridges. Clear signs of life to any wastrel.
"Careful. If someone set up that floor trap they definitely set up some more. Shotguns or somethi–"

Urrrrrggg... Hsssssssssk....

Before Jaime could finish, sounds emanated from the hole. All of them stood silent as it got closer and louder, as if it was rising from the hole itself. Looking closer, Jaime could make out a person coming out. 
"Hey! You here for this package?!" Billy called to the person.

The "person" was not actually a person at all. Upon it turning around, the horribly deteriorated face of a feral ghoul roamer could be seen, its glowing yellow eyes and pitless mouth gazing over its prey. Its broken Pre-War armour gleamed in the sunlight that was shining through the cracks of the building.
"Holy shit...!" For once, Deimos spoke normally and without his accent.
The ghoul hissed loudly, along with more hissing coming from nearby areas. All of them immediately rushed away from the ghoul and whatever else as well. 
"Oh, fuck that. Billy, Deimos, get the hell out of here! Jarry, help me fight these things!" Jaime commanded to the others as he withdrew his assault rifle and started firing on the small horde of ghouls making its way to them.
Jarogniew covered Jaime's back as he pelted ghouls jumping down from the stories above. They were swarming; thankfully only to them. Billy and Deimos had made their way out of the main area and to the hallways once more. They found a break in the wall, booted it down, and were back in the entrance hallway.
"Alright, we're safe," Billy started. "Let's get the hell out of here and get some he–" 
Before Billy could finish, a ghoul jumped him, and he was soon swarmed by four more. Deimos tried to act quickly, but only ran away as Billy let off agonizing screams. Deimos hid himself in a dark crevice near the collapsed doorway and forced his breathing to calm. Hissing and growls from the cannibalistic creatures resounded all around him. His body started shaking heavily as the shadowy area he was in soon started to enclose around him. Deimos' pupils started to constrict, his breathing starting to become erratic and his body shaking involuntarily. 
"Calms downs, Deimos!" he tried telling himself, only to alert a nearby ghoul.
The ghoul pounced him quickly, and started tearing him to shreds. In his state of shock, he did nothing to save himself.
"Fuckers keep coming, Jarry!" Jaime yelled. 
At this point, Jaime and Jarogniew had backed themselves into a corner guarded by collapsed cement. The ghouls fought their way through the oncoming bullets from the assault rifles. One by one they fell, but only to be replaced by another two.
"Jaime, we have to get out of here!" Jarogniew yelled, reloading his weapon.
"Alright, let  " 
Jaime stepped backwards, hitting a weak point on the floor he was standing on. The floor quickly collapsed and Jaime fell with it; he continued to collapse through floors until his body connected with hard ground. For Jaime, everything went black.