After slamming into the cold, hard ground, Adam suddenly felt one of the cloaked men who where following him fall on top of him. He rolled over and saw the white cloak dripping with red. The mask had fallen off and had several holes in it. Adam peered at the dark face, and then removed the hood which cast the shadow upon the man's face. He looked at his uncovered face and saw that this man appeared no different than him- just a normal man out of these circumstances.

   The shots continued. Adam saw many of the other cloaked men fall around him. He almost got up to get cover, but he thought it best to stay where he was- out of most danger. He figured that if he lay still, then they wouldn't fire at him, and, of course, most likely not hit him. He was right about this. It wasn't long until they had all fallen, save for a few which ran back inside the room that they had come from.

   Uneasily, Adam raised his arms and came to his knees. He saw that the white lettering on their chests read SWAT. His fear dissipated. Without much reluctance, he now spoke, "I was captured here by these people. You guys shot my shoulder... Care to help out?"

   The large, rough-looking captain stepped forward and muttered a profane apology.

   He continued after a pause, "Well, I'm Captain Hurl. We can get you to a medic in this direction." He offered him a hand and started walking him back to the direction from where he came.

   "Maintain the perimeter around that building, I'll get back soon!" he shouted to his team.

   Turning back to Adam, he went on, "So how long have you been here?"

   "Just this night, thankfully. I'm Adam by the way."

   The captain told him that he was lucky, but with his explicit language. Then he went on about describing what happened, "Yeah, these people are like a cult. We've been surveying them for a short time now. We actually put in an agent undercover. But that didn't turn out very well."

   "Oh, sorry." Replied Adam.

   The captain kept his face and showed no emotion at all. Then, without hesitating, he resumed, "Now, I've heard about what they do to people like you. And from those slashes on your arms, it's obviously true." Then he scurrilously asked how he got out alive.

   "I had some nails. They let go of me just for a little, I suppose, and then I jabbed the person who seemed to be kind of high up there- like their president."

   The captain slipped out a cuss and then went on, "That's brave. And that man you deemed president would be more along the lines of dictator." He abruptly stopped as they came to the medic. Adam had gauze applied to all his wounds. There was nothing too serious; the bullet had gone straight through.

   "So why did they want me? And even more, why did they want to kill me?" Inquired Adam.

   Another foul word towards the captors came from his mouth, and then he answered, "Well, they're pretty psychotic. That's it simply put. It's some religious thing, I guess. They've gotten several people that we know of. Yeah, they were going to kill you. Luckily we came this morning- but not for you. Sure, it's good we could save you, but we were still late."

   "Late for what?"

   "As I said, the others who had fallen into their hands. They just stay around this area mainly. Of course, they venture out a lot. I'm pretty sure that they've claimed the river. Or it's something like that."

   "I see what you mean. That's where they showed up- the river. There were several of them after some time had passed."

   "Yeah," the captain now sounded like he had more knowledge concerning it, "they usually go out in numbers like that. I believe that's when they pounce on prey." He swore another few muttered words at the cult-like group.

   "If I hadn't got away, what further would've happened?" Asked Adam curiously after a pause.

   "Well, come on. I'll show you what these beasts do." He walked Adam along the buildings. They passed two or three and came to one where Captain Hurl stopped. The sun was now coming up higher into the sky; maybe nine o' clock.

   "Can you handle much?" The captain asked Adam as he looked at him.

   "I don't know. What do you mean?"

   "Blood. Death. That junk."

   "Sure..."

   The captain pushed open the door and walked in. It was dark and there was a pungent odor in the musty air. Another man who was talking into his radio was standing in the room. Adam looked into a corner where the captain pointed to. He saw four carcasses. All of them had alike wounds. Incisions spanned their entire arms and legs. A deep incision went down their chests and exposed their ribs. And there was one final wound that left a line of blood coming down from their necks.

   "Oh, I think I'm about done now." Said Adam as he left the room, "Are they the only ones?"

   "No, can't be. Our agent isn't there. So there have been at least five that we know of."

   Adam stretched out his arm, "I think I should head back to where I came from now. I've had enough crap for a night. I have a truck by the road, is it there, do you know?"

   The captain grappled Adam's arm and firmly shook it, "Yeah. It's there. I was just about to get one of my men to have it examined as evidence. But, sure, go for it. We won't need that around here. And I best be back to my squad now. Good luck."

   Adam started to walk away and took heed to those last words "Good luck." He wasn't quite sure how it was meant, but he had taken it in a strange way. He walked along a small trail which apparently led through the barrier of trees and to the river which now glistened happily in the sun. He looked down and saw a piece of paper which was torn and stained with blood. On it was writing fitfully:

Hope remains.

   He tossed it down and felt rejuvenated. His hope didn't seem to remain, for it was gone. But now it was rekindled. As he passed along the path and heard keen hissing and then gunshots- his last memory of this happening- he felt ready to go back and change his matters. His tears were gone.

Keyword: horror

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