Clang!
The old lock hit the ground as Jack knocked it off. Tossing the crowbar aside, he sprinted into the bell tower.
Moments later, he dejectedly came back out, shining his flashlight, picked up the discarded crowbar, and hurried back inside.
Across the street, sitting in the parked Raptor, the three teammates watched, dumbfounded. The two girls, with tears still clinging to their lashes, almost burst out laughing.
After some screeching metal sounds, Jack finally managed to pry open the iron door at the base of the tower's staircase. This time, he kept the crowbar and ran up the spiral stairs.
"Why does a dilapidated bell tower need so many doors?" he muttered. Reaching the top, he found a good spot to hunker down, placed the crowbar beside him, and pulled out his Barrett MK22.
Just as Sheriff Carter had said, the top of the bell tower provided a clear view of the entire town. Using the night vision scope on the Barrett, Jack began surveying the area.
To the east was a small, fifty-meter-long commercial street. Several ogres were smashing the windows of shops, looting clothes, supplies, and food. Most of them were armed with melee weapons like machetes and metal rods, with only a few carrying bows and arrows.
At one end of the street, a few dilapidated pickup trucks and trailers were parked, while some particularly strong ogres were loading the stolen goods into the vehicles and maintaining order.
Yes, they had someone in charge of keeping order.
Jack spotted two female ogres fighting over a pretty dress. A burly ogre put down a crate of canned food and immediately threw two punches at them.
This confirmed something for Jack: these creatures likely had impaired pain receptors. The two ogres, despite being knocked to the ground, simply shook their heads and got up as if nothing had happened.
With such physical resilience, even if ordinary people had guns, a one-on-one fight would still be tough against these monsters, who practically radiated a "fear aura."
Jack could easily imagine that the power of a standard 9mm Parabellum pistol round wouldn't be enough to stop these ogres with non-lethal body shots. A few hits likely wouldn't prevent them from tearing their opponents apart.
This also explained why Sheriff Carter had said she couldn't hit the creatures. Even if she had landed shots, her panic probably kept her from realizing it.
As for melee combat, Jack had no intention of getting up close with these monsters himself. The reason? They were just too disgusting.
Not only were these ogres uglier than the ones he'd encountered in New Mexico, but they smelled worse, too. When he had dragged three corpses out of the bushes after the ambush, he'd gotten some of their oozing fluid on him.
The slimy feel and the stench that lingered, impossible to wash off, were pure nightmare fuel. If not for alcohol to disinfect and clean himself, he might have seriously considered peeling off his skin and casting a healing spell on himself.
Besides those looting the shops, some other ogres were wandering the streets, occasionally letting out sharp screeches that echoed across the town.
"Hodge, there's definitely someone directing these monsters. I suspect it's Jeremy," Jack said, pressing his earpiece.
These ogres weren't wandering aimlessly. They served as an effective terror mechanism, ensuring that the remaining townspeople wouldn't dare leave their homes and gather together, forcing them to cower indoors.
Considering the ambushes set up on the roads leading out of town, the disruption of communication, and the power outage, Jack had every reason to believe that the person behind the ogres was far more competent than Principal Keshen ever was.
"But according to the records, Jeremy distanced himself from the area around 'Clark Test Site' after he grew up. Why would these monsters still follow his orders?" Hodge, waiting in the Raptor, softly questioned.
"I don't know, but we'll ask him when we catch him."
Jack scanned the area again but couldn't spot anyone who looked like the hooded figure suspected to be Jeremy. He repositioned his rifle and resumed observing.
As they spoke, Jack suddenly pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, and a bullet flew from the barrel, hitting an ogre that had been peeking out from the end of the street, looking toward the Raptor. The shot hit dead center, killing the ogre instantly.
"How's the situation near the police station?" Hodge asked, after checking out the body with his flashlight.
"It's... well, tense." Jack wasn't sure how to describe it.
The area around the police station was the noisiest part of town. The ogres had used their beaten-up pickups to block off the north-south and east-west main roads.
The Lakeview Police Station sat on one corner of the town's central intersection. Using these makeshift "barricades" as cover, the ogres were prying up bricks from the sidewalk and hurling them at the station's windows, occasionally firing arrows inside.
Each time a brick or an arrow flew into the building, Jack could hear panicked screams from inside, followed by a shotgun blast or two.
The random gunfire did nothing but waste ammunition. In fact, every time the gun went off, the ogres outside would cheer, dancing and screeching excitedly like wild animals.
In the middle of the intersection, directly facing the police station, a tow truck with a crane was parked. Hanging from the crane was a body, suspended by a hook.
"Let's start the operation. We need to save the people inside," Hodge said, after hearing Jack's description. Even though Jack had relayed the situation, Hodge still felt a chill down his spine.
"Wait for my signal before moving," Jack warned, then unscrewed the silencer from his Barrett MK22.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The deep, powerful gunshots echoed through the night. The largest and most arrogant ogre in the middle of the intersection froze, looking down in disbelief at the hole in its stomach, as if it couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
Jack's aim was flawless. In less than ten seconds, he had taken out all the ogres in the intersection. Then, he shifted his aim to the makeshift barricades, continuing to clear the way.
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