Episode 146 Previous Episode	Next Episode
Higher Ground The stench of past violence was overpowering. Roland stood in the doorway, surveying the ghastly scene before him. The small bedroom was sparsely filled. A bed was in the center of the room, a metal-frame desk next to the door. The walls were tope, matching the off-beige carpet. He swallowed and stepped partially into the room, jerking back as blood dripped from the ceiling. He looked up, seeing the splatter of crimson across the ceiling light. He reached to turn it on, but found gore covering the light switch. He looked down at what had once been a human body that lay in two places on opposite sides of the room. “Jesus,” he whispered. Stepping carefully over the top-half of the body, he checked to make sure he wasn’t under the splash of blood across the ceiling. Satisfied but not feeling safe, he quickly looked at the articles on the desk. Drenched in the blood that had no doubt come from the knight on the floor’s head, numerous papers were warped almost beyond recognition or use. Roland breathed in, checking the ceiling again, watching as more blood dripped. He hesitantly reached for the papers, moving several by an unstained corner. He shoved them off, revealing several area maps that weren’t affected. Roland carefully gathered the maps, then practically leapt out of the room. In the hallway of the small three-bedroom apartment, the foul reek of blood was even stronger. He checked the soles of his hiking boots and headed into the living room. There, Everett was looking over the decimated remains of a knight. With surgical gloves on, he considered the tremendous damage done with clinical hesitation. “Found something,” Roland said. “Yeah, these wounds weren’t inflicted by a blade like I’d thought,” Everett said. He looked up at Roland, noting the maps. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you’d asked. What’ve you got?” “Found these in the second bedroom,” he said, checking over his shoulder as Ledger and Armand came in, both empty-handed and carrying in their expressions the weight of what they had seen. “They’re maps.” Everett opened them. He held them to he overhead light. “These are all regional maps. They cover the city and the surrounding area.” “First thing you do when in a new place,” Ledger said. “Learn the local land.” “Maybe,” Everett said just before his phone rang. He pushed the maps into Roland’s hand and reached for his pockets. He stopped just short of putting his blood-covered hands in his pants and stopped. “I…” he started, unsure what to do. Ledger stepped to him and dug through his pants, pulling out his cell phone. He flipped it open and said “Hello?” There was an awkward pause. “Ledger?” asked Marilyn. “Yeah,” Ledger said. “Ev’s got blood on his hands at the moment. He can’t talk.” Everett glared at him. “What’s up?” “Where are you guys?” she asked. “Second satellite base,” Ledger reported. “Situation’s the same as the first.” “I’m guessing then you guys haven’t seen the news.” Ledger paused, looking at the others. “No, what news?” “Turn on the TV,” Marilyn said. “What channel?” “It doesn’t matter.” Ledger looked around the room, spotting a small travel TV. He flipped it open as Sydney came into the room. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Ledger’s on the phone with Marilyn,” Armand said. “Is there any news about Edgar?” she asked. “We don’t…” he started to say before the voice of a reporter interrupted. “At this moment, we still do not have many concrete details,” said the female on-the-scene reporter as she stood in front of a wooded area. “All we do know is that Harrington Marine Base has been officially zoned off from the public. There’s no word yet as to why, but as you can see behind me, the flow of military and police vehicles towards the base has been pretty much non-stop all morning.” Squarely in front of the TV, Everett looked at the maps Roland held. “That’s where he is,” he connected.
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