The End of the Beginning (Part 1a)

The day was just like the last seven months. The day was humid and rain was washing away any visibility. Central America was never one of my favorite vacationing spots, let alone working here everyday. Everyday was such a hellish routine of sweat, work, and sometimes the blood of others. That type of violent disruption in routine didn’t happen frequently to pass on my year long “sentence” from The Corporation. I was down here serving guard duty in some top-secret facility. No one down here truly knows what the building is being used for. The other guards just here stories like urban legends. I’ve heard such wild tales from mutative animal warriors to spiritual demons being raised to form a horrific militia. I don’t think the doctors down here really know what they are doing down here. All I know is that this place is not trying to find a cure to cancer or world hunger.

I quickly filled my duffle bag with all my gear for the night’s shift. It was only noon and the sky was darkened with the clouded weather. The long bus commute to the facility is not going to be fun, especially if today’s driver is that drunk local that caused more accidents than an infant child in its diaper. I don’t know what country we are in down here, but I pray for the world if all the locals here are just as degenerate and retarded as this guy. This is the same guy that drove into the shower stalls scaring the shit out of me and two other recruits. We weren’t even there for three days and almost killed by a drunk runaway BMC Levend minibus piloted by that greasy bastard. I grabbed my Kevlar helmet with rain shield on it cause I knew tonight I was pulling a wet duty. After I made sure the attached Maglite had enough battery power for the night, I grabbed my duffel bag and headed out of bunk quarters for the guards. Once outside it was a good 100 feet to the bus stop. The bus was actually there early, which is a rarity. I darted over the bus jumping over huge puddles trying to keep dry. I was doing fine until a loud thunder strike broke my concentration. My left boot came crashing down into a muddy mess. Loud explicit words raced though my mind as I bit my lip in rage, and headed over to the bus. Great it’s the drunken local. Why couldn’t they import a driver like they do with every other person employed around here?

There were already three other people waiting in the bus. They were all doctors or scientists of some sort working on some grand experiment. Still not used to seeing their kind down here in the guard compound. They usually stay across the river at a nice plush living quarter. However the bridge across the river to that area and the only bridge out of here were destroyed last night in the storm. Apparently some toppled trees from upstream served as a battering ram crushing the bridge’s weak supports. They probably won’t have a chance to repair it for another week or so. Could be a month. It all depends on the weather and the river’s water levels. So, anyone trapped over here in seclusion is stuck living in our compound. I’m sure they love the food and the drive in.

The drive is an extra hour longer than the lab coats are used to. We had to wait for two more guards that I never seen until last weekend. They must be part of the new batch that was flown in. Once everyone was seated and the driver took a swig from his canteen of who-knows-what-type of spirits, we began the near 2-hour excursion into the depths of a mountainous valley. The diesel engine revved up with sarcastic enthusiasm, almost as if the bus itself was tired of the abusive journey. The beginning of the trip wasn’t bad. It was all flat wide opened road. Not like it meant anything now. Especially since you can’t even see 150 yards in front of you.

I decided to break the ice with the new recruits. The lab coats were already involved in there own conversation. Which really didn’t matter. I got enough from those guys that I need. “Welcome to the greatest place of employment…and sarcasm. I’m Mason.”

“Hi this is Jarvis and I am Hector. We just got here on Saturday and it feels like a month.” The bald headed Hispanic was definitely uncomfortable in this climate and high altitude. He was short for a guard. He looked like he was 5’3” but his pit bull-like frame must of made him a solid 180 pounds. Jarvis just sat there staring out the window into the rain. I don’t know if he was hoping for sunny weather to add some color to his pasty white skin.

“Just wait. This place will kind of grow on you…like cancer. If it’s not raining like this, than the bugs will be out flying all over the place.”

That comment grabbed Jarvis’s attention as he spun around in his seat. “What type of bugs!?! No one told me about bugs!”

I smiled inside knowing I just spooked this kid for the rest of the night and probably until the clouds break. “Yea they left that out of the travel brochure for some reason. Just always check you boots before you put them on.” I can see Jarvis start squirming as if he had a spider crawling on his bare skin. “So what brings you two down to these parts?”

The bus began its incline up the mountainside. Another couple minutes and the road will become treacherous. Hector answered, “I was a laid off police officer in Mexico for many months. I took this job to feed my children. I’m not sure if this was a good idea. I’m not sure if I will ever see them again or if they will get my money. I need to trust them to be me in full as they promised. Alive or dead.”

“Who’s dying out here,” Jarvis sputtered nervously. “No one told me that either. I hate this. I don’t want to be here!” This guy is going to have a nervous breakdown before his first month is even up. There’s a lot here between the weather, seclusion, and top-secret work to drive one insane. But get a grip. This tall gangly man was just over reacting.

Hector chimes in poking fun at Jarvis. Apparently Jarvis made a few blunders at his last post and his punishment was being sent down here. After Hector told the story of Jarvis locking the keys inside a van during a mission. I laughed and received a stiff middle finger from Jarvis. He turned away to stare out the window. The staring stopped as soon as he seen over the cliff. He slid towards the middle of the bus. The road ran right along the edge of the mountain. The tires must be six inches from falling down the 50-foot drop. The lab coats even noticed the deep drop and froze from their conversation. It was a steep climb up the mountain. However coming back down that road is a lot worse. Especially in the middle of the night.

“So what are you here for?” Hector asked, trying to break his vision from the cliff.

“Let’s just say, I’m clearing up a little gambling debt I accrued.”

“How could I die out here? Is it the bugs?” Jarvis was really affected by my bug comment. I decided to help patch his worries with some more of my wiseass humor.

“Calm down man. I’m just kidding with you. There are no bugs in the jungle at all. They don’t like the humidity” Jarvis nodded almost like he believed it, or does he?

The transport made its way over the top ridge of the mountain and began its decent down into a tree-covered valley. The canopy of trees was so thick that you would never know there was a facility under its coverings. The bus drove to a narrow opening in the trees that revealed the path down towards the center. It wasn’t a wide pathway or smooth. The constant branches and brush took its toll to the exterior of the vehicle. The bus lost its rear view mirrors months ago in here. This part of the journey required the driver to have a steady hand and patience. He had neither. We tore through the pathway bouncing from side to side of the tree line. I think his plan of widening the road was to just barrel through it. I guess sooner or later those abused trees will fall away one day.

Everybody was being tossed around like a rag doll including our gear. One of the lab coats did not realize his PDA slide out of his bag. Without saying a word or making any sudden movements I pocketed the device. These guys may have the book smarts but lack a certain level of intelligence that helps them survive day-to-day. They always leave stuff unattended and forget mundane procedures that could be punishable by imprisonment and possible death.

The bus leveled off at the bottom of the valley. The tree cover was so thick down here that you could hardly tell it was down pouring above your heads. We started to slow down at our first stop. It looked like a small brick shack no bigger than one car garage. A side door on the building opened and out stepped five guards. These guards were a different division than the duty I was assigned to. Their red berets wouldn’t look right on me anyways. Two of them opened the doors and the other three opened up umbrellas. They escorted the lab coats out into the rain. They rushed into the building and we were driving away. There was three building down here. That was the biggest building down here. What you see is not really the whole story. Apparently there is a 4-story building underground. That’s where the real work is done. Possibly human testing on some secret prisoners. One can only imagine.

We pulled up to my stop. Hector and Jarvis were gathering their gear. It appears they will be patrolling with me in the office building. When the bus stopped, there was no welcoming committee. No umbrellas. The door wasn’t even unlocked. Eventually someone came to open the door. It was the jackass of all commanding officers. This guy was a real sleaze. He was not a large man but he used his authority to inflict fear amongst the guards. I never allowed him to use his powers on me. My mouth did get me in trouble with him a few times.

“Where the hell have you been? You little maggots are ten minutes late. You guys should be on patrol by now. Come on pick up the pace!”

“Hector and Jarvis please meet our resident asshole, Captain Asshole. I mean Captain Asherton. He’s a pain in the ass but he’s a big teddy bear.” I loved throwing a wrench into Asherton’s psychology he uses against the new guys.

“Mason, shut your trap and get inside here. If you weren’t here under special circumstances, I would have you locked away with your only company being the experiment.” The Captain straightened his hat and ordered the two new recruits to head to the control room for there assignments. “Now for you wise guy. You are pulling the ‘D’ route tonight. So you might as well head over there now and help out Connors and his team.”

“Come on, how about a hug to make up? Come here big boy,” jokingly I approach with arms wide open. This friendly embrace caught him off guard. I got my arms wrapped around him until he was able to make a move. He quickly pushed me away.

“Get the hell out of here!”

I took off down the west corridor towards an elevator. The elevator was waiting to take me down farther into the earth. As soon as the doors closed, I pulled out my prize I swiped from the captain, a nice wooden cigar carrier with four nice Cuban cigars. The aroma coming from them enticed me to spark one up right then and there. I had to taste the hand rolled tobacco goodness right away. I stopped the elevator a floor early and headed towards the far end of the building.

At the far end was my favorite spot, the bell tower. Connors can do without me for a few minutes. The bell tower traveled all the way above ground. It never did break the tree canopy’s ceiling. It was still a decent spot and well worth the 50-foot rope limb to the top. Once I was at the top, the cigar was lit well before I caught my breath. I tried looking at the scenery outside. It was hard to see past the wooden boards covering up the tower’s openings. Not like there was anything to see out there in the darkness. It’s all pitch black except for the bus that brought me in. It was a few hundred yards away but I could have sworn an interior light was on. I stopped trying to look outside and sat down to puff away.

My mind next wandered to the newly acquired PDA. I didn’t think there would be much to salvage from it since they were all password locked. Luckily for me the password was saved on a piece of paper in its carrying case. Not to bright but very fortunate for me. There was some good reading that I quickly scanned over. There was some password files for all the terminals and doors on the facility. The most interesting read was procedures for securing all the data in case of evacuation purposes. It gave the location of specific servers. All the important information was known to be stored in the main research building. This was not entirely the case. Those servers were mirrored to a secret room located below the bell tower. They were being stored in a secure vault that was big enough to fit two cars. I puffed harder on the cigar the more I read.

I was easily sidetracked whenever I come across information that I can use towards my advantage or gain. I decided to put the PDA away and report to my post. Twenty minutes late isn’t too bad. I snubbed the cigar with the bottom of my boot. I stood up and seen the bus’s light was much brighter. I looked harder in that direction and noticed the bus was on fire. On instinct I grabbed my radio to report the findings. Before my finger could press the talk button, a huge explosion rang through the air directly behind me. The blast shook the bell tower sending me crashing to the top platform. My radio missed the platform and fell to the floor far below. Two more explosions were heard from outside. The only thing outside worth explosions was the diesel generators that powered life into this facility. I quickly rappelled down to the floor and noticed the bright-lit hallways were darker. Only small foot lights beamed a dark eerie glow. I picked up my duffle bag and pulled out some needed gear. From night vision goggles on my head to my 9mm pistol stuffed in my calf holster. I was ready for what was coming.


With my goggles, I was able to find my radio. A few smacks and it started picking up reception. There was complete chaos being transmitted. The explosions surprised everyone. Connors took over the airwaves barking orders to his team. His voice had more bass than James Earl Jones. When he spoke, people stopped and listened. Connors and five other guards were heading up to the surface. He was trying to orchestrate remote troops to meet him outside. He was announcing their approach to a service elevator that would go directly outside deep in the woods. His status report came short with the screams of ambush. Hail fires of bullets were heard down below. A few rounds were silenced by the blast of a grenade.

Connors voice was lacking his normal bass when he sent his next transmission. His whole team was down and out. He was shot as well. He didn’t even see the perpetrators.

“This is Connors. We’ve been ambushed. All my men are dead. There are at least six of them inside. I’m located in Section 3-C. We need protection in this building. I can’t hold them off.”

Captain Asherton was heard next on the radio, “Connors, who are we dealing with?”

“They look like…”

One gunshot rang out through the building.

“Connors! Report in! Connors!” Connors no longer heard Asherton’s callings.

“Captain. This is Mason. I am near that section. How soon can I get backup?”

“Within 10 minutes. Whatever you do, keep them away from Section 2-D.”

“Affirmative.”

Night goggles on. Safety off.