A New Threat: A Sigma Institute Short Story

Top fiddled with the seal of his mask and waited patiently for the mist on the lens to clear. He saw the darkened figure of Jester and Iron move past him with their weapons raised, getting into the position to hold.

"Come on, Top. Stop messing around, I have a date in a few hours." Said Jester flatly. The grass crinkled under their weight as they shifted in to a knelt position just ahead of Top. The trio took a moment to take in their surroundings. The night's moon was full. Top eyed it, still irritated that the operation went ahead this early and couldn't wait until a no moon was available, giving them more darkness to hide in.

"Top, I have three yokels dancing around a fire three hundred meters, north east." Came a voice through his earpiece.

"Copy, Iron. Three at three hundred." Replied Top with a monotone.

The three agents gazed over the darkening fields. He considered their approach. The Jansburg Tomb was roughly a kilometer to the north west. A full moon was rising in the inky sky but the briefing showed considerable cloud coverage. Top considered his options.

There was plenty of cover between them and the yokels.

"So,we have confirmed Yokels, then. I call fifty of them." Said Jester light heartedly. Iron grunted and said "hundred. Maybe two, considering the age of the tomb."

Top added "plus the fact the Jansburg family is directly linked through close marriage to the Habsburg family, and the amount of people going missing and frequency. I reckon they're overpopulated and are extending their hunting grounds."

The team watched the three people in the distance dance a little longer before they disappeared in to the shadows, to fulfill their mission.

The Tomb entrance was in a graveyard that in spite of the darkness and purpose of the mission, remained remarkably beautiful. A beautiful ornate marble structure stood in the center of the graveyard. Most of the others had begun showing signs of delay or the stone wearing thin, but the Jansburg tomb stood tall and magnificent, as if it had only been constructed yesterday.

The family Sigil of Jansburg sat atop of apex of the marble entrance, it closely remembered the Habsburg sigil of the Red Lion with a blue crown on a sea of yellow, but had a black X in the background, splitting the yellow sea in to four segments.

"Command-Actual, this is six-one. We are on site." Said Top flatly and waiting for the confirmation crackle in his ear. Jester opened the old oak doors surprisingly silently and Iron breached the threshold quickly with gun raised and night vision on. "Clear." Came Iron's voice after a few seconds. Inside housed ten stone crypts, five decorated each side of the long walkway that sported another large family sigil embossed in to the stone. Jester and Top entered the tomb, even through the filter of his mask, the air smelt and tasted rotten. The team cast their eyes over the various surfaces and caskets, searching for something out of the ordinary. 'Out of the ordinary' was a extremely lose term used by the institute. For a team that hunted anomalous beings and items, out of the ordinary was in fact, fairly ordinary.

"It's probably the sigil, Top." Suggested Iron, but Top had already scoured this magnificent embossed stone with his eyes, searching for a lever or anything to open a hidden door. But then a scream erupted from outside the crypt. The three burst through the oak doors and aimed their raised compact bullpup rifles in the direction of the scream. "More of those abductions, Top?" ventured Iron. Jester moved forward a few feet before voicing his opinion, "if so, that will be two hundred and seven known, and that's just with the remains found."  The scream came again, but was cut short with a wet gurgle. "Move and intercept. Do not use lethal force, load rubber rounds until we confirm they are Yokels." Came Commands voice through their ear pieces.

They must have gotten their drone in to position above, Top thought, as he had not radioed the scream to command.

Jester moved more forward, breaking formation, he headed to the crest of the hill to the teams right flank and stopped at the moss covered dry stone wall. "Three yokels have gone. Fire still burning."

Top and Iron joined Jester at the wall, Iron checking the correct ammunition was loaded in to his clip. "Command, do you have eyes? Roughly seven hundred meters, east. How copy?" There was a silence that lasted a minute as Command navigated their eye in the sky, "Six-one, copy on last position, fire still burning, appears to be a struggle. Visible liquid on the floor. Advance with caution."

Top gave his orders, rubber bullets were to be loaded in to their rifles, but hollow-points were to be kept in their pistols.

The three advanced slowly through the bush, placing every step with perfect balance and pressure as to not cause a sound. Eventually they came close enough to feel the fire, even through all of their equipment. Four large wooden spikes stood three meters tall and all met in the middle, above the fire, acting as a meat dryer. Blood was obvious as it glistened upon the wooden spike's skin. Iron took point as Jester and Top moved around the left and right flank. It was soon obvious somebody had been killed here. The sheer amount of blood instantly sent a chill down Jesters Spine. Iron swore and began scanning the treeline in all directions. Top heard the faint sound of Jester, muttering a prayer to himself. Top called in the situation to command, but then another scream came from the shadows, this one was from a man, and was followed by malicious laughter. "Activity! To the South!" Said Top, flatly and calmly.

It was only then that the team heard the drone as it buzzed away to the south to get eyes on the activity. The team followed the bearing, weapons drawn and in a triangle formation, Top taking central and point. Top could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, he concentrated on his breathing, not letting it get too fast. "Six-one, proceed south east, bearing one-five-five. Two contacts seen dragging two prone civilians, follow the bearing until you hit a stream. Follow the stream east, contacts lost roughly three hundred meters up stream." Top acknowledged the instructions and set off with his team to the location described by command