Chapter 31: Enemy Encampment

That night while Dean slept, the marauders who had discovered the bodies of their slain men and those of their collaborators inside Paradise Falls, returned to their camp outside the residential area.

The camp was established to minimize visibility from the outside world. It mostly consisted of extreme cold weather rated tents designed for arctic expeditions. Along with a sheltered mess area.

Wood burning stoves were prioritized over diesel or gasoline generators. They didn’t provide electricity, but they more than made up for that in heating capability.

The largest downside to this design would be the sheer amount of smoke the heaters shot through their chimneys and into the air above.

Try as they might, they couldn’t keep 100% of their signature hidden from the naked eye. As for thermal signature, it wasn’t even an afterthought to a group like this.

They had no idea they were being watched from a bird’s eye view since the moment they decided to construct their camp outside the immediate perimeter of Paradise Falls.

The bodies of the deceased were carried into camp on the backs of sleds towed by snowmobiles.

The raiders gathered and gazed upon their slain comrades with various expressions. Some were relieved that a few less mouths to feed continued to eat away at supplies. While others were outraged that someone had challenged their authority.

Those who returned to the camp with their slain comrades’ corpses in tow did not stop to give a speech ,or inform the public of what was happening. Instead, they immediately pressed into the largest tent in the camp where their leader rested.

There were two men on sentry outside the doors who immediately lowered their rifles towards the intruders who approached unarmed.

“The boss is busy entertaining the followers at the moment. You’ll have to wait until he’s finished with them….”

But the men who approached wouldn’t give up so easily, especially after their discovery.

“The boss is going to want to hear what we have to say….”

The guards still shook their heads and were about to continue with their insistence when one of the men requesting entrance cut him off.

“If you send us away ,and the boss finds out he had to wait to hear this information, it will be your sister who he entertains next….”

That was all that needed to be said to alert the guards to the severity of the circumstances; they lowered their rifles and allowed the men to pass through. Making one quick comment before they do so.

“If you’re lying to me it’s your head on the chopping block, not mine, remember that….”

Regardless of the warning, the men entered the heated room to find that they were completely overdressed for the environment.

The followers attended the leader of the war band in every way a man could ever desire. Their boss was a burly man with an olive complexion and dark hair; his posture relaxed, hands folded across the head of a woman kneeling in front of him.

The moment he saw the intruders however he shoved the woman aside and shouted at them.

“I thought I told those idiots outside that I am not to be interrupted under any circumstances! You better have a good reason for intruding in here, or I’ll have your heads!”

Neither of the men over reacted, instead they quickly calmed their leader and his wrath with information cold enough to snuff his fire. Ignoring the surrounding scenes entirely as they did so.

“Some of our scouts were found buried in the snow outside Paradise Falls.”

The man’s eyes shifted to a far more grim gaze.

“Out, all of you.”

The women quickly gathered their clothes, got dressed, and left the tent. All the while the leader of the warband poured himself a drink and put on a robe.

“Go on… Tell me exactly what happened to my men?”

One of the messengers looked at the other, and both shook their heads and sighed before they took turns speaking.

“We were on patrol on our route when we heard gunshots nearby. We approached the area with caution and found our men laying lifeless in the snow. They were shot point-blank through the chest, bound and gagged. It was an execution… Curiously enough, the collaborators they were meeting with were found killed nearby, but their restraints were far less… severe.”

The leader remained utterly quiet while sipping his drink. If the look on his face was anything to go by, he was thinking through how best to interpret this information. In the end, he could only sigh and shake his head.

“The enemy knows we’re here. Which means that with each day we continue to wait and gather intelligence, they will continue to prepare for our attack. We have no choice now… We will begin the assault at dawn.”

One of the messengers quickly stepped forward and interjected.

“Boss, with all due respect, this was clearly a message sent to us. If they already know we’re here, they must have been preparing for days. It would be better to assess the situation further so that we understand the full extent-”

He man was cut short by a solid shovel hook to his liver, dropping him to the ground on his knees in front of the boss who stood before him cracking his knuckles.

“It doesn’t matter what preparations they have made. There are too many of us for them to handle. When I worked collections for the Salvatore family, we never gave debtors time to breathe. If you wait, they think. And if they think, they run. We attack at dawn, and that’s final!”

The other messenger quickly dragged his friend back to his feet, as both men scurried out of the tent with their tails between their legs.

As for the boss, he sat back down on the seat behind him, only now just remembering something that had eluded his memory.

“Paradise Falls… That’s right…. Someone here owes me an outstanding balance with interest….”

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