Setting everything up had been easy, even though it was just the two of them. Back in World War 1, Alex's father had made a massive underground cavern, made for certain situation: invasion, break in, pretty much a panic room. After World War 2 ended, Alex had improved the Den, which he called it. Due to his canine traits, he had been able to make it larger. The cavern had several rooms, multiple tunnels, and at least four different entrances and exits.

It was so strange to be in the Den after so many years, everything inside looked old, but well taken care of from the last time he had been down here. The first room was the original den, and inside was some stuff that belonged to Alex's father. Guns, military uniforms, things like that. Most of the stuff down here would be considered antiques, and each one was probably worth a fortune to the right buyer, and there were plenty of those across America. It was a good thing Alex hadn't sold anything, cause despite how old all of it was, he might be able to make good use of it.

Right now, Alex was setting up a sniper post on a western yellow pine he had planted here back in the 50s, a couple years after WW2 ended. Due to his claws, he could easily use this tree to his advantage, even jump to some of the other trees around him.

"Alex!"

He looked down and saw Carl walking over with a few people he didn't recognize, but he didn't smell anything that suggested they were hostile.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"I found these people in the woods near the river. They're trustworthy, and they need help." Carl replied.

Alex put the strap of the rifle over his shoulder before jumping down, landing in front of them gracefully before walking over. "I see you're a marine."

"How do you know?" The man asked.

"Because I served."

"Where'd you serve?"

"World War 2, the Cold War, and I was reluctantly part of the Vietnam War."

The soldier's eyes widened. "You're the guy they called "The Hellhound?"

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, I've been called that by the Nazis, then the Russians, except both no longer know anything about me. The ones that did either died of being shot or old age."

"What's he talking about?" A girl, a teenager, asked.

"There's these rumors about a super soldier from World War 2." The soldier explained, then looked at Alex before holding out his hand. "Sergeant Marcus Richards."

Alex shook his hand. "Lieutenant General Alex Williams."

Marcus's eyes widened slightly. "You outrank me by a lot. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

Alex smirked. "Took me about seventeen years of service to earn this rank. I was offered a promotion to General, but I declined. It'd mean less time with Carl."

Marcus raised a brow. "Brothers?"

Alex shook his head. "Engaged."

Marcus nodded. "Knew a few guys that were together in my unit. Then again, I didn't know them that well. They were young and unsure of what everyone else thought, but I could care less."

Alex shrugged. "So, what are you doing here?"

"We got chased by the Koreans, and we thought we'd be safe here. I hope you don't mind if we stay."

"Nonsense. I sense no deception from you."

"How can you tell?"

"Enhanced hearing; no increase in heart rate. Enhanced smell; no pheromones, and enhanced sight; no physical body ticks. Nothing that suggests that you're lying. Besides, you're a marine, so I'm sure we can work together to survive."

"Likewise. So, where's the house?"


After taking them to the house, Alex was able to make them some food to eat. It was from some of the better tasting MREs he had brought from his and Carl's house, and it wasn't long before they had finished cooking. While the food had been cooking, they talked for a bit. The other three were Kyle, Lexi, and Olivia.

Right now, everyone was eating in the living room, where they were currently discussing the situation.

"Sounds like it would've been an EMP. Explains the blackouts." Marcus said.

"What's an EMP?" Lexi asked in confusion.

"It stand for Electro Magnetic Pulse. An EMP is usually a weapon that can disable most things electric. It probably disabled a lot of military equipment, making the military unable to properly defend the US, especially when they can't communicate with one another, or use the necessary equipment for a situation like this." Alex explained.

"So we're defenseless." Kyle said.

Alex shook his head. "Not entirely. I doubt they could've conquered every state in the US. There has to be a few left that can resist. But without being able to communicate, it's going to be difficult to launch a counterstrike against the North Koreans."

"So, that's it?" Olivia asked.

"He didn't say that." Carl said. "Me and him plan to do whatever we can to defend ourselves, and maybe do some damage to these Koreans."

"But it's not that simple. It's going to take more than killing off a few North Korean soldiers. We have to do bigger things than that." Alex stated.

"Like what?" Kyle asked, sounding eager.

"Well, the Koreans can't really make any bases at the moment. For now, they'll have to use whatever they can get. Auto body shops to store some of their ground vehicles, police stations as bases of operations, things like that." Marcus explained. "Hell, it's what I'd do."

Alex nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking. Whenever we fought against soldiers, it was good to use the environment to our advantage. In fact, the environment can actually affect the effectiveness of your weapons. Tight areas require submachine guns for close quarter combat. Higher ground and an open area can be suitable for snipers. Things like that."

"So, you're going to start a rebellion?" Kyle asked.

"Not that simple, but we can." Alex replied.

"I can help. Assuming we have the resources to fight." Marcus said.

"We have an arsenal, but what we really need is more soldiers. An entire squadron, really. Back then, I didn't do operations alone. I have others fighting alongside me." Alex smiled slightly at the memory of his former comrades. "Get this, we called ourselves the Hellhounds."

"Sounds bad ass." Kyle commented. "Could I join this rebellion?"

"You want to fight?" Marcus asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"They got my mom. I need to get her back, and I know I can't do that alone." Kyle explained.

"Going after her wouldn't be the first thing we'd do, Kyle." Alex stated. "We don't know where they're holding her, and until we figure out, she's gonna have to hold on."

Kyle nodded understandingly. "So, what do we do first?"