Chapter 5: Ray of Hope

October 7, 1973. The night passed slowly, dawn breaking after what seemed like forever. Neither Sergi or Scott slept well anticipating their travel by water searching for the American troops. The night was spent in the Museum's shelter. Before leaving they salvaged what they could. A new radiation suit for Sergi, more recently made, two M-16's, some water, and a crowbar. They decided to stick to walking along the lake front. The further inland they went the more debris made the terrain impassable plus since most the of the lake front was nothing but open parks it would be easier to spot Terror Drones that might still be operating.

The further south they walked, they spotted less Russian vehicles and more American. Their debris scattered was seen everywhere. Sergi said "Scott, what's with all the wrecks?" Scott simply replied "When we attacked amphibiously from across the lake, we mostly landed in the southern part of the city." "Explains the many American and Russian vehicle wrecks," stated Sergi.

They then saw the Science Museum. It was mostly intact other than the Northern wing which was completely caved in. Scott noticed something strange. There was an abnormal amount of vehicle debris from both countries surrounding the Museum, as if a major attack was launched. Scott said "There must have been a major fight over this building. There might be something extremely valuable inside." Sergi simply stated "Then what are we standing here for."

As soon as they entered the Museum, both men felt nauseated. Dead bodies, both Russian and American laid everywhere. Killed by either radiation or bullets. Blood and bodily fluids were smeared on the walls and floor. The stench was hard to take even though the radiation suits. Scott exclaimed "Shit it is like a dam horror movie in here." Sergi agreed saying "As a medic I thought I'd seen it all, good lord." Scott said "I thought you Russians don't believe in God." Sergi grimly chuckled and said "We do, we just hide it from the KGB."

They saw that there was a small box of some sort near what looked like a wrecked exhibit about agriculture. Scott stared in shock and said "Could it be?" He opened the metal box and smiled. It was a metal brief case with the letters ER-MK.5. Sergi said "What the hell is so special about that?" Scott smiled and said "It's an emergency radio. The equipment is encased inside this metal. It has its own battery and the case that protects it is shock proof, water proof, and definitely nuke proof." Sergi thought someone up there likes them.

Scott opened the brief case. Inside were dials, gauges, a speaker and a microphone. Scott looked at one of the dials shaking his head. Sergi looked at him and said "Don't tell me the battery is dead." Scott replied "not completely, we have enough power for maybe 2-3 minutes tops." Sergi replied "Well we might as well give it a try, besides I don't think anyone will answer anyway." Scott flipped a switch, the on light blinked and Scott adjusted the dial to broadcast on all frequencies. "Hello, is anyone .....

Meanwhile, over the lake at roughly 15 thousand feet a single E-2 Hawkeye radar plane was on a search mission. After the Russians detonated the nuke, fighter bombers were attempting to cross the lake at low altitude. It was the planes job to search for enemy fighters and alert the nearest intact airbase. The pilot was staring out the window smoking a single cigarette thinking, there hasn't been a Russian plane for days, since that dam nuke why keep sending us up here anyway? Suddenly a crew member glanced into the cockpit and said "Captain, I'm getting a radio signal from the ground." The captain turned and said "Are you stupid or is your equipment malfunctioning, the only thing left on the ground is radioactive debris." The crew member replied "I'm not an idiot, I am getting a radio signal, it seems to come from one of our emergency channels. Here I'll try to patch it through." The speakers in the plane snapped on and through the static they heard.....

"Scott Dalton 15th Infantry...(static)...survived, in Science Museum, requesting immediate...(static)" The crew man said "Crap I'm losing their signal. It's gone." The pilot thought, guess miracles do really happen. The captain contacted Detroit and said "Detroit this is Skyeye 4-19, we got a possible ground contact at grid square double 0-79. Requesting investigation" The radio replied "Skyeye 4-19, we copy. Dispatching Chinook search and rescue chopper, ETA to coordinates l.5 hours."

Back at the Museum Scott put down the radio and said "no luck, I doubt anyone heard." Sergi said "then we keep moving." Suddenly he was cut off by a familiar sound and Sergi thought to himself, please don't let that be what I think it is. Sergi looked out the window and said "Scott, I think we're in serious trouble." Scott looked also and said "You have got to be kidding me." Heading towards the museum was 2 dozen Terror Drones that had honed in on the radio frequency.

Cliff hanger. Please read and review

Final Chapter to follow.