CH 28
Laura managed a solid 40 miles an hour, plowing along in her wrecker. The truck was heavy enough that the tires got a good grip, and small enough that most blocks she was able to drive around or push through. On her third day of travel, she was headed for the town of Nancy. So far she had not seen a single Sky Net unit. She did see an radio repeating tower. Making her left arm into a plasma canon, she shot it down on her way past. Other than a stop to refill the gas tank from the cans she'd collected, she drove non-stop.
The engine was making knocking and banging noises, but kept on running as she drove past a sign that said she was in Nancy now. The solid white snowstorm being kicked up behind her has she drove along was now a darker gray from the smelly exhaust from the truck. Heading down the main street, a bang sounded from the engine. The hood shook and the engine stopped. Laura pulled it over to the side and hit a big lump of snow that was hiding a small car. Laura turned the key off. Oh well, she just had to find another ride.
The street here was desolate. silent buildings with broken glass, doors were broken in here and there. The snow was not pristine, there were vehicle tracks, mid street the snow was packed down. Laura walked a ways, looking down side streets. It was the same with the streets not filled with debris. She stopped at seeing a heat source behind a pile of snow and wrecked car in an alley, pushed sideways to jam it in place. It looked like it might be a human. She walked down the alley towards the wrecked car.
A side door to her right burst open. A T-800 stepped out and raised it's plasma gun. Using her fast thinking, Laura stepped towards it and pushed the gun up with one hand and kicked it in the jaw. The T-800 stumbled back. She grabbed it's head and rammed it into the brick wall, cracking the wall. Grabbing the rifle, she yank it out of the terminator's hand, threw the gun behind her then punched the terminator to keep it off balance. The terminator tried to grab her. She clamped down on his wrist and jerked herself behind it, or tried to. The terminator was bigger and threw her off.
The T-800 was bigger and had more strength. Laura was faster. She jumped up from where she landed and dove on the plasma rifle. Rolling to her feet, she stood, took aim and shot, removing the other terminator's neck and lower jaw/skull. It fell flat, the head bounced off the wall.
Laura searched for any other threats. Seeing none, she went to the doorway and looked in. It looked like a typical back room with shelves of stock and waste cans. Seeing a bin of tools, she did retrieve a screwdriver and a utility knife. Going back outside she picked up the half-head and dug the chip out, then pocketed it.
It was then Laura heard raspy breathing.
Listening closely, she noted it was coming from the snow covered car sideways in the ally. walking over, the windows had a white coating on the inside. She grabbed the door handle, opened the door and saw a young girl wrapped in a coat with a white sheet over her in the seat. The girl's eyes went wide, gaping at her. A short yelp came from the girl, and she cringed back.
In French, Laura said, "Don't be afraid, I got him."
The girl blinked then looked to see the terminator lying on the ground. "You killed it?" she asked.
"I took it's gun too," Laura said and hefted the plasma rifle. "Have you seen a working vehicle here?"
The girl got out and grinned happily. "You really killed it! It can't chase me any more!" she beamed. The girl grabbed Laura's hand with her tiny one and said, "Come, I'll show you where it's safe!"
Laura let the girl pull her into the building and said, "I need to keep moving. I need transportation."
"There is none," the girl said. "Nothing works any more. I got a nice place that's not too cold and there's still food left. With you here, I won't have to run and hide any more."
Laura watched the girl go in and lift up a trap door in the floor that revealed steps going down. It was a little tight, Laura had to crouch going down the stairs. In the room below, the girl lit an oil lamp, then ran up to close the trap door and push a bolt to lock it shut. Coming back down the stairs, the girl pulled the sheet off herself to show she had light brown hair. Taking off her outer coat, Laura also noticed the girl was skinny.
"It will be so nice to have company!" the girl beamed. "What's your name?"
"Laura," Laura said as she looked around the small cellar space. Bedding with a ragged doll was on a table, underneath were some boxes of food. a few trinkets were on a shelf. the other table held the oil lamp and a half bottle of water. "You live here by yourself?"
"Just me and Betty," the girl said and grabbed the doll off her pillow to show Laura. Holding the doll to face Laura, the girl said, "Betty, this is Laura, she killed that metal thing that was killing everyone. She's a hero!"
"I'm just Laura. Who are you?'
"I'm Anne," she said happily. "We can go upstairs and get a mattress, sheets and blankets for you, Laura. This is soooo great!"
Laura could see this girl was aching for some kind of companionship. She was surviving, however. Slowly, Laura said, "Anne, I can't stay. I have to go east to the Maginot line."
Anne cast her a hurt look. "You can't stay with me? You are going to leave me like Mommy and everyone else did?"
Laura was about to say she had to, when Anne plowed into her and hugged her tight. "Please no! Don't leave me all alone any more!" Anne wailed into her stomach.
Laura set the plasma rifle down and embraced the child. No children should not be forced to be alone. "Anne, I'm going into a war zone. You can't come with me," Laura said gently.
"Then stay here! I don't want to see any more people die! I thought I was the last one, but now you're here, so please don't leave!" Anne cried.
"I can't, I'm sorry," Laura offered.
"Then I'll come with you!" Anne cried.
"No!" Laura pulled Anne back and sat down on a chair so she was eye level with Anne. "Listen to me, I must go or many, many more will die. I can come and get you on the way back, but it is too dangerous for you to come with me. You could well die, and neither of us wants that."
"And what if YOU die?" Anne asked, becoming angry.
"I won't," Laura said and flashed her eyes red.
Anne just stared at her for a moment, then asked, "Are you a monster, or something like that?"
"Something like that," Laura agreed. "I will come back to pick you up but I must leave now."
"That's how you killed that metal thing!" Anne said happily, "You're a better monster than it was!"
There was so much wrong with what Anne just said, but Laura only smirked and said, "Right, I'm a better monster. So, will you stay here and keep yourself safe until I get back?"
"Will you promise you'll come back?"
"Yes," Laura said firmly.
Frowning, Anne asked, "What kind of monster are you?"
With a grin, Laura said, "That's a secret."
Anne grinned. "I won't tell," she offered.
"I know dear." Thinking of something to make Anne feel better, Laura picked up the plasma rifle and asked, "How about if I show you how to use this so you can use it in case you have to?"
Anne nodded.
"Ok, we can go for a walk and I'll show you how it works, OK?"
.
Laura went back out, Anne with her. Laura kept her senses sharp as she searched for a vehicle to use. Once she was sure there were no other terminators around, Laura gave Anne the plasma rifle and showed her how to hold it. Pointing to a stop sign, Laura said, "Point at the stop sign and try to hit it."
Anne pointed the rifle and pulled the trigger. A plasma bolt shot out and wiped out the post below the sign before the bolt hit the building beyond and blasted out an oval of shattered brick out onto the street.
"I got it!" Anne cried happily.
"Almost, you were a bit low," Laura commented. "You do see what it does?"
"Yeah, it blows big holes in things," Anne replied, grinning.
"You don't use it unless you have no choice," Laura said firmly. "Running and hiding is best so you aren't seen. If you can't then you shoot. The ... metal monsters," she said, nearly choking on the words, "I know how to shoot very well, so this is only if you can do nothing else to save yourself."
Anne nodded, "OK." She then looked up at Laura and asked, "But if I take yours, then what will you have to shoot them with?"
"I have two more. You keep that one," Laura assured her.
Walking through the town, Laura found an ATV store. Inside the show room, there were the standard four wheelers, a few motorbikes and an odd looking thing. It was like a four wheeler, but instead of wheels, it had a pair of tracks. Laura looked in the gas tank, it was empty. Anne sat on a four wheeler, making engine noises while Laura went out and ripped the gas tanks out of a couple cars. one tank sloshed and was fairly heavy. She used the tank to fill the tank on the tracked ATV, then found a couple cans to pour the rest of the gas in. In a key locker Laura broke open, she found the keys to the thing and started it up.
Anne rode in front of Laura on the way back to Anne's hide out. While they were out, they stopped at a store and got some canned and dry food and more oil for Anne's lamp. Laura also picked up a map that showed this area of France. It even showed historical points like the Maginot line. With the shopping done, Laura returned to Anne's cellar. She helped get the supplies down into the hideout and reminded Anne again that she would be back, and to be very careful. Laura received another tight hug from Anne, then got on her tracked ATV and headed east for the Maginot line. By what the map said, and the direction they pinpointed Sky Net at, it was between two of the historical sights, on a hill.
.
The good thing about this tracked ATV, it floated across the snow like a Stug. Laura wasn't restricted to the roads. All she needed was fairly flat, be it road, ice or hills. Being a TX, the cold normally didn't bother her but flying along in the cold wind she was a little concerned about her skin freezing and cracking, so she stopped after a few hours in a remote farm house. There was no one home, It did have a fireplace, so she broke up some furniture and made a fire. A stuffed chair she kept she used to sit in front of the fireplace with. While she let her skin warm up, she looked around. She found a compass to make sure she was headed for the right spot. Looking in the kitchen she found a sturdy carving knife. That also might come in handy.
After Laura felt her temperature go up and the fire was burning down to coals, she got back out on her ATV and kept going east. Ahead were the low hills the Maginot line was formed in.
.
It was four days after Laura had left that Charles decided to risk a trip to the store to see if they had any medicine. Seeing the bravery of that woman Laura, he figured he could be at least as brave. He was old, but he wasn't dead yet, and if the kids were sick, he had to do what he could for them.
Walking along on the snow covered street, he heard a far off rumbling. Not quite placing the noise, he stopped and listened. The noise was growing and there were squeaking sounds, kind of like a bulldozer, only it wasn't just one and these sounded faster. With his frail hearing it finally hit him what he was listening to and now feeling in his feet.
Tanks were coming. A whole bunch of tanks.
Not knowing which side these tanks were on, Charles decided to head back to the warehouse. He turned to go back and saw a small tank turn into this street, flinging snow. This one moved to one side of the street and another turned the corner and got on the other side. They slowed as they approached. Behind them, more and more appeared to come on and move down side streets. Briefly, Charles was sure he was about to get run over.
The growing number of tanks slowed, then stopped in front of him. A man got out of one and jumped down to ask, "Do you need assistance?"
"Medicine for the kids," he said vacantly. "Who ... are we winning?" he asked.
"Bob! what's up?" a man asked, sticking his head out of the hatch.
"This guy has sick kids! We need some medics," Bob called.
One of the men on top jumped off. "I'll wait for them."
"Thanks," Bob said and got back up and down in the hatch. "Driver, go!"
The man that got off came over to Charles as the machines rolled on down the road. "Sir, you do not look well. Are there many of you?"
"Only nine of us left," Charles said. "Are you French army?" he asked.
"No, Resistance from North America. John Connor's army. We're here to eliminate Sky Net, who started this war."
Charles watched the solid line of small tanks roll by. Then a group of large American tanks rumbled down the street. A tracked vehicle a little lower and wider appeared. The solider by Charles waved to it. It pulled over to the side.
"We have sick?" a woman asked as she stuck her head out.
"Yes, he will show us," the soldier said, and had Charles lead the way.
Charles took them back to the warehouse and led them in and showed them their 'crate house' inside the warehouse.
The soldier and a dark haired female solder came in with him. The woman asked, "Sir, have you seen anyone or any vehicles recently?"
"One woman. She was looking for a vehicle. Her name was Laura Reese," Charles explained.
The dark haired woman eyed him. "Laura Reese was here?"
"For days ago," Charles said with a nod.
The dark haired woman grabbed her radio and said, "General Reese, Laura was here four days ago. She was looking for transportation."
Derek was stunned. Laura should have been on a ship and headed for the Azores, or back to the east coast, not in the middle of France looking for a ride. And four days ago, how did she get so far ahead of them? Right after he got this news, the lead Stug reported finding a single track heading out to the east. He sent the lead squad out ahead, max speed to follow those tracks.
"What are you doing, Laura?" he asked no one.
.
Laura was lying on the snow atop a knoll, scanning the hill before her. She'd found the one tourist center on the Maginot line, and came to the spot where Sky Net was suppose to be. There were two H/K tanks bracketing a small entrance, and terminators were on guard around the hill. She also noted long gun barrels poking out of emplacements in top of the rounded bunker and a huge gun turret above. She wasn't going to be forcing her way in there any time soon.
Sliding back out of sight, Laura went back down to her ATV. When she returned to it, a man standing by it. He turned to watch her come down. A she approached, she noticed a few things. There was something wrong with his face. When he turned his head, the motion was jerky, just like a T-800 series. His turn to face her was the same. His spoke and his voice sounded tinny, his mouth didn't quite match his words as he said, "I need a ride to where you came from."
"How did you find me?" Laura asked and stopped ten feet from him.
The terminator pulled a pistol and stated, "I need a ride to where you came from."
"You can't get to there from here, at least on that ATV," Laura stated. "I asked how you found me."
"You will take me to where you came from, or I will shoot you," he stated.
Laura morphed her arm into a plasma canon. "You shoot me, I'll shoot you. I may be found but you will be terminated," Laura replied and flashed her eyes
The terminator cocked his head slightly. "You cannot do that. You are human."
"No, I am not and neither are you. How did you find me."
The terminator looked at her plasma canon, scanned her up and down, then looked at her plasma canon again. "You are an unknown model. Where did you come from?"
"I will tell you after you inform me of how you found me. I may have a deficiency in my stealth program."
The terminator twitch it's head. "I was searching for humans. I heard the engine noise, then found the tracks of this machine. I scanned it and you returned. What model are you?"
Laura thought about lying, but if she was of interest and taken into the bunker system by a terminator that was recognizable, then she would be allowed to pass within. "I am a model TX, the latest model made in North America, in Los Angeles. I was sent here to test my abilities then bring a message to Sky Net Europe of my Model's success."
The terminator stated, "Submit to chip removal and I will take you in to show Sky Net the advancements in North America."
Damn, she thought, she almost had an in. She could not let Sky Net get her chip, or even let this terminator inform Sky Net of what she just told him. "I am sorry," she said and shot him in the head, obliterating it. His neck stump sparked as the body fell over.
After burying the terminator in the snow, she got on her ATV and went back the way she came. She needed to find out more about this bunker system. A good place to do that would be one of those visitor centers.
.
Lt. Rogers was at the head of the line of four Stugs racing along following the tracks of the dual rear wheeled truck. Some blocks had been gone around, others were pushed to the side. One car upside down off the road, he slowed to see the tracks of someone who'd gotten out and moved it by hand. Looking at the tracks, one of the TX' riding on the top said, "By the size and depth of the footprint, it was a female model TX who moved that car."
"Yup, that's my conclusion as well," Lt. Rogers said and got back on. As he got in the hatch, he called inside, "Pete! Tell the Captain we are on Laura Reese's trail. "Let's go, charge on boys."
The Stug moved on racing to catch up with this truck. Behind it, the others followed.
.
Laura scanned the visitor's center closely. There was no guard here, at least no visible one. sneaking up to within a hundred yards, she searched for cameras and other sensors. The center was a piece of the original bunker system, one of the big guns that used to be on top was in the center of a wide circular drive. A small building was butted up against the actual fortress stating in large letters over the door that this was the famous impassable Maginot line.
Laura didn't think it was all that impassable, the Germans had bypassed it completely during the second World War, and the French got their asses kicked.
Still cautious, Laura approached under cover , scanning the area until she got close, then walked into the visitor's center. Inside, there were photos of parts of the bunker system, barracks, dinning rooms, even a railway deep underground that connected all the parts of the line. She bypassed the visitor registration desk, pausing to take a pen, then looked at the wall diagram of the entire line. She committed this to memory, grabbed a pamphlet that had the same information in it, then walked down into the 'guided tour' area where she went down steps and into the bunkers.
The tour went through one of the ammunition staging area where mannequins dressed as French soldiers were posed to push carts and operate a lift that went below. Laura looked down the shaft. It only went a few feet and was blocked off by a heavy steel grating.
Inspecting the lift, she found this was a real piece of the fortress. Hopefully, it could handle weight. She disconnected the chain from the fake canon shell and dropped it down the shaft. She moved the Mannequin pretending to operate the hoist, then turned the handle to make sure it worked. Drawing up the chain until a few links were left down on the grating, she got on the chain and lowered herself down into the grating. Holding on with one hand, she used small beam plasma shots to weld the chain to the center of the grating then cut the grating loose. When she and the grating were dangling free, she went back up and lowered the chain down until she was almost out of chain.
Climbing down the chain she came to a room that didn't look nearly as nice a the 'displayed' area above. Even in infrared, she saw every metal piece was rusted, rust streaks ran down from where metal had been attached to the walls. There was also debris on the floor. Very shoddy if this was a national monument.
The room had two exits, a normal door size exit and a wider one with tracks leaving. Laura followed the tracks that angled down into an underground train station. The tracks, like the rest of this place were brown with rust, the ties rotting away. This would have to be the 'in'. Standing on the tracks, Laura listened for any sounds. Very weak, she did hear footsteps. Sky Net was using these train tracks. Laura weighed her options. IF she was caught, she was only one here and had no backup. On the other hand, if she could sneak closer to see where Sky Net was, then she would have more information.
Laura took her boots off and left them on the platform to make her steps softer. She opted to step slowly down the tracks to find out what part of this railway was being used. Right away she learned the rail line was not flat. she went up a grade, even for a while to another platform that was falling apart, then down again. She walked slowly through a section the had water in it, getting as deep to her as mid-chest, then she went up again. Now, she could hear a generator running. Bending low when she saw light up ahead at the top of a grade, she crept slower to peek over the top. It was another platform. Terminators were removing the rusted track to carry them up. On the platform, the light she saw was on the controls for the large generator, the exhaust pipe went up through a shaft, most likely another ammo lifting shaft.
It was tempting to line up and plasma the crap out of that generator, but she'd this operation from only one side. She needed to know what was down the line. If she destroyed this generator, and there were others, she would not disable Sky Net here. She did have a thought of just walked in like she belonged there. The rubberish skin covered terminator had not recognized her as another terminator though. With her bio-synthetic covering, it had believed she was human. As best, she would only force Sky Net to move again and let it know someone was after it. Laura began the trek back the way she came, noting how far she'd gone down the rail line. Every piece of information she was gathering may be critical.
.
Anne was bundled up in her heavy coat with a sheet over her In her wraps, Betty was with her. The doll's head sticking out of sheet just under her neck. In her arm she held the plasma rifle Laura had given her. Peeking around a corner, Anne whispered, "See anything, Betty? I don't." Sure there were no silver monsters around, Anne hurried to the other side of the street and into the broken ruins of a shop she'd gotten her oil lamp out of.
It used to smell good in here. The scents of candles and potpourri lingering almost magically in the air. Between the broken windows, some snow that drifted in and the frozen body behind the counter, the smells and magical atmosphere was gone. Anne helped herself to a courtesy bag. She couldn't fill the bag and hold the rifle, so the put the rifle on the counter and took the bag to get two more bottles of the strawberry lamp oil. She liked that smell when it burned. It was like a tiny bit of joy was being saved. She and Betty could sleep better with the pleasant fragrance in the air. Besides the oil for the lamp, she put in a couple shiny bracelets. When Laura came back to get her, she wanted to give Laura a present. Laura was a nice monster, maybe Laura would decide to live with her and Betty.
Hearing a noise behind her, Anne froze in place. In the doorway was a white colored monster. It had it's own rifle. Hers was on the counter, close by it. She was in the other end of the room. There was no way she could reach it. Frantic for a way to save herself, Anne roared out in little girl anger, "Hey! You do anything to me and Laura will hunt you down and pull you apart!"
The machine tipped it's head. "You know Laura Reese?"
"Yes! So you better go away before something bad happens to you!" Anne announced boldly.
The monster grabbed her rifle off the counter, turned and walked out.
Anne was barely aware of the fact he took the rifle Laura had given her. She breathed a sigh of relief that her threat worked! Apparently Laura was such a good monster, the others were afraid of her. Giddy that she had survived, Anne went to leave then noticed her rifle was gone. Oh well, if just mentioning Laura's name was enough to scare away the monsters, then she didn't need it. Anne grabbed a jar candle, this one was jasmine scent. That smelled really good too. She walked out to see another monster walking up the road and another job by the other way. Neither chased after her. Feeling bold, Anne walked back to her place. The monsters wouldn't mess with her now, SHE knew Laura!
.
So far, the only thing in the town of Nancy that had been found was a 9 to 11 year old girl who had a plasma rifle. The terminator who found her took the rifle away, but let the girl go about her business. Derek walked down the alley where the girl's cellar hideout was. Hhe went into the building and noted the trap door. Squatting down by it, he knocked and called, "Hello? Have you seen Laura?" There was no answer, she he knocked again. "Hello down there! Have you seen Laura?"
A tiny voice answered, "Go away or Laura will be mad at you!"
"I'm looking for Laura," Derek said. "Laura is special to me. I'm afraid she might get hurt, so I need to find her and help her."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Laura's boyfriend," Derek said with a grin.
A bolt was thrown and the girl opened the trap door. "Are you a monster?" Anne asked.
Derek snorted out a laugh. "No, I just want to make sure Laura is all right. She took on a task that may be too hard for her. Can you tell me where she went?"
Anne shook her head. "No, but she said she would come back for me after she was done killing the bad monsters."
"How did Laura leave? Did she walk?" Derek asked.
"No, she got one of those ATV things that had tracks on it, that was fun to ride," Anne said with a grin.
Derek pointed out the door at a T-800 that was standing outside the door. "I'm going to leave this one to guard you to make sure you are safe. Will that be OK?"
Anne nodded. "They know Laura is a better monster than they are, so that's fine."
Derek wasn't sure how to take that. "OK, I have to go, be good, we'll be back when we can."
"Bye," Anne said and shut the trap door.
Derek went out and let the searchers know what Laura left here driving. They had to be careful also, they were getting closer to the Maginot line.
.
Laura climbed back up the chain into the visitor's center. She used the hoist to pull the grating up to about where it was suppose to be. After getting the mannequins back in place, she left. Getting back to her ATV, she went to the southern visitor's center five miles away. Here, there were terminators patrolling the area. She moved on, and looked for another entry back into the bunker system. a couple miles farther, she found an entrance that was sealed over with brick. The snow on the ground was smooth, no tracks, so she broke her way in.
This entry went down a short hallway that ended in a steel door that was open a crack. Laura pulled hard to open the door. It groaned and squeaked, shedding bits of rust as it reluctantly opened. Inside was the remains a steel spiral staircase going up on one side, and the shafts for ammunition near the other wall. The shafts went up though, not down on the floor. There was a door on the far side. This one she pushed open to see a small room with a shaft in the floor. The hoist though was rusted solid. At least there was no grating in the shaft. Then again, there was no chain either. She had to find another way down.
Following dark hallways, Laura did find concrete steps leading down to a train platform. Again she took her boots off and walked down the railway tunnel. Thankfully, this time she didn't have to walk through any flooded sections. Having to use internal heating to keep her skin from freezing was making her a glowing infrared target. Only a mile back down the tunnel and she was hearing a soft generator noise. She noted the track in this section was gone. The rails had been salvaged. The rises and dips were less. Ahead she could see some light two hundred yards down the tunnel. The track was all pulled up, only rotten rails and chunks of concrete covered the floor. She zoomed in with her vision, no terminators were in the tunnel, but there did seem to be a platform where that generator was.
Laura walked slowly on, staying near the wall to avoid being seen. Coming closer to the lighted area, the rumble of the generator was louder. Again, she could take this one out, but at least one more would be operating. Sky Net would get away. She went back the way she came. It was frustrating, but she needed help taking Sky Net out. It was dark by the time she stepped back though the entrance and got on her ATV. She headed back for the trail that brought her here. Some where on their way was Derek's army. She had to find them.
Clearing the area of the Maginot line, Laura was cruising back down her tracks in the early morning. She came down a hillside to see a Stug coming at her. She stopped and waver her arms. The Stug stopped just in front of her. A head popped up out of the hatch.
"We've been looking for you!" the commander said.
Laura called back, "I have vital information for General Reese, take me to him."
.
Laura was dirty, she smelled and Derek had no idea what was in her tangled hair, but he knew he was never so happy to see anyone in his life. After along hug and a gritty, but wonderful kiss, Derek said, I'm not happy you took off by yourself. Something could have happened to you."
Laura cast him a smirk and replied, "I did get plenty of information, so can you forgive me?"
Derek grinned back. "Always. So tell me what you got as I get your bath ready."
.
Derek took her into the farmhouse he was using for a command center that was 10 miles east of Nancy. The place was intact, had no bodies in it and had water and a wood burning kitchen stove that was also able to heat the house. Derek got a big pot of water on the stove and the firebox roaring.
Laura found a mirror and frowned, "I look horrible!"
"Naw, just a bit dirty and disheveled," Derek assured her. "So, you got good stuff?"
"I do," Laura agreed. She peeled off her jacket and tossed the pamphlets on the table. "Diagrams of the Maginot line, I found two of their generators, the general location of where Skynet is, and I met a rubber skinned terminator trying to pass for human. He thought I was human."
"Where was this?" Derek asked.
"Near the fortress line. He followed my ATV tracks," Laura said, taking off her boots and socks. "I had to terminate him. I could not afford Sky Net finding out about me, or you." She stripped off her shirt, some brown bits from the tunnel water was stuck to her and her shirt. Shaking the bits off, she added, "I found two ways in, one is a vertical shaft, the other, eight miles away, is a more normal entry. The flooded tunnel is in the tunnel to the left, with the shaft. It's not completely full. Terminators were down there so I didn't try to take them out. If Sky Net is alerted it's being attacked, it will flee."
Derek nodded in agreement as he watched her. "We need to seal off any means of escape," he said taking in her form.
"We do," Laura said and took her pants off. She then paused and asked, "Didn't bring any of my clothes, did you?"
"I had no idea you were here," Derek replied firmly. "You were suppose to be on a ship to the Azores."
Laura cast him a crooked grin. "Yes, I was bad, did you want to spank me?" she asked and turned her butt to him and gave it a wiggle.
Derek laughed.
While the water heated up, Laura showed Derek on the map the area Sky Net was in. Derek's eyes bounced from the map to Laura, who was naked. He got her a blanket, so she put it around her shoulders. Facing him, it didn't help. Once the water was hot enough, they took turns washing each other. Derek washed Laura, then Laura washed Derek, doing his back first, then laying him on his back and straddling him. The cot was ruined but they had a good time doing it. After they spent some time getting 'reacquainted', and Laura's uniform was cleaned and hanging up to dry, Derek called a meeting in the morning on what they were going to do. For tonight, it was cuddle time with Laura.
.
The section of fortress Sky Net was in was possibly 8 miles long. In the area beyond the fortress no Sky Net units had been seen. All the Sky Net that flooded into Spain were still there. Since the possible area was only 8 miles long Derek had enough troops to cover both sides and put troops in the tunnels. The first strikes would be to take out communications, then they could pound holes into the bunkers and send rockets down the tunnels to blow up generators and any other support equipment. The French side of the fortress held all the door and entry places. The German side showed nothing but gun turrets and machine gun ports.
.
Sky Net Europe was following the progress of it's units in Spain closely. The devastation to Sky Net Spain in Barcelona was found. Humans had somehow destroyed it and all it's equipment. Sky Net Asia began to give it's theory, then sent silent. The fortress vibrated, the attack alarms sounded. A generator went out. Up and down the line, reports flooded in of being attacked. An entry was breached. Sky Net's immediate response was to attack the intruders. Another generator went out. The fortress shuddered again, Sky Net demanded reports. Nothing was coming back.
.
On the start signal, Stugs, artillery and M1's opened up on the fortress structure, focusing on the entry doors. Platoons fired at one spot on the outer walls, blasting concrete out dig holes in the fortress. Upon those attacks commencing, at both ends where Laura had found entrances, teams went on to plant explosives near the generators and set timers. By the time they got there, all the terminators were headed to join the battle up at ground level. The explosives set, the teams hurried back up and out. When the charges went off, the old concrete cracked. The fires from the burning fuel weakened the concrete more. The vibrations from the guns caused a partial collapse. Terminators tried to get outside to fight off the attackers, but met a wall of plasma fire on their way out the narrow door ways.
It took a while, but the concrete bunkers of the Maginot line crumbled. Sky Net Europe was crushed and buried under tons of debris.
.
Returning to Nancy, Laura rode with Derek in his carrier. The battle done, they had some sex and a lot of cuddling before they got into town. The carrier pulled up to the alley where Anne's cellar was. Laura held Derek's hand as they got out and went inside to knock on the trap door.
"Anne! It's Laura, are you in there?' Laura called.
Fast feet thumped up the steps then Anne threw the hatch upon. Seeing Laura, she beamed a big smile and ran up to hug her. "You're back!" Anne cried happily.
Laura returned Anne's hug. "Hey sweetie, have you meet Derek?"
Anne pulled back and nodded. "I did! Did he help you beat the bad monsters?"
"He sure did," Laura agreed. "Now, what we both want to know is if you and Betty want to come live with us."
"Betty?" Derek asked.
"Anne's Betty, that stays with her?" Laura asked.
Derek eyed her and asked, "There's another kid?"
"Betty is Anne's dollie," Laura informed him.
"You're not going to live with me?" Anne asked, looking puzzled.
"Anne, we came to get you so you don't have to live in that small cellar any more," Laura told her. "You will be safe with us."
"It will be much better than living down there by yourself," Derek added.
Anne gaped at them. "But ... my bed's down here, so is my lamp, candles and food."
"Just bring your stuff with you," Derek told her. "We got a nice house that will be my headquarters for a while."
"We'll get help to come down and get your things," Laura explained.
"OK. I'd like to live in a real house," Ann agreed happily. Anne was going to have a ne family, with a mother who was the best monster ever!