February 1, 2138 (Evening continued)
Once Kim and Dad returned here the news wasn't great. It wasn't all bad either, but with the good also comes the bad. So I'll start with the bad.
The hospital is getting more attention than it did before. Kim said that they both noticed two manned interlocker turrets mounted on the roof at two of the corners of the building right away. One on the front left corner and one on the left corner of the rear. As one would expect, the front one is aiming outward from the front of the building and the rear is aiming out at the grounds in the back of the hospital. A biodread trooper is manning each of them rather than them being left automated. The idea came to mind that we could hit the two from a long distance with the rifles we acquired from the mall, but it won't work that easily with the troopers located at the front entrance and the back door that we escaped from the last time we were there.
Kim said they could also see two troopers at each of the two doors. Along with the two on the roof, there were at least four just on the outside that were going to have to be dealt with before we entered the building. Taking either of them out on the roof meant taking out the other also, and the troopers on the ground would certainly see the shots as we took them. We don't have anything that can reach far enough that doesn't fire a laser. The lasers would immediately draw their attention. This situation would mean that we would have to attack outright or risk being seen and attacked by the machines before we ever fired a shot.
As far as the good news went, it would be that the hospital was getting a lot of attention for a reason. With two hospitals located within the machines zone of control inside of the city there wasn't any reason for them to leave this hospital standing. Even if there was a reason, they could simply strip it of anything useful and leave it as a trap for any foolish person to walk into. They were there for some reason besides guarding an empty building. They needed it safe for a reason, and hopefully the reason is Carrie.
We're forced to leave Karl behind because of Alan and Rachel. Tad's vision is still fading in and out once in a while, so we can't risk him on this. This was limiting our options a lot. Six of us might not be enough for an attack like this. The plan is for two of us to hang back with what we call our sniper rifles and hit the two troopers at the turrets on the roof after the other four of us get positioned as close as we can to the building without being seen. Two of us will position ourselves to go for the back door located at the center of the South side of the building while the other two will position themselves to the East side of the building. The two to the East will be Dad and Tommy as it's going to be their job to get to Carrie if she's there and get her out. They're strong enough to carry her and move the fastest out of us all. Once the two rooftop troopers are dealt with, the two shooters will turn their attention to the two troopers at the back door. We have to assume that they'll have seen the shots taken on the two on the roof and will react by moving in our direction At which point either the two shooters will deal with them or the two assaulting the back door will.
We had very little idea what the troopers at the front entrance would do. They could cut through the lobby and make a stand at the back door. This was the most likely reaction they would have. Or they could stay where they were, or come around either side of the building. If they came around the East side we could catch them from behind with the two of the guys that would already there. If not, the two moving to the back door are going to have a problem. They'll be stopped and they'll have to deal with them or the shooters will have to knock them off too. Otherwise they could hold off anyone getting into the back door.
That's our plan so far. It's not great, but it's what we have. Being fast was going to be important. We either hurry or the ones entering the hospital were going to die.
February 1, 2138 (Late evening)
We're ready to go. Everyone has their jobs to do and we're ready. At first Kim was going to have Sarah and me hang back and do the sniping, but Mom is taking my place. Then she'll move in as back up while Sarah supports us as we run away. Kim really has a lot of trust in her to be hitting all of the targets she'll have to hit, but she's been teaching her how to use the rifles we got from the mall and get the most out of them. She hasn't had much time to learn, though. I hope she's been paying attention.
We went to see Tad before we left. He was sitting with little Alan so Karl can secure the zoo while we're gone. There were fewer tears this time around as we said what we had to say to each other before we left. Karl's moment with each of us was short, and he went on about his business. Tad's was longer. He was worried about all of us and you could tell that he didn't want to stay behind. It was hard for him to let Sarah go, even knowing that she would be behind us and would most likely not be entering the building. I cried as I hugged him and he didn't want to let me go either.
Then there was this moment with Mom and Tad that was hard to explain. He was surprised to see that she was going with us, and asked her about it. But she acted like she didn't hear him as she walked up to him and gave him a hug. She had to hear what he said because she was closer to him than any of the rest of us by then. He looked confused and then she seemed to be saying something in his ear. His look went away as she pulled back from him and they both looked at each other. There were tears running down her face and she started talking to him loudly enough that we could all hear.
Mom said, "I never knew the kind of a man you were going to grow up to be."
"I owe a lot of that to you, Karen," Tad replied as he smiled back at Mom.
"If I ever had a son, I would want him to be you. I love you, Tad," Mom said back to him as another new tear fell from her eyes.
"I love you too, Karen. What's wrong? Why are you talking like this," he asked her as his smile faded away as though he sensed something was wrong with her.
"Because it's true. You're so special and I don't know if you know it. Sarah knows how special you are, and I'll always know too," she replied as she turned away from him and started to walk out of the room.
"You're more special than any of us here, Karen. It's like God gave me two mothers instead of one," he said as she stopped at the door and looked back at him again and smiled. Then she turned and walked away, leaving him with the last word.
I followed Mom outside and I wanted to see Rachel one more time before we left. I thought that she might be asleep, but she was still awake. She looked at me with what seemed to be a worried look on her face. I asked her if she was all right, and she said that she was fine. Then she went on talking.
"As a friend, I'm telling you that you shouldn't do this. You're not a machine. You can get hurt or worse," Rachel said to me as I started to realize that it wasn't because she was worried about her own safety that she was saying this to me, but she cared about my safety.
"Are you saying that you care about what happens to me," I asked.
"I don't want you to get hurt for nothing. I've done a lot of things wrong in my life, but I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I just wanted the pain of everyone to be gone. Yours too," she said back to me.
"I'll be fine. I've had some good teachers," I replied.
"Reconsider this. Please," she said to me.
"I can't. This is something that I have to do," I replied as Rachel looked away from me to the wall. I walked closer to the cage, but she kept staring at the wall and didn't speak again. Her expression didn't change and it wasn't possible to tell what she was thinking except that she didn't want to look back at me any longer. So I said, "I'll be back soon." Then I left to join the others. It was time to make this happen, one way or the other. If Carrie was there, we were coming for her. Hopefully she will be and she'll be ready to be free again.