John ducked off to the side next to Alison. Kyle had just signaled for the group to move out of sight while they checked out an alleyway. John watched as the two Reese brothers moved in unison to clear the alley and then signaling for Alison to bring the unit forward.

"At the rate we are going, we are never going to make it to the extraction zone." John mumbled under his breath.

"Wouldn't go saying that around the LT." Privet Sue Larsen said as she eyed a nearby building with suspicion. "He has seen too many of his friends killed. He's just trying to get us there in one piece."

John nodded his head. He knew how Derek could be. He had spend a couple of years around his uncle and knew just how jumpy he could be. "Right. He just seems more jumpy than usual."

"Usual?" Anderson laughed. "No, I would dare say this is normal for both the Reese boys. By the way you talk sometimes, Connor, I wonder if you know those two."

John didn't say anything in response. He kept his eyes on Kyle as the man moved towards the TechCom soldiers and signaled for them to join the Reese brothers. Quickly, Alison called an end to the conversation and moved the unit forward. John had to watch where he put his feet as he moved through the rubble. The last thing he wanted was to trip and twist his ankle. Upon reaching the two brothers, Kyle gave Derek a pat on the shoulder to let him know the unit was gathered. Derek turned around and pulled out a map.

"We are moving too slow. We are still four klicks out. We need to be there and set up a secure LZ before our birds can set down. The problem is that the ground between us and the LZ is tin can territory. The last two months we have seen a lot of activity from the Medal throughout here. If we move much faster, we are going to attract some attention that we don't want. If we keep at the pace we are going, we will miss our timetable. They will just assume we are dead." Derek folded his map and tucked it back into his pocket.

Somewhere in the distance, something echoed from behind them. The TechCom soldiers turned and raised their weapons. After a moment, They began to relax. John wished he had a weapon. He felt very exposed and very naked with no way to defend himself should something happen.

"Maybe some junk collapsed on itself." Alison finally said quietly.

"Maybe." Derek muttered in response. "We are two minutes away from a Resistance bunker. We'll head there. If we follow the old freeway from there, we can make our timetable. Kyle, take point. Anderson, watch our six."

John stopped in mid-step as he saw the Resistance bunker. It was none other then Catherine Weaver's business building. The top floors had long ago been blown away or caved in from the war. All the glass that once covered the windows lay shattered on the streets below. The holes in the walls were covered with boards and random items of junk that could offer some protection against enemy fire. A bottleneck had been formed near the front doors by pushing cars, trucks, and large chunks of rubble together.

"Connor!" Kyle said from the front of the column. "Don't get left behind, now. Keep up."

"Right."

Alison, who had seemed to have forgotten about John, doubled back at Kyle's words. She reached out and grabbed John by his elbow and began dragging him towards the building. He tried to pull out of her grasp, but Alison responded with a scowl that reminded him of Cameron. John decided it was just better to submit to this treatment then make her more upset.

The inside of the office building didn't look much better than the outside of the building. The desks were covered with bullet holes and plasma rifle burns. Temporary shelters and barricades were littered all around the different offices and rooms. The main lobby had a long, hastily built, stone wall that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Again, there were signs that a battle had been fought sometime ago.

And then there was the smell.

John let out a grunt of disgust as he pulled his shirt up over his nose. This didn't really help any.

"What is that smell?" Derek moaned as he shielded his nose with his arm. "Privet, check out over there."

The soldier raised her weapon and moved quickly towards the area blocked from view. She turned the corner and then let out a cry. There was no hesitation in the company as they raced towards the cry. As they rounded the corner, however, they all stopped dead in their tracts. Twenty-five bodies were laying in their own, dried blood. Flies were buzzing around them and maggots were easily seen on several bodies. Judging from the smell and the bloating, they had been dead for some time now. From the way they lay and the cords that bound their wrists, they had been executed after they had surrendered.

Sue dropped to her knees, gasping for air. Before anyone could attempt to help her, she puked down the front of her uniform and onto the floor. Alison quickly pulled the soldier's hair away from her face as Sue finished.

"What happened here?" John whispered, the shock and fear evident in his voice.

"Grays." Derek spat coldly. "They were excited by those bastard Grays."

Kyle was moving among the bodies. "They are all from the 132nd. Looks like they were a pocket of survivors like us."

"Anyone we know?"

"Alpha Company. Last we heard from them, they were half a klick to our right. Must have run and found their way here."

Derek nodded and passed his brother. John followed his gaze towards a doorway. The door was ajar and John could see the stairs that headed down to the basement. His heart beat a little faster as he realized exactly where they led to. They were going to the basement of the building. Maybe…

John pushed passed the soldiers in front of him and ran towards the stairs. He heard his name being called but he descended two stairs at a time. When he reached the bottom, John gasped and dropped to his knees. His heart had almost stopped when he saw the damage that was before him. The equipment that had brought him forward in time was destroyed. Cameron's body was nowhere to be seen.

"Connor, what is wrong?" Derek stood over John, his rifle moving slowly around the room.

"Nothing. I was hoping she would be down here still. I was hoping the equipment would be operational. I was just being foolish."

"The equipment was destroyed by Command years ago. There was no one down here then. Who are you looking for?"

John turned to look at his uncle. "Cameron. I though Cameron would be here."

Before Derek or one of the other soldiers could respond, Kyle jogged down the stairs out of breath.

"We have two T-600's in the lobby. They must have followed us here."