Chapter 7: Strength in Numbers
Hammerhead Bunker
Only a few minutes had passed between the convoy picking up Derek and his refugees, to the moment it arrived at Hammerhead Bunkers main entrance.
To the ordinary eye, the entrance looked like a pile of junk surrounded by vehicles scattered about in haphazard ways. The vehicles provided a natural set of barricades for the bunker in case of attack, for they had actually been placed in such a way as to help protect and disguise the entrance to Hammerhead. This came about as a result of the careful planning from the bunker leader and John Connor.
As the convoy finished worming its way towards the entrance, the vehicles slowly ground to a halt.
John and Blair climbed out of the Hummer to go meet up with the resistance leader of Hammerhead, Melissa, Derek and Kyle remained in the vehicle.
An older stocky man emerged from the pile of rubble, just to the right of the Hummer. On either side of him were two well armed resistance regulars, their weapons resting in a lowered position, but ready to be brought to use if need be. The stocky man was dressed in standard Army ACU's, along with his guards.
John instantly recognized him. "Sikes, good to see you." He cheerfully called out to the stocky man.
"Connor, nice to see you too. Seems your convoy made it here in good time." Sikes walked up, his hand outstretched to shake John's hand. His two guards remained further back, keeping watch around the meeting spot.
John grasped Sikes hand with his and slapped the older man on the arm while shaking hands. Both men had warm smiles for each other and a respect that went way back.
Sikes looked over to where Blair was standing and nodded a hello to her. "Williams, always a pleasure to see you."
"Why thank you Sikes." Blair smiled warmly.
Sikes turned back to John. "So how are Kate and Kayla doin' John?"
"They're fine, Kayla keeps growing bigger every day." John beamed.
Sike's smile faded and his face became somber.
"So what's up Connor? You normally don't come on supply runs, unless its important."
John paused for a moment as if wondering how to explain what he needed to do. He drew in a large breath, sighed and began to speak.
"Sikes, we have a problem."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, the raids on the resistance bunkers and underground hideouts have increased and become more violent. Men are needlessly being killed, women and children kidnapped, the hideouts are stripped of any useful items, anything of value, and then sometimes destroyed. The women and children are kept as slaves, or they are traded to other groups like common cattle for other items such as food, or fuel."
Sike's face sank, he pondered over what had just been said, then he asked. "So what's the plan Connor?"
"I want to stop this insanity before Skynet comes back."
"Do you think Skynet will return?"
"No doubt in my mind Sikes, Skynet has a plan, we never completely destroyed it. All this fighting between people will just make it easier for Skynet to sweep in and finish off whoever is left." John was upset, his voice trembled with anger.
"Whatever we can do Connor, you have our support." Sikes spoke up, his eyes locking on John's.
John could see Sikes was also upset with what was going on. It wasn't that long ago when Hammerhead came under attack, only the quick thinking of Sikes and his troop's readiness prevented disaster.
Sikes was a good man, smart soldier and proven ally in John Connor's resistance.
John sighed and turned towards his vehicle, motioning to the occupants to come out.
"Sikes, I have survivors from the attack that happened on a hideout last night, one of them rode in this vehicle with me."
"So some good news as well as bad news?" Sikes lifted his eyebrow in question and wrinkled his brow at the same time.
"Well, good that he and about a dozen others escaped. Bad, many people were captured and the men were all killed."
Sikes shook his head in disbelief. "Those poor bastards, so the women and children were taken?"
"Along with supplies and weapons." Derek had spoken as he walked up to the group.
"And your name is?"
"Derek Reese"
"You helped some people escape?" Sikes was intrigued by this new face.
"Yes sir, we spent part of the night and most of today, traveling here by foot."
Sikes was impressed. This young man showed allot of balls doing what he did, too few would have done what he did. He thought to himself, then spoke to Derek.
"You're a good man Reese, far too few would have done the same as you did."
Sikes shot his hand out. "The names Sikes and it's a pleasure to meet you Reese."
Derek grasped Sikes hand in a warm, firm handshake.
"Thank you sir, but there are still more people in need of help. I won't rest until we get them back, safe and sound." He replied with conviction.
Sikes looked over to John. "Connor, we could use more men like Reese here."
"Actually there are two named Reese here. Kyle here is Derek's brother and both are cut from the same tough cloth. "John had pointed to Kyle and continued talking to Sikes.
"I'm hoping both brothers will stay and help, after the rescue mission."
Kyle spoke up. "Derek and I will be in for the long haul sir." His voice was filled with respect and admiration for John.
"Don't forget about the girls, we're more than just something pretty to look at." Melissa spoke up with a wry grin on her face. "We can kick butt with the best of what you got." Melissa paused for a moment and then added. "Actually Blair and I are probably better at kicking butt then your best troops sir."
Blair smiled and shook her head.
"Ahhh yes, the dynamic duo." Sikes chuckled. "I'd never dream of forgetting you two ass kickers and heartbreakers."
Blair and Melissa exchanged glances and smirked.
"Well enough chit chat, we need to get to work. Lets get the supplies inside, the trucks hidden, the refugees settled, then we can decide what we are going to do next and how we are going to do it." John clapped his hands together to get the groups attention.
Melissa looped her arm around Derek's and proceeded to escort him to the vehicles parked further behind in the convoy. "I'll help Derek get his people." She called back as they made their way further back along the convoy.
Derek looked back at Kyle, like he was a child being taken away from his friends. Kyle just grinned and waved, offering no aid to his older sibling.
Blair huffed and looked at Kyle. "What are you smiling about?"
"Nuthin Blair, just happy to see my brother again." Kyle replied with a sheepish grin.
"What's wrong, you mad about somethin'?" He added
"Never mind." Blair shot out.
She was obviously mad about Melissa sneaking in and getting first crack at Derek, Kyle knew things were about to heat up, but he had chosen to sit back and watch the action unfold.
Blair abruptly turned around and headed for the Hummer to gather her things and some of the supplies that were in the back of it. Kyle followed her, just to make sure he wouldn't miss out on any action, he was going to enjoy this competition between the girls, even if it was his brother that was going to get all the attention.
……………..
It was a few hours later on that day, when the convoy had finally settled into Hammerhead. Provisions had been offloaded from the trucks, the survivors brought into the bunker, and everyone sat down for a meal in the mess hall area.
Though not as fancy as Crystal Peak, it was a comfortable place to stay and it was safer than the old parking garage Derek and the others had spent hiding in the night before.
The meal was simple, but nutritious, it consisted of fresh baked flatbread, a stew made from various animals caught in the wild, herbs and vegetables harvested from small hidden gardens around the bunker. It smelled great and tasted even better, no one bothered to ask what the meat was that was in it, for fear of not liking what the answer would be.
Sikes, along with a couple of his top men, sat at the table along with John and the others that had traveled in his Hummer. All were quietly enjoying their meal, savoring the flavorful food and enjoying the rest from the long journey. The refugees and resistance were spread all about in the smallish mess hall, a room designed for maybe fifty people, but right now accommodating closer to one hundred.
Derek was seated across from Kyle, flanked by Blair and Melissa, both women were eager to capture Derek's undivided attention. It didn't help that the seats were a bench type and the room was so crowded, he had no where to run or hide.
As Derek desperately tried to wolf down his food, he was peppered with questions form both women.
"Derek, are you seeing anyone right now?" Melissa smiled and batted her baby blues at him.
Swallowing his food and finding it hard not to look over at the cute blonde, Derek managed to answer, "No Melissa, not for a while."
"Oh, you can call me Mel." Melissa beamed as she brushed her hand near his.
Not to be left out, Blair countered with questions of her own.
"Derek, you managed to escape those raiders? Tell me how you managed to do that?"
Blair turned to Derek, looking straight into his eyes, smiling and gently flicking her long chestnut locks behind her shoulder. She had kept her shirt strategically unbuttoned, as it had been in the vehicle, just enough to let Derek get a hint of what was underneath.
"Yes, please tell us Derek." Melissa leaned in, brushing her arm against Derek's.
Feeling a bit cramped by the two doting females, Derek reached over to grab his mug, took a gulp of water and proceeded to tell his story.
Kyle leaned in to listen to the story, intent on gathering as much detail as Derek would dish out, he wanted to know what had happened to Allison, and why she was caught.
John, Sikes and the others at the table stopped their small talk to listen in on what Derek had to say.
What Derek had done, impressed all that were at the table, especially after learning how little training Derek had had, when it came to actual combat.
Derek has a natural knack at leading, he could be a great leader in the resistance, with the right training. John thought to himself and rubbed his chin, while listening to the story. If I can get him to stay with us after the rescue mission, I can start training him to become an officer in my resistance force, Tech-Com.
Blair and Melissa didn't need to pretend to be impressed, they were caught up in the story right from the beginning. Once Derek had finished, Blair spoke up first.
"Derek that was amazing what you did. Don't worry, we will help you find Allison and the others."
"Yeah, you can count me in too Derek." Melissa spoke with assertiveness.
For the moment, both girls had seemed to have forgotten their little bet and were focused on helping this new ally find Allison and the others. His story helped spark a new found unity in the resistance fighters presently with him, something not seen since the resistance was decimated trying to destroy Skynet Central in San Francisco two years ago.
After the meal was finished, the group from John's table left the mess hall and gathered in a smaller war room down a narrow hallway, further inside the bunker. This room consisted of maps on the wall, some chairs, a large table in the middle, also covered with maps of the surrounding area and of the underground, and a desk used for storage of items.
John, Sikes, Derek and Blair all took a seat, not having enough chairs for the group, the others were left to lean against the wall and hear the plan of rescue.
"So where do we begin?" Sikes spoke up first.
"Well, I would say Derek needs to point out where the attack took place on a map and then we go from there." John looked towards Derek as he pointed to the maps.
Derek stood up and leaned over the maps, he was puzzled. "Where exactly are we now? Nothing looks familiar on the map here." He looked over at John and Sikes, hoping for some help.
John stood up and studied the maps for a second, he found one he liked and pulled it out to lay fully on top of the pile of maps, then he placed his finger on a portion of it. "We are here Derek and we found you guys at this spot." John moved his finger slightly over.
Derek thought for a moment, then he leaned in closer to the map. "Okay, I see now. Well we were at an old subway station, over here to the west."
"Do you remember the name of it?"
"Hollywood was the first name, but the other half of the sign was damaged and unreadable."
"Okay, I know the area, slightly north west of the city center. Did you see where the vehicles headed?"
"As far as I could tell, they went north John."
John sat down and rubbed his fingers across his forehead. It was late afternoon, almost evening, they would have to wait until morning to head out with the vehicles. It was too risky to try to start the search this late in the day.
John looked up and around at the room of people, then he stood up and began to speak.
"This is what we are going to do people. We are going to pack up what we need to take with us for the search, that includes weapons for taking out this gangs vehicles. We will also need extra food rations for the survivors we take back with us, medical supplies and extra fuel."
"Why wait until tomorrow?" Derek was visibly upset.
"It's too risky to start the search now, it will be dark in an hour and I don't want to travel at night. We would be ripe for an ambush by raiders, if we were to go searching now." John looked into Derek's eyes, he could see the pain in them, but knew he would understand.
"He's right Derek, we need to prepare and get some rest. Then we can start at the crack of dawn tomorrow." Blair placed her hand on Derek's shoulder to comfort him and she softly tried to explain to him why they needed to wait.
"Don't worry, we'll find Allison and the rest, John knows what he is doing." Kyle patted his brothers' shoulder. He was anxious to get going too, but knew better then to push the issue with John.
Derek hung his head to think, then he looked up at John. "You're right John, we need to prepare first, besides it will be easier to track them during the day."
"Don't worry Derek, we are here to help and we will do our best to get Allison and the rest back safely." John had a sincere look on his face, a look that calmed Derek down and made him realize these people were going to help as best as they could, what more could he ask for.
As the meeting ground to a close, the main group broke apart and everyone went about doing their bit to help make everything run smoothly for the next days search and rescue.
Once everything was prepped and ready to go, Sikes had a few of his men help settle in the new refugees and provide temporary bedding for the search and rescue group.
Fortunately for Derek, the girls and men were sent to separate quarters, ensuring he would get a good nights sleep without having to worry about Blair or Melissa sneaking into his bunk.
The men's quarters were Spartan in appearance, but the men had fairly clean blankets and even pillows. The room was designed for maybe 20 beds, but someone had managed to squeeze in six more bunk beds, making it feel more like a sardine can than a dormitory.
As Derek and Kyle bedded down, Kyle took the top and Derek the bottom bunk, Kyle paused for a moment then rolled over to look down at his brother.
"Derek, has Allison changed much since I last saw her?"
Derek was lying back on his mattress, his arms tucked behind his head and his legs stretched out. He looked up at Kyle and smiled. "Allison changed? Ummmm, ya. She is almost fourteen now, she has grown up a lot inside, but still has a bit of that little girl in her. She has a big heart and a smile that could melt an iceberg."
"I remember her smile." Kyle stopped and thought about her for a second. "I hope we find her tomorrow Derek."
"Kyle, I prayed for her safety as soon as I knew she had been taken, just like I did every night after I had lost you."
"I'm worried she will be traded away and we never get to see her again." Kyle looked away from Derek, his eyes beginning to glisten in the dim light.
"That will not happen Kyle, we will find her. I will not stop looking for her, same as I never stopped looking for you." Derek had stood up to look Kyle straight in the eyes, he had spoken softly, but had a determined look on his face.
"I know we will find her Derek, but deep down I get this sick feeling that we will find her too late."
"If John Connor is as good as his word, we will get her back. By the way, how did you end up joining Connor's resistance?" Derek lifted his eyebrow in question.
"It's a long story, but I'll give you the condensed version."
Kyle proceeded to tell Derek the whole story about what had happened after he got separated from Derek and Allison. He told Derek about how he had tried looking for them and how he had stumbled across Star, another girl that was half starved and without anyone to help her. Kyle told of the adventures Star and him had gone through, how they almost starved, almost got killed by metal, the friends they made and lost, and Marcus Wright.
Derek stood back, listening intently, drinking in every word Kyle spoke.
"So Blair was with Marcus?" Derek asked.
"Yes, sort of. She hasn't been with anyone steady since that time. After Marcus gave his life for John, she clammed up and only saw guys as something to take to bed, only if they looked good to her. But, I can tell she likes you." Kyle thought it best to put in a good word for Blair, he liked her and thought it would be good if she hooked up with Derek.
"So Blair likes me? What about Melissa?" Derek grinned to himself, but a hint of the smile showed up on his face.
"Both girls like you Derek, duh, you can be so dense sometimes." Kyle shook his head and rolled over to his back.
Derek got back onto his bunk and stretched out again. Two girls like me and I've been here for less then a day. He thought about it for a moment and then spoke up.
"Kyle?"
"Yeah?"
"How come both girls like me and are both being so nice to me?"
"Uhhh, I dunno." Kyle tried his best to hide that he was lying.
"Kyle?"
"What?" Kyle was getting a bit agitated about being grilled and his voice showed it.
"You know something, don't you." Derek knew Kyle was hiding something.
"NO"
"I know when yer lying Kyle, so tell me now, before I have to get up and make you tell me."
Derek smirked, fully knowing he would get Kyle to talk, he was always able to tell when Kyle lied and he knew what to do to get Kyle to talk. Allison was a bit harder to pin down, but he had his ways with her too. Knowing the two for so long gave him certain advantages.
"Awww Derek, but I'm tired. Can't we talk about this in the morning?"
"We could, but knowing you, you would find a way to make it so we couldn't talk. So tell me now." Derek's voice went lower.
Kyle knew he had blown it, so he sighed and proceeded to tell Derek the bet that the two girls had made. Derek had an amused look on his face as Kyle went into detail about the bet and what would happen to the loser.
"Three months of booze rations huh. You guys have booze?"
"Well yeah, you can call it that. It can also be used to clean guns too, and if you drink too much too fast, you'll either never remember what you did or go blind for a day or so."
"Kyle? Does this come from experience?" Derek sounded serious, but he had a hint of a grin on his lips.
"No way Derek, I don't drink."
"Kyle?"
"Okay, Okay, yes I tried it, but only once." Kyle blurted out in frustration.
Derek chuckled and sighed. My baby brother is growing up, almost eighteen now, but still wet behind the ears.
"So you'll never drink again?"
"Well, not for a while, but I'll never say never."
Kyle smiled, he knew Derek was now just teasing him. Even after being apart for so long, they both still had that special connection with each other.
"Will you two knock it off? There are some that want to get some sleep tonight." A lone voice from across the room called out to the two brothers.
The brother went quiet for a moment, then whispered to each other.
"Night Kyle"
"Night Derek"
Both of them settled in for the night, just as John crept into the room and found himself a spare bunk to crash in.
"Good night gentlemen, we have a long day ahead." John whispered as he slipped onto a lower bunk nearby. I hope we get to find those women and children and stop those bastards once and for all. All this fighting between people was beginning to eat away at John, he knew what he was doing was straining his troops and eating up precious resources, but if he didn't do it, who would? John rolled over to his side and mentally went over his plans for tomorrow, before he drifted off into a light sleep.
A few rooms down, Blair and Melissa were getting ready to bunk for the night. They were in a room similar in size to the one the guys were sleeping in, but they were jammed in with about thirty other girls. Besides bunk beds, there were some full size beds that had been converted into mega bunks, designed for smaller siblings to sleep together and free up the single bunks for the older single women.
Both girls were dead tired from the long road trip, but were still talking about Derek and his story.
"I can't believe people would do such a thing to others." Blair whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Melissa to hear.
"Its really sad Blair, I feel the same too. I'm worried we might not get there in time and Derek seems really crushed over losing his sister."
"Mel, Allison is not his real sister, but he did mention she has been with him since she was little. I think he is truly a special person to go all out to try to find her. You heard how he never gave up on Kyle, I think he would do the same for her too."
"Hmmmm…. You really like him, don't you Blair." Melissa's smile could still be seen in the dim light of the room.
Blair looked at Melissa and paused before answering. "He reminds me of some one I knew."
"Marcus?"
Blair's eyes glistened with moisture and she looked away for a moment, pretending to pick off a bit of non existent fluff on her pants.
"Blair? You okay?" Melissa was mad at herself for mentioning Marcus, she now wished she hadn't of said his name.
"I'm okay Mel, but it still bothers me a little." Blair's voice was barely above a whisper, it had grown softer as she recalled her memories of Marcus Wright, a man who gave his life for John Connor and the future.
"Blair, I'm sorry." Melissa's voice was sincere.
"I'm fine Mel. I'm just tired, that's all. We should get some sleep, it'll be a long day tomorrow." Blair climbed up onto her bunk and stretched out.
Yeah, okay Blair, G'night."
"Night Mel."
Both women remained awake for a while, both thinking about a certain man that had managed to impress them with his commitment to people. While one thought of a fresh face, the other was thinking about a certain important person from her past.
Minutes later, all that could be heard in the room was the gentle breathing from the group of sleeping girls, broken up by the occasional snore and creaking of the bedsprings.
…………………………
The night watch had just ended at Hammerhead, it was about 6am and shift change was under way.
John had instructed Sikes to wake him up at this time, so the rescue party could get started on the search at daybreak. The first order of business was to eat breakfast and to go over any last minute plans.
As the door swung open in the dorm, John woke up right away, followed by Derek and his brother Kyle. They in turn, went around and got the others up and ready to move out.
Backpacks were double checked for proper rations of food, water and other minor items.
Kyle looked over at Derek checking his supplies and smiled, he was happy to finally be with his brother again.
It felt good to reconnect with him so quickly, he had to admire his older brothers drive to find Allison and help the others in need. That seemed to be his brothers trend, he was always there for anyone that needed help.
Although it had been Kyle that found Allison while rummaging for food, it was Derek that had decided she should stay with them, so she would be safe. Kyle thought back to that day when he found her. He had been looking for anything that they could use for holding water or food, Derek had sent him to look while remaining back at the encampment, guarding their supplies.
Allison had been in the same tunnel, scouring a pile of garbage for food. She was dressed in rags, was dirty and thin as a rail from not eating properly. Kyle had stumbled across her as he scanned the tunnel for any useful items.
When she saw him, she had tried to run and hide, but ended up tripping on a loose piece of concrete and fell, knocking her head on the ground. Kyle crept up to the unconscious girl, knowing it was not safe to just leave her, he picked her up and carried her to the safety of their camp.
Derek had been proud of what he had done that day, both he and Derek knew what might have happened to her, if she had been left behind.
Derek had cleaned her up as best he could and tended to her head wound. When she finally awakened, she became frightened and backed herself into a corner. Worried that she had been captured by them, she tried to hide away and curled herself into a ball, hoping that she would not be noticed.
It took Derek a long time to convince her that she was safe with them, she acted more like a feral animal than the little girl she was.
"Hey, earth to Kyle." Derek snapped his fingers as he called out to Kyle, a crooked grin on his face.
"I'm fine, just thinking about stuff Bro." Kyle smiled back and hoisted his backpack up onto his shoulder.
"Oh?"
"Allison"
"Yeah, don't worry Kyle. With John Connor and the rest of his team helping us, I think we have a good chance of finding her." Derek slapped Kyle on the shoulder, winked at John and motioned towards the door. "Lets grab something to eat before we go, I'm starving. "
"We have a long day ahead of us guys, lets get going then." John extended his arm, indicating that they should go first.
Kyle smiled broadly and led the way out of the room, with Derek and John following closely behind.
…………..
Close to the same time, Blair and Melissa were also roused by the shift change. They both got up and quickly got ready for breakfast.
"Hey Blair, do I look okay?"
"Well besides the 'bed head', you look just fine." Blair replied with a smirk.
"Oh God, is it that bad?" Melissa was panicking, desperately looking for a brush or comb to use on her long blond strands.
"Nothing that a hat won't hide Mel."
Melissa grumbled under her breath grabbed her cap and pulled it down tightly, her hair kept tamed by being held up in a pony tail.
Blair kept her long tresses flowing down loosely as she usually did, it seemed her hair had faired better than Melissa's.
Both girls finished packing up their belongings and headed for the latrine to clean up a bit, before going to the mess hall for breakfast.
…………..
John, Derek, Kyle and the rest of the men in the search group were already in the mess hall, going over last minute details while enjoying a cup of instant coffee. There was coffee whitener, but no sugar as it was like gold to have in these tough times. It didn't matter much as the men enjoyed this blessed normality to an otherwise upside down world. In another time, these men would look just like any other group in a trendy coffee shop, or sitting down in the mall eatery, chatting about last nights game or planning to go off fishing.
The chatter was broken up by the late arrival of Blair and Melissa.
Both girls rushed into the mess hall, afraid they had missed breakfast and the meeting.
"Are we too late?" Melissa gasped as she tried to catch her breath from running down the halls.
"No Webster, we just sat down to coffee, breakfast will be ready shortly." John replied dryly. He motioned with his hand for them to sit.
Both girls were not pleased as they were now seated about half way down the table, far away from Derek. As they prepared to sit, they looked around the table and over to Derek. They both smiled and said their hellos, pausing to gaze at Derek, to make sure he had seen them.
Kyle, noticing the girls were looking at Derek, quickly elbowed him in the ribs to get his attention.
"Owww, what was that for?" Derek whispered through gritted teeth.
Kyle grinned and pointed towards Blair and Melissa. "Your girlfriends have arrived Bro."
Derek gave Kyle the evil eye, turned and smiled back at the two women.
"Morning ladies."
"Good morning Derek." Both girls responded at the same time with even bigger smiles.
A voice from the kitchen area called out. "Chows ready people."
Everyone lined up at the counter to get served. Breakfast consisted of a bowl of what looked like porridge and a very dry bun, but there was a bonus, wild strawberries were mixed into the pasty mush.
Blair, being near the front of the line, noticed the little red chunks in the gluey meal first.
"Ohhh….Mel look. I think those are strawberries in the mush."
"Strawberries? How the hell did they manage to get those?" Melissa looked puzzled.
The older bald man from the other side of the counter spoke up. "We found a spot where some strawberries were growing, I don't know how or why, but they were there and they taste like heaven." He grinned and winked at the two beauties before him.
The girls smiled back and went back to the table to eat their meal. Derek was already seated with Kyle having his meal, so they took advantage of the nearly empty table and sat as close to him as possible. Blair across from him and Melissa right beside him, but instead of paying close attention to him, they were deeply involved in hunting out the strawberry pieces and devouring them first.
Seeing what the girls were doing, John leaned across the counter and whispered something to the bald man behind it, the man smiled and nodded. As everyone slowly made it back to the tables to eat, the bald man came up to Blair and Melissa and placed a saucer in front of them, with four plump red strawberries.
"Something sweet for two sweeties." The bald man winked at the girls, spun around and left just as quickly as he came.
John smiled and spoke up. "I saw how you two were trying to dig out the fruit from the mush, so I asked to see if anything could be done and voila, a special treat. Now I expect total loyalty and you two will need to work twice as hard as the men now."
"That's not hard Connor, we are women after all." Blair winked at John and reached over to grab a strawberry.
Melissa quickly followed Blair's lead and grabbed one for herself. As the two slowly popped the fresh fruit onto their mouths, a look of pure ecstasy came across their faces.
"Oh my God, this is better then sex." Melissa gushed
Kyle went to reach for one of the strawberries and quickly got his hand smacked by Blair.
"If you value your life, you'll leave our berries alone."
"Awww…but that's not fair." Kyle pouted and tried to reach again, but his hand was slapped by Melissa this time.
"These were a present from Connor to us, not you. Go find your own berries." Melissa spoke threateningly.
"Gees…you two are nasty in the morning." Kyle squeaked his feelings now hurt.
Derek and the others had a good laugh at Kyle's expense, which made him sink even lower into his seat. Grudgingly Kyle went back to finishing his bowl of mush, while the girls enjoyed their final pair of berries in peace.
………………
It was an hour later when everyone gathered by the vehicles, breakfast was done and anything that needed to be loaded or checked was given the once over and secured.
Again John was in the lead vehicle, along with Blair riding shotgun, Derek, Melissa and Kyle riding in the back seat.
John had already said his thanks and goodbyes to Sikes and his men, it was only a matter of giving the order and they would be off on the mission. Their first stop would be at the subway station in Hollywood that had been raided and then hopefully they would be able to pick up the raider trail from there.
Both Derek and Kyle were a bag of nerves, they were anxious to get going to find and save Allison. Derek kept a cool look about him, but Kyle wouldn't stop fidgeting as emotions got the better of him.
Melissa noticed Kyle's nervousness and reached over to grab his hand to give it a squeeze. "Don't worry Kyle, we'll find her. Everything will be fine."
Kyle looked over and smiled. "Thanks Mel"
Melissa remained holding Kyle's hand, her warmth and sincerity calming him down.
Derek looked over and smiled to himself. Melissa is a good person, I'm happy she's able to calm Kyle down, he really needs that right now.
"Everyone ready?" John asked
"YES" came the unified reply from inside the Hummer.
John sighed and picked up the mic, he barked the order to move out over the radio, the convoy fired up and pulled out onto a main road leading towards Hollywood. The sound of diesel and gas engines broke the silence in between the mounds of rubble and odd building still standing. Dust floated down like snow from the taller buildings, stirred up by the mechanical vibrations from the heavy vehicles. Small animals scurried away into deeper hiding spots and a flock of birds, startled by the commotion, flew off to a safer perch. Landing safely, they peered down at the row of vehicles slowly rolling west, making sure the noisy contraptions were well on the way and they would be safe.
It would be at least a couple of hours before they reached the destroyed hideout in Hollywood. Plenty of time to prepare for what lay ahead for them.
Authors note-
I just wanted to say Thank You to my Beta reader/ editor DP and to Russ for helping out with the story!
Chapter 8 "Hopes and Fears" will continue with the Connor group following clues in their search for Allison and the others,but it will also let us know what is happening to Allison and Amanda at the raider camp. ( I hope to have it out by next Friday )