Chapter 12: Testing the Water
I wasn't fast enough…I failed…oh God!
Melissa tried desperately to contact John on the radio, but received nothing but static.
Both Allison and Amanda looked up to Melissa for any signs of good news. Shock, fear and dread was written all over the two girls faces as they eagerly awaited to hear anything positive from Melissa.
"Is there any answer from them Mel?" Allison asked nervously. Her face still damp from fresh tears that had trickled down her cheeks.
Melissa bit her lip and responded. "Nothing yet...but I'll keep trying. In the mean time, you two need to keep your eyes peeled for any signs of more bandits."
The two girls nodded their heads in understanding and went back to scanning the land in front of them. Both of them were still upset and were having some difficulty in keeping their minds on the task at hand, but they knew it was important for them to make sure no one got past them.
Melissa tried contacting John again. "Connor... please respond. Is everything okay?"
Again, all she heard was the crackle of static over her earpiece. Melissa was growing more frustrated by the minute as she continued to try and reach John.
Meanwhile, Allison noticed some movement far off in the distance, near to where she had killed the raider with the RPG. Quickly she brought the rifle up to her shoulder and peered through the scope to get a better look.
"Mel...I think I see someone coming." Allison called out.
"If he is heading this way and is in range, take him out Allie." Melissa responded.
"Where is he Allie?" Amanda continued to squint off into the distance, but failed to spot the lone figure making his way towards them.
"He's almost dead ahead Mandy... Right near to where I shot the other guy. I think he's after the RPG."
Amanda looked over to where the other raider had been killed and managed to see a quick flash of something metal.
"Yeah Allie...I saw something out that way. I think he's alone, but he has something shiny."
"Yeah, I saw it too. It's a guy for sure." Allison answered while squinting into the rifle scope.
Off in the distance, a man slowly made his way towards the RPG laying near the dead raider Allison had just killed. He was being careful about not being seen, but Allison's keen vision had spotted his movement as he made his slow approach to where the launcher was located.
"C'mon sucker...a little closer...let me get a good look at you." Allison whispered as she followed the lone outlaws advance forwards.
Amanda gave Allison a puzzled look. "Who are you talkin' to Allie?"
"The asshole that's gonna get punished for his buddy firing his RPG at us." Allison answered calmly.
"Sheesh...I'm glad you're on my side Allie." Amanda smiled as she looked over at her best friend. She knew Allison could be stubborn and determined sometimes, but when it came to anyone she knew and loved being hurt, there was no stopping Allison from eliciting retribution on the poor soul that dared to do harm to friends or family.
The man ducked behind an outcrop of rocks, near to where the RPG was dropped.
Allison kept a close watch on the spot where she last saw him. Despite the gunfire all around and the stress of knowing her friends and family might be hurt, Allison did her best to remain calm.
While Allison and Amanda kept watch, Melissa remained on the radio, trying to get a response from John.
"Connor...please respond." Melissa anxiously called out over the radio.
The radio was silent except for the crackle of static. Melissa's heart sank as she began to fear the worst.
"Anything yet Mel?" Amanda asked nervously as she looked over at Melissa.
Melissa frowned, shook her head and sighed. "No Mandy, nothing..."
Suddenly Melissa froze and held her hand to her ear to cover the ear piece. She tilted her head and smiled as a familiar voice called out to her on the radio.
"Mel?...Connor here. All is fine, we are just a bit shaken up."
"Copy that Sir." Melissa barely contained her relief as she answered back.
"Was that Connor?" Allison eagerly called out.
"Yes...he says all is fine and they were just a bit shaken by the blast." Melissa beamed.
Allison felt like a ton of weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She let out a sigh of relief and finally felt some of the tension leave her.
Still peering through the scope, Allison now settled in on taking out the new threat headed their way.
Amanda also felt relieved at the good news, but was soon distracted by the raider popping his head up from behind his shelter.
"Allie...he's on the move."
"I see him Mandy." Allison coolly responded.
The man slowly rose from behind the rocks, nervously he glanced back and forth to make sure he was clear from any danger. Unfortunately, he was unaware of Allison quickly making herself ready to fire her weapon.
She squinted into the scope and loosely placed her finger on the trigger, waiting for the man to get into range. He was about 10 meters further back from where the other had been shot. Allison wanted to wait until he made his way closer to where his buddy lay, before she made her move.
As the man crept closer, Allison relaxed and slowed her breathing, just like Derek had taught her. She also relaxed her grip on the rifle, the less tension, the better the chance of her hitting her mark.
After about a minute or so, the man made his move towards the RPG. as he quickly reached the weapon and knelt to pick it up, Allison took her moment of opportunity.
She carefully aimed the weapon at the mans chest, let out her breath calmly and quietly. As soon as she steadied the weapon on the target, she squeezed the trigger.
The rifle kicked back hard and Allison winced at the pain she now felt in her shoulder from the weapons massive recoil. The bullet easily sped its way to its target and hit the man squarely in the middle of his chest.
Allison could see the shock in his face as the bullet tore into his flesh. Seconds later, the man closed his eyes and crumpled to the ground.
"Damn Allie...nice shooting." Amanda cheered as she patted Allison on the back.
Allison dropped her rifle to her side and rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah, thanks Mandy...but this gun kicks back really hard. My shoulder hurts like hell."
"Not to worry Allison, you get used to it." Melissa spoke up. "Nice shooting, you're a real natural."
"Thanks Mel, but it was Derek that taught me how to shoot."
"Maybe so, but it also takes talent to hit a moving target while all this shit is happening around us." Melissa added. "Just make sure to keep your eyes peeled, we're not out of trouble yet."
Both girls responded with a collective 'Yes Mel' and went back to scouting their surroundings.
A few seconds later, Allison spoke up again. "Mel...can you find out if anyone was hurt, when the truck exploded? I'm still worried something might have happened."
"I'll ask Conner, once things have died down a bit. Judging by how busy the talk is on the radio, he has a lot on his plate right now. We need to stay concentrated on the task at hand." Melissa had knelt down and placed her hand on Allison's shoulder to give it a reassuring squeeze as she spoke softly to the slender teen.
Allison looked back at Melissa and gave her a weak smile, but Melissa knew there was still worry in Allison's brown eyes. She smiled back in a reassuring manner, then proceeded to grab a pair of binoculars from her pack sack and scan the horizon in from of her.
...
John leaned up against the rusted carcass of and old mini van and let out a long sigh. His ears were still ringing from the explosion, everything was in a fog at the moment.
He had looked over himself to make sure he had not been injured, but only found a couple of small scratches and some tender spots from jumping to a safer spot.
Slowly he stretched his legs out in front of his self and looked around to check on Blair and Derek.
Both of them were laying a few feet away, between two abandoned vehicles. Derek looked shaken but unhurt, as he sat up an looked over at John and gave him a thumbs up sign. Blair was still on her back, but had her eyes open. She was a bit slower than Derek in getting up to a sitting position and seemed to be favoring her injured shoulder.
After Derek had given John the okay sign, he looked over to Blair and winced. From the look on her face, he could tell she was in major pain.
"Blair...are you okay?" Derek asked.
"What?" Blair shouted back. Her ears still ringing from the explosion.
Derek repeated what he said, but much louder this time.
Blair answered back rather sharply and in a loud voice as she brought her hand up to touch her sore shoulder. "No...I'm not fine. My shoulder hurts like hell."
Derek leaned in and looked deep into her eyes. "Let me take a look...okay?"
Blair nodded and let her hand drop from her shoulder.
Derek pulled back her shirt and immediately saw a red stain slowly growing on her bandage. "Your wound has re opened...I need to take of the bandage and see how bad it is."
Blair bit her bottom lip and nodded again. A stray tear slipped down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away and looked down at the ground.
Derek slipped his hand under her chin and gently raised it. "I'll fix it Blair."
Blair looked up and into Derek's concerned eyes, she smiled weakly and mouthed a 'thank you'.
Derek turned to John. " Connor...do you have a med kit?"
"What?" John cupped his hand behind his ear.
Derek repeated the question, but this time yelling.
John shook his head in understanding and waved towards the trucks that had been behind his vehicle.
"Try that truck." John yelled back and pointed towards the vehicle that had been directly behind his Hummer.
Derek nodded, stood up carefully and sprinted towards the vehicle to grab the medical supplies. Carefully he dodged the miscellaneous pieces of debris left behind from the blast. Various items were still burning or smoking , including the charred remains of the Hummer.
John leaned back and shut his eyes tightly. The ringing in his ears had subsided a bit , but was still there. Everything around him was still in a bit of a haze as he tried to make sense of what had just transpired.
Why were these raiders attacking us? Why on this road and not in the city ruins, where it would have been easier to ambush us?
John brought his hand up to his forehead and slowly ran his fingers through his hair.
While he was deep in thought, the voice over the earpiece still in his ear barely registered.
"Connor...please respond."
John thought for a split second, as he shook out the cobwebs in his head then he responded. "Mel?...Connor here. All is fine, we are just a bit shaken up."
"Copy that Sir."
John gathered his wits and began to contact others on the radio. Soon reports came back from all along the convoy and the scouts he had sent up ahead. Most reports stated that the marauders had attacked but quickly retreated, only sporadic gunfire was now happening. For all intents and purposes, the attackers had given up and backed off.
...
As soon as Derek came back to tend to Blair, John stood up and decided to make his way towards Kyle. As he passed Blair, he nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.
Blair smiled back nervously as she barely contained her pain and discomfort.
Derek knelt down beside Blair, opened the med kit and began to shuffle around for the required items.
"Looks like there is nothing for pain or for numbing the wound Blair." Derek looked over to Blair with sympathetic blue eyes.
Blair sighed and gave Derek a weary look. "It's okay Reese...just do what you have to do." She gritted her teeth in anticipation, then mumbled. " At least I can hear better, the ringing in my ears stopped."
Derek slid Blair's tank top down past her wound and proceeded to remove the now blood soaked bandage.
Blair winced as he moved her arm to help get all of the old dressing from her wound.
"I'm sorry Blair...I know it hurts. I'll try to be as gentle and quick as possible." Derek gave Blair a reassuring smile.
"Just do it and get it over with before I bleed to the point of passing out." Blair hissed through clenched teeth and prepared for the worse.
Derek took a close look at the wound and pursed his lips into a thin white line.
This doesn't look good... she's ripped open the stitches. I just hope there is no damage under the skin.
"Blair... you'll need fresh stitches. Your wound has opened up."
"Just Fix it Reese." Blair snapped as she grimaced in pain.
Derek nodded and cracked open a bottle of alcohol to clean the wound. He gently poured a little amount over the injured area to help sanitize and disinfect.
Blair immediately tensed up with the sharp pain and cold from the cleansing of the wound.
Tears formed in her eyes and began to run down her face.
"I'm so sorry Blair, but I have to do this." Derek apologized.
Blair quickly wiped away the tears from her cheek. "I know Reese...just hurry up."
Derek proceeded to finish cleaning the area to be stitched, threaded a needle and began to suture the wound. Despite Blair's rather loud cursing, Derek was able to complete his task in a timely manor.
Although still aching, Blair felt much better. Now that Derek was finished, she could sit back and deal with the dull, throbbing throb in her shoulder. Her appearance was that of total disarray, what with her clothes covered in dirt, blood and debris. Her hair was tangled and also filled with dirt, She didn't have a mirror, but Blair knew she must look like hell.
Blair eased herself back against an old car door behind her. Upset that they had been attacked, but glad that no one was seriously hurt, Blair secretly thanked God that everyone nearby had escaped the blast from the RPG.
"How's the shoulder feeling Blair?" Derek still had a concerned look on his face.
Blair managed to look up and give Derek a weak smile. "I'm better now Derek...thank you."
"Sorry there's no pain killers, but I did manage to clean the wound properly and it stitched up fine." Derek gave her a sympathizing look while he put away the supplies.
Blair reached out and touched Derek's shoulder with her un-bandaged arm.
Derek paused to look over at her in confusion.
"What's up Williams?"
"Just stop what yer doing for a second Reese." Blair replied with determination.
Derek dropped the med pack and leaned towards Blair. "Is everything okay Blair?"
"Everything is as fine as it can be Reese." Blair hooked her hand behind Derek's neck and pulled him closer. "I just need to properly thank you."
To Derek's surprise, Blair leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to his.
Both of them closed their eyes as they got lost in a moment of calm bliss.
Despite the carnage surrounding them, they remained in their moment as the kiss between them deepened.
Finally Blair broke the kiss and looked into Derek's eyes. She smiled at him warmly and then looked away, a hint of embarrassment glowed on her cheeks.
Derek was equally taken aback from the warm kiss, he was left speechless and remained staring over at Blair , with a silly grin on his face.
Blair looked back and then hardened her gaze. " Hey Reese...Shouldn't you be off doin' something?"
Derek cleared his throat and shot back. "I swear yer just like a cat. One second yer all warm and cuddly, the next you got your claws out and yer taking a swipe."
"Some ones gotta keep you on your toes." Blair smirked.
Derek angrily stuffed the rest of the gear into the back pack, stood up and glared at Blair before he went back to the vehicle.
Blair kept smiling while she watched him storm off in a huff. He's such sweetheart... but so easy to tease.
"Nice ass Reese!" Blair yelled out.
Derek quickly looked around and then looked back, his face red from embarrassment.
"WILLIAMS" Reese bellows and throws his hands up in frustration
Blair smiled sweetly and waved back. Despite the pain, she was feeling much better.
...
John made his way towards Kyle. Again, he was thinking about the raid and why it had happened. To him , it was as if some one had been planning it.
They must have seen us drive in and then set up to ambush us when we came back.
Seconds later, John was at the bus that Kyle had used as a look out. he was on top of the roof, but was laying prone so as to provide the smallest target possible.
"Kyle...you see anything happening off in the distance?"
"Nuthin' Connor... seems they all took off. They even left the dead behind, with weapons." Kyle called back while stretched out on top of the bus, his eyes pressed into the pair of army issue binoculars.
John thought for a second, then called into his mic. "This is Connor...have all the hostiles dropped back? Do a visual search of your immediate areas, all teams send me a report ASAP."
One by one , the others reported back. All the answers were the same, none of the raiders alive were fighting. Most of the dead raiders were left where they fell.
John gave the order to have teams go out and fan around the perimeter to check for any living fighters to interrogate, and to gather any weapons left behind.
While he waited for reports to come back, John sat down beside the bus and took out his canteen to quench his thirst. The water was cool and tasted refreshing, it helped John clear his mind and focus on getting answers and getting back to Crystal Peak before dark.
...
Melissa nodded her head and responded to John's request. She turned towards the girls and spoke.
"Okay ladies... we got the order to fan out and check further out for any weapons to gather and to see if any live raiders are left behind to interrogate."
Both girls put down their weapons and looked up in puzzlement. Allison was the first to answer back.
"Mel? we aren't really trained for that. Mostly we were trained as look outs."
"Yeah Mel...we've never done any real scouting around." Amanda added.
"That's what I'm here for ladies. Just remember the most important thing is to keep aware of your surroundings and keep your eyes peeled for any problems." Melissa made sure she made eye contact with both girls while she spoke.
The Three went about collecting their gear they had with them and proceeded to scout out the area directly in front of them. As Connor had instructed, they advanced further out to collect anything of use, weapons, ammunition, food, clothing, and any containers used to hold water. Since nothing was being manufactured any more, any item found was important. Bottles, back packs, dried goods, paper, even clothing would be salvaged.
If they came across any breathing raiders, they were to let Connor know and wait for instructions. Usually that meant they were to interrogate the injured person, to find out who was behind the raid, why they had ambushed the convoy, and where the attackers had come from.
Minutes later, the three girls came across the two men that Allison had shot. Both men were dead and after checking the bodies for any clues they might give away, the girls left empty handed.
"I can't believe they had nothing personal on them...like absolutely nothing. Its not normal." Melissa was visibly upset, as well as her tone of voice gave away her frustration.
"Well it was kinda gross to go through their pockets Mel. I mean the blood and stuff made me gag and almost barf." Amanda added while she curled her nose in disgust.
Both younger girls had seen death, but it was usually bodies left to rot out in the open and they almost never ventured close to the dead.
Seeing freshly killed corpses was something new and disturbing to the two adolescents.
More upsetting was the way they had to search the bodies for anything of value and any hint of who they were and who had sent them.
"Well at least they don't smell bad and the flies haven't found them yet." Allison remarked while she squatted down to pick up the weapons laying beside the bodies.
"Hmmm...what's weird too... all they had were canteens of water, no food. It's like they knew when we were coming." Melissa mused.
Allison stood up to look out towards the horizon. Not a soul could be seen and the tracks left in the dirt indicated there may have been more than these two men, but they had left a long time ago. In her mind, it seemed like the marauders had not been keen on getting shot, so when these two were killed, the others fled.
"It's as if they were ghosts." Allison whispered.
"Ghosts?" Melissa lifted her eyebrow in question.
Allison turned towards Melissa. "Yeah ghosts...just some footprints, no tire tracks, no dust kicked up...they just disappeared into thin air, like ghosts."
Melissa smiled. "Ohhh they left behind some clues Allie, you just need to get better at looking for the tell tale signs."
Allison gave Melissa a puzzled look.
Melissa pointed towards a small shrub. "See there? It's a trail...others were a little further back, ready to pounce. I'm sure when you shot their buddies, the others got smart and ran."
"Huh...yer right Mel. I can see it there. Seems like they stayed way back." Allison walked a few steps in the direction of the bush to get a better look.
Amanda was getting nervous, she didn't like it out in the open, unprotected. "Ummm...Mel? shouldn't we be getting back to the trucks soon?"
Melissa looked around, then spoke. "Yeah...but first we need to go north a bit and then circle back towards the convoy...okay?"
"Well I guess so, but this is starting to freak me out." Amanda was not pleased, but she knew they had a job to do. It would be no good if they didn't check out their area properly by doing a full sweep. Missing any clues, items or worse yet more attackers, could put the whole convoy at risk.
"You get sorta use to it Mandy...your skin gets a little thicker and you learn to ignore some of the stuff you see." Melissa casually remarked as she gazed off to the north.
Inwardly, she knew, no one ever gets used to death, they just deal with it better as time goes on.
Allison broke out into a sweat as she struggled with the newly gathered weapons. She tried to sling as many items onto her shoulders as she could carry, but the newly added weight prevented her from getting up from her kneeling position. Looking over at the other two girls, Allison frowned.
"Hey... A little help here guys. This shit is heavy ya know!"
Melissa looked back and grinned. Seeing little Allison straining under the extreme weight and bulk of her newly acquired items was a comical sight. Melissa guessed Allison weighed no more than about 90 lbs, but the items she had flung onto her back were probably close to the teens weight. Allison was struggling to raise herself up from the ground, but was failing miserably.
Amanda ran up to help, but instead of lightening the load, she grabbed onto Allison's arms from the front to help lift her. The result was both girls ended up tumbling over, with Amanda landing backwards, pulling Allison down with her. A grunt escaped Amanda as she had the wind knocked out of her by Allison firmly planting herself on top. Arms, legs, weapons and backpacks were tangled and splayed in every direction.
Melissa had a good laugh. "You two are quite the pair."
"Ummm...Mel...I think we're stuck here." Allison's voice called out as she struggled to free herself.
"Shit Allie...yer knee is in my crotch.."
"Well I'm trying to move.."
"Owwww...Allie..."
"Mel?...Help!" Both girls called out simultaneously.
Melissa strode up to the muddled pair, she had a twisted grin on her face as she crossed her arms and viewed the trapped teens.
"I see we have a lot more training to do ladies!"
...
Off in the distance, hidden by an outcrop of rocks, a lone figure stood observing the three females. Although it was a warm day, he remained fully covered up in a desert type camouflaged military uniform. Even his head was hidden by a tan colored hood tightly pulled around his face, giving him the look of a Reaper.
His facial features could not be seen, but from inside the figures hood, a pair of unblinking optical sensors glowed a bright red.
As his sensors focused on in on the girls, data began to display on the machines HUD.
Identify: 3 human females
Proximity: 213.4 meters
Threat Assessment: Minimal
Weapons Assessment: one M203, one RPG, one M19 grenade launcher, two M40 sniper rifles, Three M4 infantry weapons. Miscellaneous small arms and grenades also possessed by humans. Weapons threat level high.
Actions: Observe and gather information on human troop movements.
The machine remained still, only its glowing orbs moved as they followed the girls dust themselves off and continue on their patrol.
...
It had been an hour since the last shots had been fired by either side.
John had been pacing back and forth near the bus as he waited for everyone to report back. He wanted to get the full picture as to what had happened and then decide what he should do. He knew they would be sitting ducks if they remained where they were for the night, but he also knew that leaving quickly could also bring them trouble, especially if the marauders had set up an ambush further up the road.
First and foremost , John wanted to make sure everyone in the convoy was okay, then he needed to assess the damage to his convoy and re distribute people and supplies in order to make up for any lost vehicles besides his Hummer. Finally he wanted the search parties to gather as much items they found as they could, supplies were precious and could mean the difference between dying and living to fight another day.
Thankfully the reports began to flow in from the various search parties and John inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Fatigue was beginning to get to John, as he had been on edge ever since they had left Hammerhead. The constant worry about getting everyone back home safe, had been multiplied by the attack and his narrow escape from being blown apart by the Truck explosion.
John took a deep breath and began transmitting to the scout teams.
"Everyone...I want all search parties to wrap things up ASAP. We need to get going before daylight runs out."
One by one, the scouting teams responded. The general consensus was that the marauders had given up and retreated, leaving their dead and supplies behind.
This was good news to John, anything gathered up would be put to good use.
Weapons, food, clothing and any other miscellaneous items that could be accumulated, would be helpful in re stocking the dwindling items stored at Crystal Peak.
The destroyed Hummer was a huge loss for John, running vehicles were hard to find and even harder to maintain. At least his teams had managed to collect vehicles from the raid and rescue of the girls in Santa Clarita, even if some had remained at Hammerhead, it was still a bonus to have acquired running vehicles.
Voices over the intercom indicated that all scout parties were finished their respective sweeps and were now heading back to the convoy to resume the trip back home.
John stood up and brushed the dust off his pants.
"Kyle...Time to go." John barked out.
"Yes Sir Connor." Kyle responded while he packed up the binoculars and made his way off of the overturned bus carcass.
John called over another large truck to help remove the burned shell of his former command vehicle and the other car they failed to get out of the way before all hell had broken out. Within minutes, the rusted remains of the Chevy and the twisted Hummer were dragged out of the way.
Feeling a bit more wary of advancing as a group, John decided to send forth two vehicles to act as scouts. If anything or anyone else was waiting for the convoy, at least the scout vehicles would be able to give them some sort of heads up to any trouble ahead. His new command vehicle, another military issue Hummer, would remain back, but still lead the bulk of the convoy back to home.
Derek moved Blair into a larger transport truck, so she could lay back and rest easier, especially since she had sustained further aggravation to her injuries. He also chose to remain with her.
That left John, Allison, Melissa, Amanda and Kyle to all travel in the newly acquired command vehicle. Amanda rode beside John in the front, while Kyle remained sandwiched between Amanda and Allison in the rear seat.
The ride back to Crystal Peak was slow. Tension from the earlier skirmish still hung in the air and in the minds of everyone traveling. No one said a word for the first hour of the ride back to the resistance base.
Bored to death, Kyle and Amanda slowly succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep, but not before Amanda managed to snuggle closer to Kyle and lay her head on his shoulder.
Breaking the uneasy silence, Allison spoke first. "So...when do we get there?"
John looked back at Allison and then over to Melissa. "I don't know about you, but this strangely reminds me of roads trips I took with my Mom."
Melissa smiled at John and nodded in agreement. "Yeah...Are We there yet?"
Allison gave them both a puzzled look. "So...are we there yet?"
John and Melissa chuckled out loud.
Visibly irritated at being ignored, Allison repeated her question.
"Hello...Are we there yet?"
"Now don't get your panties in a knot..we'll be there soon enough." John answered.
"Panties?" Allison's face went blank.
Melissa laughed. "Don't tell me you are going commando."
"Commando?... what are you talkin' about?"
"Ohh... I am so not saying anything now." John cut in. "Mel... you'll need to bring her up to speed on your own time."
Melissa gave John a sideways glance, then proceeded to try and explain things to Allison.
"Umm...Allie, panties are underwear. You know?"
John sighed and shook his head.
Girl talk!
"No, not Really." Allison paused for a second. "I mean, we already are wearing pants...right?"
Melissa smirked.
John brought a hand to his face in a mock effort to try to stave off an impending headache. This is going to become a long ride back.
...
Shortly after the convoy had left, a small group of men made their way up to the outcrop of rocks. There they met up with a lone figure, the same figure that had kept a vigilant watch on what had occurred during the attack on the convoy.
A cold wind has whipped up, bringing a chill to the small group that gathered around the machine.
The machine turned to gaze at the first man in the group, the appointed leader. "Report" it demanded in a synthetic sounding male voice.
The head Grey nervously looked around at his comrades, then back up into the unblinking red eyes of the machine. "We met with heavy resistance. This group is more organized... not like the others we have encountered." the man nervously swallowed, then continued. "We encountered well armed individuals and suffered heavy losses. I hope it was worth it."
The machine stood still, almost pondering what the man had said. This was a test by Skynet to see how well the resistance was organized. Skynet knew using machines would have provided the resistance with early warnings of Skynet being active again. Skynet wanted to remain hidden until it is ready to wipe out the resistance.
The element of surprise was key to Skynet securing victory, the Greys were expendable.
"So we had to sacrifice ourselves just to see if they could fight?" The leader was getting frustrated at the machine just standing and not responding to him.
The machine took a menacing step towards the leader of the group. Fearful of being thrown or terminated, the lead Grey took a step back, cowering in the dark shadow cast by the machines form.
"You will be rewarded for your loyalty." The machine replied in a stoic manner. "Proceed to the rendezvous point for evac back to base."
The lead Grey grunted his disapproval, but said nothing directly at the machine. He knew the machines did not tolerate insubordination and so he wisely kept his mouth shut. Outright disobedience would result in immediate termination by the machine.
Slowly the leader and his group turned from the machine and made their way northeast towards the gathering point.
The machine remained standing in its spot, waiting until the Greys were out of sight, then the machine attempted to contact Skynet.
"This is unit 800-4239 reporting."
"Ready to receive transmission 800-4239." A voice answered back.
The machine proceeded to transmit wirelessly, all information and data gathered during the attack on the convoy was sent back to Skynet.
"Information received 800-4239...standby for further orders."
The machine remained still, while it downloaded new orders from its master. In a manner of seconds, Skynet sifted through the data and came up with new strategies.
The new orders for the machine would have it follow the convoy in order to gather information on the resistance base whereabouts, but remain hidden from any human resistance contact. The machine was also to monitor all radio transmissions for resistance troop movements, as well as to seek out any coded transmissions from the Skynet infiltrator within the resistance. Stealth would remain Skynets top priority.
"Information and new orders received and understood. 800-4239 will continue to follow the resistance convoy and attempt contact with resistance infiltrator." The machine responded to the orders, cut transmission and proceeded to prepare for the long trek. Travel would be done by foot, so as to draw the least amount of attention to itself and enable the machine to sneak closer to the resistance camp without detection. Information gathered from the infiltrator would enable Skynet to find the most efficient way to destroy the resistance and turn the tide back into Skynets favor.
...
Authors Note-
Been a while, but finally done. This was going to be longer, but I decided to trim it up and post it at around 6k words.
Thanks to The1Russter for his help with the chapter!
Commando- for those unaware of how the term was used... it means no underwear!
Thanks for reading the story!
Any problems, please PM me.
Moe