Chapter 753
Shoot The Horses
Cameron was dissatisfied that they were unable to breach the main bunker door. The progress of the attack on the bunker with the bulldozer worked better than expected. It should only be a few more impacts before the bunker corner gave way and they would have a way in. It looked like it would be the next impact. She called her troops over to seek cover behind the bulldozer, once an opening was created.
The bulldozer backed up and made its final run. The engine revved as it rumbled and clanked forward. With a loud crash, a big ground shaking jolt, and a shower of concrete dust, the entire corner of the bunker collapsed. There was now an opening. The bunker wall was successfully breached.
As per Savannah's prior suggestion, a missile was to be sent into the opening. The Grays inside would all be expecting a ground assault, they should have their weapons up and ready to engage the force trying to enter.
The bulldozer backed away.
The Resistance Terminators all took cover behind it, as a missile streaked through the night sky and disappeared inside the bunker.
There was a blinding flash, followed by a massive explosion and fireball. The fireball erupted out of the opening.
As the fireball collapsed in on itself, Cameron led the entry team inside the shattered bunker. The Resistance Terminators moved from behind the cover of the bulldozer and followed Cameron in.
Savannah and Cammy were the only ones who remained outside. They were to provide rear security and make sure the way out wasn't compromised. They still needed to worry about a breakaway from inside or an alternate escape route.
There was a lot that could happen. They weren't sure what it would be.
Savannah watched it all unfold.
She was glad she asked for the missile strike inside the bunker after an opening was created. She was sure that would prevent some damage to Cameron and the rest of the troops.
Tom was next to Savannah when Cameron moved to enter the hole in the wall. She briefly spoke with him before he followed the rest of the team in. She then turned her attention to the area around them.
John Henry sent a drone feed to John to watch on his phone.
John watched the footage of what occurred at the bunker. He saw the bulldozer break off the final portion of the corner of the bunker. It backed away. Cameron and a group of Terminators massed behind it. There was a large explosion from inside the bunker a few seconds later. Even as the fireball was still billowing Cameron rushed forward with the Terminators. They seemed to follow the collapsing fireball inside.
"Are there any communications yet?" John asked.
John Henry monitored all the frequencies.
"Not yet." John Henry said.
John wasn't sure how much of their equipment was damaged by the unknown electrical surge. He hoped that something would be able to work.
"They should be able to knock out the jamming field soon." John said.
John Henry wasn't sure how much good that was going to do them. There were a lot of negative factors in their way.
"The drone providing the footage is off to the side, away from it all." John Henry said. "Remember, much of their communication gear is damaged. The bunker itself will block most of the transmission, even if any of it starts working. They may be underground soon as well or even in the hillside."
That wasn't what John wanted to hear. He didn't like when Cameron entered the bowels of the earth. Nothing good ever came of that, at least nothing good for Cameron. He wanted to make sure where everyone was at.
"Beautiful." John said. "Only Savannah and Cammy are still outside?"
John Henry was sure Cameron wanted to leave additional assistance with Savannah. It appeared Savannah made sure all of it went with Cameron.
"Yes. They're to keep 'the door' open. They'll watch for anyone who tries to break out or anyone else who tries to enter." John Henry said. "They have the drones backing them up."
John wondered how effective the drones would be operating under the current conditions.
"Are you controlling the drones?" John asked.
John Henry didn't think it should be an issue.
"Only the one shooting the video you're seeing, the other two are on autonomous control." John Henry said.
John would have liked for there to have been a little more positive control by John Henry.
"That's not reassuring." John said.
John Henry wasn't sure if John fully understood the meaning of what he said. He may not be in direct control of the other two drones but he was in control of them along with Cameron, more or less.
"Cameron and I are part of the autonomous control." John Henry said. "We make up their programming."
John felt he may have touched a 'nerve' with John Henry. What John Henry told him wasn't news to him. He would have just preferred for a little more direct control.
"OK, I get it." John said. "I didn't mean any offense. I know the drones all have programming from Cameron and you."
John Henry looked at the monitors. What he saw looked like trouble. Now there seemed to be an additional problem.
"That's not good." John Henry said.
John looked at the image as well that John Henry indicated.
From the night vision feed of the drone, he could see a figure firing. They moved around the bulldozer. It must be one of the girls still outside. He couldn't tell which one from the imagery.
"Is that Savannah or Cammy?" John asked.
John Henry was able to determine it was Savannah based on the thermal scan.
"It's Savannah." John Henry said.
John was confused as to what was happening and what they were shooting at. If Savannah was the one who was firing, what happened to Cammy? It was clear that something must have gone wrong but as to what it was there was no way for him to tell yet.
"Where's Cammy?" John asked.
There was a blinding flash.
John wondered if it was an explosion.
"What was that?" John asked.
John Henry wasn't sure what the threat was himself. All he could determine is one of the drones on autonomous control fired one of its missiles. He was unsure what the target was.
"One of the drones fired a missile." John Henry said.
John couldn't tell exactly where the missile hit. It looked like it was where Savannah was at just moments ago. He wanted some clarification as to what he believed he saw.
"Are you telling me that a missile was fired at Savannah?" John asked.
John Henry didn't know all the details other than what he witnessed from the drone outside of the area.
"Apparently…." John Henry said.
Earlier:
Young Allison sat silently as she watched the drone feed.
Anna could tell that everything weighed heavily upon Young Allison.
"You're not saying much." Anna said.
Young Allison was very upset about the entire ordeal and their inability to have any type of communication or control. She didn't want to take her feelings out on Anna.
"I'm not saying anything." Young Allison said.
Anna would prefer if Young Allison would take it easy for a while. There was nothing they could do from their position to assist with the operation at the bunker.
"Maybe you should rest." Anna said.
Young Allison looked at Anna with contempt. She wondered how she could even say such a thing with everything the way that it currently was.
"How can I rest with Cameron and Savannah in a fight for their lives?" Young Allison asked. "I don't think you know how all of this is affecting me."
Anna could see that it was affecting Young Allison in a very negative way. She moved over to her and began to scan her. She wanted to reassure her as best as she could under the unfavorable conditions. She wondered if Young Allison knew this all became a test for her as well.
"Some must fight, while others must watch." Anna said.
Young Allison wondered what that statement was exactly supposed to mean. Her options to assist were very limited right now. She was sure she would be judged on how she responded to the current circumstances later on.
Anna removed her hand from Young Allison's neck.
"It's very stressful for you." Anna said.
Young Allison felt more disgusted than anything in her inability to be able to help.
"Maybe I should study." Young Allison said. "It would help me try to take my mind off of it. There is nothing I can do to help them."
Anna wanted to give Young Allison some reassuring words.
"You care for both of them deeply." Anna said.
Young Allison abruptly looked over at Anna. It wasn't so much that she cared about them as it was that she loved them and that was the agony that she felt right now.
"You know it is more than that." Young Allison said.
Anna felt that she possessed some pretty good insight into how all the others felt. It was actually part of her programming.
"I do." Anna said. "I also know that's how they both feel about you. Remember, I'm Cameron's program with Savannah's 'Neural Interface'."
Young Allison's head snapped up. Just when she thought there was going to be a lull in action, fighting broke out. They could see a figure in the night vision of the drone, move around the bulldozer and shoot at something. She became glued to the monitor as she tried to determine who it was and what they were shooting at.
"What are they shooting at?" Young Allison asked. "Who is it?"
Anna thought she could tell who it was but that was all she could tell at this current time.
"It's Savannah." Anna said. "I can't tell what she's shooting at."
Young Allison was very upset and angry at herself right now. She's been following the operation closely while nothing seemed to happen. Now she let her guard down and lost track of where the only two people outside were and what they were doing. Now it appeared there was a battle going on.
"Where's Cammy?" Young Allison asked. "They were both there a few minutes ago. I stopped paying close attention, now this is happening."
There was a blinding flash.
"What was that?" Young Allison asked.
Anna could only speculate as to what would cause a flash like that. Without further information or confirmation, there was no way to know for sure what exactly happened.
"One of the drones fired a missile." Anna said.
Young Allison wasn't quite sure what Anna tried to communicate to her. It sounded very bleak and deadly.
"Do you mean to tell me that a drone fired a missile at Savannah?" Young Allison asked.
Anna can only go by what she viewed on the monitor. There was no additional information one way or the other. There was only one she could see.
"Apparently…." Anna said.
Moments ago:
Cammy and Savannah were tasked with keeping the 'door open' for the troops to come out of and to make sure no one else entered the bunker. They also needed to keep watch on the bunker door in case the Grays tried to make a break out.
Savannah watched the perimeter with Cammy. They were next to the bulldozer. It provided them with cover if anyone tried to exit the bunker from the opening they'd created when they breached the bunker earlier.
There was a muffled explosion. This was off to their side. It looked like a new threat just developed.
Savannah looked over at where the bunker door was located.
"That blast was over there." Savannah said.
Cammy made that determination as well. She saw it as bad news. It was possible this is the breakout that they'd anticipated from the Grays earlier. It was clear that she needed to act now to prevent them from ending up in a crossfire from two different sources. She thought about taking action earlier but hadn't. The time for thinking was over. It was now time to act.
"I think they just blew the inner bunker door open." Cammy said as she climbed up on the bulldozer. "I'm going to block the entrance with this thing. If they get out from two different spots we're at a disadvantage."
From her position alongside the bulldozer, Savannah saw a head peek out around the corner of the bunker door.
Cammy fired up the bulldozer.
Two figures emerged from the smashed open bunker door and raised their weapons.
"Grays." Cammy shouted.
Savannah fired half her magazine into them. They both fell. Their bodies were still inside the outer bunker door.
Even over the loud rumble of the running bulldozer, Cammy heard the distinct sound of a minigun fire in a pattern. It was from one of the drones. She understood what that meant. It was a warning for her and Savannah.
"Savannah, get back and stay down." Cammy shouted. "I heard a drone fire its minigun as a warning. A missile will arrive in less than two seconds."
Savannah ducked in back of the bulldozer and got down. One second later there was a massive fireball from the bunker entryway.
A burning body staggered out of the opening and fell. It thrashed about even though it was unable to move from where it fell. There were a series of agonizing screams that emanated from it.
Cammy knew she needed to block that opening.
The bulldozer started moving. Savannah followed it. She covered the blown out corner of the bunker as she moved.
Cammy quickly moved the bulldozer forward. The burning body was in front of it. They still screamed and thrashed around. They were unable to move from the spot that they fell.
There was a loud clang and the massive blade on the bulldozer, firmly blocked the original bunker entrance. It was going to take some serious explosives to blow the blade off that bulldozer or move it backwards in any way at all.
Savannah saw the left tread of the bulldozer was on top of the legs of the burning figure. She saw the burning arm move once to try and push the bulldozer off its legs. It was an impossible task. The screaming faded away. The figure stopped moving and lay still. It continued to burn.
Now they faced a new problem. They lost the use of the bulldozer as cover to protect them from the breach in the corner of the bunker.
Savannah looked around the area. The only good cover would be from the drainage ditch. It was much further away from the opening and she would like to be. The coverage was less than ideal on one side.
"We need better cover if they try to get out from the corner we broke open." Savannah said.
Cammy climbed out on the tread of the stopped bulldozer. She checked to make sure no one could get out. She jumped down next to Savannah.
"Let's go." Cammy said.
They could hear firing inside the bunker from behind the massive blade of the bulldozer.
Cammy deduced that the Grays we're trapped between the inner and the outer blast doors of the bunker. The bulldozer now served as the outer blast door. They wouldn't get out that way.
"The Grays are trapped between our force and the bulldozer." Cammy said. "Let's head for the drainage ditch."
That had been Savannah's original first thought as well. As she looked at the dead that littered the ground outside the bunker, an idea popped into her head.
"We will lose the best angle to cover the opening we've made. We can't watch the far side then." Savannah said. "I have an idea."
When she was inside the mine, Savannah used a similar method once before….
It all went back to an old black and white western movie she remembered watching as a girl when she still lived in her house. Because of what was done and the nature of it, it was something that stuck in her head even as a small girl. She thought it was somewhat unfair to the animals but saw that the people needed to be protected. She realized that when you don't have cover that you make it. You use what's available. You improvise, adapt and overcome. When it's about survival, the usual rules don't apply.
John wondered why one of the drones would fire on Savannah. Maybe there were hostile HK drones there now. The view of the camera returned to what it was before the blinding flash. John was relieved to see the figure was still there. They were behind the bulldozer now.
Bob watched the same feed that John did. As the image began to clear up, he was able to determine what was what.
"I see her." Bob said. "Savannah is OK. She's behind the bulldozer."
John Henry tried to explain what happened and why they were unable to tell what exactly happened when it happened.
"The flash of the fireball blinded the camera temporarily. That happens with that spectrum of night vision with intense light." John Henry said. "The missile actually was fired into the opening where the original bunker door was located. More than likely this is the breakout that they'd anticipated. The Grays are on the move."
John watched the image intently. He realized that the bulldozer advanced towards the original bunker entrance.
"The bulldozer is moving." John said.
John Henry thought about the direction that Savannah fired in with her M4 and where the missile was directed from one of the drones on autonomous control.
"That must be Cammy." John Henry said. "She's trying to block the entrance. They don't want anyone to be able to escape through there. The giant blade on the bulldozer should make an effective block. It will be impervious to most weapons fire and able to sustain multiple explosive blasts."
John saw a figure jump down from the tread of the bulldozer.
"It's blocked. I see Cammy now." John said.
Cammy and Savannah both moved away from the bulldozer. They could both see the burning figure on the ground next to the bulldozer.
As they watched, Savannah covered the opening they'd created in the bunker corner, while Cammy started to move some things along the ground.
It took John more than a few seconds to realize exactly what Cammy was constructing. They obviously didn't have any earthworks or sand bags to use. It appeared that Cammy used what was available to create cover for both of them.
"What are they doing?" John asked. "Is it what it looks like?"
Bob was able to determine what it was immediately.
"They're setting up a defensive perimeter." Bob said.
John Henry determined it gave them the best firing angles with what Cammy was building. He did have to admit that the construction material was a little unorthodox.
"They're keeping the best firing angle to cover the opening that was created in the bunker wall." John Henry said. "It's a variation of the age old method to create cover where there is none. You're familiar with the command given to 'shoot the horses'."
John also viewed plenty of Westerns previously growing up.
"I know they used to do that with horses, to provide cover in the Old West days, when there was none." John said.
John Henry was aware that Savannah used a similar method before. He was pretty sure that the idea came from her and not from Cammy.
"That's what they are doing now." John Henry said. "Savannah used a Terminator's chassis for cover in the mine. It was in her report. This time they're using deceased Grays."
John watched as Cammy quickly drug the bodies of the dead Grays and used them like sandbags. She interlocked them together. He still felt that they would be safer if they used the drainage ditch.
"Why aren't they using the drainage ditch?" John asked. "It seems like it would be more secure."
John Henry quickly calculated the firing angles available to the girls.
"They'll lose coverage of one side if they do, someone could get out." John Henry said.
John still felt their current location was more susceptible to gunfire.
"Their position puts them in greater danger." John said.
John Henry felt it gave the team the best coverage in control over the opening in the bunker wall. He also started to pick up signals from the two drones that were on autonomous control.
"They also can control who comes out." John Henry said. "They have three drones backing them up as well. I may get control of them again."
John wondered if any of their communication devices still worked.
"I wish we knew what was going on inside." John said.
Bob looked away from the screen and glanced at John.
"That's doubtful." Bob said.
John wondered why that would be. He wanted to know what was happening.
"Why's that?" John asked.
Bob could see that John didn't understand the full nature of what was about to occur.
"Cameron is inside with a force of Terminators." Bob said. "It's going to be a blood bath in there."
Bob was aware that Cameron was going to seek retribution and revenge for the Grays putting Savannah in danger throughout the day. He knew that payback was a Bitch and everyone agreed that Cameron was a 'Metal Bitch'.
John didn't want to lose track of the other operations.
"Steve, what's happening at your location?" John asked.
Steve was able to procure a replacement vehicle.
"We have new wheels." Steve said. "The big rig has finished fueling and is headed out. The Grays in the other vehicle are following it."
John Henry was aware of John's earlier suspicion that the Gray's decision to stop at the fuel station was merely a ploy to see if the big rig and its chase vehicle were being followed. He wanted one of the Terminator teams to take a closer look at the gas station.
"Al, see how much fuel they purchased." John Henry said.
John wondered what for. He thought that they should avoid the gas station.
"Why?" John asked.
John Henry decided to spell it out.
"They should have spent two hundred or more dollars, easy." John Henry said. "If they didn't, they were watching for a tail and not really getting fuel as you'd suspected earlier."
Al chose to exit the SUV earlier when Steve went to obtain another one.
"I'm on foot now. Steve dumped the other SUV." Al reported. "I kept them under direct observation the entire time. I'm moving towards the pumps now. Steve can pick me up."
John Henry was fully updated from the three drones at the bunker complex. It was good news.
"John, after that last firefight with Savannah and the explosion afterwards I have direct control of the drones again." John Henry said. "I'm attempting for any communications with any of our group."
Al checked the fuel pump.
"The fuel total was three hundred dollars." Al reported.
John was somewhat relieved to hear that. It also seemed that the big rig wasn't going to stop for a while.
"OK, hopefully it was just a fuel stop." John said. "John Henry, is there any luck with communications with Cameron's team?"
John Henry tried every one of their communication devices as well as their body cams.
"Negative…." John Henry said.
You Can Trust Me
I can't get it out of my mind
The very words you said to me
'Never trust anyone'
Meaning you can't be trusted by me
You laughed when you said it
I knew what you meant
You'd betrayed me
In my heart you left a dent
It was always you first
You always got what you wanted
You pushed me aside like waste
While others you hungrily hunted
Was the revenge against another
Worth what you destroyed
You tried to tell yourself
We only played and toyed
You can trust me
I still want you anyhow
Please come back to me
You can trust me now
Nobody