Chapter 599
We Attack
Bad news traveled fast.
The Young bunker received word at the same time as the Command Center. The girls were about to face a hostile force.
Claire was a little confused. It seemed like everything was under control just a few seconds ago. Now it appeared they were about to be attacked. How did everything change in just a few seconds?
"Can't they escape?" Claire asked. "Are the girls going to have to fight?"
Young Allison saw it a little differently. She frowned slightly at her mother's suggestion of retreat. It wasn't the way they did things in the Resistance.
"No, they're going to attack." Young Allison said.
Claire didn't see the distinction. It was all the same to her. They would all be in serious danger. The Metal girls could be damaged. Savannah could be hurt or worse.
"They'll still need to fight for their lives again." Claire said. "A lot of things can go wrong very fast. We've seen it all happen in the last few minutes."
Young Allison frowned. She didn't like it any better than her mother did. She should be a part of it, a real part of it. She thought the operation at the building was a resounding success. The incident with the HK Tracks was resolved with the girls victorious, as was their encounter with the two Skynet Terminators in the back of the big rig. So far today it was nothing but wins with minimal damage to anyone.
"They're all trained, Mom." Young Allison said. "It's what they do. I should be there with them."
Claire touched her cheek. How could her little girl say such a thing? Wait. She wasn't so little anymore. Her Allison looked just like Allison, except younger. How could she want to have bullets flying around her along with explosions? She could only see the down side of it.
"You might be hurt or killed." Claire said.
Allison didn't want her mother to focus on her younger self. She was from the future. Her mother visited Cameron's future. She saw what it was like. She was the one who lived it. Her mother only experienced a small taste. The world was an ugly place. The Resistance tried to prevent it from becoming uglier. Someone needed to stand up to the forces of evil.
"They might be. It doesn't change anything. It's a messy business." Allison said. "There's a silent war going on, Mom. This is about the survival of mankind. You saw what was done to the planet. You even died before. Almost everyone died. You're still alive now because of what they're doing and what they've done. Cameron and John have prevented it from happening again, so far. You should be proud of all of them. I am. Allison is right. I should be there with them too. It should be me before it is her."
Claire looked appalled to hear Allison say what she did. Both versions of her daughter wanted to be part of the action.
"No." Claire said. "It just can't be."
Young Allison looked over at Allison with the last part of her statement. She knew it was something she believed. She did too. She knew her future and destiny. She was ready for it.
"It is. We ALL need to be ready, Mom." Young Allison said. "This is real. I want to do my part to protect Summer and you."
Allison thought about it for a while now. She thought about her days in combat. She was always the first one to volunteer when they needed a patrol or a mission. Look at her now. She was wasting her life. She should be the one out there instead of Savannah. Who was she fooling?
"Allison is right. It is real. I'm rejoining combat operations." Allison said. "It's where I belong. It's time I do something I'm good at. I'm not a referee. I shouldn't be sitting on the sidelines. It needs to be all hands on deck to defeat the enemy. I've been wallowing in my sorrow for way too long. I'm a fighter, not a quitter."
Claire was speechless for a moment. She didn't think Allison looked far enough into the future. Maybe she looked too far into the future. Her past was the future. Her future now didn't need to be her past again. She soon found the words.
"But you're pregnant." Claire said.
Allison almost laughed. For how long was she going to be pregnant, even if she still was? Nothing ever 'stuck' around long enough to do anything. How many embryos was her body responsible for terminating?
"Mom, we all know how this is going to end." Allison said. "My body is worthless for reproduction. It's valuable as a Resistance fighter. Cameron and the Metal girls can use all the help they can get, especially right now. If I could be there with them this instant, I would."
Allison knew she should be the one out there, not Savannah. She loved Savannah deeply and she was about to be in another 'fur ball'. They were on unfamiliar territory with limited weapons. Who knew what the enemy would unleash?
Claire knew she needed to act. She decided she was going to have Cameron start her right away to have Allison's baby, again. They would go into the past for eight and a half months. Now she was worried about Allison as well. What happened if Cameron was terminated in this battle? Nobody would be there to stop her daughters from all ending up in combat, sooner or later. They were all going to get killed before everything was finished.
"This isn't the way things are supposed to be." Claire said. "This isn't the future. Things don't need to be the same."
Young Allison watched her mother. It looked as if she was about to have a melt down. She saw Allison look the same way. It was usually when she was having 'girl trouble' with Vanna. She wanted her mother to calm down and stop stressing out. Her mother just wasn't acclimated to the reality of the current lifestyle. She looked over at Anna.
"Get Hanna down here." Young Allison said quietly. "You know why."
Anna called Hanna and told her she was needed for Claire.
Holly knew it was time to trade places with Hanna. It didn't look like Allison was in a talking mood right now. She silently excused herself and went up the stairs of the bunker to let Hanna in.
Allison was very worried about Savannah right now. She was young and beautiful. Savannah didn't need to be in the fight at this time. It should be her job. It didn't matter if she was hurt or scarred. There were people who would still love her anyway, especially Vanna. She was sure she was better at some things than she would with others.
"Mom, you take Summer and wait with Hanna. I'm joining Allison and Anna at the monitors." Allison said. "I'm done feeling sorry for myself. I'd be a lousy mother anyway. We all know it."
Claire didn't know what to say. She could only look at Allison with sadness. It was clear she gave up. Now both Allison and Her Allison wanted the same thing. Why was she surprised? They were the same person! The same things made up both of them. One of them needed to grow up in the Wastelands and become a fighter. The other one was mentored by cyborgs to become a fighter. Both faced the same destiny, even if they arrived there by different routes.
Allison joined Anna. She sat on one side of her as Young Allison sat on the other side of Anna.
"Savannah's out there. It should be Vanna, Jesse, and me facing the danger, not Savannah." Allison said. "She deserves better than what she has."
Young Allison and Allison exchanged a long look. They both felt the same way for different reasons. Wait. It was the same reason. How could it not be? They were the same person in reality. They both loved Savannah. Young Allison was more than a little jealous Allison was able to share with Savannah. She felt it should be her. She knew it would be soon enough.
Holly went upstairs to replace Hanna. She listened to the discussion from upstairs. She knew how much Allison was in love with Savannah. She checked with the Detail. Two of them were on patrol. There was nothing new to report back. Her hand began to glitch. She tried to stop it with her other hand but it didn't work. It never did.
The building the big rig was parked in was now a target. The girls were about to go on the offensive. Two vans of Grays arrived to challenge them. It didn't look like they knew where they were at specifically, but they knew the general area. It would only be a matter of time until they were found if they did nothing. They planned to take the fight to the enemy.
Savannah handed Gail an M79 and a bandoleer of rounds for it. Gail looked at the selection of rounds. She would start out with an HE round. She would then switch to buckshot rounds if the assailants were in close.
Cameron took in the scene. She wanted Savannah protected. Cam and her were ready to go. Neither of them was a stranger to danger. They would engage the enemy and draw them off.
"Cammy, I want you to stay with Savannah." Cameron said. "Cam and I are going to flank them. It doesn't look like they know exactly where we are yet. I don't think they will expect us to attack first. It should be a surprise to them when we do."
Cameron didn't like surprises. She didn't think the enemy would either.
Savannah looked at the two vans. They appeared to be scouting as they advanced slowly towards their location.
"How do you want to play this?" Savannah asked.
Gail knew Cameron and Cam needed to get into position. She planned to start the attack off with an HE round from the M79. She would have preferred a LAW rocket.
"I'm going to put an HE round through the front window of the second van first. It will keep the first van from retreating." Gail said. "I'll hit the first van a few seconds later."
Savannah watched Cameron and Cam start to leave. She wanted to issue a warning to everyone. She thought about how she would play the scenario if she was the enemy.
"There's probably going to be more Terminators." Savannah said. "They may be out on foot already. Watch out for them."
Cameron and Cam took off out the other side. They would try to get the vans in a crossfire. They told Gail to fire the first HE round as soon as the second van reached the gap between the two buildings. It would be the initiation point for everything to start.
Cammy and Savannah each readied their weapons. Cammy would take targets from the second van and Savannah would take targets from the first van.
The vans slowed even more. The vans could turn and run, or stop outside the prearranged kill zone. They still needed a few more car lengths to go….
Savannah could see they were down to seconds at this point. She wondered about their backup and reinforcements.
"We're ready to go Hot." Savannah said. "Do we have a timeline on our drones or Bob's team?"
John Henry wondered if he shouldn't have chanced it earlier. He acted as soon as there was Terminator contact. There was going to be a delay before the girls would be able to receive drone support. It looked like it might arrive too late at this point.
"The drones are still ten minutes out." John Henry said.
Savannah knew ten minutes was an eternity in a close firefight. It might as well be tomorrow. It might end up being never. She wanted to make sure they understood how close they were to combat.
"We have about ten seconds." Savannah said. "What about Bob's team?"
John was a little worried about it. They set out on one mission and it was upgraded to a recovery mission. Now the enemy was already there. It was a little faster than any of them anticipated.
"They were delayed obtaining the box truck." John said. "We weren't expecting visitors so soon."
Savannah glanced at Cammy and Gail. It was up to them.
"OK, we're on our own…." Savannah said.
Savannah knew Cam and Cameron were now silent, but they would monitor the transmissions as they moved into a flanking position on the two vans.
John hoped to get a better idea of the number of Grays.
"What's the strength of the enemy force?" John asked
Savannah saw that the first van was about to enter the kill zone. It was Showtime.
"Unknown." Savannah said. "We're engaging."
In the Command Center they waited.
Everyone heard the conversation as it unfolded. They all listened as the combatants communicated.
"Gail, it's time to say, 'Hello'." Savannah said. "Light them up, Cammy."
They heard the distinctive sound of the Thumper. It was followed by automatic weapons fire. There was a lot of it. They heard the Thumper fire again.
There were explosions heard and muted screaming.
There was even more gunfire now as Gail switched to her M4.
Everyone in the room knew they should be there with them and fighting with the girls. Fighting with Cameron and Savannah….
They all felt they should be doing more. The need to help their friends and the people they loved was overwhelming. The battle was going down now. They all knew more hostile forces could be on the way. There could be more Terminators moving in on them. Everything was up in the air.
The tension was high at the Young residence.
Claire could hear the coms and see some of the footage from the body cams. It was like a movie but worse. There were no actors. The bullets were real.
"There are people dying right now." Claire said as Hanna comforted Summer and her.
Hanna didn't know what to tell her other than the truth. The truth was ugly. There was no beauty in truth.
"It's how war works." Hanna said. "People fight and people die. It applies to the machines as well."
Hanna hoped it was only the Grays who died.
Summer was asleep for now.
Claire pictured bullets flying in both directions. Anyone could get hit.
"I'm so worried about them." Claire said. "A million things can go wrong."
Hanna was confident. It was nothing new for the Resistance.
"Cameron's team will prevail." Hanna said.
Claire didn't see how anyone could make such a determination at this point. The fighting just started. There was no guarantee how anything would end, or when.
"You can't know they will for certain." Claire said.
Hanna knew her team. Cameron was there with them. The enemy would fall before her as it always did.
"Cameron will not fail." Hanna said.
Young Allison and Anna watched CamNet overlay the positions of their team on the satellite map.
Young Allison could see there was a lot of open area around where Savannah's team was at. She could see where there might be some problems.
"If there are any Terminators with the Grays, they'll try to flank our team." Young Allison said. "Everyone needs to watch their six. There could be more Grays out there we don't know about. They might be moving in on foot from a different direction. The vans could act as a draw for their attention while more forces move in behind them."
Anna relayed the information to John Henry and CamNet. She knew Cameron's team would already know it. She wanted to make Young Allison as much a part of the operation as she could. She wanted the others to see her bold thinking.
They listened to the battle rage on.
Young Allison watched stern faced, her jaw was set firmly. She was determined to do more. She felt she was ready. She was trained. There were plenty of 'soldiers' her age in some of the 'armies' in the Third World. She was better trained than any of them were.
Her training was worthless unless she put it to use. It was what she intended to do.
Seconds ago:
Savannah observed the first HE round strike the second van. It exploded as it crashed through the windshield. The van drifted slowly along. Cammy opened up on it as well. The Coltan rounds ripped through the thin metal. They found targets inside.
Savannah started to fire on the lead vehicle at the same time. Two seconds later an HE round from the Thumper exploded through their windshield.
The lead van abruptly stopped dead in its tracks. The second van drifted slowly forward and bumped up against the first van. The driver's of both of them were terminated. Both vans were on fire now. There was no return gunfire.
Cameron and Cammy were already in position. They fired into both vans from their flank at the same time. They each took a van and they both shot into the sides of the burning vans.
The vans were literally shredded by gunfire from two directions.
Cameron thought the vans were finished. She wasn't sure what else was out there. The vans may have let personnel off before they were observed. It crossed her mind they might even be a decoy. If there were Terminators with them, they wouldn't hesitate for a second to sacrifice some Grays so they could gain an advantage on the Resistance team.
"Watch out for any Terminators." Cameron said and moved away from Cam's position.
Cam nodded and covered the vans still. She also looked around her.
Cameron was sure there were Terminators somewhere. None emerged from the two flaming wrecks. A Terminator would have exited by now to avoid excessive sheath damage from the fire. They would have moved to fight them.
She looked back and watched Cam fire two more bursts into the flaming wrecks. Cam moved off to go back and reinforce Cammy, Savannah, and Gail as prearranged.
Cameron was sure it was now 'cat and mouse' with one or more Skynet Terminators. She didn't intend to be the 'mouse'. She wanted the operation to end. It was off to a good start, but they didn't know what else was out there. There could be one more vehicle, or ten more for all they knew. They needed drone support. It wouldn't happen for another nine and a half minutes.
She understood the battlefield was always fluid. They could all be terminated by the time their drones arrived.
Cammy looked behind them to the other side of the building. She spotted movement.
"Someone is coming." Cammy said.
Savannah switched from her M4 to her Taser.
Gail covered the two flaming wrecks as she checked in both directions.
Cam re-entered the building.
"Cameron thinks there are Terminators coming for us." Cam said. "I do too."
Savannah knew Bob's team was on the way. They could get 'lit up' like they just did to the vans.
"John Henry, alert Bob there may be Terminators on the ground at our position." Savannah said. "Have his team use caution. Make sure they don't roll into an ambush like we just pulled off."
Cameron changed her position. She would have expected someone to make it out of either van. It never happened. The Grays or Terminators were probably on foot.
"There may be others on the ground as well." Cameron said. "Those vans weren't full. I believe they discharged most of their personnel before we saw them. As far as we know, there may have only been a driver in each one."
Savannah wondered if the vans were a sucker play and they just bought into it. Once they initiated the attack, it indicated their position. The Grays didn't know where they were specifically before. They did now.
"Great, now they know our position." Savannah said. "We need to move. If they have an HK drone, they know where to hit."
Cam went to her SUV and returned with some explosives. They could still leave a few surprises behind once they moved.
"I don't have any 'Claymores' with me." Cam said. "We can still set up a few booby traps around here."
Savannah watched the area as the three Metal girls rigged a few 'surprises'. She wondered where Cameron was at. There hadn't been any more gunfire since the initial two targets were engaged. It was only the sound of the two burning vehicles with an occasional round cooking off every now and then in the inferno. She knew Terminators didn't need guns to kill.
"Let's go." Cammy said.
Sheila questioned the Grays.
Ally watched as another Gray was beaten. He didn't make it. They needed more information and they needed it now. She turned her head to the front of the building and listened. She just heard what sounded like several vehicle doors open.
"I think we have company." Ally said.
Sheila looked at the two bloody Grays and the three deceased ones.
"They must have tracked one of these blokes." Sheila said. "I'll deal with them later."
Sheila moved up and slammed her fist with an uppercut to snap the Gray's heads back and render each of them unconscious.
Ally moved up to the front of the abandoned building. She spotted four men. They were in front of the building next door. It was the one she killed the two future Scavengers in.
"They went to the wrong building." Ally said.
Sheila didn't think it mattered. They'd be to the right one soon enough. It would be better to take the fight to them. If they could strike clandestinely, it would give them the advantage.
"Let's go get them." Sheila said.
Ally looked at the unconscious prisoners.
"What about these losers?" Ally asked.
Sheila didn't think they would provide any more information. The current group was pretty used up. She was ready for a fresh set. She quickly snapped their necks.
"It's a shame. Two of them were still talking…." Sheila said. "We've got some more to play with now, if any of them survive our initial encounter."
Ally already knew the layout of the other building.
"Let's follow them in the front." Ally said. "I secured the rear when I left earlier."
They exited out the front and checked the white van the men arrived in. It was empty. They headed for the other building. They arrived at the front of it and paused. The boards were pulled off one of the windows. It was the point of entry for the Grays. They listened to the conversation underway. It was most enlightening in several ways.
"Did anyone spot anything yet?" The first Gray asked.
"Give us a few minutes to look around." The second Gray said.
"It looks like something over here." The third Gray said.
"I've got one dead here." The first Gray said. "It's not one of ours."
"I have another one." The second Gray said. "They're dead too."
"Who are they and where are our people?" The third Gray asked.
"I don't know, but the two men here look pretty beat up." The second Gray said. "They have a lot of broken bones."
"I think these people were killed by a Terminator." The fourth Gray said.
"Great. That's just what we need." The third Gray said. "I thought we were up against the Fanatics."
"Well, we know it isn't the anti-Metal faction." The first Gray said. "They hate all the machines.
"Maybe it's the 'Metal Bitch' we've heard about." The second Gray said. "She's supposed to be hot looking. Nobody sees her coming. She's like a ghost."
"That's just a myth." The third Gray said. "There isn't one Terminator who could destroy everything all the time and just walk away. It's impossible."
"Look." The first Gray said. "I saw something move."
"Don't get trigger happy unless it's not one of ours." The third Gray said. "They could be injured and disoriented."
"I think they are over there." The fourth Gray said.
"There they go." The third Gray said.
"They aren't armed." The second Gray said.
"Get them." The first Gray said.
Sheila and Ally looked at each other.
Ally must have missed someone. It was probably someone who tried to avoid the two men she terminated. It was most likely another homeless individual. It was possible they were unable to get out of the building after she secured the rear of it.
"Grab them, be careful." The third Gray said.
"Head them off." The second Gray said.
"I got them." The first Gray said. "It's a chick."
"Is it the 'Metal Bitch' you're all afraid of?" The third Gray asked.
"Let me go." A female voice cried out.
"I want some of that." The first Gray said.
"Strip her." The fourth Gray said.
The sound of ripping cloth could be heard. There was a shrill scream.
"That's sweet." The second Gray said. "Let's get started."
"At least she isn't covered with sores." The first Gray said.
"I hear you, bro." The forth Gray said. "Some of those Resistance Bitches were used up before we got a hold of them."
"KNOCK IT OFF. Fall in." The third Gray commanded. "Tie her up and gag her. We'll take her with us. We can deal with her in the van later on. We need to find out what happened to our people first. There's a good chance the enemy is in the building with us right now."
"Maybe she knows." The first Gray said.
"I saw what happened." The female cried. "Let me go and I'll tell you."
"She's street trash." The third Gray said. "Gag her and tie her up."
"She's not so bad." The first Gray said.
"Use the big head instead of the little one, stupid. We need to find our people." The third Gray said. "Search this place. Our people didn't just vanish. Look alive and watch out for everything."
Ally looked at Sheila. She wanted to see the Grays hurt before they left.
"I want you to take care of all of them." Ally said.
Sheila's eyes glowed a dull red.
"I plan to." Sheila said. "They want to abuse the female. We need to get her out. Then we can deal with the threat."
Ally nodded. Her eyes glowed dull red as well.
"Let's go." Ally said.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Attack
To live life for some may be colorful
But for others it can all fade to black
What was once a sure smooth ride
Can easily be knocked off track
We may share pleasant memories
Maybe have a violent flashback
Is the future still before us
Or stuck in time like a throwback
Who really controls the cards of destiny
As against us they accumulate and stack
We are never given a break or cut any slack
We feel the blows and take the flak
Every step ahead to go forward
Is met with some drawback
We can make no progress in life
When we always retreat and fallback
At what point do we rise up
To seek retribution and payback
Why does it always seem
Life itself is the attack
Nobody