**** Please don't post on this thread ( it's supposed to be the story in one big shot) ****


Never in my life time did I ever expect this. Its not a shocking fate, it was just untimely. Humanity has always had, and always will, a knack for self destruction... But this is insane! August 23rd 2011, Judgment day. Those great weapons of mass destruction rained upon us in a never relenting attack. We didn't know who. We didn't know why. We were of the lucky few, the cursed few who witnessed the destruction of all that we loved.

Six billion people died in a period of moments. My father, my sister, my mother, everyone that I knew except for my brother died that day. At that time I was 18, on my way to my college life. My brother and I were celebrating our future when it happened. We were luckily in the middle of nowhere, 30 miles north east of Tonopah, Nevada. We were parked on the side of th road about ready to get drunk when the radio started screaming at us. Boston, Las Vegas, New York, Seattle, every major city was listed off by this frantic person. We paused to listen to this crazy person, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Oh how I remember that moment clearly...

“Listeners! This is not a joke! Every major city inside of the United States has been the target of nuclear weapons! Get to a shelter now! My god, what have we...” The transmitter cut to static. What the hell was going on? I was answered instantly when moments later a bright flash occurred in the distance... about the area that Carson city was located. I shielded my eyes from the blast, as it was very intense.

“Derek! We need to get the hell out of here! We need to find a shelter or something! God dammit why the hell are you just sitting there! Do something!” My brothers shouting pulled me out of the daze I was in. I just couldn't believe it. A nuke, someone just nuked Carson city. “Derek! Snap out of it!”

“Calm down Kyle” I spoke still staring at the mushroom cloud. “Panicking will not get us anywhere.” I finally managed to rip my gaze from the remains of the bomb and turned my attention back to the radio. I begin to spin the dial desperately looking for any signal. Nothing. I switched the receiver over to AM and began to look for any signals. I found one. “This is a test of the emergency broad cast system...” At that I slammed my fist into the radio.

“God damn it!” I covered my face with my hands and gave a heavy sigh. I began to whisper “This cant be happening.” A second flash happened to the north, Austin, Nevada was no more.

“Derek! Derek!” Kyle yelled in excitement. I looked up, how the hell could he not be freaking out right now? “Derek! Do you remember that old place we used to hang out that was abandoned?

“Yes, I rememb...” I stopped, and forced my self to rethink of what I just thought of. “Kyle you are a freaking genius!” I started the car moving and sped up immediately. “That place cant be more than 10 miles from here!” When Kyle and I were young we used to play in this old bunker. It was nothing special, but we both remembered the key thing about it: It was a bomb shelter, and it was always stockpiled.

“If we are lucky, there might even be other people there!” Kyle paused. “If we are lucky, and if they were lucky...”

Thank God this bunker was located nowhere near anything. Whoever was attacking was willingly spending arsenal just to pick off very small populations centers. A total of seven new mushroom clouds had appeared in the distance around us. So far we had been lucky in two regards. One, we hadn't been hit directly, and two, those nukes were “small”. They had to be no larger than five megatons, or else we would have been vaporized by them. Things were NOT going well, even if we had so far escaped unscathed. We began to panic; odds of surviving and survivors were dropping through the floor.

No cars on the road. No radio broadcasts. Whoever was attacking had methodically targeted communications, and had given no warning time at all. “You don't suppose terrorists did this?” Kyle asked. “No can't have been. Skynet was supposed to have become operational three months ago, they said nothing could get past it. Maybe someone found a glitch in it and, exploiting it, attacked us? Who ever they are they are ruthless... they targeted communications, the cit...” Kyle stopped suddenly, and turned to Derek, who had already came to the same grim conclusion. “They were in Vegas. Derek, they were in Vegas! Our whole family was in Vegas! We have to find them!”

“There is nothing we can do about it!” I yelled. Taking a deep breath I continued. “The best thing we can do is get to the bunker. Carol knows it's there. She will take them to it. Other people are also bound to have survived.” Kyle was right though. Our family was in Vegas when we left. If they hadn't left... “NO! They survived. They must have. They will be there. If they aren't ” I gulped. “We will find them together.”

It was a stupid statement to make. I knew they were gone, they odds were against them, and against us. I couldn't force my brother to abandon hope, even if I had. “Once we get to the bunker we will find some radio equipment, and start broadcasting. They will find us, people will come to us.” That seemed to calm Kyle down. He was still shaky, but who the hell wouldn't be when everything you ever knew had been lost. I looked back to the road and spotted a small group of what looked to be military jeeps up ahead.

“Kyle! Look at that! There are some army jeeps ahead, they are pulled of to the side of the road. Maybe they know what's happening!” I was overjoyed. Kyle and I were desperate for any kind of information, and just to see that other people had possibly survived. As we got closer we saw that the forward jeep was steaming and looked like it had hit something. “Looks like they pulled over to do repairs.” I said to Kyle. “ Wonder what they hit though, theres nothing big enough for miles around to cause that amount of damage.”

The closer we got, the more that we felt something was wrong. There was no movement, there was no sounds of running engines. We could see no people. “Were are they?” Kyle asked. “There must be someone there. They would never abandon so many trucks in the middle of nowhere.” Where indeed. I stopped the car about a hundred feet short of the convoy. Something was definitely wrong with this picture. I turned around and grabbed the two shotguns from the gun rack behind us. I handed one to Kyle, and opened up the glove compartment to get the a case of shotgun shells out. “What are we going to do?”

“Something is wrong with that convoy. It may have been attacked. It may have been abandoned, but hell if I'm walking into that place unarmed.” I loaded my shotgun as did Kyle, and we exited the jeep, and cautiously approached the lead car of the caravan. I inspected the damage to the front and it was very odd. It looked like the car hit something human sized, but that weighted an insane amount causing all the windows to shatter. Shaking that thought from my mind, we continued around the side of the vehicle to the next. “Bullet holes.” I stated. The doors of the car were ajar and there we dozens of holes in them and on the hood. “These guys were attacked.” I said raising my shotgun to a more ready position. “Even if they were why aren't there people here. If they won then they should still be here. If they lost, then why is there still a lot of gear in these trucks?”

“Maybe it was a prisoner of something else that they were after? All I know is we need to get out of here soon., encase they come back for the gear.” It was obvious Kyle didn't like being in the open, and would much prefer the bunker.

“Lets check out the other jeeps first, maybe will find something useful, or something to tell us what happed here.” I moved onto the next jeep and it was almost the same picture as before. This time however there was blood on the seats and some on the ground. The more I saw the less I wanted to be there. The last car was in a ditch on the side of the road, rolled over onto its top. The doors had been ripped off, all the windows were broken, and there were pieces of bloodied clothes handing out from large fist shaped holes in the back of the jeep.

“Derek!” I heard Kyle shout. I turned and ran to him, worried that something had happened. “Derek, look what I found!” Kyle was looking the back of the first truck. He turned around holding something that looked like and old radio. “its a CB radio! If I can just get this fixed we can contact almost anyone else who has one of these or a radio! There ware some weapons in there too, along with a few MRE packs and med packs. I think we should take them and go on to the bunker.”

“Agreed. I'll take the guns back and you bring your CB radio, the MREs, and med packs.” I said as I leaned into the back of the Humvee to grab the MP5 and M16 and their reloads. Kyle left heading in the direction of the truck. I began to look over the guns, they seemed to be in great condition and there were 3 magazines of each. Stuffing the mags in my pockets I hoisted the guns up and began to walk over to the truck.

About halfway back I stopped. Something had caught my eye on the side of the road. I put down the rifles and took up my shotgun and started slowly walking over to the side of the road. Kyle spotted the move and came rushing over. He mouthed a question if something was wrong and I point toward the side of the road were a bush was located. He lifted his shotgun, and I walked toward the bush. There it was again, a flash light as if light was reflecting off of some type of metal. I put my hand on the bush and it moved with my had easily. The bush wasn't planted here, it was moved. I heaved the bush away and fell backwards in repulsion. Eight torn and bloodied corpses of soldiers we lined up in a neat row. Kyle turned away and fell to the ground. Unable to look at the broken bodies.

I couldn't stop myself, I couldn't rip my eyes from the grizzly sight. Four of them were riddled with bullet holes, the others... they were torn apart, ripped, and broken. Kyle began to throw up behind me, and I steeled myself from doing the same. I forced myself to stand on my weak legs, and I willed myself over to them. Going to each one in turn I pulled off their dog tags, even if we didn't know them someone else did. “Come on... Lets go. We need to get to the bunker soon, radiation is soon going to get here from one of those blasts.” I dragged Kyle back to his feet, grabbed the guns and started heading back to the truck.

“Who the hell could have done such a thing?” Kyle queried as we got back to the truck. I shrugged as I looked down to the the blood stained dog tags. Eight lives were now ended that didn't have to be. Eight people, each dedicated to defending our country, dead. A brilliant flash obscured my vision even though it emanated from behind me. God I hope that wasn't close. I turned and raised my arm to shield my eyes from some of the glare. It took a moment for the light to die down, and I breathed a sigh of relief: the mushroom cloud was on the edge of the horizon.

I was immediately disgusted with myself. How could I be relieved that another nuke had fallen on some distant city, better if it had hit us and given those people in the city more time to escape. There might have been thousands of people in that area. Eight! How could I have spent so much time over the lives of just eight people?! Not time, no time! “Kyle, get in the truck now! We have to get to that bunker!” Kyle was still staring at the mushroom cloud. “Now Kyle!” That got him moving, and moments later we were speeding past the destroyed caravan. Shotguns were stored back on their rack. Med packs, MREs, the M16, and MP5 thrown into the back of the truck.

“Any idea what's wrong with that thing?” I asked looking at the CB radio in Kyle's lap. He didn't respond, Kyle just sat there and stared at the radio. “Can you fix it?” I asked again. No response from him, he didn't do anything at all. I was beginning to get worried, perhaps he was in shock. “Are you alright Kyle?” No reaction. An overly concerned expression crept onto my face. “Kyle?” Then I spotted it, a suppressed crack of a smile on his lips. I groaned, “God damn it Kyle! Don't do that! Do you have any idea how worried you were making me?!”

Kyle dropped the act, and making light of the situation said, “Learn to take a joke bro. If you had gotten any more serious and worried, I was going to have to shoot you.” The comment was veiled in sarcasm, but it helped to lessen the tension leftover from the caravan. Even if all the good humor and jokes couldn't stop the mounting sense of despair.

We both could use a little hope, so point at the CB radio I asked again, “Well? Can you fix it or not?”

“Yeah I think so. Not with the tools we have here though.”

“Maybe the bunker will have what you need.” I offered.

“Hopefully there will be more than just tools there.”

That was our problem. We knew the bunker itself was still there, and was probably still intact. Its contents on the other hand... It had been years since we had last seen inside it, and it was anyones guess at what was inside it. “Well, We are about to find out.” I said as I turned the truck sharply onto a dirt road. A short while later I pulled off into a grassy field. Turning off the engine I reached back for the twelve gages. Kyle gave me a questioning look for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. No chances. If there were people who could attack a military convoy, then there might be less than sane people inside the bunker.

“Hand me the flashlight will ya?” I asked Kyle. Even though it had been many years since we had been here, it wasn't difficult to find the entrance. “If I remember correctly this place didn't have any internal lighting.” The thick door was covered by some broken brush and dirt. The debris fell away as I opened it. As it glided open, it revealed a steel rung ladder descending into the darkness.

Taking the offered flashlight, I shined it down into the abyss. “Looks like it goes down about forty feet.” I said to Kyle. “I'll go down first, stay up here and yell if you see anyone coming. I'll come back up once I check the bunker out and help bring down our stuff in to the bunker.

Right. Yell if you spot anything on your end. I'll be down in an instant if you do.” I nodded and began to descend down. The ladder section itself was rather small, no more than four feet by four feet. Making my way down with a shotgun and a flashlight was somewhat difficult, but luckily the rungs were close to the wall making it not impossible.

About 8 feet from the floor the walls of the ladder tunnel retreated into the bunker. Before stepping off of the ladder I swung around on the ladder and did a quick check with the flashlight to see if anything was obviously out of place or if there were any signs of people. Clean, a lot cleaner than I remember. Other than that there were no signs of people in the first area. As I rested the barrel of the shotgun against my shoulder I began to head tword the blast door some ten feet away.

It was ajar, and I had to push will all my strength to make it slide on its hinges. I poked the flashlight through the crack, nothing special so far. I opened the door far enough for me to slip through and started into the main section of the bunker. Some newish bunkers were installed and it looked like the walls of the entry were recently reinforced, other wise the place seemed completely devoid of life.

As I turned to go back topside I spotted that whomever had maintained this place had a very dark (and currently ironic) sense of humor. A rather large poster was taped to the left hand concrete wall. It depicted a small orange and white tabby kitten hanging, by its front paws, on a cloths line. Beneath the image were the there block letters:


I turned back to the entrance and was forced to stop. A loud shout, and shotgun blast echoed down from topside. Almost immediately I could here someone climbing quickly down the ladder to the entrance. Going back to the Blast door I silently slid it back into the position that I found it. I turned off my flashlight and stepped away from the door. I heard whoever it was hit the ground and start walking. I silently made my way a little father back into the main area and knelt behind a bunk. I rested my shotgun on the mattress and leveled it at the door, whoever was coming wouldn't catch me by surprise.
Slowly the door began to open, and I tightened my grip upon my shotgun.

What happened to Kyle? How could someone have snuck up on him and overpowered him? The steel door was slowly but certainly opening. Light emanated from its open portion, suggesting that whomever it was knew that I was there. It was time to take a risk. I got up silently, and started slowly moving tword the door. If I had stayed where I was, I was going to be exposed. They would have a lineup on me and the protection of the door.

I managed to sneak up and behind the opening door. My plan was to ambush whoever it was when they walked through. A shotgun barrel slowly began to protrude out fro the door way. SHIT! That reminded me of something fatally stupid on my part: the shogun was half cocked. Screwing up my face in concentration I slowly, ever so slowly moved the mechanism down. In the silence that subtle click may have been shouting “Hello!”

“Keith?” The barrel had stopped moving, and a gruff obviously male voice spoke. “Keith, it's me, Wyatt. Don't shoot, I'm coming in.” A man roughly six feet high stepped through the now opened portal. His flashlight was pointed tword the back of the bunker. No risk. Even though this person was dressed in military uniform, he had either killed or knocked Kyle out. “You'll never believe who I found top side...” He spotted me. Too late for him though. His look was one of shock and mild grim humor as my shotgun butt slammed into his temple. He crumpled easily, and his shotgun clattered to the floor.

I dragged him farther into the bunker. Disarmed him and tied him up with some cord I found a bit farther back. He had short cut hair, and an unshaven face. He was actually about 6' 4”. His left shoulder was torn open by a clipping shotgun blast, but it wasn't life threatening yet. If I had to guess I would put him at about 28 years old, though it looked like he had gone through hell and back again. While I was finishing securing him, I saw that he had a very strange tattoo on the inside of his right forearm. It was a bar code, a six inch long bar code.

Believing him secured I scurried up the tunnel to find Kyle. I found him in a similar state that I had left the military person. He was out cold, and his hands were tied behind his back. I unbound him, and have him a slight shove to see if that would wake him. His eyes snapped open, and he gave me a hard shove and began scrambling to his feet. “Kyle! Calm down Kyle! It's me Derek!”

He paused, blinked, and then seemed to recognize me. “There was a man,” Kyle said out of breath. “Snuck up on me, shoot him, but he kept coming. Knocked me out.”

“I know, I caught him by surprise in the bunker. He's out cold right now.”

“How long was I out?”

“Not more than five minutes. Lets get the truck unloaded, and hide it somewhere.”

We emptied the truck, and moved it to a large clump of bushes. I went down the ladder again with what I could carry. Once I got to the bottom Kyle started to drop things that could be dropped down the entrance. A few moments later he made his way slowly down the ladder making sure not to drop the CB radio. We moved our gear to the main part of the complex, roughly piling it near the poster. Wyatt was still out cold. “Cute poster.” Kyle said as he saw the 'Hang in there baby' poster for the first time. “Someones got a dark sense of humor, think its his?”

I looked at the still unconscious form lying on the floor. “Maybe. This guy said he recognized you before I knocked him out.”

Kyle gave me a funny look, “You talked with him?”
“Nope.” I responded, “The sap thought I was someone else, a Keith something or other. He didn't realize it was me till the split second before I knocked him out. He's going to wake up with a killer headache. I sat down on one of the padded bunks across from the unconscious form. Kyle closed the door part way and lit an oil lamp he found in the back. Wyatt groaned, and rolled over slightly.

“Ah,” I said. “Speaking of.” I leveled the shotgun and the man's face, and not so gently poked him with it. His eyes snapped open, and bulged slightly at the sight of a shotgun barrel mere inches from him. His eyes flashed around as if taking stock of the situation, and he began to test his bonds. “Ah, ah, ah.” I said shoving the shotgun into unwounded shoulder. “We don't want to have to shoot you again.”

His movement stopped abruptly, and he spoke. “Wyatt Willson, 1st lieutenant, field op for Tech Com. I'm not here to kill anyone so there is no point in keeping me tied up. Besides when the rest of my group gets here, your going to need me to explain the situation.”

“The situation is Wyatt, if I can use your first name, you attacked me and then proceeded to try to attack my brother. So shut up and let us ask the questions.” Kyle spoke with rather harsh tones.

“You mentioned a Keith before I knocked you out, is he part of this group of yours?”

“Yes.”

“This Keith have a last name, Wyatt?”

“Yes.”

“Don't push your luck.” I said after that attempt to be spiteful. “What's his last name?”

“Hill” Wyatt said grimly. Than name struck something in me and I decide to confirm it before moving on.

“How many were in you group besides you?” I asked grimly.

“Eight.” Shit.

“Untie him.” I said to Kyle. Wyatt gave me a curious expression ask Kyle cut the bonds. “Your group is dead.” I said to him. He gave me an unbelieving look as he rubbed his wrists and sat up. “Don't believe me? Then here.” I took the eight sets of tags out of my pockets and tossed them to him. He caught them with his right hand, and stared dumbfounded.

“H-How?” He managed to stutter out weakly.

“We found their caravan destroyed on the side of a road not ten minuets from here.” Kyle answered. “They were attacked. The front end of one Humvee was smashed in. Two of them were riddled with bullet holes and the last one flipped on its back. Four of your comrades were shot multiple times, the others were...” Kyle began to falter

“Ripped apart.” I finished for him. “It was all I could do to get their tags from them. We managed to salvage some gear from the vehicles before we fled, but not much.” Wyatt's face took to obvious grief, but he tried to suppress it. “I'm sorry. Maybe if we had been there we could have...”

“No, you couldn't have.” Wyatt said grimly as he put the tags around his neck. “If they were taken out, then you wouldn't have stood a chance. He stood and moved to sit down on the bunk across from me. “Was there anything strange about how the vehicles were attacked or damaged?”

I thought on it for a moment then responded with, “The first Humvee looked like it hit something extremely heavy at high speeds. The last one had some fist size holes in it also. Why?”

“Nothing.”He responded quickly. A brief flash of fear came over his face, then vanished instantly. “I just wanted to know. You guys have no idea how extremely lucky you were to get to this bunker alive. Almost every major metropolitan area has been destroyed across the world.

“You know who did this?” Kyle asked.

Wyatt nodded. “Yes. Skynet is responsible for the destruction of humanity.” Both Kyle and I gave him doubting looks. Wyatt just simply nodded as he continued, “Skynet came on line three weeks ago, and spread throughout the world looking for potential threats. A short while later it became self-aware and became afraid that humans would destroy it and it would have no purpose. It started systematically infiltrating everything, preparing to attack. The world government saw this and tried to shut it down. It became angry and launched the attack that you both were first hand witnesses to.”

“How do you know this?” I asked unbelieving.

“Because I...” Wyatt stopped and listened. A loud roaring appeared. He ran to the door and threw his weight against it, and then tried to lock it in place. But with his injured shoulder he couldn't move it easily. “Help me!” He cried out. Kyle and I sprang to our feet and rushed over. Both of us put all our strength against the locking mechanism. A small click was buried in the sound of a deafening roar. The wall not two inches away seemed to reach out and slam directly into my forehead. Falling backwards, my vision faded from kyle still braced against the door to endless blackness.

I tried to speak but I couldn't. I was standing on top of a hillside overlooking Las Vegas. In front of me was a chain link fences blocking off a large picnicking area. “RUN!” I tried to scream, but nothing came out. No mater how hard I tried nothing would come out. My parents, Carol, and Kyle were all sitting down and talking and laughing. Never knowing of the imminent danger that was approaching. “RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! RUN DAMN IT! RUN!” I threw all my weight against the chain link fence and it didn't budge. “RUN! DAMN IT! KYLE! RUN!” I started to climb over the fence, when I made it to the top, I was finally acknowledged. “RUN!” I screamed. Kyle and the others simply pointed and laughed thinking it some joke. I didn't have time to yell again, a brilliant flash emanated from Vegas. I was thrown, off of the fence, thirty feet into a hillside. I propped myself up to see the entire family ignite and die. The light of the explosion only intensified and soon all I could see was a brilliant white light.

“Derek?” I blinked. I still couldn't see anything but that white light. I squinted and tried to bring my right arm to shield my eyes from the intense light. Pain wracked my entire right side as I tried. “Don't try to move. You broke your wrist and a few ribs from that fall of yours.” The light was removed from my eyes and I tried to focus on the blurry face that was behind it.

“Kyle?” I asked. I still hadn't manage to focus the face all the way.

“No. Wyatt. Your brother took a hard fall too. Relax, relax.” He said as I tried to rise. “Noting but a few bad bumps and bruises. Not nearly as bad as what happed to you. He's resting right now.” I started taking stock of myself and my surroundings. Breathing was painful, my left arm and leg seemed fine. I tried to move my right leg and got a jolt of pain in response. Wyatt spotted the movement and said, “I told you not to move, you twisted your right ankle as well. I'm going to give you a pain killer, try not to move OK?” I nodded, then felt a pinprick in my arm.

“So how did you fare, and what the hell happened?” I asked as he pulled the needle out of my arm. My vision had returned and other than his wounded shoulder I didn't see anything obviously wrong with him. “How long have I been out?” I asked when I took a visual inspection of were I was. I had been moved to a bunk from the floor, and my chest and been fully taped.

“If I had to guess I would say you have been out for eighteen hours. I honestly cant give you a strait time because I was knocked out as well. I wasn't injured by the explosion, just knocked out. As to what happened, a nuclear weapon when off within a mile from here. Judging by the ground movement it had to be a ten megaton. We are going to have to wait at least 96 hours before we go topside, thats the minimum for non lethal doses of radiation. I'm going to give you a sedative to help you sleep, I'll need both you and your brothers help when you wakeup again.” I nodded once again, there was nothing I can do about anything right now. I felt another needle go in and out. “Sleep now. Your going to need your strength.” I welcomed the sleep that slowly crept over me, all thoughts of my nightmare abolished from my mind.

I had a dreamless sleep, and woke to almost complete darkness. I rolled over on then bunk, my ribs still panged in pain, but not nearly as much as before. My ankle was much better and my wrist was securely locked in a splint. I sat up and started looking through the dim light for Kyle. I found him sitting on one of the bunks working on the CB radio, screwdriver in hand. “Were's Wyatt?” I asked him through the darkness.

“Oh, your up,good.” Wyatt said from above me. He was leaning out from the bunk above mine. “Hows the wrist feeling? You have been out for about another twelve hours.” He hopped down and brought out a small flashlight and started checking me over.

“Much better thank you.” I told him. “Never figured you much for the doctor type though.”

“Experience on the field dictates that everyone knows enough medical information to be of some use. I'm just a little better at it than most.” He put his flashlight away. “Well you seem perfectly good. Alright then I need both of your guys help for something.” Kyle put the CB down and We both followed him over to the 'Hang in there baby poster'. “Unit motto” He said as he pull the poster from the wall, to reveal an electronic number pad with a key slot. He pulled a key from his pockets and inserted it, then typed in a fifteen digit code and turned the key. A loud thump was heard and some dust fell from the back wall.

“We have been preparing this place for quite some time, in preparation for Skynet's attack.” He said as he grabbed the oil lamp and turned it up. The light fell on the back wall to reveal a door shaped outline in the wall. “If the both of you will push? My strength betrays me.” We nodded and threw our weight against the outline. Very slowly the door began to creep backwards. “We were preparing this place to act as a staging point for survivors and attacks,against Skynet.” We finished pushing the door as far as it could and Wyatt stepped past us to reveal a new section of the bunker that we had never seen before. “We built extensively with the time we had, this complex can house up to fifty people. The first area we were in was the guard room, designed to give early warning to the rest of the bunker.”

He started leading us down a long corridor. “We have a large weapons, and food store here. Enough to last us quite some time. But first I need you two to help me repair the wound Kyle gave me with his shotgun.” He opened up a door to reveal a full medical surgery area.

“How did you manage to build this place when the attacks happened with no warning?” Kyle asked as we stepped into the room.

“We were told to build it even before Skynet went on line. Our commander had a hunch that something like this would happen, he told us to start building and stocking, so we did.” I gave him an unsatisfied expression. “Questions later. I need your help.”

Wyatt took off his shirt and I was in shock. He was relatively fit but... he had burns and scars all over his body. My jaw dropped a little, and Wyatt saw it. “I got caught in an explosion, no biggy.” This guy for real? “I have managed to take care of most of the wound myself but I can't, by myself, get to one of the pellets. Now Derek I just want you to hold up that mirror and light since one of your wrists is out of commission. Kyle I'm going to walk you through the entire surgery.”

Twenty or so minutes later Kyle was at the point of almost pulling the pellet out. “OK Kyle you're doing great. Now I want you to clamp down tightly ONLY once your sure you have the pellet. Then once you have it slowly pull it out, making sure to keep it secure.”

“OK I think I have it, you ready?” Kyle asked. Wyatt gave a quick repetitive nod. “OK then.” Kyle slowly began to clamp down on the pellet. Thinking it secure, I could only wince as the pellet slipped from grasp of the tongs. Missed. Wyatt's face contorted in pain.

“T-Try again.” He managed to say through the pain. “Your doing great, take all the time you need, we're in no rush.” Kyle went in again, this time managing to successfully retrieve the pellet. Wyatt gave a sigh of relief once it was out. “OK, good job. I trust that you two can patch me up without my supervision?” We nodded. “Good because I'm going to pass out in a moment. Good job both of you...” and Wyatt promptly passed out.

After we finished patching up his shoulder, I turned to Kyle and asked, “Is this guy for real? I don't know anyone who could have stayed awake long enough to see their own operation through. And those injuries... only about half of them could be accounted for by an explosion.”

“I don't know, and I don't care. We owe this guy, and remember without him you would be in a world of pain right now from the bomb.”

“I know, I know. I just have a feeling that he's not telling us everything...”

“I have been thinking about it for some time now, We are going to have to question him, Kyle.” I said to him as we returned to the front area. “Too many things just don't add up. Orders to expand this place before any threat was issued, and how he knows that Skynet is responsible. Way to many holes in his story, and there is no way those burns and scars are from one explosion.”

We had left Wyatt to sleep in the medical room, as he was stable. I still hurt like hell however, and all I wanted to do was sit down and possibly sleep. I sat down and Kyle leaned against one of the bunks with a thoughtful expression on his face. Obviously he as mauling my statement over. “I don't disagree.” He said at least, “I'm just not thrilled to push that hard on someone that we owe a debt too. He's bound to tell us everything eventually, so why push him when he might not be up to it?”

Of all the... “Why?! Why, Kyle?! Because If you don't remember, we got attacked not two days ago!” I exploded. Kyle didn't seem phased at all by my outburst. “He knows what the hell is going on! For all we know he and his 'group' could have hacked Skynet and killed all those people! He could be a ...” I stopped.

Kyle hadn't even blinked. He just simply sat down and resumed work on his CB radio. It was obvious that he was just going to sit out my rant, and talk only when I was more level headed. I forced myself to exhale, and take a deep breath. Fine I'll play this by your rules. I just glared at him waiting for his response. He took a few minutes before responding to guarantee that I was more rational. “Weren't you the one who said there is nothing we can do about it? You seemed perfectly fine acting with little information.”

I opened my mouth to speak, then shut it quickly to prevent me from saying some very unpleasant things. “That was about our family.” I spoke is much calmer tones than before. “Not some person that we met, and who tried to attack you...

“And who did and still is helping you to heal.” Kyle put in quickly.
“This is different!” I snapped at him.
“No it's not!” Kyle voiced angerly. “You always do this! Always wanting to know about everything that has or will ever affect you! Now your just looking for someone to take the blame for all of this, so you can go take your revenge on them!”

“How dare...” I held my retort in check. “We are going to question him and thats final. I am going to sleep now” In no mood to continue talking I rolled over so I was facing away from him.

Eventually, I began to doze through my pain and anger. Past the fog of sleep I swore that I heard him say, “Never going to trust anyone, are you?” No, I will. I answered silently back. I just won't trust anyone blindly when you are at stake. No risks.

It was one of those things that you can never place when you first wake up. Something that scratches at the back of your mind demanding attention, but you shove it away in favor of more sleep. That instinct that demands conscience. I couldn't quite place it. It sounded like small amounts of falling water, but... harder? It was accompanied by a quick, shifting sound. I snapped my eyes open in realization. Someone was digging! Digging out the entrance! I got up quickly and went over to Kyle, and have him a quick shake to wake him. “Shhhhhhh!” I breathed as he groaned. “Listen. Someone is digging out the entrance. His eyes popped open wide as he registered the sound. “Where's Wyatt? We need to tell him. Perhaps it's some other friends of his.”

“Last time I saw him he was still sleeping in the medical room.” He said softly. “We should keep quiet, encase they aren't friendly, or if its Skynet.” I nodded. How the hell could it be Skynet though? We silently grabbed our shotguns and made our way quickly past the wall-door. We hurried down to the medical room and rushed in.

“Hello.” Wyatt said looking a bit shocked as we rushed in with shotguns in hand. He was only half dress as his shirt was off and he was inspecting his shoulder wound. “Come to kill me after patching me up?” He said as he put his shirt on.

“Can it.” I said to him. “Do you have any other buddies that could still be alive that we don't know about?”

“No one else from my unit is anywhere near here. Why? Want to know if someones going to come after you if you kill me now?” He said grimly looking at our shotguns.

“No.” Said Kyle before I could. “We just wanted to know, because right now someone is digging out the entrance to this place.” That got his attention. He was walking out the door faster than either of us could respond. We followed him out and down anther small area to a locked door.

“There is no one that I know of who could have mad it to this bunker, in this short period of time.” He said as he punched in a long password into the keypad. “They aren't friends of mine, and unless you know someone who could still be alive and nows of this place, odds are they aren't your friends either.”

“The only other people that we know, who knew about this bunker, were in Vegas when the attacks happened.” Kyle responded.

Wyatt stopped for a second and looked at us. “I'm sorry.” He said, and the continued punching in the code. With a mechanical hiss the door the door because slightly ajar. “If you please? My shoulder is still out of commission.” Kyle stepped forward and have the door a heavy tug. It slid smoothly outward to reveal a weapons cashe. “Like I said before this place has got enough weapons in it for fifty people.”

We stepped into the room and there we weapons everywhere lining every wall. “Here.” he said as he tossed us each a shotgun. “Those are better than what you have got, spas-12's. Load them fifty-fifty with these.” He said as he handed us two boxes, one labeled SG12, and the other SGHE. While we were loading he grabbed a modified M-16, and two clips of blue tipped ammo. “I don't like uninvited guests, particularly if they are hostile.” He said as he loaded the M-16 with a clip. “This of course is just a precaution, like when you knocked me out Derek. Ready? Lets go meet some new people!.”

We made out way back to the front room, the digging had gotten much louder by then. Whoever was digging was practically on the other side of the door. “Alright, Kyle I want you to open the door. Derek I want you a little farther back covering both of us. I'm going to peek out and see who is digging, OK?” Kyle and I both nodded, and we both moved into position. “Alright lets...” He stopped. Two loud bangs issued from the door, as if someone was knocking to be let in. Another pair of 'knocks' sounded. “Open it.” Wyatt said at last.

Kyle threw himself against the locking mechanism, and started slowly opening the door. “Shi..” Wyatt didn't have time to finish. A large blockish had had shot through the small opening, grabbed Wyatt by the throat, and lifted him into the air. Wyatt managed to hold onto his gun and stated firing into whatever was holding him up. I rushed forward and slammed my shotgun butt into the forearm, and was shocked to see that nothing changed. Kyle continued to open the door, as I got my first glimpse at it as Wyatt's clip ran dry. It was an eight foot tall humanoid robot! Large and out of proportion, but humanoid. Several bullet holes were in in its front chest platting, and it wasn't armed.

Out of pure shock, I pointed my shotgun at it, and pulled the trigger. The twelve game round shot out and slammed home into the chest of the monster. It didn't even look at me as the rounds bounced harmlessly off of its amour. I heard Wyatt's riffle clatter to the ground as he was forced to drop it to try to stop this thing from crushing his throat. The door had stopped moving, and Kyle's round was much more effective. A large slug whistled past my shoulder and slammed into the machines arm. Moments latter it exploded, shrapnel flying everywhere.. I heard Wyatt drop to the floor, as I felt something slice into the back of my leg. I stumbled forward through the smoke, to find that the machine was still standing, now inspecting the damage to its arm. It looked up after realizing that it was severed, and set its other arm flying at me.

Acting on reflex, I pulled the trigger again and watched as it flew backwards into the far wall from the explosive round. I watched in horror as the thing began to get up again. What does it take to kill this thing? “Out of the way!” I heard someone shout from behind. I dove into the entrance and to the side, and moments latter a hail of bullets flew through the door and slammed into the things head. It didn't move for a few moments, then shifted as to get up the remaining way. I put my shotgun in line again, and was about to pull the trigger when the thing collapsed into a heap on the floor.

“You guys need to leave.” I heard Wyatt say as I walked back into the room. He coughed loudly. He was still sitting down on the ground, leaning against the wall. “That was a T-70, one of Skynet's scouts. There are bound to be more coming now that we have destroyed it.” He coughed violently before continuing. “Take what you can, and head north. There is a topside bunker that should still be standing with a vehicle in it about a half mile north of here, head west once you have wheels.”

“Any why aren't you coming?” Kyle asked.

He coughed violently again, then once it stopped hi showed us the palm of his had. It was speckled in blood. Then he pointed to his side saying “I'm in no condition to be moved at the moment.” Kyle pointed a flashlight at his side, and I gulped. A large jagged piece of metal was sticking out from his flank. By to look of it it was several inches wide and looked like it had gone very deep into him. He looked at our sober expressions and said, “I'm going to be dead in a few minutes, so there is no point in fussing over me. Now get moving, I'm not going to be responsible for bringing metal down on you guys again. Now! Move it!” Kyle and I started grabbing up what we would need. The CB radio, the shotguns and reloads, some food and a med pack.

On our way to the ladder Kyle stopped to ask Wyatt a question. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Yeah.” He responded. “You can get your ass moving. I'll try to catch up to you guys later if I can, but move because T-70's have a nasty reputation of exploding.” Kyle and I gave him shocked looks. “Now go! Hurry up before that thing seals you down here with a dead man.”

Kyle and I scrambled up the entrance. Just as I was beginning to close the hatch, I heard what say to the T-70, “Sweet dreams, you ugly, son of a...” Before he could finish a large explosion threw me away from the door, and I landed roughly, several feet away. Kyle, who wast caught in the blast came rushing over. I propped myself up and looked at remains of the bunker entrance. A giant dirt sinkhole had appeared, and the entrance had obviously collapsed. So passes Wyatt. May he rest in peace.

I got to my feet, and looked at Kyle. “Come on, lets get moving before we get spotted.”

What a hellscape. It is truly amazing how well the human mind can resist the call of its senses. It was more than five minutes before I saw and felt the patches of glass underfoot. I stopped at the sound of it breaking and, for what seemed the first time, took in my surroundings. This area we left, when we entered the bunker, used to be a sandy, grassy, plain. Now it was just flat brown and broken crystal. What little vegetation there was before was now ash, and floating upon the winds. Rolling hills had been compressed into nothingness, and what sand there was become sharp glass. Particles from the nuke floated only high in the air now, choking off most of the starlight and moonlight. Hellscape. I wish we knew more about what we are up against.

Kyle on the other hand, seemed confidant considering everything that had happened. Armageddon, Skynet, murder, Skynet, robots, Skynet. Nothing makes sense anymore. “How the hell can you be so confidant?” I asked Kyle. “I mean, look around. There is nothing left of what we knew. And Wyatt is dead, and he was the only one of us who knew what the hell was going on!”

“We are alive aren't we?” He responded. “ This could be the best off we could be in quite a long time.” He paused and gave me a genuine smile. “Besides, now we have hope.”

I gave him an incredulous stare. “Hope? What hope?”

“That we aren't alone. There are other people still alive, we just have to find them. Skynet is also not invulnerable, didn't we just take out one of its machines?”

“So many people are dead though, and Wyatt died because of that thing.” I countered grimly.

“So? Since when have long odds ever stopped the Reese brothers? Hey! Look at that!” He said pointing in the distance. “ I think that was the place Wyatt was talking about!” I squinted through the darkness and spotted the boxish outline a bit farther away. Whatever it was it was still standing, and that was good enough for me.

We hurried the rest of the way to the structure, and started circling around its perimeter looking for an entrance. Eventually we found a large hole that connected to main part of the building. Strange, looks like someone blasted their way in. I shifted my shotgun to a more ready position, Perhaps another T-70? “I'm not liking this Kyle, but we need those wheels. I'll go in first, you follow a moment later, OK?” He gave me a quick nod, and I pulled out a flashlight, as I headed into the darkness. I heard Kyle set in about five paces behind me, and we began to make our way deeper into the facility.

It looked like this was another area setup by Wyatt's people for survivors. Instead of looking like a military outpost however, it looked more like a storage bunker. “Kyle. Over here. I found them.” There were two Humvees, just like the ones at the destroyed convoy, in seeming perfect condition.

“Drop it. Both of you.” Shit. “Now!” Demanded the rough voice again.

“OK, OK!” I lowered my shotgun to the ground along with my flashlight, making sure that it was pointed in the direction I believed the voice was coming from. It illumined a man about 5' 9”, and in his mid twenties. He was wielding a P90, and was menacingly waving it at me. The light reflected off of a pair of dog tags around his neck as he asked, “Who the hell are you two?”

“I'm Kyle.” Kyle said as he stepped up behind me unarmed. “This is my brother, Derek. You resistance?”

Resistance, what the hell? Apparently the man also had no idea what Kyle was talking about either. “No. Marine core. You guys are heavily armed for civilians...” He said implying that we were more than we appeared.

“We found a bunker about a half miles south of here. It was well stocked. We rode out the attacks in it then took what we needed. We found information saying that there was a possible fortified place a short while north, maybe with some vehicles.” I responded quickly.

“From the bunker, eh? There was a mention, in what I could find here, that there was a fallout shelter about a mile south of here. I tried to make my way down to it but got cut off and forced back here.” He responded grimly. “The name's Mackenzie, you guys can call me Mac. Didn't think that there was anyone left around after the attacks, was just about to try for the bunker again when you guys barged in.” He visibly relaxed, he appeared to reach the conclusion that we weren't his enemies. I bent slightly as if to pick up my gun, and his instantly swung in line with me. “No, no, no. Just because I have relaxed a bit and told you guys my name doesn't mean I trust ya.”

I stood back up strait. Thought so. “Bunker's no longer an option. Main entrance collapsed just after we got out. Must have taken damage in the blasts.” I lied. Then to quickly change the subject I said, “When you said that you got 'cut off' from the bunker, did you get attacked?”

“Yes,” He nodded. “and by something I haven't ever seen the likes of before. Some type of machine.” A T-70?! “Bastard chased my all the way back here and blew that hole in the wall that you so conveniently entered just a moment ago.” He registered our shock and asked, “Want to see it? Perhaps you guys know what it is.” Did this guy take out a T-70 by himself? If so he's better than he looks. We nodded our agreement and he ushered us at gun point to a different area. A large tarp covered, from what I could tell, a pile of debris. “Bastard was hard to kill too.” He said as he ripped the tarp off to reveal a metallic form.

“Thats not a T-70.” I heard Kyle say from behind me, and indeed it wasn't. The thing had no sense of human resemblance, but seemed more like a miniature jet and helicopter combination. The thing was in bad shape to say the least. One of its “wings” had been blown off, but the other was relatively intact. A large turbine engine was attached to its tip, and it seemed like it could be rotated freely, as if to control directional facing.

“A T-what?” Mac asked confused.

“T-70.” I responded to for Kyle. “Robot about eight feet tall that Skynet uses for scouting and light attacks.”

“Skynet? But what would a military drone be doing in Nevada? “

“Trying to kill us not an hour ago. Blew the sucker apart, but lost one of our friends to it.” Kyle stated flatly. “Skynet seized control of everything, once it deemed humanity to be a threat. It was responsible for the nukes. It's responsible for the death of our friend. And I'm guessing it was in control of this thing when it attacked you.”

“Always knew that thing was a bad idea.” Mac said. He seemed to fully believe our story, and promptly kicked the machine in front of us. A pang of recognition crossed his face and he said, “I'm sorry. The death of your friend is on my hands. This damned thing!” He said kicking it again. “Must have figured out were I was headed. Skynet must have sent this T-70 thing to the bunker thinking that I had made it. Sorry.”

“You could never have known that we were there, or that you trying to reach us would cause us to be attacked.” I responded. “I wonder what the hell this thing is though.”

“All I know is that it's a flyer, a fast one at that, and is heavily armed and armored. Took two full clips into it to down it, got a lucky shot into one of its engines. Thing popped a missile, before it went down, and made that hole. What about your T-70? How tough are they?”

“Small arms have almost no effect.” Responded Kyle. “It took several explosives, and it was still still coming on. It's got a weak spot though. Fifteen rounds of an M-16 centered on or around the head disables it. It explodes about five minuets latter.”

“So that's how...” Mac started, then trailed off into silence.

“Yeah.” I said answering the unspoke question. “He knew it was going to happen and got us out of there before it exploded.”

“Well then! Go get your guns and load up into the first Humvee.” Kyle and I gave him a strange look at his change in attitude. “What?” He said, looking at our expressions. “It's not like I was going to hold you guys hostage forever. I also owe this friend of yours. So where were you guys going to head? Thats why your here right, for the jeep?”

I gave him a blank stare, and then was cheered by our turn in luck. “We were going to head west. We heard from our friend that there was a staging point for counter-Skynet operations there.”

“A good idea! I never could resist a good fight anyways. Put what you guys have got in the back of the Humvee, I already have it loaded with most of the food and water I could find here. I'm just got one last thing to grab, and I'll meet you at the truck.” With that he turned and walked through an open door a little farther away.

“Is it me or did he just do a 180 in personality?” I asked Kyle. “Not sure that I exactly trust him, but if he is Marine core then I'm not all that worried.”

“Ah who cares?” Kyle answered back. “I'm not one to question our luck. Just look at it this way. He's military, well armed, and is going to come with us. It's aways good to have another set of eyes around.”

Light began to gradually filter through the blast hole. Sunrise. I was half expecting that it would never come, and we would be locked in a forever night. We picked up our discarded shotguns and supplies, and made our way to the lead Humvee. It seemed in fine condition, but like the others we saw before, this one had no mounted weapon. We threw the med packs and MRE's in the back with the piles of others, and I headed for the drivers seat. “I'm driving.” I turned about to see Mac approaching with his weapon, and a large medicine bottle. “Not that I don't trust you guys. It's just that I would prefer to drive. That way you guys can be on lookout, and take down anything that gets too close.”

We gave him another set of funny looks. Could do the same thing with me driving. He sighed, “What? Still don't trust me?” He pulled the clip out of his P90, and handed it to me. “There, I'm unarmed. If you don't like were I'm driving you can shoot me. Now, do you mind?” I stepped away from the front door and got into the back. Kyle got into the passenger seat with the CB and his shotgun.

“What is that?” Kyle said looking at the large medicine bottle in Mac's hands.

Mac opened it up to reveal large white horse pills. He took one out and swallowed it. “Potassium iodide. Here, both of you should take one.” He handed a pill to each of us. Kyle swallowed it immediately, but I was slightly reserved. “You really should take it.” He said. “It will reduce the effects of the leftover radiation.” I shrugged, and then swallowed it. It tasted like chalk as it slid down my throat.

“Alright then, lets get moving.” Mac said as he reached down and pressed a button. The large doors in front of us began to slowly open. Mac started up the engine, and drove out once there was enough space. The doors opening faced the sun directly as it rose into the horizon. We were bathed in the morning light as Mac floored it onto the dirt road. Kyle asked him what the rush was and he said, “Don't want to be around when and if another one of those air buggers shows up again, besides we're going to be needed to fight Skynet as soon as possible I think.”

Never would I have thought that the sky could be so clear. There wasn't a single cloud in the air at all, they had all been blow away and apart by the explosions. The sun rose easily through the crisp blue sky and it brightened our moods. However if you dropped your gaze to below the horizon line you were met with a bleak scene. An endless flat brown and gray mess wafted over everything. No vegetation, no animals, hell you could barely make out the road.

“You asked if I was resistance back there. Who are these resistance?” Mac asked Kyle. I was curious about this too, because I had never heard anything about the 'resistance' when Wyatt was around. “They some type of para-military group?”

“Not really.” Kyle answered. “Our friend that we encountered in the bunker was one of them.” Wyatt? "He was sent here to expand on the old bunker in preparation for Skynet's attack. They for saw that Skynet would attack humanity and so they were preparing. I guess that what remains of humanity could be called resistance now, because we are now all Skynet's enemies.”

“Did this friend of yours know why Skynet decided to attack?” Mac asked after digesting the information.

“Yeah. Skynet attacked because its job was protection of the world. It realized that humanity was the real main threat, and started infiltrating every silo and sub command and control. It attacked once CRS tried to pull the plug on it. According to Wyatt, our friend, Skynet became self-aware, paranoid, and angry once we tried to kill it. So it launched the nuclear campaign against every human.”

“Sounds like Wyatt was deeply involved in CRS to know that much.” Mac said questioningly

“Never got a chance to find out.” I said for Kyle. “We got attacked by that damned T-70 before I got around to questioning him further. He took a piece of shrapnel in his side, and basically ordered us out of the bunker before the thing exploded. The explosion caved in the entrance, and buried Wyatt.” I paused for a moment. There was a strange sound in the air. “Anyone else hearing jet engines?”

Mac stopped the Humvee, and turned off the engine. Three distinct jet engines could be heard, and they were getting louder. “Anyone see them?” He asked. We started looking out the windows and saw nothing. I got the brilliant idea of sanding up through the gunners position, and started looking around. The sounds were coming from behind us and then I spotted them. Three low flying machines, each very similar to the one Mac destroyed. They leveled out behind us, and I spotted the lead machine deploying is missiles. I barely had time to duck back inside of the vehicle as the miniature missile screamed over head.

“Go! Go! Go!” I screamed. Mac turned over the engine and floored the gas pedal. The Humvee shot forward just in time as another missile screamed into its previous position. The vehicles rear end lifted from the ground from the force of the explosion, only to slam back down. “Three! Three fliers!”
I screamed as I grabbed my shotgun. Another missile exploded to the right side of the Humvee, spinning us out of control.

A moment latter all three flew overhead, and separated. One when up the others left and right. Mac regained control of the Humvee and sent it flying down the road. “They are going to hit us from three sides!” Mac yelled. “I'm pretty sure I could dodge the side ones, but you got to take out the third one!”

I popped out through the gunners hole, and started looking around for targets. The engine noises started gaining in strength, and I spotted the one coming from the left. A forward mounted machine gun spun up on it and spat a hail of bullets at us. Most of them impacted the armor plating of the Humvee, but some of them were sent my direction. I was lucky, I got hit by a single glancing shot on my right shoulder causing me to wince in pain. Before I could recover it flew by over head. Turning to follow it I fired a hasty shot after it. The bird shot sparked off of its amour, causing nothing more than minor dents.

Luckily for me its path was close enough to its brother for me to spot it coming in. Slug next. I had kept the order of my rounds the same since the bunker, and I new that a HE round was up next. As I was taking aim the thing loosed another one of the small missiles. Mac spotted it and turned sharply to the right. The move caught me by surprise and my ribs slammed into the edge of the opening. I cried out as I felt the injured ribs crack once again. The force of the move caused me to accidentally tighten down on the trigger and send the HE round flying harmlessly into the dirt to explode.

Macs driving reflexes were great enough that the missile flew by about a foot away, but left the Humvee wide open for the third attack. The last flier came in low and fast. I took aim and fired a hasty shot, trying to damage and divert it before it got a missile off into our exposed flank. I had no idea how lucky I was going to get. Most of the bird shot sparked harmlessly off of its amour, but one lucky pellet slammed home into its exposed missiles. It detonated in a quick fireball, setting off a chain reaction on the other missiles. Four more rapid explosions racked its frame, and it fell skidding to the ground destroyed.

A small cheer emanated from inside the Humvee, as Mac straitened out the vehicle. He floored it again, and I started searching for the remaining two air drones. I was looking back along our trail expecting them to come up from behind. The loud engine noises told me other wise. I spun around to see, in front of the Humvee, both aircraft streaking at us. I took quick aim and fired off the HE round. The slug streaked in, and stuck the right hand craft in a wing join. It exploded and sent the drone cartwheeling off to the side destroyed.

The last remain drone continued its path, ignoring the fate of its kin. It peeled off as it launched another missile dead at us. Mac turned hard left in an attempt to dodge, and I braced myself for the impact. Mac's driving skills managed to save us from a direct hit, for the missile impacted the armored rear quarter of the Humvee. The force of the explosion caused the rear windows to shatter, and we spun a complete circuit before stopping. Before I could reorient myself I lost track of the drone as it slipped into another wide bank for another attack.

Somehow the Humvee was still in working condition, and Mac eased it back onto the road. He didn't full throttle it but, coasted the vehicle down the road. The jet noise increased again, and I looked franticly about for the drone. This time it came from the right side, and its machine gun was already spinning up before I even spotted it. It spat metal slugs that impacted the amour, and tore through the shattered windows. I cried out as if felt at least on bullet rip through my leg and exit the other side.

I couldn't manged to keep myself standing, the pain from the ribs, and the leg was just too overwhelming. I crumpled and fell back down inside of the Humvee. “You alright?” I heard Mac yell as the drone roared overhead. Gota take out that bastard drone. I threw my body against the left hand door and leveled my shotgun on its damaged window frame. I took aim and pulled down on the trigger, and I got a nice sounding click for my efforts. A rapid burst of bullets followed the drone however, and slammed into its vulnerable rear.

Seeming to loose control, it dove into the ground, and exploded. “Gotcha!” Mac yelled as he slowed the Humvee to a stop. He turned to look at the both of us and asked, “Everyone alright?” He himself wasn't in that great of condition. One of his arms had apparently been sliced open by a piece of shrapnel, and had a few glass cuts on his face.

“I' m not injured, a bit shaken but unharmed.” Kyle responded. He turned back to look at me and gave me a worried look.

“I have been blasted by a nuke, attacked by a killer robot, and bombarded by some crazy ass air things. I'll live, but I have been better.” I managed to say before the pain caused me to pass out.

They say that when you sleep you live other lifetimes in mere fractions of a second. When I used to dream, they were kind and wonderfully pleasant dreams. But now... endless nightmares. Cities reduced to rubble. People turned to ashes on the wind, and plants burnt into choking dust. A barren and lifeless planet. Earth was a dieing planet, but not a still one. I have learned to fear them, those red eyes that control the nightmare. Pain. Slowly my mind wakes from its eternity of suffering, seizing control of the never ending horror. The eyes won't surrender, they came ever closer, closer. Pain. As they drew near the agony multiplied. Closer, ever closer. Never stopping. until I am destroyed....

I sprang upright, fleeing from the red. My eyes snapped open from the intense pain of the movement, and all I could see was a blur. A strong arm reached across my chest and forced me back down. “Don't move.” It said. Not wanting to cause myself anymore pain, I complied with the gruff command. Where am I? Slowly my senses began to return to me. My leg was tightly bound and compressed, and pulsed painfully with the beat of my heart. My breathing was also restricted, as my chest was also taped tightly.

I felt a hard seem running under my hand, and firm padding underneath me. My vision finally came into focus, and I was greeted by a gray ceiling. I was still in the damaged Humvee. There was no movement or sound of the engine, even though the sun was still in the sky. I lifted my head and was surprised at the amount of pain the move caused. Mac was crouched near my leg and was inspecting the bloodied bandages. “How long was I out?” I asked him.

His eyes glanced in my direction, and then returned to the bandages. “About four hours.” He responded as he began to remove the outer layer of cloth and replace it.

“Where?”

“A short while from the California border. We stopped about two hours ago so I could better patch you up, and better patch myself.” I ripple of pain shot from my leg as he tightened the bandages down. However I was willing to take the minor pain if it meant healing faster. I had to admit he had done a great job of patching us up. I wasn't nearly in the amount of pain I was before, and his shoulder was patched and his minor cuts looked well on their way to healing. “I didn't know you were injured before we left. Looks like you re-cracked your ribs.” He tested my rips slightly, and I inhaled sharply in response to the pain. “You got lucky on your leg though. Two clean entries and exits. I sticked them, albeit badly, and wrapped them up.”

“Yeah.” I said thinking back to the attack. “I cracked my ribs when you made one of those sharp turns to dodge a missile.”

“Sorry about that, then.” He responded.

“Don't be.” I said quickly. “It was a very good thing that we let you drive. Hell, if I had been driving we would never have survived.”

“Thanks.” He said with a faint trace of confidance. “All the driving in the would couldn't have taken down those drones however. That was some really nice shooting you did back there. The fact that you took down two of them in a speeding car, hell, I was impressed.”

“I got real lucky.” I said, dismissing the praise. “Particularly with that first one.”

“Don't be so modest.” Mac said with a small grin. “Now that I have seen you fight, I would have been honored to have you in my unit.”

I flushed slightly. “Thanks. I just got lucky though.”

“Luck is better than skill.”

I sat up slightly, and grimaced as my ribs screamed in protest. I started looking about for Kyle, and I couldn't find him. “Kyle?” I asked. “Where's Kyle.”

“Outside.” Mac answered. “Working on the radio, hold on I'll get him.” Mac opened the door, and hopped out. He looked about for a bit then yelled, “Hey, Kyle! Pack it up! Your bothers up and good to go!” He closed the door and got into the driver's seat.

A moment latter Kyle entered the passenger side door with the CB radio. He closed the door and turned to look at me. “You have looked better.”

I sat up slowly, and ignored to sharp jabs of pain shooting down my side. “You've looked worse.” I said snidely back. Indeed despite the hails of bullets, and the missile explosions, Kyle was unmarked. “Don't have the decency to get injured like the rest of us, huh?”

“Just be happy that I didn't. Otherwise we would be driving without knowing where we were going to go.” Kyle reached down and grabbed up the CB radio.

“You fixed it?” Mac asked.

“Partially. The send parts have been shattered, so we can only receive.” Kyle flipped a switch on the radio and began to mess with the dials. “If anyone is broadcasting it shouldn't be too difficult to find them.”

Mac and I listened to the static hoping for some type of signal. “Wait!” I said suddenly. “Go back I thought I heard something.” Kyle turned a dial back slightly and we listened to the static. It wasn't much, just a random pulse in the static.

“I hear it as well” Mac confirmed.

“Kyle nodded and adjusted a second dial. “H...need...burnt...br...” It was an obviously female voice, but the static shredded the transmission. Kyle made some more minor adjustments and her message became slightly more coherent. “This is Jai...omberg. We are in desperate need... and water. W have no medica.... desperate need of. Will be... Sacramento city center at... Pleas help. Were attacked... robots... and children. If your out there... meet us... help please. Be at city center... Will broadcast again... marrow. This is... Please help.” The signal cut to static, and we sat there wondering if it would come back. Kyle messed with the dials again, and there was no longer any evidence of a signal. Kyle turned off the power, and we sat in silence for some time. We aren't alone. Even though I had come to the logical conclusion that there we others survivors, a voice was enough to confirm my hopes.

“What do we do now? Kyle asked, breaking the silence.

“Isn't it obvious?” Mac answered him. “ We have got to go help them. You heard them. Women and children, and they are low on food, medicine, and water.” He pointed tword the back of the Humvee. “We have extras of all of those, and we can make runs for more. Dono where from though.”

But what if... I gulped at the implication that I was about to make. “ I hate to suggest this but what if it's a trap?” The simple statement cause them to reconsider their choices. “Skynet knew about the storage place. It figured out that there was a bunker. It knows how many of us there are. It knows we are armed, and it might have figured out where we were headed. What if that entire transmission is nothing but a Skynet trap?” I sighed heavily, and leaned back into the seat. There. I had just said what was not wanted to be heard.

“It doesn't matter.” Mac said firmly. “It doesn't matter much because what if it's real?” I don't know about you two, but I won't abandon people just because of a threat of a trap. If it's real then it's our responsibility to help. I its a trap, then we'll bust it wide open and inflict some serious damage.”

“Besides,” Kyle said. “ We can now think of it as a trap, so we're one step ahead of Skynet.”

“OK.” I said. “I just dont want us to be caught flat-footed and get ourselves killed.”

Mac nodded and turned over the engine. “Alright then. It's settled. We'll go to Sacramento. To its city center and see what there is to see.” He eased the Humvee onto the road, and accelerated quickly.

We hit a small bump, and the shock rippled through my ribs. I grimaced as the pain registered in my mind. This is going to be painful if I don't do something. I leaned forward and tapped Mac on the shoulder. “Is it possible for you to dive a little slower? I would prefer to not be in pain all day.”

He laughed. “Yeah, no problem. I had almost forgotten about you injuries in the prospect of other people besides us being alive.” He slowed the Humvee to about half the speed it was moving before. “There are some pain killers in the med-pack on the floor. Besides, we don't want to have to carry you to our introductory meeting with new people!” He laughed again. I smirked at his mirth, and reached down for the medical pack.

My smile dropped as I realized our destination. Sacramento, a very populated city. Most likely nothing but a pile of rubble and ash now. Nothing but a nuked out and irradiated wasteland. A place that we used to know by heart. Where Kyle and I first grew up. Our home.