The Guardians

By

Rodney Moorhead

January 25, 2001

The known world ceased to exist five days ago. I watched it unfold on CNN, one minute the new President was being sworn in the next it went black. There were reports as to what was taking place but that to went dead. I have no idea how many people were killed. I turned on my generator and listen to Bach while waiting for my death.

It did not happen. The mountains I live in must have protected me from radiation. When I spied upon the city below me and the air base I onceworked at I saw large undamaged areas. Perhaps it was hit by neutron bombs. I am getting worried over earthquakes, which I am experiencing.

I am to live this long only to be crushed by the earth?

January 29, 2001

I am running low on supplies. If I stay here I am going to die. The wildlife around me is not doing so well except for some types of vegetation. For some unknown reason it has gone wild. It also rained black sooty water today. As if the heavens were crying for the dead. My Geiger counter is starting to pick up more radiation. Fallout no doubt from other areas. I am going to start caching my things in a cave near my house, and then I will seal it for a later date.

February 1, 2001

I finished caching all that will be useful for me in the future. Radiation levels are rising into the unsafe levels. I was attacked this morning by a puma that wanted me for dinner. I have never been fond of cats, and eating them even less. None the less she tasted pretty good with some tobacco sauce. I found some human finger bones in her stomach along with a wedding ring. How many dreams and lives were shattered in the name of science? I am going to attempt to break into Davis Monthan air base below me. Beneath it I once guarded a large redoubt and science complex filled with secrets. There is a fairly large cryo center. I shall attempt to freeze myself for another day. I hated that place, I hated the people their too. I thought I turned my back on that place just over a year ago when I walked away from it. I could not allow myself to treat my country and the people I took an oath to protect as they did. No doubt I will have a fight on my hand. I am going to take my old friend Heckler and Koch Mark 23 along and a Benelli shotgun.

February 3, 2001

I made it in. There was still a few men left alive and unfrozen there to deal with. I had to kill them for I had no other choice. My H&K Mark 23 and can worked well. I remember the day I was issued the Mark 23 in Ranger School. There I was taught the fine arts of killing enemies foreign and domestic. I had no idea that domestic would mean my own government or what was left of it. The few scientist left unfrozen were in the process of freezing themselves. The new type cryo tubes only requires one to strip down and just step in. Everything is automated. A scientist named Dr. Whaitley showed me this one time.

There is also a built in timer so one can choose the time to thaw out. It took me about thirty minutes to figure out how to work it. I set all the other cryo tubes to manual thaw except for one other of a man I once worked with and trust. I set his to the same and time as mine. One hundred years from this date at 0500. I sure hope this works. I was exposed to a lot of radiation. I can feel its effects starting on me.

Perhaps the freezing will neutralize it. I was told that it would once by some white coat. I hope one hundred years will be better than it was when I entered here. At least the radiation will have died down. Surely pockets of humanity has survived. First Lieutenant (Ret.) Robert MacGregor signing off.

February 3, 2101

1000 feet below the Sonora desert computers powered by nuclear generators came to life. In a large room filled with one hundred cryo tubes, two begin to hum and light up. Laying horizontally the tubes slowly started to rotate to a vertical position. The humming grew louder from within them and the blue light turned to crimson red as heating elements kicked in. Slowly with a low barely audible whine the tubes slide open and two men spilled to the floor. Robert came around first alerted to the coughing and labored breathing to the left of him.

Having coughed out the rest of the liquid oxygen in his lungs Robert slowly crawled over to the man and rolled him over on his back. "Good morning Larry, you fucker. Cough it out." Robert said in a deeply strained voice. Delighted was he to hear and see more coughing and see the pink liquid running on the floor. A moan issued from Larry’s scarred body and Robert rolled him over and collapsed. All of a sudden Larry croaked "Master Sergeant Larry Running Deer reporting for duty." Robert managed a pained look over to his friend and said while wheezing "Damn you Larry its me Robert. Snap out of it."

Larry’s head turned over to the large form lying next to him. Slowly his brown eyes became a little clearer, "Rob Roy its you. How you’ve been? Hey you are not supposed to be here half the country is looking for you. You had better get out quickly before you get caught." Robert managed to raise a hand to his beating head, "Larry, there is no one here either thawed or alive to arrest me. The whole world is glow in the dark now, remember?"

Larry issued another moan only this one from disgust rather than pain. Robert managed to slowly stand up. "Fuck it is cold in here. Where is the Goddamn thermostat? Slowly he limped over to a thermostat and turned up the temperature to a reasonable temperature of seventy-five degrees. "Damn it is sixty two in here."

Warm air started to flow from the vents Robert walked over to Larry and helped him to his feet. "Well who shall we thaw out this rotten morning. I feel like I drank a fifth of Vodka." Robert said while looking about the room. "I asked around a little bit after your departure. Sorta felt people out. Billy, Steve, and Iain are the only ones I would trust. Just the old crew from the war. " Robert looked up and said "What happened to Stu?’ Larry shook his head slowly. "He got a promotion to lieutenant, transferred over to NORAD. Probably frozen or dead over there."

Slowly the two friends started the process to thaw out their friends. Larry Running Deer is a twenty-five year old Lakota who joined the Army rather than going to prison. He killed two Klansmen who had been harassing the reservation. He fought under Lietntnante MacGregor in the Mexican/American Border War of 1998 when Mexico under a Fascist dictator supported by Castro tried to take over the American Southwest. He lost horribly and Mexico became United States Territory. Larry’s specialty is explosives and survival. He is an excellent tracker and an educated man with bachelors in ecology from North Dakota University. Larry is six foot and a lean one ninety. He wears his raven black hair in shoulder length ponytail. He has shrapnel scars on his back and the left side of his body from a grenade that exploded near him in the Cuba campaign. His high cheekbones and hawk nose makes him look like the stereotypical Lakota warrior of long ago.

Billy O’Brien was one of the firsts out of the cryo tubes. Lashing out with a string of obscenities the devout Irish Catholic was in rare form. A hand to hand combat expert and sniper Billy is quite deadly. His is medium height at five foot seven and is a trim and hard one eighty-five. He is from Irish stock from North Western Iowa. He holds a third degree black belt in Kenpo and volunteered for service right after Mexico invaded Texas. A staff sergeant at thirty-four he is the oldest of the group. Billy while not being the most tactful soldier is highly intelligent with bachelors in art from Iowa State. Steve Smith, the tall black from Austin Texas thudded to the floor before anyone could catch him.

The groups medic is also one of the best snipers the Army ever produced. He was drafted for the Mexican/American Border War and is a Sergeant First Class. He is six foot three and two hundred and ten pounds. At twenty-three he is the youngest of the group. A genius after the short war and before the holocaust he was taking Internet courses from the University of Texas for an advanced degree in abnormal psychology. Iain Scott the feisty Scot from Dead Horse Alaska is an explosive expert and a small arms expert. At five foot nine and two hundred pounds he was a linebacker in college where he got a bachelors in English. He enlisted in the service and is a first sergeant. His birthday is tomorrow and he will be twenty-six.

Robert ‘Rob Roy’ MacGregor entered the service through officer school. He joined up with the Rangers and made a name in the service in The Mexican/American War of 1998 and the Cuba Campaign. Liked by his men because he listened to his sergeants and was not afraid to take risks himself instead of delegating them to someone else. He commanded a lot of respect. A hand to hand combat expert he took Tae Kwon Do since a child and held a fifth degree black belt in the ancient Korean fighting form. Robert is also a small arms expert.

Highly educated with masters in history from the University of Arizona specializing in warfare he is formidable in many ways. At twenty-seven he stands at six foot and weighs a sculpted two thirty. As he stands and talks muscles bulge making him look like Steve Reeves. His deep hazel eyes scan the room as he talks.

The five friends sat on the floor together as they tried to regain their strength from a long freeze. They talked about old times to help pass the time. Robert got up and stepped over to his clothes and firearms he had piled next to the tube one hundred years ago. "What happened after I left? I sent a copy of the shit that was going on here to the President, half a dozen congress critters, and to some reporters. I guess the reporters did not believe it but was their no shakedown?" Robert looked about the room in almost a daze.

Larry was the first to speak, "Shit, the President believed it. In fact he toured the place right after he found out. He had us pull out and use the Microwave Gun to shoot down Marine Corp. One. Those poor bastards. There was a pilot on there that made a comment to the President when he snorted some coke on board. We cooked five good men, our people from the inside out. Just to serve a son of a bitch." Robert ran his hand through his hair and sat down on a old computer table. Iain slowly said, "Nothing at all really happened except the search for you. How in the hell did you evade the whole government and how did you get in

here?"

Robert cracked his first real smile, "Hell that was easy, money

and spending my time right under their noses. I actually live twenty

miles from here up in the Catalinas. Built myself a nice cabin and

lived off an abandoned gold cache I found while hiking. As far as

getting in here, I really had no choice. I was surpassed they did not

change the sec codes. Tucson was hit by Neutron bombs. The radiation

dissipated really fast, but the fallout from everywhere else was getting

bad. I hopped in my Jeep and drove over here. I figured I had to

freeze my ass for another day or die. I really hate to go out now and

take a look. I am afraid we might be all that is left. It was pretty

bad, maybe it straightened out, but I doubt it." Billy groaned and

said, "Lets go grab some clothes and gear and then some food." Robert

started to grab his small pack that had his journal in it and he

stopped. Picking up his Benelli M1 Tactical Shotgun he tossed it over

to Larry with a box of shells. "I know this place has Sec Hunters,

better take this along with you." Larry got it and check to see if it

was loaded. Looking up he said, "I never like those damn things even

with the proper shut off codes. Remember when that one went crazy."

Everyone shook their head in mute acknowledgment. A Hunter went

ballistics and started killing everyone it could catch. It killed over

ten people before Steve shot it with a Barret fifty caliber sniper

rifle." Robert perked up and said, "Hell I am going over to the upper

officers quarters and take me a nice hot shower, grab some new duds and

then some guns." I advise you to do the same but not stray to far

apart. Let’s get out of here before someone gets the wrong idea."

Robert pulled on his pants and plodded down the small hallway to the

officers quarters. Larry led the rest back to the locker rooms where

the enlisted men’s showers were. Billy was the first in the showers and

he rotated the lever that turned the showers on. He stood waiting under

a head waiting for the warm relaxing water. Cold, smelly, blackish

green slime sprayed out of all the heads coating Billy from head to

toe. Behind he heard wild laughter. Turning around, slime dripping of

him making him look much like the swamp thing he shouted, "Fuck you

too." while flipping off his friends. Hearing a loud gurgling noise

behind him he turned and was greeted by warm, clean water.

Robert walked to he came to the door of a one General Schmidtt.

Testing the door he found it was locked. Robert gave it a swift kick

and it popped open. Doing a quick scan before he entered he noted a

skeleton lying on the floor. Slowly he entered and turned on the

lights. Slowly the fluorescent bulbs came to life. The room was

spacious. Almost one hundred square feet with a few other rooms

attached. The skeleton was the General himself. A small baby browning

was lying next to the body. Robert picked it up and set it on the desk.

He quickly noted an entry room in the skull near the temple. "The

fucker shot himself. God I hated that prick." Robert said to no one.

Checking the rest of the rooms. He entered the Generals private

bathroom and took a shower. Hot water enveloped his body as he soaped

up with lilac fragrance soap. Shaking his head at the soap he remember

the General was a bit of an oddball. Pressing the CO2 powered shaving

foam dispenser; the dispenser hissed and blew out nothing. "Damn it,

the never worked back then why should they work now." Slowly he worked

up lather with the soap and had his first shave in one hundred years.

Most of the slime had already been swept away by the hot water. Larry

was last in hoping the slime would not come back. It smelled so much

like shit. Billy was busy really scrubbing himself, trying to get it

out of his hair. He gave a low chuckle. He set the shotgun up on a

ledge above the showerheads and stepped in the water. It was quite warm

and clean. The base had its own artesian wells that supplied it.

Grabbing soap on the rope he went to work cleaning himself. Steve

noticed a tarantula crawling along a baseboard. It was shiny silver in

color with black accents. It scurried off as he splattered water by

it. Iain spotted the spider too. "How did that get in here." Steve in

his Texan drawl said, "Damned if I know." Both shrugged their shoulders

and went back to cleaning up.

Robert stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel.

Slowly he realized all the towels in the room were pink. He opened the

medicine cabinet and dug through its contents. Holding a bottle in the

light he found the aspirin he desperately needed. The damn soap was

driving his sinuses crazy. Popping two in his mouth he stepped back

into office area. Quickly he pulled his clothes on. He wore his old

BDUs the day he infiltrated the base. He picked up his beret and

plopped it on his head. He grabbed the small pack he had and pulled out

his journal. Pulling a pencil from a cup on the desk he began to write.

February 3, 2101

It is hard to believe has been one hundred years since I last wrote an

entry. It took me a while to find something to write with. All the

inkpads I found did not work. I defrosted four men today, my best

friends. I really do not know what we are going to do, but here we

are. Hopefully make up for some past wrongs. I wonder what will become

of the rest of the people in the cryo tubes. I would like to go to

NORAD and defrost Stu. Perhaps we will make a Mat-Trans jump. I hate

those things but they sure get you there fast. I really wonder what the

world looks like out there. It looked pretty shitty the day I headed

into the complex. I fear noising survived. I worry that we will step

out into a barren wasteland devoid of life.

Robert threw the pencil back into the cup and placed his journal back

into his small backpack. Feeling an urge to snoop he tried to open the

desk drawers. Only the upper left drawer was unlocked. In there he

found a small kydex holster for the Baby Browning, three extra

magazines, and a box of ammo. There was also a Kabar knife and several

sets of handcuffs. Pocketing the pistol, ammo, and magazines he then

grabbed the Kabar and pried open the desk drawers. In the lower left

drawer their was noting but letterheads and envelops. The upper right

yielded a long list of security clearances all the way to top levels. He

set list on top of the desk and closed the drawer. He then pried open

the last drawer. "Holy shit." Was all he could say. Inside the drawer

was filled with sex toys and pornography. He grabbed a huge rubber

dildo and set it on the desk. It started to vibrate and rolled off the

desk. He then pulled out a inflate a mate shemale companion doll, and

an assortment of sex toys, some he did not even know what they were. A

stack of gay kiddy porn came out next. "Don’t ask, don’t tell. Ah the

joys of the modern military." Robert stood up and stomped the general’s

skull shattering it into thousands of pieces. "Pervert." he shouted and

sat back down. He bent over and shut the huge vibrating dildo off.

Shaking his head he dug through the door. Near the bottom was a list of

gateway codes. He took it out and noted it was stained and smelled like

bubble gum. Looking in the door he saw a ruptured bottle of astro

glide. Picking it up he saw that it was bubble gum flavored." Robert

started laughing. He gathered up everything he needed and headed to the

supply room. He grabbed a new pair of boots, a new uniform, a large

alice pack, a slugger, maps, and a Glock field shovel. Slowly he put

his new gear and clothes on, and then steeped into the hallway.

Billy was the first out of the showers. Feeling a horrid headache from

the long stasis he moaned. He was glad he got the smell of that green

shit off of him. "Smelled worse than a two day old corpse." he

muttered. He grabbed a towel and started to dry off. Off in the

distance he thought he heard a hissing noise but he shook his head and

opened his locker and started to dress. He had just finished putting

his boots on when he definitely heard a hissing noise. It was coming

from a janitorial closet behind him. Bill slowly grabbed his Randall

fighting knife inside his locker. Only edged weapons could be kept by

enlisted men. Their personal weapons as well as issue had to stay in

the armory while they were off duty. Enlisted men in fact had to live

in the complex, but were allowed to leave when off duty.

Slowly he crept up to the door. The noise grew louder and sounded more

like a ruptured boilerplate. He placed his hands on the handle and

jerked it open. Holding the knife in a fighter’s crouch he looked in

and saw the largest coral snake in his life. It was at least ten feet

long and its huge fangs were dripping goblets of poison. He watched as

the snake reared back and made a strike at him.

Robert threw the alice pack on his back. It was easier to carry that

way. It was a little heavy now that he filled it with necessary gear.

Still it was going to get heavier when he added munitions to it. He was

glad he stayed in good shape. He just stuck a small sewing kit and a

Rolex Sea Dweller in his pocket as he was walking down the hallway. He

started to whistle a tune from Vivaldi as he headed to the armory. Just

as he rounded the corner he heard the screams come from the enlisted

men’s locker room.

Billy dove out of the way with speed he never knew he had. The snake

quickly adjusted and was going for the second strike when Billy shoved

his knife under the jaw of the giant snake pinning its mouth shut. The

snake shook its head in a violent convulsion that sent the knife to the

floor. Billy took off screaming towards the door with enraged snake

following him.

Robert was just to the door of the locker room when Billy burst out

from it. The two collided and the impact sent Roberts Mark 23 pistol

flying from his hand. Robert looked up and saw the giant snake emerge

from the doorway. Knowing he had no time to find his lost pistol, he

thrust his hands in his pocket and pulled out the tiny Baby Browning and

slide the safety off in a fluid motion. Aiming at the head of the

reptilian behemoth Robert pulled the trigger as fast as he could. The

third round from the little gun found its mark in the open maws of the

giant snake. Robert watched with satisfaction as the back of snake

erupted in tiny chunks. Just then a loud earth-shattering boom went

off, the snake’s head completely vaporized. "Godamn it Larry it was

already dead. Fuck look at this mess." Robert said looking at the

blood all over the floor. A large pool was starting to form at the neck

of the snake. Infact it was flowing like it was coming out of a hose.

"Sorry boss I just lost it." Larry said as he stepped out of the

doorway. He looked real pale. "Fuck when did they come that big. It

has to be about twelve feet long and must be four feet in diameter.

Damn coral snake. They are supposed to be tiny." Larry said while

looking at it. "Fuck that shit how did it get in here?" Robert

exclaimed. Billy looked up still in a state of shock he stuttered "The

janitors closet." Larry took off at almost full steam towards the

closet. Robert grabbed his H&K and tried to catch up with Larry.

Robert entered the room just behind Larry. "Holy jumping Christmas shit

Larry, look at the size of those eggs." Robert yelled louder than he

intended. "Yea, omelets for a week. I was thinking we might as well

make use of that big snake as well." Larry said while pointing at the

ductwork. The grill was completely smashed. "I figure it came in

through the air system, Somehow it got into the duct system and ended up

here. We while have to fix this later. If that could slither in here

God only knows what else can." Larry said calmly while picking up an

egg. "I ditto that. You are not going to eat those eggs." Robert said

frowning at the sight of the huge white eggs. "Sure, I am going to skin

up the snake too. They taste just like chicken. Also the skin could be

used to make something nice." Larry said almost shocked. Robert laughed

and said, "It’s your snake, and your eggs." Robert exited the door;

followed by Larry he closed the door. Robert reached into his pack and

handed the gateway codes and sec clearances to Larry. Larry grabbed

them and started to thumb through the papers. "What did you spill on

this? It smells like bubble gum." Larry asked looking quite

perplexed. "Those papers came from General Schmidt’s desk. It came

from a door with a ruptured bottle of bubble gum flavored astro glide.

He also has a large assortment of sex toys, and a shemale inflate a mate

doll." Robert said without even looking suprised. Laughter erupted from

the room. Iain scowled and cursed, "That fucker! Every damn Christmas

that piece of shit would dress up like Santa Claus and go topside. He

ordered people to bring their children so they could sit on his lap."

Robert just shook his head; "He’s dead." Ian smiled. Robert clapped

his hands together, "Well let’s finish getting dressed. I am heading

over to the armory. See you all there in a little bit." With that

Robert walked out the door. Larry was still reading the list of the

gateways with a shocked look. "I do not think he looked at this closely

guys." Steve asked, "Why?" "Well, he would have mentioned this. The

moon, mars, and all over our planet." Everyone gathered around Larry.

Robert walked up to the armory and punched in the sec code 66753. The

doors to the armory grinded open. He took his pack off and placed it on

a large gray table near the door. He turned on the light in the huge

armory. At four thousand square feet it was quite large. There was

also a gun smithing shop and 500 meter range below the armory. He

opened the alice pack and pulled out a selfheat and began to eat some

ham and beans while he shopped. He grabbed a M16A2/M203 off a rack. He

grabbed a Randall fighting knife and a crossdraw holster for it and put

it on his belt. He then grabbed a Buck M9 Bayonet and placed it on his

left suspender just below his compass. He grabbed four hundred rounds

in magazines and placed them in pouches and the rest he put in the alice

pack. He grabbed some baseball gernades and put them in the gernade

pouches on the magazine pouches. He then grabbed five HE 40mm gernade

rounds, five 40mm flachette rounds, and five 40mm willy pete rounds. He

then grabbed a Colt M16 SMG with a .45 upper and a dozen magazines for

it. He placed the magazines in the alice pack and strpped the gun to the

back of the pack. He also strapped a machete to the right side of the

pack and the Glock Field spade to the other side of the pack. He then

sat down at a table and took of his beret. He pulled out the sewing kit

he found and the tiny browning. He started to sew the holster in the

inside of his hat. Ten minutes later he was done. He sewed the

magazines in there as well as the gun. Looking at the beret one would

never know there was a gun hidden in there. He set it back on his head

and spied a cigar box on a desk in the corner. He got up and sat down

at the desk. Opening th box he was refreshed to see it was full of

Cuban cigars. He grabbed one and closed the box. Opening the desk

drawers he finally found a a bottle of cheap scotch, a zippo lighter,

flints, and lighter fluid. He lit the cigar just as his buddies started

to file in. He opened the bottle of scotch and poured it into a small

glass on top of the table. He took a gulp of the liquor and felt it

nurn its way into his stomach. He took a long drag off the cigar and

yawned. Larry come in and walked over to him. "Here you should read

these gateway codes and tell me what you think.", Larry said while

handing over the gateway codes and the sec clearences. Robert grabbed

them and sat back. He saw Billy walk in looking quite pale. He

remember a story Bill once told long ago in Mexico City just after

Mexico surrendered to the US. As a boy in Cherokee, Iowa he and his

friends had dug a large pit on the banks of the Little Sioux river.

They filled it with gartner snakes and would feed them bugs they would

catch. One Sunday right after church Billy ran over to the pit alone to

feed the snakes. He was leaning over throwing in some bugs when the

edge of the pit gave away and he fell into the pit. He was trapped in

that pit for twelve hours while snakes continued to crawl all over him.

The bit him all over the place and since that day he had a horrible fear

of Snakes. Robert was just about to read the gateway codes when Steve

plugged in his Ghetto Blaster and filled the room with Metallica’s "The

Memory Remains" off their Reload album. Sighing he placed the papers in

the map case in his alice pack and smoked his guitar. Iain yelled "Hot

damn remember the assault we made in Matzalan. That song was blasting

on the way to the LZ. Wildest firefight I ever seen. Robert remember

that fat Cuban adviser that was torturing POWs. I will never forget

that kick you did that caved his skull in. Shit you get mean when you

get pissed." Steve yelled from the back "Damn Iain, doesn’t mean and

pissed mean the same thing?" Robert shook his head, "How could I forget

it. That is where I slipped and fell into a shithole Iain. That is not

one of my fondest memories of the war. I washed and washed but I

smelled for days. Only good thing that happened is I smuggled that

Cuban’s Skorpion Machine Pistol back with me." Robert smiled when he

thought about the shit hole. He could laugh now, it was not

particullary funny at the time though. "Guys, I was thinking it is

pretty secure in here. I want to run back to my place. I cached some

books and things just before I came down here. I would like to run up

there and grab it today and bring it down here." Everyone shrugged

their shoulders and started grabbing weaponery. Robert grabbed a panic

laser from a crate and tested the small nuke battery. It was still

good. The panic laser fits inside the 40mm gernade launcher. It

projects a laser beam at its target and disorients who ever is in front

of it. He open the M203 and slid it in. He opened his pack and pulled

out the slugger and turned it on. A slugger is the military counterpart

toa GPS system. The little unit hummed to life and showed thier

location in mini digital topo map as well as lat., long., and the time.

Robert pulled out the Rolex and set the time and date to it. He turned

the unit off put it back in his pack and pulled out the gateway codes

and started to read.

Larry adjusted his custom bowie on his belt. It was fourteen inches

long and cost him about a thousand dollars. It saved his life more than

once. He checked the razor honed blade and then slid it in its nylon

sheath. He grabbed a Mark 23, a factory can, laser, and three

magazines. He found a tactical thigh holster and put it on. He opened

a small crate and grabbed some pink magsafe ammo for the .45 ACP. Armor

piercing ammo at its best. The pink magsafe ammor will go through a

threat level three vest like shit through a goose. He tossed a box on

top of the desk where Robert was reading. Robert never seemed to notice

and Larry shook his head. Larry grabbed a M16A2 off a rack and a BETA C

magazine. He placed three hundred rounds of ammo in magazines in his

pouches and pack as well as some baseball gernades. He like everyone

else grabbed a Glock field shovel. More than just a shovel it had a

workable saw concealed in the handle. The edges of the spade were razor

sharp and could be used as a axe or weapon. To top it off it weighed

less than two pounds and was a finely balanced throwing weapon capable

of penetrating two inches of plywwodat twenty feet. Larry slid it on

the side of his pack like everyone else. He grabbed a Buck M9 and put

it on his suspender. He then grabbed a Mossberg 590 military shotgun

out of a locker and slung it across his pack, and grabbed fifty rounds

of depleted uranium slugs and buckshot. He then sat down on a stool

near the door. Iain cam around the corner with his hands full of

Leathermen Supertools and proceeded to pass them out. He had grabbed a

M249 Saw and had it strapped across his chest. He had ammo packs

hanging all over himself. He had on a shoulder holster that contained

Glock 18 machine pistol and a mini sionics can for it. He had a Clock

17 pistol strapped on his right side and a huge Al Mar Pathfinder on his

left. Larry shuddered remember the time Iain saved his life with that

knife. He got caught by a guard at Castro’s mansion while they were

sneaking in. The guard was about to kill him when Iain came from know

where with the massive blade and split the guard’s head into. In fact

the blade did not stop cutting till it hit the base of the neck. He

owed Iain deeply for that. Iain looked at him "Whats a matter Larry?"

Larry shook his head, "Just thinking about old times. That sight of you

knife brought back some memories." Iain smiled, "I know the feeling.

You saved my ass more than once too." A large whoop echoed through the

room as Metallica’s hit Devil’s Dance filled the room. Steve had jumped

up on table and proceeded to play his Colt M4 like it was a guitar as he

sang to the song. Steve’s M4 was the standard model with the handle.

He had stuck a ACOG advanced optical gunsight in a pocket in the back of

his pack. He Had a M21 sniper rifle slung across his pack and his

custom Colt 1911A1. He had the kabar Robert found earlier and a Buck

Bayonet. His pack that he had thrown on the table had a large Blackie

Collins machete stuck in it. A implode gernade was half stuck out of

his pack. "For Christ’s sake Steve. When is your black ass going to

grow up." Larry said while laughing at the tall black man. "I though

all the bros listened to gangsta rap." Billy said while coming around

the corner. He was cradeling a M4 carbine with a reflex sight attched to

the carry handle. He had a new M9 Berreta stuck in a flap holster.

His old Remington M40A1 and can was slung acroos his back. He had a

silenced Colt Woodsman in a shoulder holster. He unlike evryone else had

a Buck bayonet strapped to his calf. He was eatin scrambled eggs from a

self heat. "Shit what’s a matter with you crackers. Don’t you know good

music when ya hear it." Steve said while hopping off the table. Larry

opened a locker and pulled out some C4 and detonaters. "Everyone should

take some of this. Also I think we will probably be going outside for a

while. Grab some claymores and a couple LAW 80s." "Holy fuck! Larry,

did you see this, this list.", Robert barely uddered. "Yea, I did. I

was suprised you did not read it before you gave it to me. That is a

shit load of gateways ain’t it. Did you see the non terrestrial list."

Larry said while smiling. "Yes, yes I did. Fucking Mars awaits us. I

would have read it but somebody found a big snake and distracted me.

Don’t forget about that thing tonight. I don’t want it stinking up the

place. Where did this pack of Magsafe come from?" Robert said still in

a daze fromthis list he read. "I threw it there while you were

reading." Larry said while taking a bite of food. "Well thanks Larry

that’s the good stuff. Well you all finish eating. I am going to pour

myself a wee dram and then we can go."

The group of friends walked down the halway to the motor pool. "You

know this place feels different. More lonely, without all the hustling

that used to go on." Billy said from the rear. "It does, I want to

check out the areas we did not get to see later. But I got to get

outside and get some fresh air." Robert said as he rounded the corner.

He stopped at a large steel door and punched in the numerical code to

open it. "Fuck, I fat fingered it. Let me try again." Robert punched in

the code and the door hissed open. He took a step in the room and the

lights came on. In a corner a pair of red eyes lit up. Its arms

swiviled as it move towards Robert. Robert never said a word. Combat

honed reflexes kicked in. He swung the barrel of the M16A2 and set it

on moved the selector switch to three shot burst and aimed at the neck

of the robot. The least armoured and most vunerable spot was a two inch

by four inch area in the neck of the robot where power cables and the

artificial nervous system ran from the head to the main processor in the

body. He fired to burst punching dents in the neck but failing to hit

the vital spot. He flicked the selector to full auto on his rifle and

gave a dumped the whole magazine into the body of the mechanical

horror. Sixty-two grain harded lead and steel penetrators chewed a

small whole in the chest and rounds tore through the main processor

stopping the Sec Hunter in its tracks. "Watch out there maybe more.

That thing was not in here when I broke in." Robert said while making a

sweep of the room. "Larry what is the veberal code to stop them?"

Robert asked. "Last time it was changed to alpha foxtrot niner niner

six stop. Wether they will stop is another question. That is why I

preffer your method of dealing with them." Larry said looking around

nervously.

The room was roughly the size of two foot ball fields and had a fifty

foot cieling. There was two helio pads containing two slicks. There

was a fleet of hummers as well as some 2.5 ton trucks, several Bradley

fighting vehicles as well as some M1A2 Abraham tanks. A old Jeep as

well as Robert’s Wrangler sat in the corner. "Well I do not see anymore

but this is a huge room. Spread out and make a sweep. Sweep in pairs of

two. Steve you come with me. Larry you go with Billy. Iain take a

defensive position over in the corner to provide cover fire if we need

it." Robert said casually. He did not bark orders anymore. No need to

do that. Great soldiers only need to be told a thing once and they will

do their job. They swept the room in ten minutes as well as the

mechanic shack adjacent to the motor pool. Robert was more relaxed and

strolling back towards Iain. "Did not see any of those mechanical

menaces. Whoever designed them should be killed in a most heinous

manner." Steve said as he sat down next to his pack. Larry and Billy

slowly came around the corner and were smoking small cigars. "Well

what’s the game plan boss." Larry said as he exhaled a smoke through

his nose. "Well, lets go fill up a couple water containers and some

canteens and take a drive up to my place. Up there we can see what’s

left of Tucson and were people may be. See for about a couple hundred

miles on a nice day with some good binoculars or a scope.Larry and I

will take a humer with a ma duece and will take point. The rest of you

grab that big old duece and a half with the trailer. One of you drive

the other two stay in the back where you can shoot. Before we go Larry

and I are going to take a quick look out side. I want Iain by the door

with the SAW incase we need fire support. Billy and Steve, you two can

gas up the vehicles and get the water. Yes, you can take a peak outside

too." Robert said anticipating their question. They walked up the long

drive way and Steve punched in the code as everyone took postion.

Slowly the huge sec doors desquised as part of a small hill rolled open

and fresh air poore in. "What the radiatiion level." Iain nervously

said. "It’s in the green." Robert said while looking at a small

dosimeter. "Yowzer take a look at that sky." Iain said. The sky was a

mixture of cerulean blue, crimsion red, and green and purple. It looked

more like a tie dye t-shirt. A small storm was in the distance and had

yellow clouds and multi-colored lightning. A large yellow sun beckoned

them forward. The sonora desert remained the same. The cool fall wind

tugged at roberts field jacket that he had buttoned up. "Good thing I

grabbed some gloves." Robert said while pulling them on. A giant

squaro cactus over sixty feet tall towered next to the sec door. Robert

slid the selector on his rifle to semi and stepped out. The air was

cool and in the fifteies. He hoped it would warm up later. He looked

back at Larry who was looking around like a kid in a candy store. The

walked a out about five hundred yards and then started back. "Look at

thos tracks there! That’s jaguar tracks! Guess over the years they

took back their full range. There is some people tracks over there as

well as some horse and vehicle tracks. Someone camped over there about

a day ago." Larry kept talking until Robert put a hand on him. "Look

over there. Looks like a group of naked people about twelve hundred

meters at two o’clock." Robert said while pulling Steiner binoculars

out of his pack. "My God they are fucking ugly! I sure hope to God all

people don’t look like that or I am going celebate." Robert exclaimed.

He handed the binoculars over to Larry, "Here take a look and tell me

what you think." Larry took the binoculars and focused in on the group

of eight naked people. "Holy moly, they are ugly. Looks like severe

radiation mutation. The have suckers on their appendages. They spotted

us and are heading over here. I feel uneasy about them Rob. They are

very animal like. Look at they way they move. Like pack animals.

Probably nothing more than brutish savages. Let’s head back to the

garage and get out of here before they get here. The speed they are

moving it will take them a few minutes." Larry said while handing the

binoculars to Robert. "Let’s run." Robert said while taking of to the

garage. He and Larry made it to the garage in less than a minute and

found the trucks already running. He threw off his pack and through it

in the back of the hummer. "Let’s move it. We are going to have some

company I don’t want to meet up with." Robert said while closing the

dor of the hummer. Larry took up behind the M2 and the hummer peeled

out of the garge. He looked in the mirror to see the big two and a half

ton truck right behind him. He pushed a buton on the dash of the hummer

and the big sec doors closed. On the top of the hill above the doors he

could see the outlines of the strange mutants.

"Good Gawd Iain take a look at them ugly motherfuckers." Steve said

while pointing at the mutants on the hill. One jumped and landed on the

trailer. It scampered along trailer and hopped up to the back of the

truck and stuck itself to the tail gat with its strong suckers. "Iain

if you don’t kill that thing I am going to." Steve said while grabbing

his machete. Iain did not say a word. He reached into his shoulder

holster and pulled out the Glock 18 and screwed the suppressor on it and

unfolded the stock. The stickie stuck its head up over the tailgate and

made a lunge towards Steve as Iain fired a three round burst into its

head. Three one hundred grain FL tipped Hirternberg rounds tore into

its head killing it instantly. All that could be heard of the gun was

the clattering of the action. The mutant stuck to the gate of the truck

and Steve walked over and kicked it off. "I sure hope everyone does not

look like that." He said while sitting down.

Robert drove the hummer over long neglected roads over grown with

desert vegitation and huge potholes. He drove it down a old highway and

then off onto a dirt road and started a acsent into the Catalina

Mountains. The hummer’s motor labored on the steep weather beaten

trail. Slowly the desret turned into a lush mountain forest complete

with conifers and trees. Robert looked back and saw Larry holding on

to the handles of the big heavy machine gun. His head was constantly

scanning the road for hostiles.

Iain was driving the big two and a half ton truck. He cursed himself

for volunteering to drive the behemoth. He looked in the mirror and saw

Billy and Steve laughing back there. The road was getting steeper so he

down shifted and slowled the truck down. It was a nice morning but a bit

on the cool side. He still had the windows down and was enjoying the

fresh mountain air. He looked out the window at the woods next to him

and saw a couple bighorn sheep grazing on some grass. He then

remembered they were almost extinct and have not been in that area while

he was there. "I wonder what else we will find.", he said to himself as

he shifted gears again.

Marcus heard the heavy vehicles coming up the old road. He could

hardly breath any more and his eyes were nearly swollen shut. He could

not make it any further. The tear above his eye was still bleeding and

the pains in his sides was getting worse. He looked over to his sister

who had not said a thing in twelve hours. She had just a shocked look

on her. He had not time to bring her shoes and her bare feet had taken

a beating. He could barley make out the bruised and scraped feet.

"Sis, come on we have to make it a little further. Are only chance is

to hide in the ruins of that old cabin." He talked to her. She looked

at him and then got up as toghter they crawled into the ruined house.

He was relieved to see she was coming out ofthe shock. His only hope

though was the sec men would just drive by.

"Larry!", Robert yelled over the engine and road noises. "LARRY!", he

yelled louder. Larry slid into the cabin and sat down on the passanger

seat. "I am here. Now what did you want?" He said while pulling out a

canteen. He took several large swallows and stuck it back in his

pouch. "The cabin is right around this bend here.", Robert said while

slowing the hummer own. He made the bend and then screeched to a halt.

He watched the big duece and a half park next to him. He turned the

engine off and stepped out. "Looks like it was a nice place. Very

pretty view of the city. What is left of the city, that is." Larry

said while stretching out. Robert walked over to the edge and scanned

the old city with his binoculars. "You know Tucson goes back to about

1772. The Spanish founded it. I don't see any life. Most of the

buildings are still standing but are in poor shape." Robert said while

scanning the town. "Hey did you take the lens caps off?" Larry said

while laughing. "Do I look like Bill Clinton. I still cannot believe

that he stood on the DMZ of Korea before the war and scanned the

horiozon for over a half an hour with the lens caps on." Robert said

while laughing. "Shit that poor lietenaunt that suggested he might see

better if he takes the lens caps of got courtmartialed and a

dishonorable discharge. Poor bastard should have ran a bayonet up his

ass instead." Steve said while scanning with his M21’s ART scope. "I

see Life up near where Sabino Canyon. Looks like the edge of a small

town. Only makes sense theywould go there." Robert yelled while

handing the binoculars to Larry. "Well I am going to go open up the

mine shaft." Robert said as he plodded over to the giant truck and

pulled a crowbar of the side. He walked over to the enterance and

startted to pry at a giant flat rock the covered the surface. "Fuck, it

was easier putting it there." He muttered to himself while remembering

how the winch on his jeep struggled to move it in place.

Sarah huddled next to her brother she was so cold. God her feet hurt.

The chains on her wrist and ankles cut off some of the circulation and

was causing pain. Out side she heard some laughter and men’s voices.

She had never heard those wags before. Did not sound like anything in

Tucson. Baron Sarris only had a few wags when he came in maybe it was a

few of them. It was only a matter of time before they were discovered

and killed. She thought hopefully she would die faster than her

parents.

Steve and Iain walked over to help Robert move the rock. While Billy

and Larry scouted the area. "What do you got in here that you want so

badly that I have to bust my ass.", Iain said whil slowly moving the

rock off to the side. "Ohh, I put some guns, weapons, books, cds, and

some old movies in here." Robert said as the rock crashed to the

ground. "Here we go guys. Lets start loading it in the truck." Robert

said while grabbing a box full off books when Billy stopped him, "Billy

found something." Larry walked over and sat down on a rock. "We are

not alone. Two people are in your old cabin. Tracks are leading in but

not out. They are less than ten minutes old." He said while checking

his rifle. "What else can you tell me?" Robert said while screwing the

can on his pistol. "They are of a boy and a young woman. The boy is

about twelve and is not moving so good. Found a blood spoor and he is

limping pretty bad. I would say he is about twelve or thirteen and

weighs about eighty pounds. The young woman is in hear early twenties

and weighs about a hundred and thirty. She is about five feet nine

inches. She has something binding her legs like a chain. She is

barefoot, and she is a blonde." Larry yawned. "A blonde! How in the

hell can you tell she is a blonde by looking at her footprints Larry?"

Steve said looking quite perplexed. "That was the easy part. I found

some long blonde hairs five feet nine inches in a tree." Larry said.

"Well I will drop in and say hello I guess. Maybe they need help. Plus

we could get some information from them." Robert said while he walked

over to the cabin. Larry stopped him, "They could be hostile as well."

Robert nodded his head. He walked over to where the two people had

entered the house. It was the only enterance. Most of the cabin had

collapsed over the years and the spot looked like he would barely fit

through it.

Marcus heard the crunching footsteps approaching closer to the cabin.

They had been found. He grabbed a long stick that had been laying on

the ground next to him and started to cry. Sarah started to shake from

the fear. Fearing most of all she will be caught and sent back to Sarris

to be his pet slave. Knowing what he wanted to do to her she would

rather die than endure that type of life. She watched a large shadow

loom by the cralw space.

Robert pulled the angle head flashlight off his suspender on flicked it

on. He pondered about just yelling at them to come out. But he laid

flat and peered in through the hole. He could not see anything so

whoever they were had to be next to the hole. Quickly he thrust himslef

inside pointing with the H&K and flashlight where his intuition told him

to. In a corner next to the hole he saw to huddled forms. Holding each

other shaking in the corner. Slowly his eyes adjusted a little better

to the dim light in the ruined room. The boy was indeed about thirteen

and looked like he had gone twleve rounds with Mike Tyson. He had short

cut snady blonde hair. He was holding a long stick, how he could see to

use it was another matter. Next to him in a dirty white smock was

probably one of the most beautiful women he had ever saw. Dirty and as

disheveled as she looked she was still a knockout. She was tall and

blonde but words fail to describe the rest. She had a angelic face,

beautiful skin, and gorgeous blue eyes. They reminded himof the pretty

deep blue water holes in the Carribean. She did have chains on her

wrists and ankles. The boy had on blood satined blue jeans and a black

t-shirt. They looked terrified. The same look was on them that he had

seen on innocent civilians in war zones. People who thought you were

going to kill them for sport.

"Hi my name is Rob. Um come on out, we won’t hurt you. Looks like you

two could use some help." The two people jst sat their huddled togther

tears were not steaming down the cheeks of the young girl. She closed

her eyes as if to pretend that he did not see them. Robert crawled in a

little closer. "Don’t be afriad. Nobody is going to hurt you." Robert

said as he studied them. He could alsmot taste the fear in the room.

The boy had a nasty cut above his right eye that was seeping blood.

"Come her lad, I have a friend outside who can treat your wounds. No

one is going to hurt you here." He said as he sat almost next to them.

"Miss, we can get those chains off you and get you two something to eat

or drink. Please step on out.", he said in his best soothing voice.

The kid made a move like he was going to crawl out and then stopped.

Robert left a small sigh. Remember when he first got in the service he

would have just drug them out by their hair. After he had witnessed

some of the atrocities inflicted on other people at the hands of the

Cubans, and the Mexicans Nationals, he could understand the fear.

"Look I am not going to hurt you neither are my freinds out there. We

are professional soldiers not halfwit

killers. If I wanted to hurt you you would already be dead. If I

wanted you dead or to harm you I would have never risked crawling in

here to even talk to you. I would have tossed in a few gernades then

burned this shack to the ground and called it good. You have tow

choices stay here and do what ever or come out. If you come out we will

help you. It appears if you do need help and I would guess from the

looks of it you escaped from somewhere and they are probably on your

trail right now. We are your only chance of survival. In return for

helping you all we want is some information. We are not really from

here. Do you understand." Robert said a little harsher than he

intended. It had the effect though the kid dropped the stick and slowly

crawled to the door. He was wheezing in pain. "Hold up there son. Do

you need a hand getting out?" Robert said genuienly concerned. "No

mister, I can make it, and my name is Marcus Mayfield and that is my

sister Sara." Robert smiled, "Okay Marcus hop on out. There is a tall

black guy out there. He’ll help fix you up." The kid made it to the

crawl space and Robert saw Steve’s big hand help the kid up. Robert

unzipped and slid off his field jacket. "Here you go. Put this on you

look real cold." He handed the jacket to her. She hesitated for a

moment and then took it. Robert crawled over to the hole folowed by the

girl. He squinted his eyes in the brightlight and he sat up. "Billy,

Larry, go check the trail they come up. I think we will have some

company." Larry stopped only to glance at the blonde sitting next to

Robert and then took off down the trail. Steve was busy working on the

kid. He had his medics kit open and was washing away the blood with some

water and a roll of guaze. Robert stood up and helped Sara to her

feet. She was even more beautiful in the light. She could have been a

supermodel in days long dead. The field jacket was several sizes to big

for her and she looked like she could swim in it. She still looked

cold. The white smock she had on was paper thin and very reaviling.

She knelt down by her brother and looked at Steve, "Will he be

alright." Steve did a double take at the woman and actually blushed.

"Umm yea he has a few broken ribs, a broken nose I already set, and he

just needs a few stitches above his right eye. He will be fine in just

a few weeks." Steve said while stuttering a little. Robert walked over

and grabbed a poncho liner out of his pack and walked back and wrapped

her in it. "This should help warm you up. Do you want any water or

something to eat." He said while sitting down. She shook her head no.

Robert looked over to where Iain was. He was covering the trail with

the SAW where Billy and Larry went. Robert yawned and until this point

he had not realized how tired he was. Must be side effects from the

freezing he thought. "Steve, do you feel run down, really tired." He

said while yawning again. Steve was busy stitching up the cut on the

boys head. "Yea, I feel like I been shot at and missed, shit at and

hit. I think it is probably side effects from the long cryogenic

sleep. I could sure use a cup of good coffee." Robert watched the boy

squirm a bit each time Steve stuck the needle in. "I suppose I should

try to get those chains off you. They ain’t in fashion anyway.", Robert

said while pulling on the chain that bound her wrists. The chains were

held buy bolts instead of locks. "Hell your lucky. This is going to be

easy to take off. While I work on it why don’t you tell me what

happened to land you in this predicament." He said while pulling out his

Leatherman Supertool. He reached over and grabbed Steve’s Leatherman and

started to unscrew a bolt. She opened her mouth then started to cry.

Robert heard footsteps crunch near him and looked up and saw Larry.

"God I hate when women do that. What the hell did you say to her?

Anyway you were right about the company. Six armed men are coming up

the trail. At the rate they are going they will be here in five

minutes. I don’t like there looks at all. They look like thugs. You

know one of them must be around eight feet tall and seven hundred

pounds. Sara jerked upwards and tried to run when she heard that but

Robert caught her and set her right back down. "We have to get out of

here they will kill us all." She said still struggling against Robert’s

hold. "They are rank ametuers and will last less than a second against

us. We are Rangers we don’t run." Larry said with scowl. "Steve stay

here with the lady and the kid. Get the rest of those chains off her

too." Robert said while handing the two Leathermen to Steve. "Right on

bro!" Steve said. "Oh God, he is starting that ebonic shit again."

Larry said walking off. "Well Sarge I think we oughta hit them while

before they get up here. What do you think." Robert said while

following Larry. Larry nodded his head in approval. One of the main

reasons Robert was successful and well liked was that he always listened

to his seargents and enlisted men. He never made any decision without

there consulting with them. Larry, Iain, Billy and Robert took position

in a L-shaped ambush and they waited.

Robert could hear them taliking down the trail. They made too much

noise to be professionals. Not only the rattle of loose equipement but

they were talking. Robert glanced back seeing Steve giving the boy and

girl a drink of water. He was trying to comfort them. Robert chuckled

as he watched Steve waving his hands as he talked. He glanced back down

the trail and slid the gun to three round burst. He watched a small

scrawny figure emerge from a bend in the trail. The man looked like

Charles Manson complete with the swastika on his forhead. He had on

blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He was wearing a old beat up pair of

sandals. In his hands he had a old Belgian Vigneron M2 submachine gun.

Behind him emerged a tall thin man that had greenish scales cover hos

wholebody. He had on a small cloth covering his personals and a

knapsack that had magazines hanging out of it. He had long fingers that

ended in talons and his feet were real long that looked like his hands.

His eyes were bright yellow and had slit pupils. He had a AKSU-74 in

his hands. Right behind him came two twins walking side by side. They

appeared to be in there late teens and had greasy long blond hair. They

both wore the same style dirty flannels, jeans and combat boots. They

both had BXP SMGs which were imported in the mid ninities by Cobray for

sale to police departments after the lifting of the embargo. Behind the

twins came a fat dirty looking man that was covered completely in

tattoos. He had on combat boots and shorts. He had a grungy white

t-shirt on and he held a well used Medoza RM-2 LMG and right behind him

was the biggest man Robert ever saw in his life. Larry was wrong the

guy had to be over eight feet and must weigh about eight hundred pounds.

He carried a pristine FN MAG in one hand like it was a toy. He was

decked out in desert camoflage pants and a tight fitting t-shirt.

Muscles bulged ever step he took. Robert popped out of cover and

activated the panic laser.

Baron Sarris’s men froze in there tracks as the dazzling light held

them in its grasp even as they were being chopped to pieces they did not

move. Iain had opened up with the SAW and dropped the whole group

before anyone else could get a shot. Robert watched as 62 grain slugs

pulped bodies and exploded heads. The strange mutants head was blow off

at the neck from a burst and the giant to a at least three rounds in the

chest.

Robert let the trigger go and looked back. Steve was barely holding the

terrified girl down. "It’s over Sara. They all have bough the farm so

you can relax.", he yelled over his shoulder. She settled down a little

but her expression was still that of terror. "Trust us lady, nobody

gets past U.S. Rangers." He yelled as he walked down to look at the

corpses. "Shit Larry lets take their guns and ammo. I always wanted a

FN MAG. Just a 7.62 version of the M249." Robert said as he walked over

to the kneeling Larry. "I was thinking the same thing. What the hell

are these little submachine guns. They look like a MAC 11/9 but they

are not." , he said while aiming one of the little BXPs. "Those are

South African BXP nine millimtere parabellum subguns. It uses a blowback

operating system very similar to the MAC and has a high cyclic rate of

twelve hundred rounds per minute. They are made by Amrscor and they have

the OEG occluded eye gunsight on it. They run off of ambient light in

day and have tritium at night. When you look through it you see a

little red dot against a black background. Your little brain

superimposes the image from the other eye and that is how it works.",

Robert said without even pausing. "You spend to much time with those

godamn gun books. You need to get yourself a woman Rob.", Larry said

while fooling with the little subgun. "I will take that into advice

sarge. Lets grab their guns and what else they have and then empty the

cave and go home. I am want to go to bed." Robert yawned. "Now that

you mentioned it I am pretty tired myself. I think...", Larry stopped

in midsentence and fired a burst at the giant with the little subgun.

Iain and Billy who were stripping ammo and guns of the dead jumped

back. "Its okay guys, that big fucker was still breathing. Thought I

would whack him before he waked up and tore off one of your heads." He

said while smiling. He turned to Robert and said with a big grin, "Sure

does shoot nice, think I’ll keep it." Robert shrugged his shoulders and

walked back up the hill towards Sara and his mine.

"Steve, stop screwing around with her and help me empty this

thing.", Robert pointed to the mine shaft. "Fuck you too! I can’t get

these legs chains off. We’ll have to cut them off when we get back to

base." Robert said while working on the chains. "Let me take a look.",

Robert bent down and took a look at the bolt. They were frozen soild.

It looked like someone had put locktite on the nut. The chains hampered

he movement and she could only take halfsteps. He was amazed they made

it this far in such short time. He thought she must be in as good as

shape as she looks. Robert took his Leathermen from Steve and slid it

back into its pouch. "Hold still Sara. I am going to break this chain

so you can walk a little better.", he bent over and grabbed the chains

and started to pull. He noted that they were cheaply made and not

tempered well so he thought he could break them. The chains started to

bend under the starin and then finally snapped. "Shit, that is one way

to break the chains of bondage.", Steve said looking amazed. The girl

looked down at him and then blushed. "Well madame why don’t you go sit

down in the hummer and eat something. The pack behind the front seat

should have some selfheats in it. Just open a can and it is ready to

eat. There is also a couple canteens of water there too." He said

while escorting her over to the hummer. "What about my brother?".

Robert looked back and saw the boy with the field IV hooked up to him.

"He’ll be fine. Steve and I will put him in the back where he can lay

down." Robert smiled. "Relax and have something to eat. You need to

build up your strength." Robert said as he struggled opening a blanket

in the back of the hummer. "I’ll go get your brother.", he said with a

smile. "Steve help me with the boy." "Where do you want to put him. He

is real groggy. I shot him up with tranquilzers and pain killers." "Oh

I think the back of the hummer would be good. It’s covered in there and

would be a little warmer than the back of the duece and a half." Steve

nodded and they carried the boy and laid him down in the back of the

hummer. Steve hung the IV from roll bar.

Robert had already started loading the two and a half ton truck when

Steve started to help. "Jesus Christ Rob, I new you were a gun nut but

when in the hell did you get into old edged weapons?", Steve held up a

large spear with a huge head on it. "Oh that was just a passing

experience I had in my teens and I had a slight rebirth of it after the

war before a lot of the gun laws were repealed. That spear you have is a

replica from one found on Cadburry hill. It is a fighting spear rather

than a thrower. The head on it weighs three pounds and is about two

feet long.", Robert would have told him more but Billy came over the

hill and shotued "Ain’t that a pretty sight, a real spear chucker."

Steve smiled and retorted, "Up yours you damned Irish drunkard." Billy

and Steve laughed. Steve was holding the FN MAG and the old Vineron M2.

"I am going to throw these in the back of the truck and grab a few

claymores. Larry and I are going to leave some gifts for the friends of

departed. Iain should be up here in a minute with the rest of the guns

and ammo." Billy said as he walked to the back of the truck and set the

guns in. He dug in his pack and grabbed two claymores and det. Cord. He

was walking back when he stopped and grabed some sticks laying on the

ground. "All right. I’ll take stupid questions for four hundred

dollars. What are those sticks for?" Robert inquired. "Remeber the

message you and Larry came up with on Hill 237.", Billy said while

smiling. "How could I forget! The good old Keltic thing.", Robert

laughed. Iain came over the hill cursing. He was nearly overloaded

with guns. "One of you two give me a hand before I herniate myself.",

he yelled. Robert set down the box of DVDs he was holding and and

grabbed the Medoza, and a large bag holding magazines and links of

ammo. They put them in the trailer and walked over to empty the cave.

"Shit this won’t take us too long. Books, cds, movies, and weapons."

He bent over and picked up a large box holding books by Lawernce James.

"Hot damn I loved this guys books. There is some in here I did not

read.", He yelled. "That is the complete collecation of Death World

series. All 121 books including his last one released a day before the

bombing. Never got a chance to read it. Robert picked up two large

swords and placed them inside the hummer. Iain looked at one, "Those

your family swords?" Robert nodded, "Yea ones a claymore and the other

is a one hander." Billy and Larry walked over the hill and helped

unload. It took them a little over fifteen minutes to unload the

shaft. "Hey Robert! There is some bars of gold and bags of gold in

here! Holy moly there must be several million dollars here and you are

going to leave it." "For some reason I don’t think money is important

in this world Larry but if you think we should take it there is still

some room left in the trailer. But the duece and a half is over loaded

the way it is." "Bullshit Robert, it can hold more and money is always

important." "Jeez Larry! That is not a very Native American

viewpoint. Could we be a greedy capitalist?", Steve shouted while

hauling out a bar. "Yes I am. The gold comes with us. I always like

the way it glitters." He said grabbing two bars at once and hauling

them to the trailer. "Okay, it looks like I am outnumbered the gold

comes." It took them ten minutes to empty the gold.

Robert started the old hummer up and it roared to life. Sara had eaten

two cans of tomato soup and polished off most of a canteen of water.

Her brother Marcus laid in a semi concious stupor from the pain killers

and drugs Steve gave him. He looked in the mirror and saw that Steve

was driving the big truck. It really was overloaded and Iain and Billy

sat in the cab because there was no room for them in the back. Larry

took his post behind the M2 and stood there stoically looking a lot like

a cigar store Indian. Sara looked half spooked. "Where are we going?"

She said her eyes a little wider than normal. "Well base under the old

air base is where we are headed. You know old Davis Monothan airfield.

Beneath it is a large underground miliatry complex that was top secret.

Part of a chain exactly. We ued to guard it before the world went up."

"You mean you are from before Skydark!" "So that is what you called the

war. Yea we froze are selves in cryotubes that basically put you in

statis. They allow you to hibernte almost indefinetly. That was my old

home you were holed up in. I stashed the things I wanted to keep the

night after skydark and drove down to base. Tell me some about this

world. We are dying for information. Anything would help." "There is

not much to tell. There is only small villies usually controlled by a

baron. Tucson was a exception. We tried to have a elected leadership

but Baron Sarris came in and killed the sec force defending are town and

all the officials. My father was the sherrif so they executed him.

Drake Detter the big guy tore his head off and then killed my mother

after raping her. I was to be Sarris’s slave and my brother who escaped

from the raid came back and got me out." Sara started to cry. "Sorry,

who is this Sarris character. I would like to know more about him

before I plan anything." She looked at himand her eyes widened. "You

want to take over the villa?" "Yea and hand it back to the people who

had it in the first place. Hell, we are Army Rangers. We’re not going

to sit by and let some two bit piece of amphibian shit rape murder and

terrorize American citizens even if the country is dead." "He used to

be a pirate and would run down and loot traders around these parts.

Eventually his group grew into many. He has taken over several towns

and burned them to the ground taking everything of value. He will not

be easy to stop. Who are rangers?" "You never heard of Army Rangers?"

She shook her head no. "Well we are Rangers and we kick butts wherever

we go. Rest assured Mr. Sarris will soon be out of a job as well as a

life." She looked down at the floorboard and spoke, "What was life like

back then? I want to know what the world was like?" He smiled, "Well

for one there was clear blue skys with white fluffy clouds that looked

like cotton. From they way you talk it was a lot different. Society

has collapsed into fuedal societies. But none the less it will

eventually be reborn into what it was sometime in the future. Mother

nature will also return I think. I tell you what. I have a bunch of

movies and books you can watch them. It might give you some insight on

society." She looked up and with hurt eyes said, "I can’t read."

Robert almost stopped the vehicle, "Is there any education available in

America anymore?" She looked down and said, "Yes there is but it is

really expensive and only available to a privileged few. We call the

country the Deathlands now." "Well I will teach you if you want to

learn. It really isn’t that hard. Have you reading like a pro inside

of a month. What the hell..."

Down the road Robert could make out a large group of people coming

towards them. He leaned forward squinted and he could make out that

they were the strange mutants he saw earlier outside the redoubt with

Larry. "Its those radiation freakazoids with the suckers.", He said

leaning back. He looked over to sara and saw her blue eyes were as big

as saucers. "Her mouth opened and she whispered, "Stickies." He leaned

back and tugged on Larry’s pants. Larry leaned down and Robert said

"Gonna stop, when I do that start whacking them with the gun." Larry

nodded and Steve hit the brakes and hopped out of the car with the M16A2

in his hands. Larry opened up with the Ma Duece, the recoil from the

massive gun rocked the hummer and the noise vibrated through Roberts

body. Bodies down the round spilled to the ground as half inch diameter

slugs tore through them. He opened the chamber on the M203 and put a HE

gernade on it and fired. The gun bucked against his shoulder and it

made the usual bloop sound. As he loaded another gernade he watched the

round arch through the air and land in the middle of the group. A

bright flash and roar resulted. More bodies dropped the ground as he

fired the second gernade. A white flash of phosphorus erupted in the

middle. He was delighted to here screams and see bodies running on

fire. For some reason part of the massive group stopped and started to

dance around the burning bodies. Robert aimed at the advancing group

and firede a sweeping full auto burst into the advancing bodies who were

now about four hundred yards away. Larry stopped and reloaded another

belt on the M2. From behind him he heard the SAW open up and saw bodies

literally being cut in half. It sounded just like a buzzsaw. He saw

two LAW 80 rockets scream above him and explode in a group of stickies.

The group of stickies that had to be around a hundred at first was now

about thirty. He popped in a fresh magazine and fired acontrolled burts

into the group of stickies as they still approached. He pumped another

40mm HE gernade into the charging stickies falling even more yet they

continued to charge. He muttered a few lines from the charge of

thelight birgade as Steve rushed by holding a implode gernade. He flung

it through the air and dove to the ground. Robert opened his mouth and

closed his eyes. He heard the termendous roar and felt his close being

pulled on from the collapsing antumatter. Then he felt the hot blast as

it started to expand. He opened his eyes and saw a small group of the

mutants survived the blast and were almost on top of him. Steve was

busy shoting ones near him with his M4. Larry abandoned the gun and

wasfiring with his M16A2. There was a stickie almost within five feet

of Robert when He leaned back and grabbed the claymore from inside the

vehicle and then shot foward while swinging the blade. He cut the

mutants head off and the recovered from the swing to chop another

stickie from ear hole to asshole. Behind him here heard the chatter of

a Colt Stoner .45 subgun. Its rate of fire made and the fact it shot

from a closed bolt made it sound distictively. Robert looked back after

cutting the legs from beneath another stickie to see Sara loading a new

magzine into the subgun. "Yowzer she is a good shot.", he muttered as

she blazed away at a group of mutants. He pulled out his H&K and opened

fire on the remaining stickies. In less than two minutes all the

mutants were dead. Robert looked around and noticed the headless

stickie was still standing upright rocking a little with the wind.

"Hey, Larry there has to be a one liner about this.", he yelled while

pointing at the macabre sight. "Yea, there probably is but I can’t think

of one. In fact I never saw anything like this in my life. I hate this

fucking place.", Larry yelled his ears still ringing from the

firefight. Robert set the sword back into the hummer after wiping the

blood off. "Could’nt wait to use that thing could you. You could have

drew your pistol or put a new magazine in your rifle. But NO! You have

to go show off and chop things into pieces. I still won’t forget the

axe incident in Havanna. What in God’s name ever possessed you to chop

that guy up in the first place." Larry said shaking his head. "I could

have drawn the H&K but these things were hard to drop. I noticed only

head shots from the subby that Sara is holding dropped them. I did not

have time to reload ole black magic. Instead I thought I would be

unique and effiecent in the way I handled the situation. This is

probably the first time in a very long time that someone has been

chopped into with a claymore." Robert said acting affronted. Larry

laughed, "Your a little weird but your my type of weird." Robert stuck

a new magazine into his M16 and stepped in the hummer. "Larry, you know

why I chopped that guys arms off?", Robert yelled back to Larry. "No

you never did tell me.", Larry said while leaning down in the hummer.

"I caught that son of a bitch stealing stuff off our dead. It was not

food or anything like that. Would have giiven him that. I caught him

pulling out teeth for the gold in it.", Robert yelled back. He started

up the hummer and started driving. The bodies of dead stickies crunched

under the tires.

"Sara remind me to hose this truck off.", he said looking over to her

with a slight grin. He could see she was not amused. "Sorry, if I

offended you. But I don’t want the garage to smell like rotting

people.", he said while swerving to avoid a large pot hole. "So where

did you learn to handle automatics?" "My father was sheriff of Tucson.

He took me and Marcus out shooting regulary. Told us it would be

important someday." "Well I guess it was. What were we talking about

before we got so rudely inturupted?" She lokked over and sadi, "Nothing

important. What are you going to do with me and Marcus." "I don’t plan

to really do anything. You can go if you want but I don’t think you

could make it to far. I figure you can hang with us until we throw out

this Sarris dude and then you can go home and try to rebuild. That is

if you want to.", he said while shruggin his shoulders. "What kind of

gernade did that black guy throw? "You mean Steve? He threw a implode

gernade. It has a small amount of antimatter in it. Makse a very tiny

localized version of the big bang. When antimatter is exposed to matter

the two collapse on themselves creating a vacumn and then expand in a

really big explosion. When I was in the war they had artillery versions

of that. We once got fire support from the USS New Jersey with 16 inch

anti matter shells. Killed everything in a four mile radius. We were

about ten to twelve klicks from the boom. We were pinned down by

artillery coming from a hill near a empty base camp that we were

supposed to capture. Turned out to be a ambush. You should have seen

the explosion. Even though we were that far awya it knocked us around a

bit. Sucked a few guys off their feet. I at first thought those crazy

Navy gunners fucked up and nuked the beaners. Over half my people got

injured. After we got the seriously wounded medavacted out we hiked

over to the blast sight. Damn weirdest thing I ever saw. Nothing was

there, not even the rich tropical topsoil. It all was gone." "Do you

enjoy your job as a soldier?" Robert sat for a few moments in silence,

"At times I do, and at times I absolutely hate it. I joined because I

felt an obligation to defend my country and the people who were being

ruthlessly attacked and slaughtered by a foreign opperssor. I really

was not that bothered by killing them either. I have seen what they

have done to places like Huston, Dallas, Tucson, and a host of other

places. When see a couple hundred thousand people executed for know

reason it unleashes something inside of you. I enjoyed my time in

Mexico and Cuba. I hated my job after I got sent here. What I saw the

government was doing. So many secrets most of which none of us really

know about. But the experiments on citizens, and other things. Those

were not why I joined. It made me really think who I was working for.

I made an oath long ago to the people." Robert shook his head as he

talked. "Did you ever want tobe something else?" He laughed, "What else

could I have been? Besides, it’s a little late for a career change."

Robert stopped smiling and looked in the mirror. The big White truck was

right behind the hummer. He ran his hand through his dark hair as he

glanced over at Sara. She was looking out the side window at the

desert. She turned and left a small smile at Robert. "Yes, I am

single." Robert’s mouth opened and closed a few times and then she

spoke up again. "That was what you were thinking." He turned and

looked at her, "How in the... How did you... Damn.", he said while

turning the hummer onto the ruins of the old base. He reached down and

pushed the button to open the camoflaged blast doors. The rotated open

slowly and he drove in the huge garage. "Well Sara, welcome to Area

13. Please enjoy your stay compliments of Project Vedetta.", Robert

yawned loudly as he stopped the Hummer next to his Jeep. He opened the

door and stiffly slid out. He watched as the big truck pulled in behind

the hummer and the large blast doors screeched closed. He bent over and

looked at the underbody of the hummer. He smiled as he saw that no body

parts had stuck underneath. There was some blood stains along the

fenders. Robert looked up as Larry hopped out of the hummer. He had on

his stoic Tonto face. "What’s up with you Larry?", He said while

straightening up. "My head hurts, my ears are ringing, and I am dead

tired.", Larry said while opening the back of the hummer. Iain, Billy,

and Steve had walked up to the hummer. Robert walked over to a tool

chest and pulled out a pair of Craftsman bolt cutters out. He pulled

Sara under a light in the dim room. He nipped the the chains around her

ankles. He noticed the chains left some pretty good welts around her

ankles. Robert looked at his watch and saw it was early in the

afternoon. "Well, I guess we should take a nap till dinner time and then

take care of the duct work situation. Before the nap I want to do a

sweep of the place to kill off any other sec hunters left. Billy and

Iain you two can handle that. Larry you take care of that damned

snake. I’ll help Steve move the boy to a room. Lets all find a room in

the top brass section. That way we will be comfortable and close.",

Robert said while leaning against his old Jeep. Billy had pulled the IV

out of Marcus’s arm and now was holding the boy in his arms. "Well,

what are we all standing around looking stupid for.", Larry sounded off

with a grin. "What to get that snake skinned don’t you?" Robert

laughed as he walked out the door carrying Steve’s and his pack. "I’m

trying to think what to do with the skin. I’ll dry the meat for some

low cal snacks.", Larry said while scratching his chin.

The small group of freinds rounded a corner and entered a areathe

small hallway that contained the offices and sleeping quarters for the

top brass of the redoubt. "You know Larry we should have really made a

closer inspection of this place before we left. Also I think it might be

a good idea if no one takes General Schmiddt’s little love nest. I left

lots of his toys in a big pile on the floor." Robert said while

stopping in front of a door. "Lets put the kid and the sister in here.

Unless you want a separate room Miss."< he said while yawning. "That

will be fine. I can take care of him then.", she said while smiling.

Robert opened the door and saw that the room was a jumpled mess of

paperwork. "Well, looks like it needs to be paicked up some but at

least there is not any corpses in here. That is that I see so far.", he

mumbled as he walked through the door and turned on the light. He

checked out the room and saw that it was all clear. Billy laid the boy

on the bed and threw a cover over the kid. "Sara, he just needs some

rest. He will feel a lot better tomorrow but in the mean time if he

wakes up give him one of these.", Steve handed the girl a bottle of pain

killers. "They will make him a little woozy and tired but they take

away all the pain and they have some ingreadients that help speed up

healing.", he said smiling at the pretty girl. Robert yawned, "Well

Sara, I’ll be in the room next to this one just knock on the door if you

need something." Robert handed Steve his pack and then Waled out the

door. He looked down the hallway to see Larry walking twords the

showers with his big bowie. Robert left a small shudder when he thought

about the snake. He heard a quick burst from Iain SAW from down the

other hallway. Steve had just stepped out of the room. "Guess Iain

found a Sec Hunter.", Steve said. From down the hallway erupted wild

laughter. "Sounds that way.", Robert said while lauging. Sec Hunters

while formidable against unarmed or lightly armed people were sort of a

joke against anyone armed with a big gun. Robert thought back to the

time when the sec hunters first came on duty and the took the rifles

away from security detail saying the droids would take care of

everything. One of the droids went musga and killed a bunch of

scientists while the Rangers took potshots at it with their sidearms

until Steve blew one away with a Barret he grabbed from the armory. "I

always hated thos fucking mechanical nightmares.", Robert said wjile

looking at Steve. "Right on bro.", Steve said while nodding his head.

"Lets go hit the hay.", Robert said while opening the door to his room.

He turned on the light and took a look in the room. All the room were

the same. The place was rather neat and totally spartan. He tossed his

pack by the door and opened the bedroom up to find the same. He leaned

his rifle next to the bed and stripped down to his shorts. He turned off

the lights and fell asleep.

Larry pulled his bowie out and started to slit the giant coral snake

open. The blood had dreid in a huge pool on the floor. He peeled the

skin away from the body carefully not to damage the hide. He ran the

knife accross the hide to remove any meat that may have attachd to it.

He reached into a pocket and rubbed a light smelly fluid across the

inside of the hide. He then poked a few holes in the hide and put some

string through it. He stretch the hide out and tied it off to dry. He

opened the stomach of the giant snake. He started to pull the innards

out and the contents of the stomach. "Holy Shit!", he yelled when a

slender arm came out. He pulled the rest of the person from out the

inside of the snakes stomach. It was so corupted by the stomach acids

and poison he could not make out if it was a male or female. Around the

neck of the corpse was a small gold crucifix that had been severly

tarnished. He looked at the corpse and said, "I hope your are with your

God and in a much better place than this. You sure had a horrible way

out of this world." Iain and Billy rounded the corner and sawthe

corpse. "My God! Oh the poor person.", Iain said looking quite pale.

Billy turned stone white and knelt over the body. He saw the crucifix.

"What are we going to do with the body?", he said while looking at the

crucifix. He turned it with his fingers. Larry looked up, "Well I was

going to cut up the snake and through it in the incenerator. Sorta lost

my appetite for it after this. I was going to bury the body. I could

use your help if you finished the sweep for the sec hunters." Iain

looked at Larry, "We have only this area to sweep then we are done. We

did’nt go into the areas that we don’t have security clearence to go

in." Larry motioned to them to go sweep the area and comeback. He

walked over to the Janitorial Closte and pulled out his pistol. He

opened the door and looked around. He grabbed a big wheeled trash bin

and tossed the eggs into it breaking them. He then wheeled the bin down

the hallway and started throwing parts of the snake in it.

Iain took point with the M249. He favored that gun above all others.

He thought back to the time in Chahal Guatemala durin the war when 75th

Rangers Liberated the town from its Mexican captors. It was a night

jump outside the twon. There was a unexpected wind storm and it

scattered him from the rest of Robert’s platoon. He had come down

inside the Mexican compound. He chuckled as he remembered the insuing

battle. The Mexicans were almsot all blitzed on tequila and never sawhim

coming. One sentry saw him and fired a burst at him from a battered

AKM. He seperated himself from the chute while he was still twenty feet

up and started to open fire. He pinned down over two hundered Mexicans

and killed more than fifty in fifteen minutes until Robert got there

with the few men that he could find. He got his silver star for that.

He and his baby sure showed them beaners who was boss. He looked back

at Billy who was still white as a ghost from seeing what came out of the

snake. "Shit, relax Billy! You came out fine with no harm done to

you. I swear I have never met a person who thinks nothing of charging a

machinegun emplacement but turns to jello everytime his sees a little

fucking snake.", Iain yelled back at Billy. Billy turned a little red

and yelled back, "That snake was not little and I don’t turn to jello."

Iain laughed, "Just what I wanted to hear." They swept the whole area

and did’nt see anymore droids. "Well, if there is anymore droids in this

place they will be in the classified areas. We’ll be safe from them

anyway. They only turn on when you get within ten feet of them and

don’t no the turn off code.", Billy said. Iain laughed as he pointed to

the SAW, "I really no how to turn them off." Billy shook his head "Lets

go help Larry." The two walked back to where they left Larry.

Sara found a towel and soaked it in water. She started to wipe away at

the grime on her brothers face. The dried blood and caked on dirt made

him look a lot worse than he was really hurt. Her brother stirred and

mumbled something unitelligible and the went back to sleep. There was a

small mirror by the bed and she picked it up and looked at herself in

the dim light of the room. She left a small moan as she looke at

herself. She put the mirror down and walked over into the bathroom and

turned on the shower. She locked the door behind her and slid out of

the white smock she was in. She opened a closet in the bathroom and

found a robe and some towels that she put on the counter top. She

kicked the ugly white dress into a trash can and then stepped into the

warm shower. The hot water carressed her body. She stood there under

the pulsating water for a few moments and let wash away some of the

dirt. She grabbed a body sponge in the shower and poured some soap on

it. She worked up a lather on her skin that turned a dirty gray color

from all the dirt. She sighed looking at all the dirt flowing down the

drain. She turne the water a little warmer and let it beat across her

sore back.She massaged her shoulders as the hot water worked away at the

knots. There was another dispenser in the shower that she could read.

It was shampoo. She squirted some in her hands and the smell of catelpa

flowers filled the air. She worked it in her hair and then rinsed it

out.

She turned off the shower and started to dry off.

Larry had picked up all the innards of the snake and had placed them in

the large grey trash bin. He welled it down to the incinorator and

started to toss the contents in when he heard the door open behind him.

He saw Iain enter ass first dragging the snake in with Billy dragging

from the middle of the dead snake. Larry helped them pick it up and

shove it into the big incinorator. He then finished empting the bin in

the incenorator and fired it up. He set it to burn for thirty minutes.