They stood at the heavy steel blast door at dark the next evening. Their orders were simple, “Go to Omaha Base, get further instructions there.” They had fifteen miles to travel, try not to be seen and actually avoid killing any metal they saw while on the way, unless necessary. The last would be fighting their instinct. The sentries scanned the immediate area, threw the large bolt and let them exit with a hearty farewell.

They made slow, steady progress, skirting several live firefights and taking cover from overflying HKs. Carrie had led the way, since she was familiar with the territory. Four hours, but only about six miles as the crow flies, passed quickly. Carrie was prone at the top of a pile of rubble with the night vision scope. She signaled for Wall to join her, and he scrambled quickly to join her. “Do the trainees need a rest?” she asked.

Collin looked over his shoulder, “No, I think they’re good.”

Carrie rubbed a crease in her sweaty forehead, “I need a rest,” she said apologetically. “There’s a warren down there. If we can take thirty, I’d appreciate it. Then we can hit another one I know in another 4 hours, barring delays, for the day.” If it were winter, and the night longer, they could make it in one night, however summer made it and over-day trip.

Collin nodded, kicking himself mentally for not remembering her injuries, “Right. Sounds good.”

Carrie took a flashlight out, left her pack with Collin and approached the warren’s entrance from the rear. At the entrance she slung her rifle and freed her side arm. She stood to the side and with the flashlight tapped out a pattern on a board. She waited three heartbeats, then moved the board aside, waited three more, and then slid down the rabbit’s hole, gun and flashlight first.

Collin watched Carrie’s feet disappear down the entrance and waited. Her head popped back up and she gave the all clear signal. He sent Aral first, and then one at a time they all entered the small way station.
Warrens ranged from little more than holes in the ground to take cover in, all the way up to mini-bunkers. Minimally fortified and provisioned, they were still lifesavers, especially for travelling between bases. Some offered caches of weapons and provisions; this warren was barely more than a bolt hole. They were in close quarters, but not sitting right on top of one another.

Carrie sat on the packed dirt floor between Aral and Devin. She rooted in her pack and came out with two much-coveted acetaminophen tablets. She chewed them to hopefully make them work faster, grimacing at the bitterness, then washed them down with water from her canteen. She started into a ration bar, and leaned back with her eyes closed.

Collin looked around the dimly lit area; Aral and Devin were like scared animals, their eyes gleaming. This was their first time out of their familiar area. Before they would always return to Liberty Base, but now they were going to be far from home. Collin ordered, “This is a good time to eat something. Next stop is 4 hours out.”

Everyone chewed the bland, but nutritious bars and sipped flat, metallic tasting water from their canteens. Twenty minutes passed quietly without the banter or chatter that would normally accompany mealtimes underground. Up here too much noise got you noticed.

Collin looked over and saw Carrie sat very still with her half eaten ration bar in her hand. He reached out and took her pack, “Symms, Crow, split up Carrie’s pack between you.”

Carrie’s eyes popped open, “Don’t”, she said firmly, meeting his eyes.

“You’re about dead here. We still have half a night to hike, and I’m not arguing.”

“Dammit,” she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, realizing she was still sweating. She looked at the ceiling, “Fine”, she resigned. She shoved the rest of her ration bar in her dry mouth.

They split up her pack and passed the lightened shell back to her. Collin turned to Symms and passed him the night vision goggles, “Peek out there and get an all clear.”

Symms practically had to wedge himself into the tunneled entrance and his boots still hung into the shelter as he looked around. However he slid back into the warren like an oiled otter, his face serious. “Metal, two Ogres, four T-800s- that’s weird.”

Carrie was puzzled, too, “There’s nothing around here, and they normally don’t travel together like that. Small number of Ts and doubled tanks? Like a human patrol.” She frowned.

Collin said, “It doesn’t matter, not our orders. We’ll wait them out. We’ll report it when we get to Omaha. We don’t have enough people with anything here big enough to stop tanks with anyway.”

Carrie didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry.

“Metal, two Ogres, four T-800s, that’s weird.” Symms reported.

Collin was concerned. Anytime Skynet changed the way it did things it often meant bad stuff. However, he had his orders and they were specific, “Do Not Engage!” When he gave the order to sit tight, nobody was happy. However, no one would have been eager to be involved in the suicide of attacking an Ogre with these weapons. He sent Symms back up the hole to watch for the all clear.

He’d seen Carrie’s look and understood it perfectly. He wasn’t happy with the percentage of pea shooters the team currently carried. Symms carried a MM1 grenade launcher but those had their limitations. Once they reached Omaha and got the team back up to full personnel he’d re-evaluate their weapons distribution.

Collin had always preferred the conventional projectile weapons to the plasma rifles. He always felt the plasma rifles, though more effective, always brought you to the level of Terminator- elevated you to Terminator level killing power, but he didn’t like that feeling. And, you essentially cleaned parts of them with Windex, and he always thought that just wasn't right. Though, he found it strangely appropriate that they cleaned Skynet’s weapons with ammonia made with their own urine. The late Corporal Brandt had carried a heavy plasma rifle that might have melted a couple of heads, and maybe take a track off an Ogre for them, it was sorely missed now
Once Symms slid back down to give the all clear, they waited a few more minutes, and left the warren one at a time. Carrie was the last to leave the warren and as she was levering herself out she saw dirt blossom behind Wall as he was barely missed while cresting the pile of scrap. She scrambled to exit and made for cover- you didn’t want to be caught in a warren if the tunnel entrance was detected and collapsed.

As she vaulted over a toppled concrete pillar she practically landed on Aral and Devin huddled together. She slapped them both on the shoulders. “Spread out!” she yelled at them, and they parted and found separate cover.

She peered over and spied two of the battle units laying down fire where she’d seen Wall go over. She thought, “OK, buddy look over here”, she took aim, let out half a breath, and pinged one of them on the head. A mere mosquito bite, but it got its attention. Once its head turned, she lined up her sites, squeezed the trigger and took out one of its eyes. She didn’t even have time to think what her XM500 would have done compared to this toy. However, this stalled its firing enough for her to take aim again and take out the second eye. She moved quickly to another position. With it blinded, but not out of commission, it fired its plasma rifle where it detected her position should have been.

Carrie loaded a grenade in her launcher and took satisfaction in watching fire blossom around the shiny metal robot. Its power pack, or maybe its rifle’s, blew up in addition, lighting up the night. In the mean time, the diversion was enough that Wall and his privates had taken out the other in a wonderful, secondary light show.

She spied Wall finally, and his urgent signal to retreat immediately. They had to move out quickly; they didn’t know where the other two and their accompanying Ogres had gone, but they would have heard the commotion and would probably be coming now.

Collin had felt the earth move and heat behind him as he topped the hill. “Fuck!” he thought, “So much for ‘All clear’!” Plasma fire started burning above and around him. Crow was to the right and Symms far to the left of him. Symms gave him an apologetic shrug. There was so much fire they couldn’t even raise their heads above to see what was going on, let alone return fire.

He wondered if Carrie had made it out of the warren before this had started. When there was a lull in the fire, he wondered no longer. Symms rolled up and opened up with a couple of grenades. Both Crow and Collin fired their M16s hoping to do what damage they could, and they watched their bullets bounce off metal. They held back on their own grenades as Symms launched two more- no need to waste extra. Eventually, something hit and Crow and Symms cheered when double balls of fire erupted. Wall just felt relief that he’d survived, but knew they’d have to get going quickly before the Ogres came to check on its friends.

-----

They pushed hard for a good hour before they felt safe enough to stop under the slab of an old collapsed building. Their firefight had brought many over flights of HKs, but they had left the searchlights in the distance.

Carried crouched on one knee facing Collin, she rubbed sweat off her face with her knit cap, “We’re not going to make any warren or bunker by daylight.”

He looked out at the night sky, then down at the black rubber watch on his left wrist, “We have about 2 hours until sunrise. We can push on until then and find a hole to sleep in. It’ll get us closer to Omaha Base, and farther away from that.” He nodded his head to the horizon. “How much farther do you reckon to Omaha?”

She looked over his left shoulder, examining a map in her head, “Probably about 7 more miles. We had to backtrack so much, and I don’t know how much more circling we’ll have to do.”

“OK, 2 hours, then sleep.” Collin looked over at his trainees. “Take Aral under your wing.”

“He’s green. I’ve never had a trainee before.” Carrie said, “I’m not the Mama Bear type.”

“Yeah, he’s about as green as they come. Treat him like a little brother” Collin instructed simply.

“Mine didn’t get old enough to be a trainee.” Carrie said, eyeing Aral huddled with his head in his arms.

“Yeah, mine, too.” He stood, then offered Carrie a hand up. “Drink up for 5 then we’re out of here.” He then went to relay the word to Symms and Crow who were standing sentry with their arms ready.”

Carrie went to Aral and sat down next to him. “Looks like we’re a pair now, Aral.” He turned his head over and looked at her. “We’ve had a hard night tonight, but tomorrow we’ll be at Omaha and we’ll have a warm bed.” She patted him on the shoulder. She hoped it was enough for now, it was the best she could do.

Chap. III: Cold Steel

Chap V: Warm Bed