Earth

The watch around Tylers wrist read 15:17 as him and five of his men drove their motorbikes an ATVs into Apple Valley, CA. Leading the way he'd bring his bike to a stop at an intersection in the middle of town - his fellow rebels quickly following suit.

The desert community of Apple Valley was nothing more than a ghost town now, balls of tumbleweed an abandoned vehicles littered the streets and rubble from damaged buildings was strewn all about.
"Lovely place" Mila let out sarcastically before running her hands through her long blonde hair. The bullish 20 year old Second Lieutenant was Tylers "right hand man" and close friend all in one. Mila secretly wanted more from their relationship but Tyler honestly viewed her like the younger brother he never had. She easily fit in as one of the guys and made a point to go over and beyond in terms of showcasing that she could hold her own.
"Yeah, just the kind of place I'd like to retire to one day." Tyler responded with a smirk before scanning the area for what they had driven nearly 2 hours for.

"There!" a young man by the name of Mikey would call out as he pointed to a four story building that was half destroyed a hundred or so yards to their right.
"Are you sure that's it?"
"Matches the spot on map Lieutenant"
Mila sighed and then kicked the stand on her bike out. "Great, this should be a breeze finding the parts we need."
"Don't be such a downer, our odds could be worse." Tyler muttered before kicking his stand out as well.
They had driven nearly two hours from their base in search of a parts factory. The generator providing them electricity back home was in need of repair - along with several other things here and there, so a small list was made and off they were sent to collect parts only found in handful of factories within the state. If they failed here their next venture would take days, not hours.

"Okay listen up, me and Mila are going to get to parts for the generator, three of you should be able to manage the rest of whats on the list while one stands guard out front. If you can't find the exact part written down on the list get something similar to it, understood?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, an after grabbing what little firepower they came with the group of six - all wearing camouflage pants, and varying black tops - began a brisk but cautious walk to what was left of the parts factory.


The heat was miserable to say the least, but such misery was also a blessing seeing as how the Scums have a dislike for the extreme heat that occurs in the early afternoon. So with the low likely hood of encountering crawlers, and the fact that the nearest Watchtower was tens of miles away, their biggest threat would be a roaming Mech or group of bandits.


Tyler stopped and scratched the back of his head once they reached the opening where the front doors once stood. A quick survey of the area later he'd look towards the guy chosen to stand guard. "Keep your ears and eyes open for everything, but Mechs are the only things I could see possibly sweeping by here other than bandits. We don't have the firepower or tools to take one down yet alone a line of them, so make sure you go unseen."
The young kid named Fin, no older than 16 or 17, nodded and went to salute but quickly had his hand knocked down by Tyler, who couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Relax, we're out in the middle of the desert, you don't have to be so formal."





"Smashed parts here, smashed parts there, crashed in wall over yander-"
"Okay I get it Lady Optimism."
The two would go back and forth at each other for nearly ten minutes before coming across and caved in roll-down gate, which led to a large store room that was nearly untouched.
"Jackpot!"
"Wow, lucky us. Now here's to another ten or fifteen minutes trying to find what we need."
"It shouldn't take that long."
"Oh really? Why not, do you know this place like the back of your hand suddenly?" Mila would ask with a cocky smirk.
"No but I can read."
Tylers grin grew as he pointed up to the hanging signs with his assault rifle, his friends smirk turned into an annoyed pout however an after a quick roll of her eyes she'd began to walk down the center isle. "Hardy har, I'll get the Voltage Regulator and you can get the parts needed for the Cooling and Exhaust Systems mmkay?"

Both went down their respective isle cautiously with their weapons ready at the aim, however with all the noise the group was making it was doubtful any Crawlers were lurking inside since they would of more than likely confronted the group by now.

Within a minute Mila was beside Tyler with the Voltage Regulator in her backpack, and with her help Tyler got the parts he needed stuffed into a duffel bag.





Walking back towards where the other three were was uneventful, and the entire trip was beginning to appear uneventful until Fin suddenly came running across the factory floor - distress clearly showing in his face.
"What! What is it?" Tyler asked sternly as he dropped his bag to the ground.
"M-mechs sir!" Fin whispered nervously. "Lots of them, half a mile West of our position!!"
"Wonderful." Mila spat, before the sound of the marching Mechs became noticeable.
"We won't make it to our bikes in time, come on!"
Tyler directed the group into an intact office off the side of the front entrance and made everyone hit the floor. Within couple minutes of him shutting the door Apple Valley was crawling with Mechs.

"It's no big deal, they're just passing through! It's no big deal!" Fin kept whispering to himself, but after several minutes it became obvious to everyone that the Mechs were not just passing through.

"They're looking for something."
"Or someone! Maybe we were tracked!?"
"Maybe if they were coming up from the West Mila, but the East? They can't be here for us..."
"Then what would they be here for!?"
"I don't know."



The group would stay down on the floor for a short while before Tyler decided to peer through the tattered blinds on the office's only window.
"Can you see 'em? How many? Do you think-" Before Fin could finish both Mila and Tyler would shush him with dirty looks.

"1..3..5!? Why so many out here in the middle of no where?" Tyler wondered to himself, before kneeling back down on the ground.
"Maybe they see our bikes!? They know we're here! I don't-"
"Fin, shut up. Did you not notice all the other abandoned vehicles and bikes strewn all over the place? Odds are good they won't give two shits about ours."
"Tyler's right, problem is it's been nearly half an hour and they're still out there."

"I know, seems they're looking for something specific, lets just hope it's not in here."




Another half hour would pass before the sound of the Mechs began to distance itself away from the group.
"Hold this."
Tyler would hand his assault rifle to Mila before heading to the office door.
"I'm gonna make sure they're leaving and verify in what direction for good measure. Stay here until I get back!"
"Wait, I can-"
Before Mila could offer to help her friend was gone.



Climbing to the top of a badly battered building wasn't the brightest thing to do but it was Tylers only way of getting a good vantage point. Spotting all five Mechs going back the way they came was a relief well worth the risk, an after taking a long look around Tyler would make his way back down to the office.
The time now stood at 16:50.

"Coast is clear, come on!" he'd say as he walked back into the office, slung the duffel bag over his back and grabbed his rifle from Mila.
"They're gone?"
"Yeah, heading back East the same way they came. If we leave now we can get back an hour before sunset."




The group quickly gathered their things and left the office. They'd jog back to their bikes in record time start 'em up almost in unison.
"We can't afford to loose time, so unless you spot a Scum or some bandits don't bother bringing up stopping."
"What If I have to take a dump" one of the guys asked sarcastically.
"Shit your pants then."
"Hey now! Well what if he we see a pretty thing on the side of the road a lot nicer than blondey here? It's been a while."
"Mikey you look like shit, I doubt she'd want anything to do with ya, but sure, if we actually see a chick on the side of the road waiting for ya we can stop." Tyler joked, before kicking his kickstand back against the bike and taking off in the direction they had come from originally.

"That was weak Mikey, you can't do a better wheelie than that!??" Tyler yelled out to the ATV in front of him as the dry air whipped his hair in all directions. The open desert was the only time they could really do such things in relative safety, and once they reached the heavily shaded forest a few miles ahead they'd have to be on higher guard for the rest of the journey home.

"I'd like to see you do better man!" Mikey yelled back, and without a second thought Tyler floored past him to take on the challenge. He'd pull his American flag bandanna up and over his mouth and his sunglasses down on his eyes as his speed increased to avoid any unpleasant encounters with insects. The dry air swirled around him as he easily topped 60MPH and the distance between him the rest of his men grew, but not so much they couldn't see when he reared up nearly three and half feet off the ground - much better than Mikey's measly foot and a half.
He'd slow down long enough to turn his head and wave back at a defeated Mikey who only felt worse the louder Mila whooped and hollered.

"Take two!" he'd think to himself before again increasing his speed. However just as he was approaching the velocity he needed to go even higher Tyler spotted something in the road ahead in the distance - causing his speed to quickly tamper off. "What is that?"
But the closer he got the more obvious it wasn't an object, an instead a person. There was a section of road clear for passage though, and weary of tricks from the bandits that plague the area Tyler decided to slowly ride past the body for an initial glance instead of stopping ahead of it. His bike wouldn't go far in front of the body before turning and coming to a halt, since as he passed by he couldn't help but notice it was a woman who looked pretty worse for wear

"This could still be a trap." he muttered to himself as he scanned the nearby area for any applicable hiding spots for other bandits to jump out from, to which he found none. That, and that alone, gave him enough comfort that the scene before him wasn't a trip, but he still got of his bike with his rifle in hand.

"What's going on!?" Mila yelled, as her and the rest of the group caught up to Tyler. She'd go to get off her bike but was quickly told to stay on it.
"Don't, I've got it."
The last thing any leader would want was his men to fall into harms ways because of their actions, and if this was by some off chance a setup he made sure he'd be the only one without a method to escape.



"Damn, she's out cold."
The worry of an ambush would completely leave his thoughts as Tyler swung his strapped gun behind him and then rolled the girl over onto her back. Despite being in the blazing sun she was white as a ghost yet incredibly hot to the touch, and coupled with the horrid black rings around her eyes came an extremely weak pulse....all bad signs. So without any discussion he slung her bag over his arm and swiftly picked her up.


"Mikey, switch with me, I can't carry her on my bike."
Without question the usually jokey man hoped off his ATV to make room for Tyler.
"What the-"
"She's badly dehydrated and possibly septic since shes paler than all hell but has a high fever, she'll die if we leave her out here."
"But what if she's a bandit? Or a spy?? We can't just take someone off the road without some thought going into it!"

In most circumstances he'd listen to his friend and Second Lieutenant, but time was not on their side at the moment thanks to the line of Mechs that had delayed them by more than an hour.
"We don't have time to sit here and discuss it Mila, times running against us. And besides, we've taken in bandits before, an if she's a spy she's a pretty bad one seeing that she's right at deaths door."
The young rebel sighed, she knew there was no changing his mind in such short time so instead of arguing she revved her engine and began to roll her bike back towards the others.
"Lets go"







Though the ATV had much more space than his Motorbike it was still a precarious balancing game with the young woman laying in front him. But for once luck was on the groups side, they had no encounters the rest of the way home and by 18:25 the Beverly Hills welcome sign could be seen ahead in the distance.
Sticking to as many back roads as possible to avoid the inner City - a spot populated no more by fancy cars and air-headed celebrates but patrolling Mechs and relentless Crawlers - it would be another sevearl minutes before reaching Holmby Hills, and what was once known as The Spelling Manor.
Over 56,000 square feet of house and several acres of land surrounded by a mostly intact concrete fence was as close to a steal as you could get in an Apocalypse for a group of 185 survivors, an even though Tyler's father Frank has every intention of moving from here as they have all their other temporary bases, most in the group were becoming rather comfortable with the idea of staying put.

"Home sweet home" Fin whispered as his speed gradually increased the closer they got to the front gate.

The men standing guard were in a jovial mood as the group approached, but the sight of the girl on Tyler's ATV caused the joking to cease.
"Open the gate!" was yelled ahead, and without stopping the group was able to zoom by and continue towards the mansion.

The front yard looked like military barracks to some degree with the several crudely made tents set up on the lawn for schooling - among other things.
But with dinner time approaching all children and most adults were inside.


"Who is this??" Colonel Ryan Phillips called out as he headed towards the group.

"Found her in the middle of the road, where's the Doc?" Tyler responded hastily as he began to walk towards Ryan with the girl in his arms.
"The middle of the road?"
"Not now Ryan, where's Hillary!!?"
Before Phillips could answer him the 5'1" Pediatrics nurse everyone called "Doc" came out from a nearby tent. "What's wrong?"
"We found her unconscious in the middle of the road. She's Dehydrated and has a pretty bad fever."
"And she's white as can be, poor thing....bring her inside."

The pair would push by the befuddled Colonel and head inside to the first floor infirmary they had set up only a few weeks earlier.
"Is here okay?" he'd ask as he approached a long table with a towel down as bedding.
"Yes yes, that's fine. Now let me see..."


Tyler would take a step back as Hilary began to check the girl over - starting with her pupils. However when she began to pull her clothing off he'd step back outside into the hallway out of respect, just to be greeted by his father and Colonel Phillips.
"What's going on son, I hear you brought a stranger you found in the middle of the road to our base?"
"Really Ryan? You go run and tell my father on me? Nice man, very nice." he'd spit out with a sarcastic thumbs-up gesture. His father however had no interest in the sarcasm.
"Cut the crap Tyler and just tell me what happened."

After a deep sigh and stretch of his arms he'd repeat the entire story from start to end - purposely leaving out the juvenile part about wheelies in front Ryan - a man always looking to remind his father just how young and immature he thinks his only boy still is.

"Sue me, I couldn't leave the girl for dead in the middle of the road. Besides, we weren't followed and no one was put at risk but me."
"You're one person too many in harms way."
"Well dad it turned out for the better, we're fine, and as a bonus we were able to get the parts needed to fix the generator - they're out on our bikes ready to be put to good use"

The two older men would share questioning looks within a brief moment of awkward silence before the Commander finally spoke up again.
"So be it, but I need you to go clean yourself up for dinner, I have an important announcement I'm gonna make."
"What about the parts?"
"I'll find someone else to get em, just go get ready."
"Well in that case, sir yes sir." he'd say with a forced smile, before turning around and heading back towards the grand staircase that lead up to the second floor - lit with candle light due to the malfunctioning generator.




"Everything okay?" a friendly voice would ask as he reached atop the flight of stairs.
"Yeah, Ryan just brought my dad up to question me like I'm an inept child, but it's alright."
"Seriously? What a douche bag."
"Tell me about it, I guess you've been sequestered to dinner too hmm?"
The two would begin to walk down the second floor hallway as Mila responded.
"Indeed I have. But I have no problem going, I'm starving."
"Well I'll see ya down there I guess."
And with that the two parted ways.




A bath or a shower would of been lovely but he was running late as it was, so he instead decided to just wash his hair and face at his bathroom sink and quickly brush the wash cloth over his torso to remove the visible dirt and grime before putting on a new fitted black t-shirt. He then elected to keep on the same pair of grey and green camouflage pants and boots since it was just plain easier.

He knew big announcements were rarely any good or fun when it came to his father, so after he pulled his hair back into a small ponytail Tyler took his leisure time walking to the dinning hall, which once was a lavish living room visited by some of the worlds biggest celebrities - royals included.



"Hey man about time you got here I was gonna eat your plate." Mikey said with a firm pat to the back.
"Well if ya did I would of had to kill ya my friend."
They'd engage in their usual verbal jostling as they made their way towards their seats beside Frank & Ryan.


Turns out the announcement was nothing new for Tyler, but perhaps a brutal realization to the rest of the group that Frank was serious about leaving the Manor. The commander spent nearly twenty minutes explaining why they should move base in the next couple of weeks and continue to head North - something more and more people were becoming opposed to over time, but things stayed relatively calm in terms of outburst and the speech would morph into a recap of the days events. But instead of explaining what had happened himself Frank had his son come up and do most of the talking, something he knew Tyler hated to do.

---

---

A guard would linger outside the laundry room turned infirmary with Hillary and the girl as the others left.
"You need any help there Doc?" he'd ask from within the door frame, and the short & sweet 47 year old nurse would turn and shake her head. "No no hun, you go on ahead to dinner I'm fine. Even if she wakes up harshly she's in no condition to put up much of a fight, so go."

Once he closed the door Hillary would pull down the blanket she had covering the girl and continue to undress her until only her under garments were left on. She'd then wipe the girls arm clean, begin an old fashion intravenous drip to help restore her fluids, and then shoot her up with one of their last antibiotic solutions. Hilary then walked around to the girls other side to clean the small bits of sand and dirt that had managed to slip past the girls cloth bandage. Once clean she'd pour Alcohol over the open wound and then wrap it with a proper bandage, an once done with that she'd commence with wiping the girls entire body clean.

"You remind me of a young girl I met years ago, bright red hair and blue eyes you could swim in." she'd whisper with a smile as she pulled the blanket up a few inches past the girls waist.
Ice packs were few and far between, but she knew a quick trip to the dinning hall could net her some ice so off she went.






"Doc! There's a lovely face to see." Hillary would be greeted with as she walked up to the resident chef Willy.

"Why thank you hunny, the food looks lovely. Can I get a to-go plate and a bucket of ice please?"

"To-go plate, sure. Ice? Unfortunately the last of it has melted, won't be anymore until that generator gets fixed."

"Shoot! Well if you have any of the ice water left I'd take that too."
Willy would nod before heading back to the kitchen area, leaving her alone with her thoughts. But she wouldn't be alone for long after being spotted by Tyler - who was looking for any reason to excuse himself from the podium.

"Hey Doc, how's the patient?" he'd ask after jogging over towards her. But before she could answer in full Willy rounded the corner will a plate of food and pale of ice water.
Tyler would take the bucket and Hillary the plate, an after a quick thank you the two would head back towards the infirmary - neglecting to hear Mila & Frank calling out their names.

During their walk the nurse would detail the girls condition out to him, and once back inside the room he'd offer to dip the towels in the water and place them on the girls forehead an arms. Once done he'd take a seat on the couch across the room from the table Hillary was eating at. They'd converse and snack for nearly an hour and a half before the exhausted Lieutenant dozed off where he sat, being a nurse however prompted her to stay awake and constantly change the girls towels for cooler ones, until eventually dozing off herself hours later.

For once his mind was at piece as he slept, likely from exhaustion. And if he was left alone he could of comfortably slept for hours longer, however a shriek from across the room would instantly wake Tyler up like an alarm clock.

"What!? What happened!?" he'd call out as he shot up from his laid back position. Quickly spotting Hillary drenched and covering her eyes caused Tyler's reflexes moved him to her side within seconds.

"What's wrong Doc?"
"Al-alcohol, it's in my eyes!"
It was then Tyler looked over to the table where the girl was now sitting up, and then to the floor where the clear plastic bottle of Alcohol was in pieces an it's contents all about the floor.
"Okay hold on a second, I'll get you a wet towel."

After returning to Hillary's side with a dampened towel he'd stand and turn his attention towards the girl, who appeared frightened and confused.

"Hey, there's no need to freak out, I promise." was all he'd manage to say with his arms stretched out towards her before a knock came at the door.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Um can you please open the door, we'd like to make sure everything is alright."
Tyler would look at the girl in front of him for a moment longer before staring over towards the door "Everything's fine, you can be on your way."
"I'm afraid we can't just take your word on that, can you please open the door?"
It was obvious the men at the door were guards since anyone else would of simply left at this point, which caused the Lieutenant to sigh a bit before slowly walking over and opening the door.
"Actually you can just take my word for it"
The three men instantly straightened their back and began to apologize.
"Sorry sir! We thought we heard something crash in one of the rooms on our way to breakfast and we just wanted to check and-"
Tyler would cut the anxious guard off and ease his nerves with a friendly smile "Well you actually got the right room but it's not big deal, see?"
He'd step out of the way enough for the men to see the spilled Alcohol on the floor but not the girl on the table.
"Just spilt something by accident, never claimed to be the most coordinated man in the world."
The group of men would smile and laugh at his small joke before continuing on their way, an after a yawn he'd shut the door then turn back around.

"Sorry about that."
His eyes had once again found their way to the stranger in the room, she no longer looked dirtied an ill so he found himself a bit taken by her soft appearance and sky blue eyes. However as soon as he realized her blanket had fallen and she was barely dressed from the waist up, he'd quickly switch his gaze over to Hillary.

"Hey Doc, you okay to watch her for a little bit?"
"Yes yes, I'm fine."
"Good, I'll be right back."

Tyler made sure his eyes stayed focused on the ground instead of the young woman until he was outside in the hallway again, and within a few minutes he'd be standing outside the room Mila shared with a few other girls.



"Hold on!" a voice called out after he knocked, just for a tall brunette to answer in nothing but a Tshirt a mere second or two later.
"Gee I've got the luck of a Champion today, two beautiful barely dressed women back to back!" he'd joke with a smile, earning him a slightly confused look from the girl in front of him for a moment before a smile crept onto her face.

"Tell me, how do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"How do women manage to look so stunning this early?"
The comment, combined with the warm smile painted on his face, caused the girl to giggle and turn slightly red.
"You're so silly I swear!"

Just then Mila would appear behind the girl rolling her eyes. "Super smooth Mr. Suave, but weren't you in the middle of something hun?"
She'd direct the second half of her statement towards the blushing girl who suddenly remembered she was holding her toothbrush.
"Oh, yeah! Well I'll let you two like talk I guess. Bye Tyler!"
It took everything in Mila not to roll her eyes again at the girls child-like voice and purposeful dragging-out of Tyler's name, an instead she simply put on a fake smile until the girl was no long beside her.

"Okay I know you didn't come here just to flirt with my roommates, so what's up?"
"Me? Flirting? I was just making casual conversation with the girl."
"Yeah, casual conversation my ass Tyler what do you want?"
"Damn, well okay then Ms. sour pants, I wanted to ask you if you could spare some clothes for our new guest."
"Oh, Uhh, I can go see what I have but can I finish getting ready first, or is this of dire importance?" It was only then Tyler noticed Mila was still dressed her her pajamas.
"No you can just drop 'em off outside my door when you're done, I need to go get dressed myself."
"Okey dokey then."
"Okey dokey?? What are you 50 now?" he'd josh, but she'd simply roll her eyes and begin to close the door.
"Hardy har har, so funny." she'd get out, before the door closed in-between them.
"Super friendly as always." was yelled loud enough for her to hear through the door before he took off towards his own room.



The clock on his wall read 7:47 as he entered so he knew he only had thirteen minutes before the generators controlling the water pumps for his side of the house were turned off to help conserve water usage.
All tubs except a select few had drains that had been modified to make it impossible for people to take baths and Tyler happened to stay in one of the few lucky rooms, but he always preferred a shower out of guilt and today was no different.


Relishing every minute of the warm water he'd only leave his curtain-less tub when the water stopped flowing from his shower head.


It was Sunday, a day usually reserved for worship or just relaxation, meaning most dressed rather casually - guards included. So instead of the tired ole camouflage pants he wears day in and day out he threw on a pair of loose fitting jeans with a plain grey tshirt and his usual camo combat boots.
By the time he had his assault rifle slung over his back and was headed towards his door to leave it was 8:20.

"About time." Mila complained as she jumped down from the balcony across the hall from his front door.
"I never said you had to wait for me."
"Point"
"And a good one at that."
"Yeah yeah yeah, here."
She'd go to hand him an outfit she had dug up from her shared closet but he'd tell her to hold onto instead. "Mind giving it to her yourself?"
"Um okay, but why?"
"I don't know, I guess it'll just seem less weird coming from another chick."



A few minutes later the pair would approach the infirmary door and Mila would knock forcefully on it.

---

---

After wiping her eyes clean of as much of the Alcohol as possible Hillary made her way over towards the young girl and grabbed a small flashlight nearby.

"It's nice to see you awake, Alcohol all over the place or not." she'd say with a friendly smile before telling the girl she was going to check how responsive her pupils were and then her vitals over the next several minutes.

"Well your blood pressure is a bit low still and your heart rate's a tick or two above normal, but that all should reverse itself as long as you continue to replenish your fluids and get some food in ya. Now let me get that out for you. "
The nurse would remove the IV from the girls arm and then throw it on a desk behind the table.
"There's a glass of water beside you there, drink up hun."
After pointing to the glass she'd go pull out a couple of towels, throw them over were the alcohol had spilt, and then begin to wipe up the mess.

"I'm afraid I don't have anything to munch on in here but I can always go and get you something when I'm done here. Or if you're up to it I can show you to the dining hall."

It took over ten minutes to wipe up the liquid on the floor, and that didn't include the intermittent breaks the older woman took when the smell became too much.

"This plastic shattered just like glass, how odd." she'd whisper to herself as she bent back down to pick up the pieces of hard plastic and then throw them in the trash can.

Before another word could be muttered a knock came at the door and Hillary would go to answer it.
"Milena! How are you dear?"
She was literary the only person in their group to call Mila but her full name on a constant basis other than her parents, but the young woman didn't really mind.
"Hey Doc, I have some clothes for the girl."
"Oh come on in then."

Once the door was shut Tyler would slide down to the floor and rest his arms on his knees as he waited.

"Uh, Hi. I brought you some clothes." Mila said, before placing a pair of jeans and a black and white striped tank top at the end of the table the girl was laying on.
"I haven't worn those in years and they're Jr's, so it might be kinda fitted - sorry."



"Now you let us know if you need any help getting dressed okay? We'll be over here!"
The nurse would pull two gaudy folding screens together to give the girl a sense of privacy, and they'd only come out once she said she was done.

"How is she?" Mila would ask as her and Hillary took a seat on some chairs behind the screens. The two would whisper about the girls condition and other things until it was okay for them to come out.


Mila headed straight to the door as her stomach began to rumble.
"Hungry hmm?"
"Yeah, didn't eat much last night."
"Well make sure you eat your whole plate at breakfast, you too-" Hillary would stop mid-sentence at the realization she hadn't got the name of the girl she had been treating this whole time.
"Oh my goodness, to think it hasn't crossed my mind to get your name. I'm Hillary most of the folks around here call me Doc though, and this young lady beside me goes by Mila. What is your name?"

Before the girl could answer Mila opened the door, which caused Tyler to jump up from the floor.
"About time" he'd say with a smirk as payback for Milas identical comment earlier.
Hillary however stayed inside the infirmary and wait for the girl to respond before joining the other two out in the hallway.
Only once everyone was out would she close and lock the door. While she did so Tyler took a moment to look over towards the girl he had carried into camp the other evening and then hold out his hand.

"Name's Tyler, how are you feeling now?"

"No coyotes which is a relief..." was a comment that threw both Mila and Tyler for a loop, but instead of saying anything they simply exchanged awkward glances and a couple of shoulder shrugs before chalking it up to the dehydration.

Hillary would talk about and point out random things on their way to the dinning area, however once there she'd quickly part ways with the group and begin to socialize with her usual circle of friends. "Make sure you drink lots of fluid and eat your whole plate sweety!" would be her parting words to Helena.

"Well, I'm gonna go sit with the girls and eat off their plates like usual, catch ya later." Mila piped up with before taking off in the direction of her roommates - suddenly leaving Tyler alone with the rebel factions latest addition.

"Um, fluids, that's what the Doc said right? " he'd say questioningly before gesturing Helena to follow him over towards the serving line.
Within moments of their arrival he'd get a firm pat on the back from crew-mate Mikey just as he picked up a glass of watered-down lemonade and handed it over to Helena.
"Hey man I was wondering where ya were, thought you overslept!"
"I wish, the old man would never let that happen though."
"Ya never know maybe he'd-" Mikey suddenly cut himself short when he caught a glimpse of the conversations inadvertent third wheel "-whoa, you sure do clean up nice hunny!"

"Really man?"
"What??"
"You sound like a creep, that's what."
The two continued exchanging harmless verbal jabs for several seconds before Helena's presence over his shoulder jarred him back into what he was doing.

"Sorry, here." Tyler said, before picking up a plate of Eggs and toast from the counter and handing it to her. "We ration stuff out here in equal proportions but I'm sure you're starving an I'm not all that hungry so-"
He'd grab a plate meant for himself and then begin to scrape the eggs onto Helena's plate, leaving him with only two pieces of toast - one of which he'd also put on her plate even though in reality he was pretty hungry.
"Whoa, how come you never share shit with me man!?!"

Before anything else could be said Frank would stand up at the end of a table several feet away and begin to address the quited group of a hundred or so.

"Come on, we should go sit down."
Tyler lead them through several sets of rugged tables until the threesome found their way to the end of the one were Frank was standing. Mikey took his usual seat but since there wasn't another seat available anywhere close by Tyler offered his seat to Helena and then leaned up against the wall a few feet away to eat his dry piece of toast.

His father would go on about trivial communal things for nearly fifteen minutes before turning towards a slightly more serious topic.
"Now I know we don't usually do patrols on a Sunday but it doesn't hurt to change things up every once in a while so the enemy doesn't find a pattern in our behavior, so please forgive me for stealing some of your sons or daughters away from you for a couple of hours today but it's routine, nothing major, and I'll get them back to ya as soon as possible.....enjoy the rest of your breakfast."


Not believing for a second the bit his father just put out about suddenly switching up their patrolling schedule, Tyler walked over to the table, placed his empty plate down beside Helena's and then leaned over towards his father.
Sensing his sons incoming question the commander quickly spoke up first - conveniently changing the topic as he gathered up his things to leave.
"So this must be the girl you found out in the desert," he'd say before holding out his hand to shake. "Commander Frank Krill - welcome to the Southern California Rebel Faction, I'm sure my son here can show you around and help you with anything you need while I go check on a few things."
With a quick nod of the head the greying older man would turn and begin to walk away, but Tyler quickly caught up.

"Da-I mean, Commander. I understand your point on changing up scheduled patrols, but without notice? What's going on??"
Knowing he couldn't escape his sons questions Frank stopped several feet from where the pair first stood and put his hand on his boys shoulder.
"I don't want you guys to worry, but we sent a few of our couriers out with letters for the Northern Rebel Faction but they came back within twenty minutes, said a line of Mechs ten strong were stationary on a road we usually have no problem traversing."
"Do you think they're tracking us somehow?"
"I doubt it, but it's worth checking out. For now though show the new girl around and make sure she understands how things run here. I won't be sending you guys out for another hour."
"How things run here? You make it sound like a prison dad."
"You know I don't mean it like that, just show her around, relax some....make sure you're outside at 10[am] though."
"Understood."



Unconsciously Tyler began to scratch the back of his head as he walked back towards the table and took a seat in the chair his father had been sitting in earlier.
"So I'm suppose to show you around but I'm not really sure where to start to be honest."
"Hey how about outside, I was gonna take my new lady to the courts to show her how good these guns are with a racket!" Mikey suggested before flexing his arms.
"The kiddies shouldn't be out there yet, so why not?"
Having no other starting point in mind Tyler shrugged his shoulders an agreed before looking over towards Helena again
"If you have any questions about whatever ask away, we'll try to answer them. An if don't feel up to it you don't have to go outside, the tennis courts are a fifteen minute walk at least....I can always show you back to the infirmary." he said before grabbing his Fathers untouched glass of water and taking a sip.

"I mean physically or mentally up to it, since I'm sure you might be a bit turned off from the idea of quality time with the creep beside you." Tyler joked with a wide grin.
"Yeah yeah yeah, hey I'll be back in a second - gotta go find my girl."

Tyler smiled a bit at her mention of "Creepiness notwithstanding", before addressing her ability to walk.

"Well that's a good thing. You shouldn't have to walk all that much around here - most people will just offer to do things for you since you're new....anyways-"

Before he could finish his last thought Mikey walked up with a moderately attractive blonde in her mid thirties on his arm an quickly introduced her as Molly.

"We going or what?"
"Yeah yeah we're going - lead the way."

After his friend and the girl walked past them Tyler would get up to follow - waving Helena along, however before he could reach the door the couple just walked out of - Mila stepped in front of him.
"And where exactly are you guys going?" she'd ask as if she was joking, even though she was really prying.
"Oh we're just-"
"Ty! Come on man, times a wasting!!"
"Gotta run, showing the new girl around ya know? Catch ya later though."

Before she could respond Tyler would jog over towards Mikey, expecting Helena to follow - leaving Mila standing there slightly annoyed an upset.




The walk to the Tennis Courts was pretty uneventful, minus Tyler pointing out random things to Helena, such as the makeshift school outside, and the place where they kept the dirt bikes/ATV's an other vehicles.
"We also have a ragtag gas station in the back of that old school bus over there, I guess this place IS a luxury, but if you ask me we've gotten too comfortable here....this whole world has gone to hell, and no place is safe from the scum or their psychics!"
His tone turned more serious towards the end of his comment, however Mikey throwing a ball directly their way suddenly snapped him back into a lighter mood.

"Trying to hit a girl? That's low." Tyler teased, as he caught an old torn tennis ball inches from Helena's abdomen.

"Come on man, I knew you'd catch it! Now throw it back."
Ignoring his friends request though he instead began to toss the ball back and forth between his own hands before looking over towards Helena.

"I don't know if you've every played Tennis before, I mean it's not really taught in schools anymore is it? Well we don't have rackets here - just old worn out tennis balls - but they still bounce! So we just play with our hands......kind of like handball but with a net in between us versus a wall. Here, they can show you...."

After throwing the ball back over towards Mikey Tyler would goad him into quick game with his latest squeeze, and then find a shady spot for Helena to sit and him to stand - preferring to be on his feet/guard after what his father had mentioned to him.
"It should be cooler under this tree."

He wouldn't say anything else for the next several minutes as they watched his friend attempt to play against Molly, but once it became clear she was going to win every round Tyler decide to sit down and start up a conversation.

"I guess I shouldn't of judged a book by it's cover - thought he'd be the one going easy on her." he joked.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing out in the middle of the desert....alone? Were you lost or something?"

"Nope...I wasn't lost...not anymore lost than is typical." Helena stated, before explaining how exactly she ended up alone in the desert - wandering. As she went on Tyler couldn't help but feel bad for her situation. Sure, he also lost his mom and traded in his normal life of little league an youth football for a life on the run, being in constant danger of getting killed....but at least he wasn't alone. He always had his father an other rebels around him as a family unit of sorts.

"Well now I feel sorry for asking." he'd say in a light-hearted manner, attempting to soften the mood up for a moment with a small smile before things got serious again.
"My mom....she was killed early on too. We barely made it out into the desert before they gunned her down like it was nothing. Yet people still think they're safe in those domed cities, after seeing what the Scum can do! I don't get it..."
Not being one to show a lot of emotion - at least when it makes him appear vulnerable - Tyler stopped himself short of a full fledged rant and ran his fingers through his hair a few times before speaking once more. "I wasn't alone though, so I guess I can't imagine what it was like for you out there."

He could tell she was purposely holding something back, but who was he to question her? He felt like doing so would come off as pushy or rude anyways, so instead he kept his questions - like "what exactly have you been up to for ten years" - to himself, thinking it wasn't really a big deal.

Out of nowhere a voice would ring out, interrupting their silence.
"Tyler!!"
It sounded like Mila be he wasn't sure....that is until the voice rang out again.
"Behind you! On the third floor!" and with that Tyler would turn around where he sat and look up.
"Mila? Any particular reason you're yelling at me from a window?" he'd asked, with a confused look on his face.
"Oh I don't know, maybe I just like chatting about the weather threw the window?!"
"Funny, very funny, so are you going to tell me what's up or must I sit through more bad humor?"
"Well someone thought it was a great idea to give me the task of loading the ATV's, an my only help is a thirteen year old brat who much rather throw rocks in the pool than actually help. So-"
Tyler sighed and cut his friend off, knowing he was the one who told her to do a task that usually is done with three or four people.
"Fine, give me a minute."

After standing up to stretch Tyler called over to Mikey and let him know he had to go help Mila, before looking back at Helena.
"You can come with, if you want that is. I don't wanna make you feel like I'm keeping an eye on you - my father kinda made it seem like that before. But this isn't a prison an I'm not a prison guard - I'm too sensitive and fashionable for prison work!" he'd joke with a huge smile.

"Seriously though, you don't have to come if you rather wander around on your own."
Suddenly a low rumble could be heard in the distance, causing the smile on his face to disappear.
"What the-"
Out of nowhere the ground began to shake violently - causing things that weren't firmly grounded to fall over or collapse.
Without thinking Tyler grabbed Helena by the arm and began to pull her over towards a small storage shed he knew was on the other side of the Tennis courts - which is where Mikey and Molly were heading too.


"What the hell is going on?" Mikey yelled as he reached the structure an opened the door for Molly.
"I have no Idea, come on - get inside!"

After pulling Helena inside both him and Mikey would slide a rusted dresser in front of the doors.
"Move away from the doors." Tyler yelled out before jumping atop the dresser to look out the only front-facing window, positioned above the entrance.

"What is it?"
"Nothing, I don't see anything, it must be an-"
The appearance of a long crack in the side of the shelter caused the Lieutenant to cuss under his breath.
"A what!?"
"Earthquake! We gotta get out of here, the place is gonna cave in!"
However as soon as Tyler jumped to the ground the shaking began to settle down - eventually disappearing several seconds later, leaving the damaged structured still standing.



"Oh man, that was wild!"
"Yeah I can only imagine the panic that quake's causing inside, we should head back in."

Tyler would offer to help Helena up before pushing the dresser out the way and leading the group out of the storage shed, and they would just barely make it a safe distance away before the back of the structure would cave in.

"Oh my god, that was close." Molly chimed in with as the group stopped for a second to look back before continuing on to the back door.

"Are you alright?" Tyler asked as he looked to Helena.
Mila, his father, an a small group of rebels would come rushing out the door at the same time, and before a response could come they'd begin talking.
"Thank God you guys are okay!" Mila said as she jogged over towards them - stopping herself awfully short of giving Tyler a hug.

"Son, are you alright?" his father added in, with a firm pat to the shoulder.
"I'm Fine, but-"
"-did you see anything?"
"No, I think it was just an Earthquake."

"Okay well nevertheless you need to leave out now, survey the area and check to see if the Mechs are still lined up, Earthquake or not people are rattled, hopefully you guys can bring back decent news. Just be careful, if that was an Earthquake we're bound to get some bad aftershocks."

"Yes sir."

Everyone began to head to the same back door the Commander and company came out of, but Tyler would stand still long enough to get an answer to the question he had asked her before the Earthquake began; "So, would you just prefer to just stay here? I could walk you back to the infirmary, I'm sure the Doc wouldn't mind you staying over there."

He'd wait for her answer before leading the way back inside. If she agreed to stay he'd walk her back to where Hillary was, but if she wished to come with them the pair would head to the ATV's and help the others gas them up and load on firepower to their back and side compartments.

There were a group of six ATV's and dirt bikes parked on the side of the mansion being gasped up beside a blue school bus, which was where they housed the containers of gas they were able to siphon from abandoned cars.
Tyler would point out the same five people who had been there in the desert when they found her - including Mikey & Mila - along with a young kid they were training.

"It'll just be the six of them plus us, kay? I'll be right back," he'd point out a bench Helena could sit down on. "I'm gonna go help load the rpg launchers and canteens."

Without another word Tyler jogged over to Mikey and began to load their vehicles with the appropriate weaponry and tools.
As they hit their final vehicle - Tyler's ATV - the Commander and Colonel Phillips could be seen walking towards them.



"Lieutenant." his father said very formally, before nodding to acknowledge Mikey's presence.
"Commander, any reason we're being so formal? It's just Mikey and Sir Phillips his excellency here."
Tyler would smirk at his clever little nick name for the Colonel, but his friend was unable to keep from laughing - something that didn't sit well with either men.
"That's enough!" his father would yell, harshly enough to cease any laughter - but the smirk on Tylers face would remain.

"This is serious, the Earthquake rattled everyone in the camp an if the Mechs are still lined up on the street that's just going to add to everyone's fears.
"Well it's not like we're gonna come back screaming it from the rafters if they're still there"
"Yes but such things never manage to say secret for very long - do they? Now, you are not to engage unless you're under threat from the enemy, this is purely a recognizance mission, if they're still lined up ten strong where the couriers said they were observe their movements and then return so that we can form a plan on how to deal with the matter. If they're not where we were told travel a few miles up an around to see if you can spot them. Do a good sweep of the area before you come back, we need to try and figure out if they're on our track or just passing by - understood?"
"Yes sir, a recognizance mission with no engaging unless necessary, got it."
"Good.....and be safe."
The Commander would firmly grab his sons shoulder as a subtle but clear sign of affection before walking off.


"Damn, just great, an I was all ready for some target practice - RPG style man!"
"You'll live to fight another day, no worries Superman."




Once his ATV was loaded up Tyler would lean against it and beckon the rest of the group to pipe down.
"Okay guys listen up," was all he'd get out though before Helena's voice suddenly caught everyone's attention, causing them to turn around to see her talking......to no one.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" the small red head yelled into thin air, which lead to confused expressions on the faces of those looking on. Then out of nowhere she'd pick up a blow gun tool from the ground and throw it towards the back of Mila's ATV, causing the the frazzled blonde to jump back.

"Oh boy..." Mikey muttered, right before Mila climbed over her bike and began to storm towards Helena.
"What the hell is your problem! Are you freaking insane or what?"
Tyler managed to step in between the two girls before Mila got too close though.

"Mila, stop."
"ME!? She just threw a damn blow gun at me!"
"I know, but-"
"But nothing!"
She would go to walk around Tyler but he'd grab her by the shoulders before she could.
"I said stop! Now back up....that's an order."
He'd let go of her shoulders after a few tense seconds and she'd step back - albeit reluctantly.
Sensing the others all staring Tyler would turn towards them and stretch his arms out in annoyance.
"Shows over! Get your crap ready, we're heading out in five minutes."

Once the others went back to what they were doing Tyler turned back to face a still visibly annoyed Mila.
"You can't SERIOUSLY be considering bringing her with us can you?"
Ignoring the question he'd go to his ATV and pull off one of the canteens to hand to Helena.
"Here, you need to stay hydrated, more than the rest of us."

"She needs to stay here! Tyler, she's clearly unstable!"
"Mila," he'd begin, before leading the blonde several feet from Helena so they could talk out of earshot.
"She's a liability!"
"Well if you think she's so unstable shouldn't she come with us, not stay here where you can't keep your ever watchful eye on her."
His joke was met with rolling eyes and crossed arms.
"I think she should be locked in a room with Hilary until we get back."
Mila would turned away from him and begin to pull her hair up into a ponytail.
"She's just dehydrated, lack of fluids can cause hallucinations...you know that. Besides, I told her she could come with us if she didn't wanna stay here, it'd be fucked up to drop her on Hilary now would it not?"
"What's it to you, it's not like she's a friend! But by all means, bring her. But if she throws something at me again-"
"-you'll what? Get yourself demoted?"


Mila would roll her eyes at his comment then begin to push her bike up towards the front of the driveway with the others, and Tyler would turn around to walk back towards Helena and his ATV.


"You feeling better?" he'd mention as he looked down at the canteen he had handed her.
Before much conversing could occur between the two of them his watch would beep on the hour, 10am in this instance, causing him to hop on his bike.

"Come on" he'd say as he looked back at Helena."You're gonna have to ride with me..."




He'd show her where to hook the canteen before sliding up some to give her room to sit, an only after she was holding onto him would he take off to lead the others to the property's main gate, where he'd turn his ATV around to face the others and finish off his rundown of the mission as well as an explanation behind the route they'd take to the scene.


"Okay listen up, it would be pretty stupid to stay on the road the entire way, so at the halfway point we're going to divert and take an old dirt trail the rest of the way. The path is a little overgrown but nothing we can't handle, and the trees are dense enough to provide some cover but not so much we can't get a decent look at the street from the pathway. Any questions??"

"Yeah, why are we going out so soon, what if there's an aftershock??" one of the men asked. "Don't fall into a crack and you'll be great!" Tyler responded with a smirk, before pulling the sunglasses atop his head down over his eyes and turning his vehicle around just as the gates were being opened.







The ride to the halfway point was smooth an uneventful, and the journey down the sometimes bumpy overgrown park trail was also meant with nothing out of the ordinary.
Once a mile out from where they were heading for Tyler would wave his hand in the air to signal to the rest of the group to slow down - eventually coming to a stop when the street could be seen through the trees and shrubbery.
They'd walk the rest of the way, pushing their bikes along with them, as to not make a lot of noise when they approached the scene, though it would soon appear such a move was done for nothing.

"Looks like they've moved." Mila said as the group peered onto the empty roadway the couriers claimed was impassable not long ago.
"Maybe, before we separate to search the area lets walk a few hundred yards up - see if we spot them at the T-Intersection ahead."
"Must we really continue to walk?"
"Oh I don't know Mila, do you really wanna roll up to the intersection with our engines roaring? I think we're all able-bodied enough to push these bikes to the end of the path, which according to my father's map just so happens to coincide with the intersection the street ends at. There we'll be able to survey the rest of the street as well as the main road that leads into town. I don't like the idea of being stuck in a dead end but we should be fine as long as we're aware of our surroundings."

Everyone made smart remarks about having to walk as they hoped off their vehicles again, seeing as how everyone had mistakenly gotten back on their bikes at the sign of no Mechs - Tyler included.
But no real protest was had other than some words, an everyone would quickly begin pushing their way up the dirt path.


"Ladies first." Tyler would say, before jumping off the bike first in an attempt to make Helena smile, or bet yet - laugh.
He'd wait for her to get off the vehicle being joining the rest in the slow but steady trek towards the end of the path.


"Nice park....minus the whole alien invasion part. You grow up anywhere close to LA?"
He'd ask Helena, as Mila occasionally glanced over at the girl.

"Lived further north." Helena mentioned, before filling Tyler in on where she lived as a child, as well as her journey to LA.

"I actually wanted to live up North as a kid, I hated the heat here. I use to think you could always put on more clothing to stay warm but here the heat's so scorching at times that you could be butt naked and still feel hot, and I also use to complain to my parents like a brat for the whole White Christmas deal every year.....it's funny how trivial some things seem now, White Christmas's and Black Fridays - we really took things for granted."

Silence would linger between them for a moment as Tyler looked about, taking note of the lack of activity around them as well as the dead end approaching ahead.
"Traveling all the way from up North by yourself must of been pretty lonely...." he'd say, speaking up again out of the blue. "At least you have my beautiful face to gaze upon now whenever you're bored, just try not to stare too often....you might become addicted to the view!"
Between the wink and cocky smile on his face it was obvious Tyler was simply joking, but he threw in a slight nudge to Helena's shoulder for good measure - hoping she'd perhaps smile as well.


A couple minutes later the slow but steady procession would come to a halt as the dirt trail came to a dead end. The trees in front and beside them were wide enough apart that the roadway was visible, and in neither direction did Tyler spot a Mech or Crawler.

"Okay listen up, Mech's don't just disappear in a flash so they can't be that far. To cover more ground we're gonna split up, Mila will lead half of you to the left further into the Hills and I'll take the other half to the right which leads out of the neighborhood. Hopefully we'll find something useful, or maybe catch them retreating, either way remember to not engage in combat unless it's to defend yourself, then at that point make sure you do not retreat in a manner that leads them back to this dirt path. I don't care if it takes you four hours out of your way, we must avoid being trailed back to camp at all costs.
Keep radio communication amongst yourselves to a minimum, and Mila - only check in with me every 20 minutes unless it's an emergency or a goldmine. After an hour we'll return here and head home, that is unless you've been cornered. If you're stuck and can't return here without fear of being followed radio in and we'll go from there. And please, keep the volume on your radio's headgear to a minimum, the last thing we need is a squeaky earpiece attracting unwanted attention.
Any questions?"

"Yeah, why can't I whack one of those bastards, my baby's itching to blast a hole right through a mech!" Mikey chimed in, as he stroked the body of his rocket launcher.
"Avoiding conflict is an order from the top, we're simply out here to observe and gather intel. But you knew that, so stop being an ass."
The group would all laugh for a moment before Tyler looked around again.

"Any real questions?"
Silence and a few head shakes would be his answer.
"Great, Mikey and the runt are with me, the rest go with Mila."

"You'll be with us, okay?" Tyler said to Helena as he unstrapped one of the rocket launchers from his ATV.
"I'm not too up on the idea of giving you one of the Semi-Automatic rifles but here -"
From a strap on his leg Tyler would pull out his personal S&W .500 revolver and hand it to Helena.

"The kick back on this thing is pretty strong so be careful if you gotta use it, you shouldn't have to though...it's more of a measure of last resort if we get separated. Please don't make me regret giving it to you."


"You've gotta be kidding me, are you insane?"
"I guess I am to you Mila but that's nothing new is it?"
His second in command would promptly begin to grunt and complain under her breath about Helena having a gun before yelling at her group to hurry up and follow her.

"You know she's actually a really nice person after a you get to know her." He'd say in an attempt to reassure Helena, however Mikey couldn't resist chiming in with a humorous bit of negativity.
"Nah she's a total bitch 24/7/365."







The two groups would make sure to split the four rocket launchers, rifles, and canteens evenly before parting ways - Mila and company heading out of the trees to the left with only houses as cover while Tyler and his group would have tree cover for a short while since the woods continued to the right for half a mile or so.


"That thing's about as big as you, you sure you've fired one of those before?" Mikey would tease as he pointed to the rifle the young boy Tyler had called runt was carrying. The two would go back and forth with each other for a moment before they were told to shut up and keep focused.

"Its a little too dead out if you ask me, to go from 10 mechs strong to nothing is.....odd." he whispered, before looking over to Helena.

"How are you holding up?"

Despite their banter Tyler and the boys had kept their eyes and ears open to their surroundings. They were reaching the end of the wooded area and approaching the hill that would lead them towards an open field where they could view the city in the distance and continue surveying the area, but their procession was suddenly halted when Helena fell to her knees with a sharp cry of pain.

"Whoops." Mikey let out as Tyler swung his rifle over his shoulder and held out his hand. "Are you okay?"
He'd wait for Helena to grab his right hand before placing his left on her upper arm to help in pulling her back to her feet. "Here, sit down for a minute"

After leading the red head to a large boulder a few feet away Tyler would walk towards Mikey and the runt Fin and point over towards the hill. "Make your way to the top and make sure the area below is clear, got it?"
The two would nod and respond with "got it" before jogging over towards the hill.


"At the risk of sounding like a repetitive tool, are you okay?" Tyler asked with a slight grin as he approached her again.
She had seem fine moments earlier but the fall had him again wondering if he should of brought her with them.

Before much could be said Tyler would notice Mikey running back towards them.
"What's wrong?" he'd ask as he turned to see a shocked expression on his friends face.
"You gotta see this man, come on!" was all he'd say before pulling his friend over towards the hill where Fin was laying on his stomach, glued to the ground.
"Get down!" Mikey warned, and the two men would drop to their stomachs almost in unison before slowly crawling to the top of the hill.

"Oh damn..."


Below them in the middle of the field they needed to cross in order to continue to the next block sat at least 20 crawlers huddled together in a circle that moved ever so slightly as they each breathed, with a few others appearing to be standing guard.

"W-what are they doing?" whispered Fin.
"I don't know...sleeping?"

Seconds after the words were uttered a soft buzz would creep into his ear, followed by Mila's voice.
"Ty, come in!"
Even though the volume on the receiver in his ear was extremely low Tyler still felt the need to scurry down the hill and back over towards Helena before responding in a whisper.

"I hear you, what does it look like there?"
"Those Mechs that were suppose to be back on the main road, well they've moved to where we are now. They're stationary in the middle of the street so we can't go more than a few blocks up.

"It's like they're doing a systematic sweep of the neighborhood. It's actually kind of....brilliant." he'd mumbled more to himself than Mila as he unconsciously scratched the back of his head.

"What?"
"Never mind. Make mental notes of what you see and head back to the bike trail, we'll meet-"
Before he could finish his sentence an explosion likely caused by a Rocket Launcher would send a cloud of smoke into the air East of them where Mila and her group were located.
"Mila!?" he'd yell into his ear piece - getting no response. However there was no time to keep trying to reach her, the explosion had likely awoken the crawlers on the other side of the hill and they had to take the offense - quickly.

"Mikey take the left side of the hill, I'll be on the right, Fin - after we fire start picking off the stragglers and we'll back you up....the quicker we get this out of the way-"
Another explosion would come from the direction Mila and company had taken off in - followed by gunfire.
"go go go!" he'd shout to Fin and Mikey before looking back at Helena for a brief second. "Stay back here where it's safe!"



By the time he took his position on the right side of the hill the crawlers were almost all awake, but still in close proximity with one another - clearly distressed....something Tyler was ready to take advantage of.

After giving the signal him and Mikey would fire their Rocket Launcher's in unison - instantly killing 80% of the Scum below and leaving the few still alive with a clear idea of where they were.

Fin would miss a few times before landing multiple hits to the top of a crawlers head, and in a matter of 60 seconds Mikey and Tyler would take out the few stragglers remaining - bringing all movement at the bottom of the hill to a stand still.

"Yeahhhhhh! That's what I'm talking about" his friend yelled out as he pumped his automatic rifle into the air. Tyler on the other hand wasn't concerned with celebration and would quickly stand to try and reach Mila again.
After a minute or so, which felt like an eternity, one of the men with Mila would radio in;
"A Mech must of heard us, it left its position and began to approach the house we were hiding in - we were left with no choice, we had to fire sir....they've retreated further up the road so we're backtracking to the dirt path now. Mila stayed behind to make sure we weren't followed, she said to radio when we're all back on the dirt road."


"Dammit Mila..." Tyler spat, before picking up his Rocket Launcher from the ground and swinging it over his shoulder.
"We don't have any survivors down there man, no need for any of us to stay behind - right?" Mikey asked, but the expression on Tylers face caused Mikey to sit back down and grunt.
"Lemme guess, it's gonna be me, right?"
"Well I was gonna suggest it be me but since you volunteered..."
The two would exchange quick smirks before Fin and Tyler headed down the hill.
"If more crawlers appear observe their movements, and if you think they're onto our trail radio in. You're only to fire if you're in direct danger, and I'll let you know when we've reached the trail and you can head back towards us, okay?" Tyler called out to his friend who nodded and gave him a thumbs up in response.



"Come on Red we've gotta head back to the bikes, fast." Tyler said in Helena's direction, offhandedly calling her "Red" as he and Fin approached the area they had left her at.

Before the two of them could reach her they'd both notice that Helena was covered head to toe in what they assumed was the insides of a crawler.
"How the..." was all he'd get out before she'd begin an explanation.
"...had a little uh...run in. Don't ask. What's going on?"
Helena's quick response was enough for Fin, who was eager to get back to base, however Tyler couldn't help but question her more.
"A little run in caused that much blow-back? Seems like it was kinda big."
He'd run his fingers through his hair unconsciously as he looked over Helena's shoulder. "Where's the body?

Tyler would only take a couple steps past Helena before interference noise began to come through his radio.
"Come......hear.....Ty-"
The voice on the other end of the transmission was barely audible and he was only able to catch every other word, so Tyler would stop walking and stand in place long enough to set the radio back to the proper channel.
"Repeat that," he'd say into the receiver before starting to walk again, but this time away from the crawler carcass - which he had seemingly forgotten about in the moment. "-the channel must of been switched by accident."

One of the men from Mila's group confirmed over a brief radio conversation that they were safely back at the dirt path and that it was okay for Mila to make her way back to them, to which Tyler agreed.


"Sorry about that back there, a group a crawlers were over that hill. We think they were sleeping but I guess one of the scouts made it's way up to you, glad you had that revolver on you.
When we get back you can get out of those clothes."
Fin would suddenly begin to snicker and after a couple of seconds Tyler would drop his forehead into his hand, realizing how wrong the last bit of his statement might of sounded.
"I didn't mean it like that I just.....I was just thinking she could get a change of clothes, that's all, damn."
The two would laugh a bit before continuing through the wooded area.
After a few moments of silence the radio would again crackle, but this time the voice on the other end came through loud and clear from the start.
"Lieutenant, I'm having to head back to you guys!" Mikey said in a rather serious tone, concern clearly evident in his voice, enough to cause Tyler to once again stop in his tracks before responding.
"Why are you breaking your position? What's-"
"A Mech showed up amidst all the downed crawlers, and beside it was a boy.....a-"
"Psychic."
Ty finished his friends thought before his own thoughts drifted back to his last encounter with a young psychic.
"Get out of there as quick as you can Mikey, Mila did you catch that?"
"Yeah, i'm only a minute or two out from the dirt path - how far are you guys?"
"About five. Mikey's probably another five minutes behind us."
"Don't worry, I got my speedy shoes on now, I'll make it back to the bikes in seven - just don't leave me okay?" Mike chimed in with.
"Alright, lets cut radio communication unless an emergency arises."


"That thing isn't going to find us is it?" Fin asked somewhat nervously as they continued to make their way back to their bikes.
"What, the Mech?"
"Yeah, the mech and that Psychic, It'll find us won't it??"
Ty couldn't help but sigh, but he quickly recovered and attempted to reassure not only Fin but Helena.
"Don't worry, they're not clairvoyants in the sense that they can see what we're doing as we do it, so it won't be able to track us like a dog if that's what you're thinking. It's never a good thing to see a psychic with a Mech but if we can get back to base we should be fine. I just wonder what it's doing here....it must be looking for something."

Tyler's thoughts wandered a bit until the dirt path came into view, and Mila began to wave at them.
"Finally!" Fin let out, before jogging ahead of Tyler and Helena - his weapon almost falling off his shoulder as he ran.

"You know, you're going to owe me a bike wash and a new shirt when we get back, since i'm sure that stuff you're drenched in is gonna get all over everything." Ty joked before smiling towards Helena.
"I must admit though, you seem to be taking things pretty well."


After reaching the others Tyler would catch Mila and her group up on what they had found and Mila would do the same.
True to his word Mikey made it back to the dirt road in a little over seven minutes, and after a few remarks everyone would hop on their bikes.

"Hold on tight," Tyler said over his shoulder to Helena, earning a smart remark from Mila in regards to Helena's clothing.
"I'm sorry, but that's just gross."

---

The ride back to Spelling Manor was uneventful, minus a few bugs flying into a few mouths, and as they pulled up to the same area they had left from more than a hour ago they'd be met by a group of kids asking a myriad of questions - the most common of them being "ew what's she covered in?", however when Frank and a few other higher ups approached them the kids would disperse.


Mila and Tyler spent the next few minutes briefing the Commander and others on what they encountered, and Frank would take special interest in the sighting of a psychic.

"Well good job on the surveillance nevertheless, seems they're surrounding and scouting the area....which is even more reason to move base. We'll take that topic up again tomorrow morning at a group meeting, for now relax a bit until dinner."

As his father and others headed back inside Tyler would pull his shirt off and stuff part of it in his back pocket before looking over towards Helena. "I'm gonna let ya off the hook with the bike and clean that stuff off my bike myself, Mila can hook you up with a change of clothes....right?"
"Um yeah, okay, you're gonna have to take your clothes off in the downstairs bathroom though, and I can bring a change of clothes down there. I think the girls would freak if you came into our room with all that stuff on you."
Mila would beckon Helena to follow her inside, and once in the main lobby she'd point the closest bathroom out.
"I'll be right back"


"Well, we'll be out here when you're done." Tyler managed to get out before Helena and Mila had reached the front door. "Come on Mikey"
"Wait what, who said I was going to help you clean your bike??"
"Come on man, your bike looks like shit too, minus the alien sludge.....same with the rest of you. Like any of you guys have anything better to do."

After a few grunts most of the group would follow Tyler over to the side of the house to get some of the several buckets of collected rain water and then turn around and head back towards the parked ATV's and dirt bikes.

"Well look who's back, finally! Get a good kill in on any of those things?" one of Mila's roommates joshed as she walked through the door in a hurry. "Yeah yeah, killed a ton."

Mila's nonchalant reaction caused her friend to sit up and crossed her arms. "Well, what's the rush?"
After a few seconds of silence Mila would sigh before finally responding as she pulled out a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. "Taking care of Tylers latest pet project.....do you have a pair of socks, sandals or something like that I could borrow?"
"Wait, what pet project??"


After flouncing down on the bed Mila would remind her friend of the girl they found in the middle of the deserts on one of their last expeditions. She'd also give a quick run down of what happened with the mechs and crawlers their group had just recently came into contact with - before making her friend promise to not say anything, like always.

"Eww, she's covered in guck? That's so gross, I think I'd pass out from queasiness!"
"Yeah, she'll live. Now do you have a pair of socks I can have? I think I'll just give her those Reebok's I found lying around the other day."
"Oh, uh yeah.."

Her friend would lean over and pull a pair of socks out from a box beside her bed, but instead of handing them straight over she'd hold them on her lap and smile as a light-bulb moment of sorts hit her.
"You're jealous aren't you?"
Wide-eyed Mila was quick to protest. "What? Jealous?? Of who!?"
"Tylers pet project as you say, what's her name again?"
"What!? Why the hell would I be jealous of her, stop staying absurd things and just give me the socks already!"

The two girls would toss around on the bed for a second before Mila finally pulled the socks away from her giggling friend's hands.
Her friend would taunt her jokingly as she picked up the dingy pair of Reebok's and opened, then shut, the room door in a hurry.
Mila's cheeks were flush and if steam could realistically come out of a persons ears they'd be coming out of hers as she made her way back downstairs.
Halfway down the staircase Mila would slow her pace to a near crawl and sigh, realizing that continuing on with such a hot-headed response to her friends suggestion of jealousy would only make her appear to indeed be jealous - something she'd never want to publicly come off as in regards to Tyler.

"I'm not jealous....that doesn't even make any sense!" she'd think to herself while absentmindedly staring over the railing. "Why would I be jealous, I've known him for years and she'll probably be leaving in no time. And even if she doesn't, she's just another person.....there's no reason I'd ever be jealous!"

The jaded blonde would continue to day dream about her feelings in relation to Tyler and Helena until she was pulled out of her own thoughts by a familiar boisterous voice.
"...Don't bullshit me Shorty. Unless you were shooting it with a fucking RPG it's not going to explode, and if you were standing close enough for that, you wouldn't still have your face attached!"
Mila picked up her pace once she spotted Oren giving Helena the third degree. She'd initially past by the two and shake her head with a slight smirk before throw in clothes, shoes, and socks, into the nearby bathroom. Mila would make sure to pull out a towel and bucket of water for Helena to use before walking back over towards her and Oren - catching the end of Oren's statement;
"Whichever answer you give it makes you a potential threat and so far you're provided no reason why I shouldn't hit you over the head with a fire extinguisher and lock you in storage"


Feeling like the situation was getting a bit out of hand Mila would pull Helena out of Oren's grasp and then step in between the two.
"Really Oren? Threatening to knock someone over the head with a fire extinguisher and then lock them up?? Aren't you being a little, oh I don't know, completely fucking unreasonable?"
The second lieutenant's assertive personality was almost a match for Oren's at times, and while most - including Tyler - would much rather remain cool or passive with her Mila had no problem matching Oren's bitchiness. "And to set the record straight, half of us came back covered in crap, what are you going to do...knock us all out? Gees."

Unlike the Oren, and to some degree Tyler, Mila hadn't really considered the extent of the blow-back on Helena's clothes, and merely wanted the girl to change her clothes as soon as possible so she didn't have to smell her anymore.

---

---

Tyler and the gang spent a grand total of 60 seconds outside by their bikes before they headed inside, gathered around their usual rickety wooden coffee table, and began to play cards. A few other guys from camp would join them, and despite the usual trash talking their conversation was minimal at best until somebody brought up the topic of Helena and how she stacks up against the other girls in camp.
"You know I've always had a thing for young red heads!" said a man more than twice Tylers age. "Too bad they don't have a thing for you." a woman his age joked as she walked by - causing the entire table to roar with laughter.
"The lady's got a point" Tyler added. Soon after he'd be asked what his rating for Helena was, on a one to ten scale.
"A rating? Who says I've even thought about it?"
Nearly everyone at the tabled rolled their eyes and began to call Tyler on his bullshit.

"Come on man, you haven't thought about it?" Mikey asked, but luckily Tyler was able to escape answering it by throwing down the wining hand - a Royal Flush, which distracted the group and many began to curse under their breath.

Tyler was usually the first the join in on their juvenile rating game when it came to the women around them, however for reasons he didn't quite understand he preferred to dodge the question in regards to Helena. So as another hand was dealt out Tyler would stand up, stretch for a second, and then excuse himself; "I'll be right back."

In reality he wasn't planning to come back, and instead began walking towards the supply closet where they kept their hunting gear. Once there he'd grab his compound bow and arrows, along with an old leather pack.
They really weren't in need of any wild game at the moment but sometimes target practice was an enjoyable thing to get his mind off of things. So as Tyler made his way back towards the rear of the house he'd begin to mentally pick out places in the nearby wooded area to go shooting.