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The guys took over and let the girls eat, then Lance had everyone climb in the UTVs and buggies and crossed the road. Setting the gun bot up on a point that covered most of the valley, Lance put a chainsaw in each UTV and buggy and everyone fanned out over the hillside, cutting down trees and clearing the line of fire.
Glancing at his watch, Lance radioed everyone back. “Okay, we aren’t going to set up the gun bot past Green Road today because we don’t have time,” Lance told them, and many sighed with relief not realizing Lance had said, today. The others just didn’t like the fact the gun bots killed anything that moved. “Jennifer, you follow Heath back to the build area and load up the last bots and equipment. Patrick and them will come with us and set up the gun bot overlooking Girdler and relay with us.”
“Lance, it might shoot an innocent person,” Robin whined.
Giving an ‘I don’t give a shit’ shrug, “Well, sucks nasty ass to be them,” Lance shot back. “We’re securing this area and if someone moves around here, it’s because we made it safe. I’m not worrying about anyone not in our coalition. We put out signs of warning, so if twat skanks ignore them, tough. Ian and I want some of this stuff set out farther from our perimeter, but we don’t know which route our parents will take to get to Dewitt, so all our deterrents will stay just on the outer rim of our area. Now when our parents show up,” he paused, “we are putting shit everywhere.”
Slowly, Robin nodded and everyone loaded up. After driving back and dropping Heath’s group off, Lance watched them drive off and then headed into the field with the battle bot. The only stinkers that moved at them were those they had to drive around.
Ian drove into the trees and up the slope. Reaching a clear spot, “Stop here, Ian,” Lance said, opening the gun bot laptop. “Oh thank goodness, we still have great signal,” Lance sighed. Typing in the password, Lance hit enter and the warning flashed on the screen. When it disappeared, Lance grabbed the binoculars, but saw a stinker on the road fall down.
“How far out is the kill zone?” Larry asked, walking up.
“Six hundred yards, but anything moving over three miles an hour becomes a priority target,” Lance told him and Larry sighed, looking across the valley. Even though the gun bot was nine hundred yards away, Larry didn’t like being in front of it.
Lowering the binoculars, Lance told everyone to load up. Ian drove them along the ridge and came out almost over the school they had passed. “Damn, if that’s not a difference I don’t know what is,” Ian said, looking down at the almost clear road.
Ian pulled out of the tree line and they set up the gun bot in half an hour. “We will get the few trees another day,” Lance said, tapping on the laptop. “Ian, head to the others.”
Pulling back in the trees, Lance waited until they were out of sight of the gun bot and then activated it. “Between you and me, the gun bots scare me,” Ian admitted.
“Me too,” Lance replied. “But we have to kill stinkers and only have so many bullets, but we can make steel ball bearings all day long. The raw materials for bullets are just too much of an investment for us right now.”
Crossing back into the three mile perimeter, both boys felt a sense of relief. Pulling through the valley, Ian drove up the opposite slope. When he reached the ridge, Ian turned and drove up to the peak.
“Right there,” Lance pointed, and Ian steered over and stopped.
“What are we doing here?” Patrick asked, somewhat worried because the house he moved to was just in the next draw to the south a half mile away.
“Setting up a relay, so we can have real time intel,” Ian answered as they both moved back to the trailer. They both grabbed the box Denny had put together and carried it over to a knoll that was the highest point in zone one and two.
“I thought radios were bad,” Patrick told them.
“That’s what the directional antennas we put on all the power stations and gun bots are for,” Ian replied after they set the box down. “All of the units are aimed here and then,” Ian paused, tapping the long tube on the side of the box, “this will relay the info to us. When you get your phone line, we will be able to call you and keep you in the loop.”
“Dwain said we were going to do that tomorrow,” Patrick sighed with relief.
After setting up the solar panels, everyone loaded up and drove back along the ridge. When they started down the east slope, Lance glanced over at the meeting spot and saw the trailer they’d used. Reaching the valley floor, Ian drove onto the road and took off.
“You realize we are taking the new group really close to the cabin,” Ian pointed out, glancing over at Lance.
“Yeah, but they are helping, and all they will know is the build area. To be honest, I think it’s to our benefit. Now, they can meet up with us here when we do missions,” Lance replied.
Ian slowed, seeing the left turn up into the draw that led to the build house and stinker bodies were still in the road. He could tell several had been run over more than once. “I’m going to have Patrick and David lead to plow the bodies to one side,” Ian said and Lance nodded.
Pulling to a stop, Ian waved Patrick and David up. When they stopped, Ian pointed at the turn off. “Use your plows to push the bodies to the side. Just follow this road all the way up till you see the others,” Ian told him and Patrick nodded, pulling up.
“We’ll burn their asses on the way down,” Lance said as Ian followed them up the draw.
When they pulled into the yard, Lance saw the power station and supplies loaded up, but the bots were still sitting where they’d left them. Jumping out before Ian stopped, “Why aren’t the bots loaded?!” Lance cried out, waving at the bots.
With her helmet off and mask pushed to the top of her head, “Waiting on you,” Lilly answered.
“Lilly, I set your laptop up and showed you how to do it,” Lance whined. “You even drove one over here with me.”
“Key part of that ‘with you’,” Lilly replied, rolling her eyes. “Lance, the shit kills autonomously.”
Groaning, Lance grabbed the bot laptop turning it on. “Come here, you’re driving them,” Lance said coldly.
Nonchalantly, Lilly walked over and took the laptop when Lance handed it to her. “Lance, these are bigger, faster, and more powerful than the first ones. Now, they are even armored, so my bullets won’t even stop them if one takes off trying to kill us.”
Watching Lilly tap the keyboard, Lance slowly nodded. “Okay, I’ll give you that, but you need to let that fear just turn into respect,” Lance told her as the wheeled bot started rolling. “There will be times you are leading patrols, and will have to shut down bot sites so the area can be cleared.”
“I will,” Lilly said as the bot hit the back of the trailer and drove on. “I did with the first and I will with these, but I’m telling you now; it will be much longer for the gun bots.”
“Fair enough,” Lance chuckled as Lilly turned the bot off and started the tracked bot.
With the bots loaded, everyone climbed into vehicles. “How come we are in the diesel UTV and Jennifer and Lilly are in the buggy?” Ian huffed.
“Like you care,” Lance chuckled. “Before you even finished that one, you were designing the tracked buggy.”
Reaching the valley floor, Ian turned right toward the meeting spot. “Yeah, putting the driver in the middle makes the most sense and tracks give much better cross country capability,” Ian replied as they passed the meeting spot and followed the road around as the valley narrowed and turned east.
Riding along the road on the north sloping hill, Lance glanced up at the slope across from them and could make out the old logging road further up the slope that ran behind the ridge of the cabin. It was over a mile away, but one of the few times Lance wanted to just quit and head back to the cabin. He just felt so tired.
Pushing that thought from his mind, Lance turned ahead as Ian drove rather fast down the dirt road. “Have too much to do,” Lance mumbled.
The only other way to get to Dewitt with the trucks pulling long trailers would take them well outside of the perimeter and very close to Highway 25E. Lance didn’t want to get anywhere near a four lane road. The camera he set out near the cell tower when deeds were done to the Devil Lords was still transmitting.
He hadn’t checked in a few days, but it seemed stinkers really loved four lane roads.
Seeing the T-intersection ahead, Ian slowed. “I think they should’ve named this road something else besides ‘Stinking Creek Road’,” Ian stated, turning right onto Stinking Creek Road.
“I’ll agree to that,” Lance chuckled as Ian drove down the valley. “Slow down,” Lance said, grabbing his PTT. “Jennifer, pull around us and take the lead. We have a few stinkers in the road,” Lance called out.
“On the way,” Jennifer called back in a very good mood.
The buggy sped past them throwing dust up, and they soon heard the soft pops of Lilly and Allie taking care of the stinker problem. “Well, Ian, Stinking Creek Road has stinkers on it, so maybe somebody knew something,” Lance pointed out.
Shaking his head, “I find out someone knew about this shit and didn’t warn us, I’ll skin their dick with a potato peeler,” Ian snarled.
Reaching the next T, they watched Jennifer take the left turn like she was racing. “And I let her drive my Hummer,” Lance mumbled, looking at the other road that would take them to the cabin as Ian turned.
“I was shocked about that myself,” Ian admitted, hearing soft pops ahead.
Reaching the crossroads of Dewitt, which was the center of Dewitt, Jennifer turned right before crossing a bridge and rounding a curve. Slowing at the end of the curve, Jennifer turned left off the road, driving out into a field.
Pulling up beside Jennifer, Ian turned the UTV off. “I really think when we set up four more battle bot areas to the east and north, we’ll cut down on stinkers getting in our perimeter,” he said, turning to Lance.
“Small groups, but not waves,” Lance said, getting out. “That is going to take our master plan.”
Having heard that, Lilly cut her eyes over to Jennifer. “Just hearing Lance say, ‘master plan’ gives me chill bumps,” Lilly told her softly. “I don’t know what they work on in the research area, but it scares me.”
“No shit,” Jennifer chuckled, watching the two move out into the field and mark off the playground with the orange flags.
“You know where the power station is going?” Heath asked walking up, and Jennifer pointed off to the side of the field.
Since the bots were pulled on last, Heath waited until the boys were done and drove the bots off, then they could unload the power station. When the boys were done, Lilly and Jennifer moved to unhook the trailer off the UTV, but found Patrick and David had already done it.
“I’m really liking help,” Lilly admitted, climbing on the back as Jennifer drove out to the field.
“You want to set that gun bot up around here instead?” Heath asked them.
“Can’t,” Lance answered. “This is the route our parents will take to the cabin. Dad told me we could do anything we wanted except on this approach, and we wouldn’t get in any trouble even if we killed someone.”
“Besides, that gun bot has a spot. It’s just not there yet,” Ian added.
“Not everyone out there are bad guys,” Heath told them.
“Then read the signs and stay the fuck away,” Lance replied. “I agree, not everyone is bad, but I’m not in the mood to let someone go after our area, or even freeloaders.”
Not in the mood to argue, Heath just nodded as Robin stepped up beside him, looking at Lance and Ian. “Lance, Ian, why did you ask us to be a part of this group?” Robin asked.
“You worked together and were trying,” Ian answered. “Not intelligently, but you were trying.”
“Dumb can be fixed, stupid is forever,” Lance added. “We were dumb when this started, but fixed that fast.”
Scoffing behind them, “I find that hard to believe,” Patrick gasped. “Dumb and you two aren’t anywhere close.”
“Beg to differ on that,” Ian said, moving over as Jennifer drove back. Reaching inside, Ian pulled out the bot laptop. When he opened it and turned it on, several glanced at Lance.
“What? He designed the damn things,” Lance popped off.
“I don’t do computer code as fast as Lance,” Ian mumbled as the wheeled bot turned on and backed off the trailer. After he backed the tracked bot off, Ian turned to Lance. “I’ve wanted bots here in Dewitt since we came up with the idea,” Ian admitted. “But we voted that we needed the Bear Trap Group alive. So our route took a back seat.”
Lance turned to Heath and Patrick. “Had to see if a problem could be fixed and they were worth it,” Lance said, then turned away. “Heath, you ever complete the stuff I laid out for your hydro?” Lance asked.
“Yeah,” Heath answered and Lance spun around, unnerving Heath somewhat.
“And why haven’t you said anything?”
Giving a nervous twitch of his head, “You’ve been busy,” Heath mumbled. “I knew when you got time you’d get to us.”
“When did you finish it?” Lance asked with a groan.
Glancing at Dwain, “Um, the day after you gave us the schematics,” Heath replied. “We finished building everything two days ago.”
“We wanted to make sure when you did get time, we weren’t holding you up,” Dwain added quickly.
“Dude, all we have to do is hook up the turbines and run some wire,” Lance told him, turning to Ian.
“We are taking most of tomorrow off,” Ian said flatly.
“Duh,” Lance droned. “I was thinking the day after.”
Nodding, “We can do that,” Ian said, and walked off. “Like you said, we just have to hook stuff up. That won’t take long.”
Turning back to Heath, “Let’s get these battle bots up and get home,” Lance told him, and followed Ian.
“I love those boys,” Robin mumbled, patting Heath’s arm.
Very little talking was done as the site was set up and the tired group mounted up and drove back in the dark.
