Chapter 87 - 87

Words : 1480 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Adam spent literally the entire rest of the day doing everything that he needed to do. First was setting up the turret systems so he could reactivate them without worry, it took him several hours to get this done but he was able to update the FoF targeting systems on the turrets to see Adam and Salvatore as friendly. It's much less complicated on a base, since everyone's already in the database, a simple update from the intranet was all that was needed, but doing it manually takes a lot longer. Still he managed to get it done after a good chunk of work. After he had them reactivated and he could say, with 100% certainty that the turrets recognized them as friendly, he looked around for the other two turrets which were still activated in the system. The offline one was obviously the broken thing on the roof at the main entrance, but the other two he had yet to see. He found one in a small loading bay, effectively a backdoor, the space was open so it created a great field of fire for the turret if needed. The last turret he found in the CO's office. He also found the colonel. The colonel was dead at his desk, a pistol in his hand, his skull blown open. He had clearly killed himself before the rest of the soldiers had left the building during the siege. Next he set out scouting the place, looting what he could. Even if this was a safe house he didn't particularly plan on leaving much here. Just a safe place to sleep was more than enough. Lucky or unlucky for him there was not much to loot. When the soldiers had left over 200 years ago they were pretty thorough in clearing out the base. There was no ammo, no guns, no medical supplies, there was hardly any amenities either. The only things of note he even found was a spare military uniform, a stealth boy, probably lost in the efforts to leave due to it being hidden behind some crates, and a crap ton of Abraxo cleaner and other cleaning products. Then there was the Colonel's office, which was largely untouched. It seemed as if the soldiers didn't touch anything in the room when they left out of respect for their CO, though this was just speculation. Maybe they were afraid of ghosts, who could say for certain? The Colonel's office had a few guns, aside from the pistol in the skeleton's hand, a military helmet, some ammo, some MRE's stored in a military crate, as well as a few odds and ends. But most importantly he found keys. Considering there were no locked doors he had found in this entire building he could only conclude it was keys to the padlocks on the APC. The mystery surrounding what happened on the final days at this place only grew. Why did they not take the APC with them? Was a mob swarming? Were they under attack? Is the APC broken? Too many questions, not enough answers. Of course with one exception. The logs. Returning to the computer terminal again he opened the Col Travis logs on the computer and opened them. [Log entry 1: I took what was left of my men and held them up here, in this brewery, after the bombs fell. It's hardly a military base but it will suffice for our needs. I've asked for OPSEC on all our activities from this time forward. If the bombs are falling then that means the Chinese invasions could be starting, if the command structure has broken down we might be isolated. From this point forward I will assume as though we are one of the last bastions of the US Army remaining. Until the time I am proven otherwise we will remain on a war footing. I just hope my men's morale will hold.] [Log Entry 2: I have confirmed that our calls to HQ have gone unanswered. We have tried for the past few weeks and got no response. It is safe to assume that we are all that remains. A horrifying thought.] [Log Entry 3: I sent out a patrol today. We are low on radiation supplies but I spared what we could, we needed information about the surrounding landscape, the atomic rain has stopped and the weather patterns have shifted, we need to know what remains of Chicago. Or more importantly, who remains.] [Log Entry 4: We have confirmed the worst, the city's in ruins, any sort of governmental structure has broken down, my men were even fired at while they were on patrol, they kept calm under fire though, nothing but a minor injury.] [Log Entry 5: Civies have begun to pour out of the woodworks, they have found our location, asking for protection and support. My heart hurts but I can not agree to their requests, our supplies are stretched thin as it is, we can not handle dead weight at this time, especially if we are to engage with Chinese forces in the future.] [Log Entry 6: They are no longer begging, they are demanding. And they are no longer poor whelps suffering from the effects of the war, they are an angry mob, armed and dangerous. We are all fellow Americans but… how quickly we turn on each other.] [Log Entry 7: One of my men accidentally shot one of the people in the mob outside, despite my explicit orders for non engagement. I have put them on probation but I doubt it will matter. The situation is getting worse and I need every man I got at the moment, I can't afford to bench anyone.] [Log Entry 8: Today was bad, the worst it has ever been… they… came in like a wave… trying to breach through the front door… if it wasn't for the turret systems and our sentry bot… I'm sorry. Ignore this log. I apologize. This log entry shall remain off the record. As far as high command is concerned this event never happened. Even if I shall never forget.] [Log Entry 9: They have sieged us in, our food supplies are dwindling, we have only a few weeks left before we would need to resort to cannibalism. The mob has grown smarter, taken up positions further away, and they are waiting us out. This will not end peacefully. I fear the worst has yet to come.] [Log Entry 10: Let the record show this shall be my final log entry as commander of these men. Today I have issued my final order, I have told Captain Roderick to use any means necessary to break free of the blockade. His orders are to fire at will and get as many men as he can to leave this horrid place. I absolve him of the crimes he is about to commit. As his superior office I take full responsibility for the crimes. May God judge me. All I can hope is that most of them make it out. I just wish more of my men had survived. To think a year ago I was commanding a division, now, only a part of a company remains. May god bless their souls and watch over them. God Bless America.] Adam took a minute to absorb the information. It was such a sad tale, on both sides. There was no victor, no right and wrong, just people trying to survive. A common story. He sighed and turned off the computer. He had one more he had to do now. Ten minutes later Adam had gathered the body of the two privates, the Colonel, and the other soldier the Robobrain had mentioned and lined them up respectfully side by side in the loading bay of the brewery. He laid a sheet over each of them, of which there were so few to grab. A poor excuse for a burial but at least now he could send them off with honors. Right or wrong they were men who served America, and that resonated with him. He stood there, saluting them for their bravery and sacrifice for a few minutes while Salvatore watched on from the other side of the room, not saying a word. After the burial was done Adam noticed some mines buried outside near the entrance to the loading bay. It seems it was used to deter people from sneaking in the back. Careful effort expended he had managed to collect them all. All but 1 were still usable. So he added them to his bag after carefully defusing them for now. He had one last task he had to do before he slept. The one he had put off till last. Fix the Robobrain.

Chapter 87 - 87

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