"The Trenches Of Armageddon"

Faint radio chatter....

Muffled explosions....

Grayson came to very slowly,dirt slightly covering him from the carpet bombing that had just hit his section.

'Grayson..!'

'Grayson!!!' Someone called ever so distantly..

"Ugh...." The marine groans quietly...

A Marine started yanking him to his feet,"We need to move! Now!' The marine said.

In the haste of the moment,Grayson was moved into cover,dazed still. The sting of a firearm glove strikes him across the face,getting Grayson's more refined attention.

'Can you hear me?!" The marine asked

Grayson signed only barely..

'Shit...Come on we need to go. Can you move on your own?" The Marine asked.

Grayson gives an affirmative thumbs up,and quickly follows the soldier through damaged,war torn trenches...

Dusty bodies laid throughout,some riddled with bullet points,others headless or missing limbs,blood staining the sands of the battle.

Before too long the soldiers found themselves at the warfront,at the entry to the trenches.. What few marines that remained were on their last legs. A silver hard drive was pushed into his hands. "You need to get this data out of here! Run! Don't look back!"

"But-"

"GO!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!"

As soon as he arrived and received the hard drive,he began to run,when another mortar blocked his way out,forcing him into a makeshift bunker. All of a sudden more Marines pass the entryway,followed by what looked to be mechanical dogs. One of them began to search the now dark bunker,casting a powerful spotlight around.

Grayson was in a hidden compartment dug out behind the wall.

The "Dog" in question was your run of the mill quadroped robot,modified and armored for combat.

The "Head" of the dog was a pair of mounted P-90s,with a camera and spotlight..

The way the creature was designed allowed it to peer around corners and search efficiently...

Numerous times it had looked at the compartment and paid it no mind. The sound of chattering was heard,followed by a Biped machine. The Dog trots over,and trades a few quiet chatters with the machine that had arrived. Before too much longer they left,leaving only the ambience of distant battle,and the drone of machines in motion to fill his ears,all punctuated in distant screams...all separate from one another,never in a group.

For safety,he waited in darkness and silence for the warzone to pass...and eventually it did. As he warily left his hiding place,he was shown the horror of what had remained of the combat zone...

Now that everything had settled,some bodies even beginning into Rigor Mortis,and emitting a strong smell that could make one feel sick to their stomach.

Backgrounding the warzone were the remains of Dallas,flaming and falling apart,the occasional explosion sounding distantly and shining a brief orange light on the city. The sky had fallen dark from the smoke of war,which now brutally choked the sky.

Grayson stumbled through trench infested suburban streets,keeping to where the trench could hide him from enemy vehicles passing over.

He takes cover in an abandoned house,closing the door and sighing softly in the darkness. The barrel of a gun pressed to his head. "Up. Now."

Following the demands he was escorted deeper into the home,revealing an entire resistance base within.

"Sit." They demanded.

Taking a chair,he settles,until the gun finally leaves his head,and the person in question steps in front of him. They were an elderly male,scars on his arms and neck,some very new,others old. He was not of the US army,given his clothes accented by years of combat and repair.

"Who are you?" The male asked,having a 345. revolver in hand.

"My name is Grayson E. White,Rifleman of the United States Marines. Platoon 626." The marine introduced.

"Why are you here? Why are THEY here?" The man asked.

"You tell me. Myself and a few other platoons were stationed just outside of Dallas to prevent the new threat from getting through. Unfortunately I can see how well that went. As for why robots are attacking,I am unsure,but whoever is planning this really didn't want us being able to use this." He said,revealing the silver hard drive he had received earlier.

"No...fucking...way...The master drive?! But how?!" They asked. They reached for the drive,for it to be retracted,"Unfortunately I have express orders to keep this safe. How,or better said,WHY do you know this exists?"

"Because I used to design them. The bastards that commissioned their build had plans to take the world by storm,once they got what they needed."

"That's a tall glass of water to down. Have a little evidence?"

The elderly man nods,and gestures for him to follow.

They walk through the home,upon entering the bedroom,the man opens a hatch,"After you." He said.

Grayson slides down the ladder,to be beared the sight of a full blown lab a good 30 feet down. It was a robotics lab,with "dog" and "marine" robots on display,unarmed.

"Quite the operation. That commission was no small amount,was it?" Grayson asked.

"Not in the slightest."

Grayson approached the cases,"These models,they're new,a few hours old even,how did you already find these?"

"A surprise invasion of robots is nothing when you have the know-how to avoid it. It's easy pickings when it's also just the lackeys without a Router underfoot. Bragging aside,do you have a plan?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you have a game plan? Cant possibly expect to sit here for any length of time while Robo-geddon is going on above." The elderly man said.

Grayson simmers,pulling out the drive only briefly,"Do you have a computer?"

"Unfortunately no. Anything without an external hard drive was fried. Phones,computers,even cars weren't safe."

"Damn."

"On the upside,if it was a government computer,it should still be active."

"Problem,many of those computers are exceedingly close to the front lines back in Dallas. I'd have to fly under the radar for several miles."

"Well first,you need to lose the uniform. The 'Bots only attack US Marines,they will not attack civilians unless provoked." He said,leading Grayson back up to the bedroom,"Once you're changed set your uniform off to the side,I'll take a look at it to see if I cant do something about keeping it around." He closes the door to the bedroom,to allow the marine to change.

He pieced together an outfit,black slacks,with a grey hoodie,keeping his boots for now...

A long journey awaited this soldier.