4 The Insignia of Freedom

 The General grabbed the door of his giant, tank-like vehicle, and threw it open.

 He grabbed Iris' arm roughly and yanked her up before he dragged her to the open door.

 "What do you think you're doing?! I'm not some doll for you to pick up and yank this way and that!" Iris protested, fighting against his iron clad grip.

 "No blueprints? No problem. Like I said. We'll just have you make them."

 "Hello? Did you not hear me? I told you that no such things exist! There ARE no mechs and NO blueprints. Your soldiers found that out for themselves when they searched the place."

 The General stopped and turned to face her, anger now showing clearly on his face.

 "Just because there were no blueprints or mechs to be found here, does not mean they do not exist."

 Iris rolled her eyes, her mouth open wide as she scoffed. "You're kidding. What's it going to take for you to believe the facts? You're delusional! A real coo-coo!"

 "Ms. Sattler, it'll do you well to keep your mouth shut now. The fact is, I know that they exist and I highly doubt that you are so naïve to think you can lie to me. I don't believe for a second you would have no knowledge of them."

 "Well I don't and I can't build something I don't have knowledge of, nor can I build something when I am not a builder!"

 The General chuckled as he began to drag her again.

 "Alright. I'll make you a deal. I'll take you to our base. My men will try some of our persuasion tactics on you and then we'll see what the real truth is. Hmm? Get in."

 Iris fought against his grip, smacking his arm with her hand in an attempt to get him to let her go.

 Just as she threw her weight backwards, trying to prevent him from being able to shove her inside the vehicle, the ground began to shake.

 A deep rumble emitted from the earth as the soldiers fled away from the buildings in the event they may collapse.

 'The last earthquake turned out to be their huge military gear…..but this tremor is way more violent than that one...there's no way…..'

 Iris thought to herself just before the soldiers began to yell to the General.

 They both looked up to see a giant war ship rolling up, a giant red insignia painted on its gray, matt sides.

 Iris' eyes widened.

 She'd heard of this 'ship'. It was built a few years ago, and was the talk of the town amongst mechanics and engineers.

 Its main feature the fact that it could easily shift from flying in the air to driving on terrain, despite its massive size and weight.

 A deep feeling of dread washed over her as realization set in.

 They were not on the same side as the General whose hand was tightly wrapped around her arm.

 Horrified, she looked up to see the General barking orders at his soldiers.

 All she could see was his mouth moving, a vein bulging in his forehead as spittle flew from his mouth.

 Her heartbeat was too loud in her ears for her to be able to hear anything and her body began to tremble ferociously.

 The earth stopped trembling as the giant vehicle came to a stop.

 Twice as many soldiers, dressed in red, as the General had, flooded out of it, surrounding them easily.

 She felt the General's fingers twitch, his grip on her arm tightening subconsciously.

 'Shit….this is bad….this is really bad…..I didn't expect to be caught between two opposing forces when I came to work today….'

 A pit had already formed in her stomach as she desperately searched for any way out.

 "Listen, General. The mechs aren't here! We've already searched the place thoroughly! No mechs! No blueprints! We were just leaving, why don't you go ahead and do the same!"

 The General shouted at the opposing side, his chest puffing out to assert his dominance and strength.

 Without a response, the red side pulled out their guns and pointed it at the General and Iris.

 "Damnit." He cursed under his breath as he shoved Iris into his vehicle and slammed the door.

 BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

 Iris ducked down and rolled under the seat for cover, her body trembling.

 'Is….a war breaking out in front of my very eyes?'

 She'd remembered all the horrific tales her father had told her about the war, when he had served faithfully as an engineer and mechanic.

 When the war had ended, they found themselves in peace and he had vowed that he would never fight for the military again.

 'I've got to get out of here….'

 Iris thought, knowing that neither side were friends to her.

 FESHEW! FESHEW!

 The gunshots got louder and louder, a few bullets ricocheting off the exterior of the vehicle.

 'Thank god. As expected, this baby is bullet proof….' She breathed a sigh of relief.

 She very slowly rolled out from underneath the back seat and peeked out the window.

 The two sides were shooting at each other, taking cover behind whatever they could.

 "ARGH!" Mr. Aviators screamed as he clutched the left side of his chest and fell to the ground.

 'Better him than me….'

 She scooted to the other side and peeked out the window. No one was fighting on this side. If she was careful enough, she may be able to loop around and make it to the forest for cover.

 After plotting her path she very carefully opened up the door and slid out, leaving it open so no one would be alerted to any noise.

 She hid behind one of the giant wheels and looked at the path in front of her.

 There were three soldiers using her car for cover.

 Beyond them, was the hardware shop. If she could just make it past there, with just a few feet of open air between the three places, she'd be home free.

 Iris crouched down and made a run for it, ducking behind the car and soldiers. They were so engrossed in focusing on the shots coming their way, they didn't notice her presence at all.

 She placed her hand over her heart and took a deep breath, steeling herself for the next few feet.

 'One…..two...three!" She jumped up and ran as fast as she could.

 Something whipped past her, tugging against her back just before she reached the safety of the hardware shop.

 'Did I just get shot again?!' She found herself panicking, but she continued to run, not allowing her legs to stop, not even for a moment.