Helldivers Diary A Generation Zero Story

[helldiver]

Day 1
My name is Ulf Kellerson and I’ll tell you a story how it happened to me and I don’t wish anyone to go through the same thing as I did.

I was on a tour with my friends in the archipelago. We had all passed our A levels and we wanted to celebrate. I was the oldest of my buddies because I had done my military service after graduating from high school and had successfully completed it. I was looking forward to my studies which I wanted to do at the university in Stockholm. This one I wanted to do after the summer holidays. So we went out in our kayaks and went from island to island. Camped, fished, cooked the caught fish over the campfire. We drank beer, listened to music and smoked joints. We lived in the most beautiful summer weather and enjoyed the freedom. We didn’t notice any of this, we didn’t even hear the sirens.
When we wanted to return we took our kayaks just under land to Yttervik our home port. Suddenly we were shot at. The shells flew around our ears and rocket-like projectiles rose out of the forest, creating huge explosions on the water. We rowed desperately away from land. I could hear the impact coming closer and the first shells whistled dangerously close to my ears, some of them smashing into my kayak. I rolled around in the kayak and dived out from under the boat. The water was cold and I felt my muscles hardening. I had to get to the shore as soon as possible, but the ferry pier at Yttervik was already in sight, but I was still at least 500 m away.

They still took me under fire, I had lost sight of my friends and I hoped that they had done the same as I had. I dived back under my kayak, which was now floating keel up in the water, and swam towards the ferry pier. Apparently the attackers thought they had shot me because I was no longer visible on the water. I continued to swim and only occasionally reappeared under the kayak to get my bearings. There was nothing left of my friends. I looked around for them several times when I dived away under my kayak again and swam next to it. I called their names but no answer.

The shelling subsided and finally stopped completely. I only had about 200 m left to swim to Yttervik. I froze to God’s mercy. When I was finally 50 m away from the ferry dock I dived into the kayak again to get my bag with my personal belongings out. The boat would eventually wash up. With my last ounce of strength and completely hypothermic I reached the land. Cars stood abandoned on the waiting lane of the ferry. It was deserted. The kiosk had the shutters down and was locked. Nobody was to be seen and there was a ghostly silence over Yttervik.

I shivered and trembled. I went as fast as I could to my parents’ house to get out of the wet clothes. The front door was open which was abnormal. It looked as if it had been left in a great hurry. I went into the house and called loudly for my mother and father, but no answer came. The house was empty.
I went through the hallway into the living room, there was a strange steel device in the door, it was painted orange and had a red light at the front that sent a sharply focused beam of light into the room. It looked like a laser beam. The living room looked like a fight had taken place. The carpet had a big black burn mark or was it blood? The TV was on the floor and the table on which the TV had been standing had fallen over. I saw my father’s cap pistol lying on the floor.

The Möller is a small police pistol that my father still had from his active service as a policeman. He had kept it when he retired. I picked it up and smelled it. It smelled of cordite, so it had been used for shooting. It was loaded but when I pulled out the magazine I saw that there were only a few bullets left.
On the living room table was my father’s binoculars. I took it like the pistol and went up the stairs to the first floor. I wanted to change and go to my father’s room to look for more ammunition for the pistol. Who knows who or what was running around here. I dressed appropriately, jeans, sneakers and my green college jacket. I also put on a knitted cap as the day drew to a close and the Scandinavian summer nights are cool, even if it is only a few hours dark.

Before I wanted to go back down the stairs I went into my father’s room. In the desk I found a package with cartridges for the Möller pistol I filled the magazine of the pistol, loaded it and put it in my trouser belt. I looked out of the window, which was pointed at the ferry pier, and looked out. There was something on the kiosk roof. I opened the window and looked over with my binoculars.

On the roof, I could make out a person. She looked like a soldier, because she was wearing a green uniform, obviously she was dead, because she was not moving. I closed the window and went over to the small living room that my parents had on the first floor. I went up to the balcony and looked up the street leading out of Yttervik.

At the end of the village I could see a police car. The blue light was on, but I didn’t see anyone walking around. Then I noticed a bloody handprint on the balcony railing. "My God, what’s happened here I thought to myself. As I went downstairs, I noticed more traces of blood. I was worried, hopefully nobody bad had happened. In the kitchen I found a letter written by my father. Next to it was the civil defence brochure with the siren signals and the behaviour in case of war.

My Father wrote „Vi kunde inte nå dig när väntelarmet ljud. Vi körde till byn för att vänta och se. Vi träffas på Ibboholmen kyrka Oroa dig inte mamma och pappa

(swedish: We couldn’t reach you when the standby alarm sounded, we went to the village to wait. We meet in the church of Ibboholmen. Don’t worry, mum and dad.)

What had happened here I slowly asked myself. The place was deserted, on the roof of the kiosk lay a corpse, I was shot at, where are my friends, I don’t know, maybe they are dead and lying at the bottom of the Yttervik arm. A feeling of fear commands me. What should I do now? I thought for a moment, then I went to my room and packed my backpack.

I put the binoculars inside, my pocket knife, a compass. A fishing line with a hook. The cartridges for the Möller pistol Then I collected some medipacks with plaster iodine bandages in the bathroom. Then my tobacco, my lighter. In my father’s room I found a pack of cigarettes and a map of the archipelago. Then I found a torch, which I also put in my pocket.

I went down to the kiosk and tried to get up on the roof. I climbed onto the rain barrel and finally managed to pull myself up onto the flat roof. On the roof were the bodies of two soldiers, they had a bad smell so they had been lying there for a while. It took me a little effort to touch them. I knew from experience that soldiers wore various things like medipacks and cartridges in their uniforms. I found a Klaucke 17 pistol that had already rusted because it had probably been lying outside for a few days. It was still loaded and obviously it had been fought with. The Klaucke was the standard weapon in the Swedish military. With 9mm caliber and steel jacket bullets it was a powerful weapon.

I searched the soldiers and I came across some ammunition and medipacks. During the search I noticed that the soldiers had been shot with large caliber weapons. One of them stared at me with empty eyes that ghostly glowed in the moonlight. I squeezed them shut and wondered again what kind of terrible things had happened here.

Carefully I looked around from the roof of the kiosk, but I saw nothing. I climbed down again, loaded the Klaucke pistol and put the rest of the bullets in it. Then I walked in the moonlight to the empty cars. I didn’t dare turn on my flashlight to avoid drawing attention to myself. I searched the cars and found cartridges, medipacks, fireworks and emergency flares. I also found a camping gas cartridge. I took everything with me and carried it to my home. Then I went to the town exit at gunpoint, because I wanted to search the police car.

My senses were stretched to breaking point, I was always ready for someone or something to attack me. I crept to the vehicle in a stooped position. The blue light flashed and bathed the area in a ghostly flickering light that burned in my eyes. In front of the car there was another strange, orange-coloured device. Half of it was lying on the hood. On closer inspection it looked like a dog and had a kind of submachine gun at the front end.

There was a magazine on the gun and I pulled it out. The bullets that were in it were .32 caliber and they fit into the Moeller pistol. So the machine couldn’t be anything alien. The cartridge had a Swedish manufacturer stamped on the bottom. The components of the machine didn’t look like they were from Vega either, but from Earth. What the hell was going on here. In that car was the body of a policeman. The circular hole in his forehead must have come from the gun of the machine what was on the hood. I searched him, too, and found bullets that fit in the barge. In the trunk were also storage containers, which gave me plenty of ammunition.

My backpack became heavier. I also found cartridges that were suitable for a submachine gun, perhaps I found one in a police car. The Kpist or HP 5 was not only used by the military.
Heavy loaded I went back to the house. Once there I sorted the things I had found and packed my backpack properly.

I put some more music cassettes in the side pocket of my jacket, because I didn’t know when I would come back. I decided to stay the night and go to Ibboholmen church the next morning. Depending on how long ago the alarm was, my parents might have already moved on.

I raided the fridge and ate whatever was in my hands. I locked the doors and windows on the ground floor and tried to see if there was any news on the television. But I only got white noise. The radio was no different, only white noise, the ether was dead. For me there was one more reason to leave and go in search.

[helldiver]

Hello every one, this is another story of Generation Zero i hope you enjoy reading. Please notice my native language is not english. The whole story is written in German so i have to use a translater to translate it in other languages quickly.
Have fun

[helldiver]

Day 2

I slept restlessly for a few hours and woke up again and again because a lot was going through my mind. Early in the morning I set off and walked along the road to Ibboholmen. There was a spooky silence over the village, I thought even the birds were only chirping modestly. A raven crowed in the distance. I walked past the police car and switched off the blue light because it was getting on my nerves. Then I walked on.

After walking for a while I heard a strange noise.

It sounded a lot like a dog barking, but just similar. Then I heard a high whirring sound and a metallic clink, like a metal plate hitting the ground.

I pulled the Klaucke and loaded it through quietly. Then I took a full magazine in my left hand to reload quickly, because I didn’t know what I would encounter. Then I walked off the road sideways into the underbrush and crouched down. I took the binoculars and looked in the direction the sound came from. My breath stopped as an orange, dog-like device came down the road. He was walking on four legs like a dog.

At the front, where a dog would have had its head, was a collection of sensors attached. Next to it you could see the barrel of a pistol. From the front a broad yellowish light beam came out, I thought directly of a kind of laser beam. The device stopped temporarily and scanned the surroundings by waving its head. A balloon-like object was attached to his back. It looked a little like the compressed air tank of a truck. Several pipes went out from him, leading into the robot dog. I looked at this "dog" closer through the binoculars and thought about the weakest points of the robot in case I had to fight with him. I decided on the head with the sensors, the holder of the gun and the tank on his back. I could imagine that this was the power supply of the robot.

Suddenly several things happened simultaneously. The robot looked in my direction, the yellowish light suddenly turned red, the robot emitted a barking noise and immediately shot at me. I ducked and dropped the binoculars. Then I took the Klaucke, rolled to the side and shot back. I heard my bullets hitting the robot with a ringing noise, but it had no effect. I saw the robot change position in a flash by running towards me.

I picked myself up and ran away to the side to get out of its line of fire and aimed at the container on my back. I fired two shots, both hit and the robot started sparking. It continued to run around me and tried to shoot at me again. I circled him as well, not to give him the opportunity. And I ran sideways towards him and then I fired back at the tank as I had learned in military service, always a double hit, i.e. two shots in a row. The dog suddenly exploded in a bright cloud of embers. Debris was flying around. So I had hit it just right. I collected my binoculars and reloaded the pistol.

Then I examined my opponent. It was exactly the same device as the one in my parents’ living room and exactly the same as the one above the police car.

The tank on my back turned out to be a fuel cell filled with hydrogen gas, hence the brilliant explosion. I had also hit the sensors on his head, but had not switched them off completely, because he had still been shooting at me. On one of the sensors I could decode X-Ray Sight Sensor, of the rest, only the red glass fragments indicated that this was probably an infrared vision sensor. One of the sensors looked like a night vision goggles. This had completely shattered my hit. Behind the head there was another case which was made of steel and obviously armored. This was where the control system had to be.

Who the hell built these things, who activated them and let them loose on people? What the hell was going on here? Have we been invaded by another country? It couldn’t have been anything alien, because most of the components had English or Swedish markings. I noticed a number on the side of the device, probably the serial or registration number. Whether a military experiment went wrong here and they didn’t pull the plug in time. Or was it some criminal act by a terrorist group.

I remembered the assassination of Olof Palme. The Swedish politician was killed. The perpetrators belonged to a terrorist group. Maybe they were behind it.

In any case, those machines were dangerous.

I walked along the road, but through the grass to the side so I couldn’t be seen from afar. About a hundred meters in front of me there was an intersection with cars and I could hear the sound of the robot again. I walked a little further away from the road into the undergrowth of the nearby forest. I tried to move silently, so that possible robots would not pay attention to me. I looked through the binoculars again. In front of me at the crossroads there was a car on the side and two others stood there abandoned. In between, five of those machines were patrolling. I would have to pass them if I wanted to go to church. I could try to bypass them, but what would expect me afterwards. And then I had these robots breathing down my neck. No, I would have to face the fight. I remembered the gas cartridge in my backpack. I could booby-trap it and lure you there. I went back a little and crept out into the street. Keeping an eye on the robots. They were about 80 to 100m away from me. Then I finished my guns and jumped into the street. I blew a whistle and shouted out loud "HERE I AM, COME AND GET ME.”

The lights on the robots immediately turned red and three of them came running towards me. I took a few steps back. My heart was beating up to my neck. The distance between the robots and the gas cartridge was decreasing, a robot opened fire but the bullets whistled past me. I swerved a little to the side. The robot in front went slowly and stopped over the booby trap. I had observed that they only shot standing up. I briefly aimed at the gas cartridge and fired several shots. One hit and there was a proper explosion. The robot in front was thrown through the air and exploded. The other two were also damaged and exploded. Three at once, I rejoiced. Then I ran into the forest on the other side. The remaining two robots came running towards me. One stopped and fired at me. His bullets crashed into the tree behind which I was hiding. The other tried to get into my back.

As he passed me on the side, he could not shoot at me. I immediately shot him several times and hit the tank which exploded. So I only had to deal with one robot, but he shot at me wildly.

I jumped out from behind my cover and ran to the next tree. I realized the robot couldn’t aim that fast. So it couldn’t shoot at me while I was running. I quickly changed the magazine of the claw and shot at the robot again. I worked my way to one of the vehicles, because they offered better cover. Then I took the robot under fire again and it exploded as well. After that it became strangely quiet. I went to the destroyed robots to examine them and to see if they had suitable ammunition. I took the shells out of them. Most of them fitted the Moeller, though.

In the distance I saw the church of Ibboholmen. In all the vehicles I found ammunition and other things that could be used. My backpack was getting fuller and fuller and my pockets were bulging too. However, my stock of 9mm cartridges had also decreased. I would probably have to fight with the Moeller soon. I knew one of the vehicles. It belonged to the hunter from Björgsnäs, a small house on the northern coast of Ibboholmen. From a letter I found on the driver’s seat, it was clear that he had his hunting equipment at Björgsnäs. I rejoiced. In the hope of getting a better weapon there, I set off for it. It was only a few kilometers I had to walk through the forest.

In the forest I met two of those dog robots again, the ones I called Runner, because they kept running before the attack. I fought them down with the Möller pistol. But you had to reload it more often than the Klaucke, because it only had 8 cartridges in the magazine. The Klaucke had 17.

After that I got to Björgsnäs, and nothing attacked me. The door to the house was locked. I picked the lock with a hairpin I found in my backpack. They were probably from Ronja, my former girlfriend.

In the house I found a Meusser hunting rifle in a good condition, caliber .243 ammunition steel jacket bullets, a silencer and a telescopic sight, but it was already worn out. I put everything together and aimed with the rifle. Then I heard the hated sound of a runner in the garden again. Siieeep, Siieeep, Siieeep Siieeep and the metallic clinking of his foot plates. I looked around the corner of the house. He had not noticed me yet. I operated the loading lever of the Meusser and lifted her up. I looked through the scope and focused it. I aimed carefully at the tank on the back of the robot. When it stopped, that was its undoing. I pulled the trigger and hit the tank. The runner exploded instantly. I had managed a kill shot from a hundred yards. With this weapon I felt better right away. Since the day was already farther advanced, I decided to spend the night on Björgsnäs.

I searched the house for something edible and found some canned food. Admittedly, cold ravioli doesn’t taste very good, but it still fills you up. I couldn’t warm them up because the gas was turned off at the stove. I found three gas cartridges, but no camping gas cooker or blowtorch, so I could have at least heated the can. The rest of the stuff I put in my pocket. Under the stairs I found some beer bottles. I had one of them because I was quite thirsty. The beer didn’t taste very good because it was hardly cooled down. But what about the misery and the devil? Oh, yes, the devil eats flies in trouble. Fortunately they were not on my menu yet. As I lay on the bed upstairs, I thought about my situation. I would go back home and search the kitchen for provisions, then I would head back towards the church. I thought about whether I should go across the mountain through the forest, or rather take the road that went around the island and ended in Yttervik. I remembered that there was another house on the way. It was a fishing hut called Björgsnäskogen. Maybe I can find some useful things there. I also remembered the small storage bunker that stood near Björksnäskogen. There might be some ammunition and even better weapons in there. These standby camps were spread all over the country and could be as big as a garage, or the size of a warehouse. I decided to take the road to Yttervik. The steady whoosh of the surf and the beer lulled me into a deep and dreamless sleep.

[helldiver]

3rd day

I woke up late in the morning. The sun was already higher in the sky than yesterday and the seagulls were screeching outside the window. I almost forgot what a dangerous situation I was in and wanted to go to the small balcony facing the sea. But the pistol on the bedside table quickly brought me back down to earth. I put on my jacket again and my shoes and put the guns back in my waistband and checked that they were loaded and secured. Some had already shot away the crown jewels because they had gotten caught on the hammer of the pistol. I shouldered the hunting rifle and looked carefully out of the window before leaving the house.

With my gun drawn I walked through the door and looked around to the right and left. I stopped in the garden and listened. Apart from the surf and the screeching of seagulls, nothing could be heard. Slowly I went up to the street and looked left and right again. Even with the binoculars I couldn’t see anything, so I set off towards Yttervik. Next to me a rock face rose up, on my left was the shore. I walked carefully along the rock face around a bend and about 300 m away from me I saw the small storage shed and some cars.

One of them was burning. Around the cars lurked some runners. I watched them for a while and counted three of them. I quickly changed to the other side of the road and jumped into the embankment which gave me more cover. I slowly walked along the embankment closer to the spot to have a better field of fire. I took the hunting rifle from my shoulder without making a sound. Then I lay in wait. I watched them through the scope. They patrolled around the cars and I waited until two of them turned their backs on me. With these machines I had no scruples I fired at the first one who was on the right side of one of the vehicles. The one in the middle didn’t even notice that his comrade exploded. He stopped and before he could even turn around I also blew up his tank. The third one turned around and made this strange barking sound. He ran towards me and I had trouble keeping an eye on him. But when he stopped and fired, I had him safely in the crosshairs of my scope and finished him off as well.

Then spray dirt in front of me. Damn… there was another one shooting. I pulled back a little more into the embankment as the bullets whizzed over me trying to locate the shooter. Carefully, I looked again in the approximate direction the shots had come from. Again a yarrow of bullets hissed over me, but now I saw that it came from a bush next to one of the cars. I continued to sneak forward, because there was a boundary stone at the side of the road. I wanted to use it as cover. Carefully I pushed the rifle over the edge of the embankment and set my sights on the bush. I could see the robot behind it.

Through a gap in the foliage I could see its red glowing sensors. I aimed a hand’s breadth above it - his tank must be about there. I took aim and fired. The shot was missing then the robot came rushing forward. I could see it was sparking, so I damaged it. It pointed at me again and I pulled the trigger. It exploded in a bright cloud.

It was very quiet after that. The water behind me was splashing and I could hear some seagulls screeching away. I reloaded the rifle, pulled the pistol and carefully left my cover. Then I examined the destroyed robots and took their bullets. I turned to the military shed. I broke the lock again with one of my hairpins. Unfortunately I found no weapon in the room, but five hand grenades. I screwed in the detonators and made them ready for use. All you had to do was take the grenade in your hand, press the handle on the side of course, pull out the safety pin with the ring and then throw the thing far enough. There was then a violent explosion with a shower of shrapnel that killed or at least seriously injured 20 m around. A terrible weapon to use against humans.

I also found various ammunition that found its way into my pockets. The cars outside were plentiful too. One of them was a car used by the military. I searched them in a hurry because I didn’t know when the next robots would show up. Then I walked the road towards Björgsnäskogen with my gun drawn. I walked through the reeds to the small island. There was nothing I could use in the hut. On the shore I came across a tent camp. In the sand of the beach a heart had been laid with stones. Here a couple of lovers had probably spent some romantic hours.

But there was no one to see, not even their bodies. Maybe they got away.

When I went back, my breath almost stopped. In the street, a humanoid robot, almost four metres tall, walking upright on two legs. Every step of the machine was accompanied by a bright Djiieep, Djiieep, Djiieep, Djiieep and the crunch of heavy steps when its footplates touched the ground.

The body was cubic. Where the human shoulder was, there was a large shoulder machine gun on his right side. The robot’s head was approximately in the middle of the body and stood about half a meter off to the front. It swung constantly back and forth and seemed to scan the environment. I crouched down in the reeds hoping that he would not catch me. I believed that I had no chance against him with the hunting rifle.

On his left arm, instead of a hand, there was a large caliber weapon. On his right arm was a box from which a long sword was temporarily fizzing out. This killer robot was a beast. I did not move and tried not to attract attention. I went through my arsenal in my mind. I had the hand grenades, my pistols, but they had little effect on the robot, depending on how heavily it was armored. My hunting rifle, which I assumed wasn’t strong enough. It had the smallest caliber of all the weapons. Then I had my gas cartridges, the emergency flares and the fireworks.

I thought about it, I could not get involved in a pistol fight with this highly dangerous machine. The hand grenades would be a good choice but what if one is not enough. Then he knew where I was and then …sayonara (japan… Bye). Waiting in the reeds for him to grab me and shoot at me was no solution either.

So I had to come up with something. The robot suddenly turned around and went towards Yttervik. It had come from that direction. I crept after it through the reeds and tried not to make any noise in the knee-deep water. My feet were freezing and I hardly felt them anymore. I always kept the robot in sight so that I could duck quickly when he turned around. I was lucky and reached the embankment.

I crawled through the wet grass up the embankment to get a frog’s-eye view of the road. I could only hear the robot at the moment. Silently I crept along the embankment behind him. If I couldn’t see him, then maybe he couldn’t see me either. I thought about it, the robot can see in the x-ray range, in the infrared range and with residual light amplifier. For sure he also had a clear vision device.
I remembered the image recognition I had seen in a machine. This machine could recognize images in a fraction of a second. Maybe this robot had one of those.

Then I wondered if he couldn’t see me in the infrared, because I had not left any traces of heat in the water, and he couldn’t see me in the embankment either, because the bundled scanner beam he sent out could only cover a certain area. And I had assumed the temperature of the ground, because I had been lying in the grass for so long. In the X-ray range he could see my bones, which naturally stood out from the surroundings. If I lay motionless and breathed shallowly, I would have to look like a corpse and be of no interest to him. In the visible light I was also invisible to him because he could not tilt his head down, I had already noticed that.

I heard the steps coming closer again. The ominous djiieep, djiieep, djiieep, djiieep slowly grew louder. The robot emitted a loud humming sound that went through marrow and leg. Psychological warfare, I thought you were trying to intimidate me. When the robot passed me it suddenly stopped.

My blood froze in my veins. Did it have me on the screen yet? Did he see me? I breathed shallowly and pressed myself into the grass. The scanner beam lit up yellow and swung over me. My heart was beating up to my neck and I forced myself to rest. Secretly I prayed that he would keep going. The scanner waved over me twice. The sword kept hissing and clacking its way in and out of its housing. Probably he wanted to make me nervous and lure me out of my cover. I stayed lying there and did not move.

Then he went on suddenly. And in the direction I had hoped for. He probably went patrolling and would walk to his end point, which I had just seen when I was in the reeds.

I lusted carefully over the edge of the embankment and saw him go away. Of course he would turn around at his end point and come back. I carefully took two gas cartridges out of my bag and rolled them out onto the street. They remained lying about in the middle. I walked a bit further towards Yttervik. I still listened to the hum of his engines. After about ten paces I turned around, quietly taking the hunting rifle from my shoulder. I had already loaded it through and only needed to turn the safety lever and cock the hammer. I put the Klaucke next to me in the grass, unlocked.

I looked through the rifle scope of the Meusser and clearly recognized the gas cartridges. I carefully cocked the hammer of the rifle. It clicked quietly into place.

Suddenly the robot turned around. Its lamps suddenly glowed red and a sharply focused red light beam passed over me. Then it fired. The big projectiles hissed over me and hit close behind me. He must have recognized me somehow.

I had opened Pandora’s box.

A sheaf also shot out of his arm machine gun, which sprayed the dirt in front of me, I ducked behind the edge of the embankment. The ricochets just whistled over me. Fortunately he did not hit the gas cartridges, because then I would have been almost defenceless. Good, I still had the hand grenades. Then I heard a loud lion-like scream. I guess it was the robot doing the screaming. I heard quick steps coming towards me. I looked over the edge of the embankment and saw the robot running towards me very quickly. It was too late for the hunting rifle, by the time I had aimed it would have been on me. I pulled the Klaucke up because it had almost reached the gas cartridges. The Klaucke barked BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM. The dirt splashed out in front of the gas cartridges and one of my shots hit.

One of the gas cartridges exploded and almost simultaneously the second one. The robot was lifted and torn from its legs in full swing. An enormous explosion tore him apart and his debris fell to the ground on fire.

Debris rained down on me and I pulled my arms over my head. My heart was beating wildly and only now did I realize that I was trembling all over my body. I gasped for breath and tasted bitter adrenalin. I was tense like a feather. I bent down slowly at gunpoint and picked up the Meusser again.

I examined the robot. It was huge. It had large calibres on board in addition to pistol ammunition. I took them out and put them in my backpack. Then I examined the robot for potential weaknesses. There were vents to the left and right of the head with fans behind them. Behind them, on the left side, where the arm with the gun was sitting, was an ammunition container, from which a belt led into the MG. This container was not particularly armoured. I could imagine that if you shot into it with a steel jacket bullet, a heavy explosion could be caused. If you fired from the front, the bullet could penetrate to the rear and hit the tank. It looked similar to the runner’s, only much bigger. The tank was located on the back inside a tubular frame. I could imagine that if you hit it with a rifle it would explode. Whether it would work with one shot was still to be clarified. On the right side he had a similar ventilation shaft. There was also a ventilator here. I thought that if both of them were shot, it could cause great damage to the robot. The sensors were similar to those of the runners. Night vision, infrared, X-ray, and normal vision. I guessed right.

The shoulder gun was huge. Also here, on the shoulder was a low armoured ammunition container, which could cause a big explosion if it was fired at. The suspensions of the weapons were not very strong. I could imagine that if you fired at it with a large caliber weapon, it could be detonated and the MG would fall off. The same applied to the arm MG.

Some quick pistol shots from the Klaucke or from an assault rifle could disarm this robot. The pneumatically extending sword was better attached and seemed to be the close combat weapon. One should not get too close to him if one did not want to end up as sushi (japan food called sushi). I estimated that the robot must have weighed a ton.

The joints of the legs were also stable, but could be destroyed safely by fire. In the lower area the robot legs had an inverted second joint. This indicated to me that the robot could jump.

After I had finished my investigations I continued and reached Yttervik shortly after. Relieved, I entered my parents’ house. I locked the door, because I did not want any more company.

I searched the house and looted the pantry. In the fridge were two bottles of beer, which I drank one after the other. I went upstairs, undressed and lay down on my bed. I put the loaded Klaucke and the burden on my bed. Hopefully I would wake up if someone broke into the house. It was dead quiet and I felt very tired. My eyes closed and I fell asleep.

[LittleMaylett]

I like ur stuff dude keep it up. Instead of making new threads per story why not make 1 big thread

[helldiver]

Hello, thanks for your reply. It is one story and the whole story takes ofer 300 Pages of DIN A 4 Paper. That’s the reason why i decidet to make up a threat for every day. The Story is written in a form of a diary. If you like it i can release more days of it.

[LittleMaylett]

Ye can do. I think ur a good writer. Oh and sorry for telling you to put it in a thread it’s up to u not me. Have a good day

[helldiver]

Hello LittleMaylett, thanks for your reply. You have not to apologize . If you have any Idea how i can release that story in an other way here on the forum, then please net me know.

I will release another day of the diary, the music titles that i namend is intendet to hear. "The End is a title from “THE DOORS” it was released in the early seventys but it came back in the early eigthies. You can hear the title on Youtube, but take the extendet Version where Jim Morison tels the Poem during the song.

Have a good day and have fun on GZ

[helldiver]

Day 4

I woke up well rested in the morning and thought about what to do next. First I decided to plunder the pantry and take as much as I could carry. Also tools like can opener, bottle opener, my survival knife with fishing tackle, lighter and matches had to be taken. Then bandages and if available, medicine. I searched all rooms in the house and collected what I found in the kitchen. I packed my rucksack with the things, because I assumed that it would be a long hike and I probably would not return here for the time being.

Then I remembered my equipment that I had brought home from military service. The boots were now probably the better footwear than the sneakers. I also took socks and underwear with me and I rolled up my parka and tied it to my backpack. I filled my canteen with water and tied it to the backpack. Thoughtfully I weighed my shaving kit in my hand, but I put it in my pocket anyway. I hadn’t planned to shave every day, but maybe I had the opportunity to do so here and there and stuffed it into a small side pocket of my rucksack.

I cleaned and oiled my weapons. Then I loaded all the magazines. I also packed the gun cleaning kit that came from my father’s room. I put the rest of the ammunition into my pockets as best I could. The ammunition that I didn’t need that often, I partly put in my backpack. I threaded the rings of the hand grenades on my trouser belt, so that I had them directly at hand. I only had to press the handle and pull the grenade firmly so that the safety pin was pulled out. This was not without danger, because you could get stuck somewhere. If the pin was pulled out unnoticed, the last thing you would hear would be a big bang.

"It will go wrong", I thought to myself and laced up my bulging backpack. I checked the weight and found that I could still walk properly with it. Before I finally left I looked past the police car once more, because I wanted to see if I could get a holster for my pistols, the dead policeman might have something like that on him. So I went back to the police car. The smell was bestial, but he had such a holster on his uniform. I opened both doors of the car so that the stench could dissipate a little. The fresh wind helped a little. Then I held my breath and unbuckled the holster as fast as I could. Then I went back to the house.

The day was already leaning towards the afternoon and suddenly I remembered my friends. I wonder what had become of them. Had they made it to the shore? When I reached my parents’ house I looked over to the other arm of the bay of Yttervik. I wondered if you had arrived there and hidden from the machines. Maybe there were some robots there and they were stuck. I had to find that out and so I decided to cross over to the peninsula. I only took the Klaucke, the Moeller and the hunting rifle. I put some more ammunition in the pockets of my jacket and pants and then I was on my way. I walked along the bank. After a short time I saw the destroyed boat of Ole on the beach. I recognized it by the color. Knut’s boat lay keel up on the shore. A little further I found Nils boat, it had some bullet holes but was otherwise intact.

I found traces leading away from the beach. I followed them. A little further into the woods I found Knut and a few metres further I found Nils. Their bodies were riddled with bullets. They had not stood a chance against those bastards. An unbridled rage came over me.

I went back to the house to get a spade. The forest floor was soft and I wanted to bury them at least. I didn’t want their bodies to be torn apart by wild animals. Later, when I was to return, I would let their parents know where they were so that they could exhume their remains and move them to Saltholmen Cemetery.

Although the forest floor was soft, it took me a while to dig a pit big enough for them. Then I lined them with fir branches and rolled their bodies in. They already smelled very unpleasant. I had a lump in my throat when I saw my friends lying in the pit. I swore "I will avenge you" and besides the grief I felt an anger boiling inside me, anger on these damn machines and anger on those who let them go. I covered their dead bodies with fir branches and shoveled the grave. I collected stones on the bank and laid them on top of it so that animals would not dig them up again.

I wanted to examine the peninsula further, as the day was drawing to a close and the sky had already taken on a reddish colour. I stuck the spade at the head of the grave deep into the ground so that it was easier to find. I took the hunting rifle and walked through the undergrowth up the mountain. I knew there was a lumberjack’s hut in the middle of the peninsula. So I went there. The deeper I went into the peninsula, the more the foul stench increased. It hung like a gloomy bell over the dusky forest. It was the smell of decay, so there must be more bodies around. Maybe the rest of my friends or a military post.

I suddenly saw a light flashing between the trees. I ducked into the undergrowth and slowly and silently took the hunting rifle from my shoulder.

I put it on and looked through the scope.

In the distance lay the lumberjack’s hut and I saw a runner scanning the area with his yellowish light beam. Was it only one? I did not believe it.

I stalked slowly and silently closer and took the binoculars, because they were more luminous. I counted three Runners who were constantly patrolling the hut. Walked a few steps, scanned the area and then moved on. I looked for a place where I had a good field of fire, but the Runners could not see me.

I put the rifle on and aimed at the first Runner. I followed him with the crosshairs and when he stopped, he exploded. The shot was almost silent as I had screwed the silencer onto the rifle. The other two robots ran to the place where one Runner had exploded and eagerly scanned the area. I took aim at the next one and destroyed him as well. The last one came running in my direction with red glowing sensors. He stopped suddenly and fired in the wrong direction. Those things couldn’t have tracked me. I destroyed him, too.

I kept my guard up a little in case there was a robot lurking somewhere. Apart from the wind noise I heard nothing. I looked again with the binoculars over to the hut, but I couldn’t see anything. Then I looked around once more, looked in all directions and made sure that nothing could attack me from the ambush. Then I drew my pistol and approached the camp.

I found some dead soldiers. I searched them and found a lot of army ordnance. Ammo I could use, too. I found some 7.62 mm ammo, which I put in anyway, because I hoped to find a Automatgevär 4. This was the German G3 from Heckler & Koch. I had shot with this rifle in training.

I also found some medipacks and a medicine case. All these things I took with me. On a table there was a temporary radio station, but it was destroyed. I also looked for notes of the radio operator, but could not find anything. I found some canned sausages, which I also took. That was my dinner. I looked around once more. How many people had these machines on their conscience? Who was responsible for that? I went to the shore facing the open sea, for I could no longer bear the disgusting smell of corpses. I walked along the shore and came to the small lido where I had bathed as a child. A rowing boat lay at the pier. In the twilight I saw a human sitting in it. When I came closer I noticed that the boat was full of water. Some Medi Kits and an ammunition box were in the boat. A dead soldier was sitting in the stern. I took everything and wanted to go back to the house.

As I approached the beach guard’s house I heard a strange noise. It was clicking and buzzing. I pulled the pistol, took the flashlight in my left hand and grasped the pistol in the Combat grip with both hands. A red light came out of the beach guard’s house. I crept almost silently up to the cottage and jumped in one leap in front of the open door. I saw two red lights that started moving. In the light of the flashlight a crab or spider-like robot came towards me, which suddenly jumped up. I fired my Klaucke several times and the beast exploded in the air. A second crawling beast also came running and jumped up. It emitted a high, screeching sound. I could barely avoid it. I turned around in a flash and caught it on the ground. The Klaucke barked loudly and the little robot exploded.

I examined the remains and found that they looked more like a scorpion. They had six crab legs. Similar to a lobster or a scorpion. There were sharp blades attached to the ends of the crawling feet. So maybe that’s why they jumped, to grab your head or hurt you. The sting was a syringe that was probably filled with poison. The powerful explosion was caused by the explosive device mounted on the back. A pretty wicked little crawler. If you weren’t out fast enough, it could kill you. I called them ticks because of the clicking noises they made. I went back to my parents’ house. There I unloaded my cargo. I looked for the key to the kiosk at the ferry pier. It was run by my mother. I hoped to find a beer or something else there. I was lucky there was still some left, the fridge was running and so I could end the day with a good dinner. It would be the last one in my parents house for the time being. Tomorrow I would leave for good and go in search of my parents.

[helldiver]

Day 5

I was ready to march early in the morning. I took another look around the house. I closed all the windows and doors and locked the front door. I put the key in a place that all our family members knew.
I looked around once more, from the sea came a fresh wind that smelled of salt water. Some seagulls were circling above me and shrieking.

The sunlight changed from orange to yellowish and so I made my way to Saltholmen. I drew my pistol. This became a habitual movement by now. I walked to the left of the road to take cover immediately if something attacked me. Up to the intersection with the crashed cars there was nothing to see. It remained calm. Then the forest on my left became a bit denser and the trees stood up to the road. To the right the terrain opened up and not far from me the steeple of Saltholmen Church rose. There I would find either survivors or more clues about their whereabouts.

I walked through the forest behind the third, fourth row of trees, so as not to be seen. Slowly I approached the church. I took my binoculars and kept looking over to the church grounds. I saw three of the dog-like robots running around on the back meadow of the church - one was in the front, where the main portal was, and another was patrolling the cemetery on the side of the church. I went on to have a look at the church forecourt. I didn’t see a soul and I didn’t see any movement anywhere except the robots.
Another Runner was in the forecourt, so there were two Runners.
I counted a total of six runners. That’s a lot to handle on your own. I thought about which ones to shoot down first. I decided to use the robots of the main portal first. Then the ones from the cemetery and finally the rest.

I looked around because I wanted an escape route if my plan didn’t work out. A little further into the forest was a big boulder, behind which I could stand. I prepared my weapons and aimed at the first robot at the main entrance. Since the Meusser only had five cartridges in the magazine, I had to reload in between. Therefore I had taken some cartridges in my left hand.

The two robots at the main entrance exploded shortly after each other. Both shots were perfect. The one at the graveyard got nervous and ran around between the gravestones. I was missing the first time but when he turned in my direction I hit the target and he exploded as well. The three remaining robots had already come closer and galloped across the meadow. It was more difficult to aim, but I quickly had the front one in my sights and destroyed it. The other two were aiming at me - probably they had seen the muzzle flash of my last shots. I reloaded quickly. Some ricochets whistled away howling as the first shots hit the stone. Then I had the Meusser ready to shoot again and aimed at the next opponent. I had to aim quickly because the robots were still shooting at my position. Then I remembered a saying of my trainer. “Do the unexpected” so I went left around the boulder and actually the robot still shot at my old position I aimed and shot the first of the two attackers.
The second one then came closer and I pulled the pistol and shot at him several times and he exploded as well.

I quickly examined the robots and recovered the ammunition.
When I reached the meadow I heard a bloodcurdling scream. I looked up and saw that one of the big, human-like robots came running towards me. I immediately jumped up and ran towards the cemetery. The first large calibres crashed into the wall of the church behind me, splinters and pieces of plaster splashed around.

I ran in a zigzag across the cemetery, looking for cover behind the gravestones. The shots came closer and I had to reach the main portal, otherwise I was lost. I pulled one of the emergency torches out of my pocket, grabbed it and threw it in the direction I suspected the robot would go. I hoped he was blinded by it. I kept running, poking through a gap in the hedge surrounding the cemetery, on my right was the main portal, but I still had to bridge the passage between the hedge and the church and in it the big robot seemed to be lurking for me. I heard shots. I loooked carefully around the hedge and indeed the big robot was standing in the passage around him some runners were running and shooting at the emergency signal torch. I tore another firecracker out of my pocket, pulled the igniter and threw it at the big robot. The firecracker exploded and created a glaring shower of sparks. I ran for it. None of the robots shot at me. I reached the main portal, which fortunately was not locked, opened the door prying into it, because I had seen a movement out of the corner of my eye. I rolled over to my right side and immediately shots hissed through the central aisle of the church. With my feet I kicked the gate shut. It flew crashing into its lock and stayed there. I heard some more blows into the heavy oak planks of the portal but none of the shots went through.

I had made it into the church, but now I was stuck. I slowly walked through the vestibule of the church and to my right there was a whiteboard. On it was written in my father’s writing. "Have proceeded to Stenhaga Farm, where there are more survivors. "From there we are to evacuate to Salthamm. On the table below was a letter that was also written by my father. I read it

"I hid Old Bethan here in the church. She "s in a place where you “ve been many times. She’s loaded, so be careful.”

I thought for a moment, and suddenly I knew what my father meant. Old Bethan was a shotgun that had been in the family for a long time. My Uncle Jonny used to take her hunting and he used to put her away.
Papa must have stolen it. I immediately went up the stairs to the bell tower in joyful anticipation and there, where I had always hidden as a child, stood on a chair leaning against the wall our old shotgun. It was a 12G pump action in short a pumpgun.

It was a real beast with buckshot ammunition. It could be dangerous for a bear or a big moose. In a box next to the chair I found about 20 shots of shotgun ammo, 10 pieces of bird shot and 10 pieces of buckshot ammo. The buckshot ammunition had thicker bullets than the bird shot and could cause more damage. I liked that. I examined the gun and found that it was loaded with buckshot ammunition. With it, I could take down the big robot. Maybe it gave me a chance.
There was a letter on the chair, again written by my father.
“I knew you would find the weapon. We went to Stenhaga to meet the Anderssons. Take care of yourself, my boy, and be careful,” Papa.
I looked down from the church tower and saw the presents. Below, six runners were cavorting around and the big robot who hissed and clacked his sword out and in again. He was still making that bloodcurdling predator cry. I slowly went down again, because I wanted to examine the church. I walked through the central corridor to the sacristy. No sooner had I stuck my nose in the door than it cracked, splinters of glass and plaster flew around and ricochets flew through the room howling. I let myself fall straight to the floor. As soon as I was downstairs, there were already bullet shells chasing over me. Damn it, I thought he saw you through the window. I slipped backwards on the floor from the range of fire and withdrew into the church room.
I didn’t even have a chance to shoot back. I thought it was no use, because I couldn’t even hit the robot properly.

I went back to the main portal and peeked carefully through a crack in the door. Immediately the big robot came running and aimed at the door. No sooner was he there than I was dipped into a red light beam and immediately fired at. I slammed the portal again. Fortunately the oak planks were thick enough to withstand the fire. I went back into the sanctuary and examined the church. People had probably camped here, because I saw some air mattresses lying around,
but there was nothing else. I thought about what I should do now. And the more I thought, the more desperate I got. The robot could follow my every move in the church. It always knew where I was. I looked carefully around the corner into the sacristy, he was already standing at the window and waited to get me in front of his shotguns.

I kept quiet and the hours crept by. I had hoped that he would lose interest. However, my hopes were always dashed because I kept hearing the djiieep, djiieep, djiieep, djiieep and the metallic clinking of his foot plates. Every now and then he let out the scream of predators again. He wanted to soften me up.

What could I do. It was getting dark outside and I was still stuck in the church. This could go on for days until I starved or died of thirst or ran out the door in a delirium. I slowly thought of a plan. Desperate as I was I knelt down in one of the pews.
I saw the image of the crucified one at the altar and prayed. I prayed for protection and help in this hopeless situation. In my head the music “The End” sounded from “The Doors.”

“This is the End beautiful friend the End, this is the End, my only friend the End
Of our elaborate plans the End, of everything that stands the end
No safety or surprise the end, I’ ll never look into your eyes again.

That’s how the dreamy voice of Jim Morisson sounded in my head.
I was preparing for the fight. I went over my plan several times in my head,
while I looked at the altarpiece. How did a delinquent feel before his execution? The morning came up and announced itself through the stained-glass windows of the church. I felt as if I was going to my own execution, but I was a Swede, a Viking I would die an honourable death with a weapon in my hand.

I was ready to die.

„The Killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on”

I laced up my boots again

"He took a face from the ancient gallery

This is what Jim Morisson sounded like when I looked around the altar again and bowed and crossed myself.

“And he walked on down the hall”

I went through the nave of the church towards the main portal.
I knew the robot would follow me.

“He went into the room where his sister lived, and then he”

I turned sideways into the stairwell to the organ

"Paid a visit to his brother, and then he”

I checked my weapons, loaded the pistols, pulled out the magazines and made sure the magazines were full.

“He walked on down the hall, and”

I checked that I had the ammunition in the right pocket and ready to hand. I checked the hand grenades to make sure they were easily accessible.

“And he came to a door”

I checked if the gas cartridges were ready to hand because I wanted to use them against the big robot.

“And he looked inside”

I load the pump through

"Father? ", "Yes, son "“I want to kill you”

I took a deep breath, my nerves stretched to breaking point.
I went to the portal and put the pump on

“Mother?” "I want to …

I screamed and kicked the door open with a tremendous kick. The big robot was standing right opposite me, big, powerful, superior, terrifying…

His red light beam was already waving in my direction, but I fired immediately, Old Bethan roared and I saw the first load of buckshot ammunition smash into the left air shaft above his weapon arm. Sparks were flying. The robot swayed. I loaded and fired again, sparks came up again and something exploded on the robot.

He also swayed with this shot, I loaded again and shot again, this time something exploded again in the air shaft.
I loaded through, saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and fired again and hit the arm. There was a small explosion again and the robot swayed again.

The music of “The Doors” rose to a crescendo in my head and a strange emptiness spread inside me. I retreated into the passage and gave way to the stairs leading up to the organ.

Shots hissed into the building again, ricochets and pieces of plaster flew around. I loaded the pump in a flying hurry, loaded through, looted around the corner and took the runner under fire who fired sideways into the church hallway. I hit him and he exploded.

Then I bounced back and reloaded again. I took a gas cartridge in my hand, waited for a cease-fire, jumped into the middle aisle and threw a gas cartridge against the big robot, which stood in front of the portal, big and threatening like the devil.

I immediately jumped back into the staircase and immediately a volley came from a heavy machine gun. The bullets crashed into the church pews. Pieces of wood splattered in the air. Then I took the second cartridge and threw it also against the robot and immediately pulled myself back. With a KLONK it crashed into him.

Then I waited.

I ran lightning fast to the other side into the opposite staircase. I could see another runner from an angle and immediately took him under fire. The second shot also made him explode. Another heavy machine gun salvo from the big robot followed.

The crescendo of “The End” calmed down in my head and I ducked down and looked carefully around the corner. I saw the gas cartridges lying in front of the robot. I put the pump back on, took aim and fired. I hit the foot of the robot, which twitched to the side. I cursed because I hadn’t expected Old Bethan to recoil.

After the MG salvo I looked carefully around the corner again and had a clear view of one of the gas cartridges. I took aim, held it a little lower and hit it.

In a glaring fireball the cartridge exploded and a more violent explosion followed, I saw how the big robot was torn apart in the air, debris was thrown into the church. I pulled back and held my arms above my head.

When the smoke cleared, I reloaded the pump, charged through. I went to the church portal, the music from “The Doors swelled in my head to a crescendo again, then I jumped out of the church and rang the hell bells for the rest of the robots. I shot at anything that moved in any way. I ran around, hiding behind walls and stones, shooting the pump until it was empty, then I dropped it and pulled the Klaucke. It spat out its bullets and destroyed the runners.

I had come upon them like a hellish storm and had destroyed them all, in the light of the rising sun I stood amidst smoking debris, the still smoking guns in my hands and shouted out my triumph loudly. I tasted bitter adrenalin on my tongue, breathed heavily, sweated and trembled all over my body.
I screamed once more and fired at the big robot, which was actually complete nonsense. But I was so excited, I was in kill mode.

I counted six runners and the big one. I called him Hunter because he chased me like a deer. The showdown was over, I picked up old Bethan again, retrieved the ammunition from the Runners and from the big Hunter. He even had some buckshot ammunition, which I put in my pockets in a hurry.

Then I went back into the church. I knelt down before the altar and said a prayer of thanksgiving. I prayed for the poor souls of the killed and asked for protection for my further way.
Then I took my weapons, loaded the backpack, shouldered the Meusser, loaded old Bethan and walked out of the church.

From now on I was no longer Ulf Kellerson, but I called myself “Helldiver”

I was the apocalypse for robots. I am the apocalypse… now.

[helldiver]

Day 6

I walked from the church square to the adjacent forest. I wanted to go along the beach under land to the farm Stenhaga. If I had walked down the street, I would have had too much open terrain and I didn’t know what else to expect.

The sun rose higher, the sea was clean, and a salty breeze blew in my face. It would have been wonderful if it had not been for this deadly threat.
I stopped on the shore for a moment and enjoyed the light, the sea and the air. I looked around with binoculars for a moment, but I couldn’t spot any robots.

I walked along the rocky coast, the road was more arduous but, I thought, safer. I kept looking at the map. When I was below Stenhaga, I climbed the embankment.
When I arrived at the slope, I carefully sailed over to Stenhaga.
As might be expected, some runners and a Hunter walked around the farm. No human soul was visible. “Maybe they’ve all moved on,” I thought. “But maybe I find clues where they went.”

Quietly I sneaked up and closer. I kept peering over to the farm with binoculars. Maybe I could sneak into a barn and then on to the next house. A barn was not far from me. The door was just leaning. A little further back was a stable with a hayloft. A ramp led up there. I wouldn’t make it to that far. I thought about how to proceed.

The runners wouldn’t be a problem but the Hunter. Until now, the robots had not registered me. I sneaked around in the bow and watched the situation. The robots were just running around the yard. There were no robots behind the barn. The manor house was opposite me. But was too far away and I couldn’t see if the door was open. I decided to sneak into the barn.

The Bran wasn’t 50 yards away from me and I would do it. The robots took a while to grasp their target, and the robots had difficulty capturing a moving target. Even a Hunter couldn’t do that. Only, they chased one until one ran out of steam. I had seen how quickly a Hunter could run. The runners ran around a bit of plan and goalless, while the Hunter always ran the same route. When he turned his back on me and walked away, I ran off and within a few seconds I was at the barn gate.

I slipped in and just waited for the barking sound of a runner. But nothing did. I had duped the robots. I looked around the barn. It was empty. On the other side was a door. I went to the back wall of the barn, because I hoped the X-ray vision devices wouldn’t go that far. I sneaked quietly to the door. I opened it carefully and stuck my head out. Less than 10 yards away was the stable door and it was not locked. I took Old Bethan off my shoulder. It was armed but not loaded. I only needed to press the slider on the shaft once, which was ok.
I ran off. From the corner of my eye I saw a movement.

Something silvery flew right of me through the air. I ran quickly into the stable. The thing outside made a sizzling, swirling noise that was remotely reminiscent of a helicopter. I walked up the stairs to the hayloft and found a camp. Many air mattresses, cans, sleep bags, storage and ammunition boxes lay around. Outside, I heard the swirling from the flying apparatus.

A beep sounded and I suddenly my sight obscured. A few seconds later I was able to see clearly again. That certainly came from this flying dirt thing out there. I loaded the pump. This was now exactly the right remedy for such a little bird. I pressed the gate on which led to the ramp and pulled myself directly to the side of the entrance. The noise came from the left side and slowly came closer. I went into the squat and could see the thing in the sky. It looked like a cheese loaf about half a meter in diameter and about 15-20cm high. In the middle it was cylindrical and on top sat 4 loudspeakers that looked like little megaphones. On the side there were two small nozzles from which a light blue flame came out. It looked like a gas flame. The jets kept spinning back and forth. That probably controlled the thing. The bright ping sounded again, and my view was obscured again. I sneaked a little into the entrance and the thing immediately sent out a loud howl. That was probably the purpose of the four signal horns at the top end.

A Seeker, I loaded the pump gun and aimed at the thing After the first hit the thing flew to the side at high speed, with a smoke flag pulled behind it and came back. The second shot caused the thing to explode in the air.

The Hunter again sent out his predator scream and first shots came in at the door and crashed into the wall behind me. I called it The Seeker because it was obviously built to track people down and summon the other robots. I slowly straightened up and peered past the goalpost. The Hunter was standing on the court and was obviously aiming at my position. I fired at the hand MG and a small explosion showed my hit. I pulled right behind the goalposts. The answer came promptly. An MG salvo ploughed through the room. Shards of wood rained down on me. Then I carefully lurked over the goalpost again and quickly fired two shots at his MG. I had another shot in the pump.

There was no reply. So, I jumped out again and fired again at the MG, which then fell to the ground. I still had slug ammunition.

These are thick projectiles weighing up to 28 grams. They could cause quite a bit of devastation. I loaded the slugs into the pump gun, loaded through and jumped into the gate entrance. There was no resistance, he just stood still.

He probably couldn’t use the shoulder MG because it was rigidly attached and could only cover an area on the ground in front of the robot. To aim, he had to turn his whole body. I quickly jumped back, because I didn’t want to overdo my luck. But no shot fell. That was interesting news.

I jumped out again and fired a shot at his left ventilation shaft. I felt like I had been kicked by a horse. The pump gun had a terrible recoil. The whole robot exploded in a bright cloud.

I rejoiced. After the heavy fight with the Hunter at the church, this had been relatively easy. Just don’t get overwhelmed I thought. I tried another shot at a runner. It was almost torn apart by the impact. I only had to pay attention to the recoil of the weapon when it was loaded with the slugs.

I took the Meusser, because for her I had more ammunition and so I was able to save up the valuable buckshot and slug ammunition.

One by one I shot the runners with the Meusser. It gave me a sense of superiority. It was like shooting clay pigeons.

As only smoking debris lay in the yard, I peered through the surroundings with the binoculars. A little behind the farm I saw a blue light shining. I also saw a tent. Maybe it was a military camp. I had to explore that. I took the Klaucke in my hand and slowly left the hayloft. Then I went to the robots and got their cartridges. My bags filled up. I was happy about the shot ammunition that the big robot delivered to me. Then I sneaked around the estate to get a better view of the military camp. I saw two runners from a distance. I sneaked closer to them and robbed through the high grass until I had a favorable shooting position.

Then I destroyed the robots with my kill shots. After that I stormed the camp. A military car with bright blue light stood around it also a military truck. Dead soldiers lay on the ground. It stank bestialically after decay. From a cage standing next to the tent came ticking noises and a red glow.

A red glow was also visible in the darkness of the tent. I took my flashlight in my left hand and took it into the combat. I lit up in the tent the beam of light ripped open the darkness and one of these crawling critters was squatting in the tent. Since I had suspected something like this, I shot immediately. The tick exploded. A second came running on his short legs and jumped up. It exploded in my hail of bullets. Then I went to the cage.

Apparently, the soldiers had caught a tick and locked it up. I destroyed him. Then I inspected the tent.

Inside lay a dead soldier covered in blood. I found an elongated container. In it I found a Klaucke with magazine. I put it in my pocket. On the premises I found more boxes of ammunition and signal torches.
A radio station was set up on a table. On a piece of paper I found a message that the first robots had come across the army units at the castle of Ibboholmen and it was assumed that they had to have a bridgehead on the beach below the castle.

When I searched everything, I went back to the hayloft. There I found a message from my father. They had been evacuated by the army to Salthamm two days ago. They should gather in the Salthamm Bunker.
From there, the evacuation should continue.
I decided to stay on Stenhaga and examine the castle the next day. I wanted to find out what was happening on the beach and who was responsible for it.

I went over to the manor house, locked the doors behind me and went upstairs. I found some Medi kits. I packed it. I also found some canned food. In the kitchen there was a working electric stove. I was happy. Finally, I was able to warm myself a can. Hot ravioli really tastes better. I slept on a couch upstairs.

[helldiver]

Day 7
I took only the most necessary things, but also an empty bag to be able to take any loot with me. I went up the forest path to the castle. I saw an accidental police car on the forest path and immediately dodged into the forest. I watched the scenery through the telescope of my Meusser. A runner hid in the bushes. Through the telescope I clearly saw his tank.
I made a short trial with him.

When I could see the castle walls through the forest I took the pump gun. I had exchanged the slug ammunition for buckshot ammunition at the farm. Slowly I sneaked into the ruins of the castle. I saw some runners in the castle courtyard.
As a child, I had played here many times. I knew every angle here. I changed my choice of weapons and took the Meusser. I climbed into the walls of the ruins and saw a single runner.

I put on him and eliminated him. Then I immediately moved to a different angle. Two runners came to the castle yard, I also eliminated them. Then I ran back into another position. I saw three more runners rumbling in the excursion parking lot in front of the castle. Until they understood what was going on, they lay around as smoking piles of junk.
When I couldn’t see any of the runners, I slowly worked my way to the military post. I searched the building, but found only ammunition and no other weapons. On one piece of paper was a scribbled message that there was a bridgehead of the robots at the bottom of the beach and that the robots took possession of the island from there.

The latent smell of corpses hovered over the castle. I went the forest path to the beach. I knew a path that led through a tunnel and ended up in a cave below. This cave had an exit to the beach.

I wanted to go there when the penetrating hum of a Hunter sounded. The robot just came across the circular path of the castle. His lamps immediately changed to red and I ran into the embankment. The Hunter shot at me, but I had dived under the embankment. I heard heavy, quick steps.
The Hunter was standing on the edge of the embankment and obviously had trouble keeping the balance. I took the shotgun off my shoulder and aimed at the ammunition container next to his shoulder MG. The robot exploded and crashed down the slope. I struggled to get out of the way and was almost buried under the robot wreck. He slipped down the slope I stumbled and slipped behind. I was able to hold my weapons just like that.

We slipped endlessly for a long time and when the denser bushes stopped the wreck of the Hunter, I didn’t slip any further. I took the robot’s ammunition. I climbed up the slope again and reached the forest path again. Then I went to the junction that would lead to the beach. Slowly I walked down the road and turned on the flashlight. I picked up the pump gun and walked slowly into the tunnel As I got closer to the cave I saw again the ominous red glow. Certainly there were a few ticks lurking there again. I slowly advanced and when they got into the flashlight’s glow, I immediately destroyed them with a shotgun. There was also a camp in the cave. I found many emergency torches. Then I walked out of the cave carefully.

On the beach I saw red containers standing. Some runners were lunging around. One of them near me, who reacted immediately and shot, I could just jump behind a stone. The other two also ran and went into position. I shot at the robot that was closest to me. He exploded when he got a full load of shot. Then I put the other two under fire. I ran off and shot at the first. He immediately sent out a spark. Then I took the second one under fire. It exploded when I met him at close range. The pump gun was empty. I pulled the Klaucke and fired at the last robot. It also exploded.

Then it was quiet on the beach. A thin cloud of smoke pulled out of the barrel of my Klaucke. I reloaded both weapons, then I inspected the containers. I was baffined, in the containers stood sparkle new runners. I opened all the containers one by one. There were eight pieces in each container. There were four containers. So that was thirty-two of these metal dogs. In one of the containers there was a blueprint from the runners. I put it in. I would study them tonight. I examined the robots. They weren’t unmunitioned.

I found out that these robots were a Swedish product “Strijdsmaskin” stood on some. The containers were labelled with Arabic numerals on the outside.

Who was responsible? It was now clear that these things were not aliens or exposed by aliens. It was an earthly, Swedish product.

Damn, who was behind it and had all this to blame? Then I came up with the thought of destroying things. That’s 32 robots less I thought. I walked a few steps away and put the shotgun on the robots. I took the row in the middle of the container and shot. I saw the impact in the runner’s tank but nothing happened. Then I took one of the hand grenades, which were actually my last defense. I thought I could do without one. I pulled the grenade off my belt, took it in my hand, pressed the handle and pulled the pin. Then I threw the grenade into the container.

There was a huge explosion. The pressure wave swept across the beach and threw me off my legs. I probably had to keep more distance with the next containers.
I gradually destroyed the contents, kept enough distance, and completed my work of destruction. When I left the beach I had a feeling of satisfaction. I had kicked them in the ass and had taught them a serious loss.

I walked through the forest in a northerly direction, because I wanted to inspect the northern part of the island. When I came out of the forest, I saw a yellow flash near the old fisherman’s hut. I sneaked closer through the high grass. A high whine sounded, I saw a tall, square-shaped structure at the top of which there was a parabolic mirror. He swung back and forth and turned, so that the whole area was covered with what he sent.

This could only be something like a relay transmitter that sent the radio signals to the robots. I had to destroy it. And so I put the shotgun on him. Below the parabolic mirror were two orange, cylindrical objects. This had to be the energy supply as with the robots. I shot and the antenna exploded. Behind me, the marker-shattering cry of a Hunter rang out. Apparently the guardian of the antenna.

I had no choice but to walk further down to the beach, because the terrain was impassable and would pose a problem for the Hunter. I sat under the bridge to Salthamm and thought about how to proceed. I went on. I knew that was in front of me Mortsnäs. A fisherman’s house. Maybe I could sneak in there and back to Stenhaga from there. A short time later I reached Mortsnäs and found the house abandoned. I opened the door and walked in.

From the upper floor, I peered out the area with binoculars. The Hunter seemed to have lost my track and so I moved on to Stenhaga I continued along the beach to be protected from surprises. When I was near Stenhaga, I heard the Hunter’s scream again in the distance.

I immediately ran off and reached the manor house. A short time later, the Hunter also reached the manor house.

He ran around the house and stopped in front of the kitchen window. I went into the squat and extinguished the light all over the house. I sneaked into the hallway. I had loaded slugs back into the pump gun.

Carefully I looked around the corner. I saw the robot standing in front of the window. The reason he didn’t shoot was probably because his shoulder MG was too high and his arm MG hung too low and couldn’t grasp me. Or he couldn’t locate me because his beam couldn’t capture me. I turned on his right ventilation shaft and fired. There was an explosion of the robots shaking, but it was still standing. I loaded and fired a second time at the same spot. There was a big explosion and the Hunter tipped to the side. I had done it.
I looked carefully through the door but at dusk there was no Hunter to see. No runner could be seen either. I took the ammunition from the robot and went back to the house. I searched the pantry of the house for something edible and found it. Even a few cans of beer I found. After the meal I let them taste to me. When I lay on the couch of the manor house I was satisfied. I had taught them a delicate slap today. Slowly I liked it.

[helldiver]

Day 8

I had breakfast and studied the blueprint I had found on the beach. It was a detailed drawing of a runner. I found out that I had assessed the weaknesses of the robot well. The drawing gave me final certainty. As a designer, a certain Van Ulmer was responsible.
I’d heard the name somewhere before.

In the late morning I went to Salthamm. If the Hunter I destroyed yesterday wasn’t the one guarding the antenna and maybe the bridge, I had to reckon with enemy contact.

I fell into a slight trot and ran the road towards the bridge. When I could see the bridge, I immediately saw the Hunter standing tall and threatening on the road. I immediately shot at him and hit him. Then I ran down again to Mortsnäs.

The Hunter behind me. I reached the house and quickly jumped into the entrance. I walked up the stairs and stopped halfway up the stairwell.
The robot reached the house, which I could see from the yellow beam of light that fell into the hallway. I went into the squat and carefully sneaked down the stairs. The robot was again close to the window like yesterday. No shot fell. Only the sword blade came out hissing and in. I watched the robot. He did not move like a tin soldier. Quietly I sneaked into the kitchen in the squat. I had a little more cover here. When there was a firefight.

I put on him. The robot could only detect the barrel that was right next to the doorpost of the kitchen door. He stood sideways from me. I had a good view of the ammunition container of his arm MG. I aimed carefully and pulled the trigger. The robot exploded and fell to the side.

Wow, I had done it with one shot. I clenched my fist like the German tennis star, as was the name of the once again I think something with Becker.

I walked slowly onto the veranda of Mortsnäs. Except for the Hunter, nothing had haunted me.
I went back to exploit him. Then I made my way to Salthamm.

The bridge was in front of me I peered with the binoculars, because the bridge was 500 m long and I was quite unprotected on it. A few abandoned cars stood on the bridge. In case of need a cover. Hopefully there wasn’t a Hunter lurking on the other side. Since the bridge seemed to be free, I made a sprint to the first car. I looked forward and backward. The air was pure. I kept going. Finally, the end of the bridge was only 50m away I peered again with the binoculars. About 500 m away, a few runners ran across the road. They couldn’t capture me because the distance was too large for their sensors.

When I was sure that nothing could lurk for me, I dared to make a move. My plan was to walk into the place and get into some house. Then reorient me and then work myself house by house to the bunker. I ran straight into the first street after the bridge. Then came such a silver thing flown. I searched for cover in a bus stop and fired my pistol at the thing. I took it down from the sky with two shots. I had just run off, and there was a second Seeker flew out of a street and immediately gave a loud siren signal, then hell broke loose. Several runners came from all sides. I shot with the pump and was able to destroy two runners.

Then the pump was empty. I switched to the pistol, which I was able to reload faster. I shot and shot. I damaged some runners. I was able to find cover behind a car and changed the magazine of the Klaucke. I sat pretty much in the shit. Then the hum of a Hunter sounded.

I was able to fight down two runners again, which gave me air to reload the pumpgun.
I jumped behind the car and shot at the Hunter. I fired two shots and ran on. I feverishly searched for a house entrance where the door might be open, I jumped into a house entrance and tried to open the door. I cursed it was locked.

I shot again at the Hunter, who had just stopped to shoot at me. As I ran out of the entrance, heavy projectiles hit the wall behind me, and chunks of plaster strayed through the air.
I reloaded the pump gun as I walked. I just thought to stay moving. As long as he can’t shoot at me.

From the corner of my eye I saw a movement behind a window. I had ducked behind a car and shot again at the Hunter. Several runners came up the street I switched to the gun and shot at them. The Hunter came closer. When I looked at the house opposite, I noticed that the curtain had moved. I shot the Hunter again. Then a door opened in the house.

A tall, bearded man waved to me violently and I ran out of my pistol firing at the approaching runners. One of them exploded. The Hunter also got some shots. A bullet slammed into the garden wall of the house next to me. Then I rushed into the entrance of the house and ran over the man. We both fell in the hallway. I rose up and fired my last shots at the Hunter who had run after me. I threw the door into the lock and screamed “stay down!!!”

Immediately afterwards, an MG salvo crashed onto the front door and pierced it. Bullets smashed into the hallway wall.

I quickly called “out here, into another room."

The man immediately switched and crawled on all fours as fast as he could into a side room. He crawled to the left and I to the right of the door. The wall offered enough space for me to be out of the firing line. Suddenly glass was clattering in the opposite room and bullets swept through the door and smashed into the wall of the room. A high scream rang out. As the dust had lowered, I could see my savior. A young, red-haired, bearded man with thick, muscular arms tattooed.

Next to it, a young, blonde woman rose up from the floor. She wore a colorful summer dress and had fashionable sandals on her feet. Her blonde hair was short and cut according to the latest fashion. She had a very pretty face and big, fearful eyes. She cried as tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m scared,” she said.

Hi, I’m Thort said the man to me.

“Helldiver,” I replied succinctly.

“It’s a weird name,” he said.

“Have his reason,” I replied. “Thank you for opening me. That was just you saved my ass.”

“No cause dude,” he said. “You gave it quite nice to the tin cans.”

“I’ve been doing this all the time”

Again, a bullet swept through the door as the girl moved. She screamed out loud, balled up on the floor, clasped her hands over her head and shouted HELP !!!, HELP!!! STOP IT!!! HELP!!! STOP IT!!! PLEASE STOP!!! She sobbed loudly. She had a French slang.

“I’d scream even louder in your place, then at least they know where you are so they can shoot you,” I said harsh.

I looked carefully around the doorpost, but immediately came another salvo. The young woman lay on the floor like a bundle of misery, sobbing heartbreakingly, “Please stop I’m scared I’m scared.” She cried.

I was sorry.

“Thort, best you pull her back a little bit you still have space and then hold her tight. A wrong move and she’s dead. She calmed down a little bit and slipped a little more backwards into the room.

She straightened up and slapped her fist at Thort

'Why’s you even let him in. Because of him, these monstres (French. monsters) on us.

“Hey, you goat, I should watch about how to shoot him” Maybe he can help us get into the Salthamm bunker." He’s at least armed.’

“Don’t you have weapons”

“No, we have not,” he said in a broad Swedish accent.

“Dude we were on a bike ride. I was with her,” he said, pointing out to the young woman
"When the alarm went off.”

“My parents have a boarding house. She comes from France and has always been on holiday with her parents, so we know each other from a young child. She wants to study in Stockholm after the summer holidays. Something nonsense with economy. She was looking for a place to stay. By the time we arrived, my parents were already gone. Have a letter left they should be in the Salthamm bunker. We wanted to go there, too, but there were the machines. The dogs chased us. I am roofer and had randomly the key of the house here. Then we ran in. “

“And where do you come from?"

"I come from Ibboholmen; I have been fighting the machines for seven days. Was previously with my friends in the archipelago on a kayak tour. We didn’t know about the whole alarm and were fired upon when we returned to Ibboholmen. I was the only one who survived. My friends are all dead. “

“It’s a shame,” Thort said.

“How long have you been stuck here?” I asked.

“So, ten eleven days I don’t know exactly. Here is a whole horde robot marched through and
and riveted down everything that moved. Even the army hasn’t put it on the line. Have all evacuated. Maybe they’re all gone already.” Thort said.

The young woman sat in the corner and said no sound. She looked at me badly from her big dark eyes.

“I was just hanging around on Ibboholmen and struggling with the robots. Luckily, I found some weapons.”

I put the pump aside.

“I am also looking for my parents. My last information was that they should go to the Salthamm bunker. I want to go there too, so if you want, we can go there together. We may have to clear our way

‘But I don’t want to. I’m scared.’

“Mademoiselle you can also stay here if you want. I get it on my own, but together we are stronger.”

I caught a nasty look from her. She was very pretty, had a beautiful curved, narrow-lipped mouth and large, almost black eyes. They looked at me badly. With her stubby blonde hair, she looked a bit like the younger edition of Roxette, the female part of the Swedish pop duo.

I pulled my Klaucke out of the holster and took out the boxes with cartridges. In my backpack I also had the Klaucke that I had found near Stenhaga in the military camp. I filled the magazine. Then I pushed her across the floor to Thort.

“Here, can you handle it?”

“No, no, was not in the army.”

“Then there is now a quick course.” I said

I also ammunitioned the Möller and pushed her across the floor to the young woman.

“It looks different to mine,” I said, "but the operation is the same.”

" She frowned"

“So, come on Mademoiselle. At least that’s how you can defend yourself.” Reluctantly, she took the gun in her hand.

“So, listen and watch”

I held up my gun pointing up the push button that they had to press to take the magazine out of the gun and let them imitate it. We practiced it two times. Then I showed them how to load the gun. Then I showed them the safety lever of the weapon. Then I asked them to put the weapons on the ceiling and hold the cock with their thumbs, press the trigger and leave the cock carefully forward. The young woman lined up a bit awkwardly and a shot was released. Plaster trickled down on us.

“Are you hurt?” I asked,

“No, she replied” frightened.

“Then we do it again Mademoiselle” I showed her how to cock the hammer

“Please turn the gun to the ceiling if something goes wrong again.”

She relaxed the cock and this time she made it without firing the gun

“Good Mademoiselle” I said

“Mademoiselle also has a name,” she replied to me snappily sassy

“You haven’t called him me yet”

“I’m called Amelie,” she said.

“Pleasant Helldiver,” I replied.

"Have you understood this so far with the weapons

“Well dude really good now can at least shoot back” said Thort

I searched in my backpack for more ammunition and grabbed the canned goods that I had taken with me.

" Hey dude you have something to eat. We’ve nailed for ten days; we’ve been sitting here ever since and when you go into the kitchen the beasts shoot at. Drinking was still going on at the sink on the toilet."

The staircase was behind them and in a windowless room. I put my canned food on "Well, it’s not the French creme de cuisine, but I’d have ravioli, pasta in tomato sauce, goulash with sauce, tuna in oil; Herring in tomato sauce; Red beans; baked beans Aaaaaand kale with sausage. What do you want? Unfortunately, I can only offer you cold.

“The can of ravioli,” said Thort looks seductive from I’m so hungry"

"You can also like to have everyone a can I think in the bunker will be more food.”

" Amelie, what about you?" I asked her. She stared at the cans.

“What do you want, look for something.” I said cheerfully,

“Noodles with tomato sauce.” She beep quietly.

"OK and you Thort the ravioli? "

“Man dude, you don’t know how hungry I am"

“Well then just too.”

I set out to open the cans

“Who wants the fork and who wants the spoon” I asked

“Give me the fork,” said Thort I put them in the open can of ravioli, the spoon in the noodles, then I first pushed Amelie the can over with the rifle barrel.

Luckily, there was no bullet. Then I pushed Thort the other can.
I packed away the remaining cans and Thort asked

“You don’t”

"I’ve eaten something this morning.”

Amelie spooned hesitantly at first, but then she ate hungry. She looked at me. I lowered my eyes because I didn’t want to stare at her. With her face smeared with tomato sauce, she looked really cute.

Thort spooned first hastily, then a little more thoughtful. “Man dude, if you haven’t eaten anything for ten days, this is a feast, heaven has sent you. Man thank you.” "

Turning to Amelie, he said,

“Hey, you goat you can at least say thank you to him for sending him to death and throwing him out. He has given us weapons and gets us out of the shit, you could be a little nicer to him.”

It’s all right, she didn’t mean it that way," I said, looking her in the eye. She lowered her eyes and beeped "Thank you”

When they emptied the cans, they gave me my cutlery. I picked out paper towels out of the depths of my backpack and gave them over to them. I looked carefully around the corner again and saw the big robot standing by the window.

“I’ll take care of it right away,” I said.

“If you can crawl over to the stairs, then I can also come to you we have to see how we get to the bunker on the shortest way."

They did what I told them, and I quickly jumped through the doorway. The robot did not shoot. They could not react to rapid movements, but they were too sluggish. I spread my card. Thort knew well and knew exactly where the bunker was. I asked in the round if anyone wanted something sweet, holding some chocolate bars in my hand. Amelie took one and gave me a narrow smile.

I showed them on the blueprint of the runner where the weak points were and what they were supposed to shoot.

"When a Hunter shows up, that’s the big one out there. Always keep moving, shoot at its center or right or left of it. That’s where he’s most sensitive. “

Then I sharpened my plan for the two of them.

“Run down the street as quickly as possible. When a seeker shows up shoot it immediately. Definitely keep running. “

"Thort, you take the lead, then you Amelie and I at the end. No matter what happens, you run to the bunker. I will stop them until you are in it so please be quick. And don’t slammed the door in front of my nose.”

I looked at Amelie. She lowered her eyes and dodged my gaze.

I had them repeat the plan three times. I took my cigarette packet out and offered everyone one. Amelie also took a cigarette and smoked it. I checked my weapons again. I smoked in silence and focused on the upcoming fight. I put out my cigarette on the floor.
And said

“can we?”

“I can go,” Thort said, as he cocked the hammer of his weapon.

I looked at Amelie and she nodded and took the gun in her hand. I cocked her hammer.

"It’s better with the shooting just watch out with the trigger. “

I slowly straightened up and walked to the door of the hallway slowly I pushed the pump gun forward and aimed at the robot. He stood by the window just like in Mortsnäs. I aimed at the ammunition container of his arm MG.
Then I pulled the trigger. Glass shattered a bright cloud of embers coming out of the robot and he fell to the side. I went to the door she opened carefully. A runner stood on the street
I shot him straight away.

Then I said " RUN."

Thort ran off and Amelie trippl with her high-heeled sandals behind. I went backwards behind them and nudged her because she was so slow.

“Can you do it a little faster,” I jostled.

“Damn we have to go ahead, so put a tooth on it,” I jostled,

"I can’t” was her weepy answer.

I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her with me.

“Not so fast or I fall.”

“If we don’t do faster, we’ll have a lot of company.”

I saw some shadows scurrying in the side streets. From some corner sounded the dog-like barking of a runner. A seeker came flying I shot him straight away. Amelie uttered a pointed scream and hopped down the street. Thort had already reached the grid gate in front of the bunker and opened it A runner came around the corner of a road junction.
I shot immediately and he exploded.

“Let’s run man” I told Amelie and she tried to run a little faster.

I was close behind her. Another runner came running I immediately took him under fire, then we were at the bunker area.

“Run to the bunker I called,” go”

I fired at the runner, two more came along with a spray spark the other exploded. Then behind me I heard a meaty clapping and a howl

"Auuuuuaaaaaa; Auuuuuuaaaaaa, my knee.”

I quickly looked around and saw Amelie lying on the ground. I cursed, my pistol was empty. I hastily changed the magazine and fired at the runners who tried to encircle us.

“Shoot damn!”

I roared, desperately trying to prevent the robots encirquecing me and Amelie.

“Take your gun Amelie!” I yelled.

I quickly shot at a runner, then I pulled her up. She cried, but had the gun in her hand a runner tried to cut our way to the bunker.

“Shoot at him,” I said as I shot at another runner who wanted to take us under fire and hit the runner, who then ran on.

Thort stood in the open bunker door and took another runner under fire. I pulled Amelie with me towards the bunker door. My Klaucke was empty I pushed it into the holster and took the pump gun and fired at the runners who invaded the bunker area. I pushed Amelie forward with my back and covered her. Thort also fired and hit. The weapon almost disappeared into his paw.

Then we were finally at the bunker door. We threw them behind us. At first it was gloomy as if in the sack, because no light was burning. I pinched the flashlight. Then we reloaded our weapons. I helped Amelie, who sniffed and grinned a little and kept saying “Auuuaaaaa”

I saw the blood running down her leg.

“Is it ok” I asked her.

She nodded.

"OK. Then on, we need to go to the control center to turn on the light.”

I walked in front of. I took the pumpgun and worked slowly. At the first gang bend lay a dead soldier. Amelie howled and slapped her hand in front of her mouth. On the floor lay a rifle I lifted it up and Hurra it was an Automatgevär 4. I immediately hung it around and examined the soldier for ammunition and took it to me.

It matched the Automatgevär 4. We went on. At the next aisle bend it glowed ominously red. Here lurked surely a tick I went carefully around the corner, ready to shoot any moment.

As soon as I was bent around the corner there came also the first crawling critter running I took a step back and bumped against someone. I heard several pointed screams behind me that only from Amelie I could shoot, but she ripped me by the arm, so I moved and shot next to it. I had no chance Thort shot also and was missing, the tick jumped up and landed on my head. I was able to knock him down with Thort’s help and destroy him with the pump, with Amelie holding me screaming by the arm and pushing me in front of her to use me as cover.
I turned around and pushed her aside violently.

"Damn again If you want to hide behind me at least take your fingers off. Again and I’ll slap you one in: "

I was pretty angry because I knew how dangerous these things were. I noticed something warm in my neck. My head was burning. I reloaded the pump gun and went on. The next tick lurked a little further in the aisle. I did it right away. I heard Amelie sobbing and groaning behind me. I was smelly angry at her. Slowly we worked our way up to the control center. I found the light switch and turned on the light. Then we went through the other rooms. A runner lurked in the hospital ward. Thort and I did it. The tick lurking in a corner was also destroyed by us. Then we had secured the bunker.

I asked in the round

“Are you hurt Thort?” He denied

“But you Amelie”

She stood there with her head lowered and her arms flaccid. I took the gun out of her hand and relaxed her. Then I unloaded it and pressed the cartridge back into the magazine. Then I gave her the gun back. She continued to stand with her head lowered.

“You’re hurt Amelie, this needs to be treated, come with me to the infirmary”

I took her by the arm and gently pulled her with me. Willingly, she trotted beside me.
I pressed her on a chair then I looked around in the cupboards and found iodine, plasters, gauze ties, gauze pads, also a sink was there. The water was running. I let the faucet run because I didn’t know how long the water had been in the pipe. Then I made a piece of gauze tie wet. I put a chair on my way. Then I said to her,

“Come give me your injured leg.”

She lifted it up and I put it on my knees. I looked at her. She looked back shyly a tear running down her cheek.

“I’ve got to clean it up now I said “it can hurt a little bit. But we have to do that so that it doesn’t catch fire, ok.”

She nodded. I went to work and cleaned the wound as best I could. Carefully, I scooped them off. Then I took the iodine.

“Attention now it burns a little,” I said, pupating the wound with the iodine. She grimaced a little but didn’t start crying again.

Then I folded a little mull and pressed some sore ointment on it and placed it carefully on her wound. Then I stuck a plaster over it. During the treatment I noticed her feet, which had some red pressure points where the straps of the sandals ran.

“May I,”

I asked, opening the closure of a sandal without waiting for an answer from her. I carefully pulled her off her foot. She had a decent bubble on the span. I carefully swiped her foot and asked,

“Did your Foot bend before you fell?”

“No”, she beeped,” I kind of got stuck”

“OK, you don’t have any pain in your ankle?” I asked her

“No” she answered

I carefully investigated her ankles again.

I cleaned the bubble and brushed some ointment over it. Then I glued a patch to her.

“Do you give me the other foot?” I asked.
Without resuming, she took one leg down after I had carefully put the sandal back on her.
She put her second leg on my knees. I reopened her sandal and carefully pulled her off her foot, I scanned her ankles and treated her blisters. Then I carefully put the sandal on her again.

She took her leg down and said “thank you,” smiling a little.

"What do your hands look like?”

She held her to me and I examined her palms, the left one was a bit scrubbed. I cleaned it and brushed some sore ointment on it.

"You have to let that move in. Tomorrow it will be better again. “

She looked at me with her big eyes. Then I looked her deep in the eye and said,

"Listen, I’m sorry about that in the aisle, but it was a dangerous situation, these things are deadly and they have razor-sharp claws to teach you bad injuries. I was just pissed because you held me. I’m sorry I took you so rough. ”

“It’s good, you were right,” she said, "I’m terribly scared, especially in the dark.

She looked at me with an apologetic look. Then her eyes widened,

“Ohhh mon Dieu you’re hurt.”

“Yes, where,”

“To your head. Ohh mon Dieu (French: My God) you bleed. I have to look at that,” she said, standing up.

Slowly and carefully she pulled the cap off my head I was in stinging pain. She breathed again

"mon Dieu, mon Dieu, (French: My god) that’s all my fault. I didn’t say anything.

She cleaned my wounds and pupated them with iodine. I had some cuts to my head that burned like fire. Amelie stroked healing ointment on it and put a head bandage on me, but she was very skilful. She gently stroked my cheek with her hand and said to me,

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s ok. We all make mistakes, you don’t know the critters, but I’ll teach you everything about them.”

She smiled at me as I gently took her hand into my

“Is everything ok with you again now,” I asked

“Oui,” (French: Yes) she said, smiling.

Only now could I see what a pretty face she had. Her big eyes looked at me with a warm look. Her beautifully curved mouth formed with a smile, sweet dimples in her cheeks. She had a small fine nose in her narrow face.

“Allez (French: come on), we’re looking for the kitchen, then I’ll make you eat something,” she said, pulling me up from the chair.

We searched the aisle and found a canteen. I carefully pushed open the door and jumped in with a drawn pistol. Then I examined the room for ticks that might be lurking. The canteen was clean. Thort, meanwhile, had been running around in the bunker and had secured the team rooms. He had found a storeroom next to the canteen. I secured it with Thort. He laughed when he saw the cans.

[helldiver]

A Cockaigne. We loaded some cans on our arms and went to the canteen. Meanwhile, Amelie had set the stove in motion. We were looking for a table. I pulled my pistol out of the holster put the guns down. Then I sat down and set about dismantling my rifle to clean it.

Thort watched me. I showed him how it worked. Then I instructed him to clean the Klauke pistol. Soon it smelled from the kitchen and the appetite stirred. Thort said, “Hmmmmmm, here it smells good. Finally, hot food.” I had once managed to warm up something on Ibboholmen, but as starved as the two were, I could imagine that this was a feast for them.

The two ate hungry, especially Thort. The stew, mixed together from various cans, did not taste bad.
Thort had found beer cans that were cellar cold. It was the typical Swedish light beer. With something you had to keep the troupe in a mood. I knew it from my time in the army.

Pripps Bla was better than nothing. Even Amelie drank a can of it in thirsty moves. When we wanted to clean up and do the washing up, Amelie threw us out of the kitchen. We would stand in her way and the three plates would not be the biggest job.

“Better take a shower or do something else,” she said.

Thort had already walked around a little before and had found the dressing room in addition to the pantry and had already supplied himself with laundry.

“I’ve never worn a uniform,” Thort said.

“Then try it," I said, "it’s very convenient in our situation.

“I’ll take a shower,” Thort said.

“Do it, you both smell a little strict.”

“Couldn’t we wash’ if we had been shot right away.”

“Well then off with you in the shower.” I went with him and broke up the lockers in the laundry room, where fresh bath towels and soap were housed.

I went to the bedroom and got a bed ready. They consisted of double-decker beds. Typical army beds. Amelie came to the door on her high-heeled sandals.

"Do you want to sleep here with us or would you rather have a separate room. There are even smaller dormitories for non-commissioned officers.

“No, I don’t want to be alone. I have fear in the dark alone and in unfamiliar surroundings.”

I asked her which bed she wanted and put it to her, gave her bed linen and told her to put her luggage on the top bed.

“Where’s the baggage,” she asked. “

"You will have one tomorrow when we have re-clothed you. Your summer dress looks very pretty on you but is not very useful and you will also have to exchange your sandals for other footwear. Above all, the military clothing protects you from injury, pointing to her knee.”

I helped her build beds. Then she sat down on it. She really smelled a bit strict.

“What about showers,” I asked her.

“I would like to, but what should I go to bed with? I only have the things that I have on my body. "

“I can give you a T-shirt from me,” I offered her.

“Look, I still have freshly washed in my backpack. They’re way too big for you, but you can get a knot on the side, maybe it’s fitting.”

She nodded approvingly, "But I have no underwear, just what I’ve been wearing for days”

I spread my freshly washed shorts in front of her and offered her one.

“At least for tonight, that will probably go, then you have at least some fresh clothes on your body.”

She took up a pair of shorts with a critical eye,

“it’s way too big for me, it’s going to fall off my body like that.”

“If you tighten it left and right with a safety pin," I told her, holding the shorts on the left and right a little tighter on the waistband.

'Do you have some?" she asked.
I gave her my sewing kit. She accepted it with a smile. Thort came into the bedroom. He was wearing military pants and a green T-shirt.

“Oh, it’s good to be clean and showered again.”

I said to Amelie, “Then you can go now. I’m just coming along and show you where everything is.”

She got up and slipped into her sandals with a sore face distorted. The bubbles on her feet reappeared. I took my college shoes out of my backpack and offered them to her.

“Of course, they are far too big for you, but they would have to go to the shower to slouch.”

She asked, “And what are you doing?”

I held up a pair of chucks. Then she got into my shoes and went off smiling gratefully.

I went to the shower room and tied a small towel to the doorknob. She looked amazed and I told her, so we guys know you’re in there.

She smiled. I gave her my toilet bag and said,

"You can use anything, just let it stand. I go to the shower when you’re done.”

I showed her where she could find fresh towels and soap, then I left her alone.
In that time, I unpacked my backpack and put my stuff on the top bed. I took a look at the Automatgevär 4. It showed clear signs of use, it smelled of cordit. When I put my finger in the ejection slot, I had black burn residue on my finger. This weapon had been used to shoot. I pulled out my cleaning kit and disassembled the weapon. Thort watched with interest.

“What’s that for a rifle he asked.”

“An Automatgevär 4, this is a Swedish license building of a German Heckler & Koch G3. It has caliber 7.62 mm and can shoot 80 rounds per minute. If you get them reloaded fast enough,"

I told him. I cleaned all the parts of the rifle, pushed the tombak residue out of the barrel with a fine brass brush. Then I oiled the weapon and loaded it with ammunition. Thort was amazed when he saw the finger-length cartridges.

"Hähä, you can really mix up the tin cans with them.

“I think so.” I said.

I walked into the aisle and fired a shot. The weapon barked and worked perfectly. At the end of the long aisle you could see the impact.

“What was that?” Amelie asked behind us, putting her head out of the shower room.

“Nothing bad I just tried the new weapon,” I said.
She disappeared back into the shower room. It took her quite a long time to get back from the shower room.

“Whether it might have been washed down?” teased Thort.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said,

“Women always need a little longer.”

A short time later we heard a door open and shuffling steps in the hallway. Amelie suddenly appeared in the doorway. She had kempt her hair. My T-shirt she wore with a knot on the side, one of her shoulders stood out naked. It reached her thighs and with a belt she could have put it on smoothly as a mini dress. She looked very pretty in it. Then, with a little hip swing, she walked down the aisle at the beds. It looked a little funny with the far too big shoes.

"Well, guys how you like?”

We applauded for fun. When she arrived at her bed, she threw her stuff on the top bed, turned her back and threw the T-shirt up at the back so I could see my shorts on her.

“I have them a little tighter sewn, that was better than the safety pin.”

“OK,” I said, “you can keep them if you want.”

“Merci (French: thank you)," she said, giving me my sewing kit back.

As she bowed out, I smelled that she smelled of perfume. The smell seemed familiar to me.

“I’ve got a little droplet of your shaving water that smelled so good. Without perfume, I’m naked.”

“We don’t want you to be naked,” I laughed, and she laughed back sugar sweet.

In general, she had a sweet face when she laughed. Two dimples formed in her cheeks, which made her smile look particularly sweet.

When I came out of the shower and moved for my bed, she was still sitting on hers. Thort was already asleep, I wished her a good night.

" Merci et bonne nuit (French: Thank you and good night)," she said softly, forming a kiss with her mouth.

Smiling, she slipped under the duvet. I also lay down and fell asleep after a while, my Klaucke loaded on my bedside table.

[helldiver]

Day 9
I woke up in the morning, Thort was getting dressed, Amelie was already on the way, her bed was empty. Her sandals were still in front of her bed but my college shoes were probably on the way with her.

I went to the shower room to get a little fresh. There was no towel attached to the doorknob, so the shower was free. In the shower room hung Amelie’s summer dress and her underwear. So she was in my T-shirt. I brushed my teeth and washed myself. Then I dressed, slipped into my chucks and went to the canteen.

Amelie was tinkering around the kitchen. She had stolen one of my trouser belts and laced it around her hip. She looked like she was in a t-shirt that was far too big.

“Good morning!” I greeted her.

“Bon jour (French: Good morning),” she said, turning to me.

She posed and said, “Well, how do I look.”

“Chic!” I said.

“My dress was still wet.”

“I saw it,” I said, “was just showers.” “We’ll dress you up right now.”

“Take the coffee pot with you and sit down,” she said.

I took the coffee pot and went into the dining room. There wasn’t much, oatmeal and cornflakes, along with milk mixed with milk powder. I wasn’t an extensive breakfaster anyway. Most of the time I only drank a cup of coffee. Today I took a few oatmeal, tipped milk over it and a teaspoon of sugar and choked it all down. The coffee was more mine.

We thought about what to do after breakfast today. I first suggested exploring the bunker. Visit the clothing chamber and visit the weapon chamber. Above all, it was about dressing Amelie. First we went to the dressing room after breakfast.

We first picked out some matching boots for her. I gave her the tip to put on a pair of socks.

“You don’t slip around in it while walking, otherwise you run bubbles. If we have to do a long hike, then they have to be absolutely right,” I told her.

She let me help her and we patiently tried several couples until we found the right one.

“They’re not fancy fashion kids,” I told her, “but they’re expedient.”

Then I looked for her a matching pair of trousers. She tried back and forth and looked at herself in the mirror. I had built a makeshift dressing room for her with Thort, stretching a blanket between two shelves. She tried different intermediate sizes until she liked the trousers themselves. Thort twisted his eyes. I just laughed. The clothing was designed for men and not for petite women. She almost sank in a jacket and we laughed a little. But here, too, she found the right one. I asked her if I could touch her to help her put on the uniform properly. She agreed. I made her aware that she should not choose the clothes too tightly, because she should also be able to shoot in full outfit.

She asked me why she needed a parka. I told her that it was raining in Sweden and that it was damn cold in winter. I chose a suitable one for myself, as my old parka was no longer the best. I also covered myself with a uniform.

When she saw the underwear she ruffled her nose,

“No, I don’t put on, igitt that’s ugly.”

I spoke to her with angelic tongues. I could just get her to take a long pair of underpants because it could get very cold and I didn’t want her to froze. She don’t wanted the fine-rip underpants. Finally, I offered her my shorts

"You can have them all because of me and sew them closer to you, but three of them still have to be washed. I’ve weared them in the last few days.’

She laughed, that’s not bad, I’ll wash them for me."

I was embarrassed, I didn’t really want her to wipe my underwear. But she assured me that it would be perfectly fine for her. She liked my shorts. I had covered myself with military underwear.

“You probably get everything you want?” I asked her

“c’est la vie I’m a woman,” she replied with a laugh.

Thort moaned and I shook my head with a laugh. I then equipped both with a gas mask, small and large combat bag, as well as a backpack. In the late afternoon we went to the armoury. We found a lot of ammunition and some Klaucke pistols, of which I picked out the best. There were mountains of 7.62mm and 9mm ammunition in throw away magazines. This allowed you to reload very quickly. There were also regular steel magazines that could be loaded with loose cartridges. I decided to use the loose cartridges first and later, if we were going outside, the throw away magazines. Amelie moaned about the weight of the equipment. But I told her, when we went outside, that we don’t have to take everything with us. She complained about the weight of the heavy Klaucke pistol. I told her she had to get used to it.

When it was time for dinner, we went to the canteen, Thort and I searched the pantry and came back with canned food. We found rusk and “tank plates”. That’s what I called the long-lived bread welded in bags. As an emergency catering, it wasn’t as bad as his reputation.

We also found sausages welded into Aluminium containers. NATO food I knew.

"That’s what breakfast” I said to Thort.

We took the treasures we found and went to the canteen kitchen. I even found some packages of liquid egg, the expiry date of which had not yet expired. Amelie conjured up a delicious egg porridge. We wanted to help her in the kitchen, but she threw us out. In it she was iron.

We still drank beer together after dinner, smoked some cigarettes. I explained to them that we would practice tomorrow with the weapons. Thort was already very excited. As we went to bed, Amelie looked over at me in amazement as I loaded my Klaucke and put her on my bedside table.

“You should do that,” I told her.

“It’s too heavy for me,” she grumbled, taking the smaller Möller I had given her.

She loaded it with a little awkward movement… I wished everyone a good night and fell asleep.

[helldiver]

Day 10

After breakfast I asked everyone in the classroom. I spent the day teaching them how to disassemble and reassemble the Klaucke. I had them repeat this a few times, so that it would turn into flesh and blood. Amelie always needed help because she was too clumsy in the relationship.

After the meal we sat together in the communal room. We drank beer and smoked. Amelie sat on a couch and sewed my shorts closer to the sides to suit her. She was sumbing a song. She was very skilful in this work. With an expert hand she set stitch by stitch and sewed it clean. When I asked her, she said,

“My’ Maman (French: Mother) works for a great Parisian couturier. She started as a seamstress and is now an assistant to the management. I could sew a pair of shorts myself if I had enough cloth”

Day 11

I had the two of them disassemble the Klaucke pistols and reassemble them.

Amelie asked "Why do we do this all the time?"

"So that you can do this and get to know your weapon better. You need to be able to find out immediately if your weapon doesn’t work properly. You have to master it like you were in your sleep. "

Thort was easily out of hand and although he had real paws as his hands, he developed a good dexterity in assembling the weapon.

Amelie didn’t go very well, she always needed guidance.

“You can sew so well,” I said to her, it’s a fine work that a man doesn’t get so well, so you should also get a gun apart and built together."

Either the sled spring flew across the room or she did not get the sled on the gun.

In the afternoon we went to a larger storage room. I had set up a makeshift shooting range there. An empty wooden box on which I had painted a runner was to serve as a target. I showed them what to do, drawing the gun out of the holster as quickly as possible and fire two shots at the runner and hit the runner if possible so that he was damaged.

Thort did it with ease. With Amelie it became a disaster. At first, she draws the gun, but forgot to load it through. Then she drawed, tried to load through, but turned awkwardly because she pulled too slowly on the sled. Then I had her practice with exercise cartridges. She had sweaty hands afterwards and kept slipping off the sled. She moved too slowly. Normally, you do it with a single sweeping movement. Often, she didn’t pull the sled all the way to the back. I never thought it could degenerate in this way.

I gave up in the late afternoon unnerved. I advised her to practice with the exercise cartridges.

Day 12

I got the impression that she was extra stupid. As if she didn’t want to handle the gun. When I finally got her to the point where she got the gun out of the holster and loaded it through, she forgot to turn the safety lever. After being asked to change the safety lever, the gun’s magazine fell to the ground. She had pressed the magazine trigger button instead of the safety lever. I struggled to stay calm. Then she held the gun with a trembling hand.

“She’s too heavy for me, I can’t,” she moaned.

Even after I showed her the Combat handle, holding the gun with two hands, it didn’t get any better. Eventually, I gave up unnerved.

Day 13

Today I had trouble preserving my composure. She had forgotten everything I had taught her at the lecture. Somehow, I didn’t get rid of the feeling that she was kidding me. Hardly anyone can make so many mistakes at once with such a weapon.

In the afternoon it happened. She asked loudly,

"why are we doing this nonsense here in the first place. We can stay in the bunker, here we are safe and do not need the stupid shooting. Because of me, you can go out on your own and let yourself be shot dead outside," she shouted at me.

Thort makes big eyes. I gasped for breath. Then I saw that in the back of the camp a tick came out of the air shaft. I had detected his red glowing sensors. I took the gun out of her hand and said

"OK. then leave it and stay here." She smiled confident of victory.

I saw the tick coming. Turning to Amelie, I said,

“If you’re safe here and don’t need a gun, you can’t see how you’re going to deal with your little friend.”

In doing so, I pointed to the fast-crawling tick.

Amelie screamed out a pointed scream and sought cover behind me. I went aside and said.

“Get used to the fact that I’m no longer there.”

She kept screaming. The tick was still far enough away, but it quickly came closer. I turned around and made no attempt to destroy the tick.

“You don’t have to shoot, take a tin for me and throw it at him.”

I pushed her aside and went to the exit.

„Helldiver, Thort, Help, Help, the Tick comes.“

“Yes and,” I said, “you’re so safe in the bunker.”

I had the tick in mind, but I wanted to teach her a lesson. She ran past me and wanted to stop me.

"What are you hiding behind me? You have to deal with the tick," I said in a calm tone, pushing her aside.

Thort stood there with his mouth open and did not move. He had obviously understood what I was up to. The tick was already close.

"Helldiver, please!!" she shouted. I turned around at lightning speed to pull her Klaucke out of my belt, loaded through and shot at the tick. He was so close that he started his jump attacks. I destroyed him in the air.

Then I turned to Amelie, who was whimpering behind me. I pressed the still smoking gun in her hand, looked at her badly and said

“Learn to shoot with this damned pistol. That’s your life insurance.”

She looked at me with her eyes widened. Then I bumped her to the side and left the storage room. I was pissed off. At dinner, she avoided looking me in the eye.

Day 14

She at least managed to hit the wooden box with the weapon. With each shot, she shrugged and screamed. I tried again with patience to teach her the movement. Either she feared the gun, or she just didn’t want to learn. Slowly I lost my nerve and sometimes ruled them. I remembered how our instructors had treated us during military service to teach us the things we needed. She took a little effort when I shouted at her. Each time, she pulled her head in and looked at me in fear.

Day 15

Today I would have preferred to have turned her neck. She did shoot exercises and I stood behind her with Thort to watch her.

She should draw her weapon out of the holster, unlock and shoot. She Loaded through and wanted to shoot, but the gun didn’t work.

"Safety lever" I said

She fumbled around the gun and suddenly turned around with the sharp weapon

“It’s not possible,”

She said, and a shot broke the bullet between me and Thort and smashed into the wall behind us.

Plaster chunks swirled through the room and hit Thort and me, the ricochet whistling around. Fortunately, no one was injured. Thort and I were stiff in terror.

I was the first to win my composure again

Thort shouted, "Eiiih, are you clapped!"

I took the gun out of her hand and secured it. I looked at her strictly and had trouble not shouting out loud.

"Say, are you still salvageable?" I asked her. What have I told you from the beginning how to behave when you are handling a sharp weapon?

“Me, … I… don’t know,” she said.

My fuse flew out and I yelled at her.

“You don’t just point a sharp weapon at a person, especially not at the shooting range. You almost killed a human being because you were so negligent with a sharp weapon. I have said these many times. The weapon remains directed at the target.”

I put on her and walked back and forth in front of her like an irritated tiger. She held her head down.

"How many times have I said that?"

She looked to the ground

"I want an answer! How many times have I told you?"

She raised her head and looked at me cheeky.

“You don’t have to perform like a commander here and command. You have nothing to say to me at all.”

That knocked out the bottom of the barrel. She produced a shooting accident and still had the naughtiness to give rebuttals. "I went to her

“You can be glad you’re a woman, I’d have clapped one on a guy long ago.”

I turned around before I completely lost my temper because I was terribly angry with her. Thort said

"are you plemmplemm?"

Then she cheekily shouted, “In front of women, you can get up, so come on slap me, it’s so easy for you strong guys to beat a weak woman.”

I stopped as if rooted. It was a bottomless naughtiness to say, especially if almost people had died.

"Well, so come on, slap me , you washcloth" she cried cheekily.

I wanted to leave the room so as not to let the situation escalate. She had made a blatant mistake and did not have the insight to admit it. And now she called me a washcloth. It was just too much. I turned around on the heel, was with her in two steps and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket. I was as upset, as angry as I haven’t been in a long time. I was fed up with their naughtiness.

I lifted her so she could only stand on her toe tips.

“You call me a washcloth again and I beat you soft as a nappy. This is the pinnacle of outrage. Due to your negligence almost two people have been harmed and you still have the naughtiness here to call someone washcloth. You should pay close attention to what you say to whom, or it could turn out bad for you. Don’t push it to the top.”

She looked at me from fearful, terrified eyes. I wanted to say something to her, but I threw her through the room like a dangle doll. She fell crashing to the ground.

I turned around and left the room. I heard Thort go after her. “You stupid female, you almost shot me. I should beat the shit out of you. If Helldiver wasn’t the fine guy he is, then you should have beating from him now, and so one that you hear and see passes. You shoot at me again and I polish your Visage und then you can’t hide behind Helldiver.”

She walked past me and shouted sobbing

"You are both monsters!"

The toilet door slammed and when I passed it, I heard her crying subdued. I took a can of beer in the kitchen and sat down in the common room I put the weapons on the table and unloaded them. I still had Amelie’s Klaucke. I was extremely disappointed, how many times i had taught her not to turn around with the gun so that something like this wouldn’t happen. Thort came into the room and wanted to talk to me. I immediately waved off and signaled that I wanted to be left alone. I got a few cans of beer from the canteen and went to the warroom there I could at least be alone. At some point Thort came and asked me if I would come to dinner. I refused. Maybe Amelie had sent him. Much later I got a can of beer from the fridge in the canteen.

The common room was empty so I sat down there to drink the last can of beer and smoke a cigarette. Suddenly Amelie was in the doorway. She held her head down, had her hands folded in front of her belly. She held a crumpled paper towel in one hand. She was still wearing her military pants and a military T-shirt. She scurried on my college shoes, which she obviously liked to wear. Silently, she sat down next to me on the couch. From my corner of my eye I could see that she was playing nervously with her handkerchief. I reached for my cigarette packet and lit one. Then I pushed the pack with the lighter over her without looking at her. She also took a cigarette. I noticed that she was nervously pulling on the cigarette.

Suddenly she beeped "Helldiver, … I… I… "I want to ask you for forgiveness," her voice became ever higher and more fisty. Her voice kicked, I realized that she made the greatest effort to fight against her tears.

Then she touched me carefully on the arm "I was … I was…" she kept taking a breath and her voice suffocated.

I looked her in the face. It was high red, so I had never seen it before. The tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I was… I was… so mean to you … I’m so sorry… I didn’t want that,” she couldn’t hold back her tears and sobbed a few times.

"I certainly never do that again," she said with a high fistula.

She leaned her forehead against my arm and tried to grab my hand.

“Please, please, forgive me. I’ve been so scared of you and I don’t want to have to be afraid of you. But I was so mean to you that you didn’t deserve it.”

I put a hand on her arm that reached for my hand and stroked it. I turned to her and looked into her tearful face. Her eyes looked at me imploringly.

“You look at me. I forgive you,” I said, although you provoked me very much. I lost control when you called me “washcloths,” that shouldn’t have happened."

"No, she said it was all my fault, I went too far and… And… I want you to forgive me, please."

I took her in my arm, gently stroked her hair and said

"I forgive you hear. I noticed she was nodding. She drilled her face into my shoulder and sobbed violently. I held her, stroked her back and her hair. When she calmed down a little, she broke away from me.

"Are you really not angry with me anymore?" She looked at me with her dark eyes asking.

I took a chocolate bar out of my shirt pocket, unwrapped it and gave it to her.

"I am no longer evil on you. Eat a piece of chocolate," I said cheerfully, "so you calm down a little."

With a cautious smile, she put the chocolate in her mouth. She reached for my hand again

"Thank you," she said.

I put my hand on hers and said

"Come, go to sleep now, tomorrow the world will look different again. Ok."

"Merci," (French: thank you) she said. She got up and left. I smoked another cigarette and drank my beer.

As I went to bed, I heard her sobbing softly. I sat down at her bedside. She had pulled the blanket over her head, which I now gently pulled away from her. She let me do. I stroked her cheek and wiped away her tears with my thumb.

“Schhhh, stop crying now. It’s all good. Sleep now.”

She looked at me from big tearful eyes. I pressed a kiss on my index finger and pressed it to her cheek. I smiled at her kindly. She smiled back, so her dimples appeared briefly on her cheeks.

"Good night," I said to her.

"Good night she answered. Then I went to my bed.

[helldiver]

Day 16

Thort was already sitting in the canteen. Amelie was walking around in the kitchen. I went to the counter and asked her if I should bring something to the table. She put the coffee pot and a bowl of oatmeal.

“I bring the rest,” she said softly. At breakfast we were all quiet Amelie ate slowly and somehow without appetite. She wasn’t very talkative today. I talked to Thort about him practicing “Old Bethan” today.

"We should all be able to shoot with any weapon. But I think everyone should have a main weapon. And since "Old Bethan" has quite a strong recoil, it should be led by a strong shooter".

When I said that, I looked at Amelie a little strict. She dodged my gaze and lowered her eyes.

I offered Amelie my help in clearing, but she refused. I went to the bedroom with Thort and got "Old Bethan" I said to Thort

"Watch out well for the old lady, she needs a lot of care. She’s heard my grandfather.’

“A family heirloom, I’ll take good care of them. You can rely on it Hell.” We went to the armory and got ammunition.

Amelie met us in the hallway. I told her

“Please get your gun and then please come to the shooting range. I’ve been going with Thort before.”

She just nodded and walked by. Somehow, I didn’t like her today. We got ammunition; we had found boxes of bird-dust ammunition, so I was able to provide Thort with several cartridges to practice. I was still looking for an empty canister to serve as a target, as a wooden box of “Old Bethan” would be dismantled with a few shots. Amelie also arrived and I asked her to watch as I loaded the gun and then unloaded again.

Then I pressed the gun into Thort’s hand and asked him to load the weapon. Finished on my instruction, he loaded the pumpgun. After two or three shots, the canister flew high into the air.

Thort laughed, "Hey, this is the right baby for me, the old sweetheart seems to get along well with me."

I looked around for Amelie, who was sitting on a wooden box in the back. She had her hands in her lap and played nervously with her fingers. She looked down. Obviously, she seemed to be depressing something or she was chewing on something and didn’t know how to swallow it.

"I think we both have to talk," I said to her. I told Thort that I was leaving the shooting scene with Amelie. He nodded and laughed

"I’ve had enough work with her and petted “Old Bethan.”

I asked Amelie to follow me down the aisle.

“What about you?” I asked her, “you’re quieter than usual all morning. You are depressed by something and do not say no, because I feel that something is weighing on you."

She pressed around a little bit and then said quietly.

“I’m scared of shooting, I’m afraid of doing something wrong again and being scolded again. You’ve been swearing a lot with me lately."

"OK. I can understand," I told her.

I had an idea, she needed a change and above all a successful experience and I thought she lacked a good dose of sunlight, because we had been hanging in the bunker for 8 days without ever seeing sunlight. Our clocks alone gave us the rhythm of the day and night. The mood also became more irritated and Amelie’s inability was the lightning rod. When I scolded her, I always tried to stay on the matter-of-fact level. But she has now been receiving a regular package for a few days now.

Yesterday’s incident was also very violent and could not have passed without a trace. I looked her in the eye and said to her

“You and I, we’re doing a deal now.”

She looked at me with a smile.

“Today you don’t shoot, we both go on a trip.”

"Hääh," she says, asking.

"We both go out of the bunker, come with me to the bedroom, then I’ll explain everything to you.”

We went to the bedroom and I spread my card. Then I showed her.

"Here we are, we go down the street to this house."

It was a house that stood about three houses further by the sea.

“We’ll go in there a little bit in the sun and sniff fresh sea air.”

"Do you really want to do this with me?" she asked, stunned.

'But I don’t know if I can.”

"You will be able to do it. I am with you; I will cover and protect you. You absolutely have to do two things when I tell you."

She looked questioning

"First, when I say run to the bunker, then you run as fast as you can into the bunker. You don’t look left or right, you run into the bunker and when it’s going to shoot away what gets in your way. Don’t pay attention to me.

Secondly, when we are separated, you go to the house where you are and go upstairs. Don’t make a firefight but wait for Thort and I to get you out of there. Will you be able to do that?”

She nodded with big eyes.

"Can I have the hunting rifle?" she asked.

"OK," I said, pushing the gun and some cartridges into her hand.

"Can you deal with it or should I show it to you?"

"My Grand pere (French Grandfather) had one. This is a repetition rifle Grand pere showed me how to shoot with it.

"Good," I said, "then show me that you can load them." She loaded the gun as if she had never done anything else." Loading and unlocking” I said and went to side.

She pressed the loading lever, cocked the hammer and unsecured the weapon.

“Very good,” I said in amazement, "you did that well. Now they’re unloading again.’

That, too, she made safe. I wondered why she couldn’t get it with the gun.

"Well, put on your helmet now."

"Excited," I asked her as I unpacked a chocolate bar.

I handed it to her and said

"Eat, a piece of chocolate!" She smiled and took the piece out of my hand, caressing my fingers over my hand.

I informed Thort and told him to wait at the bunker door in about an hour. At the bunker door I heard that she was breathing deeply.

"Well, heart palpitations?" I asked her, then I said, "OK, gun out, load and unlock."

She did. Then I asked her

“May I touch you?"

"Yes, why are you asking."

“First, it’s a matter of courtesy, and secondly, so that you don’t feel groped.”

“You’ve never groped me.”

“No, you’re right, but can I?”

I carefully pulled her index finger from the trigger of her Klaucke. Then I put it outstretched out on the trigger bar.

“So, you must hold the gun while you’re running, then you don’t run danger unintentionally. When you get into a fight, you’re quickly back on the trigger.”

She nodded. I told her that I would walk to the gatehouse first. If I had looked around and waved to her, she should run to me as quickly as she could. I unwrapped another piece of chocolate and gave it to her.

"Smiling, she took it again by caressing my hand.

"Ready!" I said

"Hmmmmm," came from her, as she was still chewing on the chocolate.

Then I gently opened the door, watching the terrain. The air was clean, and I ran off to the gatehouse. I looked around and waved to her.

She came sprinted. I explained to her the next step.

"I walk to the gate, open it and walk over to the house opposite. I go to the porch and when I wave, you come to me. Run as fast as you can."

She nodded, then I ran off. I opened the gate, looked right, and left down the street and ran to the house. I saw no enemies and waved to her. She came fast and turned like a cat ran. When she arrived on the porch, I told her

"You made up for that."

She smiled all over her face.

"The next stage. Do you see the yellow house there diagonally opposite?"

"Yes," she says.

"Take your binoculars and say what you see.

"I see the porch and the door is just leaning."

“That’s good, do you see any enemies?”

"No," she replied.

"Well, then run off to the house, when you get there, look around to see if you see any robots and then wave to me."

She looked at me a little frightened. I smiled at her and said

"Come on, run, you can do it."

She ran fast and quiet, at the crossroads she looked around and quickly ran on to the porch of the house. Through the binoculars I could see that she looked around and finally waved to me. I also ran off, looked carefully into the intersection. At the end of the road I could see a runner, but it was too far away to notice us. I kept walking up to the porch. We could already see the sea as we carefully lurked over the veranda. Then I told her

“The adjacent red house, that’s where we want to go. Run fast and wink me.”

I gave her a little pat on the helmet and said, “Let’s go!”

She flew off and quickly reached the house. She waved at me and I came after me.

We ducked into the house and reached the kitchen first. I opened the fridge and looked inside. A glass of Nutella, a loaf of toast bread, two apples and a can of fish. For all the things, the expiry date hadn’t expired yet, so I put them in. At the sight of the Nutella glass, Amelie licked her lips smiling. I also gave her one of the apples.

"We have to take everything we need with us."

We carefully sneaked up the stairs and looked around. There wasn’t much except a little bandage and plaster. The house had a balcony facing the sea. I carefully opened the door and peered over the railing. I couldn’t see any enemies. Then I straightened up carefully and saw myself around only seagulls, water and sun, no robots. I sat down with my back to the wall on the floor.

Amelie also came out in a ducked posture and sat down next to me. She held her face in the sun and smiled blissfully. I inhaled the sea air deeply. It tasted salty and excellently fresh. I could hear the surf and the screaming of the gulls.

"Is that nice!" said Amelie

"You did a great job," I told her.

"Really, quite honestly?"

"Yes, I said everything flawlessly." She beamed all over her face.

"Why are you afraid of me? I thought we had sorted everything out yesterday?" I asked her.

‘You both threatened me with beatings yesterday and I’m afraid you’re both losing control and really beating me up. I’ve known Thort for a long time and I don’t think he would, but I wouldn’t put my hand on the fire for it. I know you too little, you don’t talk much, only if you teach us something but talk about yourself you speak little, you are so closed. I can’t assess you. At least I don’t.’

"Oh, that way," I replied.

“I’m sorry I lost control, but there’s still a long way to go between saying and doing. I’ve never beaten a woman. And I think Thort is a rough journeyman, but he wouldn’t beat a woman either.I would know how to prevent that.”

“Yes, I don’t actually think you would do it, but I’ve been beaten a lot in my past,” she said.

"Who beat you and why?" I asked.

I took out my apple and the pocketknife while she gave me an answer and peeled the apple, I had found downstairs.

“My Maman (French: Mother) is very dominant. When I had bad grades at school there were always beatings from my mother. Even if I was too stupid, I got punches. That’s why I’m afraid to do something wrong. It has slowed down a bit since I got older. I wanted to escape from my mother with my studies. She always told me what to do. Amelie go here, Amelie do there, Amelie do there, and do it immediately and if Amelie didn’t sprint there were blows. At home, I couldn’t take a step that wasn’t monitored by my mother. Sweden was the only way to get away from home and now everything is broken.”

As she spoke, her voice became sharper and higher. Her eyes filled with tears again.

“Hey, don’t cry again, please,” I said.

I held her a piece of apple, she took it again and stroked over my hand. She swallowed and fought with her tears.

'It’s bad that this happened to you and it’s good that we’re talking about it. You must face your fears, I can’t spare you that. But I can promise you that no one will beat you here. None of us will beat you up just because you made a mistake."

“But you’re always so strict,” she said

'That’s because you must deal with deadly weapons, and you have to be incredibly careful with these weapons, so you don’t hurt your comrades. Because things are vital to you, the whole process must sit. Seconds can decide life and death, you understand." She nodded and took the second apple piece I handed her.

“We talk here at eye level Amelie you on mine and I on yours. You don’t have to be afraid if you criticize something. You have to have full confidence in us, we have to trust each other, otherwise we don’t work as a team.”

"May I ask you what Helldiver?"

"Yes, just too," I said.

"Why do you call yourself Helldiver, you certainly have a real name?"

“Yes, I have, but you won’t know him. My name is Helldiver and I come from Ibboholmen. You and Thort don’t need to know more.”

"But why?" she asked

"I think there is a conspiracy going on or a military coup. I want to find out where my parents are and whether they are still alive. I want to find more survivors and organize a resistance. If the opportunity arises, I want to get you out of the country so that you can get home safely. I want to track down and hold accountable the people responsible for all this. I will take revenge for my friends. But this is my struggle, not yours. I must lead it all by myself. You could be captured. You will then be questioned, perhaps even tortured. It’s better not to know something. I’m protecting my family, friends and relatives.’

"Can I understand," she said, nodding.

I unwrapped another piece of chocolate and gave it to her she laughed and said

“You’ve been feeding me chocolate all morning and I’m round afterwards.”

“You’re still light years away from that.”

"I always have to pay attention to my weight, because I danced ballet until a year ago. My Maman put me in ballet school because she really wanted to."

'But you’ve got to eat a bit more because we don’t know when we’re out there when we’ll get the next meal. It can take days, that you’ve seen how fast it can go. You must have something to add. You will fit into your dress again at home. That’s why eat a spoon more than usual."

She smiled at me and asked

"Helldiver, may I touch you?"

“Yes, I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I just want to.”

She embraced my arm and pressed her face on my shoulder. She closed her eyes smiling happily and let the sunshine in her face. She quietly summed a melody. I enjoyed the light and the wind as well. After a while, I said

"We have to go back."

“It’s a pity,” said Amelie, but she made her way back without a reply.

We reached the bunker without any problems. Thort stood in the doorway and waited for us. He had "Old Bethan" in attack.

"That worked out well with the shootout, so I can really wipe out the tin cans"

"It worked out great for us. Amelie was great today." I high fived with her, she beamed properly.

Then she spread her arms and I hugged and pressed her, "Merci,(French: Thank you) Helldiver," she whispered in my ear.

"OK. we are all going to the classroom now. I still have to do something with you."

Both looked at me inquiringly. “In the classroom,” I said

“We clear the tables a little bit on the side I need space for the exercise we’re doing now.”

"What kind of exercise?" asked Thort.

“You’ll see that in a moment.” I stood in the middle of the room and said

"Thort, please stand here."

I gave him a place. Then I said

"Amelie, come to me in the middle!" Amelie did as I told her.

"May I touch you?" I asked her.

She agreed but wasn’t sure what would happen next. I blindfolded her with my scarf and said

“Don’t worry Amelie, that’s like blind cow what we’re doing now. Don’t be afraid”

I turned her around her axis twice, so she lost orientation and told her

"Let yourself fall backwards now. Don’t worry I promise you that nothing will happen to you.

She did it hesitantly and I caught her very quickly and straightened her again.

"Let yourself fall backwards again, please!"

She did it again and I dropped her a little further. When I caught her, She screamed "WAH." I carefully set her up again and turned her again, then I pointed to Thort.

He immediately understood what I wanted. I said to Amelie,

"Let yourself fall back again." She laughed a little insecurely and asked

“What’s the point?”

“You’ll see that right away,” I told her.

She dropped again, Thort caught her safely and put her back.

“Let yourself fall backwards again!” She did and didn’t scream when Thort let her fall a little further.

After he put her back on her feet, I took off her blindfold.

"What have you learned now?" I asked her. She frowned

"What am I supposed to have learned, you both caught me again and again after I dropped myself."

“And did you doubt that someone would’nt catch you. Did you think the bad guys are having fun seeing you backwise hit the ground?”

"No, I already thought that you, especially you, would not let me fall."

"You see, I said what do you call it, if you can rely unconditionally on your comrades? What do you call that when you know that someone catches you when you fall?"

I walked around and looked at everyone, Thort scratched his head embarrassedly and Amelie pulled her forehead in wrinkles, put her finger on her mouth and suddenly ripped it open.

“Haah, I know it trust, that’s trust!”

I went to her took her by both arms and told her, "Right Amelie, trust."

Then I turned her over to Thort and said while I held her left and right by the arm

“You can trust that Thort and I will always catch you. You don’t have to be afraid of someone beating you up or groping you here or suffering you. We both will catch you. Just as we will both catch Thort when he falls and you both will catch me. We have to trust each other, otherwise we can’t work as a team.”

Addressed to Thort, I said

"Thort, we both had a conversation by the sea where she told me that she feared both of us because we threatened her with beatings yesterday. We were quite angry, but we would never do that. I would like us to promise her here and on the spot that we will not hurt her and protect her. She can trust us unconditionally.

“Yes, of course, I’ve never slapped a woman and Amelie the poufs I’ve given you before, we were still children. I’d never beaten you up. I’m more likely to beat away those who do something to you.”

"And why did you take me for this exercise now?" she asked

“Well, you are the smallest and lightest person of the three of us. I think it would have been a problem if you had to catch Thort alone. I don’t think that would have gone well for both of you.”

Amelie chortled I also started to chortle and then we broke out into a roaring laughter. Thort said panting.

"If I had fallen for our little Amelie, she would have been flat as a pan cake."

Then Thort spread his mighty arms and walked towards Amelie

"Oh, come here little sugar doll, the old Thort will protect you and never do anything to you. Amelie beamed all over her face. She hugged me and said to me in the ear

"Thank you, Helldiver, thank you for doing this."

I disassembled the shotgun together with Thort and showed him how to clean it.The dinner tasted particularly good today and we had a relaxed atmosphere.

After the meal I put in the Deep Purple cassette and we danced all three exuberantly.

Day 17

I instructed Amelie to use the hunting gun. She was very skilful and had a high strike rate, even when she shot free-handedly. Her face glowed when she came from the shooting range and was praised by me.

Day 18

Amelie still seems to have her problems with the gun. She hits but takes too long and she keeps forgetting the safety lever.

Even when disaseing, she always has problems I kept wondering why she couldn’t do it. It was to despair.

Day 19

Today I decided that we should risk the external action. We could no longer consider the problems with Amelie’s pistol. We had to move forward. If she found the safety lever, she could shoot and hit. I just hoped that this would be enough. I decided to take care of them.

Day 20

Today I practiced with them "House jump." The houses were the rooms in the bunker, and I ran with them from room to room. We agreed hand signals. I agreed with them that we would retreat into the bunker if it got too tight.

Day 21

We sat in the classroom and discussed the action. I provisionally drew the card to the whiteboard and explained how I imagined that we were reaching our destination.

Day 22

Today I made an outdoor mission with Thort. We carefully advanced to the vicinity of the sports field and scouted it out. We chose a house as a base point. Then we retreated into the bunker.

Thort was visibly proud that he could travel alone with me.

Day 23

I refined our plan again based on our findings, which I had found out with Thort in the field. I practiced with Amelie one last time. Then I decided that we would start a trial the next day.

[helldiver]

Day 24

I distributed the ammunition and told them that the plastic magazines could be thrown away. I also slowly got heart palpitations because I was worried about Amelie.

We stepped out of the bunker and everything went well. I had Amelie take over the top so I could keep an eye on her. I had equipped my G3 with a Red Dot target device. It was a good way to aim quickly.

Amelie had the hunting gun and held it in her hand. We reached the base house at the lower end of the sports field, then I spied the place. The collection point was about 200 m in front of us, I could see the barracks well. We sneaked in behind the hedge. There were six runners on the field. Too far away for the shotgun. But the Meusser and my G3 could snipe them away before they came too close to us.

I told Amelie that if the runners get too close, she should switch to the gun. I felt like she understood me. I could see that it was the green-painted robots. They were more armored.

I said to Amelie, “I’ll take the far left, shoot the armor away from him, then you’ll smash his tank, in that time I’ll take over the right of it. When I shoot, that’s the fire command for you, ok?”

Thort was our second line of defense and covered us from behind with the pumpgun. I gave the hand signal for attack. A hand that makes a gripping motion. I targeted the first robot and shot. The armor flew away, and the robot sent out sparks. I switched to the second, while Amelie shot and destroyed the first. The other robots quickly got closer. I was about to shoot the third one, so Amelie had to reload. She did it quickly and shot the second robot. I destroyed the third, which had come worryingly close.

Thort shouted "Attention" from behind!"

One of the robots came from the side, he must have sneaked around us. I shot with the G3 and hit him before the G3 was empty. Thort also scored because the robots on the football field had come worryingly closer.

"The gun Amelie, take the gun."

I loaded my G3 again in flying haste, the shot robot took us under fire. Amelie had hung the Meussers and pulled her pistol but did not shoot. I fired at the two robots that invaded us and screamed at Amelie

"back, BACK !!"

She crawled backwards and I kept shooting at the robots. I was able to destroy the one that I shot then appeared a third robot and a seeker, who circled over us and took out our view with his shock wave.

"Shoot damn," I screamed at Amelie and had to reload my G3.

“I can’t!” she cried

"Safety lever," I called back.

While I was loading the G3, one of the dog robots came running at a fast pace and jumped on Amelie. I had shot at him but couldn’t destroy him. I heard a sound like a whiplash and Amelie fell to the ground and was left twitching. I suddenly had to fight three runners who were dangerously close. Thort couldn’t shoot because I stood in his way. I heard still the pumpgun roaring obviously he took the robots on the football field under fire. Luckily, he had shot the seeker before he could give a muck.

The robot that had Amelie downed turned around and apparently wanted to shoot at Amelie lying on the ground. I gave him a strong kick because I had to keep the other robots at bay. I fired a quick shot at this robot and destroyed it. Then my G3 was empty and there was no time to reload, because the other three robots took us under fire.

I shouldered the G3, pulled Amelie’s Klaucke out of her trembling hand and wanted to fire. I put the safety lever over and cocked the hammer. Then I fired at the robots. I was able to damage them, but they slowly shot at both of us, because the dirt splashed up close to Amelie and me. I ripped out my own Klaucke and shot both hands. One robot exploded, the other two were severely damaged and simply stopped. This gave me time to grab Amelie by the collar and pull her out of the firing line. I called to Thort, who kept firing. He recognized the opportunity and destroyed the robot that took me and Amelie under fire. Then I was at Thort.

"We have to go back to the house," I screamed. Take Amelie I give you fire protection."

I reloaded both pistols and fired again as we retreated. Thort grabbed the twitching Amelie by the collar and pulled her away behind me.

I covered the two while Thort threw Amelie over his shoulder and retreated towards the house. I kept firing, there were still four runners trying to encircle me. I fired and damaged them. Then Thort and I were close enough to the house. Thort turned around and ran into the house. I fired backwards at the robots and could destroy another one, then I was in the house too.

"All right Thort, are you hurt?"

"No, but Amelie got it bad"

She was still lying trembling on the floor, her eyes staring wide open and staring rigidly at the ceiling. We lay on the floor in the living room of the house while the ricochets whistled over us. I examined Amelie turning her on the stomach and back again. Then I found a fine wire, thin as a hair. He was stuck in a small probe equipped with barbs. I wanted to pull it out of her uniform and got a violent electric shock myself. I ripped open her uniform jacket and the tremor stopped abruptly.

She fainted. I held her in my arms and told Thort what I had discovered. We took off her jacket. I listened to her chest and heard her heart beating quickly. I also felt her pulse on her neck. Thort helped me with the jacket suddenly she reared up herself up with an outcry. We had touched her again with the jacket. Then she sank back together. Thort examined her jacket and found four of those fine wires in it. The electrodes had drilled through the jacket and contacted Amelie’s body, putting her out of action. I gave Thort my scarf so he could pull out the electrodes. He shrugged before said but only

"You fucking dirty bags"

"What’s about her?" asked Thort.

Her pulse no longer chased like this and her eyes fluttered. The MG fire had subsided to some extent when she opened her eyes.

"Ahhhh, Auaaaa, Ahhhhh," she moaned, and her face was covered.

"Where am I?" she asked, tormented.

"In the house at the sports field," I told her. "You where jumped on by a runner and were put out of action. It must have been a kind of Taser."

“What’s a Taser?” asked Thort.

"A weapon that deals electric shocks, paralyzes the enemy. We have just seen that. It was a shaking paralysis," I told Thort.

Amelie moaned quietly in my arm.

"Are you in pain," I asked her, "can you move?"

She tried her hand, then pulled a leg. She straightened up and moaned quietly. Her face was pain distorted.

“It’s slowly going again. I’m in pain everywhere, like sore muscles.”

"These are the cramped muscles caused by the electric shock," I told her.

“I’m cold,” she said. I gave her her back her uniform jacket and helped her in.

Thort peered at the front door.

"If Amelie can do it again, we could go back to the bunker."

“How does It look Amelie? If you go back, you think you can run."

“Yes,” she said, “It’s going to happen.” She moaned softly.

"OK give me the Meusser." I wanted to lose as much weight as possible. She gave me her gun

"Do you have the pumpgun ready to shoot?" I asked Thort

"Full to the edge of the collar," he replied.

"OK," I said, loading my G3 and load through it.

"If everyone is ready, we can dare to break out. Thort, you first, then Amelie, then me."

“I’m ready,” Thort said

I turned to Amelie. She looked at me and nodded. Thort ran off to the next cover, then waved.

"Run Amelie," I said, patting her on the shoulder.

She ran off and made it to Thort. Then I told Thort that he should go to the next station. He ran off. I looked around and couldn’t see a runner, so I ran off.

I saw Thort waving.

"Run off!" I said softly to Amelie and she ran off.

Then we had a bigger stretch of road to walk long. The only cover was two trucks parked at the side of the road. Thort ran ahead. I ran after Amelie. Then I heard the predator scream of a Hunter coming out of a junction on the right. His sensors glowed in ominous red, he had recognized us and was in kill mode.

"Down" I screamed when we were at the height of the truck, but Amelie kept running

"DOWN" I roared and ran faster "DOWN DAMNED!!"

I knocked her over from behind and almost fell on her. We both clapped into a big puddle of water. The Hunter’s bullets whistled over us. Thort took him under fire and distracted him from us. He gave me time to crawl under the truck. I robbed under the truck and next to Amelie grabbed her by the collar and pants by just grabbing under the waistband and pulling her under the truck. Here the water puddle was even deeper. The water was damned cold.

Amelie wept quietly "Auaaaahhh, Auuuaaaaah, Auuuuhhhh"

I told her to stay still. I could see that Thort had hid among the other trucks. I only saw the legs of the Hunter chasing an MG salvo into the truck. I fished for the ammunition bag and pulled it out. I still had a gas cartridge. I fished for her and fished her out of my pocket. Then I pulled the G3 under me away. She was wet.

"Hopefully, it still works," I thought to myself.

I crawled foreward without leaving the Hunter out of sight then I pushed the gas cartridge onto the road, the Hunter between the legs. I saw him spinning back and forth nervously and sparks jumping away from him. Thort had probably damaged him. The Hunter was reflected in the pool of water, so I could observe it. I aimed under the truck at as far as i could the gas cartridge with the G3. The shot slammed and the ensuing explosion tore the Hunter apart.

"Go!" I roared out under the truck.

I saw a runner running down the street. I gave a salvo to him and destroyed him, then I helped Amelie, who meanwhile crawled out under the truck. She moaned softly.

"Run, run!" I told her and she ran off.

A seeker flew through between the houses. I immediately took him under fire and took him from heaven.

"Run to the bunker!" i roared we still had about 200m.

Thort ran off and was the first to reach the site I was just behind Amelie and kept looking around. When Amelie crossed the road to the bunker, the fire of a runner crashed again.

"KEEP RUNNING!"

I roared behind Amelie, and I saw three runners running down the street.

I fired at them with the G3 and pulled back towards the bunker. I had to reload, Thort fired with the shotgun and destroyed one of the attackers. Then they were on the yard in front of the bunker I could fire again and covered the two. The robots invaded me I heard Thort firing and

Roaring "OHHHH SHIT!".

I continued to fire at the robots and ran quickly over to Thort, who was still standing but had a pain-distorted face.

"Where is Amelie?" I asked

"Inside" returned Thort "Then get in with you."

I fired with the G3 and was able to destroy one of the runners, then the G3 was empty and I switched to the gun. Before I was at the bunker door myself, I was able to damage the third one. Then I was inside. I leaned heavily on the wall. Was wet to the bones.

"What is Thort, are you hurt." "Yes, on the leg down, it must have been a ricochet. Off to the infirmary, you also Amelie.”

She stood there crying and with her arms hanging. "Go off with you"

Both trotted to the hospital ward. I could see a hole at Thort’s pants. I sat down and lifted Thort’s leg to my knees. I pushed up his pants and saw the nasty ratchet. The flesh on the leg was ripped open at the length of the finger. Amelie assisted me, brought iodine, bandage material and gauze pads to dab. I quickly took care of Thort’s wound.

"Now you Amelie best you pull the pants out you hump. Thort, please get the college shoes for Amelie!"

Thort ran off. I pulled her boots off her feet. She had opened both knees. The uniform pants had prevented the worst, but she had open space wounds.

"Are you bent over," I asked her.

She said “no” while I am investigated her ankles.

Then I cleaned and cared for her wounds. I had her hands shown to me, but there were only a few small abrasions, probably from the fall when I knocked her over. I brushed her ointment on it. Then I took off the helmet she still had on her head. I also took off her drip-wet uniform jacket. She was just like me wet to the bones. I examined her head in detail to see if she had gotten anything. But I couldn’t find anything. I asked her to pull up her shirt a little bit.

"You can cover yourself with your arm I just want to see up to your upper belly."

She agreed and carefully pulled up her shirt.

I saw two red spots on her upper abdomen. I examined them with a magnifying glass to see if there were any splinters left in it. I brushed a little sore ointment on it and stuck a small patch over it.

"If you turn around, I take off my shirt completely, you can look over it," she said.

I turned around so she could bare herself. She held an arm with the T-shirt in front of her chest. I could see two more of these spots at the breast. I looked her with the magnifying glass and found no shards or other residues. Then I also gave in these places’ wound patches with healing ointment on it.

"You can dress again."

"Can I get in?" asked Thort.

"Please, for a moment, Amelie is just getting on."

"You can now," she said as she dressed again.

Thort put down her shoes on. "Do you still have something dry, otherwise take a T-shirt from me.

"Thank you," she beeped quietly slipped into the college shoes and walked.

"Is everything okay with you?" asked Thort.

“I’m just Wet to the bones.”

"Then everything went well again," Thort said.

“How to take it,” I said, “I don’t want to talk about it today.”

“It’s good Hell," he said.

I went to the bedroom. Amelie sat on her bed and looked sadly in front of her. I took fresh underwear and training pants wordlessly. Then I took off my boots and went to the bathroom. It didn’t take me long because I wanted to get out of the wet clothes. Amelie met me in the hallway and kept her gaze lowered. I felt better than in the wet clothes. I just wanted a beer and a few cigarettes.

I had lost my appetite, too much was going on in my head. While I was getting dressed, Amelie came back. She had also just made herself a little fresh and changed her wet underwear. She sat back on her bed and looked sadly in front of her.

"You should put yourself to bed today Amelie," I told her.

"We guys can make ourselves something to eat. We can also do something to you, do you have a wish?"

“No, I don’t have an appetite,” she said. She looked at me with anxious eyes

"I did mess it up?"

“Amelie, I don’t want to talk about it today, ok tomorrow. Put yourself in bed now you’ve been through a lot. I’ll bring you something if you want.”

Without reluctance, she slipped under the duvet.

"And what are you doing?"

"I still drink beer smoking a few cigarettes."

I took her Klaucke because I wanted to clean the weapons. Thort sat in the canteen and had a beer can in front of him. He was busy cleaning "Old Bethan".

"Is a good girl," he said, caressing the gun

"Yes, it is," I said with a smile. I took a big sip and set about dismantling the G3.

"This rifle is a real beast"

"Yes, she is, she can do something." "By the way, you were very good today, reacted well, respect," I said.

He laughed, "Yes Hell, you mean"

"Yes, I said I picked up my beer can and shouted "Skal (swed. Cheers)" We toasted, even though there was actually nothing to toast, we had once again escaped with our lives.

"Where is Amelie?" asked Thort.

"I put her to bed," I said.

"Everything messed up today," Thort said.

“I don’t want to talk about it now.’

Thort noticed that the subject was over for me and said nothing more. He said goodbye and went to bed. I got another can of beer and smoked another cigarette.

Damn have had luck, that no more happened. That Amelie had failed again in the shooting did not go out of my mind. When I went to bed, Thort was already asleep. In the semi-darkness I could see that Amelie was still awake. I lay down in bed. I was still awake and couldn’t sleep. Then I heard Amelie sobs quietly. I sat down and saw that she had pulled the duvet over her head. I let her. In half-sleep, I heard her sniffling quietly.

[helldiver]

Day 25.

After breakfast I asked them in the small training room. On the whiteboard I outlined the fighting situation of the firefight at the sports field.

“Thort, you reacted well and kept the runners at a distance, so I was able to fight the runners that Amelie and me tried to encircle. Amelie, I still wonder how you get it that you’re loading this weapon,” he said.

I lifted my Klaucke

"and forgets to turn over the safety lever. That you get nervous, when you get into a fight I can still understand but that you are not able to find out why the weapon does not work that is already sad. These weapons are designed so simple that anyone should be able to operate them."

I tried to stay calm Amelie kept her gaze lowered.

“How many times, Amelie, I have shown you this even, not five times, dozens of times. It’s one movement, loading, locking lever down and firing.”

I realized that I was talking in rage.

“But I didn’t see it,” she told me, “The gun was just blocked.”

“Because the damn safety lever was not overturned. In doing so, you have put us both in a situation that could have been fatal for us. You’ve even been knocked over by the runner. What’s new to me is that they have a kind of Taser function that knocks out an opponent to the ground and knocks one out of action so that the other opponents can come back and fight one down. I suddenly had to fight four runners, one of which was so close that I couldn’t shoot him immediately without hurting you.” Said I addressed to Amelie.

“I just stopped him from shooting you straight by kicking him. I can’t take care of each of you when we’re in battle. I must be able to rely on you to at least be able to defend yourself. Amelie, the safe handling of your weapon is your life insurance, if you had fired, it wouldn’t have happened that the runners would have encircled us. They behave like wolves, they set you up, they circle you and then they kill you. They’re not waiting for you to find your safety lever on the weapon. They kill you immediately."

I had raised my voice, but I avoided yelling at her. She looked down at the ground and avoided looking me in the eye. Thort stared in front of him.

" And then the retreat. Amelie, you were an absolute total failure when I say down! then it’s down, immediately and on the spot.

"But there was the big puddle of water." She contradicted me again.

I hit the table with my flat hand, both shrugging.

"Damn again, if I hadn’t ripped you to the ground you would now be pierced like a Swiss cheese lying out there.

When a Hunter appears, the question is not whether two steps further is a dry spot. Then it’s called DOWN! even if there’s a mud hole or a big bunch of shit in which you throw yourself in. That’s better than being pierced seconds later.

"And then something, if you already have a gun in your hand, then you use it and shoot it and best of all at this Hunter, because that at least gets him out of the concept."

Her face ran red her hands clenched to fists and tears ran down her cheeks. But she wasn’t sobbing. Thort stared petrified at himself.

“Yesterday we put a pile of ammunition for nothing, for really nothing.” People, we’re going to have to practice that. The next time we go out there, I want to be sure that each of you can use your weapon 100 percent and 100 percent will be able to fight down an opponent."

I was in a rage, but I still avoided roaring. Then Amelie suddenly looked at me. Her gaze was desperate.

“I don’t want any more, you constantly scold me, we are constantly in deadly danger and only make it so strait into the bunker.” I don’t want any more!" she shouted at me.

She hit her fists on her thighs. I took a deep breath and then said in a very calm tone

“OK, well, then I don’t need to keep talking my mouth and get upset about your inability, then you just stay here. I am not going to take anyone who is not 100 per cent capable of defending themselves. I think that’s it for today.”

I turned around taking the Klaucke from the teacher’s desk and going to the exit. I heard Thort go on Amelie

"You stupid goat, you had to again contradict him, he rips his ass open and the only thing you do is nothing but stupid chatter. Just shut your trap and listen to what he tells you and do it!"

I heard her clamouring, but I wasn’t interested in that anymore I had my nose full to repeat several all things and to realize that was going in on her right side wents out on her left

I went to the bedroom to get my luggage. I had to distract myself with something and so I decided to clean my weapons. I took all the weapons and my cleaning kit, then I sat down at a table in the common room and lit a cigarette.

Should they slap their heads in one another, I was just fed up with going on some mission and suddenly being in deadly danger. I alone was able to assess my risk and withdraw if it became too brittle.

Slowly the thought came to me to pack my things and move on alone. So maybe I had a chance rather than with the two. I could send them help if I encountered military or other aid workers. And if I can’t do it, at least they were safe. On the other hand, did they have a chance on their own? Was it right Thort who made the most of his best to let sit him here with her? Wasn’t that somehow unfair? Amelie wouldn’t make it to the next crossroads on her own. I didn’t give her a chance on my own.

Thort appeared in the room. He had two cans of beer in his hand and put one in my hand.

"Come on, drink one," he said, and sat down.

"The stupid goat sits on the toilette howling. That is what she can do the best she is a real Crybaby. Howling because of every shit, especially when things get tight. I’ve known her for a long time, she was like that as a child. Always had to go after her nose, and woe that wasn’t the case. Warped brat of rich parents.”

"Your girlfriend?" I asked. "Nooo, the parents were always on holiday with us, my parents have a boarding house, they were always on vacation. Always played with her as a child. Yes and later I took her with me. Into the disco in Östervik you know."

I nodded that I understood him, but gave no answer.

"Would you really want to go out alone now, without us?"

That this question would come I had already thought, the way he had started on her, he was afraid to get stuck with her here. I didn’t want to go on the subject anymore and said

“Thort, I don’t want to talk about it anymore, can we leave it for today?”

Thort lowered his gaze and looked on the table. I dedicated myself to my weapons and remained silent. Thort smoked his cigarette at the end then he got up and left. A short time later, Amelie and Thort returned. They both had their weapons and a few cans of beer in their arms that they put on the table, then they sat down with me. Amelie sat at the table with her head lowered. She tried to disassemble her Klaucke.

She struggled to find the sledge barrier and squeeze it out. But she obviously didn’t dare ask me. Then, after a few attempts, she had loosened the sled and then, pfffiooing, the sled spring flew through the room. She hadn’t been careful when building apart and hadn’t loosened the tensioned spring carefully enough.

I wordlessly pushed her flashlight over and said

"Go and look for her we have not a replacement."

I didn’t want to discuss it anymore. Without rebuttals, she stood up with her head lowered and crawled around on the floor to look for the feather. I didn’t pay attention to her. After some searching, she returned to the table and put the flashlight back on me. She leaned on my shoulder with one hand as she bent over me to put the lamp back on me.

She was cleaning on the gun until I couldn’t watch it anymore.

“It’s not enough if you brush the brunne off the gun, you have to clean it inside where the powder residues are.”

She shrugged and looked at me in horror. I looked at her, because I had practiced cleaning often enough with the two of them. I took my Klaucke and slowly dismantled it for my terms, but this was still a lot faster than she had done. I showed her the places that needed to be cleaned. Instructed them to drizzle oil on it again, let it work and then clean it with a Lapp twisted together.

She followed it up and was a little more skillful. Then I advised her to rub the gun with some oil so she wouldn’t rust. I worked silently until the late afternoon, because I had said what To say. Every now and then Thort and Amelie looked over at me stealthily.

“I’m going to do something to eat,” she finally beeped and moved into the canteen. After some time she came back and said

"Come you eat."

I put my weapons aside and walked over into the canteen. Amelie made me a plate full. Mostly it was some stew. We took everything there was in the cans. I ate in silence. Amelie sat opposite me and looked at me waiting. I didn’t pay attention to them. Thort tried a conversation, but I didn’t get into it. It was a strangely tense atmosphere. They watched me.

After the meal I got up, I didn’t want to be in the company of the two, I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. Eventually I took the G3 and my Klaucke. I went to the outside door of the bunker I needed fresh air. Before I opened the door I pulled the gun. Loading and securing was a movement for me. It was slowly getting dark. The air smelled salty, because the sea was not far away. I didn’t see an enemy. I leaned on the door so I could quickly get back into the bunker in case any robots showed up. I lit a cigarette and covered the embers with my hand. I looked around constantly and didn’t hear any suspicious noises.

I had to go to the collection point at the sports field to find out where the survivors were evacuated. I definitely wanted to follow her trail. After some time I went back into the bunker and closed the door carefully. I brought my weapons into the bedroom, took my bath toe and washed me.

The two were still sitting in the common room. I sat down there to smoke another cigarette. Because we had agreed that we would not smoke in the bedroom. I sat down in a couch. And turned me away from the two. From the corners of my eyes I could see that Amelie kept looking over at me. I lit a cigarette leaning back on the couch and stared facelessly at the opposite wall. I looked after the billowing cigarette smoke.

Thoughts about my next course of action kept circling in my head. What was I to do? Should I actually go on alone, or should I try again with the two. I felt like they were eagerly awaiting a reaction from me. Should they simmer calmly especially Amelie.

When my cigarette was over, I got up and left.

"Good night," I said softly as I left the room.

Shortly thereafter, they followed me. I hadn’t finished my bed yet. As I covered myself in my bed, I saw Amelie sitting on her seat. She looked over at me again anxiously and stealthily. In the half-dark she couldn’t see that I was still awake.

[helldiver]

Day 26

We met for breakfast. I wished a good morning, then I kept quietly taking my breakfast. I still didn’t feel like the two of them and would have preferred to be alone. Thort tried to build a conversation by asking

"What are we doing today?"

I just shrugged my shoulders, poured me a cup of coffee and went into the common room. I wanted to smoke a cigarette in peace. I could hear them talking. But couldn’t understand what they were saying. I didn’t care. I thought about looking through the stockrooms and take up on what was the stock, I wanted to deal with it and I didn’t want to be a company of the two I wanted to be alone to think.

I needed all day. Thort once came to the Stockroom and asked what I would do. I told him I would to take stock to know exactly what was in stock. How much fuel is in the tanks of the generators and how many canned foods are available. I also recorded the ammunition stockpiles. With him I had the feeling that he was afraid that I would leave alone and leave the two in the Salthamm bunker. He asked me

“You know, let’s have practice, with the weapons, shoot and aim.”

“At the time I don’t want to talk about it anymore, for me it’s all pointless. You don’t need me to practice.”

Thort looked on the ground

“We can practice alone but we can’t do it like you we don’t know as much as you, you still know some tricks and I’d like to learn that. I don’t want you to go alone, you know.”

“Thort, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I said what I had to say.”

“But, we’re stricting on ourselves, honestly”

"Thort, please," I said, looking at him sternly.

‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’

He looked to the ground and I could see that he was looking for something he could tell me. I knew he was trying to change my mind. But it was perhaps the best thing to stay tough on that point. Maybe they would understand it at some point. When I gave him no answer, he withdrew with his shoulders hanging. When he was gone, I sat down on a box.

I was sorry he had really worked hard and if I taught him a few more tricks, he would be a good mate. But Amelie, she was the weakest link in the chain. If I took them with me, I couldn’t guarantee anything. She would put Thort and me in danger because i just wasn’t paying attention, she was too clumsy. I didn’t want to be accused of leading someone into a deadly fight who wasn’t even able to defend himself. That burden was just too great for me.

In the evening I went back again. When I passed the canteen, they were sitting at the table. "Come on, what food!" cried Amelie. She kindly scooped me a plate full, smiling. I thanked her and ate in silence. They watched me.

“Should I help with the washing up?” I asked when I emptied my plate, because I didn’t want to shirk myself and I didn’t want this to be stuck at Amelie alone.

"No," she said the three plates are not a job." She smiled kindly.

"OK," I said, I got up and left.

In the shower I let the warm water bounce down on me and washed the dust down from the Stockroom. I thought about dressing up again and sitting in the communal room with a can of beer. I could hardly dodge the company of the two unless I moved to one of the Stockrooms. I chose a stockroom, sat there on a box and drank a can of beer, smoked and hung on to my thoughts. When I went to bed, Thort was already asleep. Amelie sat on her bed and looked over at me as I prepared for the bed. I wished her a good night then I slipped under the blanket and fell asleep.