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.