Saoirse climbs up the improvised rope we both weaved together. I followed soon after. The black-haired vixen and I carried heavy packs filled with gear from Wendy's hideout. She bore the added weight effortlessly like I did. We'd need the items in these packs if we stood any chance of stopping this threat. The giant-eyed monster that chased us down this hole was nowhere in sight. That was a welcome sight. We need to get into a position to coordinate with Adam Shaw. I heard the sound of his gunfire close by. The man was adept at avoiding danger. Quietly, we moved through the rubble and ruined strange buildings. The eye monsters were everyone. Blasting at any sign of movement. Those eyes of theirs fired some sort of heat blast. It was devastating if hit with. As we crawled and crept through the shadows of the ruins, I placed improvised explosives that Saoirse gave me. The native woman didn't know what they were for but completely trusted me. I wasn't about to let her get blown to pieces. 

We were getting close to the main gate. I clicked my radio several times to let Shaw know of our progress. Occasionally, I saw the towering man moving from cover to cover like a ghost. The monsters just couldn't get a fix on his location. This was riling them up with frustration and anger. I'm sure that was part of his strategy. I needed that distraction to plant bombs all around the area. The goal was to bring a hailstorm of fire near the gate so we could finally blow it. 

From the corner of my eye, one of the giant eye monsters surprised me. I slung out the m429 and unloaded on the beast from near point-blank range. The large 7.62 mm rounds shredded the torso of the muscle-bound titan. No amount of thick hide could take that kind of firepower at close range. That's what I was hoping for. At least it worked on this monster. The hideous creature fell back onto the ground. Thick yellow blood spilled from the holes in its chest. I saw another one turn the corner behind us, and I didn't give it a chance to fire its unique weapon. The beast's eye bursts like a balloon when the rounds slam into its body. I heard Saoirse scream like a beast. The next thing I knew, one of the spears she'd made impaled a monster's giant eye. Saoirse had most of the explosives. It was time to get this done.

"The gates!" I yelled, laying down cover fire.

I ducked and dodged the eye monster's ocular blasts. Shaw came out of nowhere and obliterated two that blindsided me. I returned the favor by mowing down a trio rushing in from the opposite direction. There were many more now, and we were grossly outnumbered. 

"Get to the gate!" I yelled at Shaw.

The giant man didn't have to be told twice. Those bombs I set had timers and were about to go off any moment now. Shaw slammed against the barrier wall, mowing down any that chased us. These fiendish beasts were coming out of the woodwork now. I checked my watch, and there were less than two minutes left. Saoirse already had the tunnel mined with the explosives. I gave her the pack with the rest, and she went to work. For someone that had never worked with these bombs before, she was careful. 'Damm, she had a keen eye.' It was good she watched how I placed the sensitive bombs. It was pure luck that Albert Gallagher 

had scavenged enough explosives to get the job done and then some. I'd saved the heavy ordinance he'd gathered to take down this tunnel.

Shaw backed into the tunnel, firing off the last of his ammo. I took over as he went to the other end, helping Saoirse. My watch beeped, and a second later, everything outside the tunnel lit up in a hellish infernal. The heat was intense as I dropped to the ground for cover. Multiple explosions went off one after another. I toss the last few grenades I had into the smoking blasting into the tunnel and race past the outer gate. Several booms and sounds of anger followed. When I was clear, the warrior vixen gave me the final cog to my plan. A satchel charge that the deceased Trooper somehow found. I set it and tossed it back past the broken gate. The three of us race around the gaping holes in the ground. We made it just far enough to be clear of the explosion when red beams shot past us. I turned to see a few exiting the gate, but I looked away just as fast. A second later, we felt the shockwave launch us clear of the hole riddle ground. The explosion was gigantic and destructive.

Once the dust settled, a portion of the wall collapsed, blocking the only way inside the deathtrap of a city. The land bridge connecting the path broke apart, falling into the bottomless pit below. Shaw looked at me and wiped the sweat from his face.

"That was close," Shaw said.

"Let's get the hell away from this nightmare," I said.

For a while, we just rested where we lay. The whole ordeal was harrowing, to say the least. Without Shaw or Saoirse, I'd be dead already. I had them to thank for making it out alive. I could hear the sound of those giant eye monsters blasting the wall, trying to get out. From what I saw, that wall was constructed to last the test of time. Those fiendish beasts weren't getting out of there anytime in our lifetime.

The humvee we came in returned a short time later. Wendy popped out of the vehicle and looked awestruck. Saoirse stood up and dusted herself off. Her clothes didn't do her figure justice or hide her ample curves. Wendy could see how stunning she was and looked at me with an eerie stare. 

"As I told you, Thomas will protect you. He has kept his word. These two are heroic warriors. They can protect your young," Saoirse stated.

"Isn't she full of confidence in us?" Shaw whispered.

"Don't encourage her," I whispered.

"Okay, I get it. This is what you meant by his woman!" Wendy countered.

Charlotte and Georgia hopped out of the humvee and looked stunned we had lived. Wendy was standoffish with Saoirse. I couldn't understand why she was at odds with her. Saoirse really wasn't my woman. If anything else, Aphanea or Rhonda would fit that role. That was something I wasn't going to push on Saoirse or Wendy. I understood that the woman had been here alone after her lover died. She had to take care of their children all by herself in a deadly harsh environment. Wendy's children only knew this world; her oldest probably didn't remember our world.

"Answer me!" Wendy snapped. "Is that what these two are?" she added.

The two Hodge girls blushed when Wendy made that statement. Georgia and Charlotte listened to the back and forth between the two fierce women. I don't think they'd ever seen such strong and dominant women. Wendy was a former State Trooper with experience in law enforcement and the Marines. Saoirse was a strong warrior of these lands. Each one was a fighter in their own right. Seeing this for the first time was a powerful sight. I saw the adult women in their sanctuary. How they were drained of hope and strength. They were broken people after the massacre they survived. Charlotte and Georgia saw how they could become strong and capable like them.

"You can be his woman if you so desire," Saoirse stated. "You have two capable warriors to choose from," she added.

"Now, hold on. Why are we discussing this at all? No one said anything about being my woman or Adam Shaw," I countered.

"Sure, buddy, I bet you'd say that. What are you going around collecting women for your sick fantasy?" Wendy blurted.

"Woman, you must take a mate in these lands. If you don't, others will come to claim you. This land is unforgiven, and you must be strong and have a strong mate to survive," the native woman said.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here, but let's get back to the others," Shaw suggested.

"Let's try to get along on the way back, too. There's only one vehicle to take us back. I know no one wants to stay here and wait. Besides Wendy, you don't belong to me or Shaw. It's our job to take care of everyone, and that's what we aim to do," I said, standing up. "Let's return to safety before more creatures are drawn to this explosion.

Wendy backed down for now, but I could tell a fire was burning in her. She and Saoirse were going to butt heads all the way back. I made sure to get the keys from her and let Shaw drive.