WEBVTT - Chapter Four 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:07.200 Chapter four, Manny. Manny woke up needing to piss, and 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.440 also to the sound of explosions. You couldn't quite tell 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:14.040 which was more to blame for his sudden, unwelcome consciousness. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.639 His lizard brain woke up and shouted, get the funk 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.880 out of their you asshole. A second later, Manny got 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:22.680 to his feet, grabbed his gear bag, and looked around 0:00:22.720 --> 0:00:26.520 for the journalist. Reggie still seemed asleep, but he stirred 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:29.560 just as Manny started towards him, and another thundering boom 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.720 shook the world. Christ, who's that, Reggie asked, in a 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.680 slurred voice heavy with sleep. Mortars. Manny explained, I think 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:41.280 I heard rockets too. Shit, The brit Ex sailed sharply. 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:46.080 Is this bad? Many shrugged. Those sound like small mortars, 0:00:46.320 --> 0:00:49.159 very short range, but we're miles behind the line. So 0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.680 a deafening explosion shook the world. It was loud enough 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.720 that Manny didn't even properly hear it. He felt it 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:00.360 hard and hot against his skin. The sheer, impo sucible 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:02.400 noise of it pulled the air from his lungs and 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:04.920 the thoughts from his head. The next instant, he was 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.600 flat on the ground. His eyes darted left and right 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.080 for cover. He spotted something, an artificial cave built into 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:13.840 a corner of the main room, perhaps a hundred feet away. 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:16.720 It looked like some sort of shrine or temple. Many 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.440 could see the walls were thick with melted candles, colorful 0:01:19.520 --> 0:01:22.639 drawings in a variety of brass cymbals. He grabbed Reggie 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:25.240 by the shoulder and shook hard. The other man jerked, 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:28.839 locked eyes with Manny and mouthed what the fixture pointed 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.520 towards the shrine, pulled himself up and sprinted towards it. 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:34.200 The journalists followed, and soon both men were huddled in 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:36.960 the little substructure, staring out at the devastation that had 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:41.000 overtaken the Richardson Autonomous Project. They could see two holes 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:43.679 in the roof. The huge circular kitchen bar looked like 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:47.240 it had taken a direct hit. Beer spurted from shattered taps, 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.840 and many could see what looked like blood staining the 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:53.160 white oak of the bar. Counter Flames licked somewhere off 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:55.640 in the distance on the other side of the vast structure. 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.680 The air smelled of smoke and burning grass. More blasts 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:01.920 sound it in the distance, including a few that were 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:04.960 just too loud to be mortar fire. Now that he focused, 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.880 Manny could also hear the chatter of machine guns. It 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.560 was distant, but not nearly as distant as it should 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.600 have been. Many dug into his pocket, found where the 0:02:13.639 --> 0:02:16.760 deck was clipped inside, and thumbed the power button. Static 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:18.840 flashed at the edge of his vision as his implants 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:22.119 started up. He nearly always ran in minimalist mode, which 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:24.800 gave him access to his maps and his communications sweet 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:27.839 and nothing else. He selected his address book and sub 0:02:27.919 --> 0:02:35.280 vocalized his cousin's name, Alejandro. It dialed and dialed and dialed. Amen. 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.400 Reggie said, his voice oddly, calm, I think we might 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:41.040 need to get the funk out of here. Reggie looked 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.240 over at the bride and then towards the flames. They 0:02:43.240 --> 0:02:45.600 were bigger now and closer. He could see a dozen 0:02:45.720 --> 0:02:47.760 or so men and women fighting the fire with hoses 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:51.400 and extinguishers. They didn't seem to be winning. Elsewhere, he 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:54.119 saw small groups breaking cover to run for the exits. 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.079 The sound of alarm bells echoed across the big structure. 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:01.240 Alejandro hadn't responded, which meant he was fighting or dead 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:03.799 either way, Manny and Reggie would need to find their 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.600 own ride out of this mess. It had been a 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:09.160 while since the last mortar had landed on the complex, 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.359 and the small arms fire still sounded distant. This seemed 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:13.960 as good a time to make a break for it 0:03:14.000 --> 0:03:16.520 as they were likely to get, so they ran until 0:03:16.560 --> 0:03:19.120 they hit the nearest exit doors, shoved them open, and 0:03:19.200 --> 0:03:23.959 staggered outside into the balmy Texas night. The asphalt parking 0:03:24.000 --> 0:03:27.160 lot outside was filled with newly minted refugees, perhaps two 0:03:27.240 --> 0:03:29.760 hundred of them, most carried at least to go bag. 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:32.480 A few had managed to drag out more. They were 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:34.920 ringed by a widening cordon of armed men and women, 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:38.720 fifty at the most. The militia clutched antique weapons, mostly 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:41.560 small arms, and stuck like glue to the Hescoe barriers 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.400 that ringed the old parking lot. Here and there, Manny 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:46.520 caught sight of a man with an RPG or a 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:50.360 light machine gun. It was a forcement for scaring off bandits. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.320 The rockets still thudding in the distance told Manny these 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:57.000 men and women faced considerably more than their match. A 0:03:57.080 --> 0:03:59.880 green blink of light caught his attention. Reggie head and 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.440 aged his lapel camera. The brit fixed him with a 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.080 look that said, dude, what did you expect me to do? 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.720 Most of the survivors were probably recording to their decks, too, 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:12.280 but Reggie's little camera could do considerably more. It scanned 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:14.280 the world around him in a three hundred and sixty 0:04:14.280 --> 0:04:17.839 degree arc. It also recorded the journalist's own physical data, 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:22.240 his heart rate, his respiration, his adrenal levels. Everything he 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.479 saw and felt was being recorded for later consumption. The 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:27.640 brit was carving out a little slice of the war 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.120 for safer parts of the world to Binge Watch. Vehicle 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.480 started to arrive. The project's motor pool included three tracks 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:37.160 built to carry large groups of people in semi armored 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:41.000 semi safety. The commune's rapid reaction force set to work, 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.040 loading children and wounded up first. There was no panic, 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:48.799 no hysteria, just an exhausted efficiency that spoke of long practice. 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:52.839 Manny saw glassy eyes and clenched jaws, but very little 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:56.599 open rage. They're so very used to it, he realized. 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:00.400 Scattered throughout the crowd, Manny saw people whose bodies rattled 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:03.000 with the sort of palsied shock that artillery leaves in 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:07.040 its wake. Reggie just stared out at them, mouth slack. 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:09.920 His left knee twitched, the foot below it pumped against 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.640 the ground. Many guessed he was caught between the urge 0:05:12.640 --> 0:05:14.400 to step out and talk to some of them and 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:16.240 the voice of sanity in the back of his head 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.000 that knew how tone deaf that would be. Manny put 0:05:19.000 --> 0:05:21.960 a hand on the journalist's shoulder. We need to get 0:05:21.960 --> 0:05:24.200 the funk out of here, and our ride is off calms, 0:05:24.279 --> 0:05:26.479 he said. I'm going to suggest we hitch with the 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.480 R A P where their guests. They'll make room for us, 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:31.560 but if you'd rather drag us, I know a safe 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:34.640 neighborhood about six miles into the city. We could probably 0:05:34.720 --> 0:05:37.240 hire a ride there. It looks like they're a bit 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.960 short of room, as is said the brit Those tracks 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:44.039 can't hold more than people each. Many smiled a little 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:46.919 twenty four, But that's just if you're attached to things 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:51.320 like seats. Ten minutes later, Reggie and Manny clung to 0:05:51.360 --> 0:05:53.200 the hood of the track as it barreled down the 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:56.520 broken streets of Ciadad de Muerta, bound for a staging 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:59.800 area in deep Ellum. The fighting sounded much closer by 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.600 the time they left, Manny guessed the small arms fire 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:04.960 couldn't be more than a couple of blocks away. He 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.440 and the journalist held on with white knuckles and tried 0:06:07.520 --> 0:06:09.600 not to linger long on what would happen if they 0:06:09.600 --> 0:06:12.800 lost their grip. The martyrs had passed the command post 0:06:13.080 --> 0:06:16.160 the bridge, shouted in sudden realization, his voice strained to 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:18.640 be audible over the roar of the engines. Holy shit, 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:21.840 they have to be right. Many thought about the geography 0:06:21.880 --> 0:06:24.000 for a moment. It was possible that the martyrs had 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.119 only broken through in a few chunks of the line, 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:28.160 but that would mean to Shaun and the others were 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:32.640 alive and surrounded or fleeing. Those were the best case scenarios. 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:36.440 I think we might be fucked, Manny said, stunned by 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:39.480 the realization. For the last year, Major Clark had been 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.560 his most reliable source in the SDF. That post had 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.920 seemed immovable, impregnable for its significance in his little chunk 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.360 of the world. The tracks slowed to a stop. Parked 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.919 facing them were too smaller armored SDF tracks with swiveling 0:06:52.960 --> 0:06:56.520 cannons on their roofs. Soldiers scurried around them. They pulled 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.880 sections of thin, frosted gray still glass barricades off the 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.160 vehicles and started setting them up to form a new 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:05.880 defensive line. Many watched two militia women wrestle with a 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.720 large olive green case covered in boxy cyrillic script. They 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.640 pried it open, and Manny saw a huge metal tube 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.400 and what looked like a lot of antique optical equipment. 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.679 It was probably an old wire guided missile launcher, something 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.840 that had been antique before the revolution. He'd never seen 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:25.000 the stf use anything that old. They had drones half 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:28.400 this size that carried even more firepower, had them yesterday, 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.840 at least, he thought. The track slowed to a cautious 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:34.920 stop and honked. Manny glanced back at the driver. She 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:37.240 had her hands in the air in a universal please 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:40.440 don't shoot us gesture. Two of the soldiers peeled off 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.360 from their efforts and approached, weapons in hand but not aimed. 0:07:43.760 --> 0:07:46.480 The driver opened her door and shouted something down at them. 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:50.800 One of the men responded and gestured vaguely downtown. Manny 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.320 couldn't make out exactly what was being said, but the 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:57.200 driver's face contorted in a fury that was impossible to miss. 0:07:57.200 --> 0:07:59.960 Something's fucked Manny said to the journalist, I think we're 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.680 about to lose our ride. Look. He pointed to the 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.480 makeshift barricade and the dozen or so soldiers who filtered 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:08.320 past it and towards the track. The driver yelled and 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:10.800 one of the other passengers near the front started to shout. 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:13.720 The soldier's face remained impassive, but he put a hand 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:16.160 on his side arm and repeated a command Manny didn't 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.080 even need to hear. A few seconds later, a soldier 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:21.880 with a megaphone arrived and addressed Manny, Reggie and the 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:26.320 new refugees citizens. Your vehicle has been requisition for medical 0:08:26.440 --> 0:08:29.920 use by the SDF. Please dismount on a wordly fashion. 0:08:30.160 --> 0:08:34.160 Injured in pregnant individuals may stay aboard. The man repeated 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:38.200 the order, this time in Spanish. Reggie's jaw clinched man 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.000 he could see fear in his eyes, but the other 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.640 man just nodded and started to climb down off the track. 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.119 Manny did the same. Not all of the tracks passengers 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:48.520 were as compliant. There was a lot of shouting and 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.480 even a few shoving matches between the militiamen and the passengers, 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.839 but in the end, the SDF got their way. Manny 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:57.600 gathered fairly quickly that they planned to send the civilians 0:08:57.600 --> 0:09:00.000 a mile or so back to a holding area behind 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:03.120 in the new line. That was the last fucking place 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:05.200 in the world he wanted to be, so he approached 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.920 the officer who had been arguing with their driver. The 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.320 man had no rank in signiya on his uniform, but 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:13.360 that wasn't unusual for militia. His fatigues were old U 0:09:13.440 --> 0:09:16.120 S Army issue. His arm band identified him as part 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.400 of the Citizens Front. Manny found that odd Most of 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:21.760 the militia at this barricade were with Raza Front or 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.840 the p p A. This much intermixing wasn't normal. It 0:09:24.920 --> 0:09:27.959 pointed to a lot of casualties among the stf DI 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:32.120 scope Signor. Manny started, Chico, no ur remismo. I don't 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.920 have time to debate, no Signor. My cousin Alejandro was 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:38.280 with Citizens Front ninth Battalion. He was our ride. We 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:41.200 were taking this journalist. Manny jerked his head towards Reggie, 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:43.520 who stood a few feetback, and we got caught up 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:47.360 in the attack. The officer nodded, then grunted. Manny studied 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:49.520 his face for a moment. The man was middle aged, 0:09:49.559 --> 0:09:51.520 with a weak chin and enough extra meat on his 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.040 bones to suggest this was his first front line duty 0:09:54.040 --> 0:09:57.320 in a while. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands clenched, 0:09:57.559 --> 0:10:03.040 his attitude softened a bit at Alejandro's name, Alejandro Hernandez. Yeah, 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.880 he's a good man, or was, the officer said darkly. 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:09.920 All our front line units were wiped out or near enough. 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.080 The whole STF has been pushed all the way back 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:15.160 to Sida de Muerta. If he's alive, he's a prisoner. 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.400 The man shook his head. Sorry, Chico, there's not much 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:21.000 I can do for you or your friend. We need 0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:23.280 to get to Waco. I know there's a hospital there 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:25.800 that must be where you're sending the serious injuries. Right, 0:10:26.040 --> 0:10:28.720 Dallas doesn't have anything left with a fully are the 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.840 officer nodded. These tracks are headed to the Field Hospital 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:33.840 in Oak Lawn, But we've got a couple of deuce 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.240 and a half sloading up at fire based. Jamenez, if 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:38.440 you can get there on your own, all radio ahead 0:10:38.480 --> 0:10:41.560 and ask Major Peron if he's got space. I know Peron. 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:45.040 Manny almost shouted, I went to school with his nephew, Hector. 0:10:45.360 --> 0:10:48.040 He couldn't stop himself from wincing as he said, if 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.040 you'd give him my name, that might help. The other 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:54.480 man's eye cocked up in a really motherfucker look. But 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:58.320 then the soldier asked, and your name is Many Sanchez. 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.240 He nodded. Good, then, Manny, all radio ahead. You and 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:06.200 your friend get to the firebase Rapido Cambrende. Many nodded 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.880 and turned to Reggie. We've got a ride, but it's 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:18.959 going to be a bit of a hike. It was 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.560 less a hike and more of a panicked jog. The 0:11:21.600 --> 0:11:24.120 streets around them were filled with dozens of people carrying 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:27.679 their possessions and bags and rusted old shopping carts. Manny 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.520 had never seen Dallas this crowded. Less than a million 0:11:30.559 --> 0:11:33.240 people still lived in the old Metroplex, but most of 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:35.240 them seemed to be out in the streets to watch 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.680 the world end. Sirens sounded, courtesy of the city's old 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.960 civil defense system, mixed every few seconds with the distorted 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.560 voice of a woman reminding them that all motor vehicle 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:47.840 use was prohibited. Any civilian vehicles on the road will 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:52.400 be assumed hostile and targeted. The road traffic was all military. 0:11:52.679 --> 0:11:54.360 There was less of it than Manny would have hoped 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:56.400 to see. In the space of a few seconds, he 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.440 watched three pairs of cougar assault vehicles race up towards 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.800 the front, carrying squads of armored troopers in their open beds. 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:06.320 He also saw one convoy of five anti tank drones. 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:08.880 Each was the size of a four door sedan, with 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:11.240 two linked chain guns on a turret that scanned the 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:14.880 sky in fast, jerky arcs. There was a troubling amount 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:17.079 of dead space on the road between the two units. 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.679 By the sound of it, the fighting had only grown 0:12:19.720 --> 0:12:22.520 more intense throughout the morning. The crack of small arms 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.000 fire had been nearly drowned out by the all consuming 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:27.480 roar of close support drones in the sky above them. 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.360 The only noises to rise above that din were the 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.200 stippling bangs of mortar fire and the pop pop popping 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:37.520 of cluster bombs fire. Bassiamenez was about two miles back 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:40.280 from the new front. It was mainly a staging area 0:12:40.360 --> 0:12:43.680 for the st f's Autonomous Artillery Division. The a a 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:46.280 D was made up of men and mostly drones from 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.040 all the secular militia groups active in the Dallas area. 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.880 The fire base itself wasn't well fortified. The only physical 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:55.080 defense was a fence topped with razor wire to keep 0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:58.000 civilians out. That wouldn't be much of a barrier for 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.600 a determined assault. Untilicup of hours ago, Yumenez had been 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.640 far enough from the front that an assault wasn't considered possible. 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.680 After an hour of mixed jogging and running, Manny and 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:09.920 Reggie took a left onto park Lane and the fire 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:12.400 base came into view. It had been built in the 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.480 bones of an old apartment complex. Several buildings had been 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:18.520 converted into offices and the rest left as barracks space. 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.360 The apartments were situated across the road from a tall, 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:24.280 very thin, parentheses shaped building that looked out over a 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:28.120 large field dotted with landing pads. The name Top Golf 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:30.880 Driving Range was still visible on the side of the building. 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:35.040 Several hundred militiamen were hard at work throwing up defenses. Still, 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.080 glass sheets had been set up to screen a dozen 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.480 machine gun nests. Further back, soldiers piled sandbags in front 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.800 of two howitzers. Manny and Reggie weren't the only civilians 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.720 trying to gain entrance. Fifty or so people clustered by 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:48.640 a checkpoint in the middle of the road, a hundred 0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.000 yards ahead of the construction efforts. The checkpoint was new, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.280 just a sandbag machine gun emplacement manned by six fighters 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.920 in powered body armor. They were over watched by a 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.920 pair of ancient Abrams tanks because issian on either side 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:03.440 of the road. The soldiers in the middle checked the 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:06.800 documents and let the occasional civilian through. They turned most 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.400 people back. There were a lot of shouts and violent 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:12.400 gestures on the part of the civilians. While Manny watched. 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:14.760 One of the guards raised their rifle up and fired 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.959 it just to the left of a screaming man's face. 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.160 He recoiled in pain and fear, clutched his ears, and 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:23.840 staggered away from the checkpoint. The weight was only about 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.560 ten minutes, but with the flooding artillery at their back, 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.280 each of those minutes felt like an hour. But soon 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:31.240 they stood face to face with one of the armored 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:34.640 militia folks. Reggie went stiff at once, his pupils the 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:37.280 size of dinner plates. He had never seen powered armor 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:41.000 up close before. Many couldn't blame the man for being unnerved. 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.080 The reflective, bug eyed, blistic glass of the helmets and 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.720 humanly broad shoulder armor made the wearers look like Cronenbergie 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:51.840 and guerrilla mantis hybrids. The shortest armored soldier was well 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.520 over seven feet tall and almost as broad as two men. 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.880 Their gender was impossible to discern, but a feminine voice 0:14:57.920 --> 0:15:00.800 leapt from the speakers. State your busin this, she said, 0:15:01.040 --> 0:15:02.720 If you're looking for shelter, you'll have to head to 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.480 North Park Center. We don't have room for you. I'm 0:15:05.520 --> 0:15:08.360 Emmanuel Sanchez, Major Perrone. Should have my friend and I 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.440 on your list. The woman was silent for a little while. 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:13.440 As she called up the list, she clucked her tongue 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:15.560 between her teeth, and the high fidelity mike in her 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:17.360 suit made it sound like she'd done it next to 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:20.880 his ear. Well, hell, there you are. Her helmeted head 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:23.760 bobbed at them. All right, you're in, come through quick. 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:26.480 You stop being my fucking problem. As soon as you're inside. 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.520 They made their way towards the actual front gate of 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.600 the fire base, passing squads of militias struggling with hescoes 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:35.760 and setting up firing positions behind the still glass palisade. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:38.680 Manny and Reggie walked past it all and to the 0:15:38.720 --> 0:15:41.840 firebases front gate. They were let in without any fuss, 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:44.280 which surprised Manny a bit, but he wasn't about to 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.720 question it. On the other side of the gate, they 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:51.000 found themselves adrift, unescorted, and surrounded by pure chaos. There 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.880 were other civilians inside the walls, huddled in small groups 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:57.160 around piles of backpacks. They sat wide eyed and shaking, 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.880 and waited for whatever deliverance the STF could provide. Soldiers 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:03.200 rushed through the clots of humanity in groups of two 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:06.400 or three. Often their arms were filled with machinery or paper, 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.760 or even crates of munitions. Everyone's eyes were wide and 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:13.080 full of fear. For a while, Reggie and Manny milled 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:15.560 around with no real aim, unable to enter any of 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.680 the buildings. Mannie found them an unclaimed place to sit 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:20.640 that looked like it would be easy for mister perun 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.760 to find, and then they just sat there. At one point, 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.920 Reggie offered him a protein bar. Mannie tried to eat it, 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:29.720 but three bites in he accepted that his appetite just 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.800 wasn't there. What do I do if Dallas falls? He 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.800 ran through his finances over and over again, mulling over 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.400 which European vises he could afford, and how long he'd 0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:40.760 be able to survive in each country. I could make 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:43.560 it a year, maybe eighteen months. In Croatia, he'd been 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:46.280 studying German for the last year, though I can learn 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.800 Croatian any here, he tried to convince himself. He also 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.000 tried to ignore what he'd been leaving behind if he 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.080 hopped the next flight from Austin to the e U. 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:56.960 He didn't want to think about Oscar's wife and child, 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.680 how they'd get by without their dad's income. He didn't 0:16:59.680 --> 0:17:01.600 want to think about his own father or the rest 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.040 of his family and how they'd fair if Austin fell. 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.640 You can only afford to take care of you here, Manny. 0:17:08.119 --> 0:17:11.840 It was two hours before Major Perne found them. The 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.960 older man's skin was a deep sunsharred brown that seemed 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.720 at odds with his narrow face and thin wire glasses. 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:20.000 He had the look of a high school history teacher 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.720 who had been transplanted into a war zone. There was 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.439 something drawn and strained in his expression that spoke of 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:28.840 deep exhaustion. His eyes were bloodshot, and his nose was 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.680 swollen slightly red. Manny could remember seeing that same face 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:35.000 a bit younger and wearing a T shirt rather than 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.680 digiKam at a hundred different slumber parties. Mister Perrone was 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.320 Hector's dad. Mister Perrone made them kettle corn and let 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:45.080 them watch violent movies on the family projector Major Perone. 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:49.200 Manny had to remind himself he's Major Perone. The Major 0:17:49.280 --> 0:17:53.159 favored Manny with a sad smile. Madre di dio, s Emmanuel, 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:55.520 It's fucking good to see you. Have you seen your 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:59.080 cousin Alejandro? He was with us last night, Manny said, 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:03.600 before the attack. Back a pained look cross the Major's face. Okay, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:06.280 he nodded and forced to smile back across his lips. 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.240 I hear you boys need a ride, yes, Manny said, 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:11.960 if you could get us back to Waco. I have 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.720 enough connections in the area to get him. Manny nodded 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:18.840 back to the journalist. Into Austin and what is your name, sir, 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:21.760 Major Perrone asked the journalist as he extended his hand. 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.800 Reggie the brit responded, thank you so much for helping us. 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:28.720 I'm afraid there's not much I can do right now. 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:32.000 The situation is still very fluid. We've set a new 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.840 defensive line running from the Lakewood Crater to love Field. 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:37.280 With any luck, the martyrs have spent the bulk of 0:18:37.320 --> 0:18:39.919 their strength and will hold them there. And if not, 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:44.439 Reggie asked, Mr Perrone laughed and scratched his head. Well, 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.000 if the line breaks, then I'd guess our collective booch 0:18:47.080 --> 0:18:50.560 is screwed. We'll begin the evacuation if it gets much worse, 0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:53.040 But right now we're still waiting for convoys of wounded 0:18:53.080 --> 0:18:55.600 to get back through the lines. He gestured out at 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.679 the considerable amount of fenced off open space in the firebase. 0:18:59.200 --> 0:19:01.320 This whole place is about to be a big, open 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:04.760 air hospital. He gave Reggie a severe look. I won't 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:07.600 tell you not to record them, because quite frankly, everyone 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:10.280 here is too busy to police that. But I will 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.080 ask that you showed tact in respect in your documentation, 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.919 of course, said Reggie, with enough sincerity that Manny believed him. 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:20.400 All right. He clapped Manny on the shoulder, and, after 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:23.600 a second's pause, embraced him. Hold on out here for 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:25.399 a while. I'll try to send some food in a 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:28.600 little bit. Manny and Reggie both thanked Major Braun and 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:30.840 he trundled off into the old top golf building to 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.679 do his part in coordinating the defense. So what now, 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:47.240 Reggie asked, We wait, said Manny. Three hours passed. More 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:49.879 and more wounded men streamed into the base, carried on 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:53.159 stretchers and an ambulances, and in several cases stacked like 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:56.520 firewood on flatbed trucks. The wounded were set up on 0:19:56.640 --> 0:19:59.720 cots and piles of blankets in the grass and wherever possible, 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:03.640 in paved sections of the driving ranger's old parking lot. Medics, 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.600 far too few medics hustled from soldier to soldier at 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:10.520 a frantic, manic, unsustainable pace. For a while, there was 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:12.920 nothing to do but follow Reggie around while he interviewed 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:15.480 the wounded men and women who were stable enough to talk. 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.439 They all reported shock at the speed and ferocity of 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:21.360 the attack. Their testimonies drove home the fact that this 0:20:21.400 --> 0:20:24.600 was something new. Tendrils of fear crept up Manny's spine. 0:20:24.880 --> 0:20:26.520 It was all he could do to keep moving with 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:30.760 his journalist Amen. Reggie said, look at that fellow. He 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:32.639