7 Chapter 7: A Great Suggestion

"As long as we are able to join up with the Resistance, we will all be saved."

Serena's words gave each and every one of the prisoners a much-needed uplift, Kayden himself included.

Kayden was relieved that he would not have to sneak or fight through all of the hordes of Skynet's forces that were stationed here. If he was being completely honest with himself, he was not fully confident that his new, poorly understood, and still mostly hidden abilities would be sufficient for him to successfully escape this place.

Besides, he also had to protect Nadiya's group of former prisoners from any danger they might encounter while escaping.

But now, if they chose to follow Serena's suggestion, all they had to do was stay alive until they meet up with the Resistance fighters who were attacking the facility.

"All right we have wasted too much time. All of you heard what she just said, right?" Kayden asked the survivors, and they nodded.

"Okay. According to what Serena said, we have to try and meet up with the Resistance fighters who are attacking this Skynet facility. Based on the sounds of battle, the main entrance of this cave structure should be where the battle is fiercest, and we should most of the Resistance fighters there." Kayden said.

Sighing, he continued, "I really don't want to wade right into such a fierce battlefield, but I don't know another way out of this facility. We have only one weapon — this rifle here — and we have little children with us; therefore, we will have to move stealthily towards the main entrance and we will fight only as a last resort. I will be leading the way since I have the only weapon here."

Every person in Nadiya's group nodded and seemed to agree with Kayden's plan.

Kayden knew he be taking on some risks, but his plan seemed like the best plan for their current situation as nobody in the group knew of another way out of the facility.

'There is no other option. I will have to depend on my abilities.' Kayden thought.

"Wait! I know another way out of this facility. It's even a safer escape route."

Serena, who had not joined Nadiya's group in agreeing to Kayden's plan, raised her hands up to stop Kayden, who was about to lead the way, and said something completely unexpected.

"You know another way out of this facility?" Kayden asked.

"Yes."

"And this escape route is even better than going to the main entrance?"

"And a 'yes' to that too."

"How do know this 'better' escape path? You were also a prisoner like us and we don't know about this better way escape path."

Although Serena had been acting like a harmless airhead all this while, Kayden was not totally convinced that that was her true character. Although he could admit that he was a little smitten with Serena, Kayden was still a bit suspicious of her. He did not believe that a completely harmless woman who have been imprisoned in such a secure prison cell which had obviously been made with special considerations.

Besides, even though she was a Resistance soldier, the safety measures implemented on her cell seemed a little excessive.

Serena did not seem to appreciate Kayden's tone, and the fact that he did not believe her.

So, with a pout, she quickly explained, "Even though I have a low rank, I'm still a member of the Resistance. Most Resistance fighters, especially those who go out in the field like me, are required to have knowledge about the various Skynet bases and facilities that are in their area of operation or that they might encounter."

She waved her hands around and said, "This particular Skynet facility is kind of infamous among the Resistance because of its strong defensive capabilities which made the Resistance judge it to most likely be a very important Skynet facility. And because of another fact. This facility is located in the hollowed-out insides of the famous Cheyenne Mountain, also known as "America's Fortress", which had originally been home to NORAD and a host of other critical military defense agencies."

Serena continued, "After Judgement Day, Skynet, who liked its strong defenses, took control of the mountain and repurposed the Cheyenne Mountain for its own use."

Having received a reasonable explanation from Serena, Kayden raised his hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture in order to placate her anger and said, "Okay. I'm sorry I doubted your knowledge. Can you tell the general path we will to get to the other entrance?"

Serena immediately regained her smile after Kayden apologized.

She then gestured for the group to come closer to her. Kayden and the rest of the group gathered around her, including the kids in the group who although were obviously confused about what the adults were discussing, they were still very curious and fascinated by Kayden and Serena, the two interesting adults who they met for the first time today.

"Like I said before, we currently inside the Cheyenne Mountain. The prison for human captives is located close to the back of the mountain, and that is where we are right now. The exit I mentioned is an alternative exit from the mountain facility that has been present here since the pre-Judgement Day era, way before Skynet acquired this mountain facility. The entrance which opens out on the right side of the mountain was meant to be used as an extra escape route in the case of an emergency where the main entrance is compromised. There is no direct tunnel connection or path from here to the alternative exit. So, in order to get to this alternative exit, we will have to travel along your original path, but we will stop around the center of the complex instead of continuing till the main entrance at the front of the mountain. At the center, we will take one of the paths going to the right side of the mountain in order to get to the secret exit and then escape through it out of here."

Kayden had been listening closely to Serena's explanation. He quickly analyzed the merits of her proposed escape route, and he agreed that the route was safer than his original plan.

Skynet's machines and Terminators should be busy right now dealing with the invading Resistance forces, so most of them should currently be located around the main entrance both outside and inside. The most dangerous part of their escape should when they reach the center of the facility and are closest to the main entrance. This should be the place where they might encounter stray Terminators.

Besides that, the sides of mountain should be the relatively less intense battlefields when compared with the main battlefield around the main entrance.

"All right everybody, we will follow Serena's plan and head to the side entrance. In order to ensure the safety of everyone, we will travel in a formation. I will assign everybody's position. I will take the front position since I am the only one with a weapon. Serena will follow behind me and show me the directions to our destination. Nadiya and the little kids will come after us and stay in the middle of the group where they will be safest. The older ones will follow after with the two men taking the rear positions and watching for any danger coming from the back. The ones at the back should always be attentive and maintain caution in order for them to not miss any danger signs coming from behind."

Kayden then arranged the group in the formation. He had noticed that Serena also wanted to take the lead at the front of the group, so he used the excuse of his being the only person with a weapon to take the front position.

Although it might have been better for Kayden to give his plasma rifle to Serena and allow her direct and lead the group from the front since she was the only one who knew the way to their escape exit and who obvious had more experience using a gun, with her being a soldier and all that, Kayden did not even consider that option for a second.

Just as he had declared to Skynet, he would never allow himself to come under another person's control and leadership.

Besides, there was no way he would give the only dangerous weapon he had to someone whom he did not know very well, someone whom he had only just met today, and also someone whom he still had some suspicions about.

Seeing that everybody had moved according to his instructions to their assigned, Kayden gave a final warning. "Everybody, try not to make any sounds that may attract any unwanted attention and try to move as quietly as you can."

Kayden then turned to Nadiya who was standing with the kids and said, "Nadiya, watch over the kids and make sure they stay in the formation."

Nadiya nodded in agreement. She then said with a maternal smile, "I've always been the person who looked after them when we were still in our survivor group. I will make sure they don't cause any problems."

Nadiya then softly patted the heads of the kids and said, "Follow Granny closely and everything will be fine, okay?" to which kids all nodded their heads.

Seeing that everyone was ready to leave, Kayden led the group to take the tunnel leading towards the center of the facility and the main entrance.

They were on their way to freedom.

*****

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