Turn 169 of 226

Keep hunting the National Guard patrols — they're the biggest threat yet. We successfully retrieve our data before they can do anything with it. We destroy it, both physically and electronically, and the notebook to prevent this data from going into our enemies hands. Then find a territory and fortify it

The patrols come in fours. The bodies know this because the bodies have eaten three patrols in two days and every patrol is four men in a Humvee with a mounted light and radios that crackle before the engine does. The crackle is the thing the ears hear at a thousand yards. The yards are the things the 10'7" frames cover in seconds when the dark is thick enough to hide the charge. The hiding is the thing the outskirts give. The outskirts are the things the Guard does not know. The not knowing is the thing the ambush depends on.

The fourth Humvee stops where the road bends past the water treatment plant. The headlights sweep the tree line and find nothing. The nothing is the thing the bodies are not in. The not in is the thing the ditch gives. The ditch is the thing Lena presses her 1,800 pounds into and the mud takes her weight without sound. The without sound is the thing the training built. The training is the thing the 51-0 record gave. The giving is the thing the animal uses. The using is the thing the first man's neck learns. The neck is the thing the hand finds when he steps to take a piss. The pissing is the thing the body does when the body thinks it is safe. The safe is the thing the bodies take from him.

Diane takes the second and third before the fourth can key the radio. The radio is the thing the hand reaches for. The reaching is the thing the 1,800 pounds stops. The stopping is the thing the fist does to the back of the skull. The skull is the thing that gives. The giving is the thing the body does on the asphalt. The asphalt is the thing the blood gets on. The blood is the thing the bodies do not waste. The not wasting is the thing the animal does. The animal is the thing that eats what it kills. The killing is the thing the Guard sent these men to do. The doing is the thing the bodies returned.

The Humvee has a laptop mount. The mount is the thing the screen glows on. The glow is the thing Lena reads by. The reading is the thing the human part does. The human part is the thing the bodies still have. The having is the thing the file path gives. The file path is the thing the desktop shows. The desktop is the thing the scan data is on. The scan data is the thing the physician's laptop sent. The sending is the thing the Guard synced. The syncing is the thing the cloud did. The cloud is the thing the bodies cannot reach.

But the laptop is the thing the local copy is on. The local copy is the thing Lena pulls. The pulling is the thing the hard drive does. The hard drive is the thing the 1,800 pounds crushes. The crushing is the thing the concrete barrier helps with. The barrier is the thing the road has. The having is the thing the flat is. The flat is the thing the platter becomes. The platter is the thing the data lived on. The lived is the thing the past tense is. The past is the thing the shards are. The shards are the things Lena scatters into the drainage culvert. The culvert is the thing the water takes. The water is the thing the pieces go deep in. The deep is the thing the cloud is not. The cloud is the thing the Guard still has.

The notebook is the thing Lena takes from her own body. The body is the thing the pages were pressed against. The pressed is the thing the skin and the blood held. The holding is the thing the foresight gave. The foresight is the thing the human part had. The having is the thing the healing data is in. The healing data is the thing the bodies need to protect. The protecting is the thing the destruction is. The destruction is the thing the hands do. The hands are the things that tear the pages. The pages are the things the teeth shred. The shredding is the thing the water takes. The water is the thing the culvert gives. The giving is the thing the ink dissolves in. The dissolving is the thing the healing data is gone. The gone is the thing both copies are. The both is the thing the Guard's cloud and the notebook. The cloud is the thing the bodies cannot reach. The not reaching is the thing the local destruction does not fix. The not fixing is the thing the risk is. The risk is the thing the bodies accept.

The concrete plant is the thing the three miles lead to. The three miles is the thing the bodies walk before dawn. The dawn is the thing the light does not give yet. The not yet is the thing the dark is. The dark is the thing the plant hides in. The plant is the thing the fence surrounds. The fence is the thing the chain-link makes. The chain-link is the thing the 1,800 pounds pulls apart. The pulling is the thing the hands do. The hands are the things the metal gives to. The giving is the thing the gap is. The gap is the thing the bodies enter through.

The plant is the thing the walls are thick in. The thick is the thing the concrete gives. The concrete is the thing the buildings are made of. The buildings are the things the silos are next to. The silos are the things the gravel surrounds. The gravel is the thing the trucks drove on. The drove is the thing the trucks do not do anymore. The anymore is the thing the plant is closed. The closed is the thing the bodies can use. The use is the thing the walls give. The giving is the thing the thickness is. The thickness is the thing the rifles cannot get through. The not getting through is the thing the fortification is. The fortification is the thing the bodies build with concrete barriers and gravel berms and the chain-link pulled tight across the gates. The gates are the things the 1,800 pounds barricades. The barricading is the thing the silos give cover behind. The cover is the thing the bodies have now. The having is the thing the foundry did not give. The not giving is the thing the foundry lost. The lost is the thing the concrete plant is not. The not is the thing the territory is. The territory is the thing the bodies hold. The holding is the thing the 1,800 pounds does. The doing is the thing the hunt is. The hunt is the thing that is not over. The not over is the thing the Guard is coming for. The coming is the thing the walls are for. The walls are the things the bodies wait behind. The waiting is the thing the animal does. The animal is the thing that owns the den. The den is the thing the concrete plant is.