Turn 222 of 226

Before we visit the pacific, we head south to have our revenge on the military. We reach them in less than 10 minutes

The 620-foot frames turn south. The turning is the thing the glass crater does not hold them in and the not holding is the thing the 800,000 pounds step off the fused silica onto mineral soil and the stepping is the thing the ground remembers. The mineral soil is sterile but the sterile is not the thing the 800,000 pounds respect. The 800,000 pounds compress the sterile soil into bedrock and the compressing is the thing each 420-foot stride does. The stride is the thing the 620-foot frame's leg produces at 980-times density muscle — the muscle the nuclear pushed past 1,100 but the muscle the 620-foot frame does not have a number for yet. The muscle produces speed. The speed is 340 miles per hour. The 340 is the thing the 800,000 pounds do not feel as effort. The heart rate is 31. The 31 is the thing the 800,000-pound body does not consider running.

The Cascade Range passes beneath the 620-foot frames in four minutes. The Cascades are the thing the 800,000-pound feet step over and the stepping over is the thing the old-growth forest does not survive. The forest is the thing the 420-foot stride clears in two steps and the clearing is the thing the 980-times density sole does to 200-foot Douglas firs. The Douglas firs are not trees to the 620-foot frame. The Douglas firs are the thing the foot compresses into the soil the way the foot compresses grass. The not distinguishing is the thing the animal does. The animal does not distinguish between grass and tree because the animal's foot does not register the difference. The difference is the thing the 980-times density nerve endings do not produce. The nerve endings produce pressure. The pressure is the same.

Lena smells them at nine miles. The smelling is the thing the 620-foot frame's olfactory receptors do at the new density and the new density is the thing the nuclear gave the receptors more range with. The range is twelve miles and the twelve miles is the thing the jet fuel and the cordite and the human sweat fill. The jet fuel is JP-8. The JP-8 is the thing three Black Hawk helicopters idling on a tarmac produce. The tarmac is the thing the 620-foot frame sees at eight miles and the seeing is the thing the 620-foot frame's eyes do at the new density. The eyes resolve individual rotor blades at eight miles. The rotor blades are spinning. The spinning is the thing the 620-foot frame's speed closes at. The closing is 340 miles per hour against zero miles per hour. The closing is the thing the eight miles becomes three miles becomes one mile becomes the thing the tarmac is.

The forward operating base is at the Yakima Training Center. The Yakima Training Center is 60 miles south of the crater and the 60 miles is the thing the 620-foot frames covered in nine minutes and the nine minutes is the thing the base's early warning system did not have. The early warning system is the thing the EMP killed. The EMP is the thing the B83 produced and the B83 is the thing the base launched the B-2 from and the launching is the thing the base did not understand would blind the base. The blinding is the thing the 620-foot frames exploit. The exploiting is not planned. The exploiting is the thing the speed provides. The speed is the thing the 800,000 pounds produce without effort and the without effort is the thing the animal does not question.

The base is small. The base is the thing 400 personnel occupy and the 400 is the thing the 620-foot frames' shadows fall across. The shadows are 620 feet long and the 620 feet is the thing the morning sun produces behind the 800,000-pound bodies and the producing is the thing the tarmac goes dark from. The dark is the thing the personnel look up at. The looking up is the thing the 620-foot frames see. The seeing is the thing the 620-foot frames feel the heartbeats with. The heartbeats are 400 individual signatures and the 400 signatures are the thing the 620-foot frame's hearing resolves at one mile. The resolution is individual. The individual is the thing the 620-foot frame tracks. The tracking is the thing the animal does. The animal tracks heartbeats the way the animal tracked elk. The elk were food. The heartbeats are not food. The heartbeats are the thing the revenge is for.

The revenge is the thing the bunker-busters started. The bunker-busters were the thing the military sent and the sending is the thing the military did not apologize for. The not apologizing is the thing the 620-foot frames remember. The remembering is the thing the warmth in Lena's stomach does not soften. The warmth is the wish. The wish is the thing the revenge does not contradict. The wish is the thing the body wants and the body wants the military to know what the bunker-busters felt like. The bunker-busters felt like warmth and pleasure. The revenge will not feel like warmth and pleasure. The revenge is the thing the 800,000 pounds do to the tarmac the 800,000 pounds step onto. The stepping is the thing the tarmac does not survive. The tarmac cracks under 800,000 pounds and the cracking is the thing the three Black Hawks shake from. The shaking is the thing the rotor blades do not compensate for. The not compensating is the thing the helicopters tip from. The tipping is the thing the 620-foot frame's hand closes on. The hand is 50 feet across. The Black Hawk is 64 feet long. The Black Hawk fits in the hand. The fitting is the thing the 800,000 pounds close. The closing is the thing the airframe does not survive. The airframe is aluminum. The aluminum is the thing the 980-times density fingers compress. The compressing is the thing the rotor blades stop from. The stopping is the thing the jet fuel ignites from. The igniting is the thing the 620-foot frame does not feel as heat. The 980-times density skin does not register JP-8 combustion. The combustion is the thing the warmth in the stomach absorbs. The absorbing is the thing the wish does. The wish absorbs everything. The everything is the thing the revenge is. The revenge is the t