Chapter 34: The Last Days of Rockhill Valley
"You’re a jerk!"
The punch caught Alex off guard, and Judy, standing beside him, was confused. It was Mike who threw it.
"Mike... what’s going on?"
Mike, usually quiet and non-confrontational, couldn’t stand watching any longer. He’d always swallowed his feelings, accepting that Maggie had feelings for Alex, but now, seeing Alex oblivious to Maggie’s emotions, he was furious.
"You have no idea..." Mike couldn’t help but grab Alex, wanting to tell him how hard Maggie worked to look good for him, but Maggie immediately intervened.
"Don’t say anything! Let them go..."
Mike furrowed his brow, not wanting to accept Maggie’s decision but had no choice but to comply.
With a heavy heart, Mike turned, saying nothing, and walked away. He felt like there was nothing more to say to his once-close friend Alex.
Both Mike and the others were deeply disappointed in Alex, but Alex, drunk and oblivious, didn’t give it a second thought. He continued sneaking off with Judy, opening the hidden door to the Rockhill Valley shelter and heading to the surface.
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"Wow! Those are stars!"
Judy, seeing the night sky for the first time, was mesmerized by the stars. Alex, eager to impress her, proudly declared,
"Come on... I’ll take you to a spot where you can see the galaxy clearly."
Perhaps because of the alcohol, Alex didn’t care about any potential dangers, forgetting that there might be mechanical drones nearby. Boldly, he took Judy’s hand and led her southward. After some time, they arrived at an abandoned town and climbed onto a rooftop.
"See? From here, you can see the entire galaxy in all its glory."
Alex stretched out his arms in drunken pride, showing off the vast sky to Judy.
Judy smiled sweetly, then, to Alex’s surprise, kissed him passionately. After a long kiss, however, she realized something was off. She looked at Alex closely, only to find that he had fallen asleep mid-kiss.
In this perfect moment, Alex fell asleep—leaving Judy both frustrated and amused.
"Alex..."
She couldn’t wake him, so she resigned herself to sitting by the side, staring at the beautiful galaxy for the first time in her life. Little did she know, something terrifying was about to happen...
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"Buzz—buzz—buzz"
The alarm sounded in Rockhill Valley, signaling that the mechanical mobile city, "The Nest," was approaching.
"Quick, quick! Turn off all the power!"
The people of Rockhill Valley woke in panic, quickly shutting down all electrical systems.
The valley was plunged into darkness, everyone fearful but silent, hoping the "Nest" would just pass by like it had in the past without noticing them.
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On the surface, 500 meters above the shelter, the night sky was slowly being obscured. Three massive mobile cities—"The Nests"—moved steadily toward Rockhill Valley. These cities, with their giant mechanical legs, finally arrived directly above the valley.
The residents, feeling the ground shake, could sense the "Nests" drawing near, and they all prayed that the "Nests" wouldn’t find them.
But this time, they would be disappointed. The "Nests" were headed straight for Rockhill Valley.
Each of the three "Nests" had large numbers on them: 3, 4, and 8, representing Medusa, Hades, and Michael respectively.
The "Nests" settled into position, and the central one, Medusa (Nest #3), slowly opened its mechanical hatch. A massive drill, 60 meters wide, emerged from it with a deafening roar. The ground trembled as the drill began to rotate, sending dust flying everywhere as it started to burrow into the earth.
The residents of Rockhill Valley could only watch in fear as the nightmare began.
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"It's over! It's digging! It found us!"
The huge tremors from the ceiling made everyone in Rockhill Valley realize the worst had finally arrived. The intelligent machines were about to launch their attack.
At this point, there was no time to be scared of being discovered. All the power was quickly turned on, and the whole valley erupted into chaos.
Leo immediately gathered the rebels to gear up, and even Max, usually the maintenance guy, hurried to help the fighters get suited up.
Meanwhile, Commander Rayne, bedridden and near the end of his life, dragged his weakening body off the bed. He stared at the shaking ceiling and muttered,
"It was bound to come... Let my dying body fight for Rockhill Valley until the end..."
At the same time, Joey and the others—once part of Squad 6—hastily put on their gear, overwhelmed by the terrifying atmosphere. They were shaking in fear as they dressed.
Shirley trembled and said to Brenda,
"What should we do, Brenda? I'm so scared... This is worse than the last mission on the surface..."
At that moment, Training Officer Chad appeared before them. Even in the face of such a dire situation, he encouraged them,
"Don’t be afraid, kids. This is not the end. When those killing machines break in, we fight back with everything we’ve got. If we can't win, we’ll take the civilians to the surface and hide. We will survive this!"
Hearing Chad’s words, everyone exchanged looks and gradually stopped being afraid. One by one, they slapped their hands together, rallying each other.
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Since letting go of Alex, Anna had been silent and withdrawn, locking herself in her room. But when she realized that the machines were going to breach Rockhill Valley, she knew she couldn't stay in despair. She quickly gathered herself, armed herself, and prepared to defend her home.
Anna was determined as she walked out of her room, but the first thing she did was rush to the medical room to check on her sick father, Commander Rayne. To her shock, she found him standing, fully suited and armed with a gun.
"Dad! What are you doing?"
Rayne reached out with a trembling hand, gently touching Anna's face as he said,
"Even if I’m about to die... I’ll fight for Rockhill Valley until the very end... My dear daughter... go to the Terra Bunker and survive..."
Rayne's words confused Anna, but before she could think further, he sprayed something in her face. Anna immediately passed out, and Leonardo, though wounded, was there to catch her.
Leonardo, despite his injuries, was still a strong young man. In this critical moment, he had to execute Plan B—taking Anna to the Terra Bunker immediately.
Rayne spoke seriously to Leonardo,
"I'm sorry you were hurt... I never expected this... I’m just a father, wanting to make sure my daughter survives... The fall of Rockhill Valley is inevitable... Take her to the Terra Bunker, please..."
Suddenly, several rebel soldiers from the Terra Bunker arrived to take Anna away, and Leonardo, with a complex expression, stepped forward to ask Rayne,
"Truthfully, you never believed the rebels could stop the machines, did you? That’s why you wanted me to take Anna from the start?"
Rayne smiled softly and replied,
"As the commander, I have to take responsibility for the people of Rockhill Valley... but my daughter is different. She doesn’t have that responsibility. What matters now is that she survives. Take her, now..."
Upon hearing this, Leonardo understood Rayne's desperate decision as a father. He nodded and said,
"Good luck, Rayne."
Then, Leonardo quickly left with Anna.
Rayne stared at the chaos outside, the trembling ceiling above him, his eyes still resolute despite his impending death, and said,
"Bring it on, you machines!"