Glasses woke up and yawned. He sat up while rubbing his eyes and looked around the rocky terrain. The scene without the metal giant looming over felt strangely odd, and he realized he had already gotten used to having it around.

He sighed. The previous night, Helmet had dropped out of the mech, and it promptly fled the scene before the older man could explain. Even after he did, it was already evident to the others Angela had decided to part ways. They went to sleep shortly after without exchanging many more words.

“Looks like you’re up, huh?” Helmet said as he walked around from the side of the jeep; he had awoken hours earlier and was inspecting for potential damage before they headed out; it was the typical routine for the older man.

“Ya,” Glasses lazily replied as he stretched his arms. He quickly jumped up and pulled a portable gas stove and frying pan from the jeep while Helmet finished. They had stocked up on Spam in the last village, and the boy quickly—gas was scarce—fried it for breakfast.

Bandana and Slacks were up as soon as the smells wafted through the air. They all gathered around and devoured the meal in silence. Minutes later, the still-warm cooking utensils were packed, and the group gathered in the jeep.

Helmet slowly pressed the gas, and they set out down the rocky mountain road.

“If I may, I hope she’s okay,” Bandana said.

“She’s fine,” Slacks said with a roll of his eyes, “Good rid….” He stopped mid-sentence with a heavy sigh and looked out the window, crossing his arms.

“We both have a long journey through these mountains; I suspect our paths may cross,” Helmet added.

“You really think so?” Glasses asked in an unintended higher pitch.

“Chances are high at the least; we are going roughly the same direction after all.” Helmet’s tone did not convince the young man; it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as the others. Nevertheless, the words opened the space for casual banter while the jeep continued driving down the road.

Hours passed, and the sun began its retreat to the horizon as noon slipped by without a meal. Eventually, the cliff side road gave way to a tunnel. Helmet flicked the lights on and stopped talking as he focused on the road. The others readied their guns in case something attacked.

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The road descended, and the occasional jerk indicated Helmet was tapping the brake every so often. As they descended deeper into the ocean of darkness, each man tensed up.

They didn’t release the tension until the darkness gave way. Soon, a small light became visible, and the road leveled out. All let out a sigh of relief as they emerged from the tunnel.

“That was the worst one yet,” Glasses said.

“No, it wasn’t. It was just long; we didn’t get attacked.” Slacks refuted.

“Anyplace like that can be bad; now that we are out, I’m glad.”

The road dipped down again, and Glasses frowned. In the daylight, he could see plainly what lay at the bottom of the road—a village they would have to cut through. They had descended far enough that plant life returned in full force and overran the outskirts.

Alone, it wasn’t an issue, but the place had been terraformed. The center of the town was demolished and pushed aside like a bulldozer had come through, and in its place, a large Worm base, or maybe a factory, was built. From the building, the ground was torn up in a long strip—where treads had plowed—and extended into the rocky mountain face, carving it into a ramp and path.

The Worms were building a road through the mountains. Glasses, and all the group, had seen it before. A road gave Worms and their pets an easier time moving. A swarm of transports, loaded to the brim with troops, was possible. He felt a stinging in his chest at the thought of what another highway for their war machine would mean.

Screeching from the tires marked the jeep’s sudden stop. The others held on to avoid being thrown forward, but didn’t complain. They also trained their eyes on the construction site.

Helmet quickly pulled their vehicle to the side, and the group was out and crawling through the bushes in a flash.

“I count dozens of them, and the road cuts right through the town,” Slacks reported as he spied the scene through his scope.

“Looks like that base is for fuel if I had to guess,” Helmet added. “Probably a stop on a longer network. It might be good if we can do something.”

“You’re not thinking?”

“We can sneak in and set some charges. In the right spot, it will blow this place to bits, and we can drive through on our way.”

“I like that idea!” Glasses added.

Slacks shook his head.

“It’s dangerous… but I don’t see a better way through. At least let me try to come up with some plan before we charge in.”

“Fair enough,” Helmet replied.

The group rolled out a piece of paper and set rocks on the corners. They did their best to draw a crude map of the town from the high point on the hill. From there, they marked the spots for attacking and where to fall back if things got out of hand.

Slacks rubbed his bare head as he thought about how best to get through. He eventually told the others to relax for a while as he finished mapping out the plan.