Everyone moved in as Thorim undid the mask from the figures
head. Four buckles traversed down the front side of the mask which he had to undo
individually before pulling away the leather flap. A lifeless face starred at
them, but it lacked the familiarity of the planets traditional inhabitants. Or
at least it failed to match the description of what they had been lead to
believe the inhabitants looked like.
The figures face carried a resemblance to the planet’s
inhabitants, but it looked mutilated and deformed. It wasn’t necessarily due to
deformity at birth, but rather due to battle. This creature carried battle
scars which would have left most beings Arius knew of incapable of combat. An
incorrectly healed jaw, butchered nose, and plenty of scars added detail to the
face.
“He’s been through a lot,” Brockumus commented.
“Is it a native?” asked Ruekrow. “Or is it the biological
entity that our intel mentioned?”
“I’m going to take a guess,” replied Thorim. “It’s probably
not the original inhabitants of this world. Rather, it’s the thing responsible
for throwing this world into a dystopian age.”
“What do you think they are?” asked Dueson. “Where did they
come from?”
“All I know is what our intel gave us,” Thorim replied. “We
should find our contact. He will be able to give us more answers.”
“We’ll have to move fast,” Jayvolni said. “This place will
be brimming with these things as soon as they discover them dead.”
“Then we head for Gray Tower now,” Thorim said. “Take their
weapons and any ammunition you can carry.”
The group broke off and began to strip the bodies. Arius
grabbed several more clips for his newly obtained rifle and placed them into
his bag. Moving back to one of the bodies down the hall he grabbed a handgun
from its side as well as its leg holster. He had lost all his supplies except
for his bag during the crash, so he found a certain kind of relief once he was
armed again.
They left through the front door and past the cruiser with
only a moment’s glance. Cruiser would provide fast transportation, but it would
also be easier to spot. They would continue on foot as they had been; keeping
to the shadows where they could easily hide.
By noon they were following the forest line across the hills
which swell up from the earth east of the building. The map they had seen earlier
depicted Gray Tower toward the southeastern corner of the island which couldn't be more than a couple miles away. The island was small; the building being at
its highest point had revealed the entirety of it. As soon as these unknown
entities discovered their dead team, there would be hardly a place to hide.
Arius realized the seriousness of the situation, and knew they would have to
find a way off of the island soon.
“Sir,” Grem called, from ahead. He pointed to the building
which lay far behind them.
They looked to the west where the sun now bore straight upon
the house. Shadows would be short at this time of day. A distant hum began to
roar across the distant hill where the building sat as a large aircraft settled
past the house. Arius could see the grass under it dispersing outward as the
gust from the double rotor machine neared the ground. It looked heavily
armored, a rotor disk was to either side of it, and a door slid open upon its
side. A dozen leather clad soldiers hit the ground and hurried to the building.
It would only be a matter of time before the island was overrun by them.
Across the next hill the group found themselves in a shallow
ravine. The building could no longer be seen, but over the next ridge the tip
of a Gray Tower emerged from the distant trees.
“There it is,” someone announced.
“Make haste,” Thorim returned.
They started over the ridge before descending back into the
trees, and only Arius halted at its edge. He peered toward the Gray Tower which
was now visible. Could their contact really be there?
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Dueson said, coming up
from behind him.
Arius glanced toward him before returning, “As do I.”
Thanks for reading this weeks chapter, and be sure to stop by next Saturday for Chapter Nine. Also, check my book, Ground of Oam.
Buy Ground of Oam on Kindle here,
Buy in paperback here.
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