“No. It seems a specific cog malfunctioned and split in two and we can’t repair it. It’s a critical gear in the engine and nothing we have fits to its specifications,” he answered.
“Damn. We’re going to have to continue our journey on foot earlier than we planned then,” Alix answered, and I nodded in agreement.
“We should stay the night and move out in the morning then. Let’s not waste too much time here,” I responded, my eyes beginning to grow heavy. The group was quiet. Jasper murmured his agreement.
I yawned and Alix chuckled. Playfully, I stuck my tongue out at him and he just shook his head in amusement.
“I think we should get ready for bed,” Alix said with a chuckle, and I nodded.
The fire began to burn down and the heat dissipated.
By the light of the moon, Alix helped me set up a small tent. He set his up by mine and I assisted him with his until we finished together. Eventually, I crawled inside mine, he went inside his, and we all settled down for the night. Before I went to sleep, I injected myself with a dose of the suppressant and climbed into my cot, falling asleep not long after.
A loud boom woke me up several hours later.
Blinking sleep away, I tried to figure out if what I heard had been a dream. I twitched each of my fingers and toes, finding myself intact. I looked around me, observing the white walls of my small tent and the lack of light outside. It was still the middle of the night.
Convincing myself that it was probably some nightmare or something, I rolled over, cocooning myself in the soft blankets of my cot. I closed my eyes once more, feeling the heavy tendrils of sleep capture me again.
A distinct male scream sounded somewhere nearby and my ears perked up. My eyes flew open. Instantly, my heart began to pound in my chest and my stomach roiled with anxiety. That was definitely not a dream. Even now, a cold chill gripped me, and a sickening fear began to take over every single one of my senses. What was happening?
“Raven,” a male voice hissed outside my tent.
For a moment, my heart jumped into my throat as I watched a shadow move over the entrance to my tent. A hand pushed the fabric aside and I finally sucked in a breath of relief when Alix stuck his head inside.
“Come on. We have to move,” he whispered.
“What’s going on?” I asked, and he just shushed me. He maneuvered his massive frame into my tent, and I furrowed my brow in annoyance. I had slept in my clothes, so he grabbed my boots and put them on my feet, then pulled my brown leather jacket onto my small frame. I frowned with displeasure.
“I can dress myself,” I muttered, trying to hide my irritation at his overhanded helpfulness.
“Quiet,” he chided, and I shut my mouth.
There was little time to grab any supplies. Outside, a few screams sounded, moving closer to where we were camped. I had barely enough time to grab my bag before Alix gripped my arm and pulled me outside. Within seconds, the two of us were sprinting into the trees.
“Where’s Jasper?” I finally hissed, my voice as loud as I dared.
“This way,” he answered simply, and I didn’t reply, satisfied with his answer for now.
Within thirty seconds or so, we arrived in another clearing where our security team was preparing their weapons. All of them were wearing dark combat gear and were powering up their flamethrowers and laser guns. There was a hushed and palpable tension in the air, and it made me shiver. I looked around in confusion but stayed close to Alix’s side as we approached Jasper, who was directing his team in the center of the clearing.
“Status?” Alix demanded as the two of us rushed to his side.
“Bandits of some kind, maybe uncivilized scum from beyond the wall. They got Rob,” Jasper answered furiously.
It was then I realized that there were only nine of my team there with us in the clearing. One of them, a man named Robert, was missing.
That scream I’d heard before was more than real. It was more than likely that it had been him.
“How did it happen?” I asked. Licking my lips, I shivered anxiously. Jasper met my eyes and shook his head.
“Knife wound,” he replied, and I knew he wasn’t going to give me any more details than that. To be honest, I really didn’t want to know anything more.
“What now?” Alix snarled in anger.
“We prepare for combat, raise our defenses. Here, we brought along extra guns for the two of you. Laser powered, small hand versions of the big ones we got. Point where you want to shoot and pull the trigger. They’re self-sustaining and regenerate their own charges,” Jasper replied, pulling out two small black weapons from holsters on his waist. He held his arms out and passed one to me and another to Alix.
Our security team surrounded us in a loose circle, staring out into the trees. The sky was still dark, making it hard to make out any shapes in the shadows, but I still tried.