Thirty minutes after emerging into the light of day, my heart is impossibly heavy. And it’s Olin’s fault. Of all people, he should understand my need to keep a safe emotional distance until we’ve discovered a means to combat Toltec. Instead, he’s accusing me of being inhuman.
Our path through the forest steepens, and I join Yetic at the back of the group. He’s still basking in the thrill of the moment. There’s no reason for me to darken his mood as well, so I bottle up my frustration. Gronk and Chechen lead us onto a wild game trail winding upward at a gentle pace.
I distract myself with the task of identifying plants. Eventually the distraction becomes remedy, and I shake off the effect of Olin’s words. I love him. Sometimes he doesn’t know how to love himself—especially when he gets together with Neca. Give the two of them thirty minutes together and they’ll conjure up a dozen paranoid conspiracies rather than accept the facts at face value.
I sigh a little too loudly.
“Don’t let them get to you,” Yetic responds to my audible sulking.
“Who?”
“We don’t have to talk about it,” Yetic shrugs. “A matter of fact, I’d prefer we don’t.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Fine. I’m just saying I think you’re brother’s been listening to Neca too much lately. But don’t let ‘em get to you. They don’t know what it takes, not like we do.”
I nod and we continue on in silence for several more minutes. Yetic understands. He’s a warrior, not a romantic like Neca or an idealist like my brother. When the time comes to make the difficult decisions, I can rely on Yetic to make the right ones. While Toltec is in my head, Yetic’s the only one I can trust.
“Gather up,” Gronk gives the order from over the next rise.
Yetic and I rush to catch up. As we top the rise, we spot the first assigned stop, a mining camp wedged between two of the three highest peaks.
After we join the group, Gronk continues, “On the surface everything looks good. Chechen and I’ll check in to make sure no equipment has gone missing and see if the foreman’s got any news on suspicious movement. These guys have a good view of the surrounding area, and often times they’ll spot an enemy scout or recon team before we do.”
Chechen takes over, “While we’re doing that, we want you guys to each take a turn navigating the hover sled down the back side of this mountain.” He points west. “Our second stop is a logging camp in the next valley over. This will give you a first-hand taste of navigating the forest on your own.”
I cover the grin on my face with my hand and then pretend to itch my eye.
Gronk seems to recognize his partner’s false assumption that we’ve never set foot in the forest and tries to cover it up. “Just follow the trail. We’ll catch up with you within the hour. If we run into trouble, you’ll know it when the crate activates and launches the probes inside.”
Gronk smiles his toothy smile. “If you guys run into trouble, hit this button,” he indicates a red panic button on the top of the iron-foam crate. “Chechen and I will establish a direct link with the probes in order to assess the situation.”
“Even from that distance?” Cera points at the mining camp.
Gronk chuckles. “Sure. We’ve linked from over 20 kilometers before. Certain probes start to feel like pets after a while. Chechen and I usually request a different four—” Chechen elbows his partner. “Alright, alright. Enough yakking. You guys can handle the sled?”
Instantly the sled lifts from the ground and starts to glide smoothly along the trail. I can’t be sure, but I think Neca got to it first.
Gronk laughs as Chechen proceeds down the fork of the trail leading to the mining camp. “Right then, have a time of it,” Gronk calls over his shoulder as he jogs to catch up with his more businesslike partner.
Watching them go, I wonder which one of them I like better. At first I had felt myself drawn to the more charismatic Gronk. For a reason I can’t explain, I now feel myself leaning toward Chechen. Maybe his personality makes him seem more noble or wise. Maybe I can’t stomach the idea that even after one hundred years some boys still haven’t grown up.
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