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Chapter 65

Chapter 65

February 3rd, 2158

Chuck began to scan the area around them. As a reflex Josh and Logan began to look around too. Suke on the other hand, was beyond exhausted. At this point all he could do was stand in place and stare at the ground.

"OK," Chuck said, "lets see if we can't remove a few limbs from the bushes. That would be a start, but we can't hide behind a few small twigs alone."

Except for Suke, the group once again began to look for options. Chuck began to walk around the area looking for anything that might help the situation. Logan was about to follow Chuck, when Josh drew his attention. Josh knelt down on the ground and began to dig a hole with his bare hands. The ground was a combination of dirt and sand, and was not too difficult for Josh to dig in without tools.

"Hey, Chuck?" Josh said. "What if we buried ourselves?"

Chuck stopped looking around and looked at Josh. "What do you mean?" Chuck asked from almost twenty meters away.

"Well not our whole bodies, but maybe our legs and lower torsos, then we could hid the rest of us behind the branches." Josh punctuated his statement by digging up another handful of dirt from the ground. He let the dirt slip between his fingers and fall back to the ground.

Chuck bent down to the ground and tested it out for himself. It only took one scoop to solidify that this might work.

"Alright, you three. Find a bush that you want to hid under, and begin to dig out holes for your legs." Chuck paused, as he looked the three over. "Suke may need a little help to finish his hole. Finish your own hole first, and then assist if you can. I'm going to collect as many of the branches as I can."

Logan was momentarily unable to move or think. He understood the words that were just spoken, but somewhere in his head they were catching, rendering him unable to act. It took several seconds of willing himself to move before he could. He was tired, but he had physically trained for several weeks to increase his endurance. He had the realization that Josh and Suke had probably not had the intense physical training. He wondered how they had managed to make it this far. Logan suddenly had a much larger appreciation for Suke and Josh. Without the training, Logan probably would have given up long before.

Logan scanned the area and found a clump of bushes that had a small hollow spot in their center. Dropping to his knees, be began to pull the dirt out from the center of the bushes. It only took a minute, but he had a hole large enough that he could bury his legs if he sat down in it. The dirt was surprisingly easy to move. It's a wonder that any plants could grow in this soil.

After digging a little deeper, Logan was forced to stop when the root system of two different bushes ran together. He would have liked to go a little deeper, but this would have to do.

Staggering to his feet, he left his little hiding spot to find Suke. Suke was digging a hole next to a bush in the open. Logan scanned the area for a moment, and found another group of bushes like the one his hole was in. Placing his hand on Suke's shoulder Logan gently said, "Hey Suke, I found a better place for you to hide. Come with me."

Gently Logan led Suke to the bushes. Logan sat Suke down, just outside the ring of vegetation. Logan entered the ring and began to dig as quickly as he could manage. This hole formed twice as fast as the last one, but was once again stopped by the merging of the two different root systems. No, upon closer look, this time Logan noticed that it wasn't two separate root systems, but one root system. All of the bushes in the ring were actually one organism rather than competing plants living close by. Briefly Logan wondered if all of the bushes in the fairly small group of vegetation around them were actually one bush. Almost as if the trunk of a tree were buried but the tips of the branches and the leaves were exposed.