Walls of Gray

Chapter 10: Cover Me

Josh and Brendon continued up the incline, the other Banditos trailing behind them, the sun shining right over their backs, its heat only tempered by the brisk autumn wind.  They'd been walking almost nonstop for four days -- as soon as Josh had found Tyler's tent completely empty he'd rallied all of the high-ranking Banditos around the campfire, alerting everyone else to the plan once it was set in stone. Leave no stone unturned. Keep an eye out for footprints. Bring anything and everything that could be useful for self-defense. Watch out for the Bishops.

And of course, they'd probably be lost without Jason. The cheetah bounded ahead of them, disappearing above the curve of the incline as it reached the top, rustling a few shrubs as he went.

Brendon sighed, tearing into another strip of beef jerky. "That cat's got more energy than me," he said, and when Josh stared at him with an incredulous look he continued, "What? Cheetahs are one of the big cats!"

The Banditos finally reached the top, fanning out behind their two leaders, eyes peeled for any sign of their missing comrade, many of them trailing ahead to where the ledge ended in a cliff. Josh walked ahead, taking his spot next to Iris, a high-ranking Bandito who could track footprints like no one else. Naturally, he and the others would be lost without her by their side as well. 

"So do you see anything?" Josh asked, placing a hand over his eyes to block the glaring sunlight. 

Iris scoured the area, tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. Several moments passed before she shook her head. 

"Nothing," she replied, pulling her bright yellow scarf up higher. 

Josh cursed under his breath. He let out a long sigh; four whole days of covering who knew how many miles of Trench and there was still no sign of Tyler anywhere. He put his hands to his head, and at this point he was beginning to wonder if his friend had just disappeared into thin air. All things considered it seemed like a very real possibility.

You should've known this would happen, you slimeball, an exasperated voice inside his head said to him. You've had years to prepare for this since the day he walked into camp.

And the worst part of it was that Josh had expected it. He'd known something was amiss the first time Tyler stumbled into camp two years ago, the first time he spoke, the first time he'd grabbed the scrawny boy's wrist and felt a rush of power surging into his veins, a type of power he'd hoped he would never experience again. Josh had witnessed his Bishop's power too many times to count, and there were days when he just wanted to forget it all lest the memories of his time in Dema drag him down. And yet he'd wanted more than anything to protect this stranger, this escapee who'd just casually stumbled into camp and started asking cryptic questions about the Banditos and what they stood for.

So, really, Josh had expected things to go south. He just wasn't expecting it to happen when it did. 

Josh was brought back to reality with a frantic, high-pitched chirp several feet away. Jason stood at the edge of the cliff, his tail swinging from one side to the other in a hurried motion, ears firmly pinned to the back of his head. When ten seconds of silence passed, he began chirping again, this time with a greater sense of urgency. 

"What is it, Jason?" Brendon asked, hurrying to the cheetah's side, Josh following suit. 

At first, he couldn't see just what had gotten Jason so worked up, but then he followed Jason's gaze, looking to the left just enough to see a lone figure, most definitely human, lying prone in the stream that ran through the center of the ravine, right where rocks split the stream in two. 

In that instant, Josh's blood froze. Tyler.

"There he is," he whispered, placing a hand on his lieutenant's shoulder. Brendon nodded, knowing what needed to be done next.