External (Book 1&2)

Book 2|Chapter 5

|Tracking|

It took two hours to reach the fire. It should've taken a lot shorter, but other than the general direction of east, we really didn't have a clue where we were going. But as we step over the edge of the campsite, disappointment flutters through me.

It is completely empty of people.

All that confirms people were here before is a small dying fire. I bite the inside of my cheek as I slide down a near by tree, placing my head in my hands in frustration.

How do you find someone in a world that stretches endlessly?

The vast space that the Earth holds is overwhelming and makes me wish for the facility once again. You could never lose someone there. I feel a presence sitting next to me, but I don't lift my head.

"We'll find them." It's William speaking, comforting me.

"I know." I whisper back in my knees, but he hears me. In truth, I don't know. But I know I don't want to talk about it. Saying I know is the quickest way to shut down the conversation. I learned that over the years, compliance is key when it comes to getting what you want.

"Hey!" At the sound of Kevin's sudden yell I lift my head. Kevin stands behind a tree on the other side of the campsite, only his back is visible. I raise my body, walking over to his frozen position.

"What is it?" I ask as I stand on the other side of the tree. Kevin stays there for a few moments before leaning back slightly to look me in the eye.

"It's ours." His words are lost to me, the meaning of them unclear. I tilt my head sideways slightly and watch as his gaze shifts once again to behind the tree. I walk around the tree at that and look down to where he is looking.

On the forest floor is a bag, a facility bag.

"Why would they leave it here?" I question instantly. I can feel the presence of the other two men gather behind me to see what the commotion is about.

"They wouldn't." Caleb says with wide eyes as he moves in front of me to open the bag.

"They might be close then. We found their trail again." I say with excitement, but it seems that the other guys don't share my same feeling. "This is good. Why do you guys look like that?"

The three men look at each other like they are having some sort of silent conversation with their eyes. My eyebrows furrow as I try to think of what I am missing. I look back at the dying fire and look down at the exposed dirt around it due to the melted snow. It is then that I see what it is I was missing. Long drag marks lead away from the camp. At the spot on the forest wall that the tracks lead to, disturbed branches with snapped twigs reveal the brawl that must have occurred.

"You think they were taken?" I look at William for conformation, not wanting to believe it. He simply shrugs making me all the more anxious. "How would that even happen? Marcus and Cayden were there."

"I think the better question is who would take them?" William responds. I look back at the drag marks for a second time, trying to make sure that I hadn't just imagined it all. A large part of me wishes I had, but still the marks remain unchanged as if they are cemented into the ground.

"Okay, then we will follow the tracks." I say getting up. It's our only choice. What else could we possibly do? I walk over to the disturbance and follow the clear path that was previously created. It's not too hard at first. I could easily see the flattened grass or occasional snapped branches. I even somehow saw a few footsteps along the way. However, very quickly the obvious trail diverged and I am not able to tell which way to go next. Where I am now, I can't tell which way to go. I don't see any sort of disturbance anywhere.

"Do you guys see anything?" The three men scour the grounds, trying to find some clue without moving around too much. The worst thing we can do is destroy something by stomping all over it.

"This is stupid. We aren't trackers." Kevin yells out, getting frustrated. I ignore his outburst as I think back to the facility. One of the movies we had was a reoccurring nature film. My father used to take me often because he was always infatuated with nature, especially animals. I remember on one of the mini films they spoke up tracking animals. I can barely remember it, but the tips from that helps me today. I go over the different clues to look for. Bruised grass, broken twigs, prints, and then nothing. I can't think of anything else I could be missing. I sigh out and continue to stare down in front of us. I need to find something, anything, that at least puts me in the general direction of where to go next.

The thing about the forest is everything looks the same. You can walk in circles for hours and not even realize. So it is extremely easy for things to fade together. For your eyes to glance right over a clue without you even knowing. That is what is happening right now, but with the awful combination of exhaustion. My eyes blur as I look over the scene and my mind continues to wander even without my consent.

I close my eyes for a minute, bringing myself back to here and now. When I open them again, everything is much clearer. That's when I am able to see it. A small imprint in the grass reminiscent of a footprint. It's so minute it's no wonder how I missed it. But the important thing is we are now back on track.

"I see it." I say with a grin stretching onto my face. I wave for the men to follow me as I continue to follow the trail. That is, until we come across the end.

The end of the trail led to a small clearing with three men sitting around a small fire. The fire is so small, almost no smoke rises through the trees. They are being as inconspicuous as possible, hiding themselves.

I lower myself into the overgrown grass and peer through the openings. The trail had led here, but where are our friends? I look over at my three companions to see William already looking over at me. I mouth the words 'do you see them?' at him, wondering if he sees something I don't. He just shakes his head in response.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I move my attention back to the three mystery men. It's strange to me how there is only three. You would think the rest of our group could take them on. Especially since Marcus is trained for that and Cayden knows his way around this area. Also, it does help that we have guns. So, how?

As though on cue another man comes out of the tree line and following him is four people with blindfolds on. They walk in a straight line, rope holding them together. After them, another man. This makes more since. I can believe that it was five men that took them on.

They get placed next to a tree, close enough to us that I can hear their conjoined heavy breathing. I almost want to get up right here and now, guns blazing, but I know that doing that would put us all in danger. A danger we cannot afford.

At the sight of our friends we all visibly tense. My mind races, thinking about our next move. We have two advantages against these men. One, the element of surprise and two, guns. But do they have guns as well? The thought hadn't crossed my mind since most people now don't have guns, but then again that didn't stop Konrad.

"What do we do?" I whisper so quietly I can barely even hear myself.

"Wait for an opportunity." William whispers back, somehow hearing me. I turn back to the scene at hand, already feeling cramps form in my legs from my lowered position. But this is where I'll stay, until an opportunity to save our friends arises.