Outside of the plane, Keiko joyously looked around, star struck at the various lights emitted by the wildlife of Southern Amity. The rest of the group, save Megumi, gawked at how beautiful the forest was. "So pretty!" Keiko exclaimed, mouth agape. Dre knew, however, that no matter how beautiful this side of the planet looked, it was just as dangerous. No doubt, they were probably already being watched as soon as the plane landed.
And sure enough, Keiko's jovial expression vanish, as she looked around the dense forest as if she were surrounded by spirits. "We're being watched." A barrage of questions exploded from within the group. From "How can you tell?" to "Where are they?" Keiko, still darting her eyes from tree to tree, simply said, "They're coming from all over. So far, I've counted twenty- no, twenty five. It seems like the more I try to count, the more appear."
"Just give me a direction," Michael said as he pulled the bolt back, preparing a bullet.
"I don't think they're hostile. At least not these people."
Enraged, Megumi opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Ichi. "Well... You're the first one who've gone through this part of the simulation to be able to see the Southern Amians so quickly. Never thought that you'd be able to pinpoint them that fast, even for a Spirit Elemental. Phenomenal," he breathed. "Yes, you're being watched by the roaming children of this city. If you look close enough, you may be able to point out their eyes. The majority of the children here are docile, curious little creatures. The only thing that you'd have to worry about with them is being stared at to death. Your biggest concern should have is the teenagers and the adults. They are a bit more... obstinate, to put it blandly. That's who you've got to worry about.
"But I'm getting off track. I've placed the tracker on your arm, Michael. Use it to locate the package, as well as the cache. Remember, I'm depending on you all to look good. Stay focused. Stay alive." Ichi's voice was silenced by a click.
"I guess that means we lost Ichi," Ian said as he unsheathed his katana.
"That reminds me," Dre began, "why did you switch weapons? I mean, I remember your sword being -"
"None of your business, that's why," Ian interrupted.
"Dude," Dre said. "I only asked why you switched your sword. There wasn't any need to rip my head off."
"No? What about the fact that we just got shot out of a plane by Ichi, without any kind of heads up? Or what about the fact that we're out here in this lame ass forest, without much supplies between us, trying to find some sort of document that none of us knows anything about?!"
"Focus!" Michael roared. The group flinched at the boldness of his voice, but he continued. "Have you all forgotten what's going on here? We're on a battlefield. No matter if it's a real battlefield or a simulation, this is not the time for you all to start goofing off, especially considering the fact that we're surrounded." He looked around the bioluminescent leaves giving off various reds, greens, and blues. Green orbs, almost shining to the point of giving off sparks, hung from the thick trees.
Among them, he could barely make out pairs of green and blue small, almond shaped objects staring back at them. "We've got to get moving. With the Amians in the trees, it would probably be a bad idea to go into the trees. Which means I can take this off." As if it were made of plastic, he easily snapped the scope off of the top of the gun. "I'd prefer it better this way, anyway. Now, we're left with a choice: Head straight for the cache, or for the objective."
The tracker materialized on Michael's wrist, covering half of his forearm in a rectangular screen. After studying at it, he said, "The supply cache appears to be pretty close to the primary objective. Here, I'll draw it out." He drew three shapes in the dirt, a circle, a square, and an "X," using the tracker as a source. The group circled around him. "We're here-" he pointed to the circle furthest away from him. "The supply cache is here, though there's no doubt that the other team will be there-" he pointed to the square partly halfway between circle and the "X," and the primary objective is here-" he pointed to the "X" closest to him. "Considering that I've only two magazines of ammo, I'd say our best bet will be to go to the supply cache, though it will be a bit of a detour. This is a group effort though, so we should vote on what we should do. All in favor of going to the cache, raise your hand."
If it meant possibly running into Kamatsu, I'm game. Dre's hand shot up, as well as Megumi's, Rose's, Keiko's, and Kimmy. Ian was the only one who hadn't raised his hand.
"Majority rules. We need to head north. Keiko, I'm counting on you to scan for any life forms, so you'll be in the center of the formation. Megumi and I'll stay out in front since we have firearms, but do not fire until I say so," he said to Megumi. "Dre and Kimmy will stay in the middle and protect Keiko. Rose and Ian will stay in the rear. Alert us if you see anything out of the ordinary."
"That'll be hard to do, considering this whole forest is out of the ordinary," Ian said as the team got into formation and began their long trek east through the thickets of the forest. Michael kept his rifle drawn, but rested his index finger on outer rim of the trigger. Ian's eyes over the illuminated forest. He looked up, hoping to see some resemblance of the sky, but only finding the forest blocking out the sun, looking as a natural growing roof stretching as far as the eye can see, maybe even further than that. "I don't even think these people have ever seen the light of day."
"I wouldn't doubt it," Dre said. "The people here are pretty pale, even paler than Michael." Michael ignored that comment.
"How would you know about that?" Keiko asked, almost sounding amused.
Megumi turned to her with a troubled look, no doubt remembering their trip to Moonlit Town. "We had a slight run-in with some a few months ago. Trust me, you don't want to run into them without a weapon in your hand."
"Keep your eyes front," Michael calmly said just before running head first into a low hanging tree branch. It barely passed over her head; Dre figured that she had a mixture of anger and thankfulness for her height.
Michael gave a sigh. "My extended sight won't be of much use in this thick forest. Keiko, have you found anything yet?"
"No. In fact, I think that the natives are keeping their distance from us. I still haven't found anyone who's trying to attack."
"Yeah, but it doesn't mean that there aren't any who's waiting to," Ian said. "Are we getting any closer to the cache?"
"It looks like it's about a half mile away fro-"
Ian gave a frustrated sigh as he stomped through the forest. "You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned.
Turning her head back to Ian, Keiko said, "It's not too bad, Ian. Think of this as a fun-tastic voyage."
He gave her an irritated stare. "The only fun-tastic voyage that I want to be a part of is in bed. I bet there ain't even anyone that's out here," Ian said, raising his voice.
"Keep your voice down," Michael demanded through his teeth.
"Or what? Damn you and damn this forest! I dare any of these people to come out here and get knocked on their ass! What are ya'll scared for?! Come out! I'm right here!"
"Ian, No!" Keiko cried, but it was too late. Almost as if it was in response, a sharpened tree bark darted from the forest and lodged itself deep within Ian's chest, running through his back. The group stared wide-eyed in disbelief, including Ian, whose body disappeared as he fell to his knees.