บท 18: Trekkers Trek
It had been profiled back in 2030 that Auroracrest Peaks had the highest number of breeding Mountain bears. The adjacent mountain served his farming ground, even some wild Cloud ferns and deep-rooted crops heaved the mountainsides.
An hour after they dismantled their belongings and fled, they reached bare trees, and flecks of snow frosted their branches. The frozen soil made a treacherous trek, with slippery slopes and rocks. Being stealthy on their way to the hunting spot was not necessary, bears tend to move slowly and conspicuous. It won't even fear the incoming hunters and would present itself so boldly, neglecting its fear of pain but adhering to its endless hunger.
"I don't know if Jameson had collected samples here," Luke said.
"Don't think so. He preferred the other side, Embercliff. Jameson collected mostly on wild ferns and wild boars." Nica said.
It meant that the habitat for Mountain bears was left untouched. Their trek now on waves and bends of land, sloping and down steep. The soles of their camo suits prove their design against challenging terrain.
He took out his mobile control module, or his death tab from his large knapsack. A portable device that enabled the Evolver to monitor his dispensed virus through the help of the Satlink program. One touch and a real-time map representation of Brigham City appeared. Satlink programs were not yet so sophisticated that death tabs like his could be leveraged as an espionage tool to monitor enemy movement. No. The death tab only showed a flat map and blue dots emerged that represented the virus dispersal location, Fort Cygnet North.
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[Population] 5400 soldiers
[Infected] 450
[Death by Virus] 0
[No. of days infection] 3 days
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'It's infecting slowly. I need to boost infectivity,' Luke thought. 'C'mon, Luke. Think. What's been happening in the environment?'
He mutated the virus to persist presence and infectivity using airborne channels with Aerosol Vector and Airborne Shell persistence. Furthermore, he upgraded the capability of Contact Carrier, to be able to infect hosts through surface transmission. In addition, the silent and covert spores restricted the Virus's capability to mutate undesirable symptoms revealing its existence to the Cure Evolver.
'Arid temperature, less frequent washing of hands, what else?' He thought. "Lunch heat."
He craned his head towards the sky and dark Stratus and Nimbus clouds filled the sky.
"It's going to rain, guys," Luke said.
The trekkers stopped and took a breather, feeling moist air.
"It's the rainy season," Kristo said. Kristo originated in a tropical climate continent, Verdanica, and had been reading signs of rain back home. Rain played a significant importance in farming, as a farm-raised family, they had been anticipating rainy seasons, and strategically planted dry crops in proper timing, harvesting before the onset of rain.
'That's right. He needed his virus to withstand sun heat during lunch and be able to leverage rainwater as a transmission channel.'
"We need to move, if it's going to rain, we need to find shelter," Nica said.
They quickened their steps, and headed to a near rocky formations Eastward, before the deep trenches. Lightning streaks brightened the dark overcast. Thunder came after, cracking echoes the skies down to the land. Then the downpour came, unforgiving rage. Their camo suits were waterproof, except for their limbs and head. The three soldiers dashed, weaving through a sinuous sequence of trees, and Luke followed suit. Getting a fever in the mountains would be detrimental to their mission.
The soldiers had physical endurance training for years, trailing the neophyte behind. The heavy rain blinded the path, and the thin film of frozen water melted with the warmth carried by the rain. His boots splashed mud as he pressed on. The rocky formations beyond became a monolithic silhouette, and the three soldiers melted with the darkness.
His sores once again irked him as he gained a steeper trek. He would call them but halted as a gunshot loomed, a horrifying sound shooting randomly against the forest, probable source was his comrade's location. He froze, assessing possibilities and registering possible survival skills in his thoughts. His steps halted carefully, limping from tree to tree. His face soaking wet, he tugged his crossbow R15 on his side, slippery, but the grip's design comfortable with his fingers.
He prowled from outcroppings to large protruding roots of trees. There was a commotion up ahead, silhouettes of bodies slowly appearing in his range. Three became five. He pressed further on, diverting his direction outwardly, hoping for a better vantage point. The sight of it gave him gooseflesh. He crouched ten meters from the group, and silhouettes materialized into his comrades and two strangers. Nica, Kristo, and Calyx raised their hands from two men pointing rifles at them. They were caught off-guard it seemed.
Luke aimed his crossbow, and his right eye fell to the mounted scope. He could shoot one but it won't stop the other from shooting. His sure kill could harm the others. The two strangers, clad in Stratan Mountain clothes, cloaked with yellow raincoats. Rifles, not military-grade, hunting rifles aimed at his friends.
'They are not enemy soldiers,' He thought.
They were non-combatant Bugmen, probably trekking the mountain for sport. Seemingly, from Brigham City, he assumed.
He overheard Nica negotiate with them, but it only angered the strangers. Their middle-aged faces distorted in utter dispute. Until one screamed at them, suddenly, his eyes turned glowing yellow, stiffened his body like an upright statue, and opened his mouth to the air. His face turned grotesque, inhuman proportions. A sharp scream appeared, not that from a human. Deafening at first, but a secondary voice, almost imperceptible by human ears, running below the hearing decibel range, loomed simultaneously with his scream.
'It's calling others,' Luke thought. He aimed his crossbow at the one still holding them hostage and squeezed the trigger despite the slippery handle. Arrow flew, unsure of hitting the target. Ten meters, he assessed. He practiced the firing range every day with Nica. He must have improved of some sort.
Luckily, the arrow plunged into the Bugman's chest, and fell to the ground without shooting his rifle. Quickly, Nica wrestled the stiffened Bugman to the ground and plunged a hunting knife into its chest. The scream disappeared right after.
Kristo double-tapped them with his handgun. Luke appeared before them and Calyx and Kristo hid their bodies with fallen twigs, leaves, and wet soil.
"Nice shooting, Luke," Nica praised.
"They are not even soldiers, and you are being captured?" Luke said.
"We are distracted. We were looking for you, 'til they surprised us. They mounted a trap here, hiding from trees. Lucky, we have you." Nica responded with utter annoyance.
On the bright side, the Evolver collected blood samples from them, including the Bugs that clasped on their spines.
"We have to get out of here. Find shelter," Nica commanded. "I know they are coming!"
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