‘Soldier!’ called out the second guard. ‘You are nearing the perimeter. Return immediately!’ But his calls had seemingly failed as he called out a final time. ‘You fool! The mines!’
Suddenly the air was filled with gunfire from the second guard and then a scream from the other as an explosion erupted high into the air, a brilliant flash like daylight awoke on the other side of the trees. Jaden fell hard against the ground, knocked over by the blast, and then in panic jumped to his feet and sprinted to the nearest large tree he could find. He scrambled up its branches before climbing to the next tree, putting a little more space between him and where the soldiers would be rushing to. Soon he was high enough to see over the walls of the fort. He had to breathe as deeply as he could to calm the adrenaline shooting around his veins, doing his best to conceal himself against the tree’s trunk.
On the ground, the smoke cleared enough to reveal the soldiers swarming the area that he had expected. A man in black uniform and hair just as dark that rested over his cape quickly strode out. Jaden could barely see what was happening, but he could hear their voices clearly in the crisp night air.
‘Who’s responsible for this?’ demanded the man in black uniform in Jaden’s language.
‘AG193, Guarding Unit W1, sir,’ replied the guard nervously.
‘Where is he?’
‘Dead. He fell onto a mine, sir.’
The man in black uniform looked in all directions around him. ‘I heard gunshots, whose were they?’
‘Mine, sir. It was the only way I could try to stop him,’ replied the guard. ‘Baniteine drug must have failed, sir. He showed several symptoms, I had no choice but to fire.’
‘How was the mine tripped?’
‘I had misjudged the distance, sir. AG193 landed on it directly.’
The man in black uniform was silent, seemingly unimpressed by what had happened. ‘Baniteine takes time to weaken, does it not? Did he not show signs beforehand?’
‘No, sir, he had kept it well hidden until now, sir.’
The man in black uniform eyed the guard suspiciously, standing closely so that their faces almost met. But the guard stood unflinching and the other man soon backed away.
‘What caused him to walk so close to the mine?’ he asked.
‘I do not know, sir. He mentioned hearing noises earlier, nothing more.’
The man in black uniform rushed forward and took the gun from the guard. For a moment the guard stepped back, readying himself for execution, but the gun was never aimed at him. Seven bullets were fired into the ferns where Jaden had been hiding. Having hit nothing, the man in black uniform shouted in a language Jaden could not understand, and the soldiers immediately rushed into the ferns, cutting their way through and pointing their lights into the trees.
Jaden’s exit was blocked. They were looking for him. He had to get away.
Frantically he searched for a means of escape. He could hide in the tree for only so long. The soldiers were getting closer but were still at least twenty yards away. There was no other choice. Jaden began climbing through the branches to get to the next tree, moving closer to the fort. No longer did he feel the need or desire for revenge, but there was no other way. He had to get inside the fort. It was his only chance for survival.
As he climbed into the final tree, he glanced over what was behind the walls and after deeming it safe, lowered himself onto the metal railing and then ducked next to one of the lookout towers. Horrified by his mistake, he quickly looked up at the tower, expecting to have been seen, but was put at ease as it appeared to be one of the many that were unoccupied.
He was safe, for now.
Jaden crept down one of the ramps and then hid behind the closest building, remaining low under the black, dusty windows, and slid under the metal clamps of the walls.
He was inside.
He remained perfectly still in the shadow of the building, waiting for the shouts from outside of the walls to die down, and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He had made it inside. He hadn’t even thought to climb one of the trees. This worried him, as he usually always came up with the better solutions to problems. The stress seemed to be having more of an effect on him than he had first thought, and now decided it was best he became extra careful.
At least now he could still get back to the other survivors if he kept his wits about him.
He breathed deeply again, doing his best to remain strong. These were the men that had killed his family—had ruined his life. They were the few that deserved to die on this planet. He had to go on. He couldn’t give up. He had to fight them. But to fight them, he needed weapons.
With a final deep breath, he got up on one knee and made his way east, away from the entrance where he had watched the guards. He passed several more formations of buildings, each seemingly deserted. Many may have been used for sleeping quarters, as all lights were off, but he would not dare look inside through the windows for fear of being caught. Those with lights on showed nothing of relevance except where soldiers appeared to be putting weapons together, but these would be of no use to him. He would only return to these parts if he could find no other weaponry and if the lights were off.