STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R E L E V E N

THIRD PERSON POV

The wind was howling in Fern's ears as she, Hunter, and Omega trekked across the rocky terrain. It was almost pitch-black, and the hazy fog didn't help either. With Hunter leading the way, and Fern in the rear, the three seemingly wandered farther from the ship. At one point, the sargeant dropped to one knee and grazed his fingers over the surface, catching some the moon dust between them.

"What are you doing?" Omega whispered.

"Tracking." Hunter answered, and then continued on. Omega knelt down to pick up the same dirt, as if to mimic Hunter's senses. Fern nudged her along.

"Do you think I can learn to track like you?" Omega pondered.

"Well," Hunter contemplated. "it's an enhanced skill." It wasn't a no. "Wrecker, Tech, and us," he gestured to Fern behind him. "we each have one."

"And Crosshair."

Hunter didn't face her, but Fern had a feeling that made the leader a little uneasy. "I don't think now is the time to bring him up, Half-Pint." Fern warned, stepping down from some rocks.

"You shouldn't be angry at him." Omega insisted. "He can't help it."

Hunter sighed and stopped, looking over his shoulder at the kid. "I'm angry at myself. We don't leave our own behind."

With this new revelation, Omega grasped onto his forearm and when he didn't flinch, Fern's lips wavered into a straight line. "Then, we'll find a way to get him back...somehow." 

She is an optimistic one, I'll give her that. Fern sighed to herself.

Hunter just nodded in agreement, and they continued on.

"So Fern, what's your enhanced skill?"

"Me?" the female clone smirked. "To put it in two words: stealth and agility."

"That's three words." Omega corrected.

"Ooh," Fern stopped herself from saying something Hunter would frown upon, but she didn't back down from giving the kid a glare, who was unsurprisingly unfazed. "You'd never see me coming, that's how silent I can be. It's like I'm walking on air. And my flexibility and agility allow me to reach most places not every adult can't. I'm the perfect spy."

"Are you done boasting?" Hunter sighed, crouching down behind a boulder, clicking his flashlight on, and shining it ahead. "There. See it?" Fern and Omega joined him, looking over his shoulder. It was the capacitor. The sergeant began to move ahead. "Wait here."

Just as he was leaning over the part to retrieve it, the familiar snarling of the dragon grew. Its massive talons gripped the rock in front of him.

"Hunter!" Fern cried.

The dragon pounced on top of the clone and the two of them rolled across the terrain. The creature quickly recovered and snatched up the part before disappearing into a hollow rock-tube.

"It's getting away!" Omega cried, but Fern instantly noticed something far more severe: Hunter's oxygen mask had been knocked off, and he was now clawing his throat and gasping painfully for air.

"Omega, the mask!" she ordered, reaching Hunter as he collapsed to his knees and supporting his wriggling body with her arms. The young girl located and delivered the mask to Fern. The latter fastened it over Hunter's mouth and nose within seconds. However, he lost consciousness, and Fern laid him against a boulder.

"Hunter, wake up!" Omega dropped on his other side. "You need to wake up!"

"Echo, Wrecker, Tech, come in!" Fern spoke into her comm. "We need help. Hunter is down." No answer. She gazed down at the young girl, who was trembling, and then sighed. "Omega, look at me and listen carefully. You need to go retrieve the part or we'll never leave this moon. Do you understand?"