To Lands Unknown

Chapter 5: Barbed Wire

(Alex's Pov)

      Jake was already packed to leave, it was only five A.M. He hadn't slept a single wink, but I couldn't blame him, not after what he had seen.
  "When we get on the road, I'll drive.." I wanted him to get a little sleep at least. "Alright, thanks." Jake looked to me, a tired, forced smile on his face, I could see the anxiety in his eyes. "No problem, where partners aren't we?" I asked, mustering up my most cheerful voice and brightest smile. My optimism got to him and he laughed tiredly as he nodded, pulling me into a hug.
      Being on the road for so long, without anyone but ourselves to depend on, we had become like brothers.
     Jake pulled from the hug and smiled softly, "Lets go." Confidence in his voice. I couldn't help but smile at the hopefulness I felt. I nodded eagerly.
    We carried our bags down the stairs almost silently, soon exiting the quiet condo. I felt relief as a cool breeze hit my face. The sky was a hue of dark blue, almost black.
   We got to the car and shoved our things into the back with unsaid urgency, uncaringly putting them down before getting into our assigned seats.
     Taking the driver's seat, the door slamming rather crisply, I looked over to Jake, who was already curled up in the passenger's seat with our only blanket.
       Despite being the more mature of the two of us, he almost looked as though he were a child, after a long day of shopping and doing arronds with mom and dad, passed out and leant towards the window, homeward bound. By the time we were out of the drive way, I was sure he was asleep.
       As the inside of the vehicle was almost completely silent, I listened intently to the the soft crumbling of gravel beneath the tires. Eventually, we drove onto an asphalt road, re-entering the small town, the sky already an odd hue of light blue, the sun still hadn't risen. It wasn't long until we arrived at the small, narrow path we had taken when entering the town. My eyes narrowed, "What..?" I asked under my breath, looking to the path from the road. There were several rows of fences, barbed wire generously coiled along the tops of them, as far as I could see the trail go down. Undoubtedly going through the woods quite a ways, "..What the hell..?" I asked, still holding down my volume, careful not to wake Jake.
      I hissed softly, not liking this at all, and quickly headed down to the highway. Despite, what I had been informed by the cashier lady at the Shell store. Anxiety rising as I now traveled down the highway. An orange diamond shaped sign, the famous phrase printed across it, road block ahead.
     I couldn't believe it, not until I saw the huge blockade, expertly placed between the steep hillsides at either side of the road. Coming to a gentle stop, what I saw shocked me. It wasn't some flimsy white fences and traffic cones. No, it was a metal wall, reinforced, a flood light placed at the top, and even more barbed wire along the top, like the heavy fringe of frosting along the edge of a cake. Though I could hardly say it was as pleasing. Standing on the platform behind the wall, was a fully armed Marine, in combat gear, wielding a heavy duty gun. Chills of dread ran down my spine.
   I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked to Jake and gently rubbed his shoulder, waking him from his peaceful slumber, "Hey.. stay here okay? I'm going to see if there's a way out of here.." I informed him in a calm tone. He blinked a bit, still groggy, as I stepped out of the car.
    I looked up at the figure, staring right back down at me, "Hey, why's the road blocked?" I asked the Marine in a firm tone, he was a ways up, I wanted him to hear me. "The area behind you needs to be contained until further notice." I didn't understand. "Why? Can we get through?"
     He shook his head, holding a grimness in his eyes that I didn't like, "No. No-one can go in or out while under quarantine. Go home." He ordered firmly. "What's going on?"
     "That's classified information. Go home." His tone much more threatening. I grimaced as I reluctantly stepped back, and slipped back into the driver's seat. Shutting the door. My companion looked to me with a worried but soft gaze. "Let's try the route we used to get here.." He suggested to me quietly. "I already have. It's blocked. We're not getting out of here any time soon.." I said to him grimly. He looked at me with great shock and concern. "What the fuck is going on..?!" He asked me, "If only I knew." I spat out almost immediately after. Pissed off. I did not like being trapped like this, without a single shred of information as to why.
     Jake looked downwards, before looking back up to me, "We'll head back to Hedgepath's motel.." he said with reluctancy. As much as he dreaded the place after what had happened, he knew we had to save our money, and we both silently preferred to be in the middle of nowhere then cooped up in the town. Atleast, the acres of land felt like nowhere. Assured by Jake's judgement, I quietly nodded. We had no choice but to go back.
   
  (H'Chak's Pov)

    We had all made landing in the dusty hills, many miles away from our destination, as we could not afford our pods to be spotted by the humans as of the moment. Stepping out from my pod, I was taking my first step upon the colonised planet. The soil was soft, cold and fine, slipping into the sole of my sandal. It was like the sand of a desert, but softer.
   I looked over to Luarke, who was knelt down, watching a handful of the fine substance slip between her fingers like water, forming small red clouds of dust as it returned to the earth.
   We were torn from our thoughts when Ma-kiri'nakdon let out a roar, "H'Chak-A'tuill! Luarke'Dekna!" Our heads snapped to the side, our gaze locking on him, completely alert. "Our hunt begins now!"
   The very words made us giddy, and, like the call of a Briar Wolf, ushering it's pack to close in on it's unfortunate prey, excitement coursed through my veins as though it was adrenaline. I was more than ready to face the Kiande Amehda, after long years of training. I was ready to become the Blooded warrior I felt myself destined to be.