Chapter 4

I run towards the mountain. I can feel the wind in my hair as I pass Mayday, and I can hear him shout, "BRUH" from behind me. I grin as I reach the base of the mountain and look up. I can barely see the top. 

I wonder if there's even any stuff to look for here. My grandparents told me that Antarctica used to be a cold desert, uninhabitable for humans. There isn't a high possibility that there could be anything here.

Mayday catches up to me and stands next to me, breathing heavily from the run. 

"Sorry, did I run too fast for you?" I ask with a smirk. Mayday rolls his eyes. "In your dreams." He then looks up at the mountain, his eyes widening slightly. "Damn that's a big one."

"That's what she said," I reply, chuckling slightly.

"Bruh."

"What? You asked for it."

"Whatever. Just...see if you can find anything around here."

We split up, Mayday walking in one direction while I walk in the other. My eyes are more used to the darkness, it's almost comforting without the bright lights. I'm quite used to this level of darkness since Mayday and I usually scavenge during night time.

"First thing you needa know while you're out here, is when there's stuff buried in the ground. You see that patch of uneven mud? Go dig there for a bit, there's gotta be something there."

I find a few coins, their shiny silver dulled from probably years of being buried in the mud. Mayday crosses his arms. "Good."

Out here it's a layer of rock, then dirt, and then probably more rock. Patches of uneven dirt would be hard to spot under the pebbles covering it. Oh look, there's one right there, I should-

I hear an explosion in the distance. 

My body tenses up, a sharp inhale through my nose breaks the silence of the night.

A part of the ray shield opens. Soldiers run out, flashlights on both sides of their helmets, heading towards the sound of the explosion, I stand there, frozen as they run in front of me, off towards more mountains in the distance. 

I feel someone's hand grip my wrist and I instinctively shove my elbow backwards. Instead of hitting that plastoid armor that the soldiers wear, it hits a soft fabric hoodie and the person who's wearing it, aka Mayday. 

"Let's go you f*****g idiot!" Mayday hisses as he grabs my wrist and drags me behind a large rock.

I'm breathing heavily as I rest my back against the rock. Mayday rubs the area where I elbowed him, wincing slightly.

"Sorry," I say quietly. Mayday rolls his eyes. "Didn't know you were that sensitive to touch. Should I do it again?"

"I swear if you f*****g touch me one more time I will f*****g carve your eyeballs out with a kitchen spoon and then throw you feet first into a meat grinder."

"Yea right."

I turn around and look out from the rock, the last of the soldiers are moving out from the shield, and it closes up.

"Did you find anything?"  I ask Mayday. He shakes his head. "Explosion. Don't know what triggered it. There shouldn't be explosives here. This place wasn't even populated before we came."

"Let's just wait until the guards head back. I think I found something in the ground just now, before you triggered my killer instinct."

We hide behind that large rock for a while before I hear the sound of people running back into the ray shield and the sound of plastoid plates knocking against one another. I look out from behind the rock and see soldiers running into the ray shield, and I wait for the last of them to enter and the shield to close up before standing up and leading Mayday to the place where I assume there's something.

It's kinda far away from the shield, and my walking turns into a slow jog, with Mayday reluctantly following my pace, brisk walking. 

We reach the place where I saw that patch of uneven rock and dirt, and Mayday nods. I move the pebbles on the ground aside, revealing the dirt underneath. As I'm about to put my hands into the dirt to see what I found, Mayday stops me with a hand on my shoulder. I flinch and look up at him. "What?"

"Wait."

He digs around the object in the ground and then carefully takes it out from the bottom. "It's an explosive. Triggered by pressure."

"How'd you know-" I ask, and then Mayday cuts me off before I can finish my sentence.

"My bros told me, they said they hoped I'd run into some and trigger one by accident. Mom taught me how to recognize one in the ground, she was scared I would run into some back home."

Mayday carefully sets the explosive on the ground and backs away slightly, now standing next to me.

"These things always have this smell, you'll recognize it after a while."

"I don't smell anything," I say.

"You'll be able to eventually. Just make sure to tell me if you run into any more stuff in the ground. Don't want you blowing up or anything, I heard that's a painful way to die." Then he walks off in another direction.

I nod and then look at the explosive on the ground. It's almost completely camouflaged in the ground, colored grey, just like the pebbles on the surface it's on. The only thing giving away is its glint in the moonlight.

Don't step on it.

Wait, why the f**k are there explosives buried in the ground out here? Are they for the animals?

I remember hearing an explosion just now, was that from another explosive? There could be countless explosives buried in the ground, just waiting to be triggered. The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Hopefully Mayday can recognize them well, because I definitely can't.

I'm still staring at the explosive, lost in my thoughts. A shadow stands over the explosive, blocking the moonlight from shining down on it.

"Okay okay Mayday, I'm coming," I say without looking up at him, sheathing my knife and holstering my blaster before I stand up.

I step cautiously over the explosive, still not looking up, more focused on the ground for any more explosives possibly buried there.

I'm met with what feels like a slap to the side of my face and knives digging into my skin. My left eye goes dark. My right eye blinking though the blood. The shock lasts for only a moment before the pain starts to set in. I stumble backwards, falling to the ground, right next to the explosive, the jagged pebbles on the ground digging into my hands.

I glance up at my attacker, my right eye trying to blink away tears so that I can see clearly. All I can make out is a black figure on all fours, it's eyes glowing yellow in the darkness. I scramble backwards, my hand moving to the left side of my face as I move. Warm, red liquid is left on my palm as I try to get to my feet, not daring to look back. 

I trip. Fall. Try to get up again, failing. My stomach clenches, my throat closes up, my legs trying to get a good grip on the ground so that I can run. The side of my face stings. A lot. Cool air blowing against it. Making it worse.

My right hand, with a few rocks embedded in it, reaches desperately for the knife in the sheath clipped to my belt, but the familiar hilt isn't there. Or at least, that's what I think for now. I swear I sheathed it in there just now.

I manage to get to my feet and run. Best to get cover before I can shoot the damn thing that just slashed me across the face.

I reach the rock where Mayday and I hid just now, and I hide behind it, waiting for the black figure to enter my line of sight, breathing heavily. There's an unsettling feeling in my gut as all I see is the mountains ahead. No sign of the yellow glowing eyes. I find a foothold on the rock and use it to climb on top of the rock. I use my hand to wipe away the blood and tears from my good eye, pulling out my blaster pistol and scanning the area. 

My face still stings. Crimson blood drips onto my black hoodie. I don't dare to touch my face in danger of causing whatever wounds are there to be worse. My breaths come in short, sharp exhales, almost hyperventilating. The anticipation is worse than the actual thing.

I hear a knife getting thrown, and a louder growl from somewhere I can't pinpoint. Then an explosion. I jump down from the rock, knees almost buckling from the fall, and hide behind the rock, shutting my eyes tightly, hands pressing against my forehead.

Don't panic. Don't panic. Don't panic.

Blood continues to drip down onto the ground, my hoodie, my pants. Still breathing heavily. 

It's coming. It's coming. It's coming.

The hand holding my blaster pistol shakes. My finger's on the trigger, and I'm so tempted to pull it, to break the silence of the night, to bring the danger here so I can shoot it. 

Not practical.

"Just do it," I whisper to myself.

"Don't do it," I reply back.

"Why not? Get what you want."

"It's not practical."

"Aris!" 

Mayday.

I stand up and look around frantically, blood splattering into my hair. I can make out the silhouette of a human not too far in the distance.

Mayday.

I lift up an arm and wave to him, signaling that I'm here. The adrenaline starts to drain from my body and my hand drops to my side, my knees threatening to buckle as I lean my back against the rock, clinging onto its side to keep myself standing.

After what feels like eternity, I can feel warm hands on my shoulders, and Mayday's voice calling my name, asking whether I'm alright. Everything is blurry. My knees buckle and I fall to the ground.

Mayday catches me, and slings one of my arms over his shoulder, walking back to the hole in the ray shield, basically carrying me as I try to stagger forwards.

"It's gonna be okay Aris, it's gonna be okay," I hear Mayday's strained voice. Glowing red in front of us is the ray shield.

What happens next, it's all a blur. I know I make it through the shield somehow without getting burned, and soldiers circle us as I grab Mayday for support, who's slightly unsteady himself. The soldiers point their blasters at us, and my pistol slips from my hand.

My knees buckle again and I drop to the ground, the side of my face that's bleeding hits the ground, sending a sharp pain through my face and the rest of my body. I stare forwards blankly as the blood starts to pool under me.

So tired.

My already heavy eyelids start to close as another wave of fatigue washes over me. I can feel a warm hand on my back, it's definitely Mayday's. I want to get up, to run home, to get away from the crowd of soldiers, but I can't. I can't move. the adrenaline rush is gone. 

Right before I lose consciousness, I hear the sound of handcuffs clicking and someone being dragged away.