The one good thing about following so many raiders through the wilderness was how obvious a trail they left. Angela pointed Jack in the general direction the raiders had taken as they'd moved beyond her sensor range. Once Jack finally stumbled across the tracks, it had been a simple matter to follow them into the wilderness.

At first, Jack was fueled by anger and determination, but as minutes turned to hours, his anger faded and was replaced by a grim resolve. A distant voice in the back of Jack's mind wondered what happened to the man who was so terrified at the prospect of a fight only a few months ago. The man who had reacted so violently after his first life or death battle on this planet. Was it really merely Em'brel's fate hanging in the balance that kept him so calm as he marched to his own private little war, or had he changed somehow? If so, was it a change for the better or...?

His train of thought was interrupted by his growling stomach. No matter how essential or profound the introspection, the body needed fuel and would make its demands heard.

Jack pulled out a nutrition bar with all the flavor of a soggy cardboard sandwich and a consistency that seemed to alternate between sodden mold and desert sands. Still, he knew from experience that the nutrients and energy from this bar were almost worth the experience of eating it.

After a while, Jack's foot had started to ache, then throb, and now it felt like it was on fire. Looking at the time, Jack was relieved to see it was about time to dose himself. Pulling out a prefilled auto-injector Angela had put together, filled with muscle relaxants and nerve deadening agents, Jack injected himself near the site of the injury as instructed. It only took a few minutes for the pain to begin to fade, though Jack noticed a wave of exhaustion quickly followed.

To counteract the exhaustion, Jack took a few caffeine tabs he kept around for just such a situation. They took a little longer to take effect, but eventually, Jack felt himself perk up slightly as his journey continued.

Finally freed of his physical needs, Jack began to lose himself in his thoughts once more. His mind was immediately filled with the possibilities of Em'brel's fate and what his reactions to each possibility would be.

-

Lon'thul observed S'haar from the sidelines. She was like some trapped beast, pacing while she was supposed to be resting. She was like this every break they took. He wondered if she'd been on her own, would she have just pushed until she collapsed from exhaustion?

Lon'thul started to debate if he should stand up and say something when his father beat him to the punch. "If you keep pacing rather than resting, you won't be in any shape to help your human once you catch him. Sit down and rest your muscles, even if your mind refuses to be silenced!"

S'haar glared at Dek'thul as though she were debating attacking him at that very moment when the hunter chief blatantly turned his back to her and returned to his attention to his meat.

Lon'thul was worried they'd see a fight like the one that got S'haar kicked out of the hunters, but evidently, S'haar's need for their help overrode her desire to speak her mind. In a moment of true miracles, she sat down and pulled out some of her own meat to chew on. Though the look she directed at the tree in front of her as she ate was clearly a warning to the tree that if it was suicidal enough to get between S'haar and her man, it would quickly find its time in this land at an end.

-

Jack knew he was getting closer to the raiders, but he was exhausted from his previous fight and the subsequent healing. The light dimming as the sun began to set wasn't helping things either. Still, the signs of the raider's passing were obviously becoming far more fresh, and Jack suspected he might find the raiders just over the hill ahead of him.

As he neared the crest, Jack slowed and began to crawl. His leg protested the movement, but he ignored it as he looked over the top of the ridge. Jack could make out a rough camp had been set up in a valley situated between surrounding hills.

His heart rate shot up, and all semblance of exhaustion faded as he looked out over the camp. Pulling out what was essentially a classic spyglass treated to prevent it from giving its user away by reflecting light, Jack gave the camp a thorough inspection.

It didn't take long to find Em'brel tethered to a stake next to a dying fire. The blanket she'd been given was clearly insufficient based on how she was curled into a tight ball with only her head poking out. Or maybe she was simply trying to hide from the gaze of the guards, who were tasked with keeping an eye on her.

Jack wanted to run in and swoop her away, but there were an awful lot of redundant guards stationed around the camp. It was as if they were expecting trouble. However, the further away from the camp they were stationed, the thinner the guards' presence became. Jack suspected that therein lay his opportunity. His plan half-formed, Jack pulled back from the crest and began to work his way around to the next hill.

Due to their reliance on external heat sources, the argu'n were mostly daytime hunters. He knew from experience that their nighttime vision was even worse than his own. They were likely planning on sleeping through a portion of the night, meaning Jack had time to set a few surprises up. Combined with his night-vision scope and his flashbangs, he'd have a couple additional advantages in the dark.

-

Gar'nack wasn't sure what he'd done to deserve being stuck out here in the middle of the night, but he was determined not to do it again. The heated stones in his coat helped keep it livable, but just barely. They all took turns tending the fire, but it was his turn to go out and scout around in the dark.

At least he wasn't alone. Holding up his torch, he could see Del'nash a little off to the side. Gar'nack wasn't sure why De'haar had insisted they patrol in pairs, but it was good to have the company on this long cold night. Even if his partner seemed determined to stick his snout where it didn't belong. "What are you looking at over there? The quicker we walk our loop, the sooner we can get warm by the fire!"

Del'nash waved him down while he held his torch high and stared out into the darkness. "Quiet! I could swear I heard something! It's way out in that direction... We should check it out!"

Gar'nack walked up beside him, raised his own torch, and listened carefully. At first, all he could hear was a deafening silence that seemed to smother the land after Del'nash stopped speaking, but slowly the sounds of the forest's nightlife began to fill the void. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until a loud crack rang out. Something must have snapped a large branch, but it was hard to tell where it had come from. It seemed a good distance away.

Still, De'haar had told them to report anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Also, the fact that it seemed like it was starting to rain was an even better reason to get back to camp. "You're right. Something's out there. We should report back immediately!"

A soft "whump" beside him drew his attention to his partner, who'd evidently decided to lie down for some reason. Also, the rain smelled like blood. Holding up his torch again, Gar'nack could now see his partner's head was missing.

He took a deep breath to bellow a warning when he felt something shove him in the chest and pull at his coat. That's when he heard another large branch snap, then he didn't have anything else to worry about ever again.

-

Jack realized he needed to act fast after the second argu'n had noticed his partner. Rather than take the time to set up another headshot, he'd simply aimed for center mass. It seemed to do the job just fine, and now another pair of sentries had been dealt with.

Still, he'd been a little sloppy. The second raider had almost gotten a warning out. He couldn't afford to make any more mistakes like that. He needed to be in control of the pace out here. If he gave up the initiative, he could easily be overwhelmed.

Working his way forward, Jack saw the campfire being tended by another raider. He raised his rifle and took aim. What he saw made his heart freeze in his chest, and all feelings of righteous wrath bled out of him.

The raider was a kid.

He seemed even younger than Em'brel, and if Jack was any judge of body language, he was cold and wet and wanted to be anywhere but where he was. The kid poked at the fire with a stick while his other hand pulled his coat tighter around himself. He even spared a glance right in Jack's direction before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a half-hearted sigh.

The kid seemed to come to a decision before shouting into the darkness. "Gar'nack, Del'nash, where are you guys? If you're trying to play another prank on me, this isn't funny! It's cold out here! Come back before you pass out in the forest!"

Jack hadn't realized when he'd lowered his rifle, but he raised it again and centered the crosshairs on his target. He told himself that this was just another raider, standing between him and Em'brel, and he'd have to deal with him one way or another.

Jack took a deep breath, slowly let it out, then held it as he started to squeeze the trigger. After a second or two, he realized the trigger seemed to be jammed.

Lowering the barrel, he gave the gun a once over, only to determine everything seemed to be in working order. With a grimace of frustration, he raised the rifle again, sighted in on the "raider," and squeezed the trigger once more. Just like last time, the trigger seemed to be jammed, and Jack lowered his aim again.

With a grunt of annoyance, Jack realized he was about to do something unnecessarily stupid. He hoped S'haar would understand when he explained to her in the afterlife why he'd done what he was about to do.

-

Kah'jin was cold, tired, and lonely sitting at the fire. Soon Gar'nack and Del'nash would be back, and it would be his turn to go out on patrol with one of them while the other tended the fire. That would make the cold worse, but at least he wouldn't feel so alone in the middle of this gods forsaken forest.

Right now, he couldn't even see their torches. It made the darkness surrounding his little island of light seem all the more oppressive. Almost like the forest was alive, and it was hungry.

Kah'jin's mind was starting to run away with him. In an attempt to keep it in check, he shouted out into the darkness. "Gar'nack, Del'nash, where are you guys? If you're trying to play another prank on me, this isn't funny! It's cold out here! Come back before you pass out in the forest!"

Rather than hearing the laughter of the two older men as he'd expected, all that happened was the forest devouring the sound of his voice, making him feel even more vulnerable than before.

Kah'jin started to lose his nerve when a strange monster came charging out of the trees toward him, only for it to slip in the mud and end up on its rear. The two of them silently stared at each other for a moment.

He was surprised to realize the monster was nothing more than a badly malformed and probably malnourished argu'n. Even his skin was deathly pale.

After a moment of confusion, the "monster" scrambled up and ran back into the forest. Kah'jin didn't hesitate, chasing the strange argu'n through the underbrush.

The "monster" was slow and clumsy. Kah'jin felt his heart race as he narrowed the gap between them. It was so dark that he had a hard time seeing his prey, but that was irrelevant given the noise of its passage through the underbrush.

When he was close enough to taste his prey, Kah'jin lunged, only to have his claws pass through the air, leaving him confused for a moment. Looking up, he could see his quarry just out of his reach. It was now sitting on the ground, holding its foot as though it were injured.

Kah'jin took a step forward to finish the chase, only to have the world whipped upside down as he was rocketed into the air, held by some beast that had grasped his ankle. Reaching up, he could feel the tendril of his captor wrapped around his foot. He slashed at it, earning his freedom as the tendril was severed, but landed in an uncoordinated heap on the ground.

As Kah'jin struggled to his feet, he felt a presence standing over him. Looking up, the malformed man towered over him, an odd weapon with a metal handle ending in a broad piece of wood in his hand.

With a swift motion, the man slammed the wooden head of his weapon into Kah'jin's face, and the world fell to total darkness.

-

Jack was breathing heavily. Luckily he'd been right. When presented with a vulnerable opponent who ran, the raider had given into his predatory instinct and given chase rather than shouting out a warning. The plan had nearly fallen apart when the kid came perilously close to catching Jack before he'd made it to the snare, and again when he'd cut his way out of the trap so quickly.

However, Jack was able to clock the kid in the head with the butt of his rifle before the raider had been able to get correctly oriented. Jack knew the cold would keep the kid soundly asleep until morning. He just hoped it wasn't so cold out that the kid would die before then. However, he could only spend so much time trying to avoid unnecessary blood on his hands.

Also, Jack's leg was screaming in agony. He'd obviously undone some of Angela's work when he'd fallen. Checking the time, it was a little early for his next dose, but Jack grabbed it and injected himself again anyway. It wouldn't do any good to avoid the effects of overdosing only to die because he couldn't run when he needed to. The pain medications' noticeable side effect combined with the already exhausting day behind him, and now Jack was having an even harder time keeping his eyes open than before.

Reaching into his emergency pack, Jack pulled out his last tablet. He knew he probably shouldn't combine the mind-altering effects of the medication with the chemicals of the pain meds already flowing through him, but falling asleep out here and having a patrol run across his body would probably be even worse for his health.

With a shrug and a prayer to the void, Jack downed the tablet, chasing it with a cold drink of water from his canteen. He knew it was too early to be feeling the effects, but regardless, his mind was convinced that he was waking up, and he felt energized.

Jack walked back to the campfire and stomped out the flames. He then set up a few traps to confuse and frighten anyone who would come out and investigate the cooling fire and alert Jack to their presence in the process.

So far, He'd had taken out six campfires and their respective patroles. Enough to blind a good quarter of the camp's scouting ability. Each fire had been similarly prepared with surprises for any raiders who came looking. Now Jack pulled back to a point where he could keep an eye on each of them with minimal repositioning. Step one complete, Jack prepared for the second phase of his plan. Things were about to get a lot more dangerous for both himself and for the raiders.