I woke up to a bright sunny sky. The others were still asleep. I had woken up hungry ready to start my hunt. I woke the other two and had them follow me. We walked, walked, walked following the river downstream. This way we would either find a lake or an estuary where civilization would be. At least that was the plan. Most people on Earth lived around the coast. eighty percent lived within sixty miles of it.

I was humming an old song forcing the other unwilling seven year olds to sing. We wouldn’t earn a dime at a concert. The river held a green hue in parts due to algae. It made for quite the scene. Wind rustled the duckweed giving a gentle noise. “Shhhh” went the river fluidly dodging the spouting rocks.

“Oh iron soldier, oh iron soldier…” We walked three miles without a break. There were no trees along the bank. We couldn’t fashion a spear, but I could probably outrun deer. I was still in a little body however. My increased strength wasn’t as great until I hit puberty.

There near that bush. I heard a rustle and a small animal murmur. No, it was human. The Rustling grew louder, louder still.  “When do you think they’ll come back to get us?”

“I heard from an older officer we have to kill another pod.” the other voice answered.

I could only assume they were fellow clones. Look like I was left uninformed. We crouched hopefully remaining unseen. Nud almost ruined us but a quick whisper shut him up. I sent Tara to follow the group once they passed us. We would gather our items back at the camp. She would give important intel. Time to ambush those children.

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We put formal clone attire on for protection. Nud collected sticks which we sharpened. We had an edge against the others. Unfortunately other than the element of surprise, we had noticeable advantage. Maybe they had gadgets to defend them? They were crouched over some dead clones mutilating the bodies.

These seven year olds were fucked. They needed a better upbringing. What was their AI doing? Shaking my head we charged the group. Their eyes went wide with surprise as Nud led the charge tackling the first seven-year old. I came next dealing an elbow to the face followed by a kick in the groin. I had no qualms playing dirty.

The doctor gave me an immense advantage as I felt his skull and unmentionable parts go crunch. He was was out cold. The remaining teammate ran away adrenaline pumping. Unfortunately for them, Tara created traps. Spikes covered the wet ground. She, the retreating clone,  tripped holding her bloody feet. I pointed at Nud and with a nod he snapped the girl’s neck.

What I did next was risque, definitely taboo on Earth. We had a fire cooking and some clones roasting. I hadn’t eaten in two days without nourishment for my skinny body. My muscle density increased my appetite as well. We chowed down to what tasted like very fatty meat.

It tasted great, but hunger makes anything taste great. I had lost my sense of morality after being reborn. Their might still be heaven. I didn’t witness it after death, so I decided to ignore the moral dilemma. It was an easier way of living life.

I had my fill and scavenged their gear. Like us, they did not have much. The only object of value was a bag of survival gear one clone had brought down with him. It held a compass, pocket knife, and flint for fire starting. I talked with my squad and we decided to keep following the river downstream. The officers were watching us. If they wanted to take us back to the ship they would. Our only goal was to survive.

This meant finding other pods. Human meat was an easy way to eat. Pods gave off their locations. I believe most would try to stay where they fell hoping they would get picked up. This could work to our advantage.

Starting up the old marching song we set off. “Oh iron soldier, oh iron soldier..,” Earth had tradition Arth did not. I was going to bridge the two. The sun set with an orange purple hue. We were just shadows preying on the weak in the darkness.