General Wolf was the only one sitting when August and Belmont returned to the firebox. The general stared at the heater with an absent-minded expression as if the answer to all things lay in the matte metal cube. The rest of the squad had formed a new circle behind their superior and bickered—about what August couldn’t quite make out.

“You saw that thing,” Rosek’s were the first clear words he caught. “They’re dangerous even after they’ve died. And you want to go in there, where there are thousands, maybe millions of them?”

Of course, Sterling was the one she’d been arguing with. “I don’t think we’re safe either way,” the exterminator said. “They’ll sniff us out outside the forest just as easily as within it if they wanted to. But as long as we follow our line, the boys will have a better chance to find us. That was your idea in the first place if I recall correctly.”

“When I thought we’d be walking home, yes,” Rosek snapped back. “Private Ace is alive right now because we were able to see that thing coming. The general had time to aim and fire before it could do too much damage. Imagine if we didn’t have those precious seconds to see it coming? We won’t get them in there.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder toward the dark woods.

“She’s right,” Vern Slupman said. His voice couldn’t contend with either of the previous two speakers. “We’ve got to go around. The choice is obvious as far as I’m concerned.”

“Care to provide an argument?” Sterling glared at the short engineer.

Slupman shrugged. “Nothing Colonel Rosek hasn’t covered.”

“Thank you,” Rosek said, her eyes never leaving Sterling’s face.

“I’d be pretty useless in a closed-in place like a forest,” Dalton West said.

“Exactly,” Rosek interrupted. “That’s three to one, Sterling.”

“However,” West continued his train of thought. “I do think it’s best to keep to the line.”

Rosek rolled her eyes. August had expected Sterling to rub it in her face, but he was surprisingly humble about it. “Our only hope of getting out of this mess is rescue,” he said. “Our best chance at getting rescued is following the line. I don’t like it. The idea of going in there makes my skin crawl, but it’s the smartest option, whether we want it or not.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“What about—” August blurted the words but stopped himself halfway through his thought. “Sorry.” He bowed his head and kept silent amongst the decorated colonels.

“Oh, enough of that shit,” Sterling barked. “Speak up. You got stuck by a dolo. You’re one of the squad now.”

He didn’t allow himself to smile at that and instead chose to share his concern. “I was just gonna say that the rescuers might have a hard time seeing us under the leaves.” He glanced at the forest. “It was almost pitch black in there even when the sun was up.”

“Their scanners would pick up our navigators,” Slupman said, pointing to the malfunctioning device on his arm. His face dropped after he spoke, and August thought he heard the engineer curse under his breath as West spoke up.

“Will they?” The old sniper asked. “These things have been useless since the crash. Maps don’t work. Communications are down. I might have to rethink my position. If the scanners can pick us up, then I vote to push through the woods. If not…”

“They can’t,” Slupman said, suddenly changing his mind.

“You just said—” Sterling started.

“I know!” Slupman put his pudgy hands up. “I’d forgotten about the malfunctions. I’m under a lot of pressure, alright?”

“Pressure is no excuse,” Sterling said. “You’re a colonel, dammit. Start acting like one.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” General Wolf shot up and joined the circle just in time to veer the argument from outright name-calling. “The line is dead. As long as our navigators are offline, that is a fact we are going to have to make peace with. The line is dead. Rescue is our best hope. And let me remind you that getting picked up doesn’t mean returning home. We have a mission to do, and we are going to see it through no matter what. I’m sure the rest of you, like me, would prefer not having to walk however many days it’ll take to get there. So again, rescue is our best bet.” He lifted his arm and shook it until the device rattled. “We need to get these things working. I don’t know much about it, and I’m hoping our engineer can shine here, but I’m guessing a thick forest isn’t a good place to hope for a strong signal.”

Slupman finally noticed the general staring at him, and he shook his head.

“That’s what I thought,” Wolf said. “That being the case, I’d think it best to skirt the forest and keep an eye out for any higher elevations or, if any light may be shining upon us, a radio tower.”

“I think there’s one around here somewhere,” Slupman mumbled as he tapped at his navigator, already forgetting that they weren’t working. “Close to an old city. Let me just double-check.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Sterling stared at the engineer in what almost looked like awe.

Slupman’s cheeks turned red, even noticeable at night and beneath his scruff. “Sorry. Like I said: nerves.”

“Never mind,” Wolf said. “We’ll start at the crack of dawn. Get as much sleep as you can get. I’ll take first watch.”

The general’s subordinates collectively looked at the dead dolo not too far away. If there was one thing everyone there was sure of, and in agreement about, it was that there were plenty more where it came from.