"Symbiotic Mode," I said proudly, my heart thundering with excitement.

-Symbiotic Mode engaged – the words scrolled on the top left of my vision.

My goggles seemed to suction to my face, and a puff of air was released from the side. On the bottom right of my vision, the outline of a bar appeared and then quickly filled up with the color blue. Right above the bar, a silhouette of a person appeared.

The silhouette was grey, and when I looked close, there was a simplistic face drawn that appeared to be smiling. And that was all. I waited another couple of seconds, but nothing else happened.

"That's it?" I questioned the CoreLink, but nothing happened. "Corelink, what happened?" I tried. Still, nothing changed.

"Great…I got an absolutely useless robot." I grumbled. "Ooh, look at me. I can puff out some air. Be afraid…." I sighed.

"Companion Mode." The outside air rushed into the goggles, and the displays disappeared.

I didn't have time to stand there all day trying to figure the goggles out. I wanted to be well on my way to Colony City by nightfall. I had never been there before, but I knew the trip took about two days on a robot-pulled cart. Since I couldn't pull the cart, I would be relegated to walking.

That meant it would take me a considerable more amount of time to travel there. At least I had some provisions so I wouldn't have to forage or hunt while on the way. I even had a few coins once I got there.

I set off back down the trail. I was making good time while walking down the hill. Before long, I looked down the hill between some trees to where we had left our cart. I could faintly see it among the tall grass.

Before I got moving again, I paused as I saw movement. Two people had walked up to the cart from the direction of the road. I wasn't sure since it was too far for details, but they looked like they were wearing guard uniforms.

The two figures examined the cart for a minute, then one turned and ran off toward the road while the first stayed put. I sat and watched to see what would happen, but it was uneventful. The person just stood there and seemed to be surveying the area. Just as I was getting bored and losing focus, the one who ran off came back. Unfortunately, he wasn't alone. Following behind him were two other people.

"Are those more guards?" I queried aloud.

-Insufficient data for analysis.

The words flitted at the top of my screen and sounded in my head.

-Would you like to download a DTA program? This will take the place of one function. Y/N?

"What is a DTA program?"

- Searching CoreLink….

- Search complete – 7,620,000 results (0.33 seconds)

- DTA Program - The Detect, Target and Analyze (DTA) program assists and empowers users of all levels with their basic perception needs, improves their knowledge of surroundings and helps achieve long-term survivability.

"Uhhh, okay. I don't understand that, but…Yes, download the program."

- Program downloading….

- Estimated time until downloaded….30 minutes.

"Damn, that's useless then." I thought about what to do as I looked down the hill.

I felt it was safe to assume they were guards. The additional two that arrived were holding halberds, common weapons for guards. One of the guards that came looked different than the other three, his uniform was dark blue and black, and I thought his helm looked different too. I assumed he was a sergeant or another rank and would be more of a problem than the other three.

The guard who had stayed started pointing to the hills in my direction, and then they all conversed for a few moments. Then, my stomach dropped as I saw them all begin to move toward the hills, following the small trail my father and I had made.

"How do I get out of here?" I mumbled to myself once more.

- Opening Map program…

A small square on the lower left of my vision opened up. It was covered in green but had a red blinking dot in the middle. In the top right of the box, there was a small arrow pointing up with a small N. At the bottom of the map, I could see the number 1:10 superimposed on a bar with a smaller red bar perpendicular to the large one and all the way to the left.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The guards were almost out of my line of sight. Their robots were still in companion mode, though, so I had a little time. The easiest way to the next city was the road, though; I had no idea how to get around them. I had to take a few moments to figure out this map program.

"How do I use the Map Program?" I asked.

- Opening Help Menu….

- Opening Map Sub-menu….

The Map Sub-menu took up half of my vision. On the left was a list of thirty to forty items ranging from "Welcome" to "Advanced Analytical Statistics ." On the top of the menu was the extremely daunting "Page 1 of 3,336," and I wanted no part of that.

"Close Map Sub-menu." My robot listened to me. The sub-menu closed, but the overall help menu was still up, so I closed that too. I took in everything that I knew and what I could see.

The box was clearly the map. I was standing on a hill in a forest, and that forest was green, just like the map. I could only assume that the red dot was myself. Since the red line was all the way to the left, I figured I must just be looking at my position from really close, as if my face was pressed right next to a real one. I needed to pull back, and I thought the red perpendicular bar was the solution.

"Move the red map bar to the right," I commanded.

The red bar moved one space over, and the map showed more surface area. I repeated the step two more times. The spot of red stayed where it was, but everything else changed. I could actually see the hills and mountains as if I was a bird flying in the sky. I could even see where the road was in the distance and make out a path to the road if I stayed in the low-lying areas between the hills. First, it looked like I would have to go back up the mountain some more to get some space between the guards and me.

I started back the way I had come. I moved with purpose on my way back since I wanted to create as much space as possible between myself and the guards. I tried not to worry about it, but in the back of my mind, I knew that the guards could switch to Symbiotic Mode anytime. If they did that, it would be easy for them to catch up to me. It was probably how the guards caught up to my father and me at the cavern.

My breathing was steady, but my heart rate increased while moving. My calves and thighs were burning, so when my goggles rang to inform me that the DTA Program had finished downloading, I was happy to take a quick break to check it out.

With the program downloaded, it only took a moment to install. When it did, the world practically lit up. The goggles seemed to show me information on nearly anything I looked at. When I looked at a tree for more than a second, a box appeared in my vision with a line connecting the two objects.

Pinus Sabiniana (P. Sabineana), also known as Towani Pine, Foothill Pine, Gray Pine. Typically grows to 36-45 ft. but has been known to reach 105 ft. The needles are bundles in three called fascicles. Seeds are distributed through cones. (more)…

It was entirely too much information, and it cluttered up my vision. I looked at a bush next to the tree to see if it would be the same, and sure enough, it was.

Rhamnus Crocea, also known as Spiny Redberry, Redberry Buckthorn, Hollyleaf Buckthorn. This evergreen shrub is typically 3-6 ft. in height. Known to grow in coastal ranges and foothills. It can be used as food, but large quantities can impart a red tint to the skin. (more)…

I wondered if things like this were going to continue to happen. Luckily with a few well-constructed orders, I managed to minimize the displays, so they not only showed up with a simplified description. I also made them take longer to show up when staring at an item.

Before I changed the DTA program's settings, I noticed something that worried me. I looked back in the direction I had just come from, and the goggles highlighted the tracks I had left in the dirt. I wasn't sure if the guards who were headed in my direction would or could notice the tracks, but I knew it was a problem. Although, I didn't really have the time to backtrack.

I had an idea of what to do, but I had to keep moving. I traveled as fast as possible, not worrying about leaving more tracks. When I arrived at the area where my father fought the boar, I was practically gasping for breath. I hoped that my grueling pace allowed me enough time.

While catching my breath, I scanned the line of trees, as well as around the glade. I had to stare too long at a spot before the tracks would highlight, then as soon as I looked away, they disappeared. I grumbled internally at the annoying system, but I knew that if I got it to work correctly, then it would be useful.

On a whim, I tried saying, "Show tracks." My whim paid off because all tracks in the area lit up with a light cyan glow and did not go out.

I stalked around the edges of the clearing. All the activity with fighting the De warped boar would help me, so I didn't want to disturb those tracks. I found the places where my father and I passed through after the fight and cleared those tracks until my goggles didn't highlight anything else. It seemed like the guards who tracked us to the cavern were following us because I only saw one other set of tracks leading in that direction. They were the ones left by me when I had come back down the mountain.

I didn't really know why I cleared all those tracks. Even if the guards made it to the cavern where the Orb was, there was nothing for them to find. I just didn't want to risk it. What if they decided that the cavern was curious enough to explore? There were clear signs of a struggle up there, and they did have two missing guardsmen.

I didn't want them to find my father down there either. I would return and recover him one day, but that was my responsibility. I didn't want anyone else doing it. I also didn't want them to find the Orb that was most likely down there. But while I was thinking about it, I wasn't too sure. I was blinded at the time and had no idea what had happened. It was possible that the Orb just flew away.

I double and triple-checked that all the signs of passing toward the cavern in the mountain were gone. I also went to the area where the family of boars had fled and stamped down the brush in that area to make it more noticeable, and I walked a little distance along the path just in case. Confident in the job that I had done, I gathered my supplies, which I had placed down to do my work.

Then, I checked my map to ensure I was in a decent place to go down the mountain and into the low-lying areas. Hopefully, my trick would work. The guards would either follow the trail the family of boars ran off in or follow the more significant path I was going to take. I thought they would likely follow the trail that continued to go mostly up. That was the original direction, but I wasn't worried if they followed my path since they wouldn't be able to spot much more than animal tracks.

I continued to use my goggles to help erase any signs I traveled in that direction until the path was even hard for me with my goggles to discern. When I got to that point, I opened up my map again, chose a direction, and set off at a faster pace. I had a lot of ground to make up. Looking at my map, my trip to Colony City was going to be seriously extended from going around the hills and mountains.