Emerging from the facility, the remnants of team one looked around skittishly. Each one aimed in a different direction as they tensely moved forward.
Together with what was quite possibly the only other hunter left alive in this whole expedition, Thomel sprinted out into the open.
Very nearly tripping over a rock and going tumbling down the mountain in the process.
But he regained his balance and back to back with the remaining hunter, scoured the surrounding area for anything that could be a threat.
Despite their exposure and advantageous vantage point, nothing happened.
Thomel had been so certain that there would be at least one bone-head prowling around outside that he was momentarily stunned.
A sense of dread overcame him, like any second now some camouflaged monstrosity would appear and execute him.
Judging by the fanatical way his fellow hunter was swinging their beamer left and right, desperately looking for something. They must have felt the same way too.
Moving up to join them, the lieutenant looked around confused. Then just shook his head
“Amateurs.” Thomel heard him mutter loudly.
He found himself hoping that the lieutenant was right. that it was just nerves getting the better of him and the other hunter. After all what sort of camouflaged monster would have a Fear boon, that defeated the whole point of being camouflaged
“Right, move out.” Hollered the lieutenant. Jabbing his finger towards the top of the mountain.
The urge to shoot their dictatorial leader once again flooded into his system but the knowledge that this horrible man was the only guaranteed way to get back to Earth, stayed his hand.
“Why?” The other hunter asked in a quiet yet commanding voice.
Thomel felt true comradery in that moment, this was the first time he'd heard them speak and it was a question.
“Because I said so. Now get moving.”
“I'm a hunter not a soldier or mercenary.”
The sense of comradery Thonel felt grew tenfold in that moment, that's what he'd been thinking to himself almost since the very first day he began this cursed work.
“Yeah I can tell.” the lieutenant snarled out, puffing himself up and storming toward the hunter.
“Stop, or one of us dies.” Came the ice cold reply of the hunter. The mechanical sound the mask added only enhanced the fridgeity of their statement.
Pausing, the lieutenant seemed to weigh up his options. It was fairly obvious he was considering if he could cover the half a dozen yards before being turned into a roasted, armoured marshmallow.
He also had his beamer which he could use but from what Thomel had seen so far, the hunter was quite superior in terms of reaction time. They were so fast they probably had a boon or two related to it.
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Still the lieutenant stood there, silently contemplating his possible future future actions.
Glancing over at Thomel with a slight turn of his head, he came to a decision.
“There's some data that needs recovering, we're going to recover it. Happy?”
“No.” The hunter bluntly replied.
Grumbling something under his breath the lieutenant continued. “I'm heading towards a listening post to get this data. Once I have it I'm leaving, you can come with me and help like you've been ordered to, or you can ignore my commands and die on this rock.”
“We outnumber you.”
“You misundestand. I wont kill you, I'll just leave you here and this planet will do the rest. It's called the dead planet for a reason. I'm your only chance at getting back so stop wasting time and get a move on!”
“I didn't misunderstand. We outnumber you two to one. You have the disc and refuse to use it but what will you do if you're lying on the ground, all your fleshly limbs melding with molten steel? If your lungs are burning from the inside, if your mind is frozen blank with the pain. I think that you'll use the disc to get medical aid and all three of us get to escape this wretched world.”
The feelings of comradery Thomel had been experiencing vanished in the blink of an eye, drained away by the sinking feeling in his chest.
Why were the last two people left psychopaths?
The lieutenant had already killed two people because he valued the data over their lives.
Thomel didn't doubt now that his colleague would do the same, though they seemed more focused on survivalist rather than anything else.
After a few seconds just spent staring each other down. The lieutenant simply said. “So?”
“So why?”
“Because that's the best choice. We walk up the mountain for a little while, once we reach the post I'll spend some time collecting the data. Then we all leave together and you might get a hefty bonus. Or you can try shooting me, maybe you kill me, or injure me like you hope. Either way the moment we get back to the facility it's going to be your heads that will roll.”
“As long as you walk in front.” The hunter said, gesturing towards the mountain with their beamer.
Thomel couldn't be certain but he thought he heard the lieutenant snort, before turning around and heading up the mountain.
He hadn't said a word during all of this, merely watched but if he had to pick a side it would be the hunter's.
They were cold and seemed apathetic but Thomel had already dealt with plenty of that from Cale and he preferred desperate survivalism over gluttonous profiteering.
The lieutenant would shoot him dead if it made the company more money, the hunter would only shoot him dead if they needed to do it to survive.
However, that did bring up nasty mental images of getting shot in the leg and left to be eaten alive.
Nevertheless, he fell in beside his fellow hunter, following them as they began to slowly walk forward.
“Mind covering me for a few seconds while I quickly adjust my stats?” He quietly asked.
Turning to face him, the hunter considered Thomel’s words briefly before nodding their head.
image [https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/98750159/3a760f4528b54f6c8f1d34e16e3b9855/e30%3D/1.PNG?token-time=1714867200&token-hash=V2APwdrDoJ9LsCwKJ0FGAWAnZUqRvECQ7l1M6mhc4QQ%3D]
His level hadn't exactly shot up but every single level up counted, especially when he didn't know if he had enough strength to make it up the steep terrain.
Quickly he put everything into physical and then closed the system.
Time was always so weird when you used it. You could count the seconds you were in that ethereal place until you reached sixty but out in the real world only a few seconds had passed. Sometimes it was the opposite though and time passed quickly. Luckily, this seemed to be one of the faster times.
“Done?” They asked him
“Yep.” Thonel answered, striding forward with a slightly stronger gait.
Maybe he'd be able to make it up the mountain after all.