Novels2Search

Chapter 8

Allison seemed fine as we walked up, and caught us as we left the tree line. I was going to warn her about Crazy, and ask if she was okay, but before I could get a word in edgewise she cut me off.

"We're okay. I'm fine, and Emma is healing. She was hurt badly. The old dude started going insane, and he tried to kill Emma. The only thing that kept her alive was the safe zone protections. I dealt with him." How she had dealt with him was left unsaid, it was clear enough from her face what she had to do.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

"No, but what's done is done at this point. I can't change the past, nor would I want to. It was him or me." I didn't know how to help, but it was likely that it would only get harder from here. Better compartmentalize and deal with it after. I don't want to think about what happened between the brothers given that one of them had to be a traitor, but we needed to get the parts.

"We need to split up again. Emma will be safe until she heals back up, but we can't afford to wait on her. Luna and BT head north, Allison and I will head to the last spot. If you aren't back in 2 hours we will come after you." One of the brothers was likely still out there, and if Crazy had been here the entire time, it meant whoever it was had gotten access to at least 1 traitor crate if not more. He was armed and dangerous, and we'd need to be careful.

Aside from a lone wolf crossing our path, easily scared away, unlike the pack that had attacked me, the trek was uneventful. Unlike the rest of the locations on the map, this one wasn't as clearly defined with a structure. Instead, the part was somewhere in a snowy clearing. There had to have been some sort of crate around here that held it. The only concern would be, what happens if a traitor gets the part first?

Hopefully, there was some mechanism of preventing that, as without protections in place it would be easy for a traitor to simply hide with the parts until time ran out. Looking around, I noticed the small corner of a chest sticking out of the snow. We looted it, and inside was another Medkit as well as the part we needed. After quickly explaining the device's purpose to Allison, we made our way back to our home base, the cabin.

Emma was still unconscious when we arrived, although her wounds had healed, leaving only a thin scar, barely noticeable, around her throat. Luna and BT arrived shortly after we did, also carrying their part. Now, how did we repair the station? I had asked previously, and no one had any experience with repairing electrical systems, especially not one that was as complex as a radio.

I got nominated to try, as I was the most experienced with any sort of wiring, but even so, I'd be guessing for the most part. BT was the next most experienced of us, so he went with me. The last thing I heard before blacking out due to the pain was a loud snap as I set foot in the snow outside the radio station.

I found out when I woke up 30 minutes later the bear trap had majorly broken my leg, and the only reason I could still walk was due to the quick actions of Allison, who grabbed the Medkit from my pack and applied it immediately. We hadn't determined if a Medkit could repair severed limbs, and I wasn't eager to test it, so I'm glad Allison did something.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"Great, so now we need to worry about traps as well?" Luna asked, looking out at the area still left before the building I needed to get to.

"See if you can either cut or find a long stick. Let's go bear trap fishing." We managed to find one, and with it triggered three more before the way was clear of both snow and traps. We finally made our way into the station. Pulling out the 4 parts, the wires moved of their own accord, connecting and leaving behind a single part that fit perfectly into the machinery.

Radio Station repaired

New objective: Discover and Repair Helipad

Equipment added: Graz Corp 3D Printer

My UI provided the next objective as well as the method by which to fix it. I expected another trap, but all 4 of us made our way to the Helipad without incident. Luna and BT had seen it on their way north, and thus it wasn't difficult to navigate to it. When we got there, there was a slot for the printer, and a note attached to it, but no sign of whatever brother was the traitor. The note read:

Hi Innocents. I'm writing you this message in response to the notification I just received that you had killed my partner. It just felt, right to leave this. Maybe I'm a little crazy as well, but I figure with how many of you there are you should at least have the knowledge of who is hunting you. You know, I thought it would be different, getting revenge on Greg. I'd been standing in his shadow for years, and now his shadow follows me, but I don't feel different. He was always better than me. Everyone knew it, and while they never said it I know my parents asked themselves why I never measured up to him. I tried, I really did. Everything just seemed to come so naturally to him. The one thing I thought I could do better? Oddly enough it was shooting. And then not 2 hours in, we get ourselves weapons from the crates around the map, and what does he do? Kill 3 wolves while I was still fumbling around with my gun. And then I knew that no matter what, he was always going to be better. It felt satisfying at the moment to finally be able to take out all that frustration, but that look of utter betrayal he gave me as he died instantly brought me back to reality. I feel so empty, like a yawning pit that refuses to close has opened and taken everything I ever loved. Unfortunately, I must continue on this path. I can't stop, because if I do I make all the damning decisions I made worthless. And so, I wish you good luck, because I am going to do everything I can to stop you from succeeding. I have to make it worth something. Signed Dave.

"Dave, if you're out there, know that you won't get anything from us. I refuse to let you." I know Dave is likely out there and watching us. But just as he will try his hardest to stop us, will we do everything to succeed, and it makes me feel better to yell it out to him.

My UI updated with a notification as I went to slot the printer in.

Warning: All nearby animals will be attracted to the helipad upon activation.

I knew it wasn't going to be so easy as to simply slot it and turn it on. Between us, we didn't have much in the way of ammo, but I figured BT and myself were good for at least a few animals before it turned into fighting with sticks. We also positioned the bear traps from the radio station around the Helipad, making sure everyone knew where they were. It was time. "Everyone ready?" I said, looking around at the 3 other people with me. I saw the determination on all of their faces. At a nod from them, I slotted the printer into the helipad and started it. And so it began.