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SEPT 17 & 18, 2149 DAYS FIVE & SIX ON THE GROUND
AFTER HAVING UNITED ONCE MORE WITH THE REST OF THE EMPTY-HANDED HUNTING TROOP, Atom, Bellamy, Charlotte, and Dakota all trudged side by side through the forest; walking in silence as their eyes scoured for an animal to target, their hungry bellies growling obnoxiously.
Of course, they couldn't go more than five minutes without Dakota trying to apprise them on some random fact they didn't care about, the Thompson girl paying much more attention to the plants they passed than actively helping to look for their next meal. Suddenly, a brassy horn sounded throughout the woodland; everyone instinctively freezing as they listened to the loud, unfamiliar noise.
"What the hell is that?" Bellamy questioned in his throaty voice, his heedful gaze darting hastily about in search of possible danger throughout the thick sea of trees.
"Grounder music?" Dakota gave a light, nervous chuckle.
She gasped, her eyes slowly expanding when an opaque cloud of amber fog came barreling towards them at an ungodly velocity, devouring everything in its path. Everything was disappearing behind its thick shield of nontransparent, golden mist. The thunderous enigma was beautiful; stunning, unlike anything Dakota had ever seen or read about. It's staggering magnitude engulfed her in utter fascination, promptly causing her mind to buzz with dozens of questions about the breathtaking anomaly. It was beautiful, but it screamed danger; every inch of its wondrous magic screamed danger.
"Unlikely." the Blake boy responded in dread once he saw it.
"Go!" he quickly peeled his eyes away from the inexplicable sight and broke into a fleet-footed run; Dakota and Charlotte taking off after him, the two girls tightly locking hands.
The arcane smog chased them rapidly through the woods as the horn- which was most certainly used as a warning signal amongst grounders- continued to blare; the many teenagers' chests heaving wildly up and down as they unceasingly hared through the forest. The group sprinted with everything in them, bolting through the trees as fast as their legs would carry them; terrified of being swallowed by the murky fumes.
"Come on!" Bellamy shouted over the clamor, whipping his head around as he ran; trying desperately to ensure every person he had brought outside the camp's protection was safe and accounted for.
"There are caves this way!"
"Crap!" Dakota huffed, out of breath as she regrettably stumbled on an unnoticeable tree root that had gotten in her way; inevitably causing her to fall a few vital steps behind. Curse her clumsiness.
