The Search for the Eoz Potion

7. Griffins

On the ground, the presence of thirty Human Robots had steadily grown to about a hundred. The car had been rolled out of the forest and parked in front of the Capital City towers as General Drawde had commanded and in its place a tall, tent-like structure had been set up from which the HRA commanders could lead their search of the forest. Light poured from an open doorway as Human Robots came in and out of the tent to report back to the General and receive their next orders.

A small group entered the encampment from the thick of the forest and announced they had not found anything. On a small tablet, the commander of the division made a note of the location where they had been looking and marked that it was all clear. While she was entering the data, a noise up above caught her attention. It could have been a breeze in the branches or a small animal, or it could have been something more. All of the soldiers heard it too, but the trees were so thick they could not see anything. Still, something about the sound had concerned her. The HRA's plan was to set up its drone ships on the border of the forest. They had not yet been able to extend their range closer to the portal. But General Drawde believed a tight line of defense would be enough to keep any of the SG from escaping.

Still, there was a persistent rustling in the trees above the commander that concerned her. With little other course of action available to her, she sent a message back to her counterpart out in the garden to be on the lookout for an overhead threat coming out of the forest just in case the SG was planning something. As the noise faded back into nothingness, she hoped her message would be received in time.

****

When Hailey first heard the plan, she thought the whole thing was ridiculous, but Claire convinced her that they didn't fully understand how things worked in the Garden of Yllop, and though all that was going on admittedly made no sense to her either, it might be perfectly reasonable to natives of the land. Still, it was difficult for either of them to make sense of how they were going to fly in another carriage to a prison to march circles around it until it collapsed and the prisoners simply walked free. The whole thing made Hailey regret that she and Claire hadn't left with Evan and started the search on their own.

Because they were new to Yllop, Haily, Claire, and the other Searchers who had been rescued that day were to ride in a carriage with Zack. After he explained the plan to them, he helped them all climb down the trees to a spot on the forest floor where a second carriage almost exactly like the other one, but a little bit smaller, was hidden behind a large thicket a small distance from headquarters. The night was still and silent, and the peacefulness of it all struck both Hailey and Claire the same. There they were about to fly into the most dangerous situation in which either of them had ever been, yet they both could feel the calm of the forest as if it were a real thing they could see and touch, a prize to hold onto and bring back home with them. The possibility of running into the HRA was distant from them at that moment - but not entirely gone.

Zack led them slowly, armed with a crossbow similar to the one Josef had used to shoot arrows into the trees. Over his shoulder was a quiver of arrows. He held the weapon at his side, not at all ready to fire it if needed. It was not SG policy to physically attack the Human Robot Army, the crossbow was meant for later. The only defense they had at the moment was the peace of the forest, and though Zack knew it would not be enough to avoid any possible attack, he knew it would see them through to their escape.

"How many of these things do you have?" Hailey aske when they arrived at the new carriage.

"There are a few hidden throughout the garden," explained Zack.

Claire was about to ask how they were going to ride out on it when she heard a galloping in the distance that quickly grew louder. A team of horses just like the ones that had helped rescue them earlier came running through the trees and positioned themselves right in front of the carriage. Hailey and Claire watched with confusion as the animals lined up.