CAZADO: BOOK ONE (WATTYS 2023)

Chapter 7

We woke up in the morning with two days left until we needed to reach the end of the Bosque Triangle. We quickly cleaned ourselves up and decided to use an old haversack to bring some food and water with us. We left enough so that anyone else who came to this same safe zone would still have enough to sustain themselves for a short stay. I decided it was best if I carried it. I did not have any powers, and this allowed me to feel a little less useless in comparison to my peers. I needed to help in any way possible. I needed to do something if I was going to continue to be a part of the team.

Even if it meant I was only a support at times. I stepped outside of the safe zone and immediately heard screaming. I shuddered. It sounded like the other students were being tortured. Fear immediately struck my heart. I turned to my comrades and they already seemed to know what to do. It was a triangle so most likely we would reach the end of it soon enough. We would need to move quickly.

"Hey. I think we should just keep a little distance from whatever is going on over there. I don't think it is a good idea to reach the side edge of this triangle. I would not be surprised if there were more officials waiting there," I said as I looked around cautiously.

"I, for one, am not trying to find out what my older brother could do to us. After yesterday, I am afraid that he may go all out if we take him on. And as nice as it would be to get splattered all over the northern hemisphere, I would love to keep my body in one piece," Maverick replied.

"It would be most advantageous if you all decided to go in the route that Jared has implied as I have checked the field and found this route is of the least danger. It would not be wise if you were to face such a dangerous threat with only three fighters."

"4536. They are four of us," Carlos retorted.

"Yes! Four. But one is beyond useless which is why I said three. Please keep up. His foolishness seems to have rubbed off on you, Pariah."

"Man! Your machine is always chewing you out, Jared. I mean he is useful at times but still. Can't you get him refurbished or something?" Maverick said, a little annoyed.

"Just ignore it and focus. We only have two days left. And I am not trying to lose right now!" Shaki exclaimed.

I decided to ignore my machine as well as I did not want to become distracted or get beat up by Shaki. There was too much going on at once. I tried to keep my gaze away from my left as there was a yellow brightness that seemed to pulsate throughout that side of the forest every two to five minutes, and I knew it was not the sun. We all knew it was Maverick's brother and we wanted to stay as far away from that side of the forest as possible. All of us except for Shaki who also wanted to test her strength.

Both 4536 and Shaki had sensed that Maverick's brother was the most powerful Pariah on the field. The only issue was the tech-pariah we had fought against earlier was now in that direction as well. The direction we were now headed in. The one chance of using his android dog was no longer a possibility unless we got ourselves into trouble. We just hoped it would not come down to a situation like that. It was over three hours later when we decided to take a break. Maverick was breathing heavily, and it seemed best to rest and eat what we could from the safe zone and save enough for the next day just in case.

"We need a plan," Carlos chimed in as we ate our meal slowly.

"So, what is it going to be?" Shaki asked as she tore into some salted meat.

"I honestly believe we should just continue down this path for whatever time we have left and allow Shaki and 4536 to be our sensory for us. If we see anything we can avoid, we avoid it; even if it is weak. If we have to fight, then we fight," I said.