Hunt

Chapter 63: Family Ties

The engine of the car sputters out as I pull the key from the ignition. The headlights click off, plunging us into near total darkness inside the parked vehicle. The night sky was black with overcast clouds, leaving no moon or stars to guide our way tonight. We were completely alone out here right now or so I hoped.

"Alright, let's gear up. We're walking from here." I say softly to Julie in the passenger seat as I unbuckle myself. Stepping from the car and out into the evening air. Taking a deep breath to calm my mind.

The night is warm, the asphalt still radiating the suns warmth long after it had set. But there is a chill on the breeze. Crickets chirp in the brush around us as I walk to the rear of the car, my feet crunching on the loose gravel as I pop the trunk.

With a heavy breath and a nod to the silhouette of my sister next to me we both gather our gear together. We had managed to convince some of the other hunters that we were working on an unrelated project, gathering some additional gear to fill in the gaps in what we couldn't scavenge together ourselves. Other than our dark athletic attire Julie and I had ghilli's from Natasha, night vision from Vince, and rifles from Paul. Who was the only person who knew what we were really doing up here tonight.

Pulling my mag carrier over my head I clip the strap behind my back, helping Julie with hers. Even though they were meant for airsoft they worked just as well with actual rifle magazines. They were light and flexible, perfect for the kind of operation we tend to do. I help her get the ghilli over her head and secure it. It helped that Natasha had made these pretty much a one size fits all.

"Okay. I think that's everything." She says softly, slinging the rifle across her chest, chambering a round before flipping the safety to on.

"Wait, hold on. Don't forget the scent blocker. Probably the most important thing..." I reply as I scavenge the spray bottles from the trunk, quickly spraying the both of us down. I make sure to give us a heavier dose than normal. We couldn't be too careful, especially tonight. Pulling the hood over my head I set the mask over my face. When Julie follows suit I help her with the night vision, getting it set comfortably on her head. She had the same reaction that I did the first time I used Vince's toys, I'd have to look into saving up for a pair of my own with how convenient they make night operations.

After taking a minute to get accustomed to the night vision we set off, following a similar path to what we took on the initial scouting mission. This time I'd be the pathfinder, the tracker. I had full faith that Julie had my back covered. We had gone over the route and the plan extensively during the couple days it took for my shoulder to heal. It was still sore tonight but I couldn't let it be an issue, I wouldn't let it get in our way.

Keeping my head on a swivel I listen for anything and everything around us as we slowly creep up the mountain. Finding only an eerie silence similar to what there was on the first scouting mission. This time I note a noticeable lack of wildlife in the area, unlike the first scouting mission. It left a bad taste in my mouth, like everything but us knew what was eating for us. We move quicker than we did as a team of four, but carrying slightly more gear made it just as tedious.

It takes about just as long as the first time, taking short stops at predetermined checkpoints to catch our breath, but without much incident we reach the summit of the mountain. Finding a place to briefly stop just outside the trail clearing in the tree line. It would be the last time we could relax before we dug in and watched. After a short reprieve to gather our thoughts we begin to make our way to our determined observation point. We wouldn't be able to have eyes on all the buildings, so we'd have to pick a cluster and wait. Hoping that our target would cross that way. Should we come up empty we would regroup and change locations tomorrow night. We had discussed splitting up, but it just didn't sit right with me. We weren't a full team, and getting caught solo out here would be suicide. We had a couple nights still until the full moon, we could take our time and wait together.