Arknights: When Hunters Meet (A Tacet x Projekt Red novel)

Chapter 5 - The Grey Hunter - Projekt Red Route

It was three weeks since I escaped that town full of trouble. Two weeks since I discovered another pair of tracks, smaller than the first.

I had a lot of time to think of my situation since I escaped that problematic stalemate. The weather for once finally turned milder. There were visibly more dirt roads that saw much use but never a proper paved one or highway. Far in the distance I could see lights when I walked upon peaks of terrain. And the ever eternal litter that was present wherever life existed was around as well. From them, I deduced that this nearest ''landship'' should belong to the company known as Rhodes Island.

In the end I decided that my nomadic travelling style should come to an end. There was no growth in it. There would be no answers to be found living as a travelling recluse.
And to be honest I was kind of tired of the lack of perks of this lifestyle as well. Long have I wished for a bath, a nice hot meal with a good strong drink. And I longed for the best friend a man could have, a comfortable bed. Which was sorely lacking since my awakening. In all cases I should find my needs covered and some questions answered if I approached this pharmaceutical company and offered my services in exchange for employment. By my estimates I was close, so close. There were cars and aircraft passing daily in the area. This mothership whatever was called must be very near but always on the move.

I decided to shorten my road by cutting over a monster of a mountain instead of trailing the tracks in the cover of the forests. By my calculations from the directions of incoming aircraft I surmised that the landship should be going around that said mountain. Using this shortcut should put me on a meeting course with it, if not then getting me a Hell of a lot closer in a faster way.

She was a harsh mistress reminiscent of Caradhras itself. She was gruelling to climb and traverse. It was as if it beckoned me to try to ascend only to offer me death. It was sharp, it was steep, and it was unmerciful to climb and well as to leap off of different peaks and crevices. The wind bellowed and lashed hard against me, chilling me to my core almost. Its rock at many paces was unreliable, many a times almost finding myself split second from falling to my death. The trees were of such a kind that were almost impossible to climb all the way up to get a better view when I was at its base. And the snow was slowing my progress greatly. Again I had to rely on my senses and my sharp mind to choose the best path in this death trap. I was out of food and I strained my body to give all its strength to pass this seemingly insurmountable task.

On the other side of the mountain the forest greeted me once again on the last slopes of that harsh mistress of a mountain. A normal person with still two braincells to rub in his skull would have ditched the white robe if he valued his skin against people that might still follow the old saying of ''Kill first, ask questions later''. Yet my initial attire was so torn and burned in my first encounter that this robe was pretty much a necessity. Yet I cut off the orange symbol that was sewn on the right side, as much good that would do.

As I continued to walk I could seem to hear an old familiar sound not so far off in the distance. It was the sound of industry. Of civilization. I walked at a brisk pace, alert of my surroundings and I could notice that unmistakable sound growing in intensity. Finally, the tall and dense forest ended abruptly. And in front of me I could see the immensity of the gargantuan machine that was the Rhode Island landship. It's name standing large and visible on what seamed to be an immense cylindrical water tower.

My senses suddenly sharpened. My muscles tensed. I felt before I saw her, and there she appeared in front of the landship. She must have seen me come out of the forest and jumped right out from some viewing terrace. A lean and agile figure clad in a red jacket. Her light grey hair bound in the air and her tall furry ears sprung out as her hood flew backward.

''She feels like death.'' I thought.

-You are the one that escaped Red. I will end you now.

My expression was serious. I knew instinctively that there was no way of talking my way out of this predicament. I believed she would have acted the same have I ditched the white cloak. If the race I judged her to be of was correct then she would recognise my scent. But, I was more than sure of what she was. Her sharp grey ears, that distinctive tail, she was definitely a lupo. And a dangerous one, I could feel... an aura of peril, if that was even possible. And I couldn't mistake who was in front of me. She was the same red shadow that butchered all those masked people in the building. I was between a rock and a hard place now. Or more like a damn if I do and damn if I don't one. Dropping my original weapons I pulled out the once flaming katana of the Reunion scout just as the Red figure dashed blazingly fast at me.