The Eden Projects (FINAL EDITING)

Chapter 49. Reaction.

Their drive took around two hours to make and by the time they reached the place, it was nearly late afternoon. "Where are we going." In one moment it was snowing, and in the next, that snow was a warm rain that kissed the skin on his arm through the cracked passenger window.

The truck crawled to a stop, "Damn mist." With a turn of the key the vehicle quieted. Swinging on a noose, waiting for the twist to turn its dormant struggle back into action. Jack left the truck first, and walked down the road quietly.

"Jack." Kasper followed. It was all snow covered abandoned vehicles and empty belongings.

Action, reaction.

"This is the road in."

"Into where?" Kasper felt along his belt line, sure that the gun was nestled there. His finger's were fuzzy with nervous anticipation. The air in his lungs was sweet. Is this hope?

"This is the road into Ark." Jack checked the sights of his rifle. "A backroad."

"What?" Kasper barely heard him. An odd heaviness filled the air. Something was going to happen.

"I was thinking about things. If Ace was in contact with Ark and constantly flying back and forth between them, the tower, and us, it couldn't have been too far out-" Jack pulled out his map. Showing their location with a well pointed finger. A distance away from their current standing, a large "X" had been drawn. "-I did some digging, and chatted with Riley about the area before the collapse. I can't say for sure if this is where but I'd be damned if it wasn't. This spot right here, see how it's cleared but unmarked? It's also the top of a triangle. Look, if you drew the tower, the camp, and it to each other. These are clear flight paths." He tapped the page. "There are technically three Ark locations in Michigan. This is the closest to town."

Kasper nodded. Now he was listening, and oh how he wished he had done this sooner.

"If they're sending out single scouts, and they aren't coming from town then they must have a pretty concentrated force nearby. We can assume they've pinpointed our location. Based on when their OPS radios go silent or whatever they are using to monitor the people they send. Trackers. Whatever." He folded the map away. "I bet they were using the kills to triangulate our position."

"We led them straight to us." Kasper understood.

"Yeah- more or less we're sending them stamped postcards. They are likely marking the time between deaths, locations, and vitals. Gauging the danger. and pinpointing us. How quickly are we able to find and dispatch, how big is our active radius. So on."

Kasper scoffed. "Great."

The two weaseled between the old cars. They were smack dab in the middle of nowhere and Kasper wondered how a state so small managed to have so many different types of terrain. The rolling fields and forests had turned to a pine wonderland in a matter of miles. Somewhere ahead, the sound of crunching gravel snapped his attention forward. This fog is terrible. His eyes scanned the distance.

"Ark knows we're running low on supplies, but that has to mean they are too. They have to be." Jack coughed and led him on. He had been glancing back nervously the entire time. "I bet they're waiting for us to come knocking just to prove a point."

"How can I trust you?" Kasper's insecurity pricked. He was vulnerable. This was a nasty situation to be in.

Jack sighed. His ears twitching. He shouldered his gun. "I have no reason to lie."

...tick tock... tick tock...

Kasper shook the voice away, pinching his ear to his shoulder.

"We can't wait for them to move. They'll bleed us out. If they told Ace Spring, and they haven't moved then there's got to be a reason. We have to find out what's going on."