The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 48

Aoloa's GPS told him they were now crossing from Bolivia to Chile. He looked around. Mountains. Tons and tons of mountains. I suppose that's a better place to put a border than a river. Still, it's not what I'd call ideal. At least it's summer here.

Being in the Andes wasn't working well for them, but the nanites had expanded their lung capacity, mitigating the low oxygen considerably. What was unfortunate was the reality that they were now exposed. They'd left tree cover long ago, which meant satellites could pick them up.

::Chinchilla's pretty tasty, once you get past the fur,:: Keaka observed.

::You're just saying that because the pudu is way over there, and will scamper away before we get there,:: Hokulani replied with a feline smirk.

They were moving towards Illapel. Fortunately, there were regular rivers and streams for water, and plenty of rodents to eat. On the bad side, the terrain made for slow going, and their tendency to nap slowed things further. Keaka and Hanale weren't as motivated to make progress as Aoloa and Hokulani. The result was slow progress.

They continued a ways when Hanale pointed to a small herd of animals. ::Dinner!::

Aoloa looked, then glanced at Hokulani. ::No. Not dinner. That's trouble.:: Hanale looked confused. ::If we start killing domestic animals, it will make people hostile towards us. It makes a trail of killings that will get reported. Leave the llamas alone.::

Hanale pouted a bit, but complied. He accepted that keeping a low profile was necessary, and that Aoloa would kick his ass if he caused problems.

Eventually, the arrived at the outskirts of Illapel. Hokulani lay on the ground, surveying the landscape below them. ::This is a terrible place for our kind,:: she finally observed.

Aoloa could only nod. ::There's not a lot to eat. You think the articles were a trap?::

Keaka and Hanale sat quietly next to them, eyes scanning for trouble. ::I think if we go to leech wifi, we'll get picked up and attacked. I think the Reserva Nacional Lago Peñuelas makes a lot more sense. They might have come up here to scout the area out, but it just doesn't fit.::

Aoloa consulted his maps. ::That would put us near Valparaiso. It's a much better area to live, and gives us better access to Internet. I like it. Let's keep our noses open for family, though.::

They all nodded, then waited for nightfall to slip past the town below them.