Scavengers {#Wattys2016}

Chapter Twenty

Andrew continued across the landscape. He had gotten to the edge where the desert scenery began with on luck at all. He had been out here for days and he was pissed off. How in the world could a group move so fast? Was it because they already had a destination in mind or because they were just moving without anything in mind?

Andrew honked slamming his head onto the steering wheel frustrated beyond belief. He hit the dash board pissed off.

"Damn it! Damn it!", he cursed.

He had been out here for five days and was sick and tired of his radar coming up with nothing. It was coming up with absolutely no life forms at all. Not even an animal. There was absolutely nothing out here! How do those people think they can survive when there is nothing but sand and rock out there?!

It's like suicide. But Andrew was angry. He stared at the faces. He had all of them on his front window shield projected and hovering with the same words blinking over and over again.

MISSING....MISSING.....MISSING.

Over and over again flashing that ugly red. Why couldn't it be ELIMINATED? Why did the words MISSING have to pop up? Why did they run? It would have made Andrew's job a whole lot easier for goodness sake!

Andrew glared at the pictures. If they were going to make this hard on him then he was going to make it hard on them as well. Whoever, those people were! They were a threat and had humiliated his mother! He was angry. Furious!

Andrew got out of the vehicle and slammed the door shut lifting up the back of the trunk. There were loads of guns and gadgets inside. But he was looking for something better. There it was.

Shiny and silver. Completely new and ready to be used. With the newest and most advanced upgrades. It was exactly what Andrew needed to get the job done so he wasn't running around the desert with no where to go but anywhere.

There was the hunting hound.

Andrew reached in turning a knob and he snapped his hand back as the silver hound bi towards him. Command programing hadn't been installed yet.

'Crap! Crap!', thought Andrew falling back as he fumbled around with his arm band pressing.

He glanced up the hounds was growling at him. The silver gearing glimmering and hind legs tensing. The beady red eyes and the teeth rotating as it growled stepping to the edge of the trunk bed crouching. It was assessing Andrew. It had no limitations. No commands yet, other than the normal....

see something....hunt that something....

Andrew backed away panicking. His breath quickened as he stared at the hound as it hopped down walking towards him growling and sinister. It had vile intent. Andre glanced at his band the loading sign was almost all the way there. So close!

The hound pounced on him and Andrew let out a yelp as the metallic jaws snapped shut.

Andrew crossed his arms over his face expecting pain and ravaging agony. But Andrew breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the all too familiar ding sound of confirmation.

The hound was frozen as it's personal Intel was waiting for updates on commands. Andrew quickly typed in the codes of commands. The primary one was listen to his computerized instructions, and the second...hunt down the individuals.

Yet Andrew didn't want the hound to hunt down the group and kill them. He wanted to do it himself so he knew the job would be done.

The hound stepped back and darted off racing into the dunes without a single thought of recognition. Who cares it was just a machine. That's all it was. A machine that followed coded orders based on numbers, dashes, periods, and letters. That's all it could understand and comprehend. That was all it had to do.

Andrew stood dusting himself. He cursed under his breath. He had let his emotions get the best of him and he hadn't thought things through. He had worked with hounds before. But he had just went and turned it on. Rule number one with hounds check their command Intel first before anything else.

Andrew got in the jeep. He stared at the pictures of the individuals. The hound would find them. They couldn't evade it. Technology was too good.

All Andrew had to do was follow the hound now and wait for updates. He clenched the steering wheel. He would get them. He would.....

And when he did.....he'd make them pay.