The Jenetix Program

Chapter 22: Rude Return

"So, what do we do now?" Noah asked as I wiped the last of his tears from under his eyes.

"We'll think about that later. What happened with you and your squadron?" I asked.

"They kicked me out. They thought they were wasting their supplies on me because I was the youngest." He sniffed and he gave me a look of shame.

"Bastards." I muttered under my breath. "Do you know where they are now?"

"I have the map of their route, but they wouldn't let me go near them. I finished my last packet of food last night because they wouldn't give me anymore." He slid out a neatly folded map from the front pocket of his bag and opened it up. Examining it, I realized they were not far from where we were. They were a little closer to the base than we were and I decided what I was going to do to them before I even took a glance at the map.

"Ronnie, please don't hurt them. They are scared and tired and some of them are sick, they already have enough to handle as it is."

"Yeah, well, they should have thought of that before they kicked you out." He looked at me with his puppy-dog eyes and I realized that he must have ran out of Lethum too. He didn't have his glasses because the Lethum fixed his short-sightedness, but now that he had ran out, his vision must have returned to it's normal, crappy state.

"Please, Ro, they were just scared."

"That's not a good enough excuse!" I cried. "They left you out here to die and you are okay with letting them do that?"

"After a while, everyone in the teams turn on each other! That's what being out in these forests do to you! Soon you'll realize it's every man for himself."

"If it was every man for himself, I wouldn't be out here looking for you." I said, holding him by the shoulders and looking him dead in the eye. There was a pause where I thought about it and I came to a conclusion, one I hoped that Noah would be okay with.

"How about we don't physically harm them, we just... be a little bit sneaky." I said, a plan forming in my head.

"What are you thinking?" He chuckled.

=====================================================================================

We spied on the campsite of Noah's old squadron from behind a couple of tall, thick trees. It was just past mid-day and the sun was at the highest point in the sky, so everyone in the group had gone off to practice or hunt. The campsite was fairly empty aside from one person reading a book on top of a stack of logs.

"Please be careful, Ro." Noah said from next to me and I gave him a look of confidence and mischievousness.

I crept towards the closest tent and unzipped the back, peeking my head in it to make sure it was empty. When I saw that there was no-one inside, I moved in and scanned my eyes over the various bags that were stashed in the corners.

Idiots. I thought while smirking. They have all their valuables in one tent and no-one to guard them.

I zipped open the first bag, taking out a total of seven maps. No-one appeared to have any on them, so this was a bonus. Without them, there would be no way for them to know where the Beastial base was or the safest routes. Underneath the maps were their compasses and I quickly shoved them inside my bag. This was all I was supposed to be getting, but at the sight of a small box peeking out of another bag by the entrance, I was too curious to leave now. I crept over by the front of the tent and pulled out the box. Before I could read what the symbol on it said, I heard the happy chatting of the squadron members from outside. Without a second thought, I grabbed the bag and ran out of the exit of the tent.