Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

43 Trust (Part 3)

They walked in silence through the forest, occasionally glimpsing the peaks of the Goldhorn Mountains and using them as a guide on their trek north. The night was cold; it had been cold, but with all that had occurred that night, they hadn't acknowledged the weather until now.

Reo generated a small dome of warmth around them. Without the sun, it took most of his strength to do so. But it was a necessary risk to keep their bodies from freezing. Maeyune thanked Vaius for lending him that added energy--if the planet was capable of listening.

They collected a few more resources along the way and tore apart bulbs from the fallen motherships. The bulbs were constructed from a dense material analogous to glass and were attached to short, metal rods. With the light still alive inside the bulbs, they looked more like magic staffs than anything.

Maeyune wasn't sure what sort of energy kept them lit, but they functioned well as makeshift lanterns in the night. As she and Reo walked, she was grateful that nothing in the forest had come to inspect the origin of their light.

Upon further rummaging, they had come across patches of tattered cloth. They tied the ends together and used them as knapsacks for their tools and weapons. Their sacks now hung over their shoulders and across their chests like bandoliers.

Maeyune had also acquired a Wobeck energy shield. It was a short rod of metal that when she held it in her palm and used her thumb to fling on its small switch, the ends of the rod split open. Tiny plates of metal flew out to coat her forearm in a sleeve of armor. A flash of light expanded into the air from the sleeve, forming an ovate shield of violet energy that was as tall as she was.

The materialized shield was heavier than she had expected, but its length was adequate enough for her to set one end on the ground and still have more than enough coverage.

She flipped off the switch, and the energy and shards returned inside the rod.

Without her powers, she had to resort to using any weapons she could scavenge.

She at last remembered the device band on her left forearm, a tool that she had grabbed from the Bresnian celestial base. There was a deep crack across its surface, and she felt her stomach flip in dismay.

She had used it to track the Beran recon team inside Eastwood Forest. If she could still use it...

She ran her fingers across its surface, anticipating with some luck that the holographic panel would activate again. When it didn't, she sighed in defeat.

The recon team, Meera, Clover, and Deric--she had left them all on the battlefield.

Where were they now? Had they made it out of the ambush alive?

Shivra is gone. Aerylis is gone. Trix and Benny are gone. All those soldiers are gone.

You failed them. You are a failure.

Unacceptable.

Her throat emitted an involuntary croak, and Reo, who walked a few feet ahead of her, turned at the sound.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and masked her face with impassiveness. "Nothing," she said.

It was so easy to lie, to pretend.

Be strong.

Reo seemed to take her word. Though, something thoughtful passed over his face. He appeared ready to speak, but he decided against it and continued walking.

Out of his line of sight, she closed her eyes tight to push out the grief. Again, she let willful anger quell the pain.

Unclipping the metal locater band from her arm, she discarded it and turned her attention to the path ahead.