Chapter 91 Scouting
RB Chapter 91 Scouting
Friday, 10th September, 2199.
Its currently 11:21am, the rays of the sun were baking the land. It was the next day and the party were trudging along the road.
Miss Njibwa downed some red liquid from one of the few indestructible bottles of water which had been in the car. They had long become empty and right now she was drinking the blood of the cows they had slaughtered.
Her little face scrunched up at the disgusting taste.
"When will we reach a water source?" She asked softly.
Right now, they were travelling in formation with herself, Chloe and Eric in the middle. Leah, Dora, Elena and Sally were at the front and Monki was bringing up the rear with Mugumivu. The sides were left to Chloe and Eric who were in some terms, free pieces. They were in a position to aid any one.
This was part of the training. They had just started walking along the road and everyone was carrying a brown looking backpack formed from the fur of the cows.
"This thing is ugly!" Dora complained. The bag was truly ugly. It was carrying their smoked rations.
"But it is convenient." Eric answered he was the one who had created the crude bags. He had reached himself how during his first foray into the wilderness. He had been surprised upon learning that Mugumivu and Monki didn't know how.
They only casually told him that their clans had prepared everything every time they went into the wilderness. But right now they had been destroyed. They were very lucky to have been outside at the time.
'Even these two are amateurs!' He had lamented.
"Anyway, Dora, your beast DNA is that of a cat. Cats have heightened senses and coupled with energy channeling, the possibilities ate limitless! Your abilities alone qualify you as a scout. Smell, vision, hearing and danger instinct. Try channeling a bit of energy into your nose. The same goes to you, Elena" He suggested. The lesson was starting.
"Sally, your crocodile DNA puts you at the top of the food chain, a predator..." Sally listened while walking at the front. Her duty was to guard the others at the front.
"A crocodile has patience and all its muscles can jump from a state of relaxation to tension in a snap of a finger. Now, as you walk, try to relax your muscles, save and store energy, when something appears, you just need to pounce!" Eric elaborated. These were easy things.
"Now, onto the other things..." All the people in the group were listening attentively, even Chloe. Most of the times she used strength to solve everything.
"These things aren't related to your genetic abilities. First, predators always stalk their prey in the opposite direction of the wind. Can anyone tell me why that is?"
Everyone averted their gazes from him and pretended to be occupied by something except Sally.
"Its because they don't want their prey picking up on their scent and fleeing." Sally answered.
"Good. You have theory. I just have to hammer the practical into you."
"I am not a piece of wood!" Sally scowled.
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, has anyone discovered something?" He asked the people who had their senses spread out.
"I hear a trickle of water!?" The one who answered was bewildered. It was Mugumivu.
"Oh! Which direction?" Eric asked. Even the others, mostly the girls were paying full attention to this conversation.
They were still on the northern road, grass on both sides of the road swaying in the wind.
"Somewhere Northeast." Mugumivu seemed certain.
"How far?" Eric asked.
"I don't really know since this is my first time applying energy channeling to my ears."
'He has the most sensitive ears due to the elephant genes, so it must be multiple kilometers ahead. I hope these people don't complain.' He sighed.
"We are going in a little hunt, pour out all the contents in your bottles. That blood will become hard and disgusting, so let's search for some fresh blood." Eric said. Right now, they had to keep hydrating themselves. Besides, the blood even had nutrients.
They went of road, but towards the northeast. They had to continue to the water, after all the girls has spent some time without cleaning themselves. Even a barbarian like Chloe wanted a shower.
A gentle breeze caused the grass to sway.
"Feel the breeze, miss Njibwa. Your beast DNA is that of a bird. I want you to try and predict the weather for the rest of the day." Eric turned his attention to the one he had been neglecting.
"Wha...what?" Miss Njibwa was caught off guard and almost fell by tripping on a stone, causing him to catch her.
'What a small waist!' Eric righted her.
"Eric..." A voice almost sinister in nature caused chills to spread through his body. He was sure it was Monki, miss Njibwa's admirer. When he turned around, he could see that even Mugumivu was frowning.
That didn't faze him as much as the death stare at his side. Chloe was glaring, almost to the point of burning holes in his body.
"Chloe?" He asked with a quiver in his voice after turning around.
"Nothing." She hurriedly diverted her face side ways to prevent him from catching the faint blush on her cheeks.
"Hey! Elena! Try to capture any smells and sounds. Don't run around uselessly!" He shouted. She was essentially ignoring all his teachings.
"Okay!" She answered firmly.
They kept the previous formation even in the tall grass. Dora made a signal for them to stop after some time. Eric was surprised that she was taking thus seriously. It was as if her life depended on it.
Eric signalled the others to keep their positions and continued to the front trying to make less noise in the grass. Chloe moved closer to miss Njibwa since she was unprotected.
"What did you find?" Eric whispered upon reaching Dora's side.
"I have caught the scent of something two kilometers out and its causing my mouth to water." She whispered back seriously.
-------
Wreakage filled the road, mostly metallic pieces scattered here and there.
A bare piece of ground filled with ashes and unfinished wood was on the side of the road.
It was currently noon, the sun baking the ground causing a distortion in the air due the immense heat. A little critter, green in appearance, like a lizard, but with one eye, was weaving through the shadows cast by the metal pieces on the ground.
It was trying to cross the road by using the pieces as cover. Birds were continuously circling in the sky and any tiny mistake could lead to its death!
(Piak!)
Something applied pressure to the latest metal piece it was hiding under causing it to explode into pieces.
"Hmmm?" Someone looked down onto the metal piece and caught a splatter of blood at its side.
It was a man, three meters tall, with brown skin and bulging muscles. A bone spear was tied to his back and the loin cloth covering his privates gave him away as a barbarian. Four others, were lingering by his sides, but even they didn't dare get too close.
He had a ferocious gaze and his eyes alone were like burning torches, too bright for anyone with a weaker will to stare into them.
"It has been a very long time since our people last died to those green house brats." He said with a grin on his face. He was looking at the traces of the camp fire.
"Manji, were they strong?" His eyes turned towards the barbarian on his left causing him to shiver and unconsciously lower his head.
The barbarian(savage) was the one who had managed to flee from Monki.
"Yes! All the men were as strong as us but someone else was even stronger!" He said truthfully.
The savage with the spear was the leader and the other four were surbodinates. They weren't carrying any weapons. In their clan, only the leaders of hunting groups were qualified to wield weapons.
"Ntusi! What do you see?" He asked the barbarian to his right.
"They headed north." The barbarian said. He was very special, you could say a mutation. He could see smells due to a mutation in his brain.
(Squelch!)
Blood splattered. The barbarian who had led the others here, the one who had ran away from the battle with Eric's group raised his head only to see a cruel smile.
A hand was inside his chest when he shifted his eyes downwards. He could his heart in the palms of another.
"Your usefulness has expired. Weaklings who run from a battle aren't needed in the tribe." The spear wielding savage said calmly. His hand was the one in the other's chest. The other three didn't even blink an eye. To them this was natural.
He pulled out the organ and caused blood to splash onto his chest. The cowardly savage couldn't form any more words before his eyes became dim. A look of frustration was frozen on his face.