10 Minutes East of Previous Location

The forest surrounds us on all sides, the trees infinitely tall and sturdy. Marks cover the bark, proof of their age and time in this world. Despite being so deep within, there is no sound, the forest kept eerily quiet despite the lush environment.

“What’s your name?” Carl asks as he steps on a branch, the sound almost echoing within the quiet forest.

“I guess I haven’t told you yet, have I? My name is Adam.”

“Adam?” Kate muses, “Sounds awfully human to me. Adam, how come you act so human? In all of history there have never been any records of a machine like you, not even in Legend.” I shrug, “The last thing I knew before I entered this body was war, before then? I was just like you.” Kate freezes in place for a moment in front of me, and I find myself stopping behind her.

“What is it?” A hint of concern hidden in my voice. Did I freak her out? Is she amazed? Sympathetic? But before my thoughts can continue she is quick to face me with a finger on her mouth. The universal sign for quiet. I force myself to stop speaking and listen closely, but just like before the forest sounds absolutely silent. A blur appears in the corner of my vision, the slightest and smallest almost imperceivable movement, but I spot it and quickly turn my head to face it, too quickly. As my eyes begin to focus on the subject of the group, the creature jumps from its spot knowing it’s been noticed. Knowing that its element of surprise is gone it leaps away into the trees, gone for now.

“I don’t believe I need to guess to know who spooked it, but that Reganel will come back. It is not one to give up on its prey.” Kate nods her head towards where the Reganel had once been, “We could have killed it if we had waited for it to strike first, but it will be cautious now.” Carl winces, “Just how much have you been out here Kate? I thought you were just a barber. We’ve known eachother since childhood, right? We don’t need to keep secrets.” Kate shoots Carl a short glance, “If there was something you needed to know, I would tell you.”

Silence crawls along with us as we move through the thick, dense foliage. Almost every step a loud crunch of leaves or the wet mulch of mud. Much like when I was in the ocean, the flora surrounding me makes the world feel ever so surreal. Trees with intertwining spiralling trunks, and bushes without leaves but instead many small butterfly like creatures which appear to be drinking sap. The ‘butterflies’ are known as Caprilla and apparently the bushes produce a type of honey from the remains of nearby Gabbit Colonies. The Caprilla produces a small but potent toxin that can kill Gabbit workers, and the corpses are then buried in the ground for the ‘bush’ to grow and produce more sap.

Kate says she could explain much more about the local insects and wildlife, but it reminds her too much of her father. Somehow I doubt that.

“We’re close to the end of the forest, after this it’s clear to travel to the port. If you’re lucky you’ll find Thomas, he comes to town every now and then to trade for supplies.” Kate opens her mouth to say something more but immediately stops and raises her hand before slowly lowering it down. Her message is clear, ‘Don’t move’. Agin finally seems to awake from his slumber. ‘I have detected multiple hostile biological entities closing in on our location.’ If I could furrow my brow, I never would have furrowed it harder than right now.

Multiple?

‘They all appear to be of the same or similar species as the one you encountered earlier.’

Crap, how many?

‘23’

Urgently I lightly stamp my foot, quiet but loud enough to draw Kate’s attention. She stares at me questioningly, concern clearly nestled within her eyes. I frantically count on one hand then the other, and then back again until I reach the total of 23, before pointing to the forest. Kate at first simply furrows her brow, but her furrow very quickly becomes a frown, and then her face molds into pure terror as she looks at me and makes a frantic gesture that’s hard to make out, pointing vaguely at her head.

I know exactly what she’s asking. ‘Are you sure?’

I nod.

Kate stays still for a moment before breaking into a full sprint. “Screw this shit! Let’s get the fuck out of here!”