The morning caught Bars unprepared. The protective shield of his visor wasn't down and once the morning sun rose, its rays shined into the Hunter's half-closed eyes. He blinked several times in protest of the sunlight and he gave an unsatisfied grumble, once he realized that the night had passed so quickly. The sunrise worried Bars even more so. With every passing minute, he saw even more clearly the inhospitable area around them – gray and lifeless, drier than any other place. Who would have believed that green slugs could live in that wilderness, if it hadn't been written in the Textbook?
Once the little pests slid into his consciousness, Bars' stomach cramped with pain – it was high time to head out and hunt. Bars stretched his stiffed limbs and his Shell moved sprightly. This new day offered the chance to show his skills to Leegan and the rest of the boys.
“Let's go get some food,” said Bars starting to wake-up his colleague.
After a short hesitation, Vestule lifted the protective shield of his visor. Opened his eyes wide and grimaced once he realized that he wasn't in the Fortress.
“What, already? Let me sleep a little longer!”
“Come on, get moving!” continued Bars stubbornly. “We shouldn't waste any more time!”
“I want to sleep!” griped Vestule.
“Don't you know what is said in the Textbook? The slugs come out once night has passed. It's time to hunt!” Bars reminded him.
“OK, OK! You’re right,” Vestule agreed with him finally.
The rest of the boys continued resting, while the two Hunters went out into the open and looked around. A long and difficult day awaited them in which it was imperative that they find some slugs. The more, the better.
“Hey, isn't that Leegan and Yazo over there?” noted Bars.
Their suits stuck out from the landscape about 50 meters from their resting place.
“Maybe they found some sign of Gor?” suggested Vestule and the two of them headed over there.
When they reached the place, they understood what the Defenders had found – a bottomless pit several meters in diameter gaped in the dry ground. Its edges were crumbling in and for that reason the boys observed it from a safe distance.
“Look what we've found!” declared Yazo, when he saw the Hunters. His voice echoed somewhere down in the darkness of the hole. “We found it once nightfall had lifted.”
“Did Gor fall in here?” asked Vestule.
“There's nowhere else he could have gone,” replied Leegan. “Before I left him alone at his post, I took a look around and I'm sure that this hole wasn't here last night.”
“Why did he wander so far off from the group?” wondered Bars out loud.
Thoughtful, the boys looked into the darkness below them, but that wasn't going to help them understand the answer to that riddle. The disappearance of the Defender had gone unnoticed for quite a long time, and without any witnesses there was no way to understand what had exactly happened.
“Goooor!” a distant echo was the only reply to Yazo's yell.
“Hey, be quiet, or you'll make the ground underneath us collapse, too!” ordered Leegan. “Go on and wake up the others. At least, you can do that.”
When Yazo had moved away, the Alpha Defender turned to the Hunters, who were still staring into the bottomless pit.
“Don't waste any more time here! I'm expecting you to do better today. And be careful about where you step while searching for food.” Then he returned to the main group, where they could already hear Yazo yelling.
“So, what's today's plan?” inquired Vestule.
“What do you say we try those hills over there?” Bars pointed into the distance.
The plains around them just continued undulating and covered in dust, but now on the horizon crooked silhouettes of distant rocks had appeared.
“Why over there? It's too far, and our chances of finding slugs on the rocks are minimal - that's what it says in the Textbook.”
“We need to look for them somewhere else. We didn't have much success in these plains. And if we lose another day without finding anything, we'll be in trouble,” said Bars expressing his concerns.
“You're afraid of Leegan, aren't you?” said Vestule laughing. “Believe me, if we continue toward those rocks, we'll surely waste our time and then you'll really make him angry.”
“I'm not afraid!” replied Bars insulted. “I'm just terribly hungry, plus I've made a promise. It's imperative that I find some food and if there isn't even one slug here in this damned valley, that means they’re somewhere else. Those rocky hills are the only different terrain around here.”
“I assure you that today we'll find a lot more slugs. I've read a lot about them in the Textbook. This is the place, trust me.”
“And I've read a lot about green slugs, but after yesterday, I'm beginning to question whether it's correct? What if the information in the Textbook is out of date?”
“If we don't trust in what is written in the Textbook, how in the world can we survive out here?”
“We'll learn by doing,” replied Bars. “Right from the source! Have you read anywhere that the ground can drop right out from under your feet while you’re walking? Well, this morning, I learned about that...Gor also learned that lesson, but in a different way.”
“I can't simply, just like that, deny everything written in the Textbook!” said Vestule expressing his disagreement. “It doesn't go your way searching one day and you’re already doubting! What's up with that! The Textbook was written by Heroes, who succeeded in returning to the Fortress after many long years in the wilderness. Who are you to question their experience?!”
“We're in a different reality! Don't you see that? How many more kilometers do we have to walk without result, in order to convince you, that there aren't any slugs here?” Bars was surprised at how stubborn Vestule was.
“We’ll just keep walking and sooner or later we'll find them, what's so difficult about that?”
“We must find some food,” exhaled Bars tired.
“Well, let's not waste any more time on useless arguments,” said Vestule and took off.
The argument definitely had been a waste of time and energy. The day was advancing and soon the hungry group would begin to follow the Hunters' trail. Bars looked one last time at the dark hole and got dizzy.
“What will we do today?” impatiently asked Rogar, once he saw that the Alpha Defender was once more among them.
“The same thing that we did yesterday, and the same thing that we'll do tomorrow,” replied Leegan. “We'll survive. And we'll keep doing it until the Freezing season.”
“And in what direction will we be going? Why are we only moving around in these dusty lands, my visor is dirty and I can't see well through it,” Luhar said while trying to clean off the accumulated dirt, but it was an impossible task with the metal of his suit.
“We're following the Hunters, they determine our path,” answered Leegan.
“Well, the only question that interests me is whether we'll have grub soon,” laughed Yazo.
“That's up to the Hunters,” said Leegan.
“Is there anything that doesn't depend upon them? Why are they so important anyway?” said Rogar indignantly. “I also can walk around and look for slugs. It's not that complicated, if you think about it. The slugs can't run away, anyways.”
“Especially, if they’re dead like yesterdays',” Yazo again laughed.
“Stop talking about slugs. My stomach is already grumbling. It's unbearable!” said Lem, who was again having problems with his one arm. “I hope we find something to eat soon.”
“I heard them talking last night. They're having problems finding them and they don't know what to do,” shared Opatar.
“That's not true! Bars promised that today he would find some and enough for all of us,” interjected Radator.
“I'm telling you that even if they do find some, they'll first eat as much as they can and if anything is left for us, then the
y'll shoot off the signal!” said Rogar. “I'd do that if I were in there place.”
“They wouldn't dare! Stop babbling foolishness, and get ready to move out,” commanded Leegan.
“Hey, what happened to Gor? Aren't we going to look for him before we head out after the Hunters,” asked Luhar, reminding them of what happened last night.
“We don't need to. He fell into a bottomless pit, just a few meters from here,” said Yazo.
“What the hell! What bad luck!”
Thirteen stood by himself, away from the group. The sleepless night had passed, but not the paralyzing fear. There had been something out there during the night that hid in the clouds of dust, prowling around like it was stalking them. Some kind of ghostly silhouette that faded into the darkness while the wind fiercely howled. Thirteen noticed it and mentioned it to Gor. The Defender decided to show Thirteen that it was only a figment of his imagination and went to check it out.
But Gor never came back.
In the morning when the boys understood that Gor had fallen into a pit, no one questioned what had made him move away from the group and Thirteen hoped that it would stay that way. Otherwise, they would surely abandon him.
“Let's go!” roared Leegan mightily and leaded the column.
The group of mechanized survival suits followed the steps of the Hunters, left upon the dry ground, hoping that they wouldn't fall like the unlucky Gor. The terrain was comparatively easy and Leegan moved quickly ahead, while the rest tried to keep up with his pace. However, hungry they might be, they energetically walked one after the other in the hope of getting some juicy slugs.
Only one Shell lagged farther and farther behind. Radator was using all of his strength to move as fast as he could, but the weight of the damaged leg drained what little strength he had left. After he had been dragging his Shell without any rest for a whole hour, he stopped worn out. He had reached the limits of his strength and there was no way he was going to catch up to the group.
“Hey, wait!” yelled Radator. He took a breath and yelled again, “Let's stop for a rest!”
Yazo, who was at the end of the column heard the desperate cry and gave a signal for the rest of the group to stop. Then everyone returned to where Radator was.
“What's wrong with you? We have no time for a break!” stated Leegan dissatisfied.
“Aren't you tired? With this leg, I'm already worn out,” replied Radator blowing out his breath.
“Can we do anything about his problem?” asked Leegan turning to the Mechanics.
Zimmer and Thirteen were categorical that without the needed parts there was nothing they could do to repair him.
“If we have to rest every 100 meters because of you, we will die of hunger. But we shouldn't leave you behind either, that's also clear,” Leegan circled Radator's suit and looked it over. “What should I do?”
“Why are we in such a hurry anyway? The Hunters still haven't sent up a signal,” asked Radator.
“Are there any volunteers, who would be willing to carry this Gatherer?” Leegan looked for volunteers. No one was burning with desire to haul the Gatherer on an empty stomach. “That's what I thought, and it's not worth it.”
“You have to help me!” Radator's voice sounded even more tired and desperate. “You can't abandon me!”
“Calm down, no one said we wouldn't help you,” said Leegan. “That leaves us only one option.”
“What are you going to do?” whimpered Radator and took a step back.
“We'll have to dismantle your Shell. Then you'll be lighter.”
Radator looked at the Alpha Defender frightened, knowing that the Alpha Defender was right. The metal armor was strong, but also quite heavy. Without it he would be vulnerable, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. He needed to stay with the group and if it cost him his Shell, he was ready to pay.
“OK, take it off,” said Radator submitting.
“Get to work,” Leegan commanded the other Gatherers.
Grinning wickedly, Rogar quickly took out his tools, while Opatar was taking his time visibly hesitating. Excited about the given task, Rogar turned on his cutting tool that was built into the arm of his suit. The sound of the horrifying saw drowned out Radator's whimpering moans.
“Go away, you clumsy fool! You'll only get in my way! I'll be able to handle this by myself!” Rogar yelled at Opatar then he got to work.
One after another, the metal parts of Radator's armor fell to the ground. The edges were smoking hot, just like the marks left on the stripped down suit. Now, without a Shell and with a damaged leg, Radator looked even more pathetic. The boys looked on despondently from the side, impatient for Rogar to turn off his beloved saw.
The whole time, the two Mechanics watched the cruel dismantling from a distance.
“Damn! If only he could have held out for a few more days, we might have found an old suit with spare parts,” said Zimmer disappointed.
“He was not going to last that long,” replied Thirteen.
Leegan came over to them and interrupted their conversation.
“I have an idea! You will help me improve my Shell with the new parts.”
“You don't need more metal!” Thirteen courageously said.
“And why do think that?” said Leegan moving to stand in front of Thirteen.
“Have you seen what you look like? Your Shell has twice as much metal as everyone else in the group.”
The Alpha Defender moved closer to the boy, who dared challenge his decision.
“Each new piece of metal will exponentially increase your energy output, in order to move all that load,” continued Thirteen, ignoring the threatening stance of the leader. “The Fortress will launch refueling capsules only after the Freezing season. That's after quite a long time! Will you last that long?”
“Don't doubt it, I'll last!” replied Leegan while glaring at him.
At that moment, a bright light hung far away on the horizon.
“Food!” yelled Yazo and chaos ensued among the boys.
“Finally, slugs!” added Luhar.
“Follow me!” ordered Leegan and began leading the column again.
Rogar and Opatar quickly gathered up the metal pieces of Radator's Shell and hung them on the hooks of their suits. After making sure that they were attached, they rushed to catch up with the retreating group. Radator's suit stood immobile for a few minutes before it moved. After a few slow and unsure movements, the boy found the courage to head for the fading light.