The Feeding Season

  ***

  Yazo succeeded in catching up to Thirteen and blocked his path. He raised his hands and panting said, “Where do you think,.... you're going at this time of night?! Get back to the others!”

  “I have to catch up to Bars as fast as I can and warn him,” replied Thirteen and went around Yazo without wasting any more time. “If I hurry I'll be able to catch up with him. You get back to your post... we'll be back in a little bit.”

  “What? What are you going to warn him about? Head back now, I'm telling you, because if you don't Leegan will take it out on me! O, damn it!”

  Thirteen didn't pay any attention to the warning and forced the Defender to chase after him again.

  “Wait a moment, man! Hey, you're driving me crazy! Why did you choose to be courageous on my shift?”

  “Don't yell so much, because all the Savage Shells will hear you,” replied Thirteen and continued to look for tracks on the dry ground.

  The Defender was stunned for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and ran after the little Mechanic. When he reached him again, he grabbed one end of his Shell and panting told him, “Don't force me to use strength! Go back now or we'll both be sorry.”

  “Save your strength,” said Thirteen and slipped easily out of Yazo's grip, then he quickly resumed his course.

  “Oh, you little ....!” Yazo out of breath finished his curse in his mind. He really was extremely tired, after using so much energy trying to beat Leegan with no result after the storm. He had used so much energy without even succeeding in seriously damaging his Shell. The Alpha Defender was a frightening opponent, and Yazo didn't need to make any more mistakes, so that's why he ran after the little deserter.

  When Thirteen understood that Yazo wasn't going to give up so easily, he sped up his pace and his suit began to nimbly jump forward. The much heavier Defender noisily followed after him and from time to time yelled some cuss word. Thirteen's searchlights jumped everywhere after each hop, but he did everything possible to not lose the trail. Harnessing all his stubbornness and

  tenacity, Yazo was spraying thick strings of saliva, while his Shell was slowly but surely gaining on the fugitive. Neither of them was planning on giving up, and so they continued running like wild through the wasteland. Thirteen had to reach Bars to try and get him to return to the group before he ran into that thing, which had been stalking them during the night. Unfortunately, the Hunter wasn't close by. Thirteen was running with all his strength, but Bars was apparently moving faster. His trail started to fade and it was becoming an impossible task to find it, especially during the night. Yazo had completely stopped keeping track of where he was because he was simply running after the little Mechanic and doing everything he could to not be left behind.

  When Thirteen suddenly stopped, Yazo's Shell ran into him. Both of them tumbled to the ground, rolling on the dusty ground. For about a minute, they just lay on their backs breathing quickly. It was a long time before either of them had the strength to talk.

  “Stop.... now... here for a while!” ordered Yazo.

  “No....problem,” replied Thirteen. “Anyway…I don't know where to go.”

  “I knew it, we’re lost...damn it!”

  The sky that they were staring up at began to cloud over. The stars, which had been the only beautiful thing this night, one after the other disappeared behind the thick covering. While the boys recovered their strength, a soft breeze began to blow, which blew the dry sand and erased the rest of the tracks.

  “What do we do now?” Yazo asked anxiously.

  “I don't know,” replied Thirteen. “We can only hope that Bars will find us on his way back...”