Planet Tetro ~ Page 11

Now to get back to the more critical matters. There were plenty of questions that just came up. We have a schedule, though, so we have to figure it out on the go. All hope is not lost; this is a perfect time to test my new invention. After my last mission, I created a near-indestructible device. It's also waterproof. It's a metal tube with rubber band-like brakes to provide resistance to Bulls Eye's powers, and I'll have Bulls Eye mark it. He already scored Slims shop when we were there.

Last but not least, Slim has the key to open it. To conclude, at any time, we can send messages to Slim. Well, five because that's how many I packed. Not including that, I only created ten so far. Bringing half will do. Hopefully, we won't have to use it anymore. At the moment, Bulls Eye can only mark three landing spots for his honing. So this also leaves us at a slight disadvantage. Even while fighting right now, he can only keep two enemies simultaneously. The significant part is that he's a natural marksman either way.

Question number 1 that needed to be solved: who are these little guys? We wrapped up one of the bodies in first-aid bandages. We put him in a tube along with a letter describing what happened and asking for research to be done on this mystery race. While I was doing this, the other two buried the rest in decent-sized graves. After all, we did kill them by accident.

Question number 2 had to be answered. Why were they stalking us? What did they want? What objective may they have had? From everything that transpired, I assume they were up to something. They were scavengers or scouts of a larger group. Sapphire Cave is the primary mission, though. We concluded that we'd wait until we returned to the village before dwelling on the little people.

We kept moving at the same pace as before. Walking and then lightly jogging. Except this time, we were all a little anxious. We would like to know if we are still being tracked. Whenever we saw an animal or something blown hard by the wind, it would instantly catch our attention. At one point, we all locked eyes and started laughing. Our chemistry as a trio was growing fast. After realizing how attentive each other was, we all felt more relaxed. After all, what could a race of tiny people do to us?

We saw a small cave on the side of a small mountain. After searching for it and only finding a few small animals to cook. We decided to set up camp for the night. I chose to deduce our plans for the night. "Should we do rotations tonight, fellas? If so, I can take a quick nap right now. That way, we'll always have at least one person up. Wake me up in a few ?" "You got it," "Sure," they replied.

"Hey!" I woke up to John and Bulls Eye shaking me hard without looking at me. They were looking outside of the cave at the entrance. After I gained some composure, I noticed at once. Around 30 pairs of eyes are staring at us. Which means there were others about earlier. This must also mean there are ones we can't see at the moment. After realizing the situation, I said, "Okay, guys, two questions. How long did I sleep, and what do you guys want to do?"