By the rules, they had to walk back to their territory, and considering it's a ten-day walk back to their campsite, they weren't in for a lot of fun.By the rules, they had to walk back to their territory, and considering it's a ten-day walk back to their campsite, they weren't in for a lot of fun. They had to go as a group, and would be fed and provided packs for the journey. One catch, though... The breaker was not under the rules. She had her flag, and had to make her way back home, while every member of my team that wasn't involved in infiltration and recon was after her. And I had her. I had almost lost her last night. But I could smell her in the woods. She'd been forced back down off the treeline, and I might be able to get to her unseen. I knew that down that ridge, over to my left, there was a good facing to the small vale beyond the Piters. I headed for it, climbing over rocks and fording a small stream. I reached it. The view was magnificent, but I ignored it. Beyond was the vale that led to a crook, beyond which was a plain. The plain was about a three-day hike across, but my prey might not know where the border was. I looked with my binoculars, scanning the field before me. No, she had not reached the plain, not yet at any rate. She was still in the treeline. But before dark she would break the treeline; After that I would be able to move only at night, because she would have an enormously free field of vision to see me in. Even that was risky. I ducked back spinward and began an easy run, trying to make up for lost time. Last night I'd masked my scent by making my bed in a cave, and I knew that this Felinzi had lost me. This morning, the winds had changed, and I was the beneficiary. I could smell her, but not her me. I smiled at the thought. Sometime last night I'd disappeared. She must have thought I'd gotten down through the aspin pass, which was a shorter route. She would still be concerned that I would make the treeline and spot her, even before she did. Or I could even be waiting, lying in the tall grass of the border plain. I made an easy path and careened past the evergreens and moss covered rocks and I reached the approximate edge of the forest about three hours before dark. Damn. She was going to make good head time. I pulled out the binoculars and adjusted them. The lenses are made up of oil suspended in forcefields; they can be computer-adjusted to any resolution, and are much finer than glass or plastic. |