The blood on the stone had dried.
David crouched beside it, studying the dark red stain while the others waited behind him.
It wasn't much.
A few drops.
Another small smear several feet farther along the trail.
Nothing that suggested someone had died here.
But it was enough.
The soldiers from Outpost One had left together.
They had traveled northeast toward Outpost Two.
And somewhere along the way, at least one of them had been hurt.
David stood.
"Keep moving."
Gamma continued along the trail.
The military tracks were impossible to miss now.
Dozens of boot prints covered the damp earth, following the narrow service route through the jungle.
Some were deeper than others.
Some overlapped.
Occasionally, the tracks spread around fallen trees or thick vegetation before coming together again.
But they remained organized.
Nobody appeared to have broken formation.
Nobody had scattered into the jungle.
Whatever had happened along the way hadn't stopped the soldiers from continuing toward Outpost Two.
Castiel walked several steps to David's right.
His eyes moved between the tracks and the surrounding trees.
"They made it farther than I expected."
David glanced toward him.
"Why?"
Castiel pointed toward the blood they had left behind.
"I expected that to get worse."
"So did I."
Nyra stepped around a thick root.
"Maybe someone was injured during the evacuation."
"Could've been," David said.
June adjusted the portable long-range transmitter strapped to his pack.
Castiel noticed.
"Still have it?"
June slowly looked toward him.
"Yes."
"Just checking."
"You've checked four times."
"Five."
June stared at him.
Castiel's mouth moved slightly.
June pointed toward him.
"You're enjoying this."
"A little."
June looked toward David.
"Make him stop."
David kept walking.
"You forgot our transmitter."
"I knew taking responsibility was a mistake."
Mira moved beside him.
"You didn't take responsibility."
June looked at her.
"I admitted it."
"After David made you."
"That still counts."
"No."
June sighed.
"I miss when you were quiet."
Mira looked ahead.
"No, you don't."
June opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
David smiled but kept his attention on the jungle.
The joking helped.
It always did.
But the farther they traveled, the harder it became to ignore the feeling that something was wrong.
The Varkyss Ravager's trail had separated from theirs several miles earlier.
Its massive tracks had turned farther east, deeper into A-08.
David had marked the location.
They would return to it.
The Legendary Apex remained their primary objective.
But right now, three silent military outposts took priority.
Especially after what they had found at the communications tower.
Someone had destroyed it.
Someone had hidden a jammer inside the wreckage.
That wasn't something a beast did.
David looked down at the military tracks.
He didn't know what had happened here.
He didn't like not knowing.
The service trail gradually widened.
Signs of Human activity became more common.
A marker post.
Then another.
An old transport track cut through the mud.
Lucian stopped near one of the markers.
"Outpost Two. Three kilometers."
David checked his navigation display.
"That's right."
June looked ahead.
"Maybe somebody will actually be home this time."
No one answered.
June frowned.
"That wasn't supposed to sound as ominous as it did."
They continued.
Twenty minutes later, Mira raised one hand.
Gamma stopped.
David immediately looked toward her.
"What?"
Mira pointed toward the ground.
The trail from Outpost One crossed another set of tracks.
More boots.
David crouched.
These weren't coming from Outpost One.
They were moving along the service route from the east.
Castiel approached.
"Patrol?"
"Maybe."
Lucian studied them.
"They're military."
David nodded.
The tread pattern matched.
He followed the tracks with his eyes.
They merged with the larger group heading toward Outpost Two.
Nyra looked toward the jungle.
"Could've been an Outpost Two patrol meeting them."
"That would make sense," David said.
June glanced around.
"Good."
Castiel looked at him.
"What?"
"Something making sense."
June adjusted the transmitter again.
"I've missed that."
They moved on.
The first sign of Outpost Two appeared through the trees almost half an hour later.
A wall.
Unlike Outpost One's lighter perimeter fencing, Outpost Two had been built into rougher terrain.
Reinforced barriers surrounded the compound.
A watch platform rose above one corner.
David stopped.
Something was wrong with it.
The platform was empty.
No guard.
No movement.
Then he noticed the railing.
Bent.
Nyra saw it too.
"That doesn't look right."
David raised one hand.
Gamma stopped.
"Short-range call first."
June activated his comm.
"Outpost Two, this is Gamma Squad approaching from the southwest. Respond."
Static.
June waited.
"Outpost Two, Gamma Squad. Respond."
Nothing.
David's eyes moved across the perimeter.
No lights.
No personnel.
No movement.
"Again."
June transmitted.
"Outpost Two, respond."
Silence.
David unfolded his Claw Gauntlets.
"Weapons out."
Castiel drew his Shadow Blade.
Nyra's Twin Wind Crest Swords unfolded into her hands.
Lucian drew the Bloodcrest Blade.
Mira's Twin Blades snapped into place.
June extended his Kinetic Baton.
David looked at them.
"Stay tight until we know what we're walking into."
Gamma advanced.
The main gate appeared ahead.
David slowed.
Outpost One's gate had simply been open.
This one was different.
One side hung crooked from its upper mounting.
The lower hinge had been bent inward.
Deep marks scarred the metal.
David approached carefully.
Castiel stopped beside him.
"Something hit it."
"Looks like it."
Nyra studied the damage.
"From outside?"
David moved closer.
He ran one claw lightly beside the indentation without touching it.
The metal had buckled inward.
"Yeah."
June looked at the gate.
"That's not comforting."
David stepped through.
Gamma followed.
The difference between Outpost One and Outpost Two was immediate.
Outpost One had looked abandoned.
This place looked interrupted.
A supply crate lay overturned near the entrance.
Its contents were scattered across the ground.
A portable barrier had been knocked sideways.
One of the lights mounted along the inner wall had shattered.
A long mark cut across the side of the nearest building.
But there were no bodies.
David searched the open space.
Nothing moved.
"Gamma, sweep it."
He pointed.
"Castiel, Nyra, left side."
They moved.
"Lucian, Mira, right."
Lucian nodded.
"June, with me."
June looked at the damaged compound.
"Gladly."
David and June moved toward the central structure.
David checked every doorway before passing it.
The first room was empty.
The second—
Empty.
A chair had been knocked over.
A terminal remained dark.
Several documents were scattered across the floor.
David picked one up.
Routine supply inventory.
Nothing useful.
June checked the communications console.
"Dead."
"Damaged?"
"Checking."
David moved into the next room.
More empty chairs.
A half-open storage cabinet.
An abandoned jacket.
No bodies.
No one hiding.
No answers.
"David."
June's voice came from the communications room.
David returned.
June had opened the lower maintenance panel.
Several cables hung loose.
One had been cut.
David crouched beside him.
"Intentional?"
June examined it.
"No."
He showed David the end.
The cable had been ripped apart.
"Something pulled the console away from the wall."
David looked at the floor.
The entire communications station had shifted several inches.
Deep scratches marked the surface beneath it.
"Can you repair it?"
"Probably."
David looked at him.
June immediately frowned.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
David smiled.
"Fix it if you can."
June started working.
David moved outside.
Castiel and Nyra were returning.
"Left side clear," Castiel said.
Nyra lowered one sword.
"No soldiers."
"Signs of fighting?"
Castiel looked around.
"Plenty."
Lucian and Mira approached from the opposite direction.
"Same," Lucian said.
Mira pointed toward the rear portion of the outpost.
"You should see this."
David followed.
Gamma crossed the compound.
The farther they went, the worse the damage became.
A doorway had been torn from its frame.
Several deep marks cut across the outer wall.
One section of reinforced barrier had partially collapsed.
Blood stained the ground near it.
Not much.
A smear.
Several drops.
Then another stain farther away.
David crouched.
Red.
Human.
Nyra looked around.
"Still no bodies."
"No," David said.
Lucian examined the damaged barrier.
"Whatever happened, they didn't stay here afterward."
David stood.
"Let's find out where they went."
Mira led them farther back.
The rear section of the outpost contained storage buildings, a small medical station, and another gate leading toward the northeast service route.
The medical building was open.
David entered.
The room had been used.
A lot.
Medical packaging covered one table.
Bloodied cloth had been discarded into a container.
Several treatment packs had been emptied.
One bed had dried blood across its surface.
But again—
No body.
June entered behind them.
His expression became serious.
"They had wounded."
Nyra checked the cabinets.
"Most of the portable medical supplies are gone."
David looked around.
That matched Outpost One.
Take what you can carry.
Move.
Only this time, they had stopped long enough to treat injuries.
Castiel looked toward the rear exit.
"So One reached Two."
David nodded.
"And then this happened."
"What happened?"
David looked at the damaged compound.
"That's what we need to figure out."
They continued searching.
Near the center of the outpost, Mira found the clearest evidence yet.
Weapon marks.
Several.
One cut had sliced deeply into the corner of a building.
Another scarred a reinforced barrier.
A third had carved through a storage crate.
Lucian crouched beside one.
"Energy blade."
David looked at him.
"You sure?"
Lucian ran two fingers close to the damaged surface.
"Looks like it."
Castiel studied another mark.
"This one isn't."
David moved toward him.
A broad indentation had been driven into the metal.
Not cut.
Hit.
Hard.
Nyra looked around.
"Different weapons."
"Looks that way," David said.
June frowned.
"So not a beast attack."
Nobody answered.
They didn't need to.
The destroyed communications tower already suggested intelligence.
The hidden jammer confirmed planning.
Now Outpost Two showed signs of an actual battle.
David looked across the empty compound.
Still no bodies.
Whoever had fought here—
Everyone had left afterward.
Or been moved.
He didn't know which.
"Find the tracks," David said.
Gamma spread through the rear portion of the outpost.
It didn't take long.
Castiel called from the gate.
"D."
David followed his voice.
The others converged behind him.
Castiel stood just outside the rear gate.
The ground beyond was covered in footprints.
Hundreds of overlapping impressions.
David crouched.
Military boots dominated the trail.
Far more than they had followed from Outpost One.
Lucian studied the prints.
"Two groups."
David nodded.
"The Outpost One soldiers joined the garrison here."
Nyra looked toward the northeast.
"And they left together."
The trail continued away from Outpost Two.
David opened the sector map.
There was only one military position in that direction.
Outpost Three.
June stared at the tracks.
"So they really did keep falling back."
"Looks like it," David said.
Mira studied the ground.
"They were carrying wounded."
David looked where she pointed.
Several sets of boot prints were spaced strangely.
Deep impressions appeared between them at regular intervals.
Lucian understood.
"Stretchers."
Nyra looked back toward the medical station.
"They treated whoever they could and moved again."
David stood.
The picture was becoming clearer.
Outpost One evacuated.
Its soldiers traveled to Outpost Two.
Something happened either shortly before or after they arrived.
There had been a fight.
People were injured.
Then the combined force withdrew toward Outpost Three.
But one question remained.
What were they retreating from?
David looked toward June.
"Get the transmitter."
June nodded.
"Already on it."
He returned to the communications building.
Gamma followed.
June had managed to restore enough of Outpost Two's system to boost their portable equipment.
He connected the long-range transmitter they'd taken from Outpost One.
Static filled the room.
June adjusted the frequency.
"Headquarters, this is Gamma Squad. Commander Vance, respond."
Static.
Then—
"Gamma, I read you."
David stepped closer.
"Commander."
"Report."
"We reached Outpost Two."
Vance answered immediately.
"Status?"
"Empty."
Silence.
David continued.
"But it's different from One."
"Explain."
"There's significant damage throughout the compound. Main gate was hit from outside. Multiple structures damaged. We found weapon marks and blood."
Vance's voice became sharper.
"Casualties?"
David looked around the empty room.
"None found."
"None?"
"No bodies."
A pause.
"Did the Outpost One personnel reach Two?"
"Looks like it. Their tracks join the garrison here."
David glanced toward the rear gate.
"The combined group left through the northeast gate."
"Direction?"
"Outpost Three."
Vance didn't respond immediately.
David could hear faint voices behind her again.
Then—
"How many?"
"Hard to tell. A lot. We also found signs they were carrying wounded."
Another pause.
"Can you identify what attacked them?"
"No."
"Creature damage?"
David looked toward Castiel.
Castiel shook his head.
"Some of the damage could be," David said. "But we found what looks like weapon strikes too."
Vance became quiet.
Long enough that David noticed.
"Commander?"
"I'm here."
David waited.
Vance's voice returned.
"Do not make assumptions about what happened."
David frowned slightly.
"We aren't."
"Good."
Something about her tone bothered him.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Concern.
"Proceed to Outpost Three," Vance said. "Maintain formation. Do not separate for any reason."
David looked toward the others.
"Understood."
"And David."
He waited.
"Report the moment you arrive."
"We will."
The transmission ended.
Static returned.
June slowly disconnected the transmitter.
Castiel looked toward David.
"She knows something."
David had been thinking the same thing.
"Maybe."
June packed the transmitter.
"That didn't sound like maybe."
Nyra looked toward the northeast.
"She told us not to make assumptions."
Lucian sheathed his Bloodcrest Blade.
"Then we don't."
David nodded.
"We follow the evidence."
He looked toward the door.
"And right now, the evidence says everyone went to Outpost Three."
Gamma prepared to leave.
Before they did, David walked through the outpost one last time.
He stopped near the damaged gate.
Outpost One had been orderly.
Outpost Two wasn't.
Something had reached them here.
They had fought.
They had been wounded.
And then they had retreated again.
David looked toward the empty watch platform.
No bodies.
That bothered him.
A battle had happened here.
Blood had been spilled.
The damage wasn't minor.
Yet everyone was gone.
David couldn't decide whether that was good news.
Castiel stopped beside him.
"You ready?"
David looked northeast.
"Yeah."
They left Outpost Two.
The combined military trail was far larger than the one they'd followed before.
Dozens upon dozens of boots had passed through the rear gate.
The trail cut through the jungle toward Outpost Three.
Gamma followed.
The afternoon slowly faded.
The farther they traveled, the more signs of the retreat appeared.
Discarded equipment.
An empty medical wrapper.
A broken strap.
A damaged piece of armor.
But still—
No bodies.
No abandoned wounded.
Whoever these soldiers were, they had kept moving.
They hadn't left their people behind.
June picked up a broken piece of shoulder armor.
He turned it over.
"Military."
David nodded.
June placed it back where he'd found it.
"Whatever happened at Two must've been bad."
"Bad enough to make them leave," Nyra said.
The trail continued.
Hours passed.
The terrain changed.
The jungle began thinning around a series of low rocky rises.
Military markers appeared more frequently.
Then Mira stopped.
"Wall."
David looked ahead.
At first, he couldn't see it.
Then the trees separated.
A massive reinforced wall stretched across the terrain ahead.
Twelve feet high.
Outpost Three.
It was much larger than either of the previous installations.
The wall continued in both directions until the jungle swallowed it.
Observation positions rose above several sections.
David searched them.
Empty.
No guards.
No movement.
No lights.
The military trail continued directly toward the main gate.
Gamma slowed.
Something about the place felt wrong.
Even from this distance, David could see damage.
Dark marks scarred the outer wall.
One observation platform leaned slightly to one side.
A section near the gate had been blackened.
The gate itself—
stood open.
June stopped joking.
Nyra slowly drew both Wind Crest Swords.
Castiel's Shadow Blade slid into his hand.
Lucian drew the Bloodcrest Blade.
Mira unfolded her Twin Blades.
June extended his Kinetic Baton.
David stared at the open entrance.
Outpost One had evacuated.
Outpost Two had fought and retreated.
If the pattern continued—
everyone should have come here.
All of them.
David unfolded his Claw Gauntlets.
"Gamma."
The squad tightened around him.
David kept his eyes on the open gate.
"Weapons ready."
They moved toward Outpost Three.