Chapter 7 - Clover
After the whole Dreadtrux incident, Ty and the others went to work on fixing their builds, but Ty also told the other Trux about Loftin's mother mysteriously disappearing. They didn't want to break the news to Loftin just yet, so they told him to wait back at the garage with the Reptools while they ventured to see if they could find any clues.
They left early that morning, and kept searching late into the afternoon. All they found along the way were the occasional disembodied parts like horns and tails, and just like the Craneosaur, there were T-Trux tracks within the area. But Ty was quick to notice a different set of tracks, one he had never seen before. He insisted that they follow them instead, and the tracks took them into a lush forest.
"I didn't think a ruthless killer would be interested in this kind of real estate," Skya admitted while taking in the beautiful surroundings.
"Maybe it's a trick? Ya know, kinda like reverse psychology," Ton-Ton suggested.
"It matters not where the murderer is, but only that we find them before they can hurt anyone else," Revvit added firmly.
"Agreed. When we find 'em, we're gonna make 'em pay," Ty growled.
"I like your attitude," Dozer pointed out with a chuckle.
They continued on through the forest in silence, and kept their eyes open for anyone or anything that could be a suspect.
"Ty, look," Revvit whispered to the said T-Trux, and his gaze followed the Reptool's pointed finger over to a clearing.
Ty hid behind a large tree, and quickly found a light green T-Trux with a wreck ball that was armored with just four large spikes. He would have been caught up by the appearance of this new T-Trux, but his eyes traveled downward when they moved out of the way to reveal Loftin's mother lying motionless in the clearing.
"Hey!" Ty roared while coming out from behind the tree, and the green T-Trux turned and stared at him in surprise. They even opened their mouth to speak, but Ty quickly cut them off by hitting them in the head with his tail.
The others heard Ty's voice and rushed to his aid, and they were just as horrified when they saw the green T-Trux standing over Loftin's mother.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Revvit snapped.
"I don't know…what you're talking about," the green T-Trux grunted from the pain in their jaw, and revealed that they had a feminine and smooth voice.
"Don't play coy. We know you murdered that Craneosaur!" Skya snapped while ganging up on the female T-Trux.
"What?! You're crazy! I didn't murder anyone!" the female T-Trux protested and circled around the Craneosaur, "I found her like this."
"Likely story," Dozer huffed in annoyance.
"I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what did this to her, but it was not me."
"Then why'd ya bring her here, dude?" Ton-Ton questioned in suspicion.
"I was trying to conduct an investigation, but I couldn't do it out in the open with the risk of getting attacked by Scraptors or Scrapadactyls. So, I brought her here to do my research in peace."
"I say we take her in for questioning," Skya told Ty.
"They're right. We can't just let you go, not when you're a possible suspect," Ty snarled at the green T-Trux.
"Fine, but only so that I can prove you all wrong," she growled back before reluctantly following them back to the Flatirons. But after they left, they failed to notice the subtle twitching from Loftin's mother.
A terrible storm had started on their way back to the Flatirons, and it didn't help that the wind picked up to speeds of a tornado while lighting frequently struck the ground. Luckily, they all made it back to the garage safe and sound, and Loftin and the other Reptools were surprised to see that they returned with a new Trux.
"Loftin, go wait in my bay," Skya firmly instructed the young Craneosaur.
"B-But who's that, Skya? Is she bad?" Loftin whimpered.
"That's what we're about ta find out."
Loftin then went into Skya's bay like she ordered, and she and the others took the new T-Trux to the back of the garage for interrogation. But they made sure to be quiet enough to prevent Loftin from overhearing anything.
"What name do you go by?" Revvit asked first.
"My name's Clover," the female T-Trux simply replied.
"Well, Clover, do you mind explaining what you were doing with that Craneosaur corpse? And could you tell the truth this time?" Ty growled impatiently.
"I did the first time you asked me that. I found her like that, I swear."
"If you didn't kill her, then why did you bother doing 'research' on her?" Skya asked suspiciously.
"That wound on her neck looked familiar. It was just like the one on a Poundersaurolophus that attacked me, and chased me out of my home."
Everyone was taken aback by that, especially Ty and Revvit; they remembered the injury on Pounder's neck when he woke the Dreadtrux, and how the infection caused him to lose his right mind.
"And where was your original home?" Revvit urged.
"I used to live out past the Outlands, but I trekked across the Endless Desert and ended up in this crater. That's when I found the dead Craneosaur."
The others exchanged skeptical glances, and Ty soon crept closer to Clover while Revvit stood on the edge of his nose. Clover leaned back a bit when the two stared intensely for many prolonging seconds.
"Hmm…she does not have any injuries that indicate she was involved in any recent scuffles to take down Trux," Revvit pondered aloud.
"So, you finally believe me?" Clover inquired dryly.
"For the most part, but you're gonna stay here for a little while. Just until we can prove that it really wasn't you," Ty stated demandingly.
Clover scoffed, "Why can't you just trust me?"
"Because we don't know you, and you don't know us."
"Fair point."
"I don't think it's a good idea ta let her stay in here while we're trapped from the storm. What if she tries ta murder us in our sleep?" Dozer slowly asked.
"I told you, I'm not a murderer. And if you Dozeratops would just get your thick heads out of the dirt, you would figure that out for yourself," Clover hissed in protest.
"Watch it, Sister," Skya growled.
"Oh, I should watch it? You're one to talk. You Craneosaurs can see a lot more than most Trux, but you never seem to look before you leap."
"Hey, that's not very nice, Dude!" Ton-Ton exclaimed.
"You know what else isn't very nice? Watching an Ankylodump perform the same useless, tedious and tantalizing stunts before their gut ends up splattered all over the pavement."
"Cool it down before I make you cool it down," Ty warned.
Clover quickly turned and glared at him, "You're no better than the rest of them. Just like any other male T-Trux, so full of himself and acts all high and mighty by making himself the leader."
Ty was surprised by Clover's words, and he found himself backed up against a wall when she drew closer and closer.
"Well, guess what, Mr. Alpha Trux. Your selfishness and insistence on jumping to conclusions is going to get you into a lot of trouble one day. And I'll make sure to be there to say 'I told you so'."
Clover flicked Ty's nose with her claw at that last part, and then turned to get as far away from them as she could on the other side of the garage.
"Well, someone's over dramatic," Skya muttered.
"And a real jerk," Ton-Ton added in annoyance.
"She is right about one thing, though. If there is a chance that Clover is innocent, we cannot rush our own judgment of her," Revvit explained.
"So, let's keep a close eye on her. If anymore Trux disappearances or deaths occur while she's still here, then we'll know it wasn't her and she can leave," Ty pointed out firmly.
"We should take turns watching her, so that she doesn't try to escape," Skya stated.
"Or murder us in our sleep," Dozer urged.
"That's not gonna happen, but it'll still be a good idea to guard Clover. You waana take the first watch since it was your idea, Skya?" Ty offered.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Skya replied with confidence, and subtly made her way to the other end of the garage to keep an eye on Clover, who didn't seem to mind her presence.
Ty knew that whether or not Clover really was at fault, he had to find a way to make it look like someone else was committing those murders. Clover was right, he was very selfish, but it was the only way to ensure that his friends wouldn't find out the truth.
I know this chapter is just a tad shorter than the others, but I wanted to post something before I had to go to work. Hope it was good enough.
Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD, bye-bye!
