Clank, Talwyn, Cronk and Zephyr arrived at the abandoned town. It lay in a similar condition to that of the shop owner's ship graveyard. Through the dense brush, they could see several houses and buildings in dismal condition. Windows and doors were boarded up, and the ones that weren't, were lined with shattered and splintered glass. Vines and tree roots snaked along walls and cracked through foundation. The idea of Ratchet being somewhere in here terrified Clank. His mind flashed with the image of Ratchet's body, lifeless and battered, laying still among the foliage. He shook his head to clear it of the thought. Instead, he turned his attention to Talwyn, who brought up a holomap of the landscape. Aphelion had supplied them with several charts and maps of the surrounding area, before their departure.
"The area here is fairly large," Talwyn explained, parsing the map, "And with dozens of buildings to check in, I think it might be best if we split up."
She tapped at her wrist, putting it away and turned to her guardian duo.
"Cronk, Zephyr, you guys take the west end, Clank and I will take the east. Radio if you have any problems."
"Will do, Miss Apogee."Cronk said, giving her a small salute. Before they set off, Talwyn quickly grabbed her blastor. Double checking, she made sure it had full ammo and was still in sufficient working order. She let out a shaky sigh. If they found the Smuggler here, she wouldn't hesitate. She'd blast him dead the first chance she got. She just hoped she'd be steady enough to get him in one shot. Completing her inspection, she put it away into her hip-holster, before starting her search with Clank.
They checked every nook and cranny, scouring the area for any hint of the Smuggler's presence. They went through every building, checking room by room, pushing past broken down doors, and stepping over shattered glass. They combed the area for hours. By mid afternoon, fatigue and frustration began to descend on the two. As they walked through an overgrown alleyway, Talwyn tried to push past the feeling, refusing to idle. They still had so much more ground to cover if they even hoped to ever find Ratchet. They couldn't rest now, no matter how tired and frustrated she was. She needed to push past it, even if her feet hurt, even if her back ached, even if the very forest was pissing her off. Over the cacophony of noise coming from the denizens of the forest, she swore she heard laughter, like they were taunting her. Alright, maybe she did need a break, considering she had half a mind to turn around and tell the birds to shut up. A sudden, especially loud squawk made her jump and turn. It had sounded so close, like an angry warning, like if they got any closer it would come and attack them, or maybe that was another trick of her brain. She heard another cry of warning, but this time, it wasn't from a bird and was clearly meant for her.
"Talwyn!" Clank exclaimed, but was too late. Talwyn gave a sharp cry in surprise as something clamped down around her torso. She thrashed hard in the binds, jumping and kicking with her free legs to try and dislodge herself, but found she was firmly stuck.
"Dammit!" She cursed angrily.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Clank asked, running to her side.
"I'm fine." She sighed, looking down at the plant that ensnared her. It was big with many jaw-like extremities protruding from it. Obviously, it was some sort of carnivorous species. She could feel a slight tingling on her bare skin, as it attempted to digest her. She tried to reach for her gun, but with her arms pinned at her sides she couldn't grab it. She let out another frustrated groan.
"Can you get me out of this thing?" She asked.
Clank went over to the plant and attempted to pull at it, while Talwyn pushed from the inside. When that didn't work, Clank switched his arm out for his propeller, and attempted to hack away with it. He even tried switching to his jetpack, to perhaps burn the thing into letting her go.
"I am sorry Talwyn, nothing is working. I am afraid I am not strong enough." Clank lamented.
"It's alright, It's not your fault," Talwyn replied, mentally kicking herself. Of course she just had to walk right into the man eating plant. Instead of finding Ratchet, now they needed to save her.
"Can you call for Cronk and Zephyr, before this thing devours me?"
"Of course," Clank said, calling up the war bots. "Do not worry, laqueum plants usually consume much smaller prey than yourself. It would take hours for it to fully digest you."
"Ah, Clank," Cronk's voice rang out from the communicator. "Find anything yet?"
"Not yet, though we seem to have run into a bit of a problem."
"I got myself stuck," Talwyn explained, "I'm alright, do you guys think you could stop by and help out?"
"No problem, we'll be right over." Zephyr replied.
Clank gave a quick farewell, before transmitting their coordinates. The only thing they could do now was wait. But Talwyn didn't want to wait, every minute that passed could mean death for Ratchet. That was, if he wasn't already. Talwyn shook her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes for the millionth time that day. No, she couldn't think like that. Ratchet was still alive. He was somewhere out here. It was just a matter of finding him. She looked over at Clank, she knew he must be devastated. She could see the way he paced and fidgeted anxiously with his hands whenever he sat idle.
"Hey," She prompted, "How's that book you've been reading about pocket dimensions?"
"Oh, you mean 'Dimensions, and what is in between'?" Clank asked, straightening up, "I just got to the chapter discussing how they are formed. There are several interesting theories that have caused quite a stir in the science community."
Talwyn listened, as Clank explained further. She didn't understand entirely what he was talking about, nor was she super interested in the topic, but she did her best to follow along. If they were being forced to rest now, she might as well make sure they make the most of it. They could use the time to recoup and try to distract themselves, even momentarily, from the disheartening situation at hand. As she nodded her head, and asked the odd question, she could see Clank's posture easing up. She actually began to relax too, listening to Clank's enthusiastic ramblings, before there came a rustling of footsteps.
"Oh good, Cronk and Zephyr finally made it." Talwyn sighed.
"I will go get them, and make sure they do not miss us." Clank said.
Talwyn nodded, as Clank disappeared behind a building. He walked towards the source of the noise.
"Cronk, Zephyr, we are over here." Clank called. He couldn't hear their steps anymore. Had they already passed by them? Did they get lost?
"Cronk? Zephyr?" Clank called again.
He made out the unmistakable noise of someone chuckling behind him, and an electric discharge, before everything suddenly went dark.
Chapter 10 image: i imgur com Zzo3AH9 png