HELLO MY WONDERFUL READERS! It is I, Jeremy "Scout" here with the long awaited chapter 8 to Helljumpers in Remnant! This has been delayed long enough, we can all agree there. I've been set back by the chapter getting deleted or lost two times now, and I've been busy with life and writing other stories. But I've returned to the story that started it all. Without further ado, let us delve right into the chapter!

Chapter 8: Discovery

Remnant, Emerald Forest, 0700 hours

"FUCK! HOLY SHIT ROOKIE!", yelled Buck as he spat the bark out of his mouth. "You coulda given me more warning!" Rookie just stared at Buck through his helmet, not saying a word.

"Well Gunny, much as we'd like to sit here and let you recover, we have to move. Who knows what else is out there." Came Romeo's voice over the comms. Him and Dutch were standing guard, just in case some more Grimm decided to make themselves known.

"Well, I can put some weight on my leg but I'm not gonna be running marathons any time soon." Was Buck's reply, as he stood up with some help from Rookie, and tested it. He noticed the pain wasn't as bad as it should've been, and he could put some pressure on it and not be too uncomfortable.

'Maybe it's that aura Ozpin said we have. From what I read, it does help heal wounds.', he thought, before he saw Rookie fashioning a crude splint from the braches and some supplies he carried in his rucksack.

Once done, he went over to Buck and had him sit down again so he could put it on. "Rook, what was the point of having me stand if I'm going right back down again?" Asked Buck, though Rookie didn't reply, remaining silent as usual.

Rookie quickly finished securing the splint he had made to Buck's leg, and helped him up again and watched as Buck applied weight on the leg again. Satisifed that it was good enough and that it was all they could do in their current situation, the four troopers began their search once more.

"Think you can find the trail again Rook?" Romeo asked, looking over to his teammate, knowing full well he would respond with an action rather than words. As expected, Rookie just shook his head without even looking back at the sniper, who sighed in response.

"Well ain't that just great. Gunny broke his leg, and we're down two troopers, one of whom is our CO from ONI of all things!" Romeo exclaimed angrily.

"Calm down Romeo, remember what we read? Negative emotions attract Grimm. We'll find them. Rookie, take the lead." Buck ordered the two.

They noddded, though Romeo sighed in annoyance, and began their hike once more. No one spoke as they walked, instead just watching Rookie look around for signs of disturbances indicating someone had passed through .

The troopers continued their search for their lost teammates in silence, with the only sound being their boots on the ground and the breeze making the leaves on trees and bushes rustle.

Rookie suddenly stopped and bent down to look at something. "What is it Rook?" Dutch asked as he scanned the surrounding area. Rookie didn't respond, but rather just stood up and followed the tracks, silently beckoning them too follow.

As they kept walking with the Rookie in the lead, the other troopers noticed the signs that he had spotted before them. A trampled bush here, a set of footprints there. As they went through the bush that had been crushed, they saw a familiar object embedded in the ground.

"Is that one of our pods?" Dutch asked, almost staring in disbelief they found one.

"Yeah, I'll check it out. You three set up a quick perimeter." Buck ordered as he limped over to the pod, his leg still being a hinderance.

Once there, he proceeded to check and see who's pod it was by looking at where the idnetification is. 'Private First Class Michael Crespo SN 51033-15973-MC. Mickey, eh?' he thought as he read it.

"Looks like this is Mickey's pod guys. Let's see if we can find where he headed off to. Rookie, lead the way." He told them, and they quickly resumed their previous formation.

They retraced their steps, following Mickey's tracks before Rookie said something. "Looks like he started running here all of a sudden." he said, while he kept walking along. "How do you know?" Buck asked him.

Rookie just pointed at the track and how the distance between each footstep was bigger than before. "But why did he run?" Buck asked himself quietly.

Buck's question was answered soon enough when Rookie came to a halt.

"What's wrong?" Buck asked curiously. Rookie just beckoned Buck to come over, and Buck complied. Just as he arrived and was about to ask again, he realized why Rookie had stopped.

There, spread out among them was at least twenty sets of footprints, surrounding where Mickey would've been.

AND that's this chapter done. Been a long time in the making, so I hope this is enough to satisfy y'all for the time being, even if it is on the short side. School and other stories have been taking up my time, sorry for not being able to update this one for a while. Please don't forget to review, feedback is appreciated. Make sure you check out my colleagues accounts and their stories, KTWizard, Lord Perkins, commanderstarscream123, and Crusader 322. They're great guys that have goodsories of their own and help out with mine as well. To get the chance to talk to me or any of them whenever you want and if we can, then join the Discord we've got setup for readers and writers alike. Plus, you can tell us your own ideas and we'll consider them for the story, and maybe even put them in. The invite code is as follows: BSdFMH3

And with that said,this is Jeremy 'Scout' signing off.