Love Struck Delusion
Chapter 276 - Tracking unit.
Zeta's POV, a half hour later.
By some miracle Pepper was right when she had the notion that Archer may have tried to leave the city after Raptor's assault. Gate four was left wide open and no one manned it. It was a ghost town and one we drove through less than five minutes ago. Outside however was a whole new animal to worry about. No tracks and nowhere to start the search.
I was outside the truck looking for anything that could lead me forward. Yet even with my nose going at full power; I couldn't smell anything other than the sandy air and I was starting to tear up thinking the worst had come. Pepper on the other hand was over there thinking. I had to have gone at least a hundred feet from her before stating to myself out loud.
"This is fucking pointless. I can't track something I can't smell or see." Pepper must have heard me. She looked my way to question.
"What?"
"Nothing!" I replied in anger as she growled and began to walk her way over to me. Once at my side she begged me.
"Stop being this way. We know he came this way. We just have to find something."
"Like what!? A fucking tire track!? His odor!? All that is gone Pep! The only thing we're tracking is ourselves!"
She shut her mouth as I knelt down in the sand to begin weeping. After slamming my right hand into the ground, she ordered me with a heavy voice.
"Stop!"
"Fuck you!" I shouted back as she snapped and got down next to me to scream.
"No fuck you! He's out here! You just need to stop fucking crying and focus! You're the best! We're the best! We can figure this out!"
"How!? I can't smell anything out here! His scent is gone Pepper! It's fucking gone! What more do you want from me!?" I questioned as I saw her eyes widen at that very exact moment. Unsure of what she was thinking, I waited for something to come up. However as soon as I went to ask she shouted.
"Molly!"
Now widening my eyes I questioned.
"What?!"
Grabbing me by the arm she replied.
"Molly! I bet you if anyone can pick up his scent it'll be her!"
Dragging me back to the truck I questioned.
"She's back in Iraq!"
"We can go get her! Or someone can bring her down here! This is fucking genius!"
"By the time she gets here Pep, Raptor could be dead!"
"Do you have a better idea!?" She asked me back as I took a second to growl and mutter through gritted teeth.
"No….?"
"Then listen to me! This can work!"
"I don't know." I mumbled in complete and utter sadness as she picked up the radio from the truck. I went silent as she said in a serious voice.
"General Hoffer, this is Pepper. Come in please."
In seconds she got back from the old man.
"Hoffer here. What's the matter Pepper?"
"Zeta and I have a pretty good idea where Commander Voltz might have gone, but thanks to the storm, we're unable to track him from where we are. Now this might seem like a crazy idea, but we just might know how to figure it out. Is there any chance you can somehow get Molly down to Afghanistan?"
"Who's Molly?" He asked in confusion as she calmly replied back.
"His dog. She should be at the capital. Probably in his quarters or check with Marx. He might know where she went. But we need her for this. Can you make it happen?"
Hoffer took a few moments to think. The radio went dark and after maybe half a minute he replied.
"Zandro said she should be on her way down within the next two hours. He's gonna go find the dog now. Do you need anything else? He's asking because if your lead doesn't turn up answers he's gonna be putting together a tracking unit to hunt them down himself."
"We're good tell him. We're gonna find him. We just need Molly."
"Roger that Pepper. We'll get her to you. Zandro will update you when she's on her way."
"Copy." She replied as she put back down the radio to order me.
"We just need to keep our shit together. Trust me Zeta. We're going to find him. I promise."
I was more focused on keeping my feelings together. I've already wasted more than enough time. Two hours? Every part of me believed by then he would be dead, if he already wasn't.
Pepper's POV, Two hours later.
I was getting sick of watching my sister in this slump of depression. The last two hours have been us just sitting around gate four waiting for someone to get Molly to us. Zandro said she was on her way and by now she should be here. Yet here we were still waiting. Thankfully it took probably only five more minutes until we saw a truck coming down the road towards us. I got out of our truck immediately as Zeta remained in.
G.U.N thankfully was now here in force taking over the border. Things were getting under control around the city and hopefully soon they could start cleaning up. All that matters to us right now was getting Raptor's trail and I had everything crossed that Molly would be the golden ticket to doing that.
With the truck coming to a stop right alongside us, I watched as out popped the driver who was none other than Raptor's old friend Roz. He smiled at me and asked as the rest of his truck opened up.
"Glad to see you girls in one piece. You order a hyper vigilant lap dog?"
Nodding my head I replied.
"You bet we did."
Roz chuckled as out came the dog in question who was sitting right on top of Saff's lap. She instantly started barking in excitement as she saw me and with that; she jumped out to start jumping at my legs. I got down to greet her proper as Cooper and Diz also emerged from inside the truck.
"You don't know how long we've been missing you baby! How was your trip!?"
"Braf! Braf! Braf!" She replied as our small group formed. Zeta got out from the truck at last to join us and Molly quickly shifted her positive energy towards her sopping frown. I stood back up to face Roz and the boys who calmly asked.
"You think you know where he went?"
Nodding I replied.
"Outside the city for sure. The gate was left wide open when we first got here. I think Archer took him on a chase through the dunes and they got mixed in with the storm that hit. We can't get his trail, but god willing she can."
Roz and the guys seemed all for it and as I looked back at Molly, Roz asked me.
"You guys mind if we tag along for the trip? Just in case, we'll be your backup."
"Are you sure? I have no idea how far they managed to get out there and if Molly can find his scent it will be a trip. Someone will have to chase after her."
With rifles ready, Roz replied.
"We're all good for this. Time isn't a factor when it comes to Raptor. He's a brother and we aren't going to leave him alone out there if he's in trouble. Alive or anything else, we're ready for it."
Keeping our conversation short, I then suggested back.
"We're going to need a truck if we find him out there and he's hurt. You guys should fall in and stick behind us. Zeta and I are going to stick close to Molly."
"I'm gonna go get us some water." Saff then said as I nodded and turned back around to see Molly licking Zeta's face. Upping my tone, I shouted.
"Molly!"
The girl instantly stopped and spun back around to stare at me with this concerned face and bent ears. Kneeling down, I then said to her.
"We need you to help us find Raptor. Can you do that? Can you smell around for him?"
"Braf!" She replied as she instantly began to sniff the ground under her feet. Zeta stood back up as the rest of us just watched as she took a few steps to the left. Seeing she was struggling, I turned back to Roz to ask him.
"Did you bring it?"
Nodding and reaching back into the truck, he replied.
"Yes ma'am. Here you are."
Roz came back to hand me Raptor's old vest. Taking it into my hands, I knelt down and shouted.
"Molly! Come here!"
The girl ran right for me and looked to the vest as I then instructed her.
"Get a good idea of what you're looking for. Take it in and just follow your nose from there."
For a few seconds she sniffed around almost every inch of the vest. Once she was done, she turned back around to start smelling the floor again. This time however she began to move towards the gate on her own. Smiling as I handed Roz back the vest, I urged him.
"Get whatever you need together; then follow us. We're going to get heading out ahead of you."
The man nodded and by the time I turned around Zeta was already off ahead of me with Molly and by the time I got there, they were out the gate. I was praying this would work and god must have heard my request because the second Molly reached the edge of the road she looked back at me and shouted out.
"Braf! Braf! Braf!"
I began to jog and with that so did she. Zeta was just as hopeful now as the wolf took us both out onto the first set of dunes.
Zeta's POV, Thirty minutes later.
Molly had all my faith. I had no clue where we were going but she was onto something. She had to be if she was still going this way. Pepper kept a few feet back as I was right on Molly's tail. In front was another one of the many large dunes we've been crossing and yet this was the first one where Molly stopped. I widened my eyes in confusion and listened as Pepper asked.
"What is it Molly?"
Lowering my rifle to the ground as she began to dig, I questioned if she found him. Was he buried under all this? I had no way of knowing because upon looking at it the dune was perfect. No blood, no signs of battle. Yet she kept digging. Pepper was now at my side as we began to see something coming up under her paws. Once she saw it she began to bark.
"Braf! Braf! Braf!"
Almost instantly she backed up once she knew she had shown us enough. Reaching in, I grabbed onto something metal. I only figured out what it was when I pulled out Raptor's Glock. I felt my heart start beating out of my chest as Pepper looked back at the G.U.N humvee behind us to shout.
"We got something!"
The boys began to pile out as I looked over the weapon. It was perfectly fine except there wasn't any ammo left in the clip. I thought to myself as Molly began to sniff around again. Pepper looked to her as she began to climb the rest of the dune. Roz and his friends got on over to us to see the weapon and without missing a beat Roz asked.
"Is that his?"
I nodded and looked back up at my sister who was slowly getting further away.
"He's got to be around here. Spread out and look around. He could be anywhere." I told them all as I put Raptor's gun behind my back and tucked it behind my cloak.
They got the idea and by then I jogged back up behind Pepper who was just reaching the top of the dune with Molly maybe a foot or two between her legs. As soon as we reached the top, Molly lost her focus on tracking and we saw her whole body tense up. Even her tail stopped moving as we got up there to see for ourselves. I almost couldn't breathe as what we saw made me feel an emotion worse than any sadness I've ever felt before.
A good thirty meters out we counted at least six wild dogs. Vicious wolves and they were piled around what could only be described as a completely disacrated body. Each one gnawing at a different part of it. Yet all I saw was the species of whom they were eating. A hedgehog. Blood everywhere and it's limbs scattered only inches from the rest. I couldn't say anything. All I could do was stand here in shock as Pepper mumbled in utter confusion.
"What the…..?"
Both of us felt the tide shift the moment the dog who was further back looked up to see us and Molly just standing there watching them. In seconds, he began to growl and with that came his whole pack who quickly picked up on our unwelcoming intervention. Very slowly each stood up and began to start walking our way. Molly began to growl as Pepper whispered to me.
"Zeta?"
I couldn't draw my weapon. All I could do was think about the body.
Pepper's POV.
I flicked my head for a moment to see she was incapable of acting. Molly was about to snap seeing some of her own kind approaching with ill intent. Lifting up my rifle, I shouted.
"Zeta!"
Her train of thought broke with that outburst and so did the pack. Each one breaking off and beginning to run right for us at the top of the dune. Together we took aim and as soon as they were at the base of our hill we began to empty our clips taking down four of the six in only a matter of seconds. Yet when we ran dry, one of the two remaining dogs jumped right at me with it's jaws locked on for my neck.
In a swift and fluid motion, I ducked just enough to get right under it and seeing my opening, I pushed both my arms up with a heavy swing of my rifle. Hitting it directly in the stomach as it was forced a good five feet above my head and back over my otherside, where Roz and his friends waited with return fire finishing it off before it could even fully hit the otherside of the dune.
"Braf! Braf!"
Widening my eyes I looked back the way it came to find the last wolf going for Zeta who was in the middle of swapping to her sidearm.
With the same jump; it went for her and in a split second we were stunned by Molly who intercepted the dog with open fangs, latching onto the neck and forcing both her and the other dog into a tumble till the very bottom of the dune.
"Molly!" Zeta shouted as she bit down so hard we both heard it's neck snap in two, leaving the body lifeless in only a few seconds flat.
Once the deed was done, Molly released herself from the enemy and backed up a few inches to breathe. Leaving the two of us in an adrenaline filled rant for air and relaxation. Roz on the other reached us by then to ask.
"Is everyone okay?"
I nodded very quickly as Zeta had her focus back on the body just beyond. Roz saw it and almost with the same fear as us, did he question.
"That's not….?"
Zeta didn't even let him answer. She ran right on down to see for herself. We all followed behind till we were knee deep in the bloody scene to find the body of an almost fully eaten hedgehog. One I had no idea of knowing who it was. Roz on the other hand got down to get a closer look and stated.
"This isn't Raptor."
"How can you tell?" Zeta asked as she got back her tone of hope.
The man got down to point out to us with a calm voice.
"Look around. Quills everywhere and not one of them is Raptor's."
Things around started to relax as he was clearly speaking the truth. Reloading my AK, Roz's teammate Saff got down on his knees around the other side of the body to begin looking over the corpse. Once I was locked and loaded, I asked Roz to be sure.
"Are you sure?"
The man nodded but Saff was the one to reply
"It's Archer. No doubt about it. What's left of the uniform clearly isn't G.U.N. And I know it's hard to see, but check this." He urged us as we watched him reach for the skull.
Placing his first two fingers in between the teeth and opening them up slightly, Saff then said.
"Archer lost one of his back molars in a helicopter crash back during the first war. Raptor has always had perfect teeth despite the shit he's lived through. So Roz is right. This is Archer. Not him."
"What's the next step boss? We should call this in."
Roz nodded and went to his radio. Before saying anything through it, he looked back at me to suggest.
"Well we found Archer. Raptor has to be around somewhere. We should spread out and look for anything else he might have left behind."
"Where would he have gone? It doesn't make any sense that he'd just leave."
For a few moments we tried to think of a responsible answer for that question. Before any of us could say anything, Saff stated in a calm tone.
"They got into a gunfight for sure and the winner was clearly the Commander. Look. Bullet to the side of his head."
"Are you sure he killed him? Maybe the storm?" Diz questioned as the medic got up to reply.
"He had to. Nothing else makes sense. I'd just like to know how Raptor managed to shoot him like this. I'd expect it to be straight. Not through the side of the head. Unless…?" In concern I asked.
"What are you thinking?"
Looking back at me Saff replied.
"I have two theories. First one is that maybe they got stuck in the storm during their chase. Archer might have been injured with no hope of getting back on his feet and wiping out on a drifter is never pretty. Plus those dogs? Dogs like that hunt around the clock. Maybe Archer saw them coming and instead of being eaten alive he took his own life in the end. I'd do the same if I knew I was about to get mauled by a pack of ferals."
"If that's true then what happened to Raptor?" Zeta wondered as Roz jumped in to suggest.
"Or maybe they did get into a fight and Raptor won. If he wiped out too; he might have even been hurt."
"Still doesn't explain where he went or how." I stated as I glanced back over my shoulder to see Molly sniffing around back the way we came. Just as I went to call her, Zeta said in confusion.
"We'd see a sign though. He couldn't have just disappeared from this."
"Fan out and let's just look around. You may be right. He might have left something." Roz replied when all the sudden we heard from the hill where Molly was still sniffing around.
"I got something!"
We jumped into action as we heard Cooper. When we got back over to him he was directing our attention to the ground between some of the dead dogs. Pointing around the mess, he asked us.
"Do you see what I'm seeing? Look around. Black quills right here and what looks like blood and a drag mark."
"He was injured then." Saff stated out loud as I shifted my attention back on Molly to shout.
"Molly! Come here and see if you can smell him!"
The dog came running right on up and when she got between my legs Roz brought up a very valid idea.
"This was a pack, but six wolves didn't make the whole thing up. What's the chances a part of them got Raptor?"
"We'd see his body." I replied as he went silent to look back at Molly.
After a few seconds the girl let out a loud bark and began to walk away. Her nose following a trail as I quickly ordered everyone.
"Go get the truck. She's onto something. Zeta? With me. We're going to follow her again."
Everyone agreed and as the boys fell out, I looked back at the drag mark to whisper to Zeta.
"Roz is right. Six wolves aren't a pack. Yet there was more than enough food to go around if they decided to eat Archer first. They might have taken Raptor back to their home to feed however many more are camped out there."
"Pep." Zeta replied in disgust as I quickly followed up by saying to her next.
"I'm sorry, but think about it. The drag mark here is going off in that direction. And there aren't any signs of struggle; otherwise we'd see it in the pattern of the trail. Wolves are tough. No matter how long the trip, they'd be willing to carry him back home by the neck. That's my best guess and Molly is a step ahead of us already. Come on." I urged her as she nodded and followed me back towards Molly who was walking in a straight line with the trail.
At least now we had more to go on. Problem was if our theory was correct and Raptor got nabbed by some ferals, there was no telling how soon they'd eat him. Only thing that kept me hopeful that he'd be okay is the fact that he was still a god. He wouldn't just let something like that end his life. Yet….for him to not put up a fight and let them have their way; he might be already in more trouble than we can imagine.
mT Shadow.