Author's Note: Sorry for the wait I've had things to do, plus there were some other stuff I had to do. I rushed on this part so it may not be that good, enjoy.

Chapter 8: Camping

The Sonic Rover landed in a clearing as the whole ship was shut off, Hunter then locked the controls just in case someone tried to steal it. When he finished him and Axel grabbed their packs and headed down the exit ramp, the heat of the jungle presented its self as they left the ship. The ramp shut right behind them as they looked around their surroundings. The lush green of the jungle surrounded them as they tried to determine which way to go; apparently they weren't sure of where to start. "Where do you think we should start?" Axel asked.

"I'm not sure, but we best start somewhere," Hunter responded as he looked up in the sky. "And judging by the sun and time we have about four hours of daylight to work with."

They began to walk forward a bit as Axel voiced his concern, "Are you sure it's ok to leave the Sonic Rover right here?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

"But what if one of Havoc's patrols come by and finds it?"

"Don't worry there's no way they can get into it, let alone steal it," He then stopped just as a thought came into his mind, maybe leaving it unguarded wasn't a good idea. "On second thought I guess we should plant some traps just in case."

Axel couldn't agree more as they walked around the ship and started burring some extra EMP mines they had, they were pressure activated and had enough juice to knock out anyone in a ten feet radius. They planted a good amount and made sure to make a mental note of their locations before they headed off into the jungle, starting their search.

Somewhere Else

In a large clearing a bunch of tents were set up, with dozens of men spread out, some on guard and the rest just mingling around. In the center of the camp was a bigger tent, it was much larger than the others and it belonged to Colonel Havoc. It was just then that Skeam walked under the flap inside the tent to see Havoc looking down on a map that was on a table in the center.

Noticing him Havoc looked up, "Report?"

Skeam straighten himself up as he saluted, "Sir we've been searching for a few hours but we still haven't found that plant you're looking for."

The Colonel nodded as he crossed off another location on the map in front of him, they had gone through a few areas but still haven't found anything yet. "Ok there's still a lot of ground to cover, but we'll find it."

"Um sir, I though you would know where the plant's location is."

"All I said was that I knew the place to go, but I never said I knew the exact location," He responded as he looked back down to the map. "This plant is rare to find, the location may have not been noted down."

Skeam accepted the answer as he moved closer and looked at the map also, "Any other locations we should look at?"

Havoc nodded as he circled a few locations, "Yes just a few, but I'm saving those for the night patrol. It's best we don't send out that many men into the jungle at night, who knows what nocturnal creatures may lurk out there."

"Yes sir, I'll be sure to relay the orders to the men when I leave."

"Good, how many more patrol teams do we have left out?"

"Teams one, three, and five just got back, teams two and four still are searching."

"Ok, once they all get back don't send anymore out until nightfall," Havoc responded as he headed for the tent's exit, with Skeam following right behind.

They both had exited and were greeted by the sun's rays, they both stopped right in front of the tent. "Anything else sir?"

"Yes, make sure the team keeps an eye out for the two left over Rovers, by now they could have already be here. We can't have them ruin anything till we find that plant."

"Just how much damage can two Rovers make?" Skeam asked, not really thinking that they could be a threat.

Havoc just glared at him, "Trust me, if it's just two of them, especially the mutt leader and Akita then they could do much damage. Now go." He responded with a nod as they both took their separate ways, both going to fulfill their tasks.

Back with the Rovers

It has been a few hours since Axel and Hunter had set out, so far they didn't encounter anyone, which was good and bad since they still haven't found any signs of the flower. The rising heat started to become noticeable as they kept taking sips from their canteens, they took small sips as they haven't come across a stream yet, so they needed to ration it the best they could.

They had just hopped over a down log as they stopped for a sec. "Noting so far, how much area have we covered?" Hunter asked as he looked back to see that Axel pulled out a map.

Looking it over he placed his finger on the paper, "We covered a large area but we still have a much larger area to comb through."

Hunter looked at the map, then back up at the sky, the sun was setting and the area started to get darker. It wouldn't be a good idea to continue during the night since they wouldn't be able to see, so it was best they find a place to make camp for the night. "We best bunker down before the sun fully sets, won't do us much good not being able to see."

Axel agreed with the suggestion but still had some uneasiness, they wouldn't know if anyone will sneak up on them so no telling if it was safe. "Ok, but it has to be somewhere that can provide cover. "

Hunter then started to look around; they needed some good cover and a flat surface. A few meters away was a small clearing that had fallen tree trunks surrounding the spot, a good place for them, "Over there, it'll do."

He nodded as they moved over there, once they reached the area they hopped over the trunks and looked at the area. The trunks covered them a great deal; the only way they could be seen was if they stood up. After agreeing with the area they began to unload their things and set up camp. It took them another hour to do so since they had to place up some of the trip wires, with the alarms on them. Also they had to set up some traps just in case the trip wires weren't set off. They established a good perimeter of traps, they set them up in a large circle, and luckily they had an extra bag that held the supplies. Once they were done the sun already set and the temperature had dropped tremendously, so Hunter gathered some fire wood and started a fire. It was a risky thing to do since they could be spotted from a far, but they didn't want to freeze during the night and had to take the risk.

Sometime later they both sat around the fire in silence, just letting the time drift by. They hadn't really spoken to each other as they really didn't know what to say to one another. Right now they were eating some of the food they brought, some cereal bars nothing that special since they had to pack light. Hunter took another sip from his canteen as he looked up at Axel, who had his back against one of the trunks, eating quietly.

If everyone else were here there would be chatter amongst them, but with only the two of them it was hard for them. Hunter knew he had to change that, "So…your thoughts on things so far?"

Axel looked back at his brother-in-law as he answered, "It's too quiet, nothing hasn't happened yet and that makes me worried."

Hunter couldn't help but nod as a response, "I know what you mean, and we can encounter Havoc's men at any time and having us stay in one place at the moment only makes the feeling worse."

"I know that, we have to watch each other's backs more carefully so we won't be caught off guard."

Silence hung in the air as they didn't speak for a minute. Hunter was the first to break it, "When this is over, and everyone is awake, what is the first thing you are going to do?"

Axel smiled, "I'm going to hug Ariel for a long time, tell her how much I love her and well… mayb…you know?" He responded, a small blush surfacing.

Hunter couldn't help but chuckle, he couldn't blame he would do the same thing with Colleen. "I hear you; I wouldn't mind doing the same."

They both then shared a laugh, this was something they both needed right now. It was good to share a laugh every now and then. "We both need to get some sleep so we won't be tired, so how do we do this?" Axel asked as he put his stuff away.

Hunter finished his food as he put everything away also, "We'll alternate sleeping, you go first and I'll wake you in five hours, then you can take over."

"Are you sure you can handle being by yourself for that time, I mean no one to talk to could get to you?"

Don't worry," The retriever reassured. "I can manage; I've brought a book to read." He then reached into his pack and pulled out the hardback reading material."

"Ok then if you're sure," Axel responded as he rolled out a bedroll they brought and lay down. But just as they started to get comfortable their ears flickered as a high pitched whistle filled their ears, someone was coming set off their trap.

A/N: Hope you like, may have not been my best but I tried. Things should pick up from now one so please bare with me. Next one will be out soon.