Chapter Three: The Journey
The six man squad hiked across the landscape, slowly making their way through the seemingly endless woodland. They had left Wall Rose about an hour or two ago now.
Colin shot up a fist telling the others to stop and hunker-down. "Alright. Now that we're out ere, we need to be ready." He said. "So lets' synchronise watches." He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the small wristwatch he was wearing as the others did the same. "Okay I've got Oh Three-Hundred coming up in three…two…"
Terry rolled up his sleeve and groaned as he saw his wrist was bare. "Aw bollocks I don't believe this!" He spat.
"What's the mater, Terry?" Colin asked. "I left me watch at the Barracks, Sarge." He replied. Colin replied by taking his off ad handing it to him. "Looks fancy but it ain't worth shit." He said. "But I do want it back." Terry took the watch and put it on. "What about you, Sarge?" he asked.
The man simply pointed to the side of his head. "Guess I'll have to count then." He smirked. The squad got up to their feet and continued their advance. Ahead of them lay uneven ground which gave way into a small gorge.
"We should check it out." Jaxx said. "They could be taking shelter there." Colin nodded. "Good idea. If not, we'll set up camp there. It looks easily fortifiable. Titans'd probably have trouble getting to us in there. Let's go."
The gorge was a winding maze of dirt with rock walls either side. Small plants grew in a few areas but a lot of the interior of the gorge was bare as there wasn't enough light for most plant life. Tommy looked around at the sides of the gorge, gripping the handles of his two blades as he internally expected to see a titan staring at them from above.
He jumped when Jack punched the side of his arm, shouting "Boo!" Tommy was white with fear. "Something isn't right, dude." He said. "It just feels like something should be happening. I dunno." He explained. Jack shrugged. "Well if something does happen, the Sarge will be able to handle it."
They weren't aware, but the squad was being watched. The shape of two soldiers was barely visible at the top of the gorge. Lowering the rifle, one of them turned to the other. "They're making their way south, Sir." He whispered. The other, Captain Shepherd, nodded. "Okay. We'll follow them for a bit longer then head back to camp." The soldier readied his rifle again. "Yes sir."
"Squad, Hold up!" Colin ordered. "We'll set up camp here for the night, move out again at dawn. Jack I want you and Morse to set up a perimeter, the rest of us will start a fire and unload." Terry smirked. "All we need now is some food to roast on the fire, then. –Oh and a song or two."