"Okay, when I said I hated Brazil...I didn't mean I wanted the Wu to show up somewhere freezing." Entropy said, shivering as another wind hit them.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have been complaining at all," Stryker growled as they trudged through the deep snow.
They'd parked the jet on the coast of Antarctica about fifteen minutes ago, and had yet to come across the Shen Gong Wu they were tailing. He pulled the collar of his coat up higher and glared up ahead. Zephyr and Jack were laughing loudly at Zephyr's antics, something about how horrible he was at Goo Zombies. He pretended to be interested in their surroundings, but couldn't keep the scowl off his face.
"Why aren't you up there with them, Stryke?" Cinder asked him as she pulled her scarf tighter.
"Yeah, usually you're all over the goofing around stuff," Entropy added.
"I'm trying to find the Wu so we can get out of here," Stryker said, shooting a glare up at the other boys. "No sense spending more time here than we have to."
Zephyr turned and caught sight of Stryker's glare. He frowned and dipped his head a little; Jack didn't seem to notice, but the girls did.
"Oh," Entropy said. "You're jealous 'cause Zephy's taking Jackie away from you."
"I am not!" Stryker hissed, turning his glower on her. "What in the heck gave you that idea."
"Um, maybe the way you just shot lasers at Zephyr with your eyes?" Cinder answered. Stryker turned away. "C'mon, Stryker, it's okay to admit it-"
"I'm not jealous," he said without turning around. "So just drop it."
The girls looked at each other and shrugged, deciding it best to do what he asked. Jack held the tracker up higher and paused, allowing them to catch up.
"Okay, I'm not getting signal anymore," he told them as he knocked on the remote.
"So...what do we do now?" Zephyr asked.
"We split up and search," Stryker sighed, shaking snowflakes from his Mohawk. "Cinder, you and Entropy can look that way, and-"
"Uh, actually," Jack interjected nervously. "I was thinking we do it a little differently this time."
Stryker and Zephyr felt their stomachs drop.
"How'd you wanna do it, Jack?" Cinder asked.
"Well, there's five of us, so it's going to have to be two and three," he started, avoiding the other boy's eyes. "So I was thinking you, me and Cinder go one way...and Zephyr and Stryker go the other..."
"What?" Zephyr and Stryker exclaimed together.
Jack gave them an anxious grin as they turned to each other, then looked away.
"Fine, I guess that works," Stryker snarled, kicking snow into the air. "As long as we get the Wu and just get out of here."
"Great!" Jack said, taking a step back. "As long as we all agree. I'll leave some sort of marker we'll be able to see so we don't get lost, and then we can get started."
The girls giggled to themselves as Jack clicked a button on his watch. From the jet soared a Jack-bot with a large stick in its hand. It flew in the middle of the group and stuck it in the ground, cracking the ice a bit. The top of the pole opened up and let out a bright light that pierced the clouded sky. They'd be able to see it alright.
"Okay, now that that's all settled," Jack started. "Let's get going."
He turned to Stryker and was surprised to see him shoot a dirty look his way before trudging off through the snow, Zephyr behind him trying to keep up.
"I...think...he's mad at...me..." he said, deflating with each word.
"Aw, he'll get over it, Jackie," Entropy told him, slapping him on the back. "Let's go."
He didn't move until Cinder grabbed his arm and gave him a smile. His face grew red and he started to go with them, pausing only to watch Stryker and Zephyr disappear from view. He hoped they'd be okay.
After both teams left the Jack-bot perked up. Something had cracked beneath it. It turned and saw that the fissure was spreading quickly, shooting in the direction Stryker and Zephyr had taken.
"...Uh...oh..." it's mechanical voice croaked.