"Chris, did it pick up sothing?" Laurel asked as she walked towards him, breaking the tension in the air.
Chris shook his head. "I don’t know, the signal only spiked for a second and it had gone flat now." He replied with a frown at the abnormal behaviour of the machine.
"I thought you said the machine worked perfectly fine. You even claid that it can easily direct us to the mist or any activity involved with the mist. However, the way I see it, it is either it is broken or you were wrong... who knows if we are even heading in the wrong direction." Alexander said, not bothering to move an inch from his place.
The soldiers glanced at each other with unease. A few of them wondered if it was so kind of revenge for the allegations on the Lennox army force. But none of them dared to voice their thoughts.
Laurel shot Alexander a warning glare. "Perhaps the machine picked up sothing abnormal... maybe we can try searching around to see if there is anything out of place."
"Are you serious right now? We are going to waste ti looking for nothing, and who knows the infected might still be on our trails." Alexander voiced his concern.
At the ntion of the infected, the soldiers grew more tense, their expression turning slowly to one of panic.
"Five minutes. That wouldn’t hurt would it?" Laurel shouted, staring at their faces.
"It is safe to check whatever it is. I’m certain the machine isn’t broken, if there happens to be sothing dangerous it is better to rule out any possibility of it." Chris said, walking towards the spot again.
"Fine, bring forward the robot. It will make the search faster." Alexander said, gesturing with his hand for the soldiers carrying the machines and supplies to co forward.
A soldier at the far end rolled forward the engineered truck.
Alexander walked toward the rolled truck and pulled away the cover, revealing the Alpha 5078 robot he had gifted Laurel earlier, its tallic fra dull under the pale light as it stood inactive for a brief mont before one of the soldiers stepped forward and powered it on, the machine coming to life with a low hum while its sensors flickered as if adjusting to the surroundings.
’At least the robot has found its right use.’ Laurel thought inwardly with sarcasm.
"Scan the area," Alexander ordered, his voice a little tensed as he stepped aside, allowing the robot to move forward while the rest of them remained where they stood, their attention fixed on it as it began sweeping the ground in slow, controlled movents, passing over burnt soil, broken branches, and scattered debris without missing a single spot.
The group fell into silence as the robot continued its scan, the only sound coming from its chanical movents and the faint crunch of ash beneath its steps, while Chris kept glancing down at the device in his hand as if expecting it to react again, though the signal remained flat, which only deepened the crease between his brows.
’It should have picked sothing up again,’ Chris thought inwardly, as he looked back at the area, anwhile the attention of the others remained fixed ahead, their nerves tightening slightly with each passing second.
The robot suddenly stopped near a fallen tree, its head tilting slightly before turning toward a pile of leaves gathered at the base, and that small movent alone was enough to thicken the tension in the air around them as several soldiers raised their weapons instinctively, their bodies tensing as their focus snapped toward that exact spot.
"It found sothing," Gabriel said quietly, narrowing his eyes as he adjusted his grip on his rifle.
The robot stepped closer and extended its arm, pushing aside the dried leaves in slow motions as the rustling sound broke through the silence, and for a mont nothing happened, but then a faint movent echoed beneath the leaves, subtle yet enough to draw every gaze toward it as the tension thickened further.
Laurel’s chest thundered in her chest. ’What could be in there? An infected or what?’
A thud echoed from beneath the earth again, this ti louder than before.
"Wait!" Laurel shouted.
The robot froze imdiately, its arm suspended mid-air while the group stood completely still, as if any sudden movent would disturb whatever was hidden beneath, and in that quiet mont, a faint sound slipped through again, so soft it could have been lost if they were still talking.
Tina’s fingers tightened around Laurel’s hand. "Aunty Laurel..."
"It’s not an infected," Laurel said calmly, though she did not look away.
"And how can you tell?" Stefan replied. He would rather shoot his shot than confirm if it was really infected or not.
"Lower your weapons," Laurel said, her voice firm as she stepped forward, though the soldiers hesitated for a brief second before easing their guns slightly, none of them fully lowering their guard as she moved closer to the pile, Chris following right behind her.
"Wait," Alexander said, but she didn’t stop.
Laurel crouched down and brushed the remaining leaves aside, revealing a wooden square cover hidden beneath them, she paused for a mont before knocking lightly against it, the hollow sound confirming what she had already suspected.
Silence followed.
Then a knock returned from beneath the wood.
Laurel’s gaze softened slightly as she leaned closer. "Co out," she said calmly. "We’re not infected."
For a mont nothing happened, and the stillness stretched just enough for the tension to rise again, but then the wooden cover trembled slightly before lifting from one side, revealing a small hand first, thin and dirty, trembling as it gripped the edge.
A little boy slowly peeked out, his wide eyes filled with fear as he looked at them, his face pale and smudged with dirt, and behind him a woman followed, her movents slower as she pushed the cover aside just enough to shield him slightly, her gaze moving quickly across their faces and weapons as if trying to decide whether they were a threat.
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