20: Brice
Brice
It took Brice the whole day to get close to the Campus. He staggered from tree to tree, through the thick forest he recalled surrounding the area. When the trees thinned, he rested.
The noise swirled, forming shapes he recognised. He still had a connection to the Proteus, and the emergency beacon was doing its stuff. Brice rode the connection, knew when the rescue detail flew in. He heard them, too—two Proteus, flying low over the trees, scanning for activity beneath the canopy.
Brice willed his lattice to shield him, as it had done on the island. None of the noise suggested the rescue crews had spotted him. But when they reached the Proteus they’d know he was missing, would be looking for him.
He climbed a tree—hurt like hell, with his leg burning up and his lungs
