Page 69 of Alpha Awakened
Ice shook his head. “I don’t think it’s you, Corporal.” He looked down at the yellow flowers surrounding Hazard’s boots. “You two got flowers near you?”
“Yeah. Big yellow ones.”
“Get away from ‘em.”
“Roger that.”
“Hazard, back up slowly,” Ice ordered the omega.
Hazard took several steps to the side, moving out of the field of flowers. Then for good measure, he stomped his feet, shaking off any pollen that might have been clinging to his boots.
Relief loosened Ice’s shoulders once Hazard was no longer standing amongst those blooms. That smell wasn’t only bothering his nose. It was setting his teeth on edge.
“Everybody mask up just in case,” Ortiz ordered. “Check in immediately if you start feeling sick or unusual.”
“Roger.”
“Copy that.” Ice took his mask from his pack. He put it on, watching as Hazard put his on to make sure it was secure.
“All right. Let’s keep moving.”
They continued on, giving the field of flowers a wide berth.
“What do you think was up with those flowers?” Hazard asked.
“I don’t know. Didn’t study botany.”
“The science team might want to examine them to see if they’re some kind of biological weapon or a seriously stinky flower.”
“We’ll note it in the mission report and the higher ups can decide if they want to send a team to investigate,” Ice said dismissing the matter. The flowers were strange, but no one was sick and they had a mission to complete. Now wasn’t the time to be concerned about them.
They’d only gone about another mile, when in the distance, Ice spotted several smoke columns rising above the tree tops.
“You see that, Captain?” Hazard asked.
“Yes. Likely from heating homes. Hold up.”
Hazard came to a stop at his side. Ice took out his binoculars to get a good look. Several miles away, there was a small settlement consisting of log cabins and metal mobile homes. There looked to be about twenty buildings total, plus a few vehicles, and a small children’s playground. He got on the comms to let Ortiz know what they’d found.
“Major, we have visual on our position.”
“And I smell shifters. No humans,” Hazard added.
“Roger that. We’re on our way.”
They two of them held their position until their squadmates arrived.
“Haven’t smelled that sweet stench for a while,” Jax said when he joined them.
“We should be good to take off our masks.” She pulled hers off and the others followed suit. Ice handed her his binoculars.
“This should be it,” she said as she looked for herself. “Weapons ready but stay cool. These are civilians.”
Together, the four of them headed for the settlement. They were near the edge of the forest when a howl rose, quickly followed by others.
“Shifter alarm system,” Hazard said. “Their lookout wolves are letting the rest of the pack know they have intruders on their lands.”
“Keep going,” Ortiz ordered. “We’ll identify ourselves as soon as we make contact.”