105. A Cry for Help

Tropical Island — Fajar's Group

Some time earlier, Fajar's ship and three other Pioneers had arrived on Tropical Island.

Fajar, Andre, Siska, and Rian gathered at the agreed meeting point they had arranged through chat.

Fajar checked their equipment before looking toward the rainforest stretching out before them.

“We're going in to look for hardwood and resin. If we find any other resources, grab those too.”

Rian nodded.

“Agreed.”

Siska and Andre nodded as well, and they began entering the forest. As soon as they passed the first line of trees, Fajar immediately raised his hand.

“Wait.”

The others stopped, and Fajar looked up, watching the branches above them.

“Watch the trees. Hererasaurus like attacking from up there.”

Andre looked up as well.

“So don't just watch what's in front of us.”

“That's why we can't let the formation fall apart.”

Fajar pointed at himself.

“I'll take the front.”

Then he pointed at Rian.

“Rian in the middle.”

Finally, he pointed at Siska and Andre.

“You two in the back. Crossbows ready.”

Andre raised his crossbow.

“Ready.”

They started walking again. Fajar was at the very front, moving slowly past roots and bushes. Rian kept several steps behind him, while Siska and Andre followed, constantly watching their rear and the trees around them.

Several minutes passed, then—

KRAK!

A branch snapped overhead, and Fajar immediately looked up.

“Above!”

A mechanical body leaped from one of the branches.

DUAK!

A Mechanical Hererasaurus landed directly in front of Fajar, and Fajar immediately raised his shield.

BRAK!

The creature's claws slammed into the shield, pushing Fajar back several steps, but he held his ground.

“Attack!”

Rian moved in from the side and struck the Hererasaurus with his weapon and the creature turned, but Siska had already drawn her bow.

Twack!

The arrow struck the Hererasaurus's body, followed by Andre.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Twack!

Two arrows struck from behind then the Hererasaurus snarled and leaped backward toward a tree trunk.

Fajar immediately shouted,

“Don't let it climb!”

Rian chased after it and struck its leg before the creature could get back up. The Hererasaurus lost its balance and fell to the ground then Siska and Andre fired again at the same time.

DUAK!

The Hererasaurus jerked violently and Fajar moved forward and struck its head with his weapon.

KLANG!

One final blow made the mechanical body stagger. White light began to appear across its body, and the creature then shattered into light and disappeared then several items fell to the ground.

Fajar lowered his weapon.

“Got it.”

Andre immediately walked toward the drops with a wide grin and he patted his own chest.

“I'm getting pretty good at this.”

Siska looked at him.

“That was only one.”

Andre raised his crossbow.

“What's important is that my shot hit.”

Rian chuckled, and Andre turned toward the others.

“At this rate, I'll eventually be like Rangga.”

Fajar immediately replied,

“Don't get ahead of yourself.”

Andre laughed and they collected the drops and continued their journey.

The farther they went into the forest, the denser the trees became, and the harder it was for sunlight to penetrate the canopy then Fajar looked around.

“Focus on finding resin.”

They spread out again while maintaining their formation.

Unbeknownst to them, another mechanical sound could be heard in the distance, moving between the trees.

They had already ventured deep into the forest. Hererasaurus after Hererasaurus, they managed to defeat each one. Every time a mechanical creature fell, Andre always found another opportunity to brag about himself.

“Told you, I'm getting better.”

Siska simply shook her head.

“The important thing is not to let your guard down.”

They moved on again but not long after, another Hererasaurus appeared from above a tree.

Fajar immediately raised his shield.

“Above!”

The battle was brief.

Fajar blocked the attacks from the front, Rian attacked from the side, while Siska and Andre provided covering fire from behind.

The Hererasaurus eventually staggered, and Andre drew his crossbow.

“I'll finish this one!”

He fired the final shot.

Twack!

The arrow struck the Hererasaurus directly in the body and the creature glowed, then shattered into white light. Andre immediately raised his hand.

“THERE! See that?!”

Fajar chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Andre had just started walking toward the drop when—

Twack!

An arrow flew from between the trees.

TAK!

The arrow pierced Fajar's arm.

“ARGH!”

Fajar jerked backward.

“Attack!”

Before they could react—

Twack!

A second arrow struck Andre in the thigh.

“AH, DAMMIT!”

Andre immediately dropped to one knee, and a third arrow followed.

TAK!

Rian was struck directly in the stomach. His body staggered before collapsing to the ground.

Everything happened so quickly.

Fajar tried to raise his shield, but the pain in his arm slowed his movement.

“Siska!”

Siska immediately ran behind the nearest tree and she pressed her back against the trunk while holding her breath.

In front of her, Fajar, Andre, and Rian were already sprawled on the ground.

“Ah... damn it...”

Fajar pulled the arrow from his arm with his other hand.

“Who's attacking us?”

There was no answer then footsteps could be heard coming from between the trees.

One person appeared then two then several more. They carried their own weapons and approached Fajar's group while laughing.

“Hahahahaha!”

One of them looked at Fajar, Andre, and Rian lying helplessly on the ground.

“We got ourselves some nice prey.”

Another man stepped closer.

“Hand over all your resources.”

He pointed at their equipment.

“Your armor and weapons too.”

Fajar endured the pain while continuing to grip his weapon.

“Who the hell are you?”

He glared at them.

“Where are you from?”

The man smiled contemptuously.

“Where we're from doesn't matter.”

He stepped closer.

“What matters is that you hand everything over. Now.”

Behind the tree, Siska opened the Garuda regional chat with trembling hands.

Her fingers immediately began typing.

Siska: MAJOR DERI! HELP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!

Deri's reply appeared shortly afterward.

Deri: Who's attacking you? Position?

Siska typed quickly.

Siska: Western area of Tropical Island!

Then she added another message.

Siska: Sir Rangga is also on this island!

She waited, but there was no reply.

Siska stared at the screen.

“Sir Rangga...?”

Nothing appeared, so she typed again.

Siska: Rangga!

Still no reply and Siska bit her lip, then another name appeared in the chat.

Siska: Fajar!

Not long after, from where he lay on the ground, Fajar also opened the chat system.

Fajar: Deri, we're under attack.

Rian, still clutching his stomach in pain, opened the chat as well.

Rian: Help.

Behind the tree, Siska looked again at the group that was drawing closer and closer to her three companions.

She gripped her device tightly then she sent one final message.

Siska: RANGGA, HURRY.