Zone E -- Highlands

[Corporal Light]

Snow floated down, drifting off the tip of the summit above. It fell on top of his grey, metal space suit, staining it a clear white. The snowfall was thankfully light enough to provide Isaac with adequate vision, allowing him to remain on the road. As he went further and further up, the pine trees that had once inhabited each side of the path decreased in size and appearance until only a few frost-covered saplings remained as a frequent occurrence. His boots left prints on the road below him as they crunched down on brittle, deadened leaves and packed-up snow. The air had grown chillier to the point where not even his RIG could shield him from it. He shivered as he walked; his breath was ladened with frost when he exhaled.

After a few minutes trying to withstand the cold by just rubbing his arms together to keep the blood flow going, he eventually gave in and sought out a suitable stick to use as a torch. A minute later, he was back on the road, holding his new-found heat source as close to him as possible without burning himself. The warmness of the fiery red flame took the chill off of his body and relaxed his muscles. The only thing he wished was that the fire could melt off the snow spattered all over his armor, and that it wasn’t so damn noticeable. Smoke billowed out from the tip of the wooden limb, mostly due to the excess amount of kindling he attached to it, but he would rather be a beacon that drew other primes to his location than die of hypothermia somewhere up in the mountains.

He continued on, burning wood limb in hand, down the road. As he traversed the mountain, his mind wandered towards what had happened back in Zone D, specifically with Graowr. He still couldn’t believe he had let himself get pushed around like that. He had suspected it from the beginning, but he had allowed her to get the better of him.

The worst part of it all was that, somewhere inside him, a small part of him really did like her, or was at least curious about her. Her peppy personality had rubbed off on him during their travels, making him smile, laugh, and have a bit of fun despite the competition. She didn’t seem concerned whatsoever about dragging him through the mud-waters of Zone D to get him medical attention and she didn’t even expect a reward for doing so. It almost made him believe she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart.

Almost.

But he knew better. She was the chess-master commanding her pieces and putting them in place, and he was just a lowly pawn sent to the slaughter. Kendra Daniels was the same way. He wasn’t going to fall for it a second time.

Still, the thought of having to fight her…

His knapsack rumbled with a low-pitched hum that snapped Isaac out of his thoughts. He opened it up and slipped his fingers inside. Feeling around, he found the source of the vibrations.

Pulling out his tablet, he turned it on. A blue hologram materialized from the screen of the tablet. The Zone next to him, C1, was glowing.

His eyes widened. C1 was getting an item drop. C1 was practically a hop, skip, and a jump away. He didn’t need to go get the Zone A item.

Chuckling to himself, almost dumbstruck by his luck, he looked around. He was rather high up in the mountains, so he needed to find a shortcut. He set off down the road, checking every corner of every intersection that he found.

Eventually, he found one in the form of a cavern entrance. Jagged, the maw opened wide as if to swallow him whole, with sharp, tiny stalactites hanging from the edge, it was pitch black inside. However, his tablet map had indicated that, if he followed it, he would reach the other side and get into Zone C. He just had to not get lost.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside, filling the darkness with the crimson glow of his torch.

Team Space Man (Isaac) --- Moving from E8 to C1