Braxton woke in the middle of the night. He heard Alpha's voice going off in his mind, but didn't catch what the message was. He got up and walked out of the tent.
"Review notification." He thought.
Braxton Ace age fourteen.
Strength 3
Agility 5
Vitality 6
Constitution 5
Intelligence 4
Skills: Combat Camouflage, Knifehand thrust, Skullcrusher heel stomp, Shadowstep 10 feet.
Braxton started practicing with his Combat Camouflage armor skill. When he moved slowly, he could barely see his own skin. The lines of the rocks on his armor flowed perfectly with rocks underneath or behind him. It was like the armor was mirroring what was behind it. When he moved quickly it still provided some benefits but, it was much more noticeable. From longer distances, he would need someone to assist him with evaluating the benefits. He hadn't been here that long but, he thought he had got off on a good footing with several of the other members of his new community.
Being homeless had taught him that it was important to get to know and establish strong relationships with those around him. He didn't have much but others helped him out and he learned to survive. His community was probably missing his presence back on Earth. His father was a very rich man. When he was growing up he had everything he could've ever wanted. The negative side was when business was bad, he got beat regularly. It wasn't as bad as Blitz's attacks, but the emotional side was completely different. That may have had more to do with his age and the time he spent street fighting to earn some money.
He could explore the ins and outs of the camouflage later. He wanted to get to the surface and try to complete his tasks. He went topside. The moon was shining bright in the sky when he reached the surface. This was quite helpful. Shadows were being cast by many buildings in the area providing him cover and shadows. He practiced his shadow step on the way up. He moved between the shadows and reached the gate quickly. Then he low crawled to the gate and touched it.
"Gate heart acquired." Alpha notified him. He collected the first component and he wasted little time returning to the camp. He deposited the gate heart beside the supply tent. Then he returned to the surface once again.
"How much time before dawn?" Braxton asked the night guards.
"You got about four hours at most. Be careful out there kid. The sniper is out there. He cracked off a couple rounds after you went back down. He might have night vision on his scope. It lets him see heat signatures your body puts out. They don't work during the heat of the day. They shine clear enough at night when it's cool, like tonight. I have night vision skills and I can see you clear enough when you move around. The camo works but it doesn't actual do anything to hide your body's heat signature." The guard informed Braxton.
"Thanks, I could've gotten myself killed out here pretty easy. I still think I can get to the body close to the wall. Do you have any idea what kind of gear he might have been carrying?" Braxton inquired.
"That was Rascal. He was one of our best snipers. He should have a nice sniper rifle at least. I doubt he had any ammo but, it is possible. It's a Regal laser rifle. He took it off an enemy sniper. It's a beaut. No recoil, scope has all the frills. Night vision, 100x magnification. I watched a guy pick his nose at two miles away. It doesn't drift and isn't effected by wind either so it's point and shoot. He always had trouble finding power cells for it, but other than that it's a prime piece of gear. They call me Demon. The lady here with me is my lovely wife Moonshadow. We both have night vision and we get most of the night shifts. Be careful, I expect an attack here pretty soon. Your scent is another thing, these critter can smell you pretty easy. I can smell you easy. Get some skin blankets and wrap up in them. They will help mask your scent." Demon seemed like a chatty fellow.
"Will do. I should get back to work" Braxton replied.
He stepped from one shadow to the next. His projected path was a round about way of reaching the body he wanted to loot. It wouldn't expose him to the known sniper's location. His previous planned path was low crawling across the expanse crossing the road between the building remains. It wouldn't have taken him half as long but, it took for granted that he couldn't be seen. The discovery of night vision took that play off the table. He was willing to take some risks, but being foolish wasn't something he wanted to do. The possibility of the laser sniper rifle having a round would be huge. It would make up for him not being in possession of a good sniper scope. It was also a better weapon than what he had. If it had a single round, he could put a quick end to the threat.
He stepped into the last shadow before crossing the street and froze. He could hear and feel warm breath right beside him. He couldn't see whatever the source was. An image of a nightstalker tearing him limb from limb, flashed through his mind and Braxton summoned his blade into his right hand. Immediately thrusting it into the darkness where the breath came from. He felt the blade sink deep into the body of a beast. The beast howled in pain and the force of its body pulled him up as the creature tried to pull free of Braxton's blade. A flash tore thru the air above Braxton. Flesh and blood covered his body and the light faded from his eyes.