Ava sat slumped on the fallen log, her body practically crying for rest. She glanced around, the fatigue slowly giving way to curiosity as the group gathered their bearings. Her eyes flickered over the ground, noticing something glinting in the weak sunlight filtering through the trees. It wasn't much—just a small reflection—but it was enough to catch her eye.
She dragged herself to her feet, her legs still stiff from exhaustion, and made her way over to the source of the reflection. Kneeling down, she brushed aside some leaves and dirt, her fingers brushing against the cold, hard surface of something buried.
Metal? What's a chunk of metal doing out here?
She tugged at it but quickly realized it wasn't going anywhere. "Too heavy…" she muttered, wiping the dirt off her hands.
"Need help?" Zyra's voice came from behind, almost making Ava jump out of her skin. She whirled around, her heart racing. "Jeez! You scared the crap out of me!" she said, clutching her chest. Zyra, with her usual grin, crouched next to her.
"Let's see what you've got." Zyra reached down and effortlessly pulled up the piece of metal with a soft grunt. She turned it over in her hands, inspecting it.
"Looks like some old scrap. But… it feels strange, doesn't it?"
Ava squinted at the metal in Zyra's hands. It was rusted and jagged, clearly not something that belonged in the forest. It looked like a piece of a larger structure, but its origins were impossible to tell from a single fragment.
Sera, noticing the two of them crouching over something, walked over. "What've you found?"
Zyra handed the metal piece over to Sera. "Not sure, but it's definitely not from around here."
Sera's fingers traced the edges of the metal. It was corroded, but the weight and build told her it wasn't just random debris. "Whatever it is… it's been here a long time. But not so long that it's completely gone. There's more."
Ava's eyes lit up as she brushed more of the dirt away, revealing another small piece half-buried in the ground. "This isn't just debris. There's more all around us." Her voice had a spark of excitement. "We could be looking at… I don't know, maybe some kind of wreck or structure. Maybe this forest grew around it."
Zyra nodded and stood up, dusting off her hands. "Let's keep looking. If this is part of something bigger, there's more to find."
As they moved deeper into the forest, they began to notice more signs of metal scattered across the ground. Some pieces were small, barely visible beneath the overgrowth, while others were larger, poking out from the underbrush like bones of a long-forgotten creature. The forest had taken over, vines and roots tangling around the remnants, making it difficult to see just how much was buried below.
Sera, ever the cautious leader, felt the weight of the unknown settle on her shoulders. They were venturing into something potentially dangerous, but the curiosity was pulling her forward. "We don't know what we're dealing with here," she muttered, scanning the treeline. "But we can't ignore it either."
"Look at this," Ava called out, kneeling beside a particularly large fragment. She brushed away more dirt to reveal what looked like the remains of gears or machinery, though most of it was rusted beyond recognition.
"This... this might've been something big," she mused. "I can't tell for sure without seeing more, but these aren't random pieces. This could be part of a larger system. Maybe a vehicle or some kind of structure."
Zyra had already moved ahead, her sharp eyes scanning the terrain for any more clues. She paused, spotting something much larger in the distance—massive, unmoving objects partially hidden behind a wall of trees and foliage. Their size made them stand out, though they were too far away to make out any details.
"Hey," she called back to the group, her voice low and cautious. "I'm seeing something. Big objects, over there, past the trees. But they're too far to see clearly."
Sera's gaze followed where Zyra was pointing, her instincts telling her that they were getting closer to something significant. "Alright, let's move carefully," she instructed. "We don't know what we're walking into, and this forest could be hiding anything."
The group pressed on, their eyes darting between the debris that now littered the forest floor. Each step felt heavier, the eerie metallic sounds they had heard earlier growing louder, but still untraceable. The forest, once peaceful and filled with the usual wildlife, now seemed to be watching them. The air was thick with tension, every crack of a twig or rustle of leaves putting them on edge.
Ava crouched down beside another fragment, running her fingers along its surface. "These pieces… they're too far gone to tell much, but they're from something big, that's for sure. Maybe even a landship, but... I can't be certain."
Sera furrowed her brow. "Landship debris? Out here?" The idea was unsettling. Landships didn't just disappear, and if this was part of one, what had happened to it? Why was it left to rot in the middle of a forest?
Zyra moved ahead once more, her senses sharp as ever. She crept closer to the large shapes she had spotted earlier, now more visible through the thinning trees. Whatever they were, they were massive—half-buried under the dirt and vines, like the forest had swallowed them whole.
"Sera, you need to see this," Zyra said, her voice uncharacteristically serious.
Sera and Ava quickly made their way to where Zyra was standing. As they approached, their eyes widened. There, just beyond the trees, were the remnants of something huge—massive metal objects tangled in vegetation, their shapes unrecognizable but undeniably artificial.
Ava's heart raced as she took in the sight. "This… this could be it. But I can't tell what we're looking at yet."
Sera's grip tightened on the hilt of her weapon as she stared at the wreckage before them. "We don't know what we've found, but whatever it is... it's not just debris. We need to get closer, but we move carefully."