The jungle whispered. Not with wind, but with heat—dense, pressing, alive.
We moved south.
Staggered formation. No one breaking rank. Camille, Alexis, and Evelyn took the left flank, weaving between fern-thick underbrush and angled roots. Sienna and 3830 anchored the rear, watching for shadows that didn't belong. I held the center with the lead drone drifting just above the canopy, feeding me elevation maps and heat signatures. It pulsed with soft red alerts when movement shifted.
One flicker—false alarm. A bird.
Second flicker—thermal bloom. Humanoid. Thirty meters west.
I raised a hand. Halt.
A single motion, two fingers curving inward. Camille caught it instantly. She and Evelyn shifted left, disappearing like smoke. Alexis dropped lower into a crouch.
The jungle was too loud to be silent. Cicadas buzzed like live wires. Leaves rustled with nothing in them.
Then—
A click. Not ours.
Camille broke the silence first, throwing her voice—badly.
"Kraaaaak!" she growled.
