It was now six days since Aisea had left her tribe.
Half a day out, she had reached the perimeter beyond which drones could not pass without permission. She could have gained another half a day by coming up with an excuse for why she needed them and securing that permission. But it would have risked raising suspicion - just what could she have said to justify the need for six drones including ones in combat, medicine, and stealth configurations?
It was better not to. Even if the alternative was to summon a shockwave demon to rip through the perimeter, severing the drones from the tribe's control network and making sure that everyone would instantly know what was happening.
After that, she had spent days eluding their best trackers. Good thing she had one of those stealth drones with her, using a matter transformation field to copy the state of the ground before she walked on it, then restoring it to its original condition afterward.
By now she was pretty sure she had eluded them.
Or so she hoped, at least. She did not relish the thought of a slow and painful death at their hands.
But something was amiss. A scouting drone she had deployed ahead was reporting the presence of another human, apparently camped by the river that Aisea was approaching. From the telescope photos appearing on her goggles, it looked like a girl her age. Not one she had ever seen, nor did the markings on her clothes match those of any tribe she was familiar with.
Who the hell was that?
Aisea drew her rifle from her back, ordered all the drones with combat capabilities into readiness, and started on a quiet approach.