Summer glanced over at Kyle, a concerned look shadowing her brow.
"What in god's name was that..." she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Kyle shrugged, "I don't know, but it didn't sound good. Do you think we should see what it was?"
Summer's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you crazy?! That sounded like a bomb went off, and I don't wanna get anywhere near that." She grabbed her shoulders in discomfort.
Kyle rolled his eyes.
"Come on Summer, someone could've been seriously hurt." Kyle reached out his hand to Summer.
She took it reluctantly and he pulled her into the trees. They followed the path of trees that the VELH had previously knocked down. Splintered wood stuck up from the earth and trees had bent and snapped in half. VELH's weren't made for dense areas, they were meant to be used out in the open.
Certain branches from the trees still hung by small slivers of wood, and leaves still sprinkled down from the tree tops where they either been blown to the treetops or shaken off their twigs.
The teens climbed through the widened path of destruction, drawing nearer to the source of the sound from earlier.
"Do you think it was the VELH from earlier? I'm guessing that would be the only thing in these woods capable of well...exploding." Summer stated, glancing over at Kyle.
He nodded, "Probably, but I don't understand how, those things don't ever really have technical problems you know? So I don't know what could've happened if it wasn't a malfunction."
He kicked a rock in the path. it bounced in the dirt before landing with a small skid. A small cloud of dust rose from where it had landed.
The teens walked for what seemed like several miles, the path of destruction continuing in a relatively straight line, until the trees started to thin out slightly into more saplings. You could see farther into the forest, now a lighter green color between less trees.
Suddenly the path of the VELH swerved. It cut sharply and wove between several trees. There were several gouges in the dirt ground, most likely from where the vehicle had turned sharply and the side dug into the earth. The black plume now rose about half a mile away.
Kyle stopped, "Maybe I was wrong about a malfunction, VELH's don't usually turn like this. Looks like whatever happened is close. I still can't really see anything though."
"I hope it's not too bad..." Summer's voice trailed off.
"Come on," Kyle sighed, "Can't stop now, we're too close."
They continued forward, cutting through trees now and again, trying to take the straightest path that followed the veering path of the VELH. Then something bright on the ground caught Summer's eye.
She looked over at the object and asked. "What's that on the ground?"
Kyle looked where she had pointed and walked closer to examine the object. He picked it up and turned to Summer.
"Well this accident definitely involved that VELH," Kyle held out the object to Summer. "This is that officers scanning device."
The machines plasma line was gone, and only a spark or two would drop from the ends now and then. Summers eyes widened in horror.
Kyle threw the device in his backpack and started to jog down the path.
"Wait!" Summer called after him and took off running as well.
They both passed several more trees, then skidded to a halt.
Before them lay the source of the explosion, engulfed in flames and billowing smoke.
Summer raised her hands to her mouth, "Oh dear god..."
Kyle looked in horror, "Holy shit...what happened..."
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