The sound of klaxons roared behind him as whatever unit of hunters were being deployed to catch the rogue trainee. The wardens rarely did speak, never removed their helmets. Even the soldiers, once a child like himself, barely spoke except to accept and receive battle commands. It was like they were completely mindless and the thought of that being his future always scared him. His heart was beating erratically from the sudden physical exertion.
If it wasn't for his implants his emotions would be sky high right now. Thanks to them he could think about his next action. Running would do nothing. Hunters were a selective group bred for one thing only. They would be true to their namesake...fortunately one of the things his training focused on was tracking. The older boy, soon to be a young man, deftly navigated the rubble. Every step he took he seize opportunities to cover his tracks and misdirect his trackers.
The sky began to subtly shift from an annoyingly cheerful blue. It felt like he'd been lying under the seat of a van for a whole day now...his only company being the corpse of another trainee demonstrating the uselessness of his attire. A off-white, but nonetheless bright, thin tunic did nothing to increase his chances of survival. The cadaver's rotten smell still tickled his nostrils in the foulest of ways. Even though the hunters had made no sound in the last 10 minutes Zach made no movement to escape his potential resting place. Food, water, heat...would only be a problem if he survived the first trial. Once the sun had fully set he would know they were gone. But no sooner....
BAM
Something hit the side of the adjacent car. Despite his determination, despite all the willpower his was pouring into these final hours of quiet hiding Zach couldn't escape the basic instincts programmed by his damnable genes. A tiny sound traveled from his throat which not even his closed mouth stopped its escape. Freezing completely the boy counted the dreadful seconds.
The dead in front of him rose from its slumber and crawled headfirst at him. Zach screamed. His emotions finally plateaued. It seemed his fallen brother was pulling him from his his hiding spot. He flailed, fighting the cold hands as he was pulled out. Looking up he saw it was not what his fear made him think. Zach was on his knees covered in the wet mud. Looking directly up at, not a hunter, but an accompanying soldier. Zach wasn't sure of his classification but he looked like he saw a good amount of front line warfare.