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There's just something so perfect about the forest in the early morning that Riley looks forward to when he wakes up every day. It could be the enjoying the cool, crisp air in his lungs before the heat of the day sets in or the quiet of the world before most of the inhabitants are awake. Not a small part of it is definitely the calm before the storm that tends to be his days as of late—whether it's a mischievous Chase or Sledge attempting to steal their energems yet again.
There are several paths he likes to switch between depending on how he's feeling that morning and if he's alone or not. If he's waiting for one of his teammates (usually a late Chase) to arrive for training he'll take the one that loops around their training area. Since it's a shorter route, he has to do many rounds before he feels like he's gotten a proper workout.
Another path is for if he wants a longer, but still smooth run. It's mostly flat and about twice the length of the loop, perfect for a light challenge. That ones for if he expects to have a busy or hard day of work and doesn't want to expend too much of himself too soon.
Then there's his favorite, the one that's half run, half hike that really gives him a workout. It's for days off when the only extra work he might have to do is face whatever monster of the week Sledge throws at them. It's way less defined than the others, which is part of the joy of it. Sometimes Koda will join him, on even rarer occasions Tyler will, but usually it's just him and, maybe some music.
That's the path he's on this morning and he's just hiked up a little hill when his beautiful, tranquil morning is brought to an unexpected halt. His foot lands on something that gives a little, clicks like a button, and there's a bright, excruciating pain. It tears a cry of agony from him and he drops instantly, grabbing desperately at the culprit.
The jagged, metal teeth of a bear trap are sunk deep into his flesh, blood absolutely gushing down his leg. There's nothing in his head except a frantic "get it off get it off get it off" but his fingers slip on the slick metal and the teeth just feel like they grind in deeper. At least one of them is scraping bone and why can't he remember how Matt told him to open these stupid traps?
"Clip-clap look who's fallen into my trap!"
Riley groans at the voice and terrible dialogue that can only come from one of Sledge's alien rejects. Of course this is a monster trap, of course it is. It couldn't just be a normal human bear trap, it has to be an alien trap which means with his luck the damn thing is laced with some kind of poison.
He looks up at the speaker and yup, it's very clearly one of Sledge's rejects—that same wacky amalgamation of humanoid form and random shit. This one's head is just one giant open bear trap with almost comically big yellow eyes where the trigger plate should be. It's also got a trap on a chain that it's swinging lazily like it might throw it at any second.
With trembling fingers, Riley digs his dino comm from his pocket, all the while trying to just breathe through the pain. "I need back up."