Strange things had been happening to the colony around the bunkers lately. Strangely, the equipment and tools the colonists brought over kept disappearing when left out of sight even for a minute. At first, they assumed that maybe some curious animals got hold of them, but that quickly turned out not to be the case.

 

Judge had been rather grumpy when he had been told to come along with Howl, Rip, and Matter to investigate the bunkers. They had explained that with other colonies likely stealing their tools, it would make sense to have someone more brawn then brain present just in case.

 

Since Judge was honestly not the smartest, all he could really do when they got to the bunker was sit around under the shade of a mushroom and wait for the other three to finish. They would occasionally walk up the Judge, have a chat with him while grabbing a tool and then go back to the encrypted wall. This also meant that, while the smart ones were busy, Judge would just be standing around.

 

The day passed mostly without trouble, but Judge got bored and tired pretty quick. And he had been so sleepy all day... Surely it wouldn't hurt to just- close his eyes for a little bit-

 

He woke up suddenly when he heard a loud noise nearby, followed by footsteps rapidly scurrying into an opposite direction. "Howl!" he called his fellow colonist over, hoping the other two would follow. He heard the sound of tools clattering to the ground, followed by a few set of feet following behind him.

 

"What happened?!" Rip asked, catching up behind him. "I don't know, but I think someone took something- there!" Judge pointed into the distance, to some rustling grass.

 

"We didn't see anything..." Howl said, hesitantly. Matter simply nodded behind her, looking concerned.

 

"I'm sure I heard something! We should go look regardless." Judge spoke, sounding annoyed. He was sure he had heard something grab their stuff, and then scurry off into the bushes! He wasn't sure why the others didn't believe him.

 

"I suppose we could but- Maybe we should just go home, Judge." Rip suggested gently.

 

Judge shook his head, walking towards the place he saw the grass rustle. When he got there though, nothing seemed to be there- not even footprints in the soil. He sighed. Maybe they were right then...

 

"I... couldn't find anything." he told the rest, not quite willing to meet their eyes. He watched as Matter scribbled something down on paper, and then turned it over. "Maybe you should go home and rest.". Judge sighed. "That's probably not a bad idea. Let's just go grab our stuff and head back home."

 

The group wasn't surprised but definitely disappointed to find that the tools and notes they had abandoned had all disappeared when they got back, along with the few other colonists working on deciphering the code. 

 

Judge sighed, disappointed in himself. "I suppose that at least means we don't have to carry our stuff all the way back this time..."