Entro got up early to tackle the locals for that map.
He didn't know how to suppress his presence and come off as a normal human, so he somehow had to find someone insane enough to approach him and give him the time of day
For a map.
Looking around, he grappled with the idea of just finding a gift shop and stealing it. He was already an outlaw on the loose, what was one more authoritarian figure trying to capture him?
Putting a pin in that thought, Entro approached a rundown shop he found on the corner.
'This place is bound to have a map; it looks like people need one to get away from here all the time.'
It smelled moldy inside, like elderly socks.
The lighting was dim, with a chill that floated around the store, periodically stopping to harass Entro.
Books cluttered the store in towers five feet high, increasing his confidence there would be a map in there.
"En un momento estoy contigo," an older woman's voice called from the back of the store.
Lingering to explore the store, Entro wiped his finger on some of the stacks of books, thick layers of dust accumulating.
'These have been here awhile'
Posters of, what he believed to be common sites around these parts, were hung all over the walls.
Unfortunately, they were all in Spanish, he couldn't deduce their names or anything about them outside of the image.
An old pudgy woman appeared from the back of the store, wrinkling her nose when she saw Entro.
"How may I help you?"
Doing his best to ignore her rude reaction, Entro remained polite.
"Good morning, I've come to see if there might be a map of lower South America I could see."
There was money packed into the bag Benjamín gave him that he could use to buy the map, or steal it if need be.
"Yes, I have a map of this region."
"Perfect, how muc-"
"It's not for sale," she interrupted.
Entro's eyebrow twitched.
'Then why did you tell me that you had one.'
"Well, perhaps I could just take a look at it?"
If she was going to be difficult, Entro didn't mind just snatching the map and running.
He needed a physical map because every electronic device here was set to Spanish and would not, for the life of him, switch over to English.
"No, I don't think you can."
She was picking at her nails now, not bothering to look him in the eye.
Entro was getting incredibly frustrated now.
"Is there a reason, or?"
"I don't like stinky foreigners."
'Great'
Inwardly facepalming, he got ready to leave.
"Well, I could let you have it for a favor."
Pausing, he considered her words very carefully.
"What favor?"
"There are snow leopards outside of the city, I need a pelt to finish my knitting; get me one, and the map is yours."
Although he had never had an encounter with snow leopards, Entro was sure this was not a fair transaction in the slightest.
"Deal," he said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, be sure not to damage it."
Shrugging as if that's all there was to it, the old lady disappeared behind the store again; leaving Entro to see himself out.
Making a mental note of the location of the store, Entro left the city to go receive advice from his hunting consultant.
Agri was also unfamiliar with snow leopards.
"Would you like me to go find one and bring it back?"
That crossed Entro's mind on his walk back, but he eventually dismissed the idea.
"No, bite marks in the pelt might make her claim I damaged it."
His help having been turned down, Agri closed his eyes once more, sleeping soundly.
'It's time for the hunt.'
The wind howled low across the ridge, dragging flurries like fingers clawing at the ground. Entro lie in the snow, his breath steady despite the cold gnawing at his back.
The mountains were quiet
Feeling a tingle, Entro knew something was nearby.
The last few dozen encounters were rabbits, but this felt heavier.
Just up ahead, a blur of motion, silent as the snowflakes in the wind.
A snow leopard.
Its coat was pale-white glistening with frost. He could the muscles rippling beneath its fur.
Entro could feel the rush of the hunt heightening his senses.
Rising slowly, careful not to make a sound, Entro lunged.
Barehanded, carrying nothing more than the clothes strapped to his back, he attacked a large predator.
As if eyes were reading his movements from the leopard's back, it swung its around, immediately going on the defensive.
Unfortunately for the kitty, Entro was no fan of dragging fights out, tackling the leopard into the snow, he sought a way to get his hands around its neck.
They meshed into a flurry of claws, hands, legs, and teeth.
Sensing the obvious disadvantage, the leopard clawed at his face, causing Entro to dodge and disengage, kicking the white assassin away.
Entro rolled to his feet, the cat already circling; it wasn't like fighting a man. There was no telegraphing punches, no moral hesitation. Just intent to kill.
It lunged, aiming low.
He sidestepped, hand quick to grab its neck, attempting to crush its windpipe.
The leopard yowled, twisting in midair, and slammed into him with its full weight.
They hit the snow hard, Entro's breath blasting from his lungs.
It tried for the throat.
He lodged his forearm in between its maw, teeth piercing the fabric and meeting flesh.
Choking back the pained cry, Entro did something out of the ordinary for him; he bit the leopard.
It shrieked, kicking free, and bounding backward, blood welling up on its fur. It analyzed a moment, tail lashing, bleeding.
So was Entro.
His coat was torn, warmth escaping out into the cold.
Then it charged again, slower this time, clearly cautious and wounded.
Entro didn't retreat.
This time, he met the lunge head-on.
He dropped low, catching it under the neck with his shoulder, and used its momentum against it. They slammed into the snowbank, a flurry of limbs and snarls.
He got both hands on its jaw, pinning it.
Entro squeezed until he felt something give way.
It went still.
He didn't move for a long moment before reaching out and closing the creature's eyes.
'Sorry, nothing personal.'
Entro was in front of the store once again.
Taking a deep breath, he walked in.
The bell above the shop door gave chime as Entro pushed it open with his shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around the pelt.
The shop smelled the same, as if old people congregated here often.
He dropped the snow leopard pelt on the counter, it was without any blemishes, save for the human bite marks.
A familiar voice begged for patience in the back before emerging.
Going to crinkle her nose again, she froze when she saw the pelt.
Entro didn't say a word.
Her eyes flittered from the pelt and Entro.
"You got it," she said, as if surprised.
"I said I would," he scoffed.
She ran her fingers over the pelt
"It's undamaged."
Grunting in the manner a child does when beaten in a game, she reached beneath the counter and pulled out a folded map.
She held it out.
They stared at each other.
Grabbing the map, Entro folded it and tucked it into his backpack.
He turned to leave.
"Wait," she called out.
Entro stopped.
"How did you catch it without shooting?"
He looked over his shoulder, before walking out of the store without responding.
"Looks like we're going to be doing more swimming."
Agri snorted.
"Yeah, I didn't like swimming either."
Tucking the map away again, Entro rose.
"Might as well start now."
Entro ran next to Agri, the speed at which they traveled was nothing short of breathtaking.
Gallego was left far behind, a mere memory in his head.
Patagonia stretched before him, empty.
The further south they went, the more the land fell silent.
No cities were down this far; the only thing keeping them two company, were the wind and birds flying high overhead.
Days blurred into each other.
They crossed rugged plains and frostbitten trails, unused by anything but local wildlife.
They passed through dead towns, remnants of lost history
'Something I almost became,' he bitterly thought.
Sometimes he heard things in the distance; his new senses detected things that startled him even now.
Whether he would ever get used to it, time would only tell.
They crossed the mountains near Tierra del Fuego, the path barely a path at all.
He could run with ease now.
Although he could slow down and take his time, he didn't want to.
The faster he arrived in Ushuaia, the quicker he could get on a cruise ship, a cruise ship meant Antarctica, the only place he could acquire the ability to protect his loved ones.
Six days into running, he saw it.
Lights.
Entro stood atop a ridge, looking down on the city of Ushuaia.
Being so close to the end of their journey, Entro couldn't help but smile slightly, then he started running again.