Next Up

Track 6

"By the way, now will be an excellent time to say this—almost forgot... You should be very careful when you're in the desert. Lots of nasty little bugs and animals are roaming around. A rule to keep in mind for this place: If it looks edible, don't eat it. If it looks cute, don't trust it," Damon called from the top of the yacht.

Zoe nodded, hopping from the deck and dropping onto the dinghy.

The motor roared to life, and the boat quickly sped towards land, almost flying over the water.

The sky was a slight orange, too late in the day to see ten feet from the front of the boat.

They rode silently for several minutes, the chilly morning wind cutting through their black clothing like a cold knife plunging into their skin.

Several speed boats collided with the beach several miles away, sending sand into the air. Quickly, the men hopped off their ships, fastening their gear onto their bodies.

There were seven of them in their company, all hired to complete one job.

They quietly sprinted up the beach, reaching two vehicles: a sleek black jeep and a black and green military transport truck.

The leader of the band of mercenaries held his hand in the air, turning back to the rest. "Weapons and armor check."

"secure and ready," they all said in unison.

"Good," he nodded. He was about a head taller than the rest of them. Tattoos covered the exposed skin on his arms and legs. "Alright, load up into the vehicles. We gotta get there quickly before the sun comes up—no time to waste."

Over twenty miles inland, a group of three wildlife researchers trudged through the cold desert.

Leo, the senior member of the group, pointed to a fresh skeleton on the ground. Fresh and seemingly hours old, chunks of meat and cartilage still hanging from the carcass. "Right there," he indicated to his colleagues.

"Ooh," One of them cooed as she stepped forward, her face inches away from the skeleton and the footprints that led away from it. "So this is the same one from Crater?"

"Yup," Leo nodded. "They said to release it away from civilization and study it for a few months."

The other one spoke up, "You weren't here for it, but it has been pretty damaging to the local ecosystem here. Doesn't seem to have much of a consistent diet—just kinda eats whatever it wants whenever."

"Depending on what we find, we have a choice of moving it to a better, more stable environment or putting it down."

Deep below the compound, a soldier scanned his card, and the sliding metal door silently slid open.

He held a small food tray; a pile of scrambled eggs, a piece of toast, and several colorful pills were placed in their designated spots.

He walked up to the thick plexiglass that divided the room. It had several holes for airflow and a small opening to slide objects back and forth.

He glanced at one of the several security cameras in the room. He turned back to the glass, tapping it. The small girl who lay motionless on the bed against the back wall stirred.

An orange lava lamp on the bedside table gave the small cell some very low visibility; its light splashed against the drab concrete walls, but Palmer knew it wouldn't have mattered whether or not it was pitch-black or if they put an overhead light inside.

"Palmer?" The girl called out, crawling on the floor toward the glass, putting her hands in front of her to feel for any objects in her way.

"Yeah, it's me," the soldier smiled. "An early breakfast."