As we fly through the night nothing exciting happens until the sun starts coming up.

(What... Is that?)

I spot a glowing spot in the distance.

"Ion, we're going over there. I won't directly land there but near it. It seems interesting and the sun is coming up as well." I steer the helicopter over to the direction of the glowing and land near it.

When we get closer to it I notice that it is actually slowly moving away from us.

I land a bit infront of it in a small clearing and immediatly set up the fence while Ion scans the surroundings.

"We have to act fast to get the samples from it. The glowing didn't let me see what it was but did you get anything Ion?" I ask Ion.

"No. The glowing was blocking all my sensors as well. I couldn't get a read on anything." Ion answers as he comes out of the bushes.

(So an anomaly? Something even Ion cannot scan?)

I finish setting up the fence and I grab my set for gathering dna samples.

"I'm going to go and try to get some samples, you stay here and scan for any hostile entities." I say to Ion as I head towards the light.

I push my way through shrubbery and a forest of trees until I see it...

"What in the name of the Sol System is that!?" I shout out of amazement.

(A turtle!? With a tree?! On it's back?! And the turtle is bigger than a hill! Nevermind the tree that's huge as well!)

The turtle looks at me and changes it's course and comes towards me, slowly.

It stops right infront of me and seemingly looks around me.

(So, It is an anomaly to me whilst I am an anomaly to it.)

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

After a while of us two looking at eachother a tiger jumps from the tree and comes towards me.

I grab my gun but still keep it hidden.

The tiger sniffs the air around me and then starts sniffing me.

It then jumps back onto the back of the turtle and the turtle turns back into it's original direction and starts moving again.

(What in the name of... Why didn't that tiger attack me?)

I put the gun back into it's holster and take out my kit.

(Now... Should I try to get a piece of DNA from this thing... It's quite dangerous looking how a tiger is sleeping on it's back. I kind of want to get some DNA from the tree as well but... That can wait.)

I slowly walk towards the turtle's leg and quickly take a blood sample and run.

(A minimal amount... But enough. The turtle hasn't stopped though... The blood is glowing as well?)

I head back to the helicopter after grabbing a piece of dirt from the spot the turtle walked on.

When I reach the helicopter the turtle is on the small clearing with us and is looking at the helicopter.

I jump into the fenced area and turn on the electricity.

I grab my other kits in the same moment.

"Hayden. What is that?" Ion asks me while scanning the turtle while the turtle isn't doing anything.

"Why ask me? I don't know either. All I know is that it is curious and the tiger on it's back is docile until angered probably.

I'm trying to find out where the glow is coming from though..." I answer Ion while looking at the glowing blood of the turtle.

(The same bacteria... But they're active. Very active. It's like they're tiny tiny ants in this blood... They are also growing the brightest in the blood.)

The turtle has already passed the helicopter and Ion got a scan on it.

"This turtle... My scans can't tie it with any of the known species of turtle we have in ALL our databases. It's... A completely new species." Ion says in a kind of excited voice.

I put the blood in a glass vial and I see that when more sunlight shines on the blood, the less it glows.

(It isn't because the sunlight is eating up the light... It's more like they're slowing down... When I put it into a dark corner they start becoming active again. Guess I shouldn't let sunlight shine on this thing at all. Maybe that's why all those other sample... No, that isn't the reason. Otherwise this planet would glow in the night but it doesn't. This turtle has secrets. Secrets I want to know.)

Half a day passes while I try to figure out why some parts of this bacteria glow while other parts don't.

The turtle has already gone away from our eyesight.

The dirt the turtle stepped on had only slightly active bacteria, it wasn't glowing as strong as the blood.

(That turtle is a mystery. A completely blank spot which I want to fill in.)

Night time arrives as we pack up and leave.

When we fly up in the air I catch a glimpse of the glowing tree and turtle. It's heading in a different direction than us.

"I'll find you again someday, mystery turtle tree thing. I'll find you again." I say in a slightly menacing tone.