The young cowboy poked his head out from a window a few feet to the right of the front door. The squad had only been waiting for a couple of minutes, but it had felt much longer. They’d dealt with dolorium and zombies, but there was something about the village that unnerved August. It felt as if he were standing in a history book. He glanced around, his eyes bouncing from one busy citizen to another, and couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all an act. Were all these people working together to play some weird joke on him? Until Vern Slupman’s letter, August thought the only humans left in the world were tucked away safely under the dome, and now this…

“You guys can come on in,” the cowboy said from the window. He disappeared into the building before any question could be asked.

General Wolf looked back at the squad and shrugged before twisting the brass doorknob. It clicked open and swung inward. Wolf stepped in, and the others followed. Rosek shuddered before entering. It was a warm enough day, but she must’ve been used to the heat of the mech suit. August stepped into the cabin and was the last squad member to do so.

The interior was mostly a single room with the exception of a bathroom, according to the boxy, wooden toilet visible behind a flimsy opened door. A humble kitchen spanned the far wall straight ahead, and there was a sort of living room to the right. A heavy cast iron stove sat against the wall to the left, black, silent, and cold. August wondered where the residents might have slept as the couches in the living room area were too small for any normal-sized folk to find comfort, and then footfalls sounded from above.

A woman descended a ladder against the wall close to the bathroom door. August looked up and noticed the loft for the first time. He couldn’t see much of it, but what little he could see through the polished oak railings suggested comfort. It looked confined but cozy.

The woman turned at the bottom of the ladder and faced the squad. A wide smile stretched across her tanned face. She wore denim overalls over long sleeves of green and black plaid. Her straw-colored hair was gathered in a lazy bun and a few frizzy locks half-floated as if slightly charged. She ran both hands over her hair which did nothing to tame the rebellious strands. “Evenin’,” she said. “Sorry I couldn’t meet you at the door. Was just about to change for supper.”

“We can come back later,” Wolf said. “Don’t let our presence interrupt your routine.”

She chuckled, moved to the kitchen area, and fished a few jars from the cupboards. “Are you kidding? It ain’t every day we get company like you. I won’t lie. I’m both excited that you’re here and a little bit frightened.”

“You’ve got no reason to fear us,” Wolf said.

“I’ve got plenty reason,” she said. Her voice trailed off, and her expression darkened for a moment before she returned to scurrying around her kitchen. She whistled to get the young cowboy’s attention. “You can head on out.”

“You sure?”

“Go on,” she said.

The young man parted the squad on his way to the door and gave each member a long look for good measure. Then he exited the house.

“If my son trusts you enough to let you into the village, then he can trust you enough to leave me alone with y’all,” she said.

“I didn’t know he was your son,” Wolf said. “Is Farscout as well? The two seemed quite brotherly to me.”

The woman pinched her cheek. “Don’t let the tan fool you. I’m as pale as fresh cheese. That red-skinned boy ain’t mine, but by God, I love him as if he were.” She placed a few jars in the center of the kitchen table and surrounded them with empty plates before approaching the squad with an extended hand. “The name’s Bethilly. Beth will do just fine.”

Wolf shook the hand. “I’m General Wolf, and this is my squad. Colonels Trent Sterling, Hilde Rosek, Luna Belmont, Dalton West, and the young one there is Private August Ace.”

“Pleasure.” She half curtsied. She’d looked much younger from farther away, and her movements were that of a woman in her twenties, but from up close, the creases in her face suggested no younger than forty. The term ‘handsome’ rarely worked to describe a woman's appearance, but it fit the bill perfectly for Beth.

She shook hands with each member of the squad and stalled when it came to West’s turn. “I know you.” She chuckled. “Pretty sure I saw you fighting aliens with fiery tentacles once.”

West let out a stupid laugh like a nervous high-school boy talking to a pretty girl. August had to double-take. This was a man who’d been well-acquainted with all sorts of beauty queens and models throughout his career. He’d been plastered all over Gilzak media outlets when he infamously called it quits with Tammy Softberry—the oldest woman to ever win the pageant at twenty-five years old. The sniper was no stranger to stunning women. So why was his face red?

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Beth waited for a response with a wavering smile and simply returned to the kitchen when none came. August locked eyes with West and mouthed, “what’s wrong?” Dalton West waved an aggressively dismissing hand, and August turned away with a smirk.

“Help yourselves to some jam,” Beth dropped a loaf of bread in the center of the table and plopped a couple of knives beside it. “Supper is soon, and you’re all welcome to it, but I’m guessing you haven’t eaten in a while.”

“We can wait,” Wolf said as August’s belly rumbled inaudibly.

Beth shrugged and took a seat at her table. “If you’re wondering why a woman’s in charge of this village, it’s because my husband’s gone.” She cut a thick slice of bread and spread a generous coat of dark purple jam over it.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Wolf said.

She looked at the squad while she chewed. “Are you all just gonna stand by the door all night? If you aren’t gonna eat, at least have a seat.” She chuckled. “Should put that on a little sign and hang it up. If you aren’t gonna eat, at least have a seat. I like it.”

The squad dispersed. Wolf, Rosek, Belmont, and August headed for the table while Sterling made for the small couch. West stood undecided at the door for a moment, wrestling with hundreds of thoughts. He joined the exterminator in the living room, which got another chuckle out of their host.

“What happened to him?” Wolf asked as the squad members took a seat. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

“We don’t know,” Beth said. “He’s been missing for weeks now. We’ve sent out search parties, but they didn’t find anything. His trail goes cold just a few miles out of town, and there’s no sign after that. Out there,” she pointed her chin toward the front door, “being lost that long can only mean one thing.”

There was no response. August thought of every hardship they’d faced since leaving the downed craft. There was no way a man in denim and plaid could survive out there for a night, let alone weeks. The highly trained, fully armored squad had barely made it this far.

Beth was about to take another bite but spoke instead. “I just wish I knew for sure, you know? It’s how things are. I get that. It’s a tough world. But I just wish he’d either come back or that someone found his body. I just wanna be sure. The little flicker of hope I wake up with every morning is really starting to burn. I just wish… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be yapping on about all this to guests.”

“It’s no problem, honey,” Belmont said with glossy eyes.

“Thank you,” Beth smiled and put her hand over Luna’s. “I know our problems must seem so primitive and trivial to you egg-dwellers… uh… I mean… dome-dwellers? I’m sorry. I’m not sure what to call you.” She chuckled again—forced this time.

“People,” Wolf said. “Unless you think we don’t deserve the title.”

“People will do just fine,” Beth said. “I gotta admit, I’m pretty nervous to be talking with y’all. We hear so much about you and your ways… about your weapons.”

A shadow passed over the window, and August glanced just in time to see the young cowboy drifting by. Beth clearly wasn’t the only one feeling nervous. Wolf hunched his shoulders in a way that made him appear less threatening. “You have nothing to worry about, ma’am.”

“I’d feel a lot better if one of you had some bread,” Beth said.

Luna was the first to reach for a knife. The medic cut a slice for each empty plate on the table and spread some jam on hers. Hilde was next. After long consideration, the mech pilot settled on the brightest jam on the table. August ate his bread by itself, and Wolf didn’t touch his. “I’ll take some,” Sterling called from the living room.

“Come get it yourself,” Belmont snapped.

Sterling never moved.

Beth watched the squad members eat and nodded her approval. Her posture relaxed a bit. “I guess we should just get down to business. Why are y’all out here?”

General Wolf spoke while the others ate. “We had a mission out west, but our craft went down east of Westendale.”

“Did you walk all the way from there?” Beth’s eyes grew, and she nearly dropped her bread.

Wolf nodded. “Wasn’t easy. I don’t know how you people manage to survive out here. It’s impressive.”

“Isn’t easy,” she said with a smirk. “What sort of mission? Unless that information is classified or whatever.”

Wolf laughed. “This isn’t a Dalton West spy movie. We were sent to take out a dolorium nest a few miles west of here. We would have been done and back home by now if the craft hadn’t gone down.”

That fact caused a pang of homesickness in August. For some reason, he’d never thought of it like that. Of course, it wasn’t necessarily true. Even if the craft had brought them all the way to their destination, it was still possible—even likely—that the entire squad would be destroyed in the nest. Can you please stop thinking of everyone dying?

“Vanno, bless you!” Beth nearly got to her feet. Her eyes glistened, and she grabbed Belmont’s hand again. “Do you think that’s truly possible?”

“Wouldn’t be here if we didn’t,” Luna said.

“Is there anything at all I can do to help?” Beth said. “Those bastards have been coming more and more lately. A bug death used to be a rare occurrence. Only happened if someone went where they weren’t supposed to, but now….”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Wolf said. “We’re glad to do it. The dolorium are the enemy of the human race.” He smiled. “Egg-dweller or not, we’re in this together.”

August wondered why Wolf hid the fact that this was all new to them. No one in the squad even knew there’d been human life outside the dome until Vern’s letter.

“At least accept some food and rest,” Beth said. “It’s the least I can do.”

“We don’t want to impose,” Wolf said.

Beth set her stub of bread in the center of her plate and locked eyes with the general. “This is the best chance of killing that nest that my people have had. I would be doing myself and my people a disservice if I sent y’all into the wilderness tired and hungry.”

“Very well,” Wolf said. August could feel the tension ease from the squad. He assumed the others also feared that Wolf would reject the offer.

“Good,” Beth grinned. “They’re gonna look back on this day generations from now. The day help finally came from the dome.”