There was nowhere suitable to camp. Farscout had suggested setting up a few hours before sunset, but Wolf insisted they proceed a while longer in search of a more sheltered location. Farscout assured the general that there wouldn’t be such a spot, but Wolf was adamant.

The sun sank quickly, and as Farscout predicted, the terrain failed to provide anything but the same flat, thorny fields. Wolf halted the party, and Farscout raced away immediately without saying a word. Wolf called out after him, but the guide ignored him and disappeared into dusk.

The squad members watched after him in silence for a bit, then set up their bedrolls. Hilde wordlessly set hers up beside August’s. He looked around and waited for someone to comment on it, but no one seemed to notice or care.

Farscout returned with a satisfied smile on his face and a bundle of small, dried branches in his arms. He dropped his bounty on the ground beside a crouching Wolf, who was already working on assembling the firebox. “What is that?” Farscout asked about the metallic cube.

Wolf glanced at the pile of branches. “It’s our fire for the night.” He flicked the little switch. A low hum came and faded, and the blue glow followed until it was snuffed by Wolf clipping the lid onto the mechanism.

“How…” Farscout stared at it.

“We won’t be needing all that wood,” Wolf said. “We won’t be needing any, in fact. You could have saved yourself the trouble if you’d just stopped like I asked before running off.”

“My bad,” Farscout said. He found a spot away from the squad, set up his bedroll, and built the foundation of a meager twig fire for later.

Once everyone’s sleeping areas were set, the squad gathered around the firebox for warmth. Wolf let out another deep cough.

“We gonna talk about that?” Belmont asked.

“About what?” Wolf asked.

“You know damn well,” Belmont said. “You been coughing like that ever since you got stuck.”

“I’ll continue taking your medicine, and we should be good,” Wolf said. “Considering what happened, I’m grateful to come away with nothing but a sore shoulder and a cough. Could’ve been much worse.”

“It’s just that…”

“I don’t want to hear any more on the subject,” Wolf said.

“Sorry, General, but it’s just that the stinger didn’t go anywhere near your lungs,” Belmont said. “I don’t understand why you’re coughing.”

Wolf hunched forward. “I said to stop talking about it. That’s an order.”

Belmont nodded and dropped her eyes to the firebox.

“You,” Wolf turned his fiery eyes to Farscout. “What do they do with the gas?”

The guide had been in a trance-like state staring at the firebox. He snapped out of it and stammered a curious string of mumbles.

“You were the only one who didn’t seem surprised by private Ace’s report, and I remember the gas tanks you had hidden away in the tunnel” Wolf said. “I assume you already know about the dolorium and their gas sucking. What do they do with it?”

“I don’t know,” Farscout said.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Wolf maintained eye contact.

“I know they do it,” Farscout said. “It’s common knowledge. At least, I thought it was. But no one knows what they do with all the gas they gather.”

“Do you have any idea what tanks of propane were doing out in the middle of nowhere like that?”

“That’s the part that’s been bothering me,” Farscout said. “The Chrome Chargers control every working gas station. It’s doubtful that the tanks came from anyone else. But, why put them there?”

“Bait?” Sterling suggested.

“No trap went off,” Rosek said, sitting shoulder to shoulder with August while there was at least a foot of space between everyone else.

“There didn’t seem to be anyone for miles, either,” Wolf said.

“Sounds more like an offering, then,” Farscout said.

“An offering?” Sterling said. “Why the Hel would they offer anything to those monsters?”

“Maybe as long as they provide gas, the dolo will leave them alone,” Farscout said.

“These are mindless creatures,” Sterling said. “Do those idiots really think that a hungry bug in the middle of nowhere will stop itself from eating its prey once it sees a certain picture on the guy’s leather jacket?”

Farscout looked around the firebox. Everyone was silent. “You guys don’t know anything about the bugs, do you?”

“What do you mean?” Wolf said.

Farscout shook his head. “Never mind. They’re smarter than you think, is all.”

A shrill cry rang in the distance and carried across the black night sky. Everyone but Wolf tensed, and some even reached for their guns. The cry died off, and the squad eased and continued staring at the comforting firebox. They hadn’t spent the night in such an exposed location since their first camp after the crash. That night had been difficult for a different reason. August had found it hard to sleep because of his imagination. Every slight noise was some monstrous bug in his mind. The unknown had kept him awake that night, but now, after seeing so much, it was the known that bothered him. There was no need for imagination after everything they’d been through.

“Hey, Farscout?” The words barely squeaked out of Rosek.

“Yeah?”

“What can you tell me about the zombies?”

The squad tensed up again. Farscout leaned back on his hands and gazed up at the cloud-covered sky. “There’s nothing to tell, really. They’re mindless, hungry, violent, and evil, I guess.”

“Where do they come from?” Rosek asked.

“Why do you want to know about them?” Farscout said. “They’re disgusting. I hate talking about them. I like to pretend they don’t exist. Something about them disturbs me more than the bugs.”

August agreed.

Rosek muttered something, then lowered her chin.

“Just answer the question,” Wolf said. “Our group has been harassed by those creatures, and some of us would like to know where they come from or what the Hel they are.”

“They’re people,” Farscout said. “They used to be, I mean. Bug juice turns them into… that.”

“Dolorium venom doesn’t do that,” Sterling said. “I’m an expert on their poison. I’d know.”

“I’ve seen it happen,” Farscout’s voice darkened. “It isn’t really up for debate. With all due respect, Colonel, I don’t care what you know or what you think you know, but that’s where they come from.”

“Hold on,” Dalton West said. “Not that I doubt you, kid, but we’ve got two squad members who’d been stung by these bastards since our ship went down, and none of them have turned into those things.”

Farscout shrugged.

“It checks out,” Belmont said. “The stinger penetrated through to the other side with the general. The venom shot fell to the ground.”

“What about the kid?” Sterling said.

“Ace got stung by a dead one,” Belmont said. “Makes sense that its venom squirting functions were dead, too.”

Sterling chuckled. “Venom squirting functions…”

“You know what I mean,” Belmont smiled.

August rubbed at the bandaged area where he’d been stung. What if there is some venom in me? Will I turn into one of those monsters? The thought churned his stomach, and it took everything not to retch right there in front of everyone.

“Enough about all this horrible stuff,” Farscout said. “Can you guys tell me about the dome? I’ve always wanted to see it.”

“It’s a dump,” Sterling said.

“Is it true that the buildings are even higher than the ones in Westendale?”

“yes.”

“...and that there are streets high up where everyone walks in the sky?”

“Those are the upper districts,” Rosek said. “Most people live in the lower districts, about seventy percent, maybe. Those streets are ground level, just like the doors to every building. The upper districts don’t have any physical streets. They have well-organized airways for aircars, and every building has a landing dock or parking lot where one could fly into. There’s also a massive network of walkways up there that run along the sides of buildings. Those walkways have little shops and places to eat. Wow. I never thought I’d miss home this much.”

“Well-organized,” Sterling scoffed.

“That sounds amazing,” Farscout said. “I hope I get to see it one day.”

Rosek forced a smile and watched the motionless firebox with a glint of tears in her eyes. “So do I…”