“Wake up, sunshine!”
Derrek woke with a start to find Jeffrey hovering over his bed. He hadn’t woken him up like this since he got his certification, but that didn’t impact him much.
He rubbed his eyes and said, “Mornin’, Jeffrey.”
Jeffrey looked disappointed but also impressed at how calm he was.
“Well, damn, not even an ounce of surprise. You’re fixing to be a regular hard-ass!”
Derrek sat up and stretched, revealing his toned figure. He had quickly adapted to his new exercise regimen and was now devoid of the “flabby middle” Jeffrey had poked fun at only a week earlier.
“Not sure if I’ll ever be able to beat a cyborg in a foot race, but I’m getting there,” Derrek said as he put on a shirt.
Jeffrey frowned quizzically. “You must have a kick-ass metabolism because you really shouldn’t be this built after just a week.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re halfway to me, and I’ve been building this temple of a body since 2015.”
“I guess so. Might have something to do with the massive portions here.”
“Even still, it’s weird,” said Jeffrey as he started toward the door.
“That’s all? No trumpet today?”
“Just wanted to make sure you’re up, first day in the field and all. Get dressed. I’ll have coffee waiting.”
Derrek took note of his change in tone but decided to brush it off. “All right. I’ll be down in five,” he said as Jeffrey nodded and left, closing the door behind him. He wasn’t quite sure how he managed to get inside this time, as there was a distinct lack of signs of breaking and/or entering.
He made his way downstairs to find Jeffrey solemnly staring out the window at their table, sipping his coffee. He took his seat and took a sip from the cup waiting for him.
“Everything OK, Major?”
Jeffrey had only just noticed Derrek was sitting with him, “Huh? Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. Just thinking about what I’m gonna eat,” he said, slowly putting on the grin Derrek had grown accustomed to.
They had a relatively light meal: a half dozen waffles each with a side of bacon. The two told stories and jokes, as they had every morning before, but Derrek could tell something was off. Jeffrey wasn’t laughing like he usually did, and every few minutes, he would lose all expression and stare blankly into the distance before snapping out of it, trying to brush it off with a joke about needing more coffee. Derrek continued to brush it off, confident that if he wanted to talk about whatever was bothering him, he would be the one to bring it up.
About twenty minutes had passed, and both men had cleaned their plates and emptied their cups. They got up to take their trays to the conveyor belt and began to walk to the front door until Jeffrey stopped halfway through the lobby. Derrek was following him and nearly bumped into him.
“Is something wrong?” Derrek asked.
Jeffrey didn’t face him, only turning his head enough so Derrek could hear. “Sorry, I forgot to mention, I’ve got some business to handle, so we’re gonna have to take a rain check.”
“Oh, all right. No worries. Are you going to join me for dinner after work?”
Jeffrey paused for a moment. “No, actually. I’ll probably be gone for the rest of the week.”
Derrek was confused. “Don’t you have to help with the fieldwork? Stand around and look threatening? Order the other soldiers around?”
Jeffrey turned around, now facing him, “No, my only task was to get you ready to carry a gun. I’ve basically got the rest of the month off. And since I’m the highest-ranking uniformed individual here, I don’t have anyone to report to or anyone to yell at me for taking off.”
He was oddly cold and serious, completely out of character for him. Derrek got the impression that whatever he was going to do, it was of grave importance, at least to him.
“I understand. Good luck on whatever you’re off to do,” Derrek said, reaching out for a handshake.
Jeffrey shook his hand and realized he hadn’t done so since the bus ride. The hand he felt was no longer that of a desk jockey but one that reminded him of his own drill sergeant years before. He was half-surprised, half-impressed, but he felt he shouldn’t have developed this much this quickly.
Without saying another word, Jeffrey nodded and exited the hotel, heading toward his truck. Derrek could swear he saw someone leaning against the hood, but after Jeffrey passed through his field of vision, he saw nobody there.
Derrek wasn’t meant to report to the parking lot until 8:30, so he filled the time browsing his phone, catching up on the latest news. Another US senator was impeached for a sex scandal, a plane had crashed into the ocean, prompting an extensive investigation, and a small town in North Dakota had elected a well-known stray cat as their mayor. People were outraged about his newly instated policies involving a citywide ban on all forms of animal euthanasia, regardless of how sick the animal was, legalization of recreational catnip, and making all spaying and neutering of animals a form of second-degree assault. He was fairly certain it was satire, but it was very detailed.
Before he knew it, it was time to go. He laced his shoes, grabbed his sunglasses and the massive pile of waivers, and headed for the lobby.
He saw a flood of faces, some familiar, but only because he shared a plane with them. He caught a glance of the man who snored beside him through the entire flight, but he quickly lost him. Many were grouping up, apparently assigned as such, as they left the building. He followed, almost getting swept away by the crowd that was now forming around the busses. Over the heads of everyone in front of him, he saw Shepherd. She was holding a clipboard, standing on something.
“All right, everyone, listen up!” she shouted, getting the crowd’s attention and causing it to fall silent. “You’ve all been given your assigned groups and tasks. You all should know what to do. Just do your job, meet your quota, and don’t set any fires. Dismissed.”
The crowd split off, but to Derrek’s surprise, nobody went to the busses. As the crowd thinned, he saw there were many more vehicles, all suited for off-road travel. He remembered that he was the one to arrange for these vehicles to be there in the first place, making him embarrassed. He then realized he was the only one who knew he forgot about the vehicles and got embarrassed about being embarrassed.
He did put it out of his mind, partly because he thought it was pointless but also because he knew he needed to get the forms to Shepherd before he was allowed in the field. She stood atop what Derrek recognized as a cooler, Philman standing beside her, arms crossed, visibly grumpy. Derrek got the impression that Philman was not a morning person.
He weaved his way toward them through the quickly dispersing crowd, eventually catching her attention. She waved him over, and he made his way to them as fast as he could without losing all of his papers.
“Good morning, Mr. Snowe. Did you manage to get them all signed?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, handing the folder to her.
“How long did it take?” Philman asked, clearly impressed he had gotten it done in a day.
“Almost nine hours. Did someone really get liquefied?” Derrek asked, knowing it had to happen at one point for there to be a waiver explicitly mentioning it.
Shepherd and Philman looked at each other nervously. Then she said, “Yes. Someone got liquefied.”
She made it clear she didn’t want to speak further on the matter, and Philman did the same. An awkward silence fell over the three, despite the ruckus of the hundreds of people surrounding them. Philman eventually nudged her with his elbow, gesturing toward the vehicles.
“Oh, right,” she said, stepping down from the cooler. She flipped through several pages on her clipboard until she found the right page. She scanned the page until she found what she was looking for, “It says here your team head is Dr. Amir Rathod. That would be him over there.”
She pointed to her left at a man of Indian descent. He was standing with his back to an SUV, addressing his team of around ten people. He had long black hair tied back in a ponytail and didn’t seem much older than Derrek.
“Might wanna join them,” Philman said, reaching into the cooler and pulling out a frosty-looking can of Krazy Kola!, made by Kline enterprises. Derrek distinctly remembered a major debacle when it came out, partially due to the extremely problematic nature of the name and partially because it was found to be directly linked to breast cancer. He was sure it had been discontinued years before, yet here Philman was with an apparent cooler full of them.
Derrek had scores of questions, but there was no time. He thanked them for their time and headed toward his team. Behind him, he heard Philman open his can, followed by Shepherd saying something that Derrek assumed was either a criticism of the soda, commentary on the moral implications of drinking it, or her calling him an idiot for drinking something proven to cause cancer. In response, he heard Philman loudly say, “Oh, come off it. Guys can’t get breast cancer!”
This was followed by several people around him, Shepherd included, saying in unison, “Yes, they can.”
He approached Dr. Rathod’s group and caught the tail end of the speech he was giving. He spoke with a distinct Indian accent and had a deeper voice than Derrek had expected.
“And Gary has made turkey sandwiches for everyone, so feel free to have one come lunchtime.”
Derrek filed in with the rest of the group, quietly saying hello to the person next to him. Rathod took notice of him and smiled.
“Ah, I am glad you were able to make it. Derrek, correct?”
He hoped he wasn’t in trouble for being late to join the group. “Yes, sir.”
Rathod put his hand up in a stop gesture. “Please, call me Amir. I prefer to work on a first-name basis. You did not miss much, if you were worried. I was just making sure everyone was aware of everyone else’s dietary restrictions come lunchtime. Do you have any dietary restrictions, Derrek?”
He was caught off guard by that question, but he answered, “I have a minor shellfish allergy. Nothing that could kill me, but it messes my stomach up whenever I eat it.”
“Then we will take it easy with the king crab,” Amir said, prompting laughter from the team. “But in all seriousness, we should head out. Daylight is burning.”
With that, people began to load into the SUV behind him, and the one parked behind it. They were six-seated, allowing for even dispersal of the ten people he counted, himself included. Amir gestured for him to join him in the middle seats of the front vehicle after he allowed the man carrying the cooler, presumably Gary, to get into the back seat. Derrek couldn’t be sure, but he swore he saw him buckle up the cooler.
“This is your first time in the field, correct?” Amir asked as everyone strapped in for the trip.
“That’s right.”
“I noticed your application went in only a week before the flight. May I ask why that is?”
Derrek scratched the back of his head. He rarely talked about his relationship with Shale with his coworkers, as it tended to breed jealousy, so he decided to play it cool.
“I lost a bet that I couldn’t back out of. I made it in just under the wire.”
Amir raised an eyebrow. “Lost a bet? I am not sure that is the best reason to put your life in danger like this.”
“In danger? Isn’t Germany one of the safest places on earth nowadays?”
“No place is truly safe, Derrek. Even here there are risks. Herds of boar, ecoterrorists, meteorites—any number of things could happen.”
“Couldn’t those same things happen sitting behind my desk—aside from the boars, of course?”
Amir smiled and patted Derrek on the shoulder. “Ah, sharp as a tack, I see. You will be a fine addition to the team. Allow me to introduce everyone.”
He pointed to the woman driving the car. “This is Aubrey. She has been with Frostbyte for nearly twenty years. She is a candidate for a Ph.D. in ecology, she is the best billiards player I have ever met, and she is one of the best drivers among our ranks.”
“You flatter me, Amir, but it isn’t my fault you suck at pool,” she said as she started the engine.
Pointing to the man in the passenger seat, Amir said, “Here we have Steven. He is a good man. He has two beautiful children and breeds horses on the weekend, and he is also our team’s security director.”
“Served six years in the navy. Best choice of my life. The benefits are great. I even met my wife there.”
He pointed to the man behind them, confirming Derrek’s suspicions about the cooler being buckled up. “And this is Gary. He makes really good sandwiches.”
Gary gave a thumbs-up and smiled warmly. That was apparently enough for him. Derrek was suddenly looking forward to lunch.
The fleet of SUVs began their departure, leaving in a single-file, color-coded line, some groups having eight or nine, some, like theirs, having only one or two. As Derrek recalled, he had rented sixty of the same model, and based on the lack of complaints, the efficiency of the color-coded system, and the ample amount of lumbar support he felt, he thought he had made the right call.
Amir leaned in and whispered to Derrek, “I saw your name all over the requisition forms. Were you the one to set this all up?”
Derrek was impressed. He knew for a fact that his name had intentionally been put in the fine print, Hanes’s name being bolded as the project head for the budget. If he saw Derrek’s name, he was a man who paid close attention to detail.
He whispered back, “Yes, actually—although my boss took most of the credit.”
“Ah, a story as old as time, my friend,” he said, now speaking at full volume. “How did you manage to get us all individual lodging at that hotel—if you do not mind me asking, of course?”
“Weirdly enough, they gave me a deal that made it more cost-efficient that way, as opposed to having bunkmates. They charged about five hundred dollars a month for singles and twelve hundred for a double. I don’t understand their business model, and I can’t think that five hundred dollars can cover all the luxuries they provide.”
“It could be them trying to establish a working relationship with Frostbyte. Or maybe they are in their offseason and need all the customers they can get. But regardless, I would say you did a great job, Derrek.”
“Thank you, Dr. Ra … Amir. Thank you, Amir.”
Amir smiled. “Are you not used to informal interactions?”
“Almost my entire life has been business. Formality is just second nature to me now.”
“I understand, friend, but please feel comfortable! I believe a professional environment is good for business, but when working with a small team, the anonymity that comes with it can get in the way. It is easier to work with one’s equals than with one’s superior.”
That thought had never occurred to Derrek, but he was willing to see how it played out.
The ride took almost an hour and a half, with everyone sharing stories except Gary, who was focused entirely on keeping his cooler safe. Steven told the story of how he met his wife and how they bonded over cinnamon gruel and complaining about their commanding officer. Aubrey reminisced on her childhood working on cars with her dad, racing lawnmowers, and working as an EMT driver for a Frostbyte subsidiary for a low-income area without proper funding. That job not only fit her skillset but honed it nicely, allowing her to put herself through college, studying her passion for the environment.
Amir told of his childhood in the slums of Mumbai, struggling alongside his family until his parents were finally able, after more than fifteen years, to move to the UK. He studied there, eventually getting his Ph.D. for his thesis on the global impact of the privatization of environmental sanctuaries, getting the attention of William Shale.
Derrek didn’t share how he met Shale or anything about his younger years, fearing the former may make them think differently of him and worrying the latter would kill the mood. He told stories of his workplace antics, shared some stories Jenkins had told him, namely the one where he won $50,000 in Vegas and bought a sports car, which he instantly crashed. He told them about his weapons training and intensive exercise regimen, surprising even Steven that he was able to keep up. Before anyone knew it, they were at the site.
They had been off-road for about twenty miles by Derrek’s guess and arrived in a clearing roughly a hundred feet wide. In the center of the clearing was a Conex for storage, and what he recognized as a GENRAM, partly because of the presentation he sat through the day before and partly because it was printed on the side of the machine in large, bold letters. He had thought Philman wasn’t the one to make up the nickname, and now he was sure of it. The car that was following parked behind them and all four doors opened at once. Out stepped the rest of the team, three men and two women.
“All right, let’s get going,” Steven said, opening his door. The rest of the passengers followed suit, and Derrek stepped out into the pleasant warmth of the German woods. The whole team gathered in a circle, and Amir spoke up.
“Everyone, if you have not been introduced, this is Derrek, our last-minute addition. I would love to give the same level of introduction we had on the ride here, but time is of the essence, so I would like the five of you to give your name and something interesting about yourself.”
“Like kindergarten?” one of the women said.
“Exactly like kindergarten. Whoever wants to go first, please go ahead.”
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One of the men, who had dark skin and thick, round glasses, spoke up. “Hi, my name is Fredrick, and I raise bees.”
The woman next to him, with short, purple hair said, “I’m Hanna, and I have a black belt in taekwondo.”
One of the men who towered above the rest by at least eight inches said, “Hey there, my name’s John. I play golf.”
The last man left was roughly five feet tall but extremely toned. He said, “What’s up? I’m Joey, but you can call me Jojo, and as you can probably tell, I do CrossFit.”
The remaining woman was of Asian descent. Standing at attention, she said, “I’m Ann, and I spent eight years in the marines in IT.”
Derrek felt a bit overwhelmed at the rapid-fire round of introductions, and Amir took notice of that. He leaned over and quietly said, “Do not worry. You will have plenty of time to get to know everyone.”
Derrek nodded and put on a smile. He looked at the line of people in front of him and said, “Hello, everyone. I’m Derrek, and this is my first time doing any fieldwork.”
Amir smiled, happy that it didn’t freak him out too much. He clapped his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention, and with a booming voice Derrek had not yet heard from him, he said, “OK, introductions are finished! Let us get our uniforms on and get to work!”
Everyone raised their fists in the air and cheered. Derrek had never seen anyone this enthusiastic about working. Without saying a word, Gary opened the trunk and brought out a box, which he set down in the middle of the group. Amir opened it and started handing out the contents, which Derrek saw were the uniforms Shepherd had mentioned the day before. He was given his and found it looked rather comfortable. Everyone else was already putting theirs on, so he did the same. The uniform was a one-piece that went over the clothes they wore. They were white with deep-blue trim, matching with the company logo. It seemed too small to even fit over Derrek’s feet, but he found it was exceedingly stretchy but still comfortable. It went up to his neck and included built-in gloves and a hood, which Amir pointed out to him was optional to wear. It also had an exterior belt, on which everyone affixed their sidearms.
After everyone was suited up and ready to go, they started grouping up and splitting off, leaving him standing next to the cars with Amir.
Amir nudged him and said, “Ann and Hanna are going to calibrate the GENRAM. How about you join them?”
Derrek nodded and followed the two. They got to the GENRAM mere seconds before him and were already typing away at the display screens, data rolling down the screen at rates he could barely comprehend. He stared at the screen, eyes wide, trying his best to understand what was going on but to no avail.
Ann noticed Derrek was standing behind them, mouth agape, and instantly assumed the worst. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind before she realized he was staring at the screen. Upon closer inspection, she saw that his eyes were not stationary but were darting across the display, following bits of data. He was trying to make sense of it all.
“It’s a lot to take in,” she said, snapping Derrek out of his trance. “The GENRAM takes every piece of genetic code and assigns it a twenty-eight-digit alphanumeric code based on its sequence. It then stores it all and compares its accrued list with the main database at Frostbyte HQ, deleting previously recorded sequences and adding the new ones. And because all GENRAMs use the same algorithms to produce their code. The worry of duplicates is infinitesimal, with a practical success rate of 99.999978 percent.”
“Wow,” Derrek said, looking back at the screen with his new perspective, “that’s pretty amazing. So, what’s it doing now?”
Hanna spoke up. “Right now, it’s running through all we recorded yesterday, setting a filter so it doesn’t record anything it already has fully mapped. Don’t think that doesn’t mean you need to get multiple samples of a species, though. Genetic variation is as prevalent in everything else as it is in humanity.”
“OK,” Derrek said, putting his hand on his chin, the pieces coming together in his head. “So we can’t just sample one tree; we have to get the whole grove?”
Hanna snapped her fingers, transitioning into her pointing at him, and said, “Bingo. You’re a natural.”
A high-pitched ding came from the GENRAM, and the screen that until then had been filled with a seemingly random series of numbers and letters now had a light bulb in the center of a bright green background. Ann grunted positively and tapped several keys, bringing up a simple window resembling an empty text document with the word “ready” printed at the top.
“I’m guessing that means it’s ready?” Derrek asked sincerely.
“That’s right, Captain Obvious,” Hanna said with a smirk. “Now the real work begins. It looks like the rest of the team is already hard at work gathering samples.”
Looking around, he saw every member of the team. John, Aubry, and Joey were removing individual leaves from the surrounding trees, making sure not to damage the branches. Fredrick and Gary were scouring the grass looking for insects, placing them in small plastic containers. And Amir and Steven were setting up non-harmful traps for larger animals, mostly cages fit for catching squirrels.
Hanna slapped Derrek on the back and said, “We’d best get to it. Ann knows how to work that thing. We just gotta get stuff to feed into it.”
Derrek smiled and nodded. “Right. So, what are we going after?”
“When we were setting up last week, I saw a boar. That orientation thing said there were a bunch of them around here. Getting some of that fur would look great on our reports.”
Derrek looked at her with a mix of confusion and shock. “So, just the two of us are going after the only dangerous wildlife out here just so it’ll look good on paper?”
Hanna looked disappointed. “Well, when you put it like that, everything sounds like a bad idea. If it’s too much for you, I’m sure Gary and Freddy would love the company.”
“Oh, I’m on board. I just wanted to make sure I had the plan right,” Derrek said, instantly lifting Hanna’s spirit. “Do you have some snares or something to set up? Maybe some bigger cages?”
Hanna smiled and slapped him on the back again. “You’re all right, dude. We don’t have cages big enough, and snares would hurt them too much. Company policy won’t allow them. However …”
She led him to the rear SUV and popped the trunk, looking around for something. After several seconds, she found what she was after.
“There’s nothing that says we can’t tranquilize them.”
In her hands were two small tubes that seemed to be made of a combination of PVC piping, rubber, and metal bands, along with hefty amounts of duct tape. She handed one to Derrek, who accepted it, then handed him a clear plastic container containing several darts with orange feathers for tails.
“All you need to know is to make sure you don’t breathe in when you’re ready to shoot. Otherwise, you’re gonna have a real bad time. The rest is just like firing a gun, and you’re packing, so you clearly figured that one out.”
Derrek examined the blowgun and found it heavier than expected, around two or three pounds. It had a very intuitive design, one end having a mouthpiece. The only thing that threw him off was that there appeared to be a rail along the side of it for mounting a scope. She handed him a satchel with a holster for it and adorned one herself.
“Ideally,” she said, “we’d be able to tag one of them in this clearing, but with all the activity, there’s no chance in hell of them coming around here. You ever gone hunting before?”
“No, but I used to be top-notch at tracking stray cats.”
Hanna looked at him quizzically. “You must have had a weird childhood.”
Derrek raised his eyebrows and shook his head. “You have no idea.”
The two checked with Amir to let him know about their hunting trip, and he gave the go-ahead, advising they keep their wits about them before going back to arming his cages.
Hanna led him into the woods in a seemingly random direction, heading in a straight line for almost half an hour, silently moving through between the trees and through the bushes. They came to a small clearing, and they thought it was a good chance to catch their breath, as there was a minimally rotted log they could sit on. Their satchels had been packed with water and trail mix, and they both took several swigs from their bottles of water.
Hanna noticed how quiet Derrek was, and found it odd since almost everyone she met asked about her hair within the first five minutes. He agreed to come out there with her with no resistance, so she knew he didn’t have any apprehensions about her presence. It seemed to her the silence was more respectful than awkward. Regardless, the quiet was starting to get to her, so she decided to break the silence.
“When I was growing up, I would go hunting with my dad every chance we got,” she said, setting down her water bottle. “Most weekends, he and my mom would fight, so that’s what we did to cool off. I’ll never forget my first buck, an eight-pointer. We tracked him down for hours!” She started to laugh. “We eventually caught him, and I got him right in the heart. We got him stuffed, and I still have him hanging in my living room back home.” She turned to him and said, “Tell me something about your childhood.”
Derrek’s eyes flashed with sadness, and he hesitated before saying, “There isn’t that much to tell.”
“Then tell me something. I just gave you a grade-A hunting story. It’s your turn.”
Derrek took a deep breath and said, “I don’t have any memories of my family. All I know is they died in a fire. I was told I survived because my mother dragged me out of it before she collapsed. I can’t even remember what she looked like, and none of the pictures survived. Lucky me, right?” he said, chuckling meekly. “The foster system was awful. Too many kids moving around way too much, and I just wanted some … consistency, I guess. So I ran, and homelessness was just as bad.”
He stopped, but Hanna got the feeling that he was still reliving it, and had only stopped saying it out loud. She was stunned but felt it would be rude to try and change the subject.
“Well, it looks like you got yourself out of that struggle. Maybe you’re luckier than you think. I mean, it seems to me you got the shitty part of your life over with early on.”
Derrek looked at her and smiled. He was glad she didn’t just go silent. He could tell she could at least understand his pain.
“I hope so,” he said, the sadness draining from his eyes. “After all, I’ve got this fulfilling job, and I’ve met so many interesting people over the past few days. Maybe I am on the upswing.”
She slapped him on the back and said, “There you go! Eyes up, young buck. We got a boar to find!”
Derrek laughed. “That’s funny. My desk neighbor calls me that too.”
She stood up and stretched. “Sounds like they’ve got good taste in nicknames! Now, come on. I want to get back for lunch,” she said, reaching out her hand, which he accepted, and she pulled him to his feet. “Now, where do we …” she said, trailing off and fixing her gaze on a particular spot on the ground. She approached it and squatted, examining the dirt, smelling a small portion of it. “One was here. These tracks are pretty fresh, maybe fifteen minutes old, heading north. Its den might be around here somewhere.”
“Wow, you really know your tracking.”
“Why, thank you. I can find just about anything. One time, my friend flew me in from three states away to help find his cat. Had it back and pooping in a box within the day!”
The two shared a laugh and headed in the direction of the tracks, Hanna taking the lead and Derrek following close behind, both brandishing their blowguns—loaded, of course. They went back to their silence, but there was no tension, just the silence of hunters.
They were following the tracks for several minutes until they heard a rustling from a few feet away. They both froze in their tracks before slowly moving into a nearby bush, concealing themselves. Coming out from the surrounding brush was a large boar, snorting and grunting loudly, sniffing the air. Its tusks were relatively small, but they were both in awe of the size of it.
Hanna nudged Derrek and whispered, “I’m gonna count down from three. When I say go, we both shoot.”
“Both of us? Isn’t that a bit overkill?” Derrek whispered back.
“Look at the size of her. I’m sure only one dart would just piss her off. Just use both hands and keep it trained on her.”
Derrek nodded, agreeing to the plan. They readied their blowguns, steadying their breath, focusing on the boar.
“Three …” she whispered as the boar started looking around, apparently picking up a smell.
“Two …” she continued as Derrek narrowed his gaze, staring directly at the boar’s flank, marking it as his target.
“One …” she whispered as Derrek took a deep breath and the boar noticed the smell was coming from them.
“Go!” she said at full volume, leaving only a split second between her words and her shooting the dart. Even though she took the extra time, she still landed the dart before Derrek could shoot, but he managed to land it on the boar as well, not quite hitting the flank but making the target.
The boar squealed, rearing slightly before running into the bushes it came from, leaving a trail of broken branches and trampled grass behind her.
“So, was that good, or did we just royally screw up?” Derrek asked, having no frame of reference.
“It’s real good, all that running around will get the tranquilizers working faster. Gets the blood pumping. If we were actually hunting, it’d be a bit of a problem. You wanna get the kill on the first shot when it comes to deer; otherwise, the meat might go bad if it runs too much. We want her tired though, make her take a nice nap.”
“So, it’s female? How can you tell?”
“The females have smaller tusks, and she’s big enough that her being young is out of the question. She might be running back to her den if it’s nearby, and if that’s the case, she might have piglets, which means more samples for us. Odds are we won’t even have to tranquilize them.”
Hanna led him through the bush where the boar had run, following the path of broken branches and trampled grass. They followed the path a little more than minutes before coming to what Derrek thought looked like a small cave, which is where the trail ended. They kept quiet so as not to startle what might be inside.
Hanna crouched down low and looked into the dirt cave, smiling at what she saw. Derrek heard what sounded like snoring and high-pitched noises coming from inside.
“This is her den,” Hanna said. “The darts last for about ten minutes once they set in, so we’d best get to work.”
She pulled a small flashlight out from her satchel, turning it on and putting it in her mouth. She then lay prone and crawled into the den, Derrek following suit. The space inside was much larger than he expected, and he was able to sit up without having to crane his neck.
In the center of the den was the boar, snoring loudly while around ten piglets nuzzled her, trying to wake her up. Hanna was already holding one of the piglets in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. She held it over a small plastic container, snipping a few hairs off, making sure they fell into the container.
“Try to get all of them. All we need is a few hairs from each. You’ve got some containers in your bag,” she said as she labeled her container “Piglet 1” and moved on to another piglet.
Derrek rummaged around his bag for the tools and began snipping the hairs off of the piglets, marking the containers as he went. He got to his fourth one when Hanna got to her fifth, and they were out of piglets, left only with the boar. It was sleeping on its side, the darts sticking directly upward, which she removed carefully and placed in a container labeled “used darts.”
They worked together, getting the sample they had sought for the past hour. They finally sampled all the members of the den and were ready to head out, but Hanna stopped before they left.
“Hold up,” she said quietly, pulling a camera out from her satchel. “I want to get a picture.”
Derrek smiled and nodded, thinking it would be nice. She gestured for him to get in frame, crouching next to the sleeping boar next to her, and snapped a selfie, flashing brightly, partly blinding both of them. When they came to, they both looked at the camera to see how the picture had turned out. Hanna seemed satisfied with the results, but something caught her eye.
She looked closer and her eyes grew wide as she saw the boar’s eyes were open, reflecting the light from the flash. She turned to see an awaking boar, slowly crawling to its feet.
“We gotta go, now!” she said, heading toward the entrance with Derrek following close. They heard an angry squeal coming from behind them as they exited the den, and they ran in the direction they came from, hopeful that the boar was too groggy to follow them.
They finally slowed down when they got to where they tagged the boar and made sure they couldn’t hear it behind them. They were in the clear, and they got everything they were looking for. They caught their breath and started to laugh, happy they got out of it unscathed.
“That went well,” Hanna said. “Those tusks could have done a real number on us!”
“I don’t doubt it. Orientation said a lot about how dangerous they can be, especially when we’re neck-deep in their territory!”
They laughed and took a few more swigs from their respective bottles of water, resting up for the trek back. Derrek considered eating some of the trail mix, but Hanna advised him that Gary’s sandwiches were top-notch and lunch would roll around soon after they got back, so he held off.
They made their way back to the small clearing they found themselves in earlier, allowing Hanna to get her bearings and lead them back to base camp. Along the way, Derrek saw that she had marked the trees as she passed them earlier, establishing the route back. He was just amazed he hadn’t noticed it earlier. They joked the whole way back, making an unprecedented amount of pig-related puns, their favorite being “hog wild.”
When they finally regrouped with the team, the sun hung high in the sky, signifying it was around noon. When Amir saw the two of them emerging from the woods, he called out to everyone, “All right, everyone. Let us break to enjoy the lunch Gary made for us!” to which everyone responded with cheering.
Derrek and Hanna stopped by the GENRAM to drop off their samples, then joined the rest of the team around the cooler, where Gary was handing out sandwiches in little plastic baggies. The people who were working in the dirt took their suits half off, freeing their hands. Ann, who had been working on the GENRAM the entire time, saw no need, as her gloves were still relatively clean.
When Derrek got his sandwich, the first thing he noticed was the smell of smoked turkey that wafted from the baggie as soon as he opened it. Everyone was several bites in before he sunk his teeth into it, but as soon as he did, he was struck with the deep, smoky flavor of the turkey, the rich, but not overwhelming mayo and mustard, the crunchy, tangy pickles, and the potato bread that wrapped it all together. It was possibly the best turkey sandwich he’d ever had.
He saw everyone laughing and enjoying themselves, praising Gary on his remarkable sandwich craftsmanship, comparing notes and telling of interesting finds, including Fredrick finding an albino beetle. He had never seen as many people who loved their jobs as much as they did. Even Ann, whom Derrek gathered was normally cold, was smiling and laughing with everyone else. He decided to enjoy the moment, joining Hanna in telling the story about the boar, chiming in whenever she exaggerated a bit too much.
“And I swear, that boar must have been three hundred pounds! With tusks out to here!” she said, holding her hands as far in front of her face as possible.
“She wasn’t that big—two hundred, maybe,” Derrek said, laughing along.
Hanna glared at him, then smiled and said, “Either way, I don’t see anyone else … bringing home the bacon.”
Everyone stared at her blankly, Joey stopping mid-bite to stare. The forest was deadly quiet until a loud snort broke the silence. Everyone turned to face the source, and they were all surprised to find it to be Ann.
“Was that you, Ann?” Steven asked.
She coughed lightly. “Yes, I thought it was funny. Her ham-fisted attempt at a pun, I mean.”
The silence persisted for a full beat, then the clearing roared with laughter. Ann sat still, smiling while everyone else writhed in laughter, Derrek keeled over, and Hanna just sat, clearly angry her joke didn’t land as well as hers did.
The tone was set for the rest of the lunch break, which was a half-hour to give everyone a chance to rest their minds and bodies alike. Everyone was finished with their sandwiches in the first ten minutes, and they spent the remainder of their time carrying on with their jokes and stories, reminding Derrek of the ride that morning.
When lunch was over, everyone went back to work in unison, Ann jumping right back into processing the samples Hanna and Derrek collected and everyone getting back to gather samples. Hanna wanted to go on another hunting trip for another boar, but Amir didn’t want anyone straying too far off, as they were in the back half of the day, so she settled on setting additional traps.
Amir instructed Derrek to work with Joey on collecting plant samples, and he did, with only a mild apprehension that the rest of his day would be filled with him talking about CrossFit. It was mentioned a handful of times, but the majority of the time was spent properly training him on collecting leaves and severing small branches. Derrek learned of Joey’s background, a master’s in botany and a minor in physical therapy, and it showed in the way he gently and respectfully collected samples that were the least viable. He made sure not to harm any plants as a whole and even removed several diseased and dying sections from smaller plants, as the DNA remained intact. Even once the samples were processed, he planted the branches he took, allowing them to take root, and sprinkled the leaves and petals around them as fertilization.
It was clear to Derrek that nature was important to him, and he was proud to work with someone with such a passion for what he did. He felt the same could be said for everyone on the team. He could see it in the way Hanna enjoyed tracking the boar. He could see it in the way Ann attended to the GENRAM. He could even taste it in Gary’s sandwiches. Seeing all that passion fueled him to strive for greatness and pushed him to go all-out for the rest of the day.
Amir called everyone back to the cars around five, praising everyone on their progress, especially Derrek. He gave the day’s report, bringing everyone onto the same page on what they gathered and pointing out specific insects and plants to be on the lookout for, Fredrick and Joey whispering to each other, apparently betting on which of them could bring in more of the high-demand samples in their respective groups.
After the debriefing, everyone loaded up their materials in the Conex, and Ann shut down the GENRAM while Gary and Steven wrapped a tarp around it for protection. When all was said and done, they all took off their uniforms and headed back to the hotel.
Derrek was glad to be back to work; even though he had been training for the past week, he still wanted to be productive. The ride back was similar to the one that morning, everyone talking about the day, talking like friends, having a good time. It caught everyone off guard when they were back at the hotel. Even though they had been driving for an hour and a half, it felt like almost nothing.
Everyone split up and went back to their rooms, almost all of them agreeing to have dinner together, the only ones sitting out being Amir, who had to give his report and Derrek’s fieldwork evaluation to Shepherd and Philman; and Gary, who simply shook his head no and gestured to his cooler, implying that he had more sandwiches to make. They all shook hands and made their way back to their rooms.
Derrek showered and changed into nicer attire, and with still forty-five minutes until dinner, he decided to check his phone for the first time since that morning, as it had been inside his suit all day. He was disappointed to have not heard anything from Jeffrey, but it wasn’t a surprise, as he didn’t see his truck in the parking lot. The thought hadn’t occurred before; that truck must have been his personal vehicle, but Derrek saw nothing about a truck on the requisition forms.
He spent the rest of his free time playing a fantasy hero collecting game Steven had recommended on his phone, and although he was initially bombarded with “deals” for new players, he found it was pretty fun. Before he knew it, it was time to go to dinner.
He met everyone just outside the dining hall and they managed to get a table big enough for all of them. The standup comedian he had seen with Jeffrey almost a week before was performing again, this time with much less material about horses. Joey heckled him but made sure not to make everyone hate him, keeping it PG for the sake of Frostbyte’s public image.
Everyone got different dishes, but the aroma from all the different meals mixed into something truly remarkable, a true symphony of delicious smells and mouth-watering scents. As they ate, they joked and laughed, telling stories of the best food they ever had, barring anything they had since visiting the Schadenfreude. There was a slightly heated argument between Joey and Hanna about who was the better arm wrestler, but a quick, two-out-of-three match made it clear that Hanna reigned supreme. He seemed disappointed, but that quickly faded when he gave her a sporting handshake.
Derrek rarely ate with groups of people, despite being invited to several formal functions by Shale, which he usually turned down in favor of work, but none felt as comfortable as this. He didn’t see coworkers or employees of Frostbyte or a group of well-versed scholars. He saw people he was quickly growing to know of as friends. He wondered if this was how all gatherings of friends went, as he had very few friends outside of work, but he enjoyed it.
Derrek felt at peace, and part of him hoped to have dinners like that with a family of his own someday.