I guess this university's greenhouse used to be top notch. A lot of research and money went into making it, all for the betterment of humanity. And then the Gates arrivals ushered in the first of a series of apocalyptic events. Frankly, it was amazing that so much of the greenhouse was still intact, considering that half of the other buildings on the campus were just piles of rubble.

The stainless steel frame had tumbled down, littering rusted beams all over the ceiling floor. Glass and plastic shards scattered everywhere, on the eroded planter boxes and empty pots, on the floor, on the tables, and bunched in corners like homicidal snow drifts. Power cords hung from broken beams and strung across the ground like lifeless snakes. Rusted steel panels as tall as a person stood in the wreckage, like weathered sentinels from ages past.

"That's what we need," Scott said, pointing to panels. "We need ten intact ones, the cleaner the better. The ones that are overly rusted could have problems." He opened his Guide and read the instructions to the task again. "And at least one from the northeast corner and the southwest section."

I blinked at him. "Why? Are they special?"

If I thought helping with the battle not long ago would improve his opinion of me, I was destined to be disappointed. He closed his Guide with a jerky movement. "Don't know, don't care. That's not part of my job." He turned and started walking to the northeast corner of the greenhouse, his boots crunching with every step he took.

My lips twitched, but I didn't allow the frown to form. After all, I was still trying to be helpful enough to get a sympathy card from them. You know, to make myself a little less disposable. All I could do was swallow hard and focus on the task at hand.

I stopped at the closest panel and leaned down to examine it. It was now pretty close to freestanding, since the metal frame it was originally attached to had fallen down, except for the pole directly behind. Several screws were used to connect the two together in the back, and another four large screws bolted the panel to the floor.

"It shouldn't be that hard to take them off," I muttered, solving the problem in my head. "Just unscrew them and break the stands." I looked around at the twenty-ish panels, all in various states of decay. "The hardest part will be picking out the least damaged ones. We don't know what they look like inside. It could be fine outside, and completely ruined inside."

I took the tool box out of my Items Bag – yes, Uncle insisted I carried this around, along with a first aid kit – and took a monkey wrench and hammer out. The heads of the screws looked too rusted to loosen with a screwdriver. It would be easier to clamp it from the outside and force it with a hammer. But first, I should check the state of the panel inside. I didn't want to go through all that work for a dud.

I stepped back, aimed the hammer, and swung it down on the padlock keeping the panel closed. The old lock couldn't handle the force and popped open with one hit.

The other jumped at the sound.

Pepper whipped around, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"

"Looking inside," I said, and opened the panel door. The outside didn't look too bad, but inside was another matter. The boxes weren't weather proof, and time had taken its toll on it. The bottom was particularly rusted and there was a slight mold scent from where water would pool inside. Are they really able to extract information from these?

"That's not what you should be doing," Pepper announced.

What was she talking about? "Um, I thought we were supposed to be collecting the panels. Ten of them, right?" That's literally what Scott just said two minutes ago.

"Scott and I will collect the panels. Star will watch the entrance, and you will keep a lookout for fly monsters from above," Pepper informed me like it was obvious.

My brows lifted up. Technically, it wasn't a bad plan, but probably not the most efficient. And, no, no one told me what it was until now. "Oh." I looked at the panel and motioned around, explaining a more efficient plan. "Star has good eyes, she can watch the entrance and the sky at the same time." There was only one way up to the roof, and that was through a door that we propped shut with a metal bar, since the lock was broken. It was going to take effort to open the door from the inside, and Star would definitely be ready by then. "I can help with the panels. I've handled tools all my life, taking them down would be easy." Although I wasn't a grease monkey, I knew my way around the tool box. Perks of the family profession. "And my Items Bag has industrial slots, so I wouldn't have to dismantle them at all to fit in." In theory, the panels should fit in an items slot, but it was possible they didn't.

I thought my idea was solid, but Scott backed Pepper. "Get over to the wall, and keep a lookout." He vaguely waved his hand to the north wall, barely giving me any attention.

Star grinned at me, smoothing things over. "Thanks for offering, but we got this. Remember, I said you didn't have to do anything during this trip? It's lunch time, so why don't you rest and eat up while you can, m'kay?" She sounded like the big sister I never had. And never wanted.

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I pressed my lips together, understanding her hidden message – stop annoying us – and walked to the short wall that circled the ceiling. Since Star suggested it, I didn't feel guilty about taking out a meal box. The ham sandwiches were on sale, so I found myself the happy owner of ten boxes all with identical sandwiches, apples, and sports drinks. Boring, but it was healthy calories.

As I bit into the apple, I glanced at the clock on my Guide. It took a lot longer than I thought to get up here.

When I first heard about the task, I thought there was going to be plenty of time to complete the client's task and get the pyrefly wings. Now I wasn't so sure. There were only three hours left before the roc came. We still needed to dismantle ten panels, or more depending on if they picked good ones or not, and travel to the river, find a pyrefly, and steal a pair of wings. Never mind if we end up fighting more gigaroaches just getting out of the building.

I glanced at Pepper and Scott, working the first panel while snipping at each other.

The sweet bite of apple turned almost bitter in my mouth. It was obvious they'd never handled a data task like this – dismantling something. Scott was gun-hoe to go at it like a caveman, and Pepper was stressed about damaging the panel and losing out. They couldn't seem to find a happy medium. Honestly, it would be better if they each took their own panel and worked alone.

The most obvious thing was, it was going to take them a while – and I couldn't help. Damn.

Angrily, I ate my food. No matter what I was thinking inside, I didn't show it on my face and my movements were deliberately steady. If I could convince a psychiatrist that I was normal again, I could fool these guys.

Star pulled out her own food and ate it, all the while staring at the barred door.

A summer breeze kicked up, whistling through the broken windows around the campus, each note creeper than the last. It was like a song of the dead. Sometimes monsters hiding around the city would sound like a bizarre beat. All the while, Pepper and Scott's quiet verbal battle added an undertone of lyrics.

I leaned against the wall, staring down at the ground far below. At least I wasn't afraid of heights. There weren't very many tall buildings left in the city and the whole of it stretched out before me. It wasn't quite as cool as when I was high on the roc, but I was close enough, and the city was still enough, to see the monsters that populated the area. Bird types nested in destroyed houses, deer types moseyed around, eating the tall grass that grew in the concrete cracks and rusting cars, and predator types stalked them from behind.

In this dead city, there was still life.

It was messed up, because these were the same monsters that killed off the humans. When the Gates first appeared, all monsters were veracious carnivores. It wasn't until the Gate disappeared that some of them suddenly became herbivores or omnivores.

At the same time, it was fascinating how quickly an ecosystem can so easily grow out of destruction after only a few untouched decades. Right now, that ecosystem didn't seem to care that Hunters existed at all.

Thirty minutes and two panels later, Pepper announced in a huff that she was going to take a lunch break. She stalked over to the Star and plopped down on a glass-free bench. Scott glared after her, but got back to work. It was just like I predicted. As soon as they were separated, Scott's work efficiency went up. It took him only ten minutes to take the next panel apart – something I was sure I could do in less time. Even Star got up and started inspecting the metal boxes, pointing out the least damaged ones.

I pinched my thumb hard. They were taking too long. At this rate, even if we didn't get to the river, we still might not make it back to the roc in time.

Ten minutes later, Pepper finished her food and Scott took a break. Pepper couldn't seem to handle it anymore either. She walked over to me. "Hey, lend me your tools," She must have done the math, too.

I hesitated before passing over the hammer and monkey wrench. "I still need to find a pyrefly," I reminded.

She paused. "Oh, that's right." So she forgot. I thought so. "Don't worry, we'll get one."

If she thought I'd feel better, she was wrong. "I can help with the panels, too. Then we can finish the task faster."

The whole reason why I came on this task was to get that wing. If I didn't get one, it was all worthless. Money was fine, but I wasn't getting paid enough to align myself with someone who cared so little about my life.

Star patted my shoulder. "Nope, you're good. Besides, you're injured." She motioned to the blood dried on my armor. "Just keep a look out for me."

Oh, right. I forgot I was such a biohazard. Regen had already filled up my HP and MP, and the blood was dry enough that it wasn't sticky anymore, just a little itchy where the blood hadn't already flaked off.

I could only submit under her pressure.

Frustrated, I leaned against the wall as Star got to work, thankfully not on the same one as Pepper. As minutes ticked by, I found myself staring out at the city and the rolling hills in the distance.

It was greenest by the river, but the vegetation quickly shifted to desert brush the farther it got from the water. Even the hills were mostly brownish, with the exception of one green one.

I paused, focusing on the green hill. It was ... the wrong color of green? It was darker, while the plants around the river were bright. And the hill ... was moving. Slowly pacing back and forth, all the while getting closer to the city.

My eyes widened when I realized that it wasn't a hill. That was a rounded back swaying side to side as it walked, and the rocky ridges were the uneven texture of scales. What I thought was a slope was actually a long neck tipped with a massive triangle shaped head. Its nose swept over the desert ground like a bloodhound.

My blood turned cold. "Ah, Star?" I muttered, barely able to accept what I was seeing. It was so scary I couldn't take my eyes off it. When she didn't respond, I tried again, louder. "Star!"

"What?" Barely contained impatience saturated the word.

"You said there weren't any dragons this far south? Then what the hell is that?"

*******