She nodded, “Yeah been a museum for quite a while.” She put her radio on the desk and sat on one of the chairs.

  “So this prototype, the AH44?” I asked. “How do you know it took off?”

  She tapped her radio. “I heard it.”

  I swallowed. “You tapped into a secure net?”

  “I wanted to listen where no one else could.”

  “Mal,” I said and sighed. I pulled up another chair and sat though. “Go on, then. Turn it on.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “You’ve not brought me out here just to sit in an old stuffy office and look at old moldy books.” I pointed to the radio.

  Malaki picked it up and carefully flicked the buttons, till we heard fuzzy noises, then we could hear radio chatter. It took me a moment to even understand what was going on. “Ghost to Irate4, the package is secure. We are inbound to your location, ETA ten minutes.”

  “Call signs?” I asked.

  “Ghost is the AH44’s lead. The pilot’s named Frost on all networks I can find. That’s all I can get up everywhere.”

  I would hope so, as well. No one knew who these guys were. They are at the top of their game, that’s for sure.

  “What’s the package?”

  “They were sent to Central City to pick up Grand Master Tovak.”

  The name seemed very familiar, and I couldn’t place it. Malaki turned to the terminal before her as the radio clicked and popped. “Jester21 is waiting for an in-flight transfer. Set down and pickup locations are as follows.”

  “They don’t have the fuel to get in and out?”

  “Too far,” she said.

  The terminal screen flicked on before us, lighting the room in green. Then, a few moments later, she started to scroll through the database, and I didn’t mean the old database. “Mal,” I said, putting a hand on hers. “This is seriously breaking all protocols. We shouldn’t be here or doing any of this.”

  “You want to listen in as they kill that beast, right?”

  “You think Grand Master Tovak can do that?”

  “They wouldn’t be shipping him from Central if he couldn’t.”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “That name is far too familiar. Shit. He was the one who held the wall after…”

  Malaki only nodded, and then a few moments later, we heard that Ghost was coming into land.

  A moment later and the “package” was secure with the Angry Rhinos, on the AH44.

  “I really want to see this.”

  “I know.” Frustrated, she pushed the old keyboard away from her moments later. “I’m not good enough, fuck,” she cursed.

  I pulled it towards me, and I tried. There were so many codes and so many old-school places to look. I wasn’t even sure what she was doing. “You were trying to get into the feed of what? One of the pilots?”

  “One of the soldiers,” she said. “They’re not as secure as usual. I’m just not good enough.”

  “I sure as heck aren’t, then.” I tried a few codes I knew, but nothing compared to her or any of the others on my fireteam.

  I did, however, know someone who might. “Give me a minute.”

  It took me longer than a minute to get a hold of him. It had been a while.

  “Hey, Bowdoin, you got a minute?”

  “Ruslan? Fuck man, you know what time it is? Normal people sleep at this hour.”

  “You weren’t sleeping,” I pointed out. “I got a job for you.”

  “Hope it fucking pays well.” I could hear him in the background. Whatever he was doing wasn’t just regular activity.

  “I have funds,” I said. “Also, I can grant you full access to the pilot of this bird. Then you can see what’s going on?”

  “I’m fucking busy. Give me ten seconds.”

  I waited. Malaki’s rather curious stares stressed me out.

  More noise and…fuck. Did that sound like someone’s head smashing through glass?

  I shook it off, and ten seconds later, Bowdoin’s voice came back to me. “Send it.”

  Quick thoughts soon sent the tag ID and breaker numbers over to him. I then got a cough, more glass smashing, and then nothing. It went silent.

  “Re-route ID?”

  I sent those as well.

  Then I heard. “What the fuck?” several seconds later. “This might take me more than a few minutes.”

  A few minutes? Nothing had ever taken Bowdoin that long to hack before.

  “What’s going on?” Malaki asked.

  I held a finger up for her. “Wait.”

  The radio at her side popped. “Irate4 on the ground in three, two…one.”

  The screen before us lit with a different scene, and Bowdoin’s voice returned to me. “What are we seeing, Rus?”

  “Feed from the AH44 out in the middle of the fires on Masaow Mountain.”

  “No,” he said. “Please tell me you’re not stupid enough to have fed me straight into an M-Corp server.”

  “I did. But it’s not one of the main ones.”

  I didn’t need to hear him swear all the more. I knew on the inside that he would never have done this if I’d outright asked him. “Still. Corpo’s corpo. They don’t like gutter runners like me fucking around in their systems. If they track me, I’m fucked.”

  “They won’t track you. They’ve better things to do right now.”

  The helo feed lit with orange fire as it came into land just out of reach of those flames. We felt the thump as it touched down. Several men fanned out, and they were spraying. Not ammunition they might have in the past as they attacked monsters on the line.

  This was water. They had refilled the tanks? Or was this something else?

  “Water mages,” Malaki said at my side.

  The AH44 was then taken back up. “We’ll circle and drop our payload,” the pilot said.

  As it did indeed circle, we got the view of a lifetime. There were several men, and they were letting rip with everything they had inside. Pure water, mana. The fires…they were dying.

  Malaki gripped my hand in hers, squeezing. “They’re going to get it, they—”

  But no, they weren’t.

  The hesacha burst out of the flames and hit two without a blink. They could do nothing to stop it.

  “Poor fuckers. They may be corpo, but they didn’t deserve that. They’re toast, right?”

  I didn’t know, not for sure. But I didn’t want to see it, either.

  The hesacha turned on the others. Though they pelted it with everything they had, it stood its ground.

  I could not only feel its heat, I felt it roar. All four remaining fighters held it, and the view from the helo drew in closer and closer.

  “Fuck, you said they couldn’t track me. They’re onto me,” Bowdoin said. With a grunt, he added, “Not a top-tier AI, at least. I’ll be on the run for a few minutes. I should be able to keep them busy for a bit.”

  “Do what you need to.”

  The hesacha went for two of the others, but the AH44 made its drop, and the illuminated purple-colored water sprayed over everything.

  The mutant beast screamed, the flames it circulated all around it spluttering. Was it going out?

  It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

  No, with another massive burst of flames, it exploded and ran at two of the other mages. Both Malaki and I watched in horror as it grew in size and, now standing over the top of one of the men, just bit down. It chewed straight through his suit. Mana mages were squishy at the best of times, but this…he had nothing to protect him from those actual jaws, those sharp teeth.

  Malaki gasped. “We’re doomed,” she said. “Doomed.”

  Then in a split second, she was crying. I pulled her chair to me and held onto her as she sobbed. It wasn’t just the loss of the mages. This was us losing Niko all over again.

  Bowdoin’s voice came back to me. “I’m safe. You’re safe for now.”

  But the scene before us just grew worse. The hesacha couldn’t be held back. The last three men fighting it, including the top brass, Grand Master Tovak, struggled.

  “They won’t be able to kill it, right?” Bowdoin asked. Even I could hear the fear in his voice. No one expected this, no trained personnel or civilians.

  Flames surrounded them.

  “Ghost, we need backup.”

  “Irate7, we have nothing else left to give. RTB. Ghost out.”

  “Fuck, we can’t. We can’t leave it out here.”

  “Ghost, this is Tally4. RTB now.”

  “Sir, there must be something we can do.”

  “Get your ass home now, Alex, that is an order.”

  We’d heard Tally4 use the pilot’s first name. Malaki looked up at me and I shook my head. That fire and that monster was pushing out; no one else could get in any closer.

  “They’re done for,” Malaki said.

  One of the mages fell to his knees as the last two ran out of mana and stood there watching their friend with the last bit he had. Malaki hid behind my shoulder, and I was the only one who watched what was happening. I had to.

  The second man fell, and the hesacha let him. He posed no threat to it anymore.

  Grand Master Tovak faced the most significant creature he had ever fought. The AH44 was coming in for another pass with its second magic water drop, but it wouldn’t make it.

  The hesacha opened its jaws again and hit Grand Master Tovak with everything it had. We watched as he fought for his life with every bit of mana and skill he had.

  The second water dropped as Grand Master Tovak’s life did.

  When he fell forward, I heard Bowdoin curse. “Fuck, fuck. I have to pull back.”

  90-Shay/Janet

  Things had been steady for Shay and Anada. Shay didn’t go far out of their district to work now. He made sure his jobs and runs were small. If things were going to get nasty, he had to be near home; he wouldn’t put himself in that position again. Never.

  “Never thought I’d say that,” Shay said to Pim.

  “What, that Anada’s and Janet’s home is ours?”

  “Ours,” Shay said. “Yes.”

  “You like them both a lot.”

  “I do,” Shay admitted.

  “I do too,” Pim agreed. “Where are we going?”

  “Picking up some dried meat from the market, and then home,” Shay said. “I’ve enough for a few bags’ worth.”

  “I should go hunting,” Pim said. “I could really do with something fresh.”

  “You would hunt? But you’re too small.”

  Pim laughed. “You really think I’ve not been growing as you have?”

  Shay turned to look his friend in the eyes. Both were glowing now. “What, you’ve barely put on an ounce? I don’t get it.”

  “You still never researched what a walrat was, did you?”

  “No,” Shay said. “I—”

  Shay looked out the window. His eyes flashed as he brought up the research side of AW. A few credits to waste now wouldn’t be so bad . . . right?

  “No,” Pim said. “I will show you when we get back to Anada’s.”

  “Okay.” Shay looked back at the front of the shuttle. It came in and down, landing deftly at the bottom of his street. Hopping up, he dashed for the door and was into the cool night air before Pim could dig his claws in.

  Tracking up and down the street to their front door, Shay said. “Can’t you just tell me?”

  “No,” Pim said. “You wouldn’t believe me, anyway.”

  Shay made sure no one was following him, then he moved to put his wrist to the door and entered.

  Up into the lift and their corridor, then into their apartment. “Anada?” he called.

  No answer.

  “You were supposed to stop for meat,” Pim reminded him.

  “Err, never mind. I’ll grab it tomorrow on the way in. It should be easier than now at this time of night.”

  Shay stopped in the living room. “So show me.”

  “Show you what?” Pim hopped off his shoulder and sat on the couch, licking his front paw.

  Shay stood in front of him, hand on hips. “Show me!”

  Pim’s eyes flickered. “You might want to take a step back.”

  Shay didn’t move.

  “Well, okay then.”

  In a bright flash of light, which made Shay cover his eyes, he heard the snapping of bone? “Shit,” Pim said. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Shay blinked and tried to focus. The blinding light faded in a wave of stars in his vision.

  “What was that?” Shay asked, and instead of stepping back, he stepped forward.

  Pim’s grin widened, and Shay saw them.

  Two tiny protruding tusks. “Technically, I’m like you, a teenager. But I don’t really feel any different.”

  Shay peered in closer. “They’re sharp?”

  “Yeah, want to see my stats?”

  Shay’s eyes met his friends. The eyeballs themselves were almost as big as Shay’s head. “Yes,” he said. “Show me.”

  Pim opened his stat sheet up for Shay, and they both stared at it.

  Identification: Pim

  Age: 497 days

  Species: Walrat

  Bonus: Tusks – Strength + 2 (increases with age)

  Weight: By Choice 14lb

  Mod Capacity: 8 *10*

  Mod Capacity in Use: 2

  Stat

  Current Points

  Description

  Mods

  Quality

  Dexterity

  4

  Governs agility and movement.

  Front Left and Right Leg Mod: 0

  Cost: 0

  Mental Power

  4 = *6*

  Governs swiftness and fortitude of the mind.

  Right Ocular Mod: 2

  Cost 3

  (MP 2)

  Basic

  Perception

  8

  Governs an individual’s senses and connection to the world around them.

  Brain Mod:

  Cost: 0

  Strength

  4 = *6*

  Governs physical strength and damage dealt.

  Back Left and Right Leg Mod: 0

  Cost: 0

  Toughness

  4

  Governs the body and internal fortitude.

  Basic Organelles:

  Cost: 0

  “Better make sure I get some more calcium,” Pim growled slightly.

  Shay looked up into his eyes. Carefully, he reached out and put his hand on Pim’s nose. The whiskers twitched as he scratched. “You’re still soft.”

  Pim growled even more. “I’ll show you soft!”

  Shay was scrambling away as best he could in an instant, but Pim wrestled up and onto his back. Nose in his face, his whiskers tickling as he breathed out.

  “Oh gawd, please don’t eat me,” Shay cried, though he was really laughing as well. “Please.”

  Pim put his head gently on Shay’s chest, and Shay reached up and around both ears to scratch them. “You still make a great furry blanket.”

  Pim’s eyes flashed again, and Shay was temporarily blinded.

  “I’d love to go hunting with you,” Shay said. “You think that’s possible we could get out, find something and bring it home for Anada and Janet?”

  “I’d like to do that,” Pim said. “I’m tired now, though.”

  “That takes a lot out of you?”

  “Yes, I’m not used to it yet.”

  “Practice,” Shay said. “You need training.”

  “You think anyone knows how to train one like me?”

  “No,” Shay said. “But I will find out. Give me some time. I will learn everything there is about you from the ground up.”

  “Bout time,” Pim said and closed his eyes.

  Shay stayed like that, stroking him till he was purring and asleep.

  ***

  Anada had returned home to find them both asleep on the floor. “What the hell!”

  Shay woke with a start, and Pim ran off, leaving him to explain everything that had happened.

  Now they sat eating sandwiches with dried meat and cheese.

  “You heard from Janet?”

  Anada shook her head. They both sat watching their 3D screen, with nothing that should have been on there.

  “How can anyone be okay?”

  Janet hadn’t returned home as yet. Their food stores had been okay, but as soon as the “fake reports” on the fires had been finally leaked, things had changed fast. Not as much panic as they thought there might be. Most people didn’t have the funds to panic. But there were odd shortages. Tinned meats were one. Others were fuel related and the weirdest things, like salt.

  “She’s calling,” Anada said, staring at Shay.

  “Well,” he said. “Answer her. Put her on the big screen!”

  Janet’s face popped up on their screens. She looked tired, with huge black bags under her eyes.

  “Hey,” she said. “Eating something good?”

  “It’s okay,” Shay replied. “What’s going on?”

  Janet turned, and John came into view. Shay had only met him a few times but knew he was an excellent tech. But not how much he actually did for Janet.

  “I’m sending you a file, Shay,” John said. “I want you to look over it, go online, and check with a few of your contacts what it is.”

  Shay and Anada traded glances, but Shay accepted the file and opened it.

  Share it, Pim said. Please.

  Shay did and waited for anything from his friend. “You can search for it if you like,” Pim said. “John, already knows what it is, so do I. There are just not many public records of it, I can find them if that’s what he’s asking.”

  “What?”

  Anada stared at him, too, and John and Janet.

  “What is it?” John said. “The walrat know?”

  “He says he does.”

  “The creature’s name is a hee—sa—cha. What you’re dealing with is a Fire hesacha, it’s a mutation that takes fire to a whole other level. Looking at the damage it’s been doing, I would say it’s a big one, maybe even their pack lead, king.”