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CHAPTER ONE

Jameson

“Get us in closer.”

Holding the handgrip overhead, I looked out the open side door of the Talon quadcopter. Its four rotors droned quietly as we flew in over the dense Australian bush.

We were on the edge of the Blue Mountains, just inland of New Sydney.

And we were hunting a monster.

“Jameson, the creature is tracking northeast,” a female voice said in my earpiece. It was our comms officer, Sasha.

“There.” Beside me, Kaitoa Rahia pointed.

Kai was the same height as me, but leaner, and with black hair that he kept cut short. His Maori heritage was stamped all over his face. We often ran together, and the guy was fast. He also had quick instincts that had saved my ass too many times to count.

“I see it.” I studied the flash of movement in the trees below. The thing was crashing through the vegetation. “Sasha, keep tracking it. We’re going in.”

The monster reached a clearing and I got a good view of it. It was like something out of a nightmare. It lumbered on four legs, its slow movements deceptive. It had a thick, scaly hide, and several razor-sharp spikes along its back.

I lifted my carbine and checked the charge on the laser weapon. “Hunter Squad, are you ready for some monster hunting?”

“Hell, yeah,” my squad shouted back.

I met their gazes one by one. Like me, they all wore light-weight, gray combat armor. They were my squad mates, my friends, the people I trusted to always have my back. We’d grown up together in the ruins of a world destroyed by an alien invasion. Our parents had taught us grit, toughness, and determination.

Our parents had beaten the aliens. Now, we were helping to keep the rebuilding world safe from the horrors the aliens had left behind.

Zeke and Marc Jackson were twins, both six foot five and muscular. They looked identical, with brown skin and square jaws, but their personalities were the total opposite. Zeke was always scowling, while Marc was grinning, ear to ear.

North Connors was checking his small medical backpack. The ladies loved North, and frequently referred to him as tall, dark, and handsome. He was our squad medic, and had the steadiest hands and head out of all of us. He was dedicated, triple-checked everything, and rock solid in a crisis.

The final member was our latest recruit. Scott Simms had blond hair and pale skin, and was currently fidgeting with his carbine. He’d only been with us a few weeks, and I wasn’t entirely sure he was going to make it. He was decent enough with a carbine, but he was nervous. I was keeping a close eye on him, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure I trusted the kid to have my squad’s back.

That was something my father had taught me—that you had to trust every member of your squad with your life. No hesitation. Marcus Steele had been the best squad leader ever. One day, I wanted to be as good as him.

“Colbie, swing us around,” I ordered.

Our pilot glanced back from the cockpit. “On it, Jameson.” There was a grin on her pretty face, her red hair peeking out from under her flight helmet. Then she turned the Talon on a dime, swinging the aircraft in over the clearing. No one could fly like Colbie Erickson. It was in her blood.

My gaze found the monster below, following its path through the trees. It had attacked a nearby town and injured three people. It had to be stopped.

“Hunter Squad—” I attached the rapid rappel line to my belt “—let’s move out.”

Kai and Scott flanked me, both checking their lines. I knew that behind me, on the other side of the Talon, Zeke, Marc, and North were doing the same.

“Go!” I leaped out of the quadcopter, Kai and Scott with me.

The rappel lines whizzed as we dropped toward the ground.

My boots hit the dirt, and with the push of a button, I disconnected the line. I whipped my carbine up and walked forward.

My squad formed around me.

“Let’s do this,” I murmured.

The monster turned and saw us. It threw its head back and roared.