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“Jameson.” Sasha’s voice in my earpiece. “I still have a visual. It’s continuing along in the water, about three hundred meters ahead of you.”

I nodded at the others and broke into a jog. “Come on.”

The trees were lush, and the birds in the trees were singing. I breathed in, pulling in the fresh scent of eucalyptus. I tried to imagine what the bush had been like before the invasion. When you could go hiking without fear of monsters.

“It stopped,” Sasha said. “I’ve lost sight of it. It’s right near the bank, and the trees are too thick. I think it might have left the water. I’m not sure what it’s doing.”

“Acknowledged.”

We kept running. Zeke moved silently—the guy could move like a ghost. Greer wasn’t silent, but she was managing to keep up.

The trees thinned out and the water came back into view. We were just in time to see tentacles sliding back into the water.

“It’s gone,” Greer said.

On the shore was a large patch of flattened grass and some crushed wildflowers.

“It came out of the water.” Zeke walked forward, frowning.

Suddenly a tentacle speared out of the water, aiming for us.

In an instant, Zeke and I had our carbines up. We fired.

The tentacle went wild, trying to dodge the laser fire, then slid back into the water.

“Jameson, I see it now,” Sasha said. “It’s moving away from your location.”

I blew out a breath, spotting the drone arrowing out across the dam. “Thanks, Sash.” I looked at the others. “It’s gone.” I walked over to where it had been lying.

Why the hell had it come on to land?“I have no idea what it was doing.”

“Maybe it attacked an animal?” Greer suggested.

Zeke crouched, touching the grass. “Jameson.”

I walked over, and what I saw made my gut clench.

“What is it?” Greer’s arm brushed mine.

I had to fight to lock down the sensation. “Footprints.” I pointed.

The footprints were clearly made by monsters with five claws on their toes.

Ones that walked upright.

“Monster prints.” Her brow creased. “I don’t understand.”

A cold feeling seeped into my chest. “The aquatic monster met other monsters here.”

Her mouth dropped open. “No. That can’t be right.”

I glanced at the water. “The monsters were meeting.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

Greer

Fighting off my general feeling of disquiet, I focused on working on my tablet. I was sitting in the shade on the dam wall, my team working, and Hunter Squad on security detail.