Page 54 of Shades of Earth (Across the Universe 3)

My heart’s beating so hard I can feel it banging against my rib cage. Something’s out there, and it’s big.

All I want to do is run away, but Chris creeps forward silently, his rifle raised and ready. I put the noisy specimen bag on the ground as quietly as possible. My sweaty hand pulls out the . 38. I allow myself one moment to feel the gun, the heavy metal in the palm of my hand, the power behind it, and then I grip it properly, using both hands, one finger on the trigger.

Mom shakes her head at me but then stops, realizing the sense in having both me and Chris armed. She follows me as we move deeper into the forest and Chris glances back, signaling forward with his eyes.

A slurping, ripping sound leaks through the shadowy forest.

We’re close.

Rustling. Definitely animal.

I step on a branch that cracks loudly, and an unnatural silence descends on us. The animal, whatever it is, has heard us.

Chris pushes aside a branch.

And then we see.

Dr. Gupta—what’s left of Dr. Gupta—lies on the forest floor. A ptero, much smaller than the one that attacked Elder, cocks its head, looking at us as if we’re a curiosity.

It bends its long neck down, using its saw-like teeth to rip away a chunk of Dr. Gupta’s flesh. Blood and gore stick to the ptero’s beak.

Dr. Gupta blinks.

Dr. Gupta blinks.

He’s alive—he’s alive, and he can feel—he can feel—as the ptero eats him.

He’s alive.

The ptero bends its head down again to its meal. A horrific crunching sound echoes throughout the forest as the ptero shatters Dr. Gupta’s femur. The ptero shakes its head, worrying it like a dog with a bone, until the leg snaps off.

A small sound, a moan, almost drowned out by the sound of crunching bones, escapes Dr. Gupta’s cracked lips.

Chris and I both shoot at the same time.

My first bullet hits the ptero in the wing, ripping out a chunk of the thin membrane. The ptero drops Dr. Gupta’s leg and faces us. It opens its beak, foam and blood dripping from its mouth, and screams.

I shoot again.

The ptero’s chest bursts open. It crashes to the ground. Its leathery wings flop about, and it’s dead—I know it’s dead—but I shoot it again anyway, right in the skull.

I’m breathing heavily as I lower my gun, the smell of gunpowder mixing with the metallic tang of blood. I look at Chris and see that he’s staring at Dr. Gupta.

I realize then that it wasn’t the ptero he aimed for when he pulled his trigger.

A small round hole leaks blood down the side of Dr. Gupta’s skull.

26: ELDER

I can’t sneak past the military to see the lake for myself, not while it’s still light outside. And even if I wanted to inspect the tunnel, I wouldn’t be able to. Colonel Martin’s installed heavy metal panels on the collapsed ground, and his men have already erected the latrines over it. Colonel Martin acted quickly to cover up our discovery—just like he’s trying to hide the lake from us.

But I think I know how I can uncover at least some of his secrets.

My first instinct is to get Amy—I haven’t even told her about the crystal scale I found yet—but I’m trying to figure out what Colonel Martin is hiding, and he’ll definitely have suspicions if I drag her away from her mother.

I pass Kit on my way up the paved path that runs through the center of the colony. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself,” I tell her as she obsessively checks over the handwritten list of passengers we made after Lorin disappeared.

“I could say the same of you. How are you feeling after the tunnel collapse? And I saw you keep working after that, on the pipes. You didn’t need to do that. ”