Instinct kicks in. A different kind of instinct. He follows his heart and pushes through the wintry wind front. Together, they wade through the snow of the coldest desert known to alpha.
Every now and then, the visibility drifts in and out of focus. He can just make out the round edges of boulders, but it’s far off in the distance.
“Over there,” Lucas points. “You see it?”
Aiden nods. “We’re going in the right direction. We’ll be there in twenty-four hours, counting rest time.”
Lucas clenches his hands together, bitterness running through his bones. Aching, he begins to ascend a large hill. “No time for resting,” he says, already out of breath.
His legs ache. His eyes are freezing over. There’s no way they could camp here. The snow would eat them alive.
“Guess you’re right,” Aiden says. “I’m freezing my ass off out here.”
Lucas and Aiden climb over the crest of the hill and see signs of death. Blood splatter. They keep walking and find the body of an alpha. His brains leak from a massive hole in his skull. An ominous feeling washes over Lucas.
“Weapons check,” he mutters.
Lucas nudges his pack, checks himself once over. “Pulse grenade. Auto-rifle. Multi-Gloch. Okay,” he whispers to himself.
Aiden nods at him. “I’m good,” he says.
A chill runs through his spine, a warning, telling him to give into his gut feeling. He should turn around and leave, but the allure of the Iron Eye is too strong.
“Can you feel it?” Aiden asks, kneeling into the snow.
Lucas nods and wipes his nose. It’s getting colder. “I can feel it. It’s like a solid hum.”
“Unstable energy. That, or seismic activity,” he says. “It’s like it’s… alive.”
Maybe the Iron Eye is alive, Lucas thinks.
As the wind whips and howls around the snow hills, Aiden reaches into his pack and pulls out what looks to be a small, metallic disc. “We only get one chance with this thing, but I think now’s the time to give it a go,” he says.
Lucas leans to get a closer look. “What is it?”
“It’s a landscape analysis bot,” Aiden says.
Although the snow has lessened, the sun has set, and the wind won’t let up.
“Run it, already,” Lucas says. “But make sure you get it right. I’m not dying out here.”
Aiden smirks and rolls his pack back onto his back. Fastening the shoulder straps, he asks, “You still concerned about me?”
Lucas answers. “I don’t know. Should I be?”
Twisting the shiny, metallic object, Aiden gives it a little push. Robotic legs dig into the snow, and a thin antenna extends out of its center. It walks into the darkness ahead of them.
A few seconds of silence passes. Then the wind howls. The sound of gunfire echoes, but it sounds far away.
“What happened?” Lucas asks.
Aiden tenses. “Wait for it.”
A full minute seems to pass. A blue flash expands around them. Lucas turns away from the blinding light.
When the first brightness clears, they can see a residual neon blue grid across the entire area. Aiden clears his throat and nods to himself. “We’ll be able to see for about thirty seconds,” he says.
Lucas throws his rifle over his shoulder and groans. “That’s it? It’s been at least ten, already.”