“Fifty years had passed.

Today humanity would solemnly mark the passing of another

year since the Catastrophe. It was not like the other holidays we recognized; names of once historic
events or prestigious icons of our culture. The Catastrophe was both past and present, dead and living.
We needed no holiday to remember it. There was not a Fortified Zone on the planet safe enough to
escape from the legacy of Dr. Menelaus' fateful decision. And on this fateful day, a beautiful young girl
was left alone, and abandoned. A dashing young man came up behind her and swept her up in his arms,
saying 'Kiss me beautiful. These are truly the last times,'” Bren recited in his best dramatic impression.

“Oh, go fuck yourself Bren.”

“What? In times as bleak as this, we can all use a little romance” he said, leaning in close to her.
“Under this starlight your eyes sparkle with the light of a thousand fires. I can't help but feel swooned
by your bewitching beauty. For that brief moment of ecstasy when our bodies converge to one, the
pleasure can take us to a world free from worry, free from danger. A world where there is only you and
me, held together by our intimate connection... Besides, I'm bored.”

“Hah, dream on. I'd rather be dashed to pieces by a banshee and die a virgin than sleep with
you.”

“Bah, what a waste.”

“Yea well, its getting late. I better get heading back to the center,” she said as she packed up her
pack of cigarettes into her tattered pink backpack, and exchanged them for a flashlight. She flicked it
on and cast the light upon a tree thirty feet ahead. She flashed a smile back at Bren. He smiled back and
raced her over to the tree.

“Looks like your losing your touch Brenny” she said teasingly as she shone the light on a circle
etched into the tree trunk. Four daggers scattered the circle. A blade with the initials IS on the hilt had
struck the middle. Bren made a sour face back at her. She pulled the center blade and another from the
trunk and re-sheathed them into their holsters near her ankles.

“See ya tomorrow” she said, turning to head down the path back towards the center, in the
middle of the Fortified Zone.

“Isabelle,” Bren yelled out, waiting for her to turn. “Just be careful,” he stammered somewhat
awkwardly. “The guards are from military families. They lost a lot of friends and family from the
Catastrophe. They are not always on their game on the anniversary.”

“If I could remember my father Bren, I am sure he would have sounded just like that. Just watch
your own back. My life would become much more dull without you always around to try and get into
my pants” she said, shooting him a wink and turning back down the trail.

Bren grinned, promising his self that one day he would be successful, but he wouldn't stop at
that. He liked Isabelle. He was the son of Fortified Zone 51348's Magistrate, the highest ranking
civilian official in the Zone Authority. And in the political system of the F.Z.'s, the best currency was
power. Although the F.Z. Authority supplied all the basic needs of the population, there was still
extensive trade for surplus or luxury goods. But the money he had seen used from before the
Catastrophe was worth only slightly more than the paper it was printed on, and only then with
collectors and historians. Power in the F.Z. lay in the hands of the owners of production of essential and
military goods, the military their selves, and the civilian element of the authority. So, although the term
no longer carried the same connotation, he was for all extensive purposes, rich. His Dad had arranged
for lessons in combat from private instructors since he was a child, and during his service in the Zone
Guard, he had even seen real combat once.

These things made him a popular figure in the Zone, and extremely popular with the ladies. But
Iz was different from his other sexual relations. For one, she had never let him sleep with her despite all
his efforts. But more because he cared for her in a way he had never experienced before. Isabelle had
been transferred to Zone 51348 from a nearby FZ after it was overrun by a massive Banshee uprising.
Her entire family was slaughtered. She and the few hundred others who had been evacuated were
moved to a refugee center in this Zone, but they still remain outsiders. Among the children, who had
never seen a person from outside their Zone, she was as alien as the strange creatures roaming outside
the F.Z. She was out casted and bullied throughout her primary education. One day Bren came across a
group of boys circling around her, taunting with the sounds and mimics of Banshees. Bren broke the
circle apart and told them all to get lost before he had them reported. Isabelle promptly punched him in
the face and broke his nose for interfering in her fight; they had been friends ever since.

Bren greeted the guard at the gate to his house. He took the small stone path which wound
through their orchids and groves of various nuts and fruits. The smell of citrus perfumed the air as he
passed the lemon trees. Under the moonlight, he could see the fruit would soon be ripe. Bren looked up
at the full moon above, “Just what this day needed,” he thought, “something to make it creepier”. Dr.
Menelaus' experiment had been to genetically engineer creatures with various enhanced abilities. He
and his team would then monitor these creatures in mock habitats to observe their use of these abilities,
and to try and promote natural reproduction. The idea was to be able to breed the creature with the
desired trait on a massive scale as an easy means obtain large scale quantities of the organic tissue
needed further experiments about how to adapt these abilities to human organisms. People knew of the
advances made in Genetic Engineering technology, but the program was a highly classified military
operation which kept very few written documents of the actual work Dr. Menelaus was doing, which
was why trying to document the creatures was so damn difficult. Even today, it is believed that there
are many creatures which have never been seen or documented.

What was known was that Dr. Menelaus' had a particular fascination with mythical creatures,
and he would try to emulate his creations after such creatures. When they asked for a creature with
regenerative abilities, Dr. Menelaus constructed his version of a Vampire. When they asked for a
creature which could become permeable to any substance, he created something similar to a ghost. And
of course, the most dreaded creature was when they asked him to create something which would serve
as an unstoppable assassin; he created the Banshee. For this reason, many people fear the full moons
because of thoughts that Dr. Menelaus might have created a werewolf. But the military assured the
public that this was highly unlikely. There was no evidence to suggest such a creature exists outside the
F.Z., and Dr. Menelaus was only allowed to create creatures that had certain target abilities, and the
werewolf didn't seem to have anything similar to what they were looking for. Still, the fact that we had
just begun exploring outside the F.Z. into the wild was enough to give anyone doubts. The thought of
how many creatures were out there that they still hadn't even discovered scared Bren. We think the
Banshees are bad, he thought, but there could be something far far worse.

He reached his tall Mahogany front door. Bren never liked his house. Its cobblestone bricks
reminded him of a fortress trying to isolate itself from the rest of the city. The walls around the garden
grounds of a prison which served as a constant reminder that they were trapped, limited to movement
within the F.Z. And as he opened the door, the pictures on the wall, the ornate furniture decorating the
house, and the servant which took his coat, all reminded him that he personally was trapped further
than within the F.Z. He was trapped within his household, his father's position, and the demands of
tradition for humanity's continued survival.

He let out a sigh and tried to make his way upstairs unnoticed. “Bren” his father's voice
bellowed from the study. “Just my luck” thought Bren.

He pushed the door aside and stood before his father's desk. The room was filled with old
leather-bound books. A fireplace warmed the small study, and a glass of whiskey sparkled from the
reflection of the flames amidst the unsorted stacks of papers on the desk. His father was once a bear of
a man, but the strains of the job had slowly begun to wither him away. His glasses rested upon the
black smeared mounds under his eyes, and his hand rested upon a scruffy gray-speckled beard. “Come
in Bren, take a seat” he said, and Bren took a seat opposite him. “Dr. Thompson is going on a
documentation mission tomorrow. There has been a surprising drop in numbers of several different
species across the board to the North-East, and the FZ Authority wants it investigated. I spoke with Dr.
Thompson and he has agreed to bring you along and show you the ropes.” He paused and took a deep
breath, clearly trying to keep his calm for what he wanted to say next. “If you continue to reject a
career path in the military, then its best you get a respectable job in the civilian sector like
Documentation and Research. You know Byron has been the head of that organization for nearly
twenty years now. Right about the time you will be peaking in your career, he should be looking for a
replacement so he can retire.”

Bren let out a deep sigh and waited for his father's speech to finish. I t was true, employees in
Documentation and Research were highly respected members of the community for the important jobs
they did for the safety of the F.Z. And if he was assigned as a field agent, he could be certain of
constant excitement as he was sent on missions outside of the F.Z. to try to track, document, and
possibly even discover new species which roamed the wild zone outside of the F.Z. But, he was just not
ready to commit his self to a career path yet. He didn't know what he wanted to do, and he enjoyed his
carefree days around the city and hanging out with Isabelle. He knew that by accepting a job he would
be crossing an invisible line of no return into a threshold of expectations, time tables, and
responsibilities.

Bren's brow furrowed. “Wait, if the missions that have been documenting a drop in species
populations were unable to find the reason, why would this mission be anymore successful?”

“Because those missions were all during the day. You will be going at night” his father calmly
answered.

Bren's eyebrow shot straight up. “At Night! Christ, do you know how dangerous that is? No one
ever goes on documentations missions at night without a Night Watch escort.”

“And you will be no different,” his father responded, irritation seeping into his voice as he
returned his focus back to the stack of papers in front of him.

Bren's mouth was agape, completely lost for words. “I.... you are sending me out there with the
Night Watch? The Day Watch Soldiers are creepy enough, but the Night Watch? They are hardly even
human!”
 His father looked up from his papers clearly frustrated that this conversation had dragged on
longer than a simple yes sir. “They are genetically modified, not genetically engineered. And those
soldiers who volunteered to those modifications are the only thing keeping this city standing!” his
father growled back at him, the snarl on his face making him look like a rabid dog.

Bren's mouth fluttered open and shut, searching for the words and the will to protest. Reason
finally won out as his realized that it would be safer to brave a mission with the Night Watch as
company than argue further with his father at this point. He got up and left his father's study without a
word, knowing he was trapped and there would be no escaping tomorrow night's mission.

“I cant believe you agreed to go out on a mission at night. You've really lost it this time Bren.
You are going to get yourself killed for sure!” Isabella complained, trying unsuccessfully to keep her
worry from her voice.

“Its an important recon. The FZ authority are afraid something strange is going on out there and
we have to find out what it is. Besides, we have two Night Watch guards for escort. We will be fine.”

“I thought they gave you the creeps”

“That was when I was little. They're not so..uh..bad now,” he lied.

“Just don't expect me to come to your funeral, if you even have a body left to bury,” Iz said
shaking her head.

Bren gave her a sly smile. “Oh please. You know you would miss me. Who else would you have
to go around and cause trouble with? Admit it, you'll miss me when I get the blood drained from my
body by some angry vamp,” he teased.

“Bren!” Isabelle shouted, her eyes wide. “Stop” she said quietly, clearly not finding the humor
in his joke.

“Sorry” he replied, surprised. He and Isabelle had been close for sometime now, but this show
of emotion was unusual from her and took him off guard. It was nice knowing that she was worried for
him, but clearly it would not be wise to push her any further. Not unless he wanted to sit tonight's
mission out in the hospital ward. Perhaps that was not such a bad idea...

“Hey, uh, I was going to go to the library to do some research from the Encyclopedia of Wild
G.E. Species; want to join me?”

“Yea, okay,” she said, regaining her composure, as they headed down the street towards the
library. “I suppose I could use some catching up myself. I haven't looked at one for several months”

“Most of the changes are just to the reported sightings, but the confirmed are mostly the same. I
just want to try and compare the areas for species that reported drops in numbers from last month's data
and see if there is any sort of pattern,” Bren said, walking up the steps to the columns lining the path to
the entrance of the large gray building which was the Zone's library.

It was warm inside and had no one in sight with the exception of the old lady behind the desk,
lost in her thoughts and not even glancing their way as they walked past her towards the bookshelves.

“Federation of Fortified Zones' Encyclopedia of Genetically Engineered Wild Species, May and
June. Here we go.” he said, pulling the two large volumes off the shelf and dropping them with a thud
onto the table. Bren winced at the loud echo reverberating through the empty library and shot a glance
at the librarian at the front desk. She hadn't budged, still deep within a day dream with her head
propped up in the palm of her hand.

“Well I guess we don't have to worry about disturbing anyone,” he muttered. Bren flipped open
to the introduction, reading it aloud as he skimmed it over. “Dr. Menelaus conducted a series of genetic
engineering operations creating new hybrid species under the auspices of first the Federation of
Scientists, and then with top secret projects under the military. All creations are distinctly marked by a
connection to a legendary creature from folklore and were modeled after stated creature as closely as
technical knowledge allowed as per the dictates of Dr. Menelaus. Towards the last years preceding the
Catastrophe, Dr. Menelaus's became increasingly paranoid and secretive. Classified documents found
post-Catastrophe suggest that his secrecy extended even to his employers as it is believed he undertook
the creation of dozens of species without the military's knowledge. It is not known exactly what led to
all the creatures being released from their confines, but Dr. Menelaus's documented erratic behavior
suggest the possibility of his going mad and releasing all the creatures in a fit of insanity.”

“Killing billions and screwing us all in the process,” Iz added wryly.

“Alright, why don't you start listing creatures from the North-East Sector and their current
estimated numbers, and then I will look up their May numbers,” Bren said handing her the newer copy,
and opening up his older one.

“Okay,” Iz said, flipping through the Encyclopedia to find the right section. “Here we go”. She
flipped through the pages and grunted in dismay. “Bren, we could be here all week. There are at least
several hundred pages on species in this sector.”

“Well, just flip through and pull some at random. If we could a good enough of a sample, we
can look for an overall trend at least.”

“Alright....let's see. Here's one” she said flipping towards the middle of the book. “The Hua-
Fish. A fish which was genetically engineered with the ability of flight when it became dry. It would fly
towards the nearest water source whether terrestrial or from clouds. It was one of Dr. Menelaus's early
experiments, before his contract was bought out by the military, and was designed to keep a steady
supply of food sources during droughts,” she read.

“Hey that's not so bad. I might just make it out of this alive,” Bren said, flashing her a toothy
grin.

Iz frowned, “Not if you run into this one,” she said reading from a new entry in the book.
“Hidebehind. One of the top secret constructions ordered by the Military in order to create a creature
suited for Reconnaissance and Assassination. In folklore, a hidebehind is believed to only be spotted
out of the corner of one's eye because of its speed and ability to blend into it's surroundings. The
hidebehind has never been spotted in the wild, and its existence is only verified because of seized
documents detailing its creation in Dr. Menelaus's labs. Nevertheless, they are rated as dangerous
because of their legend of being territorially aggressive and their breeding for assassinations.”

“Ok, I will try to stay out of the way of that one.” Bren said flipping open to a map in the back
of his older Encyclopedia. “If they have never been spotted than we cant really pinpoint their locations,
but we can safely rule out all the territory which has been explored successfully previously,” he said,
copying down quadrant numbers on a sheet of paper, while Iz continued searching through her
Encyclopedia.

“How about the...Adar..Llwch..Gwin,” Iz said, crinkling her face and she stumbled over the
name. “It's a giant bird which folklore said could understand the language of humans. The military was
believed to have planned for it to be a universal translator, adept at the languages of all species which
were created. It's level of danger is unknown,” she paused, “I wonder why no one has bothered trying
to talk to them.”

Bren snorted, “What the hell for? You really think those creatures trying to break down our
walls and kill us for food, fun, or both, are interested in talking?”

“Well it couldn't hurt. Maybe we could start building an alliance at least of friendly creatures.
We could ask them to deliver a message of peace to the...” she said, flipping through the book for a
random entry, “Basilisks, King of the serpents. It is able to render any biological creature immobile by
emitting a pulse similar to an EMP to machines. This creature is so poisonous that its pores leak the
poison, leaving a trail of dead plants and grass wherever it travels...Ok, bad example, but you get my
point.”

“People aren't ready for such a thing yet Iz. Day and Night Watch guards are only tolerated
because they are the only things keeping us alive. They are only genetically modified and they are still
shunned and feared by everyone else. Can you imagine us coexisting with these...basilisks? As soon as
we were powerful enough, we would hunt everyone of them down out of fear, and if any species out
there is intelligent enough to sign a pact of truce with us, then they are also smart enough to realize that
too,” Bren said, looking up from his work with the map. “I am tired of always being afraid of being
besieged by god knows what forces out there too, but we have to make do with what we have, and for
now, its gathering as much intelligence as we can and keeping a good defense.”

Iz gave a heavy sigh, slumping her shoulders down deep under the burden of that hopelessness
which dictated so many of our daily lives. “I am getting tired, I think I better head home now.”

“Ok,” Bren said, sparing a glance up at her worried look and turning his face back down to his
map pretending not to have noticed. “I think I will stay here a few more hours before sunset.”

Isabelle gathered her things together and stood up to go. She stopped a few steps away from the
table and looked back over her shoulder. “Be safe Bren” she said, and then turned and walked out the
library's door.

Bren groaned at the tense burden of stress building up in his shoulders, trying unsuccessfully to
massage it out his self, before returning back to his maps and numbers. His breathing grew deep and
slow and his eyes began to blink open and shut. Exhausted, he let his head fall to the cradle of his arms
and slipped into a deep sleep.

Bren woke to a tapping on his shoulder. His eyes opened to see the old librarian staring down at
him with dull blank eyes. “Libraries closing, time to go dear” she said with a calm sweet smile before
walking off in her daze.

Bren looked up the library window to see it was already dark outside. “Oh shit” he said
shooting up from his seat and sprinting for the door. He ran down the steps outside three at a time, and
jumping clear over the smaller sets. He continued sprinting all the way to the front gate, where he
hunched over trying to catch his breath. Dr. Thompson raised an eyebrow, giving him a small smirk.
“Well Hello Bren, glad you could join us”.

“Hello Dr. Thompson, I'm sorry I'm late” Bren panted, extending his hand to shake Dr. Thompson's, “I
feel asleep at the library”. Bren eyes drifted to the two cloaked figures silently standing behind Dr.
Thompson, wondering if he should offer his hand and introduce his self to the Night Watch Guards as
well. What for, he wondered, the Watch Guards did not even have names. They forsook their identities
upon accepting to be genetically modified. They were listed in the Zone records as deceased, and their
families were supposed to consider them as such. Both guards wore long black cloaks hiding any
distinguishing features. They held a fully-automatic rifle at ready in front, and had a giant broad sword
sheathed at their back. Bren wasn't much smaller than the guards, but thought he would be lucky to be
able to even lift such a sword, much less swing one. He had heard that both Day and Night Watch
Guards had incredible regenative abilities and needed little food, water, or sleep, but by the size of that
sword, increased strength must be an additional attribute modified into their DNA. Judging by their
complete lack of a response at his arrival, he decided it would be better not to try and shake their hands.

Dr. Thompson's voice drew him out of his stupor as he drew his eyes away from the Guards.
“So, been doing a bit of research Bren? Good, good. Preparation is the key element to this job. Always
be prepared.” he said as his grin slowly turned into a somewhat puzzled look. “Although I must say this
is somewhat of an unusual mission...nevertheless, here's you pack Bren. Check it over and much sure it
has everything you need inside. Wouldn't want to be missing anything and be caught out there
unprepared would you Bren?”, Thompson said laughing, slapping Bren on the back.

“Uh, no, I guess I wouldn't,” Bren said, accepting the pack and unzipping it open. He pulled out
what looked like a headband with two white electrodes attached to it. He looked through the rest of his
pack not recognizing anything. Dr. Thompson looked over and saw the headband thing Bren was
holding in his left hand. “Ah, there you go. Ever use one of those gems Bren?”

Bren looked down at the object in his hand, “I don't even know what this is.”

Both of Thompson's eyebrows shot up. “Well what the hell have you been doing at the library all day?”

“I told you, I fell asleep,” Bren muttered.

Dr. Thompson let out a forced laugh, “Well no matter my boy, we are just on a simple search and return
mission. Well be doing all our tests from a safe distance and then heading back. Should be rather dull in
fact, but hey, you got to start somewhere” Thompson said slapping Bren again on the back.

Bren cursed under his breath and swore that the next time he slapped him on the back, he would give
him a good left hook to the eye.
“Well, time to go,” Thompson said jovially, signaling the OK to the guards at the gate who opened it
for them to pass. They headed out on foot, Dr. Thompson rambling on up front, with Bren by his side
keeping pace only to stay a safe distance from the two Guards trailing their backs. Thompson prattled
on and on about his past missions and close calls with various creature, until after nearly an hour of
walking he stopped, making a fist with his hand signaling for a stop, and, doing his best soldier
impression, scrambling for a small mound of rocks and dirt. Bren followed him over and knelt down
beside him. The two guards were no where to be seen, but Bren knew they were nearby, keenly
watching their every move. Thompson unzipped his bag and pulled out a small black box with a screen
which he explained monitored thermal activity. Thompson pointed over the mound of rocks at a valley
down below. Bren eyes widened when he saw a vast expanse of concrete and metal debris filling the
valley below. “Thats a city, isn't it?” Bren exclaimed. “I read about those in school but god I never
thought I would actually see one.”

“Sure is. Every year there's always a few people crazy enough to go out there to look for illegal
artifacts to sell and they get their selves chopped up real good. The cities are good for nothing but safe
refuge for creatures' breeding. See that collapsed building right there,” he said pointing towards a fallen
tower near the edge of the ruins, “We have been monitoring a rather large pack of Basilisks who use
that building to lay their eggs. For the past ten years, its been like clockwork every fall, until recently
our report has found no sign of them. Its nearly a month past when they're due and they have never
been late. We didn't think much of it at first until we started noticing similar drops in several different
species in different locations throughout this sector.” Thompson glanced down at the box, “Still no sign
of them. Well, I guess we better go have a look.”

“Go have a look? You want to go down there! You just said the cities were dangerous!”

“Relax,” Thompson said chuckling, “there's no life signs down there. Its like a ghost town.” He chuckle
cut off short as Bren could see a look of concern on his face as he contemplated whether ghosts would
give off life signs. “Well, best be going” he said gruffly. They descended down the valley side towards
the city, flanked on each side by a dark figure smoothly gliding down the rocky slope. Bren silently
prayed that those figures were the guards and not one of the many other creatures he had heard were
rumoured to live near the cities.

Bren's breath caught in wonder as they neared the city. They approached on a black asphalt road and
passed a giant picture knocked to the ground of a sexy looking women advertising some product. He
looked at the devastated buildings and tried to imagine what it must have been like to live in such a
place. Giant tall buildings from which you could see from miles, cars to drive around in freely, and no
walls to restrain you in. He was amazed of the complete impractibility of everything as the neared the
building. It had big broken glass windows all around it for walls. He stopped, puzzled at the entrance.
There was a series of glass panes connected to a central spiral but no hole to enter through.

Thompson let out another laugh and slapped Bren on the back again, “Here let me show you. Hop in!”
Bren bit down on his lip and slowly unclenched his fist, his interest in the door the only thing holding
him back. He stepped into the little cubby with Dr. Thompson. Dr. Thompson pushed on the glass pane
in front of him as the glass pane behind Bren slapped him in the back. Shocked, he stumbled forward
and fell out inside the building. He turned around the see the glass panes come to a halt from their
circular motion. “It's the darndest thing isn't it? The people in these cities sure used to be an exotic
bunch,” said Thompson.
Bren got to his feet and looked around. They were in a large room with openings to smaller rooms
every couple feet. Shops, by the looks of them. It must have been some sort of central shopping area,
Bren thought. He followed Thompson down the hall and into one of the shops. Their feet crunched as
they entered the shop and rounded the corner past racks of clothing. Thompson looked down, “My
God, all their eggs.” He crouched down and examined the gooey mess of eggs shells littering the store
floor. “Well they didn't hatch. Looks like some other creature found them first.”

“Hmm” he said pausing to reach down into the goo and pick up a small lizard like creature the size of
his hand. “But whatever it was didn't eat them. It just left them all here to die,” he said, dropping the
lizard back down to the ground.

Bren saw something move out of the corner of his eye and jerked his head. Damn those guards, he
thought. “Why would something kill all these eggs just for the sake of killing them?” Bren asked.

“I dont know...power struggles are highly unusual between creatures. The only documented cases were
over food shortages and thats apparently not the case here...shit, if this is the same as what is happening
throughout the sector we could be in some deep sh--” his voice cut off as something warm splashed
against Bren face, clouding his vision.

He reached to wipe it from his eyes, looking down to find his hands stained red. With a sickening
feeling, he looked at the floor to find Dr. Thompson's decapitated body laying at his feet. Bren turned to
run, colliding straight into the body of a Night Watch Guard.

“We got to get the hell out of here, we got to..” Bren stammered.

“Silence” the hoarse throaty voice of the guard commanded. “Stare directly at my face and do not
move. You see that thing in the corner of your eye? Do not let it from your vision. Do not so much as
blink or you will suffer the same fate as him.”

Bren froze, staring intently back at the guard as he realized they were in the same room as a
hidebehind. His eyes began to burn but he willed himself not to blink. He stared into the black under
the guards cloak and could see the hideous scarred flesh of the guard's face. They stood face to face,
staring at each other, never letting the creature from the corner of their vision. As long as they could
maintain this, the creature would be trapped, unable to move without moving into one of their vision.

A drop of blood from Thompson beaded upon Bren's brow and began to slowly dribble down past his
eyebrow and dangled from his eyelash, threatening to drop down to his eye. Bren fought the urge to
blink, knowing that if it dropped, there would be no escaping it.

“Don't” warned the guard.

A sudden movement at the door broke his concentration and the guard swung his head to look. The
second guard had entered the room and stood at the doorway, but their vision was broken and the
creature let out a scream as it descended upon the guard. The second guard at the door opened fire. In a
panic, Bren turned and ran from the shop. He didn't stop as he ran down the hallway through the lobby
and back out the rotating doors. He didn't turn back, he did not want to know what horrors lay in wait
inside the city, or the outcome of the fight. He never wanted to come on this damn mission, he thought
as he continued to run blindly, putting as much distance between him and the city as he could. He
continued to run through the dead of the night, blind to where he was running, but hopelessly lost
anyways. His pulse thundered into his head and a fiery ache was doubling him over as he ran, but he
couldn't stop. He was alone, in the wild, without guards or even a weapon. He cursed his self as he
thought it couldn't get worse. But the damage was done, his foot slipped as the ground below him gave
way and he felt his self falling. His body hit hard against the water far below as his pains were replaced
with a calm seeping darkness.

Bren awoke next to a river, deep in a forest. He must have drifted down and been washed ashore. He
had no idea where he was and he had lost all his maps and gear. This was not good.

“Don't worry, you are safe,” a voice from behind him said. Bren spun around startled and found his self
face to face with a giant white bird. The thing was standing on its two webbed feet and met him eye to
eye. “A Gwin” Bren said.

“Very good boy, I am an Adar Llwch Gwin, but my name is Tryffin.” The words seemed very odd
coming out of the bird's...beak.

“You have names?” Bren said in a wonder.

“Yes boy, I just told you so. Tryffin, my name is Tryffin.”

“Sorry, I just never met a creature who had a name, or could even speak for that matter.”

“We can all speak, just not in a way you can understand. That's why I was created, I am a translator. We
don't all use names, but mine was gifted to me by my creator.”

“Your creator? You knew Dr. Menelaus?” Bren exclaimed.

The bird let out squawky laugh, “Sure, we were good friends. I was one of the two original Gwin.
Drudwas was my mate. Menelaus and I would talk for hours. He loved all his creations and was so
proud of us, but he really took solice in the fact he could confide in us Gwin. Until the end. Those last
weeks he did not speak much to us anymore. He was so beset with grief that he was driven to insanity.”

“Grief about what?” Bren asked. Everyone just assumed Dr. Menelaus went mad, but nobody knew
what caused it.

“His wife grew tired of his long hours at the laboratory and the neglect of his family in favor of us. She
left him. I remember how distraught he was after that, but everything seemed ok. He just redoubled his
efforts at work, pushing the envelope further and further, and drifted away from the directives of the
oversight committee in favor of designing his own creations instead. The committee grew worried of
the danger of some of his creations and the fact Menelaus had become such a loose cannon.” Tryffin
sighed, “They decided to shut the program down until they could find a suitable replacement for
Menelaus, but at any rate, he would no longer be a part of the project. We were all he had, his creations,
his children. He could not stand the thought of another scientist stealing us in the same way another
man had taken his wife.” Tryffin voice grew somber and his eye were cast down. “He came to me that
night as a man distraught with sorrow. He told me that he had gone to his ex-wife and shot her and her
boyfriend dead. He had stood there in the room over their bodies, trembling with fear and gun in hand,
when his daughter walked into the room. Frightened he spun and pulled the trigger.”

Bren could see the sorrow on Tryffin's face. “It was just too much for him to take. He came to me that
night and asked me to forgive him for what he was about to do. He said he had lost one child tonight,
and he would not lose anymore. He disabled all the security lockdowns and released all the creatures
after that. Drudwas and I had no choice but to flee with the rest.”

Bren stood stunned. He finally knew what drove Dr. Menelaus to destroy humanity as it was known
and reduce it to small settlements hiding within their fortified walls, thankful for each day they lived to
breathe again. He didn't know what to say.

“It's been nice talking to another human face again boy, but you best be on your way. The other Gwin
are not as friendly towards humans as I am, and I can't protect you from either them or any of the other
creatures. These are dangerous parts for a human.”

“I'm lost. We, my team and I, went out on a mission to examine why the creatures had abandoned the
city nearby here and we came under attack. I got seperated and ended up here.”

A look of concern furrowed Tryffin's feathered face. “Like I said boy, these are dangerous parts. You
best stay away from the cities. And if you were smart, you would go back and tell your people to leave
this sector all together.”

Bren paused, “Why, what do you know Tryffin? What's going on out here? Are the hidebehinds
planning something?”

“The hidebehinds?” Tryffin spat. “They do nothing but lurk around in dark corners. Its not them you
need fear.”

“Then what?” Bren asked puzzled.

“Enough questions!” Tryffin yelled, with a fiery glower in his eyes that silenced Bren completely.
Tryffin started again in a softer voice, “I will direct you back home safely. Let us leave before night
falls again.”

Bren nodded, too nervous to press Tryffin any further.

The long march out during the night had been much more comfortable, with the cool air and concealing
darkness. Now, it was scorching hot and Bren was miserable. Part of him wished he was still back in
the river, even if he was drowning. The bright light and sparse cover made him feel much more
vulnerable as well. Tryffin was circling overhead, keeping a close eye out for anything that might have
it in its mind to kill him, but he still did not feel safe. Yet, he preferred Tryffin up there and away from
him. That bird gave him the creeps.

As he crested the next hill he could see the silvery outline of the FZ on the horizon. The heat rising off
the ground distorted the city to look like it may turn to vapor and blow away in the wind before he ever
reached it. Tryffin landed next to him with a thump as he tucked in his wings and walked over to face
Bren.

“The rest of your passage is clear, you should be safe within your walls by late afternoon” Tryffin said.

“Why don't you come back with me? I am sure my people would love to meet you. Maybe we could
even talk about forming some sort of...alliance between our species,” Bren said hesitantly, thinking of
his conversation the day before with Isabelle.

Tryffin let out a deep squawk, startling Bren. “We have tried that before, it does not end well,” Tryffin
said woefully.

“You tried talking to one of the Zones? What happened?”

“The people could not come to grips with their fear. They feared us and never intended to talk. We were
ambushed. Drudwas was killed,” Tryffin said, his head bowed down.

“I'm sorry...but, maybe this time would be different. I could speak on your behalf, convince them you
can be trusted.”

“No!” Tryffin squawked. Taking a deep breath, he regathered his composure. “The past is the past and
what's done is done. But we will not repeat the same mistake again.” But Bren could see a fire still
deep within Tryffin's eyes. The bird had not forgotten nor forgiven the betrayal or the death of his mate.

“You must go now Bren, you have a long walk ahead if you wish to reach your settlement before
dusk.”

“Yea, your right.” Bren said, slowly backing away from Tryffin. “Well, thanks for everything Tryffin.
Perhaps one day we will be able to find peace between our peoples.”

“I'm sure it will be sooner than you know,” Tryffin said, his feathers bunching up in a smile.

“Right...well, goodbye” Bren said, turning and starting his walk back towards the Fortified Zone. He
could feel Tryffin's eyes watching him as he walked away. Then he heard the swooshing of wings as
Tryffin took to the air and flew away. Bren stopped and turned to watch him fly away. Damn that bird
is creepy, he thought. Bren turned around to give a wistful look back at the zone and let out a deep sigh.
“Those Guards better have damn good vision or I am in for a shit-load of trouble” he muttered. He
turned and broke off in a run, following the trail of Tryffin flying overhead.

This is really fucking stupid, Bren thought, but I have to know. That bird is hiding something. The Day
Watch guards were modified with enhanced vision, surely they spotted him and would send a search
party after him when he didn't show up. They better. Walking around alone and unarmed out here is
suicide.

Bren struggled to keep up with the fading outline of Tryffin's body above. He knew the way back. He
had paid close attention and left trail markers for him to follow, but he didn't like the idea of not
knowing where that bird was. In a way strange way, Bren hoped there were dangerous things about he
should be worried about, but his instincts told him the bird was bad news. But how could the Gwins be
responsible for the missing creatures? The bird might be able to shred Bren to pieces, but they would
be no match against some of the creatures on this list.