My guts clenched. "Yes, sir."
I knew whatcouldbe out there. Ayla had been asking for that code. She had to be sick of the waiting by now. Maybe Sylis had made a guess? Maybe the Wyvern had simply decided to try something at random? I didn't know, but those people weresmart enough, coordinated enough, and determined enough to set this up.
Which meant I might be walking into a trap.
He flipped a hand toward the door, so I called my men behind me and moved closer. Elijah and Timon shifted to my shoulders. Uriah and Jeshiah flanked them, and Abiel filled in the spot directly behind me. They knew where to be, and our recent training sessions made sure of it. I simply wasn't convinced they'd stay in place if something was really out there.
"Open it!" Mr. Saunders ordered.
I glanced back in time to see him duck into the same room Mr. Peterson was in. The concrete one with a security door. The one that could be held if anyone tried to rush inside. The room that would keep him safe while the rest of us died making sure of it.
Electricity buzzed loudly, and one by one, the massive security bolts were released. Each one was as big around as Callah's wrist, and I counted five times they clanked as they withdrew from the steel frame, but I didn't move until the buzzing stopped.
"Stay close," I warned my men - and then reached up to push the door open.
It was heavy. I'd never tried to move it before. The thing was always opened by the operations leader and closed by the team leaders. This time, I was doing it, and I had to use more than a little force. I didn't grunt, but I wanted to.
A space opened, then a bigger one. When it was large enough for me to fit through, I paused, leaning to check the gap, but only overwhelming light waited on the other side. That meant we'd be blind!
"Squint," I ordered. "It's bright out there, so brace for the flames of Hell." And then I stepped through.
The first thing I saw was a massive, dark mound. The next was a flickering light in the middle of it, which cut through the shadows in the recessed alcove around our entrance. One by one, the men followed me, but outside this alcove was nothing but whiteness.
I squinted, trying to make out the trees I knew were somewhere over there. Instead, I saw the pile. Keeping my gun up, I shifted closer, ready for anything to come at me, but I never looked away from where the trees should be. My eyes watered, protesting the brightness, and yet subtle forms were nearly visible.
Still ones. Forms shaped like trees.
"Stop!" I ordered.
All five of my men froze in place. Straining my ears, I listened for any sounds. There was wind, rustling, and a sort of buzzing I was pretty sure came from an insect. Sylis had called them flies. But except for those things, there was nothing at all - except the pile.
"Cover me," I told the men as I lowered my gun.
Then I reached out, testing to see if my light-blinded eyes were deceiving me. My hand found something covered in hair. It felt both similar to and nothing like Ayla's dog. That was clearly hair, but the limb I was holding was hard, lean, and as big around as my own arm, so I grabbed for something else.
Eventually, I found an item small enough I could pull it back into the shade. Without the glare, I realized I was right. Thiswaslike Ayla's dog, in a way. It was definitely an animal, at least. This one likely weighed about twenty pounds and had massively long ears.
And it was dead.
"The good Lord save us," I breathed as I realized what I was standing before. "It's meat."
"What?" Elijah asked.
"Meat!" I snapped, turning to hold up the carcass. "When he brought you back, they said something about meat."
"Eat deer," Elijah mumbled, "I hear it tastes better."
"It's a gift from God?" Abiel asked.
"I don't think so," I told him. "But there's nothing out here but us."
"What set off the alarm?" Timon wanted to know.
"Whoever left the meat?" I guessed. "But they clearly didn't want to stick around. I think they smashed the keypad to get our attention and ran. Jeshiah, go tell Mr. Saunders what we're looking at."
"Yes, sir!" he replied, slipping back inside as if he was relieved to escape.
But this was alotof meat. I couldn't even focus on it, but a pile taller than me and who knew how wide? It was more than we'd ever brought back while I'd been hunting! This was more than the load that had convinced the elders to let us skip an outing.
