impossible to know exactly when they would roll in, how bad they would be, or if they would be fortunate enough for the storms to miss the colony altogether. The storms meant power fluctuations and failure every time they hit with any strength. That was an inconvenience. Worse was how frightening the storms sounded as loose pebbles and sand blew against the dome for nearly two hours. Not even taking into account the roar of thunder that accompanied the winds.
It had scared the piss out of Charlie when she first heard it. It was a small comfort that she wasn’t the only one who was frightened by it. Power failures aside, it encouraged most operations to suspend at the midday. The farming supervisor, however, was known to push his crew to uncomfortable limits before he allowed them to retreat, if they fell behind at all during the morning shift.
Erik nodded grimly. “They’re too cavalier with the farm crew. They risk their health to the storms, and now they’ve discovered something out there, circling the dome. A huge pawprint was recently found nearby. It’s only a matter of time before the thing attacks and they find a body and blood rather than just tracks.”
Charlie froze, a shiver stealing through her. She glanced over at Erik. “Are you sure?”
He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I heard Dr. Shelby talking about it with one of the other scientists. The pawprint is enormous.”
Setting his hands side by side, he demonstrated the breadth of the pawprint. Charlie gaped at him.
“That has to be an exaggeration!”
He shook his head.
Her stomach dipped as she recalled how she had been so certain that first day—and numerous times since—that something had been watching. She had ignored it, refusing to be a victim of her overactive imagination. Now she was finding out that she hadn’t been imagining things…
Another cold chill raced through her.
“Never have I been happier to not be field personnel,” Erik muttered as he stored his equipment. “I hear that they sent a team out to capture it. No way in hell would it be me.”
Charlie couldn’t agree more. No way in hell would she ever be monster bait. The farther away she was from anything of the sort, the happier she was. She was perfectly content with her critters in the vivarium.
As she left the lab, her thoughts kept returning to the mystery creature. She knew she was obsessing, even though it was unlikely that an animal would be able to breach the dome—even a big predator. Despite knowing that, her nerves wouldn’t stop churning in her belly as she headed toward the cantina. Sadly, her friends weren’t there waiting for her, and she spent a quiet midday eating a meal of rehydrated lentils and broth with a chunk of meal loaf. The thick bread, made from an assortment of processed grains from earth, was filling even if it sat heavy in her belly.
It made her feel ill, but considering it had been part of their regular rations for three years, she had plenty of time to resign herself to eating it. Over the last month, a few new fruit-bearing plants were brought into the lab that made Charlie salivate. Anything would be an improvement on their regular diet. Unfortunately, they weren’t going to be able to expect much better for the first few years until the crops started showing surplus and native livestock was cultivated to feed the community. That was one of the lab’s numerous responsibilities—figuring out what animals were safe to eat. The next issue would be domestication.
A thunderclap shook the air when Doug stomped in, brushing fine white sand off of his suit. He squinted, his eyes roving through the room until they finally landed on her. The direction of his amble turned her way. He barely had the energy to dredge up a grim smile before dropping into the chair beside her.
Charlie edged a cup and the water pitcher in his direction. He looked awful. Doug sighed gratefully and splashed the cool liquid into the cup. She remained silent as he drank deeply and filled the cup again. She felt guilty for her comfortable job in the lab while her friends labored all day with little provisions. He drained the cup three times before he finally set it down and waved a service droid over to take his order. As he placed his order, Charlie frowned in concern. Shouldn’t Jace and Ben have caught up by now?
“Where are the guys?” she