Sinth Salvation - Pearl Tate Page 0,23

thought it’d be up close. Instead, a terrible heartbreaking sensation makes me blink back tears. It must be suffering.

“Not exactly,” Nikon grinds out as he watches it carefully. The creature struggles briefly, as if it wants to come after us. Although its eyes look dead, almost completely white with no pupil, it still looks like it’s staring right at us.

When it attempts to lift itself up, I notice one side of its body isn’t cooperating. Instead, it sticks to the ground in a strange way. “It’s transitioned, but whatever feasted on it did so much damage, it can’t move now,” Nikon comments.

Glancing up at him, I realize he’s more upset than he lets on. “There’s very little we can do for … her.”

Her? Crouching down behind Nikon’s knees, I finish taking pictures, capturing its struggles before it passes out, slumping to the ground lifeless again.

“It looks like it came out of the water …” Nikon’s voice trails off as he looks to the local commercial fishing dock. Pursing my lips, I squint, trying to see if I recognize any boats in port.

Yep. Of course, I do.

“Is that unusual? Coming out of the water like that?” He’s right, because this area of the beach is dangerous, hence the fencing keeping everyone out. Most of this beach backs into industrial areas with the fishery dock, Mannvit, and even Mosfellsbær Golf Club all backing onto this strip of the shore.

Keeping his voice low, Nikon looks back over at the strange creature he calls a Taxin. “Honestly … I don’t know. I’ve never interacted with the species until we came to Earth. Hang on …”

Nikon doesn’t say anything more as he stares at the small creature, and I walk around it trying to get documentation even as I try not to disturb the scene. Today has easily been the most exciting day in my entire career. In my life, really. Not only am I back in my hometown, but I’m out investigating with a real live alien—and standing over another one! I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

“I cross-referenced this species with my Coalition Database of Species, and it’s definitely a Taxin female. In fact, this Taxin is only about three-years-old and has just emerged from the water. This is bad …” Nikon says ominously, looking up at me.

Standing up, I move closer to this strange alien who draws me like a moth to a flame, and I quiz Nikon further by saying, “I don’t understand.” My voice is barely over a whisper.

“I’ll be the first one to admit I know very little about the Taxin breeding practices. Maybe this is normal? But not the fact that it’s transitioned from the Wen virus. How many more of them are out there transitioned? What else is out there infected by the Wen virus? That’s the one aspect of the virus that many planet’s species overlook when they have an outbreak. Once it invades the local wildlife—not that I’m saying this is an animal …”

I roll my eyes at his attempt to correct himself. It must be bad to call another species animals? Some kind of politically incorrect blunder?

“… but it’s all downhill once that happens. It’s pretty hard to kill everything without just bombing an area … which has been done … more than once.” Nikon’s voice is grim as he puts his hands on his head and runs his fingers through his short hair, rubbing it lightly as he spins in a circle. “We should go question some of the men at the shipyard. See if they’ve seen anything while they were out on the water.”

Nodding, I look back through the fence at Principal Donavan and call out to him. “Keep everyone inside.” He nods, waving that he heard, and I realize this worked out better than I could’ve planned. I had wanted to come here and tell everyone to stay inside after what I’d dealt with at Brad Nixon’s apartment this morning, but there’s a good chance without this “strange wildlife encounter,” they’d just think I was off my rocker and wait to clear it with my superiors.

Now, that isn’t necessary. “I don’t think anyone will miss us. Want to work our way to the water and down to the docks?”

“Sure, for a while.” Nikon leads the way. I’m unsure how much of an investigation will go into this. I know one thing though—it won’t be in the local newspaper!

“Alien Youngster Found On Beach By Local Elementary School” would be catchy,