Heat radiated from the firebox, but light remained imprisoned in the metal cube. The warmth barely penetrated August’s armor, but the little bit he felt provided comfort. A glowing full moon lit the fields around them, which added another layer to the squad’s comfort. Even though the thick forest, which let in as much light as the firebox let out, was nearby, there was still a good half-mile of open land between their camp and the trees.

General Wolf had picked the spot. Every other member of the crew had suggested stopping earlier, but Wolf had pushed on. He’d explained his thought process while setting up the firebox. “The closer you get to the forest, the less wind you get.”

“I’ll take wind over a swarm of dolo,” Sterling said.

“If a swarm caught our scent,” Wolf gave most of his concentration to the heater as he spoke, “it wouldn’t matter how much open field we’d have around us.” He’d let the comment hang, and an ominous silence had taken hold of the squad.

They sat around the firebox. Each of them stared at it as if it were a mighty fire with dancing flames instead of a weathered metallic cube barely able to reflect moonlight. Vern Slupman was the only one not looking at it. Instead, he scribbled something in a leather-bound journal. Dalton West hummed a low tune—another theme from one of his movies—but the torrent of dirty looks from the others brought a quick end to the song.

The sounds of the forest, however, proceeded without interruption. Night birds, crickets, rustling leaves, and suspicious twig snaps that left the mind guessing were all so vivid and unlike anything, August had expected growing up under the dome. Some twigs snapped a little closer than others which called for a glance, but August promised himself in silence that he wouldn’t give in. What would the colonels think of a rookie looking over his shoulder at every minor noise?

It didn’t help that he had his back turned directly to the endless dark of the forest. He’d even noticed a few sets of colonel's eyes flicking up to the woods now and then, but still, he wouldn’t give in to his own fears.

“I apologize, West,” Sterling said. Even though he spoke quietly, his sudden voice jolted August. “For before. Calling you washed up and all that. That was below the belt.”

West waved a dismissive hand.

“No. I’m serious,” Sterling said. “You know, I haven’t been out here for a while either, and seeing that bug get away just pissed me off. It’s like when you find a fat spider in your apartment. The thing doesn’t bother you as long as you know where it is. It’s when you check in on its corner of the ceiling and find it gone that you start to feel a little… off about it. I guess that’s what went through my mind with letting that dolo off the hook.”

General Wolf pointed to the forest with a lazy thumb. “If you only knew how many of those things are hiding in there as we speak.”

“Oh, I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Sterling said.

“I don’t question your experience, colonel,” Wolf said. “Those promotions of yours weren’t dug out of a Slupman cereal box, after all. But until you’ve tackled a nest, you ain’t seen nothing.”

August wondered if it was usual practice for a general to scare his squad before a mission. For a moment, it looked as if everyone had suddenly decided to stare at him, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that their eyes peered past him. The creaking forest called their attention. August refused to look over his shoulder even as he imagined some spectral being pulling and clawing its way toward him through the grass. Eyes returned to the firebox.

“I should’ve just shot the damned thing,” West said.

“Maybe I could write you a script for our next encounter,” Rosek said. “That way, you’ll know what to do.”

The mech pilot was the only soldier lacking armor. Her mech suit stood a few yards behind her like a loyal guard, and sleeping within it wasn’t an option. Instead, she was wrapped in a foil blanket and sat on top of another. The squad would be camping under the stars for the foreseeable future. August wasn’t looking forward to sleeping in armor, but seeing how vulnerable Rosek looked stirred a bit of gratitude within him.

Dalton West stared at her with unbothered eyes. Rosek kept her own gaze on the firebox, suddenly sheepish after such a comment. The sniper spoke. “What have I ever done to you? With Sterling, I understand, he’s an asshole, but with you…”

Sterling responded with a curt middle finger.

“I…” Colonel H. Rosek ripped a handful of grass from the ground and balled the blades up in her fingers. “I just don’t like movies. Or the people who play pretend in them. Let’s leave it at that.”

West smiled. “Can’t blame you on that one.”

“I just hope you’ll perform when the time comes,” Sterling said.

“Count on it,” West said.

A wail like some wild, grieving mother stabbed out from the darkness. August’s resolution was tested and failed as he spun to glare at the black wall. “What was that?”

“Relax, rookie,” Wolf said.

August felt his cheeks burn red, but when he turned back, he found most of the group in a similar state of fear. West aimed his pistol. Rosek had left her blankets behind and was halfway to her mech suit. Slupman jammed his hands over his ears. The engineer’s pen and journal were strewn on the ground. Belmont’s eyes were brighter than the moon as she pulled her medic’s bag close. Sterling held his pack of smokes at the ready.

General Wolf was the only one who hadn’t flinched. He stared at the firebox with a slight smirk. “Just a cat.”

“I have a cat,” Belmont snapped. “That’s not a cat.”

“Mountain cat,” Wolf said.

“Fine, let’s say you’re right,” Sterling said. “Now answer this: what’s torturing the mountain cat?”

“Not sure,” Wolf said. “Could be a mating call for all I know.”

“If my wife ever made that sound,” West said, “I’d think mating was the last thing on her mind.”

August settled back into his calm state, or at least his best rendition of one, and exhaled sharply. He touched the butt of the pistol at his belt. It warmed him more than the firebox ever could. The forest sang on.

Rosek snatched her foil blankets on her way back from the mech suit. She skipped over the firebox and settled beside August. The rookie kept his gaze on the heater. Rosek noticed. “Not gonna say hi?”

“I didn’t think anyone was much interested in speaking to me,” August said. “With your storied careers and all.”

“A rookie is exactly who I’d want to talk to the most,” Rosek said. “I want to know the kind of people I’ll be relying on out here. I’m impressed so far. It being your first time outside the dome, I’m relieved to find you aren’t shaking in your suit. I know I was my first time. And I’ve got a much thicker suit.”

His efforts to conceal fear hadn’t gone unnoticed. “I’m a lot more frightened than I look.” Idiot. Why would you say that? She was buying the whole courage act, now you go and say this. Something about her demeanor extracted honesty from him. Perhaps it was that she was the first to be interested in him, or maybe it was the obvious weakness of his young man’s mind.

“Of course, you are,” Rosek said. “We’re all terrified our first time. It’s how well we keep our composure in that fear that matters. You’re doing a pretty good job of it. That gives me hope. With movie man over there growing soft, I’m relieved to see that only one member of the squad is cause for concern.”

He was going to ask about her disdain for Dalton West. He was going to ask why she didn’t seem concerned about Sterling even when the exterminator had done nothing but complain since the craft had gone down. He filed both questions away and asked instead: “What’s your name?” Her face took in ample moonlight as she whipped her gaze at him. August couldn’t read her expression. “The tag on your mech suit just says ‘H. Rosek’.”

“Hilde,” she said.

“That’s an Upper Gilzak district name,” August said. “My old stomping grounds, too. Well, kind of. I grew up below you.”

“No way!” The hardened colonel let slip a reminder that she, too, had been an exuberant rookie once. “Let me guess. You were an all-star roller hockey player. I remember the kids from the lower district coming up and kicking our boys’ asses. It drove us all nuts.”

August smiled and shook his head. “That was my brother. I was more of a track and field kind of guy.”

“Guess you were born to be a runner,” Rosek said.

“I guess so.” He could almost hear the roar of the crowd at his brother’s big games. The crowds at his own events always paled in comparison, but he’d never done it for the cheers. Nor did he compete for his own enjoyment. Dad wanted it. Dad forced it. Just like his joining of the army.

“What’s wrong?” Rosek asked.

“Nothing,” August shook the thoughts free and stretched his arms.

“He’s thinking of home,” Wolf said.

The squad’s attention perked up at the general’s words. Rosek and August had been conversing at a low enough level that most around the heater likely heard, only mumbling while lost in their own thoughts.

“Those thoughts will keep coming, son,” Wolf looked skyward, “especially at night. How you holding up?”

“I’m fine, General,” August said. “Just want to get to that nest and get the job done.”

Agreeing grunts circled the firebox.

“Hey, Wolf,” Sterling said with an unlit cigarette between his fingers. “Why’d you bring the kid along, anyway? I don’t mean any offense, but we could have had a guy like Chaser along with us. He’s the best runner the dome’s ever seen. I just don’t get it.”

August’s cheeks burned again. He felt like the child being talked about in a room of adults where he had no say. Rosek gave a sympathetic eye roll, but it didn’t do much to quell the feeling of inadequacy.

“My reasons are my own, colonel,” Wolf said. “One of my roles as general is to recognize good, young talent.”

“I understand that,” Sterling said. “But to take that kind of risk on such an important mission…”

“You didn’t have to come,” Wolf said. “The mission was voluntary for all colonels.”

“Don’t let him get to you,” Vern Slupman said to August, scribbling in his journal as he spoke. “We all had our first mission. You just happen to have a pretty crazy one for your first. I think we’re all just a little bit on edge.”

“Speak for yourself,” Sterling said, lighting his smoke and drawing a long puff.

Another twig snapped in the forest. It sounded closer than the others, but now more than ever, with his inexperience being the topic at hand, August refused the instinctual urge to glance. Rosek threw a look over her shoulder. Her eyes shot open. She jumped from her foil blankets and dashed toward her suit, knocking the firebox over in the process. The lid rolled off, exposing the incandescent element, burning bright and blue.

The rest of the squad reacted. Guns were drawn with practiced speed. Wolf shouted some orders that August couldn’t make out. The ground beat like a heart. Something big was coming. He glanced over his shoulder, no longer caring of what the others might think. The creature was right there. They locked eyes just before it pounced, stinger first.