Chapter 25

A mile above sea level was a metallic ship in the shape of a triangle. Along the back of the craft were bright white lights. If not for the light bending around the craft the ship could be seen with ease. At the bottom of the mothership, thirteen holes appeared as dropships shaped like discs rapidly descended.

They were flying perpendicular to the ground as the passengers inside sat around leisurely. This was possible due to a metal cylinder at the center of the ship. On top of it sat a sphere ten inches in diameter with a metallic hood enveloping it.

When activated the gravity emitters on the floor below resonated with the reactor. This artificial gravity both kept them leveled and allowed them to manipulate the space around them. They moved swiftly through the sky, and just before hitting the ground they abruptly stopped.

The saucer rotated effortlessly on its axis before hovering inches above the earth as the legs extended. Each drop ship removed their cloaking before resetting them in unison. A dome stretching several miles in each direction mirrored their environment.

The door opened on the saucers as the ground forces mobilized to secure the site. Enkara's squad spread out to set markers for the excavators. Once they finished his team would make their way to the center to establish a base camp. The final step was Enki setting up motion sensors at every military base and private airstrip in the surrounding states.

Now that the security measures are in place Enki sat up in his recliner. He began typing on the air in front of him. A long list of earth species appeared on the screen as he carefully made his selections. The cloning chambers began to light up as an eerie growl filled the laboratory.

"Prep the transporter," Enki ordered.

Fifty feet from Cameron's location was being input on the screen. Naked to the human eye was a blue beam spreading out in a diamond formation. Cameron looked down the mountain as the mysterious beam appeared multiple times. By the time he locked onto their direction they ceased.

'That doesn't look good.' Cameron rapidly ascended the mountain.

As Cameron neared the summit a pack of chimeras was examining their surroundings. They had thick dark fur and prowled around on four limbs. Trailing down their head were dense grey scales that wrapped around their chest. Its body resembled a giant jaguar, but the tail was barbed like a stingray dripping with toxins.

One of them sprung atop a boulder and stretched before repositioning itself. The six amber eyes atop its head scanned the mountainside as a serpent's tongue tasted the air. When the beast roared the side of its mouth revealed mandibles. In under a minute a total of nine chimeras gathered.

Cameron's group barely gathered their things when the roar echoed across the mountain. The groups spread out to ensure they were heard, and to reveal they're being boxed in. Not wanting to discover the source of the hissing, and roaring they were running straight for the perimeter.

"Target is nearing the barrier."Enki relayed.

"Delta squad avoid contact at all cost," Aria ordered.

Enki accessed the motherboard and left a gap in the barrier. He made sure it was large enough to fit them all, but after they passed it rapidly closed. Any human DNA attempting to pass from this point on would be met with interceptors.

Navigating the rocky terrain wasn't easy, but they weren't slowing down. Cameron's hair has been standing up for some time now, and he believed the cause was the creatures closing in. The chimeras weren't the cause since they were based on native animal DNA.

Cameron didn't even consider the true warning was coming from cloaked soldiers a few feet away. Now that they were hidden in the barrier the chimeras received new orders. Each of them was implemented with subdermal implants making them susceptible to control over long distances.

No longer needing to lead them on two sped up. The goal of this exercise was to test Cameron's abilities. To accomplish this Enki intended to force him into a corner gradually. If all of them attacked at once they could lose the subject, and that was a risk they weren't willing to take.

"I need a second." Jordan was struggling to breathe.

"I told you smoking was a bad idea!" Megan shouted.

Their arguing stopped at an eerie growl approaching behind them. Cameron motioned them onto a nearby boulder. They saw gleaming eyes encroaching over the hill.

Cameron had his knife at the ready as the two above raised their guns. When seeing the chimera clearly there was a moment of hesitation. Given the lack of lighting Jordan aimed for center mass.

The bullet struck the chest, but the chimera barely flinched before lunging. Cameron was knocked to the ground as it attempted to bite out his throat. He seized its jaws halting it in place, but the mandibles began to extend.

Megan was prepared to offer assistance, but Jordan fired in a different direction. She looked up to see another one charging. Megan was forced to focus on the task at hand, and could only hope Cameron would be alright.

'We don't have time for this.' Megan raised her pistol.

As the chimera lunged its mouth opened as mandibles began grabbing in their direction. Watching it fly straight towards them caused Megan's knees to tremble, but she fired. The lead bullet was unable to pierce the scales on the back of their head. This caused the bullet to bounce around its skull increasing the destruction.

The chimera's body curled up as it skids across the ground. Observing the weird creature before them they wanted to examine it closely, but Cameron was still in trouble. Before they could shuffle down the boulder more eyes lit up around them.

Unable to push past Cameron's grip the tail shot forward narrowly missing his collar bone. The tail began thrusting wildly, and the force was strong enough to shatter stone. Hearing the gunfire continuing Cameron knew there wasn't any time to spare.