Chapter 4
Anger flashes in Lowell’s eyes like fire behind stained glass.
“Yes, poisoned, you fucking idiot,” he snaps. “The Hookhead Storks became critically endangered from your government dumping an unknown chemical in the swamp. All to create a viable land for construction.”
Fear and confusion mix in my gut, and the feeling is sour.
He’s spouting nonsense.
“What the hell are you on about?” I spit, anxiety palpitating my heart as two searing amber eyes glare into mine. “Most of the local animals went extinct from what was determined as depleting resources and disease. There was even another study done on the area afterwards that confirms this.”
Lowell snorts, releasing my face and shoving me away from him. His grin is not the friendly kind.
“‘Depleting resources and disease’? Well, if you want a joke, you’re going to fucking laugh at this one.” He grabs my braided hair and yanks it, laughing when I yelp with pain.
He drags me to the other end of the room, using his hold on my hair as a lead.
My feet slide across the ground, muscles rigid as I try to regain balance, but my efforts are futile. Any attempts at standing or pulling back are met with sturdy resistance.
Lowell flings a side door, pressurized air popping my eardrums. When I wince, his grip tightens, a dark chuckle of amusement rumbling from his chest.
Lifting me effortlessly by my hair, Lowell tosses me past the threshold and onto my bottom. He slams the door behind him with his tail while Ginny and Guy are left on the other side.
The strong smell of sulfur, mud, and wet earth soon overshadows the ringing in my head. My vision focuses and I see a large glass dome overhead with natural light pouring in. The surrounding area is filled with trees and soft-looking ground, the air thick with humidity.
It looks like an artificial biome.
From afar, a Hookhead Stork stares at me curiously.
I gasp, crawling toward the stork who scurries away the moment I move. I spin around on my bottom, Lowell’s stature becoming even more intimidating. Nevertheless, a smile paints my face as relief fills me with joy.
“They’re still alive! Oh, my Goddess!”
“No thanks to you, ‘Lead Scientist, ’” Lowell grumbles between gritted teeth.
I drop my smile and glare at the mass of scales. “If Nilsan illegally dumped any chemicals into the soil, I would be the one to know. Both the Land Surveyor and Project Lead Scientist analyze the chemical makeup as a first step. Or did your spies not tell you that?”
As a tally, the chemical makeup of the Misya Swamp soil had been tested three times, one of them by a completely separate party.
Lowell is full of shit.
His jaw ticks, a vein above his eye pulsing. “Quit acting na?ve. You’re not fooling me.”
“Na?ve? You’re the one spouting drivel about some ‘poisoning’ that no one proved,” I rebut. “You’re the ones setting fire to construction sites, scorching the earth, blasting civilian homes to pieces, and wreaking havoc on resource supply chains, not me.”
The metal landing shakes as Lowell stomps closer, staring down his snout.
“Your allegiance to the city would be admirable if it wasn’t stupid.
” He palms the top of my head, twisting my neck so that I’m forced to take in the full view of the man-made habitat.
“Look around, May. Is Nilsan doing anything like this, with all that money they have?”
As Lowell releases me, I take a sweeping glance over the area, not only to satisfy his command but for my own interest. I hate to admit it, but the preservation work Gaia 4 has done in such a small space and little tools is impressive.
We are still in the desert, but in this little slice of swamp, it feels like I’m halfway across the continent.
Lowell’s right, to some degree. I could only dream of doing something like this in Nilsan. Their motto of “Progress above all else” didn’t always align with my personal goals.
“You’re breeding the storks, judging from the abundance of nesting material. Do you plan to reintroduce them to Misya Swamp?” I ask, sensing Lowell’s intense gaze.
“We’ve already reintroduced them into the small patches of fertile ground. Pieces of land you missed.”
I pinch the side of my mouth, a twinge of pain searing where his claws pierced.
He sure is insistent on his theory, but I know for a fact that it is total lunacy.
What he suggests Nilsan has done is a major treaty-breaking crime against the allied nations.
Nilsan is far from perfect, but they would never risk an alliance so thoughtlessly.
Hence the previous Director’s quick dismissal.
“Have the new generation of storks accepted Misya Swamp as their home? What do they eat, now?” I ask, watching as the storks sprint across the mud, flapping their wings.
The corners of my lips twitch as the sight brings forth an old memory. Grandma and I spent hours squishing the sand fleas that infested the stork’s feathers when it rained. I still have scars from their powerful bills to prove it.
“If humans are going to pretend to be gods, we might as well act like merciful ones,” she’d say.
Lowell’s grunt snaps me from thoughts, and he folds his arms over his wide chest, his tail swinging behind him.
“They’re eating Mudskippers, just as they always have. We cultivated a strain of moss that aids in Mudskipper health and reproduction.”
I unintentionally make such a dramatic, shocked face at that Lowell’s eye twitches in annoyance.
“Wow, that’s… incredible,” I say below my breath. “How do you have the equipment or facilities to do this?”
“We stole stuff, obviously,” he says.
I suppose I should have guessed that one.
Gaia 4’s progress is nothing like I’ve seen before. Although their tech is archaic, it produces results. It makes me wonder what else is possible, if anyone else would bother to try a similar design with Nilsan’s budget.
Maybe the deserts would be less barren.
“For terrorists, I’m impressed,” I say begrudgingly, crossing my arms to mirror Lowell’s defensive posture.
“Your praise means nothing to me,” he deadpans.
I sigh. “Okay, Lowell, so I’ll ask again: Why am I here? You certainly didn’t drag me here by my hair to show off your little habitat and to remind me of my past failures.”
Lowell’s nostrils flare at my attitude, his pupils dilating.
“Nilsan is currently poisoning the Sandpit Snake habitat, similar to Misya Swamp, for a railway expansion. The area you’ve already surveyed carries only a trace amount of the toxin and will be dismissed on your initial analysis.
However, the amount of the chemical applied to the area will be amplified once you leave.
” He holds a hand up to halt my impending interruption.
“I have solid intel from a spy to corroborate.”
I roll my eyes, but Lowell continues nonetheless, tilting his head up to look through the dome’s glass panes.
“The Sandpits are not extinct, yet, and have migrated to an area outside of the railway’s construction zone.
If the railway is built, the pollution created by the train will spread to their place of migration, killing them off entirely.
Sandpits don’t have filters in their lungs, but I’m sure you already know that, since you think you already know everything,” he says snidely.
I shoot Lowell an incredulous look before responding. “Even if any of that is true, what the hell do you want me to do about it? I’ve been demoted. I have no power anymore.”
Lowell scowls. “I don’t give a shit about what you can do in Nilsan.
I brought you here to fix the Sandpits’ current habitat before the start of the railway construction in forty days.
I may not be able to stop Nilsan, so I need the expertise of someone who specializes in habitat adaptation.
” He pauses, squinting at me skeptically.
“To remind you, I have your background records, so don’t try to lie about it. ”
He’s correct — I specialized in habitat adaptation in harsh conditions in college. Of course, now, standing here captive, I almost regret having gained that knowledge.
I shrug, eyebrow raised. “You expect me to do this by myself in forty days? Why don’t you have the same people who designed the rehabilitation for the Hookhead Stork habitat do it?”
“They’re not here anymore,” he says, looking me up and down.
I match his scowl with my own. “Why, did you eat them?”
Lowell chortles, amusement shifting his lips into a smirk. “Would you believe me if I told you that a Nilsanian defector provided aid for that project?”
My brows lift in shock. “Absolutely not. Nilsanians are as loyal as they come.”
Lowell leans forward, smug. “Then I ate them. Satisfied by that answer?”
I rub the heel of my palm into my eye socket, groaning. “This is ridiculous. I’m one person. I can’t do this alone.”
“You’re going to have to if you want to live,” he replies, baring his teeth.
The fear I felt before is gone, irritation in its place. These terrorists have no idea what they are asking of me or even what they want me to do. I can’t negotiate with nonsense.
“The desert is an unforgiving place. It doesn’t like to be changed,” I explain.
“I can only give you as much information as I have, and with that said, I don’t foresee anything changing in such a short time frame.
If I provide multiple solutions, that should be more than enough to warrant my release.
You don’t need my labor or direction if you have schematics. ”
Lowell’s tongues brushes over his teeth, shifting his weight between his legs. “I don’t recall asking for your opinion on the matter. I gave you your choices.”
I flick the dried blood from my face, my brows knitting together. “What choices? Certain death if I refuse, or possible death if I accept?”
Lowell smiles insincerely. “Look at you, finally getting it.”
I clench my teeth, a scream building in my throat. Not only is he a lunatic, but he’s bratty, too.