ONE
Mid-morning sunlight filtered through maple and birch leaves to coat the forest floor in an emerald blanket. Laura breathed slowly, deeply as she crept through ivy, occasionally scanning the ground to make sure she wasn't wading into poison ivy. Apart from the buzzing of insects and a few squirrels running along tree limbs, the forest was quiet. Laura could have spent all morning, just taking in the environment and relaxing, in different circumstances. But she and Theo had a job.
Laura held a pair of long, white binoculars to her eyes. She scanned the forest slowly, left-to-right, then back again. "The full-spectrum analyzer isn't picking up any relevant biosignatures," Laura whispered as she turned a dial around the eyepiece. The view changed colors as she surveyed the forest. "At least, not in infrared or ultraviolet."
Theo was approximately fifty meters to Laura's left, but she heard Laura clearly through the communication earbud in her right ear. "Yeah, I don't see a bloody thing, either. What about comm frequencies?"
"Nothing from far-infrared down. So, no technosignatures, either. All right, meet up," Laura said as she turned to face Theo. She reached behind herself and fumbled around her backpack for a water bottle. She found it, pulled it out of the side-pocket, and unscrewed the lid. She took a slow swig. It wasn't a particularly warm day, but the added weight of a full backpack took more effort than Laura found comfortable. She screwed the lid back on and slid the bottle back in the pocket as Theo approached.
"Two hours," Laura said as she stretched an arm above her head, "and we haven't seen anything."
"So, the little beastie was alone."
"No, it's more than that. Even if the goblin was alone, it had to come from somewhere. Laura motioned around the forest floor. "It makes sense that it didn't leave tracks, we've seen it levitate. . .somehow. But there's no trace evidence at all."
"It's weirder than that. We're assuming he's non-native, right?"
"Obviously. Get on with it."
"So, he needs food, water, and protection. And, if we're assuming a certain amount of sentience, there'd be signs of tool use, traps, shelters, those kinds of things. But we haven't seen any of that."
"We must be missing something." Laura bit her bottom lip. "Maybe its shelter is underground. Maybe it hunts instead of traps."
"Or maybe it gets dropped off and picked up."
Laura laughed. "Good Lord, you really do think it's an alien."
Theo turned her head to the side and leered at Laura. "I think it could be an alien. It's definitely a non-human intelligence."
"It definitely appears to be. There's too much we don't know to jump to any conclusion. The only thing we seem to know for certain right now, is that there's nothing out here to find. We're heading back." Laura ran a finger along her watch and pulled up a map. She turned until a blue dot moved to the top-center of the watch's face. "This way," she said as she started walking."
Theo pulled up to Laura's right side and matched her pace. "What do you think the goblin is?"
Laura glanced up from her watch to scan the ground for obstacles. "Like I said, there's too much we don't know."
"Bullshit. You have a hunch, same as anyone else would. What is he?"
Laura sighed. "My hunch? Okay. I think it was created."
Theo was silent for a moment. "Yeah, all right, makes sense. He is a mix-match of animal parts. You think the DNA analysis will bear that out?"
"Possibly. And that would only be part of the answer. That wouldn't explain the tech it was wearing, or why it's out here, or why it's alone."
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"No, I reckon it wouldn't." Theo kicked a small rock out of her path. It rolled and bounced off a tree limb. "Wanna bet on it?"
Laura glanced at Theo. "What, on which of our hypotheses are correct?"
"That's right. Alien or chimera."
"The stakes?"
"Naming rights. The winner gives him his scientific name."
"Okay, we have a deal." Laura glanced at her watch again. The blue dot was slowly pulsating. "Looks like we weren't too far away from the lab, after all."
"Right, we'll be there in about five minutes." Theo caught Laura's look. "Once again, I'm a tracker."
Laura smiled faintly. "Yes, we'll be there in about five minutes. If everything holds, we'll be back on the cargo plane in Lexington by mid-afternoon, and back at HQ by early evening. That will give me plenty of time to prepare the mission report for Darwin by tomorrow morning."
"Gonna put in a good word for me, eh?"
"Yes, I suppose you are an asset to the team."
"And Stan?"
"Stan is. . .he has his merits."
"And they are?"
"As of yet, underutilized."
"That's a diplomatic way of saying 'nepo baby'."
"Darwin wouldn't have endangered us by putting a liability on the team."
"Yeah, I suppose not. Maybe he made some coffee while we were out, I could use a cup."
"And if not, we passed a diner in Redbird. Eating before we headed out wouldn't be a bad idea."
"I could demolish some eggs and hash browns. Do y'think the stereotype is true about hillbillies and fried foods?"
"I can assure you, that isn't a stereotype."
"Aces." Shafts of golden light, illuminated dust randomly dancing in the rays, flooded spots on the forest floor as the trees thinned out. Theo fished a pair of sunglasses out from her shirt pocket and put them on. Laura pulled a baseball cap out of a small pocket in her backpack, pulled her ponytail through the hold in the back, and tilted the brim over her eyes. Theo visibly tensed and pulled her tranquilizer pistol from its holster.
"Theo. . ."
Theo held her left index finger to her lips, then pointed ahead. She didn't need to say anything to get the point across. Somehow, she'd sensed something was amiss. Laura unsheathed her tranquilizer pistol and nodded at Theo. They crept out of the forest and into the world of sunlight.
The RV's back doors were opened wide. Medical equipment was strewn along the ground in a half-circle around the exit. Theo ran to the RV, her arms cocked into a V-shape for easy firing. She placed her back against one of he open doors and looked towards Laura. Laura lifted her pistol with straightened arms and crab-walked so she could look into the lab. She stepped forward slowly until she had a better view of the interior. She dropped her pistol to her side and balled her fists.
"What? What's the situation?" Theo asked.
"The goblin is gone."
"Son of a bitch," Theo screamed as she pounded the side of the RV with a fist. She sheathed her pistol and stomped toward the front of the RV. "I swear to God, if that little shit is drunk. . ."
Laura ran to the side of the RV. "Theo, stop. This is my mission, it's my responsibility."
Theo stopped and turned around. "He doesn't need a reprimand, he needs a throttling."
