Nyx Keller watched the snow leopard through her scope as it paced along the frozen ridge. The animal was rare, endangered, and finally within her reach. She had spent six days tracking it through weather that would have killed other hunters.
All she needed was one perfect shot, and she could disappear for five years with a new identity to a new country.
She put her finger on the trigger. The leopard stopped walking and turned its head towards her hiding spot, two hundred meters above.
The leopard's looked at her and then smiled.
"Oh, shit…"
Nyx fired. The tranquilizer dart hit onto the leopard's shoulder. It should have collapsed instantly. Instead, it jumped.
Nyx immediately knelt down to pick up her rifle. When she got up, she saw leopard standing just three metres away from her.
Impossible.
She dumped the rifle, grabbed her hunting knife, and rolled as the leopard's claws slashed through the snow where her head had just been.
"Stay down, you beautiful creature." She muttered.
The leopard attacked again. She dodged, and stabbed the knife deep into its side. The leopard screamed, its blood oozed out as its paw slammed into her ribs.
Nyx crashed into the ice as pain burst through her body.
She pushed herself up. The leopard limped towards her, dragging her one leg, her knife was still stuck in its shoulder. They both were leaving trail of blood on the snow.
"Guess we both messed up, huh?" She laughed.
The leopard collapsed three feet away, breathing hard. Nyx had killed 47 endangered animals in her life. Each kill had made her richer, and had taken her farther from the scared orphan she used to be.
She had never felt bad. But she did now.
"I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm so damn sorry."
Then suddenly she heard the sound of military helicopter rotors. Nyx looked up. Three black choppers were over her. They were from:
GLOBAL WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
How long had they been tracking me? Days? Weeks?
NYX KELLER. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. DO NOT MOVE.
She looked at the leopard. It was still breathing and looking at her.
"They'll save you." She said. "They'll save you and get me killed, and maybe that's fair."
Nyx closed her eyes as armed officers surrounded her. She didn't fight as they tied her wrists. Then they carefully loaded the leopard into a medical transport.
GLOBAL WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
DETENTION FACILITY ALPHA-7
SIBERIAN OPERATING BASE
Nyx woke up to white walls, white lights, and pain in her spine. She was strapped to a medical chair, with restraints on her wrists, ankles, and chest.
"You're awake." A woman in a grey suit sat opposite her with a tablet on her lap.
"I'm Director Zhao." The woman introduced herself. "Global Wildlife Enforcement Division, Exotic Crimes Unit. You know why you're here, Miss Keller?"
"Is the leopard alive?" She whispered.
Zhao blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"The snow leopard. Is it alive?"
"Yes. Recovering in protective custody. Full rehabilitation expected."
"Good." Nyx smiled.
"Good?" Zhao leaned forward. "Miss Keller, you were attempting to murder one of fewer than four thousand remaining snow leopards on Earth. You have contributed to…"
"I know what I've done." Nyx said looking into her eyes. "What's my sentence?"
Zhao smiled.
"For your crimes? Life imprisonment with no possibility of parole. 47 confirmed kills of endangered species across six continents, 19 suspected additional kills. 15 counts…"
"I get it. I'm fuc*ed."
Zhao put down her tablet.
"However, GWED has prepared an alternative offer for you."
There was always an alternative, and it was always worse than prison.
"The Beastworld Reclamation Project." Zhao continued. "It requires test subjects, specifically convicted poachers. You'll be exiled to a sub-dimensional ecosystem inhabited by aggressive megafauna. Your survival will provide invaluable data to xenobiological research."
"You're sending me to another dimension to be eaten by monsters."
"Logically speaking, yes."
"And if I refuse?"
"Life in a 6*8 cell, 40 years minimum. You'll be 70, if you're released." Zhao slid the tablet across. "Or you can take your chances. Survive one year in Beastworld, and your sentence is reduced."
Nyx read the words on the tablet.
NO EXTRACTION. NO SUPPORT.
"This is a death sentence." She said.
"Statistically, yes. 96% mortality rate during the first week." Zhao smiled. "But you're talented, Miss Keller. You've survived situations that killed better trained operatives, perhaps you'll surprise us."
Nyx thought for a moment.
"If I die there, at least I die free."
"I wouldn't call Beastworld free, but that's semantics." Zhao pushed a stylus toward her. "Sign here."
Nyx picked up the stylus and hesitated.
"Will I be alone?"
"Yes. Though the dimension is inhabited by…"
"I meant humans. Will there be other people?"
"No. You'll be the only human there. There were others, but…" She stopped. "Let's just say the indigenous population didn't like them."
"Indigenous population?"
"You'll see." Zhao tapped the screen. "Sign, Miss Keller or spend the next 40 years regretting you didn't."
Nyx thought of the leopard. She thought of the ten years she spent killing beautiful things for ugly money. She thought of the girl she'd been before the Syndicate found her; hungry, alone and desperate to survive. Maybe this was justice.
She signed.
MEDICAL WING
SIX HOURS POST SIGNATURE
The implant surgery took six hours. They kept her conscious for it saying she needed to be aware for the integration process. But she knew that was bullshit. They just wanted her to suffer.
When it was over, her entire spine pained like hell. The tech guy showed her the X-ray: a dark strip from the base of her skull to her tailbone, pulsing with faint bioluminescence.
"Monitoring chip." He explained. "It will track your vitals, location, behavioral data and provide real time feedback to our research team. Try not to die too quickly; the data of the first month is very important."
"Very comforting."
"Oh, and don't tamper with it." He pointed to a cluster of filaments wrapped around her spinal cord. "Those connect directly to your central nervous system. Any attempt to remove or disable the chip will sever your spinal column. Instant paralysis, possibly death."
"So, I'm a lab rat."
"You're a data point." He helped her sit up. "But a valuable one. Humans haven't existed in Beastworld for three centuries. Your interactions with the locals will…"
"Will what? Tell you how quickly they eat me?"
"We're scientists, Miss Keller, not monsters. We study and adapt." He sounded angry.
"You experiment on prisoners."
"We offer condemned criminals a chance at freedom." He handed her a bundle of tactical gear. "What you do with that chance is up to you."
PORTAL CHAMBER
DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER STATION
They dressed her in tactical gear designed for extreme environments with no weapons and supplies.
"Can't have you entering with modern weapons." Zhao explained. "It'd contaminate the data. You'll need to survive with local resources."
"You mean you want to see how quickly I die without help."
"That too."
The portal chamber was massive. It was a circular room with walls lined in technology Nyx didn't recognize, all leading to a swirling vortex of silver light at the center.
"Any last words?" Zhao asked.
Nyx looked at the portal.
"Yeah." She smiled. "If I survive this, I'm coming back for you."
"I'll be waiting."
Nyx turned towards the portal and took a breath. And then she stepped inside.
DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER COMPLETE
WELCOME TO BEASTWORLD
ESTIMATED SURVIVAL TIME: 96 HOURS
GOOD LUCK