Moon Colonies News: In one month, Saturn's government plans to celebrate the 550th anniversary of the construction of the RING BRIDGE which connects all its moons. Invitees will receive an e-mail, signed and sealed by Sheriff Pablo.

The shuttle could fit eight people at max, with two seats at the front, and three in the middle and back. Chichi drove while Zorro sat beside her, reading an article about Mr. Shoelaces and his growing Shoelace Empire. Law enforcement didn't know who he was or why he only targeted shoelaces. But they had declared him a menace to the system and planned on stopping him at whatever cost.

Bentlee had taken the middle seats, sleeping throughout the journey. Wielding elemental weapons required a lot of strength and energy from mages. Without knowing what awaited in Deadland Egypt, it was wise for her to rest.

Wolf sat beside Lola in the back seats listening to You Want Some Sugar? Podcast, hosted by Laverse and Dahook. Lola had given him a wireless earphone, forcing him to listen. He thought they would be as terrible as Andy and Andina, but he was wrong. They talked about the Sugar Daddy And Mommy Underworld, where young men and women funded their education and businesses by being sugar babies. Some of them called in, revealing they never slept with their clients and still got paid hundreds of thousands. It was insane!

"We've arrived in Deadland Sudan," Chichi announced over the speakers.

The Indian Ocean separated the East African Society and the North African Deadlands. During the Race Wars, five countries had collapsed: Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. This allowed the ocean to move inland.

Wolf handed Lola the earphone, moved closer to the window, and stared outside. Brown trees and plants covered the area with space between them for vehicles to pass. An insect the size of a backpack whizzed past the shuttle.

"Woah!" Wolf leaned back, his heart thumping fast.

Wednesday had told him about Earth's insects before they went there for the first time. Their size ranged between thirty and one hundred and forty centimeters. She had shown him videos of Earthers hunting the insects and eating them. One appearing in front of him caught him off-guard.

Lola giggled. "Wolfie, they don't, like, bite."

"I know." The insects ate plants, and plants ate insects. The only threats in the deadlands were mutants and other travelers. "Look at that." Wolf pointed at a grasshopper caught in a plant's leaf teeth, trying to fight its way out. The toxic air had forced that evolution—leaf teeth—on every plant.

"It's like, beautiful," Lola said.

Wolf looked at her. She stared at him. They moved closer to each other, about to kiss. Chichi's voice rang through the speakers, "Mutants up ahead."

"Like, how many?"

"Over a hundred," Zorro replied.

"A hundred? What are they doing in this part of the continent, I suppose?" Bentlee had woken up with puffy red eyes. She rubbed them with the back of her hand before standing up and going to the front of the shuttle.

Wolf and Lola followed.

The radar showed red dots; the number on its top right side increasing or decreasing, but never dropping below a hundred.

"Let's prepare for a square," Zorro said with the enthusiasm of someone who hadn't been in a fight for a while and longed for it.

Wolf didn't know what to do, so he stood in place.

Bentlee and Zorro went to the back where the bags of weapons were.

Lola reached for the silver metallic choker around her neck and pressed it. A silver armor materialized, covering her torso, followed by six metallic tentacle-like arms swiveling from the back.

Witches hunted bounties using mechanical limbs—a chip in their brains enabled mental control over them. Hyenas controlled mechas. And mages possessed elemental weapons. Coyotes didn't have a specific weapon to distinguish them, but that didn't stop them from standing out the most.

"I thought you said there were no mutants here," Wolf asked Zorro when the man returned from the back of the shuttle.

"Deadland Egypt doesn't has't mutants, not hither," The Gentleman replied.

"If they're in Deadland Sudan, won't they be in Deadland Egypt?"

"Maybe." Zorro handed him four plasma pistols. "Thee can useth those folk, right?"

"Of course." Wolf strapped two to his thighs and held the others.

"Good." Zorro activated his spacesuit's helmet. The others did the same. "Coms," he ordered before they activated their comlinks. "Can thee heareth me?" he asked. They nodded. "The Lady shall stayeth in the shuttle. It doesn't has't much firepower, but she'll help at which hour she can. Crystal clear?" Again, they nodded. He turned to Chichi. "Open the door."

Sweat coated Wolf's face as he walked out. The sounds of insects buzzing filled the air, and the ground shook from the mutants heading their way.

"Everyone, taketh thy positions," Zorro said.

Lola stood to the left, her hands and mechanical limbs carrying plasma rifles.

Bentlee took the right side, having an enormous sword in her hand. It was ten times her size, but she carried it with ease. She pressed a button and fired coated it.

It didn't take a genius to guess the arrangement. Wolf stayed at the back, gripping the pistols. The mutants were getting close, forcing him to take a deep breath.

"'ere they come," Chichi said. The shuttle floated in the sky, with double laser blasters on its sides, aiming at the mutants.

The sound of insects buzzing stopped. Even they were afraid of the mutants. If that wasn't a sign for Wolf to run, then what was? But he couldn't do it. He wouldn't. The Rocketeers needed him, so he stood firm.

The horde of mutants appeared. Their numbers seemed to have no end. Each mutant was a mix of different animals—cow, sheep, lion, zebra, and so on—with some missing flesh on their faces and body.

"Fire!" Zorro shouted.

Mutants lunged at them, teeth-baring.

Wolf fired multiple rounds, rolled to the left when one jumped at him with a snarl on its face, and pierced its underside with bullets mid-roll. Standing up, he ducked to the right after another mutant lunged at his throat with shark-like teeth, shooting the back of its head mid-spin.

A few mutants died. More kept coming.

There were too many. The sound of bullets filled the air.

Bentlee got knocked to the ground. A mutant bit her leg and pulled her to the side. Her combat suit protected her from its sharp teeth. More mutants joined their comrade. Before eating her alive, she spun her fire-sword like a fan and burned them into nothingness. Their dying screams made her smile.

"Are you alright?" Wolf asked.

"Yes, I suppose," Bentlee replied.

"Like, focus," Lola said.

"Separate," Zorro ordered.

Everyone went in a different direction.

A group of mutants followed each.

Wolf ran past the trees. He ducked a branch, jumped a log, ducked a branch again, and jumped another log.

The mutants growled behind him, catching up.

He killed some while running. Others he missed.

It made the mutants angrier.

He arrived at a dead end. Part of the Indian Ocean stood before him. "Shit!" The only option was going back to where he came from.

"Wolfie, like, what's wrong?"

"I can't swim." He turned to the mutants; they growled. "Hi." He smiled. "My name's Wolf."

They sprung at him.

He rolled to the side, got up, and shot two of them.

One caught him off guard, biting his arm. Thankfully, the suit stopped the mutant from tearing it off.

With his free hand, Wolf punched it until it let go. The mutant yelped in pain, anger in its eyes. The combat suit was undamaged. No sign of teeth marks either. No surprise there. It was nano-tech.

The remaining mutants looked at each other, then circled Wolf, blocking his exits.

"Shit!" Wolf frantically searched for an escape. There was none. Was this it? Would he die at the hands of mutants and not Sister Mary as she had promised? More mutants gathered around him, snarling. "Come on, why me?"

"Woss wrong?" Chichi asked.

"I'm surrounded."

"I can 'elp wiv that." The shuttle appeared and shot the monsters, reducing their numbers significantly.

Before the remaining mutants attacked Wolf, a fifteen-foot fire surrounded him, acting as a shield.

"Wolf, don't move, I suppose."

He couldn't see outside the firewall, only hearing howls. When the fire vanished, Bentlee stood before him—her giant sword leaning on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, I suppose?" Sticky green blood covered her combat suit.

"Yes," Wolf answered.

"Is everything good now over thither?" Zorro asked.

"Yes, I suppose," Bentlee replied.

"Returneth to the shuttle. We're done hither."

Before Bentlee walked away, Wolf tapped her shoulder. She turned to him. "What, I suppose?"

He hugged her. "Thank you for saving my life."

Bentlee blushed. "Uh..." She punched his arm.

Wolf yelped in pain. "What was that for?"

Bentlee shrugged, then walked away.

Wolf stood there for a moment—rubbing away the pain on his arm—watching her head to the shuttle. "She thinks I'm cool."

"No, I don't, I suppose."

"Wolfie, like, we can hear you." Lola giggled.

Zorro and Chichi laughed.

Wolf cringed in shame, forgetting the comlinks were on. "I was—uh—I was... never mind." He returned to the shuttle, head hung low in embarrassment.