Since we might encounter resistance on our way back to our habitat—the one we came to Earth in—I gather a pair of rifles for Eve and me, along with several magazines filled with ammo for each of us. The thought of my pregnant wife packing a gun, along with the possibility of getting shot at, buzzes my nerves like a thousand jittery bees. Even worse, the thought of my death leaving Eve to the mercy of Cain and Jezebel turns those bees into angry hornets. I can't let that happen. I must remain vigilant and smart, planning and executing everything down to the last detail.

We informed Jinx about our plan. For our safety, he advised against it, but since Abraham altered his directives to give us more freedom in decision making, he didn't object. As long as he remains with us, protecting us, we have quote-unquote permission to proceed. He saw the importance of gathering the human and animal embryos and transporting them to a safe location. Remotely, he had started the fertilization process with the sperm donations from cryogenic storage, all kept preserved in the Embryo Lab. He explained eggs become embryos once the fertilization process is complete. We knew this, but Jinx was just being informative. The habitat has cryo cases which can slow the reproductive processes and protect the embryos until we transplant them into artificial wombs, which come in portable cases too, for situations like this. Earth's reseeding is under threat of extinction, and we must take drastic measures.

I climb into the pilot seat as Eve settles into the chair next to me. Jinx communicates with us via the tracer's computer system. With the craft started up, I cast a sidelong glance at Eve and give her a quick nod. It's me telling her I understand the gravity of what we're about to do, reassuring her everything will be okay. Of course, I know from my anxiousness I can't guarantee anything, and I think she knows that. She bites her bottom lip, her head bouncing up and down, nodding her comprehension of the danger involved with our plan. We could get killed. It's a likely outcome, but one we have to risk if we're going to save humanity.

Wow, that's heavy. The weight of the world on our shoulders.

The tracer's turbines thunder outside our polycarbonate fuselage, but the sphere shields us from most of the sound waves, making for a semi-quiet interior.

I pull back on the T-handle and rotate the turbines on each wing to vertical. The mild thrust blows up a cloud of red dust into the air, blurring my vision of the surrounding canyon. I depress the gas pedal to increase upward thrust, lifting us off the ground and intensifying the blustery red cloud. Soon, we rise above the fray into clear skies.

Eve grips her chair's armrests. This is the first time she's flown in the tracer, and I can relate to the fearful look on her face. Her eyes bulge and dart around the craft's interior, shifting from me to the dashboard, to the clear canopy around us, to the dust settling beneath us, and finally the canyon walls still lofty above us.

"I can fly this thing," I say. Once again, I hope to calm her fears.

"You have less than one hour of flight time." Her gaze cuts to me. "Try not to get overconfident."

"Trust me, I won't." I glance at her stomach. "We have precious cargo on-board, which includes you."

This garners a slight upturn of her lips.

As we rise out of the canyon, straight up, her grin fades, replaced by grinding teeth and an even firmer grip on her armrests. I press down harder on the accelerator pedal, providing more thrust to lift us over the treetops that mark the western edge of the Yellowstone Forest. It amazes me that the alpha's pack refused to follow their leader into the canyon, out of their territory. I suppose they may have a new leader now, which may have been the reason the betas held back, under the direction of a wannabe alpha. Regardless, I'm thankful we only had to deal with one vile wolf. An entire pack would have been the death of us.

Once the tracer clears the treetops, I goose the throttle, push the T-handle forward to turn the turbines to horizontal, and then nudge the joystick to start us on our flight to the habitat. The controls respond with a smoothness that makes flying the tracer almost dummy proof. I feel like I would have to shove the handles and pedals in various directions to wreck the craft, something I don't plan to do. It's almost like there's an underlying autopilot, making tiny corrections, even if I make a mistake.

I keep the tracer low and close to the treetops, thinking to fly under Cain's radar. I assume our craft has a radar feature too because the dashboard screen displays a map with superimposed tabs for access to the computer system. There aren't any other dots or pings on our screen, so the path ahead seems clear. To make the flight easier, Jinx drops a pin on the map to identify the location of our habitat.

As we soar over the green canopy, I peer down and see reddish shadows knifing through the gaps between the trees. Vile wolves.

I point them out to Eve. "Glad we're up here and not down there."

"Very thankful," she replies.

Jinx says, "By now, you've noticed how the major predators stick to their territories, not wanting to chance a run-in with each other. The problem is, they're at the top of their respective food chains, having devoured most of the prey in their areas. Because of that, their hunger makes them voracious, making them even more vile when new prey enter their ecosystem, like humans."

"The bears and the wolves were determined to get us, but thanks to you, we survived. Thanks Jinx."

"You're very welcome."

"What about our plan?" Eve asks.

"We'll buzz around the habitat to make sure the perimeter is safe," I say. "Then we'll scout the interior, clearing the way as we go. If we run into trouble, we'll have guns, and if we get pinned down, Jinx can come to our rescue."

Eve glances down at her lap, her hands ringing together.

"We'll be quick about it." I offer more reassurance, even if it's anemic.

Jinx joins in. "Get the cases first. They're in the back corner of the lab in specialized drawers that keep the power cells charged and ready to go. The cells last for years, like the tracer batteries. Open the cases and then secure the embryos. The human side is on the left and animals on the right. There are hundreds of each. Hurry, but be careful. Once you load up everything and lock it down in the cryo cases, we'll make for the airlock and be on our way."

"Sounds easy enough." I place my hand on Eve's. She doesn't pull away.

The trip takes less than an hour, but there's a big surprise when we arrive. Cain's rocket ship still rests on its stabilizer fins, ready for liftoff. The silver bullet spacecraft towers over the habitat, taller than the treetops at the forest's edge. Its fuselage becomes bulbous at the middle and tapers to a point at the nose cone. The bridge view ports set back behind a long arrow-like shaft on the tip-top. The sun glistens off the hull, reflecting blinding light back at us, making me bring my arm up to shield my eyes. Of course, Cain's tracer is nowhere around, which might be a good sign. It also means he could return at any moment.

I swivel the turbines to vertical and hover sixty feet off the ground, high enough to glimpse the habitat's roof, as well as the ground around it and the river beneath it. Then I angle the thrusters to get forward movement, circling the entire structure several times. I see nothing but tall grass and the rushing river, and Cain's gigantic spaceship.

"Appears safe for us to land," I say.

Eve nods for me to go ahead and I do, selecting the autopilot to put the tracer down. I'm not confident in my crash prevention abilities, so it's the obvious choice.

"I detect no heartbeats or heat signatures inside the habitat or anywhere in the surrounding area," Jinx says. "Including the rocket ship."

I would have appreciated that information as soon as we arrived, but I'll take it now. It gives me a certain level of security, and according to Eve's body language, her jaw set with determination and her brow pinched with concentration, I can tell she feels better about our chances, too. Quickly, she exits the tracer and joins me in front of the craft, our rifles loaded and cocked for action that I hope we don't see. And if Jinx's scan of the place holds true, we have nothing to worry about.

As Eve and I cut a trail through the tall grass, Jinx rises out of the tracer's rear tray and follows us to the airlock door. The entrance appears blackened around the edges, where Cain blasted his way inside.

Jinx enters first, followed by me, then Eve.

The interior is just as I remember it, much cleaner than the habitat we came from, and it has power. The Animal Barn is lit up, nothing out of place. Just the way we left it.

We don't waste time. We hustle to the Embryo Lab and go straight for the cryo cases in the back corner of the room. After we lean our rifles against the wall, I snag the first case, lay it on the worktable in the center of the lab, and crack it open.

"Remember, humanity is on the left and animals on the right." Jinx hovers near the door, keeping guard.

Flat cylinders hold the embryos, which snap into slots inside the cryo cases. They lock into place.

Eve transfers the human embryos first, two in each hand, while I set another case on the table for the animals.

Click-click.

I whip my head around. At first, I think it's Jinx extending one of his arms, but I jerk back with a flinch when I see a woman, tall and slender in a tight black suit, aiming a gray pistol at us. Her hair, cut high and tight, curves in a swept back wave over her head. With narrowed eyes and a sharp chin, she stares us down like she has us right where she wants us.

I look to Jinx, expecting him to act, but he hovers at the door beside the woman I know as Jezebel.

"Please return the embryos back to the cryo compartment," she says. "And step away from the worktable, and away from your weapons, with your hands raised."

"Jinx," I say. "Aren't you going to do something?"

When the words leave my mouth, Jinx moves away from the door and positions himself between us and our rifles. I hear a sharp intake of air, like his percussion rounds are charging up, preparing to fire.

"Please do as Lady Jezebel has instructed you to do," Jinx says. "If you don't, you will surely die."

Eve gasps behind me, and when I turn to look at her, her eyes roll back in her head and she blacks out, collapsing to the floor with a thud. I feel the same shock wave of anxiety tightening around my neck like a noose of betrayal. Any tighter, and I'll hit the floor too.

But I don't get the chance.

Jezebel waltzes up to me and points the gun at my forehead, a satisfying grin spreading across her face. "Jinx, please alert Cain that I've apprehended Noah and Eve Grey."

My eyes cut to the drone, still not believing what I'm seeing.

"I already have," Jinx replies. "He's on his way now."