72 Hours to Animal and Other Tales of the Flashback

Before the Flashback ended in The War-torn Hills of Earth, there were other trials, other crucibles, other adventures not previously recorded. 72 Hours to Animal is one of these, in which a helicopter bearing a hodge-podge crew touches down on a Saveco wholesale warehouse in the middle of a snowstorm only to find themselves stalked by shadowy predators ... From 72 Hours to Animal: She watched carefully as he worked the sticks. "Reduce collective … pitch up to neutral … and remember, as soon as you cross over the asphalt, you're gonna get that rotor and ground effect which is going to cause a really funky cushion. And now we're going to hold ourselves just a few feet over the ground, we're going to further reduce the collective … and settle onto the tarmac." And then they were down—in a whirlwind of snow—and Pappy was clambering out with the fuel can as Redhorn followed and Handsome Dan swiped off his aviators and just looked at her. "Listen, Zo, I … Look, I know—" "I have to pee," she said, cutting him off, and quickly climbed out—and was instantly greeted by a blast of cold air. She scanned the heliport: There, she thought, eyeing an area between two buildings where, in one of the more curious aspects of the Flashback, cycads and other ancient vegetation had appeared almost overnight; but it wasn't until she had hidden away there completely that she was able to admit—even for a minute—that he had probably only been trying to help. At least that was her best guess as she squatted and sighed and watched crimson piss spread across the pavement. That was her blunt assessment as the tips of her fingers came up bloody and she sensed someone watching and she looked up to see the dirty little girl with the dirty little face just staring at her through the fronds. Just staring intently before catching her eye and shrinking away—almost losing her footing. Just lost as a ghost before taking off and running across the fields.