Grub continued following the lizard. The rhythm of the pursuit had settled into something almost mechanical now. They’d step. Pause. Observe. The step again. The distance between them remained carefully maintained—close enough that he could catch the flicker of armor between the trees, far enough that a sudden turn would not immediately expose him. He had no idea how long the journey would last.

  That uncertainty weighed on him more than the physical pain. The forest ahead stretched endlessly in every direction, the trees blending into one another until the path felt like an invisible thread guiding the creature forward. The lizard walked with the same quiet certainty it had shown all morning, never slowing, never hesitating.

  Grub wondered how many hours the creature could continue like that. Could it walk the entire day without stopping?Would it eventually reach wherever it was going before nightfall? Or would this strange pursuit stretch on for another day… maybe several?

  He tightened his grip slightly on the bundle slung across his shoulder.

  The meat he carried still had some life left in it, and water had not yet become a concern, but every hour he spent following the creature pushed him deeper into territory he did not understand. The forest had already begun showing signs of structured movement. Patrol paths. Markers. Clear travel corridors.

  Sooner or later the lizard would reach the place those routes connected to. Grub only hoped he would still be alive when it happened. The creature ahead suddenly stopped. It was sudden and abrupt and through the boy off.

  Its head lifted, the narrow snout tilting slightly upward as if catching a scent on the wind. For a moment the lizard stood perfectly still, its tail rigid behind it. Then it made a sound. It was sharp and strange—halfway between a call and a bark. The noise cut through the forest like a signal. Before Grub could even process what it meant, the creature took off running. It wasn’t a conscious jog but instead a full sprint.

  The lizard launched forward with explosive speed, its legs driving against the forest floor as it surged between the trees like an arrow loosed from a bow.Grub’s heart lurched.

  Shit.

  He didn’t have time to think. If he hesitated even for a moment the creature would vanish, and the trail he had followed so carefully for days would disappear with it.

  So he ran as fast as he could after the creature. Pain exploded through his body the instant he forced his injured leg into motion. The burn along his calf screamed as the muscle stretched violently beneath the bandage. His ribs flared in protest with every jarring step, the damaged bone grinding beneath tightened skin.

  But he ran anyway. Branches whipped past his shoulders as he pushed through the forest, his breath coming fast and uneven as he tried desperately to keep the fleeing lizard in sight.

  The creature was fast. Far faster than he expected.

  Even with the head start it had taken, Grub could see how effortlessly it moved through the terrain. The lizard seemed to glide over roots and fallen branches, its long tail shifting with every step to maintain perfect balance. Grub had no such grace.

  More than once his foot slipped against damp leaves, forcing him to catch himself against a tree trunk before he fell completely. Each stumble sent a fresh shock of pain through his ribs. Still he pushed forward. He couldn’t lose it. Not now.

  The forest blurred around him as he ran, the steady rhythm of footsteps ahead guiding him deeper through the trees. His lungs burned as he forced more air into them, every breath dragging harshly against his injured chest. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the lizard stopped. Grub nearly crashed into a tree trying to halt himself.

  His boots dug into the soil as he skidded to a stop, grabbing the nearest trunk to keep from collapsing outright. The abrupt halt sent a violent jolt through his ribs, forcing a sharp hiss of pain from his teeth. For several seconds he couldn’t move. He simply leaned there, breathing hard as his body struggled to recover from the sudden sprint.

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  Then he looked ahead. And froze in shock. Another lizard stood in the clearing before them.

  This one wore armor as well, though the shape of the plates differed slightly from the one Grub had been following. The metal along its shoulders appeared broader, the chest plating marked by scratches that hinted at years of use. The moment the first lizard saw it, its entire posture changed.

  The tension left its shoulders. It stepped forward quickly. And then—much to Grub’s complete surprise—the two creatures embraced. The movement was unmistakably friendly.

  They wrapped their arms briefly around one another in a tight clasp, the gesture quick but genuine before stepping apart again. The sound of their voices followed immediately afterward. The strange language returned as they talked. The sounds rolled out in harsh bursts of layered syllables, the two creatures speaking quickly as if exchanging updates. Their voices carried faintly through the trees, though the meaning behind the sounds remained completely lost to him.

  Still, the tone told him enough.This was not a confrontation. They recognized each other. It seemed they were relieved to see each other. Perhaps they were comrades.

  Both of them appeared to be soldiers of some kind. Grub remained perfectly still behind the tree that concealed him, barely daring to breathe as the two lizards continued speaking. Every muscle in his body strained with the effort of staying silent. The conversation lasted only a minute.

  Then the second lizard turned and began walking again. Toward something deeper within the forest. The first lizard—the one Grub had followed all this time—fell into step beside it.

  Grub waited for a moment. He counted slowly under his breath as the two figures disappeared between the trees.

  One breath. Two. Ten.

  Only when he was certain they had moved far enough ahead did he begin following again. This time he moved even more cautiously than before. Now there were two of them. The path ahead curved slightly as the forest thinned along a shallow ridge. The trees gradually spaced farther apart, allowing more light to spill onto the ground.

  Grub slipped between the trunks carefully, maintaining distance while keeping the pair within sight. And then he saw it.

  The forest opened. What lay beyond the last line of trees stole the breath from his lungs. A massive camp stretched across the clearing ahead. It wasn’t some small outpost either. A full settlement layer sprawled out before him.

  Rows of tents and wooden structures filled the open ground, arranged in organized lines that spread outward from a central area. Tall poles bearing strange symbols rose above sections of the camp like markers of command. Dozens—no, hundreds—of figures moved throughout the area.

  Most of them were lizards. Many wore armor similar to the two he had followed. Weapons gleamed in the sunlight as soldiers moved between the structures, some drilling in open areas while others carried supplies from one part of the camp to another. The sound of their voices drifted faintly across the clearing, the same harsh language rising and falling in overlapping conversations.

  The place felt alive. But as Grub looked closer he noticed it was less like a camp and more like a military town. Grub stared intently as his heart hammered in his chest, but this time it wasn’t fear that drove it.

  It was exciting. This was it. Proof. Undeniable, irrefutable, concrete proof of civilization. An entire society existed in this world—and he had just found its soldiers. The two lizards he had followed continued walking toward the outer edge of the camp, disappearing among the many others moving through the area.

  Grub did not follow them. He deemed that would be suicide. Instead he slowly backed away from the tree line, careful not to break a single branch as he retreated deeper into the forest.

  Now that he knew where they were, there was no need to rush.

  He would wait and observe. Study them the way he had studied everything else in this strange world. And most importantly— He would learn their language.

  Only once he understood how they spoke would he reveal himself. After retreating a safe distance into the trees, Grub finally allowed himself to sit. He chose a shallow hollow between two roots where the surrounding foliage would break his outline and settled there carefully. His body immediately reminded him how badly the sprint had strained it.

  His ribs throbbed terribly. His leg pulsed beneath the bandage. But none of it mattered. He reached into his pack and pulled out a strip of the cooked meat he had been carrying since the hunt days earlier. The taste was rough and smoky as he tore into it, but the food barely registered. His mind was already racing ahead.

  He had found them. An entire people. And now that he had discovered where they lived, nothing in this world would stop him from learning everything about them.

  Grub chewed slowly as he stared through the trees toward the distant camp. His heart burned with anticipation.