One-Eye crawled to the top of a rocky hillock, scanning the terrain before making his final approach to the Gilded Heights.

  The haphazard settlement rose from the biome’s black sand like a festering wound. The unpaved streets were filled with rotting refuse, which the Claws’ conscripts usually dumped a few miles out so the waste wouldn’t attract scavengers or worse.

  By now, he was certain something unprecedented had occurred. There were only a few people in sight, and the freshest tracks leading away from the piss-poor excuse for a settlement were several days old.

  The hunter wasn’t sure what to make of the situation, but it didn’t change what he had to do. One-Eye was here to save his friends and kill anyone who stood in his way.

  After making sure his bowstring was in good repair and his blades were sharp, he continued crossing the badlands as carefully as he could. In addition to the powerful predators that roamed the high-threat biome, he was on the lookout for the jailbirds’ scouts along with anyone else in the area.

  By now, the survivors of the strike force that had entered the Savage Garden must have figured out he’d betrayed them and sent word back to Yussuf. Any of the Claws’ core members would murder him on sight, which meant he needed to be stealthy and eliminate as many enemies as possible before anyone realized he was back.

  Returning to the Gilded Heights was extremely risky, but he wasn’t going to let his people suffer Yussuf’s abuse any longer—let alone the horrors that awaited anyone who entered Roth’s tower, Tiburón’s larder, or Ella’s villa.

  While the gang’s army was formed from hardened killers, not everyone living in the settlement was a sadist or murderer. The Claws had conscripted every cored individual they captured, along with anyone possessing useful knowledge or skills. The ones who weren’t suited to join Yussuf’s kill teams had been forced to serve as expendable laborers, handling the day-to-day operations that kept the jailbirds fed and their city from falling apart.

  Given the location of the settlement and the people in charge, death and disfigurement were a common occurrence. Anyone who couldn’t pull their weight was eliminated in one gruesome manner or another—one more reason for One-Eye to put them in the ground.

  After making his way back from the dungeon, it was finally time to slip inside the settlement and escape with his friends before the Claws knew what hit them. It would be hard to keep everyone alive during the trip to the Ivory Plains, but anything was better than staying in this gods-forsaken wasteland. He wasn’t sure if Puppet Town would be willing to take them in, but he intended to do everything in his power to make that happen and trusted the hunters he’d fought beside in the Savage Garden.

  While these thoughts ran through his mind, One-Eye crept over to the northern watchtower with his dagger poised to strike. This was the most dangerous part of his mission. If the lookout spotted him and sounded the alarm, his rescue was doomed, and his life was forfeit.

  As adrenaline electrified every cell in his body, the hunter tiptoed up the crude wooden staircase, avoiding the steps that would creak beneath his weight. When he reached the observation platform, he glanced over the guardrail to make sure no one was looking his way and then turned to face the convict on duty—a particularly vile man named Thon, who everyone called Reek for obvious reasons.

  Reek was a murderous rapist who would backstab anyone to obtain even the slightest benefit for himself. His savagery had placed him on One-Eye’s kill list—along with half the Claws living in the Gilded Heights. He kept his fury in check while preparing to make his move. It’s time to pay for what you did to Yuri, you vile piece of shit.

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  He waited until Reek took a swig from a bottle of liquor distilled from the local cacti, then crossed the platform without making a sound. He planted his dagger between two vertebrae, severing the bastard’s spine and sending him sprawling across to the worn wooden floor.

  The man looked up in horror, trying to rise but unable to move his legs. He ignited his core but canceled the skill when One-Eye pressed a dagger against his throat hard enough to send blood trickling down his neck. “Where is Yussuf and the rest of his crew? I didn’t see any members of his kill squad in the settlement.”

  He could see the wheels in Reek’s head spinning—desperately trying to find an opening to turn this situation around. The man was a coward who would do anything to save his life. He wasn’t smart enough to come up with a convincing lie under duress, which is why the hunter had chosen this man to be his first victim.

  “They’re gone,” Reek squealed. “They left days ago. There are only a few cored members left in the Heights—along with the dregs who are too weak to fight. Please don’t kill me; there are more than enough women to share, or men if that’s how you…” The rest of his sentence was cut off as One-Eye slit his throat.

  He turned his gaze to the buildings below while pondering what he’d learned. Reek’s words lined up with his own observations. It seemed Yuusuf really had abandoned the Gilded Heights, which wasn’t too surprising under the circumstances. The Claws’ leader was planning to invade Puppet Town and make it his new base of operations, claiming the core manufactory that had slipped through his fingers in the process.

  It meant the settlement was in grave danger, since Yussuf was almost as strong as the gang’s other elites combined. But it also meant saving his friends and eradicating his enemies would be easier than One-Eye had feared. With any luck, he could make it to the plains in time to assist Puppet Town, securing their goodwill and a second chance for his people.

  When the hunter crept down from the watchtower and slipped between a gap in the outer wall, there were only a few people nearby. He eventually spotted someone he trusted, and when Ilene walked by his hiding place, he motioned to draw her attention.

  When she saw him, the woman walked over to One-Eye’s side. He explained the deal he’d made with Edge and the hunters who had defeated the Gardener, then made a list of everyone who was left in town.

  There were five Claws who needed to die no matter what, and another group that could go either way—although he was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and let them live if they wanted to stay behind or promised to behave themselves once they made it to Puppet Town.

  One-Eye was in the middle of working out a plan when the situation changed in the blink of an eye. Mikeal was posted in the other watchtower. The warrior rang the alarm bell, slid down a pole, and came sprinting down the town’s main street.

  “Everyone, stop what you’re doing and get ready to leave. There’s a horde of beasts approaching the settlement! They’re insanely aggressive and attacking anything that crosses their path. I’ve never seen anything like it. They will be at our walls in less than an hour, and if we’re still here when they arrive, they’re going to slaughter us all.”

  While people began running to gather their meager belongings, One-Eye sprinted to the guard tower and used a sight-enhancing skill to peer into the distance. Oh shit. Mikeal wasn’t exaggerating.

  There were hundreds of beasts headed straight for the Heights—far too many to defeat or drive back. We don’t have time to gather supplies. We need to leave now, or we’re all going to die. His people needed to grab their weapons and run for their lives. When he took one last look at the approaching horde, he saw something in the distance that made his blood run cold.

  He ran his gaze across a mountainous figure cresting the horizon. A great tentacled creature rising hundreds of feet into the air. By the gods, that’s a kaiju—the biggest I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t sure if the titanic cephaloid had anything to do with the army of beasts that was marching on the Gilded Heights, and he didn’t have time to find out.

  One-Eye raced back to spread the news—desperate to get his people out of the biome before it was too late.