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have to walk around. I want you to find one of the Grisnosian settlements. Find out as much about it as you can.”
    “ Won’t that be dangerous?”
    “ We’ll have to determine that when you get there.”
    “ I thought you said these people were dangerous. I thought they were threatening our way of life. And now you’re not sure how dangerous they are?”
    “ First of all, I never said any of that. Second of all, they are threatening our way of life. You didn’t let me finish what I was telling you.”
    I was pretty sure he had finished what he was telling me and was now just making things up as he went along.
    “ Okay. Sorry if I interrupted.”
    “ What we suspect is that the Grisnosians are wasting their land. We could bring some equipment out there, irrigate it. Give them all jobs.”
    “ That’s why I’m here?”
    “ So, you see, it’s really a peaceful mission. Poke around their settlement or city or whatever they have there, and get back to me with that information.”
    “ How do I get back to you?”
    “ Just speak into the headphones. I’ll be listening.”

 
    Thirteen
     
    Great. Now I had someone listening to my every move. If their surveillance was so strong, why didn’t they already know everything there was to know about the Grisnosians? Why didn’t they know exactly where their settlements were? Fetch didn’t even sound like he knew how developed they were or not. Didn’t even seem to know how many of them there were. I had no idea what I was walking into.
    But, one thing was for certain, I had a lot of walking to do. This land was flat and empty and I didn’t see anything on the horizon in any direction. I started walking in the same direction the lizard man had fled.
    It wasn’t long before my feet hurt and I developed a stitch in my side. I was thirsty. Before I panicked about lack of water, I decided to check the stock of the gun. I flipped it open and looked at the orange buttons. One of them was labeled ‘water’.
    I pressed it.
    A stream of water arced out from the butt of the gun. It stopped when I let go of the button. I positioned my mouth and pressed the button again. The tepid water shot into my cheek until I pointed it into my mouth. I didn’t drink very much. I felt like there had to be some supply in the gun somewhere and didn’t want to use more than I had to. I closed the metal panel on that half of the stock and looked at the machine gun with new found respect.
    So far, it felt like my only friend.

 
    Fourteen
     
    I walked until it got dark.
    My earphones crackled and Fetch’s voice came through. “Find anything yet?”
    “ Nope.”
    “ You’ve been there for hours.”
    “ Sorry. I haven’t found anything yet,” I snapped at him. I was getting hungry and tired.
    He didn’t sign off or say bye or anything. He just didn’t say anything else.
    I flipped open the panel on the gun and looked for a button that said ‘food’.
    There it was on the lower right hand side. It would have been great to have some sort of choice but, in this situation, I guess ‘food’ would have to do. I pressed the button. A thin rectangular wafer popped out of the butt of the gun like a piece of bread from a toaster. I touched it. It was warm. I didn’t really know what it was. It was kind of like a Pop Tart. I pulled it out and took a bite. The taste was indescribable. Not bad. Not great. Kind of bland. Kind of meaty. But I was starving so I wasn’t picky. I devoured it quickly and finished off with a small sip of water.
    “ How much water do I have in this thing?” I spoke into the microphone.
    I awaited a response but didn’t hear anything.
    So much for Fetch always listening.
    I explored the buttons on the machine gun.
    Tent. Grenade. Water. Razor. Soap. Bidet. Parachute. Food. Antivenin. Sunblock.
    I guessed those were all my essentials. ‘Antivenin’ concerned me. I wished there was a button that said ‘home’.
    I pressed the tent button. A tight tube of canvas