Ryan, Lyra, and the rest of their group crouched low behind a rocky outcrop, quietly observing the landscape with sharp, silent focus.
The seemingly endless plain stretched out like a green sea. The tall wild grass swayed with the wind, rippling like waves on a stormy ocean.
Suddenly, a woman on a lev-cycle zoomed across the field, her speed leaving a trail of wind that made the grass whip and thrash.
Then, out of nowhere, a glowing tentacle of light shot up from the dense greenery, wrapping around her like the limb of some monstrous creature from the deep.
It gripped her tightly but released her just as fast, unharmed.
A while later, "the woman" reappeared. She continued her path, as if such incidents were a common occurrence.
She rode toward a small, nondescript hill, where she brought the lev-cycle to a halt.
With a quick tap on her opticomputer, a hidden platform appeared beneath her feet and quietly lowered her into the ground.
