Biological Imperative

Chapter One

Ursula

The radio blared Separate Worlds by Journey while Ursula Hofwyn belted out the lyrics. The winding road had left civilization twenty miles ago. To the middle of nowhere. Ah, bliss. Surrounded by nature. Rising with the sun. Being able to see the night sky because there was no light pollution. Or any pollution. At least there better not be.

The SUV grew closer to a highway sign, and Ursula grinned. It was the turnoff for Patomon Falls Park she had been looking for. She slowed down well in advance. Didn’t want the camper she was pulling to overturn. Luckily the gravel seemed fresh, so it was a smooth transition from the pavement.

Ursula just hoped the first site was as open as the topographical maps showed, otherwise her solar power was going to be severely limited. That meant her research pod would be too. Oh well, not the first time. There were workarounds, but she really hoped she wouldn’t have to use them.

The farther she went into the park, the rougher the road became. Looked like the re-stoning didn’t extend into the park yet. Great. She’d have to check the map once she reached her first stop to see where her backup sites were. Just in case.

Ping.

Instantly her eyes went to the GPS unit, alerted by the sound it shouldn’t make, let alone have a little emoji pop up on the screen.

I’m pretty sure hacking a GPS feed is highly illegal.

It startled her so badly she almost ran off the road when her best friend Phoebe Walden’s voice came through the speakers of her Jeep. Not as illegal as some of the other shit I do, and you know it. I just wanted to let you know that the third site you planned to use is blocked by a rockslide. You’ll have to pick another site or just move on to site four.

Ursula frowned. Site three was where she had hoped to obtain some botany samples of the local flora and fauna. It was a valley where the Patomon River split into tributaries, so between the slightly marshy area and regular-to-rocky earth the site would show a diverse number of plants and animals coexisting. The only reason she wasn’t going there first was her route from east to west.

Are there any other access roads for that valley?

The GPS screen went static for a second before a different track appeared with a path highlighted.

This is an alternate route, but the camper will never make it. Your Jeep might have some trouble too. It’s rough terrain meant for ATVs, really.

Ursula clicked on her hazard lights and pulled to a stop in the middle of the road. She didn’t expect anyone else to be up here -- the fall weather was already too cold for most hikers and campers -- but it paid to be careful. Just in case. She pulled the GPS unit off its mount to study the map and path laid out more carefully. Judging from the shaded areas around the trail, it wasn’t only rough terrain but cliff-like in its approach to the valley.

Are you sure my Jeep would make this? It looks a bit narrow.

Eh? I did compare the measurements of the typical ATV and your Jeep. You’re not super-attached to your paint job, right?

Well, there really wasn’t a pleasant response to that. Ursula blinked as the GPS returned to her previous route.

That does not reassure me, Phoebe.

"C’est la vie, Urs. Call me when you arrive at the first site, please."

Ursula rolled her eyes but knew she was going to call Phoebe just so her friend wouldn’t worry. Or do something crazy like send in the marines. Overreaction was her middle name.

She popped the GPS back into its mount before clicking off the hazard lights to continue on her way. It wouldn’t do to arrive after dark at her first site. Ursula didn’t want to lose a day setting up all her gear. If she could get to the site within the next half hour, she could set everything up and be ready to start gathering her samples first thing in the morning. The GPS indicated she would arrive roughly fairly close to her estimate. Barring any more interruptions. This was something she would bring up when she submitted her findings to the board of the Patomon Falls Park Committee: the conditions of their roads.

There it was, the turnoff for the camping area. Ursula maneuvered the Jeep and camper around the sharp curve and pulled into the deserted campground. A glance at the sky and she calculated she had just enough time to set up the camper at the campground facilities before it would be too dark to do anything else.

It was then, the first moment she stepped out of her Jeep, she felt it. Something was amiss. Wrong. There was treachery somewhere within the park. Pain. Anger. A gleeful sort of need to hurt. Not something she expected in the wilderness away from everything. That sort of thing was more akin to the inner cities where human prey was in abundance. It was the emotional high of a predator who liked to hurt those weaker than itself.

Fuck. There was a serial killer, or at least a budding one, loose in the park. Ursula crouched down and dug her fingers into the earth. The sensations sharpened the pain and even a hint of decay leaching toward her from the west. From deeper into the wilderness. From the direction she was planning to go to as she mapped the topography and gathered samples of flora to analyze.

Ursula rose to her feet and began to pace. This threw a wrench into everything. The exploration of the robust ecosystem of Patomon Falls Park had been in the works for months. She had barely managed to squeeze in two weeks with her family, but this would put the kibosh on the whole study. No, not an option.

First thing in the morning, she was going to contact the park ranger service. Granted, she didn’t know how she was going to convince them they had… well… poachers! That was the ticket. Hunting was illegal in the park. There was nothing like poachers to spur the park rangers into a frenzy. Her study would be safe. She wouldn’t have to tell Phoebe or any of the others what was going on. With her being able to point the park rangers in the right direction, the matter should be cleared up in no time.

In the meantime, no need to be the stupid chick who gets murdered in the first scene of the horror movie. Ursula was nothing if not a survivor. Her self-reliance forged a powerful bond between her sisters. First with Phoebe, then with Melanie and Lorelei. She unlocked the glove box and pulled out the Smith & Wesson M&P .45 with the green trace laser sights. She wanted her targets to know exactly where she was going to shoot them. The shoulder holster next, because it looked like she was going to be wearing it for the duration. While Phoebe and Lorelei might prefer blades, and Melanie was a loose cannon who viewed anything as a weapon, Ursula preferred the stopping power of a bullet.

Then she made herself busy unhitching the camper and hooking it up to the amenities offered by the park. Once the Jeep was locked up tight, she opened the door to the camper and began pulling out the bed that doubled as the seating area. The bed looked normal on the outside. Underneath was a different story as it held a mobile lab where the eating area should have been. It was complete with its own mini-fridge for samples, assorted glassware and Bunsen burners with the requisite hood, along with field-testing kits for an assortment of things. Maybe it was a little weird to have the kitchen area directly across from that, but she hadn’t poisoned herself yet by raiding the wrong fridge in the middle of the night.

The bed was made with no muss or fuss. Ursula was a pro at it after all these years, and it also gave the small water heater a chance to warm the water for a shower. That sure beat the hell out of heating water on the two-burner stove and filling the minuscule tub. It did not fit her six-foot frame, at all. To kill a little bit more time for the water heater, she went through her linens and decided when she reached site two she could use the water in the river to do a laundry run.

Deeming the water heater ready, Ursula headed for the small lavatory and took the quickest shower ever. She hated being doused in cold water, so it was always a race to see if she could scrub herself down before the hot water ran out. Today was a successful day as the water was just starting to cool as she turned the tap off. After dressing in her flannel pajamas, she carried her dirty clothes and the holstered gun back to the main room where she dumped them with the others and set the gun on the shelf above the head of the bed.

Once she was settled under the many, many covers she chose to pile on her bed as opposed to leaving the camper running, Ursula sighed. She’d forgotten to text Phoebe. Running her hand on the shelf above her head, she skipped past her gun until she felt the heavy metal of her phone. It was a sturdy piece of machinery Phoebe had built and programmed to work anywhere. Quickly she unlocked the phone and typed out a message.

Ursula: Arrived okay. Will keep you up to date on my travels.

She didn’t have long to wait for the response.

Ping.

Phoebe: About time! If Melanie hadn’t sat on me I’d have the park rangers there already!

Thank God for Melanie’s cool head. A snort followed that thought. What a lie. But Ursula was thankful she didn’t have any overgrown, misogynistic men hovering over her as she tried to get her camper hooked up to everything.

Ursula: Nope, everything is fine. I’m going to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.

Ping! So insistent! Ursula swore Phoebe did something to it to make it sound like a demand.

Phoebe: Okie dokie! Sleep well. I’ll tell you all about my job when you get back.

Ursula sat upright in her bed, staring at her phone. What the hell? Phoebe didn’t work. Not like a regular job. However, the active icon was gone off Phoebe’s little imp face. Figured. Always the one to drop a bombshell and then duck out from the fallout. Well, she was Melanie and Lorelei’s problem at the moment. They’d keep her semi in check. Maybe. Or Melanie would be like the gasoline to the flames. Or napalm. Either way, it was too much to worry about, so Ursula would just let that go so she could get some sleep. Besides, she had moss to hunt for tomorrow.

* * *

Dr. Reginald Gleason sat at the kitchen table with his cold hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee. He didn’t want to be here. Not in this company and not dealing with this specific science project of The Aleka Group. Not again.

Do you think she’ll squeal when we catch her?

Ugh, these Neanderthals were obsessed with nothing but catching the female subject. The only interest they had in the male was if he would be a challenge or not. He had tried to warn them. The female would be the problem. Probably more so than the male. That was always the case with animals.

Doc, what’s her deal again? She’s some type of egghead?

Lord, the patience he was having to cultivate on this trip. Reginald turned to the three men standing around the kitchen butchering a deer they had killed earlier.

Yes, she’s educated. She is a doctor but chooses to focus her talents on botany.

A doc like you? A shrink? Lyle scratched his greasy hair and squinted at Reginald with watery blue eyes.

Reginald took a sip of the god-awful coffee before responding. No, she is a medical doctor as well as holding a Ph.D. in botany.

An egghead. Blood dripped from the skinning knife onto the floor as one of the other so-called hunters turned his attention to Reginald. Easy prey.

Gary was a true psychopath and Reginald was pretty sure he was one of The Aleka Group’s earlier projects. Back when they were doing their experiments on prisoners. He wasn’t sure what kind of psychic or animal Gary was -- they had liberally mixed the two before he had come on board -- but whatever it was enjoyed the hunt a bit too much. To Gary, they were all killable.

Maybe, but Dr. Rainier wants her captured alive. His R&D has had a major setback, and he wants to revisit his successes. Your job is to hunt and capture her so we can see how she has progressed in her psychic abilities and how the animal DNA grafted into her when she was a child affected her.

Gary’s head whipped around to their third member, and a light rumbling growl passed his lips. Phil flinched at the sound and lowered the knife he had been about to use to cut into the meat.

The male who claims this territory?

Phil moved away from the counter propped up against the wall, well out of Gary’s reach. Reginald got the impression Phil was going to meet an untimely end if he didn’t stop challenging what was obviously the alpha of the group.

He is part of the Alpha Eight group, ursine species. The genetics are repressed and inaccessible. For all intents and purposes, neuter within the project.

The tearing sound of flesh filled the kitchen, and Reginald once again wished he was anywhere but here. He didn’t want any further involvement with this generation of subjects, let alone their mates. Not after his previous encounter. But word had come down from above: if he wanted his funding back, his life back, he was to oversee this operation. In the wilds of nowhere.

Gary’s back was to him, but Reginald could see the empty eyes and the excited grin on his face in the mirror next to the arched kitchen entrance. He was looking forward to this. To the hunt. The kill. Reginald had no doubt Gary had been on death row when The Aleka Group had offered him a deal. Sadly, he doubted Ursula Hofwyn was going to make it out of these woods alive. No matter their orders. No matter the punishment that would befall all of them.

Right. Tomorrow we will split into teams. The doc and I will begin tracking the female. Lyle and Phil will hunt for the male. Gary’s meticulous slicing never varied an inch. Slow and