Once more unto the breach

When you went out into the jungle again this time it was with an entire squad of the marines. You couldn't help but notice the parallels between this and the movie that you'd **** yourself to watch after discovering the true reason for the colonies name. The large weapons of the Marines still made you feel much safer. Jessie was glued to your side, still responsible for your personal protection rather than acting as part of the squad. You all came to a stop as you reached the marker that had been set up to note where the barrier of the zone was.

"Alright, the spot where the reading was recorded was just fifteen meters in. Everyone will be on external communications while we're in the zone, stay in sight. Your gear should work for sampling but if it doesn't we'll return home. As long as you don't try any science magic that requires you stepping out of your suit this should all go smoothly." The sergeant in charge of the squad informed you, pointing at the spot she was talking about.

The zone had sensors set up outside of it to monitor for anything strange. The reason you were out here was because one of the sensors had detected something. The local wildlife stayed out of the zone entirely, so when an unexpected heat signature had been detected within the zone it was cause for investigation. The reason they had sent you was because they wanted to check if that signature was simply the result of a local plant that had an exothermic reaction. If it wasn't then things would get interesting. The zone only prevented transmissions, most technology worked fine inside but couldn't send any sort of signal. You were going to be checking for a source of hydrogen, methane or anything else that could have caused a heat flare. At least it was only a short distance in.

The marines fanned out as you entered the eerie silence. Their voices cut through it, making it a bit less eerie as they set up a small perimeter around you as you settled down to get to work. As you took out your equipment and began studying the local plants for traces of anything that could have caused a heat surge you heard one of the marines call out.

"Fifty meters front! Heat signature, its moving!" Their voice was tense and you immediately lowered yourself to the ground, crushing the plant you had just been examining. You felt Jessie beside you her weapon not raised but obviously alert, looking in the same direction as the one who'd called. A minute passed and nothing happened. "Its gone." Nobody relaxed.

"Know of any plants that move Nat?" Jesse asked, still beside you.

"Well yes, there's several species of roaming ferns on Acadia II and a tree that migrates every thirty days on Janus." You said, your voice was slightly shaky but the question helped you try to think.

"Whatever it was I doubt it was a fern. The jungle obscured it but it was moving too fast. Should we chase after it deeper into the zone we know nothing about in the name of scientific discovery?" The marine who'd spotted it asked. The second part was jokingly aimed at you.

"I-I think I'll pass." Now that you knew there was something else in there with you the desire to leave was strong. You had the most unsettling feeling that you were being watched. As the feeling had only started after whatever it was had been seen you knew it was psychological. Still you were happy to get the order to move out.

"You know. That zone obviously wasn't built to keep things out. What if its to keep something in?" One of the marines speculated. That did NOT make you feel better.

You managed to leave the zone without an issue. The real issue kept you up that night. What could have been so horrible that someone, possibly the worlds previous colonists, had made such a large cage to keep it in? And if it had been the colonists, why wasn't there anything written about it? A more chilling thought. What had really happened to the previous colonists?