The mutant cattle had been still for about an hour; their black hides crusted with frost and dart punctures. The snipers continued shooting at them even after the hour was up and they lay still, immobile like corpses.
It seemed safe enough to venture outside, but Sunshine did not relax just yet. Every instinct screamed that the calm was wrong, this had been way to easy. The frost around the animals was not as thick as that around the areas surrounding them.
Why was that, she wondered. Was it heat from their bodies? She also worried that the mist would be back with the beasts that had retreated or maybe even worse.
Another thing that worried her were the watchers. The birds had not shifted from their positions, it was like they were waiting for something else to happen. They lounged in the snow like statues, eyes blinking slowly, postures loose, bored even. If their goal was to keep her guessing, they had accomplished it splendidly.
