Chapter 3

Sarah approached another werewolf cautiously, syringe in hand. "Hold on, just a little longer," she whispered, her voice barely audible amidst the chaos. With a swift motion, she injected the sedative into its flank, hoping it would take effect quickly.

The werewolf growled, staggering for a moment, before collapsing to the ground, its wild eyes slowly regaining humanity.

Inspired by Sarah's success, Emma pressed on, her words laced with compassion. "There's a way to bring balance to your existence, to harness this power and use it for good. We can find that way together."

"Let's see what comes up first."

As Sarah administered sedatives to more of the werewolves, the laboratory began to quiet down. One by one, they fell into a deep slumber, their monstrous forms transforming back into their human selves.

Exhausted but determined, they surveyed the now serene scene. The victory was only temporary, but it had bought them a crucial moment to regroup and plan their next move.

"We've shown them that we can help," Emma said. "Now, we must gather those who are willing to work with us, infected and uninfected alike. We'll need their assistance to develop a method of control."

Sarah nodded, her gaze fixed on the slumbering werewolves. "We have to find a way to replicate the effect of the sedatives without suppressing their strength entirely. Also, we need to strike a balance between control and allowing them to harness their power."

Emma placed a reassuring hand on Sarah's shoulder. "We'll find a way, Sarah. We've come this far, and we won't give up now."

They set to work, rallying those who were willing to join their cause, infected and uninfected alike. The battle against the lunar virus had taken a dangerous turn. They thought it was beyond zoonotic encounters. This is not Earth. They need to do more.

They continued strategizing and were unaware of the dangers that lurked in the shadows. A whisper of malevolence filled the air. An unknown force, hidden among them and watching their every move.

That night Sarah was startled in her sleep. She had been dreaming of seeing a gryphon and then it morphed into something else. And then permafrost appeared before her, telling her stories of destruction. She tried walking away but the dream, the permafrost kept following her.

She opened her eyes and sat back in her bed. She sleeps alone since she's lonely and at twenty-six she could not get a boyfriend because she's not interested in anything with anyone but science and technology.

***

That night Sarah was startled in her sleep. She had been dreaming of seeing a gryphon, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, soaring through the moonlit sky. But then the gryphon morphed into something else, something unfamiliar and unsettling. The dream took a dark turn as she found herself face to face with permafrost, a frozen landscape that whispered tales of destruction.

She woke up with a start, her heart pounding in her chest. Sweat trickled down her forehead as she tried to shake off the lingering unease. With a sigh, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, contemplating the significance of her dreams.

Sarah had always been drawn to the mysteries of the past. As a child, she would spend hours exploring her mother's lab, fascinated by the fossils and artefacts collected from Earth. The remnants of ancient creatures told stories of evolution and adaptation, fueling her curiosity and passion for understanding the natural world.

She has read the works of Adrienne Mayor, who wrote about ancient antiquity and those of Savante Pabloo on paleogenetics. Since they are the first generation on the Moon, with mostly no fossils, she has been trying to get some. Who knows if the Moon even predated Earth in terms of humans colonising it? She always wondered about this and many other things.

In one corner of the lab, a glass case held a collection of fossils her mother had unearthed during her expeditions. Sarah's eyes glimmered with wonder as she remembered the hours spent examining those relics, imagining the creatures that once roamed the Earth.

"Mom," she had asked one day, her young voice filled with excitement, "where did these creatures come from? How did they evolve?"

Her mother had smiled, her eyes sparkling with a mix of knowledge and love. "Well, Sarah, it's a fascinating journey. Over millions of years, life on Earth has gone through remarkable transformations. It's through the process of evolution that these creatures adapted to their environments, giving rise to the diversity we see today."

Sarah was captivated by her mother's words. She yearned to uncover the secrets buried within the Earth's layers, to delve deeper into the intricacies of evolution and to unravel the connections between the past and the present.

Now, as she stood in her lab on the moon, surrounded by scientific equipment and research notes, Sarah couldn't help but reflect on the significance of her dreams. Could they be a manifestation of her desire to understand the lunar virus, its origins, and its impact on human evolution?

Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice the faint sound of footsteps approaching. It was Emma, her trusted colleague and confidante, who broke the silence.

"Sarah, there you are," Emma said, a hint of concern in her voice. "I've been looking all over for you. Are you alright?"

Sarah blinked, snapping back to reality. "Oh, Emma. I'm fine, just lost in thought. I had an unsettling dream."

Emma's brow furrowed. "What was it about?"

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to explain the mix of mythology, fossils, and unease that had plagued her sleep. But she trusted Emma, and they had always shared a deep passion for scientific inquiry.

"I dreamt of ancient creatures and permafrost," Sarah began, her voice filled with a mixture of intrigue and trepidation. "It felt like a warning as if the answers we seek lie buried in the secrets of evolution itself."

Emma's eyes widened with curiosity, her scientific mind intrigued. "Sarah, you've always had a unique way of connecting the dots. Perhaps your dream holds a clue, a pathway to unlocking the mysteries of the lunar virus."

Sarah nodded, a flicker of excitement igniting within her. "I think you're right, Emma. It's time to go deeper, to explore the intersections between mythology, genetics, and the evolution of life. Maybe in understanding the past, we can shape the future of the moon colony."