A field of gold lay before Sage and yet he couldn't tell if the product of the tall plants could be eaten. His stomach grumbled as breakfast had been when the sun rose hours ago in the car. Staring out at the field, he picked a few of the stalks, bending them so that the body and tops fit into his small bag. Maybe his father would know what to do with the plant.

The light laughter of his sister playing a few feet away brought out a smile from him. Not often did they find reasons to laugh driving from one deserted town to the next, barely surviving. He found little June jumping around in circles and waving her hands as a little butterfly fluttered out of her reach. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her. As long as she didn't go into the strange field, he didn't mind her playing around while he searched for edible plants. She tended to stay close except when an interesting bug caught her attention. Then she would follow the bug, trying to catch it. Shaking his head, he focused back on the food search.

Deep in the midst of the field, a strange machine rested. The metal had a dull shine in the afternoon sun, indicating that it hadn't moved in several years. He wondered what it had been used for and what the people who owned such equipment were like. Maybe a family had once lived nearby and played in the field without worry of monsters. To live with out fear, to not move from place to place, to have friends, it all must have been great. Forgetting the plants, Sage stared at the old machinery until a high pitched shriek pulled him back to the present.

Searching, he panicked when he didn't see June. He ran to where he thought the cry came from several feet away near a different edge of the golden field where tall grass gave way to tall trees. There, he found June clutching a twig. A few feet in front of her, a small animal crouched. When he approached it growled and while small, the fur and colored markings told him that it was more than a small animal, it was a baby monster. Sharp teeth glistened with drool as the animal opened its mouth. June whimpered at the sound.

Without thinking much into it, Sage stepped between June and the little monster, dropping to the ground onto his knees. He uttered a deep growl while in his head he found himself hoping it would go back into the trees and leave them alone. He didn't want to deal with an angry mother. He'd rather find food than be food.

The little monster stared at him for a moment, then it turned and wandered away.