The earth beneath their boots heaved like the spine of an awakened dragon. Geysers of black soil surged toward the heavens, and within them, like the petals of bizarre, carnivorous flora, bloomed scarlet chrysanthemums. They were agonizingly exquisite in their fleeting, furious existence. Ichiro watched one such chrysanthemum blossom exactly where Cadet Yamamoto had stood a fraction of a second before. He perceived no body, heard no shriek
