At sundown, 402 and Jezabel followed their trail up to a hilltop. The smell of salty air tickled Jezabel's nose.

From the hilltop, they saw not a coastline in front of them, but a shimmering oval. Gentle daylight poured from the breach in space, illuminating the field like a floodlight. Although the sky darkened over the field, the land on the other side of the breach was experiencing a bright morning. A beautiful beach could be seen through the breach with crashing waves beyond the sand. Some sand had been tracked through the breach and lay in piles in the grass of the field. The sand, the breeze, and the sunlight all flowed from the breach.

With a x10 magnification function on his camera lens, 402 studied the breach more carefully. Large reptiles with fins on their backs sunned on that beach. None of them paid much attention to the breach nor moved towards it.

Jezabel asked, “What is that?”

“That is a breach. It connects the Civilized Lands with a different world. That world is populated by dinosaurs.”

“Can they see us?”

“No, objects only pass one way through breaches, and the Civilized Lands are the destination. Light, sounds, and smells also pass only one way. The creatures on the other side can neither see nor smell us on this side. They only become a danger if they wander through.”

“Dinosaurs are mean.”

“Irrelevant, we should take a closer look.”

The robot led the child down the steep hill. She stumbled a couple of times. She asked, “Are breaches dangerous?”

“The area surrounding an active breach is designated with the term 'hot zone.' Hot zones constitute an area with one-mile radius surrounding the breach are considered highly dangerous due to unknown nature of toxins, flora, and fauna life which enters through the breaches.”

“Did robots lik you come from a breach?”

“Unknown, I was already in the Civilized Lands when I first activated. Regardless, we are not inspecting this breach. We are inspecting the battle site.”

It was only when they were closer that Jezabel caught the scent of death. The odor had been hidden by the smell of saltwater, but it was there lurking. Hidden by the tall grass, several bloodied bodies polluted the scene. Jezabel looked closer. Most of the dead were adult Humans, but a Climber was also face down in the tall grass. Dead horses with riding gear and saddlebags lay behind the breach, also dead. Each horse had a brand on its flank with the letter C.

402 recited, "Code of the West, 7th Rule: Thou shall ride for thine brand."

She asked, “Were they pilgrims?”

“No, they were not. There is not a Holy among them. From the lack of tools here, I do not think they were scavengers either.” 402 tapped a broken geiger counter with its foot. “I hypothesize that these victims were researchers who came here to study the breach. They were possibly sent by the Cooperative.”

“What's that?”

“The Cooperative is a faction of scientists and scholars who study breaches.”

“Why?”

“The Cooperative believes that it is close to developing a new technology capable of closing the breaches permanently.”

“So no more dinosaurs?”

“Yes, it also means no more Machine Men and no more Dru will enter the Civilized Lands.”

Jezabel looked at the torn throat one of the humans. “This looks like teeth marks. Did the dinosaurs get them?”

“Relevant, your theory is possible but unlikely. I am not skilled in differentiating the wounds caused by a raptor's claw and wounds caused by a trap cat's claw.” 402 turned over the body of the long-limbed alien Climber. “This Climber was killed by an energy weapon. I have never known a dinosaur to use a gun.”

“I thought that buzzards ate up dead bodies.”

402 searched the pockets of the bodies for other clues. Without looking up, it told her, “Some animals avoid the breaches. So long as we are this close, the birds will not approach.”

Jezabel grabbed for 402's arm. She pointed to the shadows in a large grove of trees. “Six, Six,” she said with her voice rising in pitch and speed, “The breach keeps the dinosaurs away, right?”

In the deepening shadows of dusk, a large figure watched the two of them. 402's vision zoomed in again. It identified the species as an allosaur, at least nine meters (thirty feet) long. A fine coat of dark feathers ran along its spine and made the creature almost invisible in its hiding place. The monster licked its lips.

Jezabel asked, “It's going to stay away from the breach, right?”

“Relevant, it has not scavenged these bodies yet, so it will not approach – until it gets hungrier.”

“Shoot it, Six! Kill it!”

The assassin took aim with his slug thrower. “It may be possible. If my slugs do not penetrate its thick hide at this range, I will waste our ammunition. I possess only three slugs left for this weapon."

Jezabel hid face in 402's side. “I'm sorry I can't speak to animals, Six. If I could, I would tell it to go away. I would tell it that we taste bad and it should eat something else.”

402 lowered its weapon. “Relevant, your strategy is sound. Jezabel, you will animate the body of this horse.”

“Why the horse? It can outrun the dinosaur, right?”

“Irrelevant, you will send the horse to the dinosaur. The dinosaur will eat the horse, and we will run in the opposite direction.”

Jezabel spent a full minute trying to slow her own breathing. She focused on the dead mustang. The body twitched.

Finally, the cadaver rose up to its full height. It wobbled. It found its balance. Then the bloody zombie-horse turned and walked unsteadily towards the grove. The allosaur waiting patiently for the horse to draw closer. As soon as it was within striking range, it leaped from the shadows. It's large maw closed on the horse's neck. It bit through the neck in a single bite.

Jezabel screamed. 402 grabbed her and carried her across the field. Jezabel continued to scream until the carnivore was well out of her sight.