Then it lost interest and snatched up the corpse in its mouth and proceeded to stride away, and before its great dagger of a tail had passed from view Red saw that it had been branded, like a laboratory animal, with an alphanumerical identifier, one that was as simple as it was strange.
It read: SDTB 01 – NAPOLEON.
––––––––
She wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there, and, indeed, he only came out of it when she touched his shoulder gently and said, softly, “Hey, Red ...”—which caused him to jump almost violently and to whip around, cursing at her vehemently.
“Red ... what in the hell?” She held up a paper sack. “I brought you some lunch.”
He only stared at her, his mouth hung wide, shaking his head once. At last he exhaled powerfully and ran a hand through his hair, then stared
