KISMET ─ vento aureo.

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"What is it attracted to?" Abbacchio wondered. "How was it able to block those elector pulses?"

"Heat, maybe?" Rati suggested. He'd started moving closer to your arm, the cooler held aloft.

"Why hasn't it gone after you or me then? You'd think we'd be giving off more body heat than an elector."

You groaned, seeing black spots dance across your vision. You didn't know how much energy you had, but you wouldn't last long at this rate.

"I just don't understand how it moves so quickly—" Rati accidentally kicked the bottle of water he'd given you earlier across the boat. In a flash, the organism left your arm and pounced on the bottle instead, water spouting into the air as it dug its tentacles in it.

You let out a relieved gasp, bringing your arm to you. You grimaced at how raw and sensitive it felt. Was it just your imagination, or did it seem thinner than your other arm?

Rati's mouth was open. "Why did it do that? The bottle . . . it's not even living."

You took deep breaths and slowly shifted into a sitting position closer to Abbacchio. You eyed the organism tearing into the waterbottle, as mindlessly as it had been attacking your arm.

You shook your foot weakly in its direction, bracing yourself to be attacked again. The organism ignored you.

"Could it be . . ." You coughed. "Movement? Maybe that thing's tracking movement?"

"Speed," Abbacchio murmured. "Seems like it goes after the fastest thing in the vicinity. First it was you falling backwards, and then that water bottle Rati kicked."

It made sense. That was why Abbacchio and Rati could move around the boat without the organism attacking them, but sudden movements made the organism latch right onto you. You supposed the faster you tried to run from it, the faster it would catch you.

Shivers ran down your spine at the thought. What kind of organism was this? You didn't have to be a scientist to see that it didn't fit in anywhere in Minos' ecosystem. Or any ecosystem, really.

"Fascinating," Rati said. "What an incredible power."

"Power?" you echoed. "What do you mean?"

Rati raised the cooler, ready to catch the organism.

"What the hell are you doing?" Abbacchio snapped. "You can't really be thinking about catching that thing again."

"The scientists need it for research," Rati said plainly.

"It'll kill them before they study anything. We need to get rid of it. You said it yourself how deadly this thing is. It's better off dead than in a lab."

Rati looked almost remorseful. "But there's so much we could learn from it. Especially because it's a—" He cut himself off.

"It's a what?" you said.

"I suppose you're right," Rati said, backtracking. He lowered the cooler. "Electors won't work. None of us can get close enough to it without being attacked. What should we do?"

You're the researcher and you're asking us? you thought. You looked out over the edge of the boat. If only you could chuck the thing into the ocean—wait.

You said to Rati, "Can you get us further out into the water? Where the currents and waves are stronger? If that thing's attracted to speed, it'll just—start chasing the waves until it dies. Or drowns."

"It's not a bad idea," said Abbacchio.

"You're assuming that a boat or vessel faster than the waves won't pass by the organism," Rati said.