Born to Be Wild

  He punched the metal face with his claws. Nothing would dent it. The sharp scraping thuds pounded his aural sensors. He looked himself over. His whole body had transformed. He was a monster, a hideous freak, and utterly alone.

  He decided the only thing to do was to walk out into the ocean and sink. He struggled to his feet, metal joints creaking, and waded deeper. He tried to cry, to scream, but no noise came out. His anguish remained bottled inside, like an unscratchable itch, fueling his hate.

  The thought of taking one last look at the world did not appeal to him. He wanted to shut his eyes and sink beneath the waves. But he had no eyelids. He could not blink. So he stared across the water.

  Floating on the surface, a few feet in front of him, was a soggy piece of paper.

  With a sharp, robotic motion, Benjamin snatched the paper out of the water and held it up to his optical sensors.

  “By every island and isthmus, by every archipelago, whosoever holds this document shall possess full ownership of THE 8TH CONTINENT.”

  Benjamin tightened his grip on the Ultimate Continent Ownership Form. Yes, of course. There was more to do. Much more. He could not sink to his eternal rest just yet. The Lanes had taken Benjamin’s humanity away from him. He would have to return the favor.

  First he would steal their continent.

  Next he would destroy their family.

  And then he would end their lives.

  Matt London (themattlondon.com) is a writer, video game designer, and avid recycler who has published short fiction and articles about movies, TV, video games, and other nerdy stuff. Matt is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop, and studied computers, cameras, rockets, and robots at New York University. When not investigating lost civilizations, Matt explores the mysterious island where he lives—Manhattan.

  Find out more at 8thcontinentbooks.com

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