Beware the Condor-Hogs

The stench of scorched fur and feathers hung in the air. Jack's eyes watered from the smoke billowing off the smoldering autumn forest.

"They've breached the perimeter," Ava said, her voice tight. The ground trembled as the beasts lumbered closer, grunting and snuffling.

Jack raised his pulse rifle, finger hovering over the trigger. Sweat slicked his grip. "How many?"

"Two. Closing fast."

A piercing shriek ripped the air as a condor-hog burst through the blazing underbrush in a spray of embers and ash. Beady eyes glowed red. A hooked beak dripped foamy drool. The abomination threw back its head, loose jowls quivering as it bellowed a challenge.

"Fire!" Ava yelled.

Pulse blasts sizzled through the smoky haze. The condor-hog squealed as superheated plasma peppered its blubbery hide. Enraged, it lowered its head and charged.

"Scatter!"

Jack dove right. Ava left. Scorched earth exploded where they'd stood a heartbeat before. Scrambling up, Jack pumped shot after shot into the beast's flank. It screamed and spun, snapping its beak.

An answering cry chilled Jack's blood. The second horror burst into the clearing and reared up on its hind legs. At nine feet tall, it towered over them, eyes seething with engineered malice.

"Fall back to the bunker!" Ava shouted over the creature's yowling.

Pungent smoke stung Jack's nose and eyes as he backpedaled, unloading his weapon into the looming monstrosity. It shrugged off the barrage, plodding forward with grotesque patience, leathery skin puckered with oozing blisters. The smaller beast circled wide, trying to cut off their retreat.

Jack's heel caught on a root. He stumbled.

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In that instant, the alpha condor-hog lunged, its putrid jaws gaping wide, beak gleaming in the firelight. Jack twisted desperately, the beast's fetid breath hot on his face. Ava's pulse rifle whined, unleashing a barrage into the monster's side. It reeled back, shrieking in fury.

"Move!" Ava yelled, hauling Jack to his feet.

Together they sprinted for the bunker, the enraged condor-hogs in pursuit. The heavy steel door loomed ahead, promising safety if they could reach it. Jack's lungs burned, his heart pounding as the creatures closed in.

They hurled themselves through the narrow opening, Ava slamming the door shut behind them. The condor-hogs slammed into it, their shrieks muffled by the thick metal. Jack and Ava stood breathing heavy in the dim light, the knowledge weighing on them: this was just the beginning. The gene-warped abominations were growing bolder, and one day, even the bunkers might not be enough to keep them at bay.

The Price of New Worlds

The ship hummed, a low, steady cadence that reverberated through my bones as I adjusted the thrusters. Vastness surrounded us, the massive planet's shadow engulfing the cabin with an eerie stillness. Sela, my co-pilot and closest friend, sat beside me, her gaze fixed on the swirling storm patterns below, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Readings indicate this outcrop is the only stable geological formation for hundreds of miles," she said, her fingers tapping and swiping the console. "Everywhere else there are atmospheric disturbances and surface instability."

I nodded, my throat tightening with a mixture of anticipation and dread. "Then we have no choice. That's our target."

Sela's gaze remained fixed on the viewscreen. "We've got one shot to hit it. If we miss, there's no backup plan."

We descended, the ship buffeted by the planet's turbulent atmosphere, the hull groaning under the immense pressure. We breached the clouds, revealing a primordial landscape of jagged, black cliffs and sprawling forests. The dim, amber light filtered through the thick atmosphere, casting a soft glow across the ancient terrain.

Sela leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the surface. "There," she said, pointing to a clearing amid the dense foliage. "That's our target."

I steered toward it, my hands steadying the ship against the buffeting winds. The descent was treacherous, the ship straining against the atmospheric turbulence.

We touched down with a bone-jarring impact. Sela's body slammed against the restraints. I heard the sickening crack of breaking bone. Then, stillness.

Silence fell, a silence so profound and oppressive that it felt like a physical presence. I turned to Sela, her body unnaturally limp, her eyes open but devoid of life. She was gone.

I sat there, numb, wondering if it was all worth it. The logs would show we made it, that we achieved our goal. But they wouldn't show the cost.

I was alone now on this uncharted planet, a pioneer at the edge of the known, surrounded by untamed wilderness that had already taken everything from me.