Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 2
Uninhabited Island / Underground tunnel
Galactic Standard Time / 1320
Roy just felt his heart freeze as he heard the screeches from above. For a heart-stopping second, he hoped that he was dead, that he hadn’t heard those noises. But then a stone fell onto his head and he felt a spark of pain and knew the truth. For a second he wondered how he would fight them off alone, then he realized the true horror.
In his mindless escape attempt, he had led those things to his friend. The creatures that were chasing him were monsters, pure and simple. Their strength and the way that they had killed the cultists that had been his comrades. He saw it behind his eyes, and felt shame and fear. They would kill Jinn first, then they would him and the baby! Those things would eat their dead bodies, and he couldn’t see anything that he could do to stop them!
“What are they, Roy!?” Jinn demanded and Roy felt his heart quicken as his terror increased.
“I couldn’t see them, they hid in the dark! They just lunged out of the forest and killed, never stopping just moving and killing!” Roy said in a panic.
“Roy. Roy!” Jinn called out and Roy looked up at his friend. Jinn had gotten a hard look to his face as the blade he was holding suddenly turned from a knife to a sword.
“Right! We’ve got to stay in the now, fight off these things right?” Roy said absently and tried to reach for his pistol.
“No, not we, me,” Jinn said and Roy looked at him, paling as he realized just what Jinn meant by that word.
All he could do was stare at Jinn before a gurgle of the baby caused him to look down. He realized why Jinn had said what he did. He looked up and locked eyes with Jinn as he smiled bitterly back at him. He tried to say something when Jinn spoke up.
“Roy, get that child and yourself behind me! I’m with a group, Al is back there with three girls, move!” Jinn barked as he aimed his pistol at the hole above them.
Roy stumbled to his feet, clutching the baby tighter to his body. Without a word he ran, leaving Jinn behind him to handle what was coming. As he ran he felt a tear drop from his eyes, hoping that he hadn’t said goodbye to his friend forever.
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Jinn smirked as he moved backwards away from the hole, his bloodlust starting up again. He had to do something, but he always loved the fight. How life and death were on a razor’s edge, how one move could bring death or victory…. He knew few other things that made him feel alive.
As the screeches increased in sound, three small forms fell out of the hole.
Jinn looked at the creatures as they tried to climb over each other, underwhelmed. They were small, maybe three feet tall. Each of the creatures were a kind of strange black lizard-like biped with hunched backs with sails down the middle. Their faces had muzzles that went out a good half foot and had sharp bumps on the bottom. They had two eyes that were a solid black color and they had four fingers that ended m claws.
After a few moments they stood up and seemed to be sniffing the air, trying to find Roy’s scent.
“What are they….. they’re blind,” Jinn whispered in wonder. He had seen blind creatures before, even hunted them. But creatures that lived in the sun that were blind? That was beyond anything he had even thought was possible. As he thought about how they could hunt he realized how. But he was too late, as a moment later the three creatures turned towards him.
With a screech they charged. Jinn only looked at them as he raised his pistol, firing as he moved backwards. One blast hit one of the creature’s face, destroying its eye. It screeched in pain as it fell, but the other two just dodged Jinn’s shots as they closed on him. Jinn blocked one’s slash but the other slipped by him. He pushed off the one attacking him so he could fire his blaster at the other one. His shot flew and hit, making a hole in its leg, it went down in pained screeches.
As the one that he had shot got back to its feet, the one that attacked him lunged at him again. Dodging the to the right Jinn slashed down at the attacking creature, slashing off its right arm. As it reared back in pain the first creature jumped at him. Jinn brought his blade and used it as a shield to block, but he was pushed against the wall.
He saw the third creature getting back to its feet. It 'looked' around for a few moments before it dashed away, after where Roy had gone. All Jinn could do was spare a moment of prayer that Roy could get to the others before the creature got to him. Moments later he pushed the creature attacking him away. He screamed, trying to keep the creatures focused on him as he moved backwards.
“I hope you guys make it here,” Jinn muttered as he heard more screeches from the tunnel mouth above echoing off the cavern’s walls. “Soon.”
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As Racha led the way, she tried to focus on the now. She couldn’t understand anything, Jinn had class ten nanites? The Engineer’s School knew how to make class ten nanites? Heretics were a thing? In the last few minutes, everything that she believed in was questioned, and she didn’t like that. If she didn’t know, then she could only hope that her superior did. If the Engineer’s School had been able to hide the secret of class ten nanites, what else had they been keeping to themselves?
Ahead of them, she saw the tunnel turn to the right, away from where the yard ship was! Still, the sounds they had heard were what was important now, they could deal with their goal later.
“Help!” A male voice caused Al to surge past her, his rifle raised.
As he turned a corner he stopped, staring as Racha caught up. Running towards them was Roy, carrying a bundle in his arms. He was trying to make himself small as something ran after him, something that screeched as it ran.
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“Roy, get down!” Al called out.
Roy lunged to the side and Al fired, hitting whatever was chasing Roy in the head. As the creature took a step forward, it fell to the floor as black blood leaked from a hole through its head.
Roy looked over his shoulder and panted as he looked at the dead creature.
Racha looked at him, frowning as he had his back to the creature, wondering why he had done that. For a moment she thought it was so he wouldn’t see the end blow coming when she heard the sound of a baby crying. Roy turned, revealing that he had been holding a baby to his chest.
“A bratling? Roy, why do you have a kid?” Al asked as he walked to the creature and looked down, frowning as he did. He put his rifle down and pulled out a knife from his boot. Without a word, he brought it around the creature’s neck, creating a ling all around it a few inches deep. Grabbing the maw, he pulled the head off.
“Why the hell did you do that!?” Sara demanded as she and Paige caught up.
Al was silent, turning the head to show the hole he had put through its head.
Racha looked at it and frowned, about to say something when she saw that the hole was closing. She stared at it in shocked awe, watching as the healing stopped after the hole had healed almost halfway.
“Bad healing factor, for us anyway,” Al said as he looked at the head, throwing it down the tunnel towards where Roy had come.
“And now we have to deal with regenerators, great. Those are always so fun to fight!” Racha said bitterly. For a moment she was on a mission a few years ago and felt the terror that those things had caused her. But at least this time, the monster was a lot smaller than what she had dealt with then.
“We…… you have to help Jinn!” Roy exclaimed as Sara came over and started to examine him and the baby.
“Hold on there, Jinn’s a great fighter. He’ll be able to handle a few of these things,” Pagie said and Roy looked at her with an aghast look.
“Can he handle forty of them!?” Roy demanded and Racha felt faint as she looked at him. If he had been able to escape forty of these things, that wasn’t too bad. But if he had to run from these things with whatever group he had been with, then that was a lot worse.
“Stay here with him you two. Al, with me!” Racha barked as she ran towards Jinn. Al followed a moment later, his rifle back in his hands.
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“Wait!” Roy called out in horror, and Paige felt the shame he was feeling.
“Don’t worry, those two can handle it,” Paige said as Sara looked over the baby.
“Okay, this little lady is fine. A bit banged up but I think she’ll be okay,” Sara said, causing Paige to feel a sigh leave her lips.
“Good. I was worried. What happened to you Roy, where’s the rest of your capsule?” Paige asked and Roy looked away.
Paige shared a look with Sara, and Paige nodded at her.
“Look Roy, if you don’t want to talk about it’s okay. At least me and Sara. But Racha, now she’ll want to know the truth….” Paige began and Roy turned around, a scowl on his face.
“I…. I. They went mad, all of them! After those flying worms attacked us, the only officer there went off into deep space! He talked about sacrificing the weakest, how this whole planet was ‘a place to thin the herd’! I objected with a few others, and I was thrown out with this little one!” Roy exclaimed and Paige felt the truth and terror in his words.
For a second she didn’t understand him, but when she did she felt herself pale in fear. She had thought that everyone aboard the ship in an officer’s slot was at least stable. The last day had been terrible, but to have gone that far off the space lanes?
“So what happened, were you one of the offerings with this one?” Sara asked and Roy nodded.
Paige felt Sara’s rage and took a deep breath, at least her ability to feel only her own emotions was still working. A strange sense hit her then, and she turned and looked down. Paling in horror, she pulled out her pistol and fired at the head, the head that was growing tentacles from its neck. As her blasts drilled through the thing’s skin and skull, Sara moved backwards as Roy joined his pistol to Paige’s.
They stopped moments later, all that was on the floor of the tunnel were bits and pieces that had once been a head.
“That was….. that was beyond any kind of regeneration I’ve ever heard of! What kind of Island is this!?” Sara demanded as she looked at Paige.
Paige felt Sara’s horror, and she felt the same. This place was showing that nothing they thought was true. This place was forcing them to face the darkness of the unknown and how much they didn’t know. Paige just hoped for something beyond all this. Don't think about finding out the truth of this place. All she could hope for was that the team and the people back at the capsule survived this horror-planet.
“Yeah, I feel the same Sara,” Paige said and looked at Sara. Paige felt that Sara was thinking about something, and she hoped that whatever it was, Sara shared it. Whatever it was, it seemed to be bothering Sara a lot.
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Sara looked at the remains, her mind going very fast. She had a great teacher during her schooling back at the healing school. They had been a researcher, looking for a way to increase all species' regenerative abilities. She had helped them with an experiment and she knew beyond a doubt what that thing had just done. If she was right, then there was no way that there was any way that they could have been natural. But then the concept of powers reared its head.
That was something that she had never heard of before, anywhere. She knew the facts of evolution, and this was so beyond that. It was something that was in the realm of stories and fiction, not real life! She had seen the research her old teacher had done, but this was so beyond it!
She might have seen a few experiments based on that research but that? It was so beyond anything they could do. The best just healed scars, not grow new body parts! But this planet, it was beyond anything that any planet’s life evolved. This whole situation was beyond them, beyond all their knowledge. The fact that they had done so, it seemed that they just existed to make them go crazy! Nothing on this planet was on any other planet she had ever heard of!
Sara went still, as she tried this from another track. Page had abilities before she even stepped onto the Spirit of Adventure. Paige showed it was possible to have people off planet, to develop them naturally. Did that mean animals and beasts could do so as well? But these creatures had developed them, and she had to wonder if they all had. If the kind of regeneration that skull had showed was something that they all had……. The others were walking into a trap!
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Roy looked at Sara as he took the baby back, staring at her eyes. He had seen enough people deep in thought react violently, he didn’t want to risk the baby. As he looked at Paige, he wondered why she was looking at Sara in that way.
“We need to move, right now! Roy follow behind us!” Sara barked as she moved to follow after Al and Racha.
“Wait, why?! What is it?” Roy called out, but Sara didn’t even stop. She just ran after Al and Racha.
Roy looked at Paige who shrugged as he looked at her and nodded before she ran after Sara. Roy looked around, seeing a small bird flying by before it flew upwards into a hidden hole. Roy looked from the hole to the back of Paige. He looked down at the baby in his arm before he swallowed. Without a second’s hesitation, he began running after the others. In this place, the best thing to do was seek safety in numbers.
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Jinn slashed a lizard creature in two down the middle before he dodged two more of the creatures. He had been lucky so far, only another four of the creatures had come down through the hole, not more. Jumping backwards he hit the wall feet first and pushed off in the direction of the ceiling. As he reached the top he grabbed a hanging root and threw himself towards the other side. Bellow, the five remaining creatures screeching and trying to get at him. He had to give these ‘lizard-apes’ something, they were dedicated.
He was lucky that the lizard-apes weren’t thinkers, but they were great pack hunters with great senses. As he neared the other wall the five beasts ran at him, trying to catch his sent. As he hit the wall feet first, he pushed off it again and flew over their heads. He slashed out with his blade, cutting through one of its eyes. As it moved back and fell out of the pack, Jinn landed and ran down the tunnel, yelling as he did. The lizard-apes followed after him, away from the others.
As he ran, he heard the sound of them getting closer and almost turned but for what he saw ahead of him. He ran out onto a cliff in a large round cavern. The cliff face was a good twenty feet long and went around the cavern, maybe a good two hundred feet around. The cavern had a large hole at the top, and from what he saw a path led out into the sunlight. Then he looked down and saw the cliff was only a good ten feet off the bottom of the cavern. Ahead of him a good hundred feet across the cavern there was a small hill. It went up and around the cavern, and it was part of this that he was standing on. Before he could look around more, the creatures behind him caught up. He jumped off the cliff, landing on the ground in a roll and running towards the incline, hoping to get ahead.
Behind him, the lizard-apes followed him off the cliff, but they hit body first. He smirked as he heard the cries of pain, turning his head he fired at them as he ran. All he could do was hope his wild shots would kill one of them.
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As the creature blinked, it looked out of its den as it heard the calls of pain. This was surprising, food had come to it. It had just gone to sleep to let the new beast that was due to be born run wild for a bit, always a good tactic around here. But it could tell that it had been asleep long enough, and the time it had been waiting for had passed it by. Good, now it could go back and hunt again. Ever since it had found this place to sleep, it had been blessed. Now more food was here, and if it was enough it might be able to spawn a new hunter to serve it. Spawning was the greatest strength it had ever taken, so obedient, no thoughts in their heads. And they were a ready snack if it needed to be fed. As it woke up, lightning jumped from spike to spike as it readied itself, it was time to hunt, kill, and feed.