Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 153 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 1
Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Fruit-Pod trees near Escape Capsule # 405
Galactic Standard Time / 0950
They moved through the forest, Rodolphe kept his eyes locked on what was ahead of them. He kept his echolocation nanites active, the forest dead for fifty feet around them. So far the forest around them was still as quiet as the grave, but something about it was bothering him. He didn’t know what it was, but he trusted his instincts, and they told him that they were in terrible danger. And then there was Bryce…
Rodolphe looked at Bryce, he was walking like he wasn’t even hurt. And then there was the way he reacted to the nano-bandage like he hadn’t ever had one before! They were practically a modern right! Well, on most planets, planets like his at least. If he was from one of the ‘Cult Worlds’, that might explain it. But Bryce didn’t act like he was, with how he treated the non-human passengers.
All in all, he was a mystery but then why was that a problem? Rodolphe had his secrets and reasons for being on the ship, and he wouldn’t go looking for trouble. But right now, out here, it might be the only difference between life and death. And if he was right about something hunting them, they needed to trust each other now if they would survive this!
“Keep moving you two, we got a put some ground between us and the hill!” Rodolphe said, trying to keep calm. However, something in his voice must have shown his nerves. Zane started to look around with worry in his eyes, trying to find what bothered Rodolphe.
“Wait, you feel that thing too man!? Something is after us!” Zane said, causing Bryce to pan around with his pistol.
Rodolphe looked at Zane and forced down a curse. So it seems that Zane had detected whatever it was too, and that meant it might be real. And that was bad, very bad. That meant that his hastily created plan might be their best chance to stay alive.
“What is it?” Bryce asked as he looked behind them.
“I don’t know, I don’t know if that thing is even hunting us. It could be something that is just making sure we don’t go deeper into its territory. But we have to move faster, there’s something that might help us ahead. Something we can set against this thing if it follows us!” Rodolphe said and Zane looked at him in shock and worry. Rodolphe just looked at them and they both looked at each other before they nodded and he released a sigh.
“Good, Bryce stay in the center, Zane watch our back! And we need to move faster, we’re almost there we just have to run!” Rodolphe said as he turned and did just that. A moment later, Bryce and Zane ran after him. Zane stayed at the back, listening for any sounds of something following them.
Rodolphe felt horrible, but he couldn’t be nicer about this. If this unknown thing was anything like the wolf and spider, then they were in grave danger.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
Zane looked back as he followed Rodolphe, a strange feeling going through him. He had the instinct to feel when he was being hunted because of his Family, but how had Rodolphe gained his? The feeling that told him they were being hunted got even worse. He tried but failed to keep from getting more nervous as time went on. He had been hunted by bounty hunters, rivals, and the Law, and none of them ever felt anything like this!
All he could think of was that this time he was being hunted as ‘food’ and that made things……. Different. As they moved, he heard the sounds of moving water, something that he hoped was supposed to be where they were going.
As they ran, the feeling of being hunted was still there, slowly getting worse. And he didn’t know if that meant whatever it was had gotten closer or it had stayed where it was. After five minutes he started to hear the sounds of water moving. He hoped that this was what they were supposed to hear.
Ahead of them, Rodolphe cocked his head to the side and he seemed to relax a little.
“So what’s the plan?” Bryce asked from ahead of him with a note of worry in his voice.
“There was a……creature at the river that chased us, the team that found the fruit, earlier today. I hope that whatever is hunting us will be scared or fought off,” Rodolphe admitted. Zane felt his stomach drop at his words.
“So your plan to deal with a possible monster, is a different monster?” Zane asked, shocked.
Rodolphe stayed silent as they walked onto a clearing, a large river ten feet away from them. To their front was a large fallen tree that went across the river, and on the opposite shore was another forest.
“We’re here, good. Come on, we need to move there,” Rodolphe said as he pointed upstream from the fallen log.
“So we’re near where you ran into that thing?” Zane asked, looking around the forest, starting to feel a spark of anger. Rodolphe was leading one monster towards another monster to try and scare off the first.
“Yeah, a bit farther up. Now I don’t know if you two grew up on plants with wild animals, but they're territorial. The thing here was asleep last time. So, if we’re fast and quiet we can use it to ward off whatever is after us. Not the best idea but it’s what we’ve got,” Rodolphe said as he looked at the others and sighed at the looks, he was getting.
“Look, I know this is risky. But it’s the best idea I’ve got. This isn’t the best but it’s what we’ve got so work with it,” Rodolphe said, and Bryce laughed a little as he looked around.
“Great, just great. When you find that scum Jones, I’m getting in line to punch him,” Bryce said bitterly.
Zane nodded, feeling similar to Bryce. Jones betraying them was putting them in danger, and that showed all his talk Jones was a traitor. And he knew he knew just what traitors deserved. All Jones had earned, if Zane had any say in it, was a long and slow death.
“Move quick and quietly. Watch your surroundings, and say something if you see anything. And stay quiet,” Rodolphe said softly, and as Zane and Bryce nodded, he nodded and lead the way along the river.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
The creature moved along the forest, tracking the scent that had drawn it out of its lair. It had been worried before, but now it was calm and focused on this hunt. With the newcomer already out and away from it, this was the best time to gather food. It had started to worry when it had realized where the prey was going, but that one had to be asleep. It had also noticed the smell of its blood, so it was probably asleep. It could go and kill its target and take the special food back to its den, and then it could grow stronger.
It had fought and fed on many creatures, and only a few ever gave it trouble. And its power had let it slay any of the sky terrors when they had attacked. But no matter what it did, it had never been able to take their greatest power. With the strength this one was hoarding to itself, it could go so much stronger. And once it took the sky killer’s great strength, nothing in this place, even the creators could stand against it. It would slay and eat all the strong ones, and take their strength for its own!
But for a moment it stayed where it was, not sure what to do. The creature that lived in the river was the one thing that its strength was useless against. The few times they had fought, they always ended in draws, or it had retreated before it could be killed. But the smell of the lifeblood of that one nearby, it might be healing and hiding. If that was so, then this might be its only chance. It had to kill the special meat before any others scented the power it held within it and took it for themselves.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
But that was unthinkable, it would take that power! It would grow strong and nothing on this place would ever stand against it again! With a screech, it moved faster, chasing down its target.
Before it could make keep moving, it heard something. It went still and looked around, moving closer to a tree to hide. , It finally found what it was searching for, and went still.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
The screech caused Zane to look behind them towards it and cursed in anger. He might not have seen what made the sound, but he could see something had moved through the plants. “RUN NOW!”
At his bellow Bryce started to run, a lot faster than Zane thought he might after his wound. Zane shook that thought away, he’d think about it later. Rodolphe just stood there until Zane grabbed him and pulled him along, a scowl on his face. “Rodolphe, no suicide plans, got it!?”
Before Rodolphe could say anything they ran into Bryce. As they fell to the ground, something flew past where they would have been. Looking towards them, Zane saw one of those flying worms, but this one was a pitch-black color. It was stuck in the ground, thrashing about trying to get loose. And then suddenly he heard the sounds of insect wings, and slowly he looked up, shocked by what he saw.
Zane saw four more of the flying worms above them a good twenty feet, and as soon as he saw them, they flew down right at them. “AMBUSH, MOVE!”
As Rodolphe and Bryce looked up in shock. Bryce reacted first firing his pistol quickly, killing two. Rodolphe rolled to the right, getting back to his feet, pulling his rifle up, and firing as he got to his feet. The last two of the flying worms flew upwards and into the forest
As Zane got up he heard the sound of more wings, and paling he turned towards them and his mouth dropped. Coming towards them from the other side of the river were thirty more of the flying worms. But these had skin colored a sapphire blue. “Where did that swarm come from?!”
“The same place as the other one maybe…..” Rodolphe said with a shudder in his voice.
Zane turned his head and felt his blood go cold. Coming out of the forest was another swarm of flying worms, only this one was made of black colored ones. As he looked at them, Zane felt like he and the others were between two predators.
As the swarms charged at each other, Rodolphe looked around. Hoping to find any place to hide or hold off the swarms, he went still. Looking back at where they had come from, he saw the tree bridge and made a choice. “Move! To the fallen tree!”
As the flying worms fought above them, the tree deckhands ran. Looking over his shoulder Zane thought he might have seen a spark of lightning hit one of the black worms. He almost stumbled but he kept going. He ran until he reached the fallen tree and the others, ducking behind it to hide with them.
“There are black and blue worms!? And was that lightning from one of them!?” Bryce asked in a daze.
Zane swallowed, he had hoped he was seeing things. He knew about animals that could use the Power, but each was a mammal To see an insect using it, that threw everything he thought he knew about out into the void. This knowledge alone was enough for his people to want to come back here, to hunt these things if nothing else. But if they could find whatever let these things gain the Power, then that would change everything.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
Bryce looked at the forest, being careful not to look at the swarms. The things weren’t the problem, the colors were. Every time he had seen two forces fighting with those colors, he was always one of them. Just hiding, not helping the black side was getting to him.
“Okay, new plan,” Rodolphe said, causing everyone to look at him.
“We go across the tree and hope these things will bother whatever’s after us. Then we go upriver and find another way across. Then we come back here and get back to the capsule, and beat Jones black and blue,” Rodolphe said and Zane nodded.
Bryce looked at the swarms, seeing one of the sapphire worms falling into the river with a splash. As he watched it was soon carried towards them, the current caring it towards the shore they were on. He picked it up, looking at it and something was telling him to eat it, but he dropped it and shook his head.
“You okay man?” Zane asked him and Bryce nodded, looking at the worm as it floated away. “Why’d you grab that thing?”
“I wanted to know if there were any physical……differences from the ones back at the clearing,” Bryce said, not talking about his strange feeling. He didn’t know what it had come from but it had been unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“Science time is over folks, time to move! I don’t want to be around here when they’re done fighting!” Rodolphe said as he got onto the fallen tree.
“Nothing too bad about this, at least this is big enough for us to walk over,” Zane said as he got on it.
He helped Bryce get in front of him and took up a rear-guard position, keeping his eyes locked on the swarm. As Bryce and Rodolphe moved across, he stayed back and his mind wandered a little. He had seen a few hives of insects fight to the death, one of his brothers loved that sport. This was worse, each of the worms seemed to be throwing their lives away like they were robotic drones. He didn’t know what that might be, but something was very wrong on this planet. And he hoped that they weren’t going straight into the black hole as the spacers say.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
The creature had made it to the river and scowled. So the flyers weren’t after his target, they were after another hive! Why, why were the leaders fighting on a day that a new thing was introduced into this place? It had never happened before, but this was terrible. His prey was going across the rushing liquid towards the far-land, bad for it. The ruler of that place might have its den near this place, if not then one of its minions. It even wondered sometimes if the river dweller was one of those that the ruler had forced to follow it!
It couldn’t let its prey go there, it just couldn’t! It looked at what they were using to go across and wondered again how it had gotten there. If it destroyed it, then maybe whatever had created it would probably hunt down the creature. But if it did that, it might not find its prey after it the fall. But if the ruler there did eat its prey, then it would be more powerful, maybe strong enough to attack it.
It moved through the wood, slowly and carefully gathering power within itself, readying itself to use its special ability.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
As he led the way across, Rodolphe kept an eye on the battle and saw that the black ones had almost lost. A few of the sapphire ones were gathering. Before they could do anything, a screech came from the forest. Then a bullet of blue energy shot from the woods and hit the fallen tree. For a single moment after the bullet drilled into the tree, time stood still. Then before they could react explosion happened, throwing them into the air!
As the tree exploded, each of Deckhands held onto their weapons, hoping to keep a hold of them.
As he flew, Rodolphe saw some of the tree's debris had flown into the swarms. They hit and killed ten of the sapphire worms, changing the tide of the battle. As Rodolphe went under, he saw the river spider. It was far away, just under where the battle of the worms had happened. He saw as it woke up, and for a moment he locked eyes with it. Almost dropped his rifle, but he kept his hold on it as he saw the spider look up and start to move upwards.
He struggled back to the surface, breaking the surface and gasping for air. Looking around, he saw Zane and Bryce had both gotten back to the surface and he smiled.
“Still got your weapons?” He called out and they both raised a hand showing his rifle. The others raised a pistol and a rifle in theirs, so at least they had something to defend themselves with.
He was about to start swimming towards them when he went still, shocked beyond words.
There at the line of trees, a large red reptilian head was poking out, its mouth closing as he watched. Somehow, he knew, he just knew, that this was what had fired the energy bullet that destroyed the tree. He let the river’s flow carry him away, Rodolphe watched the head and he saw its eyes were locked on Zane and Bryce.
He went still. Zane was moving to swim back to the shore they had come from. He knew he knew in an instant that it would lead to their deaths.“no! let the river carry us!”
Zane turned to him, and when he saw the way Rodolphe was looking at him he stopped, letting the river take them away.
<>------------------------------------------------<>------------------------------------------------<>
The creature looked at its prey as the fast-moving liquid carried them away, and it felt anger. Most prey things would go to the land once they fell in around here, didn’t they know about the fall? For now, it would have to go after them, and then it would have to move fast now, if only to make sure it would gain what it wanted.
A loud splash caused it to turn and see the river spider rising from the river. It watched as the spider's eyes went from the broken tree to the swarm and then to the forest. The creature went low and hid from sight. Moments later the river spider screeched and thrashed out with its claws. Each blow struck one of the surviving worms, sending them into the river.
As soon as it attacked, the battle between the swarms was over. A quick alliance formed, and the worms all attacked the river spider. As the sapphires moved backwards the black ones shot forward. They struck with their stingers, only to bounce off the chitin of the spider. The sapphire worms shot sparks that shocked and caused the river spider to screech in pain.
The creature looked at the battle and hissed, its tongue shot out and tasted the air. All the lifeblood that had been spilled; it could take the corpses to feed. But against its nature, it turned and chased after the three deckhands in the river.