“We have plenty of water, the diceros and wolf meat are being cooked and dried for preservation. The furs should be ready to come back by the end of the day, a couple people are trying to work the diceros hide into containers. We have a good supply of sponge moss and wood.” Riley reported, putting the wolf pup down in front of Kiera.

“What do you mean the furs will be ready to come back?” Kiera asked. The wolf pup climbed into her lap and curled up.

“Lukka wants you to be comfortable. It might be a Princess thing, it might be a sympathy thing, it might be a “totally has a crush thing.” Riley grinned, “He didn’t want them to go to waste.”

“That’s sweet of him. Anyone else shown up yet?” Kiera asked, “No one that has gone into the forest has been hurt or encountered that…thing have they?”

“A few more, including some total asshole misogynist that thinks ‘girlies’ should be waiting on him hand and foot after his ‘big man’ work. I was half tempted that the ‘big man work was in the forest,” Riley said, looking at the sky. “A few of the outlier groups have fired purple flares. I think we’re all bunking down to weather this storm. We don’t know how many are lifeboats. According to the people that saw the attacks most of them were destroyed.”

“Oh, that would be Vandreg. He’s a total jerk. I can’t stand to be around him at all. Koda kicked his ass pretty good the first time we met him," Kiera said. "You have my permission to put him in his place. If you don't want to touch him I'm sure Locke will happily do it for you."

As the sun began to set the temperature in the air became noticeably cooler and the winds sent a chill through everyone. Riley carried Kiera into the den and she had just settled down when Locke entered the den with a pair of rich brown furs.

“Guard outside gave me permission to enter,” he said with a cheeky grin, “Captain Sol, Lieutenant Dax, here are the furs that we recovered. One fully intact den mother and one mostly intact wolf fur. Couldn’t do much about the hole the diceros put in him. Should keep you nice and warm tonight; storm’s moving in.”

“Thanks, Lucky. Do we have shelter for everyone?” Kiera asked

A small smile crossed his face, “Area has about half a dozen full dens and some partials we’ve been working on digging out. Going to be a bit of a tight squeeze to fit everyone. The dozen or so armors have volunteered to stand guard and rotate through the partials. I’ll be checking on them next.”

“How many people are you fitting into each den?” Kiera asked, “Each one should be able to fit six or seven people with room.”

“Five in here and the rest divided as we can, average about ten per den, armors take up more room so it makes it tight but they're sealed so we’re also putting them at the entrances. We are also busy installing sponge moss doors. The caves should keep most of it out, but crag wolves have thick fur and we don't. Hopefully the doors will keep in the warmth.”

“There’s no time for gender segregation,” Kiera said, “Put some men in here with us.”

“This is one of the smaller ones, ma’am, you sure?”

“Yes, Cadet Malut won’t have any issues, if you’re the type that I’m pegging you for, you haven’t assigned yourself a den. You’re here as well. If the weather gets too severe the armors should try to get into the dens.and stop with the ma’am’s!” Kiera grinned

Locke grinned. “I’ll let Malut know. Let me know if you need anything, Kiera. You too, Rye.”

Kinsley passed him on the way in and he turned his head to look at her and ran into the wall before making his exit, “I want to go scout out that IR beacon,” Kinsley said.

“We have, what eight days until whoever is there takes off, it might be better to avoid it all together if there’s going to be twenty ASF soldiers waiting, with whoever else is there,” Kiera said.

“If the traitor can be believed. We have a location on it, I’ll take someone with power in their suit with me and use them to infiltrate if I need to. It’s up on the ridge about ten kilometers away,” Kinsley said, “If there is a ship, I’ll scout it myself.”

“Wait until after the storm,” Kiera said.

“He’ll have armor and I have an all weather uniform,” Kinsley said, “We’ll be fine.”

“Kins, Lover,” Kiera said, playing an ace, “Everyone around here seems to think that I’m in charge. I don’t know why, okay I know it’s because I’m a Princess, but whatever. If I’m the acting Commander, then I order you to stay here until after the storm.”

“Alright,” Kinsley said, “After the storm. I’m going to go help make sure we’re all ready. I want to leave first thing in the morning.”

“Okay,” Kiera compromised, “Just be safe.”

=+=

Neither Hailey nor Jin looked much better When the sun rose over the horizon. The fire Gargax had made, and being covered in the Kalashtar fur kept them from dying, but without medical treatment Koda wasn’t sure how long they would last. He cleaned their wounds the best he could with the sponge moss, and roused them both enough to get them a little to drink. Isaac went to the forest to bring back some more sponge moss for Koda, Gargax made a club out of the Kalashtar’s tail and a branch. The guns were nice but the ork preferred to fight up close and personal. With their preparations made, Gargax and Isaac headed into the forest.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

There were signs that Vincent entered the forest: torn sponge moss, deep tracks and disturbed grass, but he was nowhere to be found. Shouting his name in the deathly silent forest received no response and it echoed through the trees distorting the source.

Gargax didn’t seem to be bothered by the eerie silence. He walked forward at a steady pace while keeping aware of his surroundings. Isaac kept his head on a swivel, looking up, left, right, and behind them. Several times he paused long enough that he had to jog to catch up to his partner. The filtered light didn’t do anything to help their nerves; traveling through the forest felt like walking through a torchlit catacomb. After several hours they stopped to rest and eat. One of the benefits of the sponge moss was it helped alleviate thirst as it retained its moisture. They could also knock down the snow and use the sponge to absorb it and then drink by squeezing the moss.

They resumed their walk and after a couple more hours Gargax suddenly stopped. He panned his head around, sniffing the air. “Need get high, now.” The ork said. He leapt into the air, grabbing onto a branch suspended ten feet above the ground.

“I don’t know if I can get up there, my jets aren’t working and I can’t get a grip on the trunk. I’m too heavy for you to carry.”

Gargax pulled the emergency release and pulled Isaac out of the armor. Leaving Isaac’s weapon to fall to the ground, Gargax leapt into the tree and pulled them to the branch, and not a moment too soon. Something pounced on the power armor, high pitched screeches coming from whatever it was, all they could see was a dark shape. The same scream that came from the forest the night before.

A pair of red eyes looked up at them, the beast stood up straight and reached out for the bark of the tree then recoiled and dropped back to all fours. It screeched, the sound seemed unnatural, the pitch was enough to leave their ears ringing and leaving them feeling dizzy. Gargax reached out and grabbed Isaac, steadying him.

“What is that thing?” Isaac asked, “I can almost feel it’s killing desire.”

“Demon,” Gargax replied, staring down at the pacing creature as it circled the tree, his hand gripping his club tightly. Several times it rose on its hind legs and reached towards the bark of the tree only to pull its claw back each time and continue pacing.

“Don’t drop down and fight that thing. We still have one rifle,” Isaac said, “I can get a shot off on it.”

“No,” Gargax said.

“So what do we do? Cover ourselves in sponge moss and hope that it goes away?” Isaac asked.

“Stay here,” Gargax said. He looked up at the canopy, the forest was quickly growing dark, “Wait for sun.”

The terror of the creature below them truly sank in as the forest grew darker and colder. They moved higher into the tree, The wind howled and the temperature dropped like a meteor slamming against an uninhabited moon. Rain attacked the canopy of the forest, sounding like an infinity squad using machine guns to shoot through a thin aluminum sheet while the occasional bolt of lightning was a missile exploding against it as more ordinance was released. The demon’s eyes glowed red as it circled the tree, intent on making them its prey.

The rain scored minor victories thanks to the lightning but with the temperature so low they instantly crystallized and gently governed the springy branches with a blanket of snow. Each one like a kiss from a lover who realized their temper had been misplaced and desperately trying to have make up sex. The worst part was the darkness. Even in space the stars provided reference points and light, But this was the Void, an empty expanse of nothing and total vision deprivation.

The howls and cries from the unknown monster lurking below them challenged the wind for auditory dominance, its almost non stop dizzying voice threatening to induce madness. Falling from the tree to end it was becoming tempting. Weather and beast competed against each other for the prize of young lost cadets fighting for their very survival.

A new cry of thunder challenged the screams as the trees bowed their heads to ignore the conflict that demanded a winner. One lone tree bowed deeper than the rest, the weight it bore exceeding the snow that crowned it. The flexible branches yeared to be free of their burdens, making this heavier one an affront. It reached its breaking point, but the flexible branches didn’t break, they fought back.

Another explosion rocked the canopy, but this one did not come from outside but within, not a betrayal but an enemy to all combatants. The canopy broke, a hole pierced through the protective shielding and letting carnage rage into the forest below. The roaring tide of a waterfall celebrated its victory as gravity reached out and latched onto the ork who had defied it, who had believed that the demon could be defeated if the protective canopy was pierced, and believed that he could pierce it. Another hole was made in the canopy, the thunder above roaring in victory.

Gargax fell, he desperately grabbed at the branches of the trees but their ice smooth bark and needle leaves were too slick to get a proper hand told. His speed was too great to grab onto the stiffer branches that had yet to shed their cocoons and become springy tree limbs, his attempts only served to hasten their evolution, but they slowed his fall only slightly.

The rain wasn’t the only one to celebrate the victory. The sponge moss on the trees drank greedily, their bodies expanding as they consumed all they could, meshing with the moss around them to consume more. They swelled, joining the trees together and creating a spongy blanket that tried to grab their hero, slowing him down. The temperature plummeted, surging past freezing, past positive measurements. It would be enough for him to land safely, at least that’s what he believed.

The moss and water cushioned Gargax’s fall, and he pushed himself to his feet. Unlike the others he wasn’t blind in the forest, his darkvision allowed him to perceive it as if the sun were shining brightly through it at the cost of color. The demon lay on the ground, its body twisted from the sheer force of the water that had been pooling on the canopy dropping at once. For good measure Gargax took its head in his hands and twisted it around, not stopping until he heard its neck break. He was tired, climbing the tree was easy, but getting a grip on the smooth, springy branches had only been achieved by biting his hands until they bled and applying the cauterizing poultice to sear them to the tree. Climbing back down without his arms had been challenging and he put all his faith that when the tree branch had enough he would be launched through the canopy and break through it. He was grateful that Locke and Riley helped him so much with physics.

Gargax jumped to grab the branch of the tree his clanmate was in, Isaac wasn’t an ork, but his friends were the closest that he would have to a true clan. The skin of his hands had been ripped off when the branch had reached its zenith and ejected its passenger. It was hard to hold on, but even with the demon’s death he wasn’t going to try to rest on the ground. The freezing water would kill him.

Something splashed on the ground next to him. Gargax turned, had the demon survived? “You’re crazy,” Isaac said, “Grab on, I’m going to get us back into that tree.”

“Grip tough, I heavy. How Zac get up?”

“Belief.”