I eyed the crystal, which hummed loudly in the back of my mind, before I picked up the rope and pulled with one hand. The sound cut off, and I kept the river to my left as I set out, being super careful where I stepped around the mudslide area. Already, the ground was dryer, with the sun pouring down overhead. I kept my spear out, poking the ground here and there and trying to find the edge of the actual mud pit. It didn’t take long for me to leave the riverbank behind. The sound of moving water faded into the distance, along with the hissing of the small but deadly predators.

The farther from the river, the better I felt about my decision. However, my mind wandered back to thinking about the dead great devourer. What made a devourer great? And how long would it take for me to reach that level?

"What's the difference between a great devourer, and a regular devourer?" I whispered. I knew I shouldn't be talking, but that list in the back of my head of questions to ask Noseen had gotten too long. I really wanted to shorten it a bit.

"It's a class evolution. I am a Great Blood Devourer." This time there wasn't any buzzing, and the statement came out very clear. "It took ages to become one, but the power I gained when I evolved was worth it. Right now, you are a baby devourer. Someday you might become great, if you keep being smart."

Great Devourer was a class evolution. I didn't know anyone with a class evolution. It must be several levels in the future, beyond what anyone at the settlement had reached so far.

The heat poured down on me and it soaked in on my back, slowing down both my mind and my body. Usually, I had the cloak on and it helped block the sun. Finally, I stopped after what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes and grabbed the cloak out. The mud coating it was still wet, and I used a rock to scrape as much off it as I could before I draped it over the crystal to dry. Eventually, I would put it back on, but not while it was so wet and heavy.

The tall ferns surrounding the mud hole towered over me, creating a little shade here and there but not much with the sun nearing the height of the day. The grasses grew so tall I couldn’t move faster, even with the sled engaged, since my footing was so uneven. My movement through the grass was obvious, with both me and the sled carving a clear path through the tall growth. I felt naked without the cloak, even though I knew wearing it wouldn’t do much. The path through the grass was clear for anything that might bother to look.

More bugs showed up, but most stayed away from me. They grouped in black clouds that tinted the air in areas. The sound grated on my nerves, the humming different from how Noseen buzzed. One of the clouds dissipated, half of it vanishing into dust. My mouth dropped open, but I didn’t comment. If Noseen wanted to eat them, I wasn’t going to say anything.

Trees slowly dotted the landscape, and the grasses turned back into ferns. My stress level decreased, though anyone could still follow my trail through the grassy area. I needed a tree to climb up and see how close I was to the rest of the mud pit. Right now, I was marching blind, and it worried me. Taking out my canteen, I gulped down more water, hoping to keep my stomach happy and cool down a bit. Even though I had eaten so much, my stomach was rapidly getting empty again. I thought about another ration bar, but it sent waves of disgust through me. My arm was slowly feeling better, and I figured the calories were being spent on Consumptive Healing. I hoped they were, at least, and that normally I wouldn’t get so hungry again so quickly.

Finally, the trees started getting bigger, and one looked strong enough to hold me. I dropped the rope, letting the sled down into the grass under it. Then I put my spear away as I climbed up to the first branch. It didn’t take long for me to climb to the top, since I’d underestimated how big the branches were. But even without getting above the canopy, I could see the edges of the mud pit. Somehow, I had wandered to the inside of it toward its center. Probably because the sun had baked plenty of it dry, so I hadn’t sunk into the mud. Now, it looked like I needed to head south, at a right angle from my current path. The tree line at the edges of the jungle took over pretty quickly in that direction. If I followed the edge of the trees, I’d find my first marker near the pit and be back on track.

The sun passed the high point in the sky and I couldn’t wait to walk within the shade of the jungle. The back of my neck was warm to the touch, and it itched. I’d probably burned it. I quickly climbed down the tree, feeling optimistic about the distance I needed to go. It might be close to dusk when I got to the ship, but it seemed like I should make it today, despite all the delays. The time it had taken me to get to the mud hole from the ship hadn’t been long, if I ignored the time it took for the dino I had killed and eaten.

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My mouth watered at the thought of some more Parasaurolophus meat. That had been tender, and melted in my mouth. The carnivores didn’t have the same type of taste. If I was lucky, there would be one milling about the shuttle and I could take it down for John and me. I probably wasn’t that lucky, but it was still nice to dream. Fresh meat, for sure. Or, better yet, a shower. At this point, I was covered with so much mud, gunk, and dried sweat, I hoped John recognized me. At least he’d get a laugh out of my appearance. My levels were a different story, hopefully he'd be impressed by those.

My feet dropped to the ground next to the sled with a huff and a head jerked up at me from within the grass. It slowly approached the crystal, and somehow while climbing I’d completely missed it standing on the trail the sled had left. A bright red frill framed its face as it hissed at me, showing off short sharp teeth. It took too long for my brain to connect what I was seeing before it spit gunk toward my face.

[Dilophosaurus, Level 10.]

I dodged to the right, but the goop hit my left shoulder, burning through my shirt. An acidic smell followed me as I yanked out my knife, spinning around the tree trunk. The beast followed me, faster than I’d expected. My shoulder burned as I swung at the creature, who didn’t even try to dodge. It leaned in, instead, snapping at my arm. The glowing crystal tip cut across the edge of its jaw and it jerked its head back, growling.

The Dilophosaurus’ whole body lunged, with its mouth wide open and the frill stretched out. I rolled to the right, stumbling, extending my spear. Before it could switch gears, I stabbed into the creature’s shoulder, cutting deep.

The dino snapped its tail, hitting my wounded shoulder with a crack, sending me flying. All I focused on was keeping my spear in my hand. If I lost it, I’d be dead. I slammed into a tree behind me, and saw stars.

Claws stretched out as it jumped again, growling, spittle flying everywhere. At the last minute, I got my spear up as it slammed down on top of me. Pain echoed through my body as it hit, its full weight crushing me.

Everything went dark.

I came to with it still on top of me, and when I tried to shove it off, the pain in my left side left me gasping. There wasn't a chance I could move the creature with my arm the way it was. I bit my tongue as I wiggled out from under it the best I could. Once my feet were free, I let myself rest, staring up at the sky.

“You aren’t dead, good,” said Noseen.

“Nope.” It came out as a gasp. My spear was still buried in the dead beast, under it somewhere. Notifications came to mind, but I didn’t care and muted them. Everything hurt or burned, even my stomach. My shoulder had to be broken, plus whatever it had sprayed on me still burned. I hadn’t been tough enough to take the tail whip. Next time, I needed to think about the tail in a fight.

I swallowed, trying to figure out what to do, when my stomach rumbled again. For a second, I just closed my eyes and took a shallow breath. Anything more than that just hurt too much.

Food. I needed food as soon as possible. To heal.

I eyed the dead dino and prayed a packmate wouldn’t show up. I didn’t know if these particular dinos fought in groups, since we hadn’t seen many of them in the Colony. Fighting something else wasn't possible until I ate and healed. The crystal hummed lightly in the background, but not much time had passed since I let the sled touch the ground. It was at least something, and I’d take anything I could get.

The dino's head pointed in the other direction, and its shoulder was the closest thing to me. My mind touched on the tooth in my inventory, and I pulled it out. The base was hard to hold onto, but it sliced through the leathery skin covering the creature. Once I’d cut off the skin, I sliced into the dense shoulder and cut a piece of meat, stuffing it into my mouth without a thought. I wasn’t sure I even chewed, I just consumed it.

It hurt to swallow, letting me know something was wrong with my chest as well. I cut off another piece, shoving it into my mouth before swallowing again. Bit by bit, I ate more and more of the creature. The rumble in my stomach went from a dull ache to an unrelenting need to eat more meat.

I couldn’t taste anything, but, eventually, each time I swallowed a pleasant relief flowed through my chest.

More. I needed more.

I sliced a massive chunk off the carcass and brought it to my mouth, taking large bites out of it. My teeth had a hard time chewing through it, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. The ache in my chest slowly healed, but I couldn’t eat enough fast enough to remove all of the pain. My shoulder was the next area to be healed. Each time I used that hand, it injured my shoulder more, but I couldn’t stop myself from eating, and I needed that hand to help me cut into the carcass.

That deep voice, the one that spoke of desire in the back of my head, roared in joy with each bite and swallow. I fought back, trying to get myself under control. Then I cut another huge piece off, and tried to lift it with my hurt hand. The pain washed through me, almost causing me to pass out.

Then every ounce of control fled my body.