It had to be chasing me, yet I didn’t hear anything behind me. Also, I couldn’t understand why I was running, since I’d been pretty committed to staying behind and letting my brother escape. It clicked. Noseen had forced me to run. That word had grabbed a hold of my limbs, and I’d just done it.

Noseen had done it before, when I’d slept that first night after meeting them. They’d told me to sleep, and I’d passed out like a rock.

I dashed through the ferns, going as fast as I could with my heart pounding and gasping for breath. My fingers tightened around my spear, though I made sure to not stab myself. John stood out in the distance on top of the shuttle, looking in my direction. I didn’t have the breath to yell at him, but I was pissed he wasn’t inside the shuttle fixing it. Nightfall was almost here, and that would be the perfect time to take off from this accursed jungle trap and get to the compound.

He just needed to freaking listen. Stupid older brothers.

Finally, I heard something in the jungle behind me, but it didn’t seem close. The clouds darkened, and I realized it wasn't nightfall, but the storm blowing in.

John leaned down with his arm outstretched. I leaped as soon as I was close enough, and he yanked me the rest of the way up.

“Get inside you giant dumbass! Fix the damn ship!”

John scurried to the hatch without a word and slipped inside, leaving it open after him.

The Alpha Cat landed on the shuttle about five feet from the opening.

I wouldn’t make it.

“John, close the hatch,” I growled. The cat looked too big to get inside, but then again, it was a cat. Who knew what spaces it could squeeze into?

The wound on its side had scabbed over, but it carefully kept its shoulder away from me. It remembered the pain.

I leveled my spear at it and readied myself. This was on.

It growled at me, which almost felt like a physical attack. Yet, I didn’t flinch, and instead I stared back, trying to get more information.

[Alpha Armored Cat, Level 17.]

“You die…” The words came out as a hiss.

I took a step back in shock. Somehow, the freaking cat could talk.

Its rear end lifted into the air just before it launched itself at me. I rolled to the side, almost falling off the shuttle. The cat went flying off the edge as I tried to regain my balance, though it must have landed on its feet. By the time I stood upright, it raced at me again. I blocked the first swipe with my spear, the metal bending slightly under the pressure. The second cut pawed across my midsection, a single talon slicing through my shirt. Pain lanced up from the cut, and I resisted flinching.

It chuckled as it darted backward. “You pay in blood…” Again the hissing voice came from the creature. “… and pain!”

The scent of my blood filled the air and I forced myself to not look at the open hatch. I was closer than I’d been before.

It was too fast.

The cat launched at me again, and I ducked down, trying to get closer to the opening. Instead, its tail knocked into me and I fell backward off the shuttle as the cat landed somewhere in the bushes. The slice in my middle burned as I scrambled upright.

I was fucked.

***

Why did this need to happen now? Just when answers were finally coming out about where Alex had come from. They’d arrived on this planet on a ship, and knew nothing of the system, which meant the ship was from somewhere not yet integrated. This discovery needed to be shared with the old ones, but I wanted more details. Then, the pissed-off kitty had to show up and attack my squishy devourer. So sad, its pack had been weak.

I had wondered if the creature would keep stalking Alex. It had shown up when Alex had been devouring way too many things, but the crystal had forced it away. It knew it didn’t have a chance with my baby devourer in that state, which pointed out intelligence.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Instead, it made its way here and found John. I hated cats, but at least they were tasty.

I couldn’t let my baby devourer die. Not yet, anyway. The ones of true knowledge had sent me here for a reason. This must be it. I would not let the old ones down. It looked like my vacation would be cut short, and I wouldn't learn more information to share until later. Hopefully, there would be a later.

Alex would survive. They needed to be smart about this. The venomous spit worked slowly. Alex needed more to sink into the cat, and maybe they’d have a chance. I could absolutely eat the cat, and get evicted for doing so, but this was a fight Alex needed to win, to grow. I just needed to give them a little help.

***

“I’ll see you at level 25,” buzzed Noseen. The sound came from right next to my ear, then it vanished.

An intense pressure built around us as the cat darted forward. I saw it as it shimmered into view in the middle of the fight.

Terror froze me in place as the creature appeared. Giant, bat-like wings with taloned hands on the tips reached toward the cat. Sharp, spiky fur covered the creature, which stood taller than me by half. Big ears, gaping nostrils, and a gaping mouth full of too many large pointed teeth dominated my vision. A thin tongue flicked out between the teeth, like the forked tongue of a snake.

Pitch-black eyes flickered to look at me, then turned back to focus on the cat.

[Great Blood Devourer, Level 742.]

Holy shit.

Noseen hadn’t been lying. They’d spoken the truth. Level 742, how was that even possible? How high did levels go? What was Noseen?

The cat backpedaled, then froze as the monster moved closer, glaring.

Noseen roared, its mouth opening wider than physically possible, showing row after row of teeth down its throat. The sound echoed across the jungle and everything for miles went silent. Then a buzzing rose in the far distance.

And just like that, Noseen winked out of existence. One second he was there, then he was just gone.

The cat didn’t move, stuck in place, giving me precious seconds to pull myself to my feet and catch my breath. It regained its senses and darted back toward me, almost like nothing had happened. I wasn’t sure what Noseen had been trying to do, but timing was everything. I stabbed my spear forward, cutting into the giant cat’s paw, which it quickly jerked back. The smell of burnt fur filled the air, covering the scent of my blood. The cat watched my hands on the spear, its eyes flickering from there to my feet. So far, my spear had done the most damage.

I could use that. I needed to be smart, like Noseen said.

The Alpha showed more restraint now, pacing just out of reach of my spear and trying to keep its one side and shoulder away from me. The sun inched closer to the mountains, and the buzzing in the distance grew louder. I blinked, not letting my attention move from the cat. Yet, out of the corner of my eye I could see a dark stream, like a cloud crossed in front of the tops of the trees, moving closer to both of us.

Then it hit, like a gust of wind.

I stabbed forward, taking the initiative as the cat growled at the flying bugs. My spear cut into its side, but it didn't notice the scratch. The cloud of mosquitoes buzzed louder than I thought possible. Thousands of the bugs flew about us. I couldn’t hear anything but buzzing. None got close to me, but they landed on the feline like splotches of black paint against its green and gray fur.

The cat roared loudly and a bubble of cloud dropped from the air, dead. The cat swiped at itself, trying to get the biting insects off. Its tail flickered madly, swatting at them. Some fled the area as more died.

I lunged again, my spear cutting deeply into the giant cat’s hind legs, the sizzle lost beneath the buzzing. Blood splattered across the ground. The cat swiped at me and I jerked back, too slow. My spear went flying as the great paw made contact, flinging it out of my hands.

The cat’s eyes glowed as it leaped, claws outstretched.

The first paw slammed me back into the shuttle, claws digging into my shoulder. Pain flared as I lost sense of my left hand and it fell to my side, numb. The cat’s mouth opened wide, two sharp teeth darting toward my head and neck. Before it could strike, my right hand slammed into the beast’s chest, the great devourer tooth digging deep.

Blood trickled from beneath my fingers, and the gaping jaw pulled back in pain. The cat whimpered.

“I will devour you,” I growled, shoving the tooth in deeper. “Your heart is mine!” I yanked the tooth out, and blood gushed from the wound.

Its mouth opened and closed as it lost its footing, and the great, dark eyes dimmed. The cat’s body went limp, putting pressure on my legs as I slumped back against the shuttle.

It was heavy, but it was also dead, and I wasn’t.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against an Alpha Armored Cat above your level.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You have leveled up.]

The remaining cloud of mosquitoes slowly dissipated until only a few lingered. I stared at them, wondering why they showed up, and to my surprise information appeared.

[Blood Devourer, Level 8]

Then it clicked. “Noseen?” I asked faintly, as my feet gave out from under me and I slid to the ground with my back against the shuttle. I shoved the cat off to one side using only my one working arm. I painfully yanked the dead cat’s claws out of my shoulder, and blood trickled out of my wounds. There was so much blood everywhere.

I felt the energy draining out of me. I had to do something. Fast.

My fingers tightened back around the tooth and then sliced into the carcass. My stomach growled, but it sounded almost far away. The last time this had happened, I’d lost control. Right now, I needed to stay aware. My brother was in the shuttle, and if something happened to him, if I did something to him, I wouldn’t forgive myself. Death would be preferable.

The first bite of meat I gulped down I didn’t even chew. Immediately that helped, along with the next, and the next. The cat’s shoulder was solid muscle, which usually didn’t taste the best, but I needed calories and it was closest. I focused on staying present. More than once, that inner gluttony tried to take over as I gobbled down food, but I pushed back as hard as I could, focusing on my willpower. I couldn’t fail now.