John moved closer. “It's not that type of skill. I can only form things to help the ship, and I need to know what I’m aiming for." He took the shard from me and turned it over a few times, being careful not to cut himself. "I tried handheld weapons, but it just didn't work. The form is there, but it doesn't feel right. I wanted to see if I could use the shards to repair the window. It wasn’t like I had spare glass. I got it to work, eventually, but I needed smaller bits.”

“You combined crystal with the window glass?” I turned toward the front of the ship. I’d been wondering how he’d fixed the crack and hole in the upper corner.

John nodded, then moved back toward the front of the ship after setting down the crystal.

The whistling wind came again. I climbed up on the cargo crate, reaching to grab the edge of the open hatch, when that sound came again. A low thud, and this time the shuttle shook a little. I paused, my hand reaching out the hatch.

That didn’t sound like thunder.

It came again, shaking things a little more.

“Uh, John?”

He had moved toward the front of the shuttle, mumbling to himself. He turned to look at me over his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“You might want to get the crystal strapped in.” I kept my voice low and kept my head down under the hatch, while I slowly brought my hand back inside. I waited to see if it would come again.

“We’ve got plenty of time, I think I need to rest.” He waved his hand in the air before rubbing the back of his head. “My head still feels weird.” The second part was said softly.

“John, strap in the crystal.” My eyes flickered to the single velcro strap I had put into place. There were at least two more to secure it.

The thud came again, closer. Too close.

Oh fuck.

I swallowed.

John looked confused, and his head spun around the shuttle looking for any other movement.

The shuttle lifted by a few inches, and then slammed back down. I went flying off the cargo crate, slamming into the ground and sliding closer to the open crate.

John yelped loudly as he lost his footing. He clapped a hand over his mouth as a roar shook the shuttle. He dove toward the crystal, which was still in place, thankfully.

Then the shuttle moved again.

The cargo crate slid toward me, and I rolled out of the way. The sound of velcro came from the area of the crystal. Something moved over the hatch, blocking the little sun for a moment. I breathed slowly out of my nose, trying to remain calm. Whatever it was, it towered over the shuttle. It had to be big. Hell, anything that made that much noise when it took a step had to be huge.

John frantically set the wire harness over the crystal, connecting various points. His mouth gaped open and his eyes were wide. Nothing about him was calm as he connected the wires, but he didn’t shake, and looked like he was focused.

I climbed to my feet, watching the open hatch for any sign of movement.

The sound of sniffing filled the air, and the edge of a nose moved slowly from the side of the shuttle over the hatch. It was giant, and had blue stripes.

Fuck, no, not that.

John moved silently toward the front of the ship and the pilot's seat. I followed, using stealth.

He waved me closer. “We need to go now. That thing can damage the ship,” he explained as quietly as possible. "If we tear any of the wires running through the walls, we're fucked. I can't fix wires without tearing into the walls myself."

The ship scooted two inches forward, and John’s face went white as his fingers clenched the dashboard.

“How long do you need?” I asked.

“Ten minutes? Fifteen?” He whimpered.

My hands tightened into fists. Powering up the shuttle took time, and it wasn’t a quiet action. The sound of the engines would be loud. John's hand hovered over a button, but it shook. We didn’t have a choice, which meant neither did I.

I marched toward the back of the shuttle and the open hatch. Without studying my stat sheet, I tossed 11 points into Quickness, 4 into Flexibility, and 3 into Constitution. It was all I had. It needed to be enough.

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“Alex!” whispered John.

“If I’m not back by the time you're ready to leave, meet you at the compound!”

“What?! No!” His voice cut off as a very large foot stomped down in front of the shuttle. It missed the front of the nose by bare inches. The foot and ankle took up a good chunk of what I could see over my shoulder through the window.

A loud roar echoed through the air, making everything shake. John clutched at his head. My ears rang as I rushed forward, leaping for the cargo crate before flinging myself upward.

The wind hit me first, along with a burst of fresh air. The Carnitor’s head was down near the area where I’d killed the cat, sniffing at the blood. It didn’t notice me immediately as I raced toward the far end of the ship. My path took me toward the north, and the area of the jungle I knew. I’d need every advantage I could get.

I needed some distance from the shuttle before I put my plan into action, to get it away from here and then go all sneaky. Leaping off the edge of the ship, I rolled through the ferns. The sound of the wind covered my actions. For the moment, thankfully, I was downwind of the giant predator, or it would have smelled me, making this much more difficult. The sky darkened with both the storm and sunset, but I could still see fine. The storm moved in as all of the plants shook in the stiff breeze. I raced toward the trees in the distance, before turning to look over my shoulder. The creature's head moved toward the hatch, back and forth over the opening.

John better get that ship in the air as soon as it was good to go.

Steadying myself, I yelled. “Come and get me!”

The wind almost covered my voice, but the Carnitor’s head jerked up at the sound. Its head snapped toward me, and it roared. A piercing yellow eye turned to look at me while I fled into the trees behind me.

I didn’t pause as the first thud echoed closer, followed by another. Must keep running! Prey ran, and though I wasn’t prey, the Carnitor didn’t know that. As long as I ran, it would chase me, and that was what I needed.

What the fuck had I been thinking? This was suicide. But, at least I had a chance. John didn’t, not against that.

My heart pounded as I picked up speed, dodging around ferns and under vines. I just had to put enough things between it and me. The other Carnitor was in this direction, and that was my saving grace. At least, I hoped it would be. It had fought this one off before, I just needed it to do it again. The broken trail left behind by the crashed shuttle was to my far right. If I moved more toward the north, I should run into the higher-level creature. Or, if not that, enough crowded jungle to get some sneak attacks in. I wished I could attack from a distance, like with a bow.

The sound of large footsteps picked up behind me. Each shook the ground as the giant gained speed, chasing me faster than I would have thought possible in the thick jungle.

I shot through the area, drifting more to the west when nothing changed in the jungle in front of me. The large craters came into view, and I dashed across the narrow strips of ground that were still standing. The thuds behind me slowed down as the Carnitor tried to follow me across the uneven ground.

[Skill Unlocked: You have unlocked the potential skill Free Runner. Free Runner: You have a minor increase in Quickness, Flexibility, and Constitution running between obstacles while on the ground. Pathways between objects become clearer.]

I immediately accepted the skill, and knew the best way to travel between the fallen tree log, cluster of ferns, and large boulder that sat directly ahead within the tree line. I dared to glance over my shoulder to gauge the distance. The Carnitor slowly stomped after me, keeping me in view. He crossed the center of one of the craters, making him look much shorter than he was. His head and shoulders still stretched above the hole, though, and I had a moment since it would need to slow to climb out of the crater. I focused on it using Insight.

[Carnitor, Level 19.]

It didn’t even notice, but the information all but confirmed it was the same creature that had challenged the other Carnitor. There couldn’t be more than one or two in any area, or there wouldn’t be enough prey.

In the far distance, the sound of the shuttle firing up drew the beast’s attention back in that direction. It paused, almost turning around. That's when I saw the claw marks on its shoulder. The other dino had gotten it good. The wound had scabbed over, but it was still in the process of healing. The carnivore wasn’t at full strength.

I stumbled to a halt. There wasn’t a chance I'd given John the time he needed to get off the ground. There was also a chance we weren't far enough away yet.

The Carnitor took a few steps, turning back toward the shuttle while still in the crater.

Fuck.

I didn’t have any ranged attacks. Instead, I started yelling. “Yo, Carnitor? So weak you can’t even catch me?” My voice vanished with the wind, and I yelled louder, jumping up and down next to a fern.

The beast’s head moved back to look at me, and it growled. The hair on the back of my neck rose as it suddenly moved. The Carnitor’s scales almost glowed as it leaped out of the crater.

I ran as fast as I could into the jungle, sliding under the fallen log and then around the boulder.

It understood me. Somehow, the dino knew what I’d said, and now it was pissed. I had challenged its dominance, and now it had to prove I was prey. I had to be smart and prove I wasn’t prey.

The thuds of footsteps behind me grew louder, and the Carnitor crashed through a fallen tree. The sound of snapping wood was louder than the wind. Where was that other dinosaur? Somehow, I felt like I'd gone too far to the west, but I couldn't have. In most ways, though, it didn’t matter, I just had to keep going. I didn't have time to pause and consider. I should have caught up to my trail from the sled through the undergrowth, but I might have missed it. My speed had increased more than I’d expected from the stat point boosts and skill, and I covered more ground with each second than I could have imagined only a couple days ago. Something white flashed ahead, but I didn’t dare stop. Other creatures fled through the jungle, racing away from me and the predator behind me.

It was getting closer.

A rumble under the wind drew my attention, and my eyes grew wide as I gave my legs everything I had. I knew that sound. I was so freaking close.

Lightning broke across the sky over the treetops, giving me a glimpse of a break in the trees, and the wind picked up even more. Thunder quickly followed as the ground cut off in front of me. I didn’t let that stop me, as I leaped and then rolled, trying to aim not for the river, but the pathway of river rocks on this side.

Pain exploded through my shoulders as I hit the rock-covered beach.