Despite clearly not being a hand-to-hand specialist, Doc stabbed at the creature's leg frantically with something until it let go. The flier screeched as it wheeled higher, one leg dripping blood. The other still had something on it as Doc plummeted to the ground.

I dashed toward Doc even before he hit the ground. Somehow, he did a rolling maneuver but then covered his head. He noticed me coming just as he ducked, and yelled, “Get down!”

An explosion rocked the air, and it knocked me back on my ass. Pieces of dinosaur leg went flying. My ears rang for several seconds before I got my bearings straight. Not far away, the bulk of the carcass of the flier hit the ground.

[Pterosaur, Level 15, Dead]

Its legs were completely gone, along with one of its wings.

Holy shit! Explosives Expert for the win! He may act like prey, but Doc could be useful after all.

The sound of the shuttle taking flight finally reached my aching ears. The other flier danced through the air as the shuttle dodged its attacks. The tips of both wings glowed.

I yanked my attention away and hurried to Doc’s side.

He had scrambled to his knees, holding an arm to his chest. His voice shook. “Leg’s damaged, but not broken, deep cuts in both shoulders. My arm snapped.”

“Let’s get to the crystal,” I muttered, sliding an arm under his other side. He didn’t weigh much as I helped him move quickly toward the glowing safety.

As we ran, I kept glancing upward at the battle happening there. The shuttle danced like the wind away from the flier’s claws, yet the creature slowed down as the duel continued. Several arrows stuck out of its body. Then, its eyes locked on us, and it dove. After all, we were easy prey compared to the thing that was sticking it with arrows.

I yanked us both to the ground as it flew overhead, barely missing us. Before it could circle back, a screech came from the creature. Something slammed to the ground only a few feet behind us as the shuttle passed overhead. I grabbed my knife and lengthened it quickly as the hulking pterosaur got to its feet. A slice, three feet long, stretched across the beast’s left wing. It hobbled toward us.

It still lived!

I rushed to meet it, dodging the beak that shot forward. My spear cut along a leg as I rolled past. It crashed to the ground again, then things slowed down as it tried to get up.

Always go for the legs.

Once on my feet, I launched myself at it again, leaping into the air using my skill, before I slammed into the creature’s back, spear digging deep. The pterosaur crashed to the ground, dead.

Doc stared at me, still lying on the ground in shock. "No way to help, my ass."

The sound of the shuttle landing got me off the back of the creature.

[You have gained experience from combat.]

It didn’t earn me a level. Then again, it’d been pretty close to dead when I’d joined the fight, and it was a lower level than me. Oh well, I couldn’t always be leaping ahead.

Hawk marched down the ramp toward us. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“I need a little help,” muttered Doc.

“Of course you do, you crazy bastard." Hawk headed Doc's way. "I told you the explosives weren’t stable. But no, you had to go and play hero."

“Hey, Hawk, are the wings worth anything?” I asked, studying what was left of the creatures.

Hawk nodded. “Yeah, if you can take them whole. The waterproof membranes are useful, especially for bags for quick shelter material." He helped Doc to his feet and turned back toward the shuttle. "Don't take too long."

I smiled, looking at the dead beasts, then got to work. The whole undamaged wing I tossed in the inventory crystal, along with the beak. As soon as Hawk’s back was turned, I went for the heart. I simply stuck it in the crystal, saving it for a more private moment, then raced toward the other carcass. It still had one whole wing as well. This one was farther away, and I went for the heart first. Then the wing and beak. I’d just started cutting the beak off when a cry came from the north.

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It echoed across the night sky, sending shivers up my spine.

I finished cutting into the dead pterosaur and taking the pieces I wanted before dashing toward the shuttle. That howl into the night worried me, and something inside me recognized that I couldn't take down whatever it was just yet.

Hawk watched me from the back of the ramp.

“How’s Doc?” I asked.

“Busted up good.” He shook his head. “Still, he leveled twice, and he thinks it was worth it.”

I chuckled at that. “I mean, he survived, and now he gets to rest for a few days.” I shrugged. “Can’t say I wouldn’t have done something similar if it had caught me. Like, step one, cut a leg off.”

Hawk chuckled, but it sounded almost sad. “Three of my guys are injured. That’s not a great badge of honor for a sergeant.”

“You guys in?” called John from the front of the shuttle.

“Yeah,” I answered.

The ramp raised behind us as the call came again from the north. I shivered. Noseen was right, I’d needed a movement skill, and now I had one. Next, I needed something that let me take to the air for longer periods of time. The great leap onto the pterosaur’s back had felt great. It’d used more energy than normal, and I needed to figure out how to use it to tackle the fliers to the ground when they dove to catch me. If I could do that, I might be able to fight them. It was something to test out once I had time and space, and when others weren’t at risk if I screwed up.

The problem was calories. It used enough energy that I’d need to eat more.

“Get in your seats!”

I smirked and headed to the front, taking the single seat on the left, and quickly strapping myself in.

Hawk marched forward but didn’t have anywhere to sit down. Jimmy sat on the left with Doc, both looking quite horrible. At least Jimmy was out cold. Doc had bandaged his own leg and arm, and looked like he seriously wanted a drink.

My stomach growled as soon as I clicked the seat belts into place, and the thought of the hearts in my inventory mocked me.

Soon.

Even if I got lesser rewards, at least I’d get something. I caught the side profile of John glancing my way before we rose into the air.

[John, Level 16, Fighter Pilot, Prey]

Doc wasn’t the only one who gained levels from that fight. I nodded to myself, glad that John had matched me in levels. Maybe now he’d focus on ways to grow instead of being angry about his class. The shuttle lifted off just as twilight shifted into the darkness of night. The glow from the fence increased, then faded as we took to the air.

Something darted past and the shuttle shook.

“What the heck?” John’s voice rose.

Hawk steadied himself using the back of John’s chair. “They always roost!” he exclaimed.

“Not this one,” growled John. The shuttle twisted in the air, tilting drastically to the right. “You better tie yourself down.”

Hawk grumbled and rushed toward the cargo hold.

My gaze went to the front window, but I couldn’t see anything.

The shuttle moved faster, then twisted again to one side as a dark shape flew by. “Well, we pissed it off. I need a ranged attack,” grumbled John.

“Just get us to the mines,” yelled Hawk from the back. “They set up a defense system. They’ll be able to help.”

The shuttle picked up speed again, but this time it shook slightly.

My fingers dug into the straps, thinking about the last time something like this had happened. Greg had died, the shuttle had crashed, and my life had changed. This had to go differently.

“Got you!” The shuttle suddenly slammed into something on the right.

Doc yelped, and Hawk growled from the back.

John chuckled with glee. “Take that, you overgrown bat!” The shuttle steadily flew forward for another couple of minutes, as though John hadn’t just been jousting with the closest thing we’d found to a dragon.

“Did you get it?” I finally asked.

“I hit it, but I might have crushed the crystals on that side. Still, I got its wing, so hopefully it’s out of the fight for now.” John hit a button. “I don’t see it on my scanner anymore.” His head tilted in every direction. “I didn’t kill it, though. I didn’t get any notification or experience.”

“Who cares, as long as we get to the mines? We can deal with it later, once everyone gets back on their feet.” Hawk’s voice came from the back. “Let me know if you think I can untie myself. This isn’t very comfortable.”

I chuckled to myself and forced my fingers to relax. From there, I tried to get my shoulders to lower a bit, but the tension stuck. After several minutes of nothing else hitting the shuttle, and some deep breathing, I felt calmer and more centered.

“I think we’re clear,” called John.

Seconds later, Hawk stood behind John, in the middle of the three of us. He peered out the front window into the darkness.

Doc let out a sigh.

“You doing okay back there?” I asked.

He nodded. “I wish I had a drink.”

“Drinking would only thin your blood out,” growled Hawk.

“Well, something to numb the pain.”

I hesitated, then spoke up. “Did you allocate any free stat points you have to constitution? Doesn’t that help you heal faster?”

Hawk turned and smirked at me, while Doc blinked a few times. His mouth opened, then closed.

“I bet he forgot,” muttered Hawk.

“The pain was a bit much…” Doc nodded at me and winced. “Thanks for the reminder. It’s been a while since I’ve leveled.”

While I kept some free stat points, it was mostly because I didn’t know where to dump them to help my profession, and I wanted to boost that right now, since it was new. I really wanted to gain a level, to see if the point I’d earned from Crystal Singing would provide a point for both Fortitude and Willpower, or if only one of them would get the point. If only one of them got the point, I’d need to use free points to keep the other in line. It dawned on me that I didn’t know what happened with Profession Levels. Were they tracked separately?

I wished I’d thought to ask John earlier, when we were alone. Now wasn’t the time, with Hawk and Doc both nearby. “How long do we have until we get to the mines?” I asked.