They got one mother though, a queen or something, and she’s bigger and nastier. Or at least she was when she came out of the dead megasaur. Nobody’s dumb enough to go in the hole in the ground they made to find out how big she is now.”
Elsa let out a deep breath and glanced around. The smart thing to do would have been to get the hell away. Follow Tarn back to the Treetown place he mentioned. Any of her team that went in there were fucked, plain and simple.
“ No Marine gets left behind,” Elsa said.
“ Yeah, figured you’d say that,” Tarn sighed. “All right, let’s go.”
Elsa followed him down from the hills and into the chest high grasses on the plain. He moved slowed, pausing infrequently to look around. She even caught him sniffing the air once or twice. She tried it but couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. Then again everything smelled funny on the planet to her. So many scents and so much of it made her just feel alive. Even the dull ache in her arm had faded to a background irritation.
“ Any chance they’d take prisoners?” Elsa asked.
Tarn held up his arm, using the Marine gesture to call a halt. Elsa felt her lips part in surprise.
“ Break our cover again and I’ll leave you to find your own way out of here!” He hissed.
Elsa nodded, sufficiently rebuked. She watched him as he turned back and motioned to continue. He walked through the grasses with a grace that looked very natural, almost as though he was just another predator on the plains. He held the spear ready, moving it every time he changed the direction of his gaze. Elsa found herself nodding, Tarn either had military experience or he’d been trained by someone who had.
He called a halt another half an hour later. She was used to uncomfortable missions but she couldn’t remember ever feeling as disgusting as she did this time. The unpowered armor was like an oven. She knew if her helmet had still been on she would have passed out. As it was she was dehydrated. Stripping the rest of the armor off, however, meant walking naked. Tarn looked liked a great guy to take for a clothing optional ride, but given the circumstances it was the furthest thing from her mind.
“ This is it, no closer,” Tarn whispered.
“ It’s still like a mile away!”
He shrugged. “You want it, you go get it. I’m telling you they’ll swarm and kill you before you know they’re there.”
“ Swarm me?”
“ They communicate. Not like people, but they got something that keeps ‘em working together.”
Elsa stared at the mound in the distance. It had grown larger as they approached, but she was sure it was no more than ten feet tall. It was probably close to a quarter mile around, if not larger.
“ Come on, I smell something.”
Elsa jerked, surprised at his choice of words. She followed him, impressed with how quietly he moved through the grasses. He stopped once and pointed off to their left, closer to the mound. She stared for a long moment until she realized he was showing her some of the animals he’d warned her about. She couldn’t see them directly, but she could see the grass swaying as they moved. She turned and looked harder, now noticing the unusual pattern of movement that indicated a creature was moving through the grass instead of a simple breeze.
“ They’re everywhere!” She gasped.
Tarn gave her a sharp look, then motioned her forward. He led her for another quarter hour, circling at one point to avoid coming too close to one of the drones, then stopped when he reached the wreckage of another screamer.
Elsa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. It was torn up worse than hers had been. The damage wasn’t from the landing, it had signs of being ripped and battered. Dried blood stained the side and ground, leading towards the mound. She hurried around it, looking for some sign of who’s screamer it had been. Had her armor been working she could have identified the transponder on it. Lacking that, she
Elsa let out a deep breath and glanced around. The smart thing to do would have been to get the hell away. Follow Tarn back to the Treetown place he mentioned. Any of her team that went in there were fucked, plain and simple.
“ No Marine gets left behind,” Elsa said.
“ Yeah, figured you’d say that,” Tarn sighed. “All right, let’s go.”
Elsa followed him down from the hills and into the chest high grasses on the plain. He moved slowed, pausing infrequently to look around. She even caught him sniffing the air once or twice. She tried it but couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. Then again everything smelled funny on the planet to her. So many scents and so much of it made her just feel alive. Even the dull ache in her arm had faded to a background irritation.
“ Any chance they’d take prisoners?” Elsa asked.
Tarn held up his arm, using the Marine gesture to call a halt. Elsa felt her lips part in surprise.
“ Break our cover again and I’ll leave you to find your own way out of here!” He hissed.
Elsa nodded, sufficiently rebuked. She watched him as he turned back and motioned to continue. He walked through the grasses with a grace that looked very natural, almost as though he was just another predator on the plains. He held the spear ready, moving it every time he changed the direction of his gaze. Elsa found herself nodding, Tarn either had military experience or he’d been trained by someone who had.
He called a halt another half an hour later. She was used to uncomfortable missions but she couldn’t remember ever feeling as disgusting as she did this time. The unpowered armor was like an oven. She knew if her helmet had still been on she would have passed out. As it was she was dehydrated. Stripping the rest of the armor off, however, meant walking naked. Tarn looked liked a great guy to take for a clothing optional ride, but given the circumstances it was the furthest thing from her mind.
“ This is it, no closer,” Tarn whispered.
“ It’s still like a mile away!”
He shrugged. “You want it, you go get it. I’m telling you they’ll swarm and kill you before you know they’re there.”
“ Swarm me?”
“ They communicate. Not like people, but they got something that keeps ‘em working together.”
Elsa stared at the mound in the distance. It had grown larger as they approached, but she was sure it was no more than ten feet tall. It was probably close to a quarter mile around, if not larger.
“ Come on, I smell something.”
Elsa jerked, surprised at his choice of words. She followed him, impressed with how quietly he moved through the grasses. He stopped once and pointed off to their left, closer to the mound. She stared for a long moment until she realized he was showing her some of the animals he’d warned her about. She couldn’t see them directly, but she could see the grass swaying as they moved. She turned and looked harder, now noticing the unusual pattern of movement that indicated a creature was moving through the grass instead of a simple breeze.
“ They’re everywhere!” She gasped.
Tarn gave her a sharp look, then motioned her forward. He led her for another quarter hour, circling at one point to avoid coming too close to one of the drones, then stopped when he reached the wreckage of another screamer.
Elsa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. It was torn up worse than hers had been. The damage wasn’t from the landing, it had signs of being ripped and battered. Dried blood stained the side and ground, leading towards the mound. She hurried around it, looking for some sign of who’s screamer it had been. Had her armor been working she could have identified the transponder on it. Lacking that, she
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