Something catches my spear and yanks it from my grip. I recatch it moments later as one of the pigs jumps after me instead of his brethren. Glimpsing down, I find two large, intelligent eyes gazing up at me with hatred. I spit venom at the leader, and he shakes it off.
The others around him begin to notice that I’m still above; they see me now that their bellies are full of their friends.
It’s time to go.
I coil and lift off the branch, slipping to the next tree over. The large pig follows me, while several others follow him. If I don’t lose them, they’ll chase after me until either I’m dead or they are. And from the look the big one is giving me, he wants my hide.
As long as it’s me and not Gemma.
I lead the pack out of the area, killing as I go, stabbing through the night until morning breaks through the trees.
I need to find Gemma, and soon.
I push off the truck of the tree I’m in and silently move back to the place I was when I found the pigs the night before. The place where I last had Gemma’s trail.
In the dawn’s light, I see nothing but half-eaten corpses and blood. The bushes, branches, and plants were decimated in the feeding frenzy. If there was a trail before, it’s gone now.
I bite out a curse.
Something swishes past my head. I catch sight of it just before it vanishes into the forest. It’s rusted, dirty, and broken, but I know what it is.
A drone.
Excitement rips through me.
My exhaustion disappears as I take off after it. Someone initiated drones…
Gemma.
Seventeen
Danger on Every Ledge
Gemma
I run my arm over my brow, wiping the sweat gathered there, and push forward. I’ve been running for hours, trying to get away from the sounds of the pigs behind me.
Soon after I found the orb, I heard them again.
They’re getting closer. My pulse quickens as the sun crests.
They never left.
I catch hold of a branch, curling my bleeding toes into the dried leaves. I stumble to the next tree.
Ahead of me is a ledge, and I make a faltering sprint for it. Through the trees, I see the slope of the mountain I’m heading toward.
The landscape has become increasingly rockier and hillier. I didn’t get lucky, I failed to pick the direction toward Vruksha’s bunker. I curse continuously. I don’t know how I ever thought I was going to find alien tech and run it back to my people.
I didn’t know what I was truly in for. I was stupid to think it was a good plan, even with Vruksha’s spear for protection.
God, I’m an idiot.
I reach the ledge as a snort sounds behind me and pull my body up, barely managing to get off the ground when something snaps at my foot. Jerking my limbs into my body, I twist back.
Behind me is the largest, angriest-looking hog I’ve ever seen. Three times my size, the hog could eat me whole. I hold in a scream as it claws and tries to climb the ledge, snapping and snorting in a frenzy.
I take my stick and jab its head.
My stick breaks.
“Fuck,” I gasp, pulling my half toward me. I stare at the broken tip. Movement catches my eye. Two more pigs run out of the trees joining the first. They barrel into the ledge.
I recoil, turning around to find an escape. The slope is steep but rocky, and I can climb the boulders leading up the mountainside. That’ll lose the pigs. I hope. I shiver and massage my aching hands, examining the jagged edges, deciding on the best route.
I try not to think about how tired I am, nor how I’ll probably fall to my death. My gut cramps. I can’t do much climbing, I won’t be able to lift my body in the state I’m in.
I wish I was facing several horny naga males over this. Anything over this. The pigs I know are nothing like the mindless, brutal animals clawing at the ledge.
“Fuck,” I whisper, breathing the word out between my teeth, tossing my broken stick to the side.
There are now five pigs at the ledge when I glance back. One’s climbing on the back of another. I struggle to my feet and take to the slope.
Slipping, my clothes tear, while sharp rocks abrade my skin. My bleeding feet stain the rocks. My hands are raw, and my world spins. I cry and pray and beg. I’m hungry, thirsty, low on energy, and I don’t have much fight left in me.
But pigs?
I’m not letting pigs be my end. I fight my way higher and higher until I fall face-first onto a ledge toward the top, collapsing. I still hear their snorting below me. There’s more now. I roll over and stare at the sky, panting.
Even if I get to the top, what do I do next? My eyes catch the orb still hovering beside me. To my disappointment, it has spent more time ‘updating’ than answering my questions. At least it followed me.
“Orb,” I rasp. It blurs as my vision wavers.
“What can I do for you?” it asks.
“Where is the…” I don’t know what to ask to get the information I need.
“I don’t understand. Please repeat.”
“What predators are around me?” I finally say, repeating the question Vruksha asked in his bunker, all while trying to solidify a cohesive thought in my head.
The orb lights up and my eyes shift back to the sky. I don’t expect it to give me any sort of answer.
So when it does answer, I’m stunned.
“Scanning complete. There are several packs of pigs scattered around this region, two families of bears, and three snakes.”
I push up on my elbows. I smack my lips, swallowing even though my mouth is dry. “How do you know that?”
It doesn’t answer.
“Orb, how do you know what’s nearby?”
“I am connected to three major
