“Doesn’t matter right now,” she told herself. “That’s enough. I’ll get back to Harper and then prep to head the other direction.”
It was as good a plan as any, she mused as she descended from the treetop. On her way down she stopped, freezing in place at the sight of what looked like a herd of dog-sized animals. They seemed to have a few legs too many, at least by her standards, but judging by their slender necks and the way the larger males stood guard at the periphery of the group, they were likely herbivores.
Still, it was possible that herbivores on this planet were dangerous. Hell, bison and moose maimed people on the regular back home, though in bison’s case it was typically when a foolish tourist wandered way too close and paid the price. As for the giant, horned murder-horses, moose were notorious for having absolutely zero fucks to give, happily charging humans, cars, and even trains on occasion.
“Yeah, I’ll just give them a wide berth,” she decided as she dropped to the ground.
Olivia gathered up her gear, took a deep swig of water, then began trekking back down from her position. It might have felt safe being in an elevated position, but it had been pretty windy the prior night, and there was little in the way of cover so high up. Down below there were far more options in the way of shelter materials.
She’d only trekked for maybe an hour or so when gruff, guttural sounds made her freeze in place. She whipped her head around, scanning the area. There was a dense bush of what she’d found to be edible berries nearby. The leaves were thick enough that it would hopefully provide her a decent hiding place.
Without another second’s hesitation she hurried as quietly as she could into position, lying on her belly, pulling leaves and twigs on top of herself to further camouflage her hiding spot. The sounds grew louder. Voices, she was now sure of it, but she couldn’t make out anything they were saying. She lay perfectly still, barely breathing as she peered out through the bushes.
Fuck! Raxxians!her mind screamed when she saw the group of lizard-like aliens come trudging her way, but her mouth, thankfully, remained silent despite the adrenaline surging through her veins and the rapid pounding in her chest.
There were six of them, two of them armed with the rifles she’d seen them carry at times. All of them also had knives, as was part of their usual kit. But this was different. Two also carried poles with cables coiled up in their hands, collars of various sizes dangling from their utility belts.
This wasn’t just a group of survivors, though judging by the state of their clothing as well as the minor injuries some sported, they were clearly from the crashed ship. But more than that, these weren’t just out for a walk. They were walking far slower than anyone out for a regular hike. They were looking for something. They were out to recapture their escaped livestock.
They chattered in their guttural tongue, but she couldn’t understand a word of it. The scab behind her ear was throbbing every time they spoke, but Olivia pushed the pain aside. No way would she move an inch while they were anywhere nearby. One of them pointed, and the others followed, heading the same direction she’d been going, roughly back toward Harper and the crashed ship, only they were moving at a slight angle from her own course. If they only had to hike a few hours, they’d likely find her friend, but if they continued on at their plodding pace for the three or four days it would take them to get there, the slight angle off-course would become large, and they would miss her by miles.
At least, Olivia hoped that was what would happen. A soon as they were gone, she’d go wide the other direction on the quick to get back to her friend.
She lay still for a half hour before finally risking standing up. The Raxxians were brutal beasts and not known for subtlety. As a result, she could hear their voices fading in the distance.
“Safe as it’ll ever be,” she told herself, forcing her legs to break their paralysis and move.
Once underway, she picked up speed, taking a detour to put more space between herself and her former captors before veering back on-course. The terrain had opened up a bit this direction, she was pleased to note, and there were a few open fields in the distance, though she’d definitely stick to the trees, when possible, now that she knew the threat lurking nearby.
Olivia increased her pace to a jog, her legs feeling pretty good, all things considered.
“I’ll be back soon, Harper. Just hang?—”
Her body locked up rigid, frozen in place, hovering in the air mid-stride.
What the hell?
She could breathe, and her eyes could move, but other than that her body was utterly trapped, captured by some sort of alien device. She could barely make out the tiny shape nestled in the bushes at her feet with her peripheral vision. It’d have been nice to be able to turn her head for a proper look, but this would have to suffice. Whatever it was, it apparently wasn’t designed to kill her. At least she had that going for her. Whoever made this thing was clearly very advanced, and they wanted whatever they caught alive, it seemed. But if she could figure out a way to get free?—
A tiny flashing light on the unit caught her attention, almost too small and faint for the eye to see. But with her peripherals forcing her to not look directly at it, the subtle shift in illumination was clear. She’d tripped the device and been captured. That was bad. Worse was that whoever had placed it was almost certainly being notified. Someone would be coming. An alien someone. And soon.
She swallowed hard at the realization, her throat at least allowing her that modicum of movement. She’d just gone from the frying pan into the fire.
Shit.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was a funny sensation, hanging immobile in some sort of personal-sized tractor beam trap. Not ha-ha funny, though. Disconcerting was more like it. Fortunately, the few small animals that wandered by, lulled into a sense of complacency by Olivia’s absolute stillness, seemed to realize there was danger here and left her untouched.
She couldn’t help but wonder what might happen if something tried to attack her in her vulnerable state. Was this thing set up to hold more than one captive? If so, she’d be stuck face to face with lord knows what sort of beast. If not, well, she’d be unable to move, but she’d feel every second of her demise. Fortunately, that was not the case today, and as an additional bonus she was afforded a good look at several types of local fauna before they saw her eyes move and darted away in fright.
Time passed slowly. At least it felt like it did. She couldn’t really be sure how long she’d been hanging there, but judging by the shifting shadows cast by the nearby trees and plants in her line of sight, it had been a while. Whoever had set this trap was apparently not in any sort of hurry.
Maybe a few hours had passed. Perhaps more, possibly less. Olivia had no idea, but when a large shadow flashed by from something passing overhead, she snapped from her daze, albeit in a completely immobile manner.
What was that?she wondered.
Several minutes of silence followed. Apparently, it had been nothing. Or so she thought until the sounds of crunching twigs and another unintelligible language being spoken drifted to her ears from somewhere out of sight behind her. Someone was talking. Someones, plural, to be more accurate, but unlike the Raxxians, this language, though utterly alien, had a pleasant lilt to it. The speakers were clearly male by the sound of it, their tone deep and robust. A marked change from the guttural speech of her former captors.
