Wide eyes glared at me as it reared up on its back legs.I saw my life flash before my eyes as one of those taloned limbs lashed out at me.The percer bared giant, yellowed fangs, strings of spit flying out of its mouth and slapping onto my arm.
Dargo appeared behind it, wrapping the broken straps around its throat and yanking it backward.The percer fell against him and they crashed to the ground.The monster shrieking as Dargo strained to keep his hold on the straps, strangling the beast as it thrashed on top of him.
Its bony back arms swiveling as it tried to stab him with the single massive talon on each limb.
Several turochs appeared over the hill, armed with axes and spears.They descended on the thrashing percer as a unit and I cringed back as they attacked it.Every time an ax descended, I pictured them missing and killing Dargo, but somehow every blow landed on the leathery skin of the percer.
It was a scene straight out of a nightmare.The shrieking, the violence, blood and metal flying as they fought the monster.
By the time the beast was dead, the ground was covered in gore, and my ears were ringing from the screams.I crouched next to the tipped truck, frozen with fear even as adrenaline kept pulsing through my body.
Dargo heaved the corpse off himself and rolled to his feet.His gaze went to me immediately, he was covered in blood, the ends of his broken bindings hanging from his wrists.
The other males watched in silence as he stalked toward me.I flinched back as he bent down and reached for me and his expression was grim as he grabbed my shoulders and heaved me to my feet.
I saw his mouth moving but I couldn't hear past the roaring in my ears.He frowned down at me, turning my arms as he inspected me.I looked down at myself, barely able to believe all my limbs were still attached.
Shiny red marks had appeared on my arm where the percer's spit had hit me and Dargo wiped at them.It felt like he was peeling my skin with sandpaper and I yelped, trying to twist free of his hold.Before I could register what was happening, Dargo scooped me up and bolted over the hill toward the camp.
15 Dargo
Iclutched Taz to mychest, my heart trying to pound out of my chest as I relived the moment I thought the percer had her.My female had almost died right in front of me because I’d insisted on playing her game and staying bound.I should have broken free the moment I heard the percer coming but I'd wanted Taz to keep trusting me.
She almost died, and if I didn't find her a med pack quickly, she still might.Percer venom was potent, nasty stuff.If she'd been bitten, she'd be dead already, but as it was, I didn't know how much of the venom had sunk into her fragile skin and into her bloodstream.
How much venom could a female as small as Taz withstand?
Not much, I knew that for sure.The males who’d answered my call crowded around me as I bolted into camp, clearing the way and directing me toward a small tent near the fire.I crashed inside, laying Taz on a thin pallet of blankets as I scanned the piles of supplies for a familiar blue medpack.
There was a small mountain of them beside a salvaged barrel of water and I grabbed one, ripping it open, as I prayed that I was moving fast enough.My hands were clumsy as I sloshed a handful of water into the packet.I’d done this a hundred times and yet I couldn’t seem to remember the steps.
It felt like it took hours for the poultice to rehydrate and I glared down at the mushy paste like I could force it to hurry through sheer force of will.
The bitter scent of the boiling flowers filled the tent, a smell I’d been all too familiar with in the barracks after a match.As soon as the paste was ready, I turned back to my injured female.
Taz sat on the pallet where I'd left her, cradling her arm to her chest, her complexion already paling under her sunburn.Her eyes were dazed and glassy and I cursed myself again for hesitating when I’d heard the percer.
