Gemma couldn’t blame Colton for asking. All of Hawk’s training had been in a simulator, unlike Christian’s. Fire was prohibited inside Perileos, so almost no one knew how to use an infernoblock.
“Okay, cover me,” Hawk said, and the group tightened their circle around him.
Gemma listened as he unzipped his pack and shuffled through. A minute later, he lit a match, then heat roasted her back.
“See?” Hawk said. “Entirely capable.”
Now bathed in the light from the fire, they agreed to rest until the sun began to rise, the dancing blue-white flames protecting against whatever creatures sought to devour them.
Christian offered to take the first watch, and the rest of them lay on the ground, using their backsacks as pillows, their shelters forgotten.
It took a long time for Gemma to fall asleep.
Reva’s big blue sun was high in the sky, and the heat was almost unbearable. Even with her helmet shielding her from the rays and keeping her suit as cool as possible, sweat poured from every surface and crevice of Gemma’s body.
“We’ve been at it for hours,” Hawk said. “We can risk a thirty-minute break.”
“Do you want to get to the outpost on time or not?” Colton argued. “Every thirty minutes adds up to hours.Sem noção.”
A rumble shook the ground beneath their feet.
Gemma held out her arms to steady herself as Christian raised a hand, silencing them. All five of their heads turned as if on swivels.Where in the blazes hadthatcome from?
The ground shook again, harder this time.
“What is that?” Imara asked, her voice carrying through the mics in their helmets.
The fact that Christian didn’t respond sent a shiver down Gemma’s spine. She knew Reva had some creatures that could withstand the blistering surface temperatures, but she’d always thought they dwelled primarily in the impassable desert of the planet.
A flash of movement appeared on the horizon, and Christian’s rifle was in his hands in the fraction of a second.
Another vibration, stronger than before.
The rest of them armed themselves and braced for whatever headed their way.
Another flicker, closer this time. A flash of sunlight bounced off the creature’s body as if it was made of glass.
Christian swore. “Run! Up the hill. We need to get off flat ground.”
Gemma didn’t hesitate. Christian had been part of Perileos’ hunting party. If he told them to get off flat ground, he had to know what headed their way.
As a group, they sprinted for the rocky elevation behind them. Gemma’s breaths were loud in her ears, echoing inside the chamber of her hood. The dirt beneath their feet quaked, almost throwing them sideways.
The creature was getting closer.
Red dust billowed around Gemma’s boots as she leapt over a boulder at the base of the incline. The rocky terrain threatened to send her tumbling back down, but she dug her feet into the soil as hard as she could. Fighting against the burning in her thighs, she pushed on, running up the steep hill.
The ground shook again, as violently as a landquake.
Imara shrieked, and Gemma’s heart lurched into her throat.
She snapped her head toward the sound—Imara tumbled down the slope and collided with a boulder, her body going limp.
Screaming internally for her friend, Gemma started her own slide down the hill.
“Gemma, don’t!” Christian yelled.
She ignored him. She had to make sure Imara was okay. She couldn’t lose someone else she cared about.
