“At your seven, there’s a cave,” Hawk said. “Not far.”
“Okay, everybody stand up as slowly as you can.”
Gemma’s heart had never beaten so fast. She did as Christian said, rising to her feet without taking her eyes off the leathery-skinned, bug-eyed creatures.
“When I say go, walk to the cave—slowly—and be careful to not make any sudden movements. Dune runners are lightning fast, and quick movements catch their attention,” Christian said.
Gemma’s hands shook. She held her breath, waiting for his signal.
“All right, let’s go,” Christian said.
She glanced over her shoulder to find the mouth of the cave then backpedaled as leisurely as she could, despite every neuron in her brain screaming at her to run.
The enormous lizards wiggled closer, their eyes flitting from one person to the next. Gemma took deliberate breaths in an attempt to keep from screaming.
A rock tumbled from behind her. Colton cursed under his breath, every pair of beady eyes snapping to him.
“Um, guys?” Imara said. “Look left.”
Gemma turned her head. More of the squirmy beasts clung to the mountainside, their unnerving eyes tracking their every move.
“All right, forget what I said,” Christian said. “Run. Now.”
As soon as Gemma took off, the sound of hammering feet roared, chasing after her. The cave seemed further away with every step she took; the clamor of clawed footsteps against rocky dirt grew too strong. Her heart banged around inside her rib cage.
They were going to overtake her any second.
Christian slammed into her from the side, knocking her out of the way as one of the beasts pummeled into him. He fell hard onto his back but flipped the creature over him with his feet, landing a shot between its eyes before it even hit the ground.
Gemma helped him up, then they were off again.
A gunshot rang from their right, and either Colton or Hawk cried out in pain.
Gemma turned on her heels to see who was hurt, but Christian yanked her back toward the cave’s mouth.
“We’re gonna need you,” he yelled, pushing her inside. “Keep your gun out but stay inside the cave. Do not move.”
Gemma ground her teeth, her nostrils flaring. But she did as he asked, tucking herself into a groove in the stone wall and peering out of the cave.
It was Hawk who’d taken claws to the arm. His sleeve was shredded, and bright-red blood shone from the holes in the fabric.
Colton’s knives tore through the throat of a dune runner nearest him before another leapt, knocking him to the ground. Christian placed a bullet in the beast’s brain before it could slam its toothy jaw around Colton’s arm.
Gemma’s heart slammed against her sternum when Christian stepped further outside the opening to the cave, sniping as many creatures as possible to clear a path for their comrades to get inside.
There were so many of them.
Imara yelped as one of the beasts scratched her calf, but Hawk caught her before she fell, and they rushed into the cave together.
Colton tossed a grenade over his shoulder as he neared the opening, body-slamming Christian into the safety of cover.
Gemma shielded her eyes when the bomb exploded, piercing squeals following in its wake. The remaining lizards roared as they crawled back and forth in front of the carcasses of their pack, their yellow eyes burning with hunger.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t want you to lose body parts,” Colton grumbled, helping Christian up from the ground.
Christian patted him on the back and stared at the creatures. “Dune runners don’t like covered areas. Usually you only see them in the desert part of the planet. Strange that they’re all the way out here.”
Now that she knew they were all safe, Gemma snapped into action. Kneeling beside Hawk and Imara, she ripped open her medical bag.
