I realize why that thought even occurred to me once I detect not only the scent of genali, but also of one of their favorite compounds used to keep slaves in line: a type of tear gas that makes anyone but a manticorid feel like their lungs and eyes are on fire.
It doesn't actually do any damage, but no one wants to feel it ever again.
It stopped working on us many years back. If they have that gas with them, they're not looking for me. Which means there is probably other prey in this area and they might be just as deadly as I am.
That gives me more pause than thinking of the hunters. I continue to pad toward them as I think it over.
Calculated risks are necessary to gain the upper hand.
Before I get closer, I take the time to more deeply analyze the scents, pulling up my lips so I can channel a steady stream of air over the roof of my mouth and the olfactory organ located there.
I gain little new information, except the addition of a number of polymers and what I assume to be the scent of the prey. They smell of salt, fear, and something utterly foreign, but distinctly pleasant.
If I had to guess, I would say female, but it doesn't align with what I've heard about the hunting grounds.
As far as I know, most, if not all, prey are males on this continent, though for plenty of species the largest and fiercest are the females.
Maybe this is one of those females?
To overcome the rampant misogyny of the genali she would have to be particularly grotesque. Any other females they sell into sexual slavery.
I love a good mystery and am eager to find out if I'm correct.
13
Ree
The temperature on this planet is downright awful at night.
After what feels like a blink of rest, I wake up shivering. There's no way to get any warmer.
I imagine my black suit becoming thicker and nothing happens. It stays the same skin-tight, thin fabric no matter how many images of fluffy pajamas, thick robes, winter coats, or blankets I send at it.
I also know it doesn't respond to at least thirty different curse words or insults.
I check Silver, who looks exactly the same as she did before I fell asleep. I don't let myself dwell on my anxieties about her health or my guilt over leaving her.
I'll come back, but I'll be no good to her if I'm weak and dehydrated.
The metal of the ladder is cool in my grip as I scramble up to pop my head outside of the ship. There are all kinds of sounds that my mind wants to associate with insects and birds, but they all just seem very wrong to my ears. It's unsettling, and that is the last way I want to feel when I'm staring out into a dark forest I'll soon be trudging through. I can see flitting creatures the size of birds, but with the flight patterns of insects.
I have to stop myself from thinking of all the dangerous or venomous animals and plants on Earth.
Humans spent millennia figuring out what in their environment was safe to touch and eat. The thought of traipsing out into a forest without any of that knowledge is panic-inducing and I have to focus on my breathing to keep it under control.
Gawking won't lead to finding water, so I climb as high as I can on the ladder and reach my hands to the outside of the ship, looking for a place to pull myself up with.
It's wet, I assume from overnight dew, but the surface is rough enough that I feel confident in my grip. There is scorching and scoring of the metal hull in enough places that I'm sureI can climb down.
I spend a few minutes figuring out the best angle to leverage my body past the few feet of ship hull between the ladder and the top.
I shift my hands around to a few different positions then pull myself up slightly, testing my weight on the handholds. When they hold, I heave myself up, my ribs protesting, but healedenough that it doesn't stop me. I scrape my legs and stomach as I go, but after a few moments of effort, I'm on top of the ship.
I spare a look down, then have to fight vertigo when I think of the process I'll have to go through to get back down.
A problem for later.
I slowly re-situate my body so I can sit up and use the greater height I gained to figure out the best way to climb down to the ground. To the right of me I can see the line of damage we caused the forest when we crashed. It's a carnage of broken trees and scored ground.
