It's strongest to the north.
I move away from the crash site, heading toward it. The ground shifts beneath my pads, the red soil giving way to rocky terrain. The temperature continues to rise, the sun burning along my rough blue skin.
Despite the discomfort, I press on, driven by an inexplicable need to find the source.
As I crest a rocky ridge, the landscape before me is a stark contrast to the lush forest I can still see from afar. A barren expanse stretches out, dotted with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation.
My eyes narrow as I see a tiny figure in the distance, leaving the desert biome and darting into the forest. The scent seems to waft from the direction the small creature took, so I give chase.
I drop to all fours again, feeling the muscles in my limbs coil and release with each powerful stride. This one has a scent designed to trick me, like the carnivorous plants of my world that lure in unsuspecting animals.
Beneath that enticing layer, there's the unmistakable stench of the genali. No doubt a product of their body modification program.
That's enough for me to ignore the temptation the scent stirs in my loins.
Angry with myself for even entertaining such thoughts, I pick up my pace, crashing through the forest after the running creature. The foliage whips past me, branches scratching at my hide.
The chase is exhilarating. My senses heightened by the thrill of the hunt. I force myself to focus, to remember why I'm here.
Vengeance, not some twisted game.
The creature ahead is quick, darting around trees with a speed that belies its size. I am faster. My claws make deep furrows,propelling me forward. The smell grows stronger, filling my flaring nostrils and urging me on.
I push through the fatigue, my eyes locked on the elusive figure ahead. Glimpses of bright pink act like a beacon, drawing me toward it.
The forest thickens, and the undergrowth becomes denser. The creature weaves through the trees, but I am relentless. With a burst of speed, I close the gap, my breath hot and heavy in my throat. The figure glances back, its eyes wide with fear.
It knows it cannot win.
I leap, my claws outstretched, ignoring the impotent bullets the creature sprays me with as I feel the blood rush triumphantly through me.
9
Kira
Panting with exhaustion, I realize I can't outrun the thing chasing me.
My lungs burn, my legs feel like lead, and each step becomes more laborious than the last. The red wasteland stretches behind me, the alien sun now completely swallowed by the horizon.
Darkness is seeping into the world around me, making everything even more disorienting. The landscape transitions to a forest right ahead of me, but I'm not sure I'll be able to run through it without breaking my neck.
I stumble into a clearing and stop to catch my breath, my heart pounding in my ears. Chancing a look back, I get a glimpse of my pursuer.
Rough blue skin and spikes. A thick, humped neck covered with jagged protrusions. It's bipedal, based on my first sighting of it, but it's giving chase on all fours. The creature's massive handsend in thick, fleshy pads similar to a rhino's, each hand boasting two layers of opposing digits like some chameleonic nightmare.
Then there is the overbite of huge, sharp fangs, right below its billowing nostrils. Like I'm in some sort of fucked up combo of the running of the bulls and all those fantasy books about dragons I never bothered reading.
The sight of it sends a fresh wave of adrenaline through my veins.
"Damn it all to hell," I let out a litany of cuss words between ragged breaths, my voice raw with fear and frustration.
I decide to take a chance in the forest, ignoring the burning pain in my lungs and side. By some miracle, I don't break my neck, but all of my weaving isn't working. The monster is closing in and I'm almost spent.
Deciding that running is futile, I stand my ground.
The alien gun I swiped from the corpse of the pink drool alien is just as unwieldy, except this time I'm trembling in exhaustion and fear. Should have taken the time to grab the Graylord's gun. Fuck.
I aim, trying to steady my breathing. The creature barrels toward me, its blue skin rippling in the low light. With a shaky breath, I squeeze the trigger.
