[color=8dc73f]Just one more minute. Then another one. And then it will all be over.[/color] Konstantin thought to himself, choking slightly on the meaning of the word over. He wanted it to mean "These beasts will be scared away or killed and I will be safe", but in the dark recesses of his mind another interpretation tried desperately to be heard - "[i]Your life[/i] will be all over". The young man tried to push it away as far as he could and was mostly successful, although it was less due to his will and control over his thoughts than due to the insane concentrations of adrenaline filling his body. The confrontation was man vs. beast, but in a situation like this the man was often reminded that he too, was a beast. The rational mind was given a strict order to sit down and be quiet while the instinctual sorted this out.

The shocked mog'romp was finally coming back to its senses, shaking off the last remnants of the daze it had been experiencing. It crawled behind Kostia, forcing him to turn and back up towards the wreckage of the Wasp. The alpha grunted sternly and the other mog'romp quickly leapt towards the rubble, cutting off the prey's possible escape. He was completely trapped and needed the cavalry - fast. But for some reason, they would not come. He knew even without looking up that the Hauler crew, for one reason or another, were not coming to perform the daring rescue he had expected. Had they not seen him? No, surely the pilot was competent enough to notice three huge predators corralling a man who was shooting sparks out of his body. Were they afraid? He saw with his own eyes how one of the crew made such a daring escape carrying an injured man. Maybe that was all the courage he had then. The scout made a mental note to have a few words with the Hauler crew, if he ever figured out who they were. And also if he survived. Dying would really hinder his efforts to yell at people for not saving his life.

No more than a minute could have passed since the third beast came to its senses when Kostia noticed the ring around him start tightening. He turned frantically from one animal to the other, trying to look as threatening as possible (which did not come easily given they were each at least double his weight). He hatched a desperate plan. Maybe he could get past one of them and get to the wreckage. That would give him at least some advantage, maybe two or three minutes more if he found a suitable crevasse where the monsters could not reach easily. He turned towards the alpha, taking a step forwards as if ready to fight. The animal lowered its head and growled, seemingly a little insulted at the feistiness of this little morsel. Then, as if frightened by this display, Konstantin made a sharp turn towards the one guarding the downed Wasp and made a run for it. The animal raised its head in shock for a second, before returning to a position of preparation. When the prey got within the right distance, it made a leap. 

The man saw huge, yellowed teeth, covered in saliva, coming in at him fast and just dying to get a taste of his flesh. He reacted just in time to veer right and rolled on the ground to avoid the bulk of the animal knocking him over. He got up as quick as he could, but the more agile beast was already at his position, swiping with a paw. For some reason, Konstantin envisioned himself as a hedgehog, spines perked up to scare away a predator. His body interpreted that as a signal to let the voltage it had stored loose. The claws made contact with his right breast and right as they ripped through the fabric of his clothes and schredded the skin and muscle beneath, the mog'romp got a very nasty discharge. The beast fell flat to the ground, temporarily paralyzed, while his opponent stumbled backwards, clutching at his chest. He could see the blood flowing quite clearly, but surprisingly, he felt barely any pain. His body was in full fight or flight mode and pain inhibited both of these options. He quickly gathered himself and once again made a run for the wreckage. Luckily, the mog'romp closest to him froze for a few seconds, possibly reliving the very recent memories that its packmate now had to experience firsthand as well. It took a step back and watched the injured prey with caution, not daring to approach.

The alpha looked at its pathetic excuse of a pack, snarled annoyedly and began making great strides towards the prey. It could see the man was weakened now and would surrender sooner rather than later. To Konstantin's credit though, he had no intention of surrendering. He continued as best as he could, pressing his bleeding chest with his left arm, but he could feel something was wrong. He was losing charge slowly but noticeably enough and his breathing got heavier and heavier. With about ten meters left to go, he turned around to see yet another, larger set of teeth flying at him. He ducked instinctively and tried to cover his head with his arms, but was too slow on both actions. He had managed to lower himself a little bit to avoid the teeth, but a mass of muscle, fur and hatred bashed into him at full speed, knocking the wind out of his lungs and throwing the young scout towards the wreckage he had so desperately tried to reach. The same wreckage also stopped his flight, knocking the lights out of his eyes, too.

The next few minuted were a mixture of consciousness and unconsciousness for Konstantin. His vision was blurry - when it was there at all - and he sometimes managed to put together the situation he was in and that he would be ripped apart by hungry beasts any second now. He heard some noises, but not the ones he had expected. It sounded like a gun being fired, but mog'romp did not use guns. And then he slipped back into unconsciousness for some time, but a familiar voice brought him back. [color=aba000]"ours... was... out... happened... Lunos... thanks..."[/color] his mind only registered a few words. [color=8dc73f]Mark...[/color] Kostia recognized the owner of the voice in a moment of lucidity. He tried to raise his head to look at what was happening, but that was too hard of a task. [color=8dc73f]Is this what dying feels like. Ah, fuck it![/color] He stopped fighting and passed out.

[center]***[/center]

[color=aba000]"One of ours, yeah. Don't know what he was doing out here, I just happened upon him while collecting samples,"[/color] Mark explained to the Wasp pilot. Other pilots were rushing into the scene with an emergency kit. 

[color=f7976a]"Well good to know someone's competent in your team. We'll take him back to the City and throw him into one of those vats, should fix him up in a few hours. Nice aim, by the way,"[/color] the pilot pointed to the corpse of the mog'romp laying nearby, its head with two holes that were not there originally.

[color=aba000]"Yeah, it's my Lunos. Thanks for taking care of him, I don't know if I could have dragged him to the camp in time,"[/color] Mark responded grimly. [color=aba000]Kostia, you fucking idiot...[/color] he added mentally.