A moment later a second roar, much closer than the first, rang out in answer. Zalli spoke quickly in her language but so low and so rapidly that Junebug got hardly a word of it. Not that it mattered much, the fearful look on the girl’s face was enough to tell her what she needed to know.

“Oh Stars, oh Stars,” Taya moaned hugging herself tightly and looking around in close to a panic.

“Stay calm,” Junebug instructed. Unconsciously she checked that the loading tube of her sub machine gun was firmly locked in place. Seven of the thirty round load had been functional. Maybe functional anyway as there was no test short of firing them that she could trust. It was unlikely that Neil had an overabundance of rounds either.

“Fwgao?” Junebug asked Zalli, struggling for the native word for fire. The girl shook her head vigorously and made a circling motion with her hand.

“Got it,” the mercenary acknowledged wishing for about the thousandth time that she had her helmet. Infrared would make the job significantly easier, but then if she had all her gear then a pack of hungry predators would be no threat at all. What they needed was a defensible position, somewhere the trees were a bit less tight and the animals whatever they were would be visible long enough to line up a shot. The top of the lightly forested ridge was about two hundred meters away. It never got completely clear but the rocky soil near the crest made the vegetation thin and stunted.

“Climb,” she directed, gesturing uphill with the muzzle of her submachine gun. Something rustled in the bushes behind her and she spun to level her weapon. The darkness fell suspiciously quiet and the sudden lack of birds chirping and insect skittering was as shocking as a gunshot.

“Neil take the lead I’ll bring up the rear,” she said, keeping her voice calm as her muzzle quested for a target. Keeping the two noncombatants between them they started slowly up the hill. The moonlight was bright but save, for the occasional flicker of movement in the corner of her eye, Junebug could see nothing of the creatures that were certainly hunting them. After three or for minutes of tense travel they neared the ridge line when suddenly Junebug bumped into Zalli. She risked a glance at the woman and saw that she had frozen, big eyes wide.

“Uhh Junebug,” Neil said unnecessarily drawing her attention. Atop the ridge, fifty yards away, a shadow was slinking into view, silhouetted against the moons. It was uncertain in the darkness whether it was more similar to a big cat or a gorilla but the three great pupils it opened ruled out any thought of terrain origin. Its face rippled slightly with suggestion of big teeth or fangs. The woodland behind them rustled with concealed movements as the lesser members of the things pack took their positions.

“Statistically,” Junebug observed dryly, her skin prickling with adrenaline, “We have to catch a break sooner or later.”

With a roar and a clatter of stones the thing launched itself down the steep slope towards them. Neil’s pistol roared but Junebug was already turning her attention back to the rear where a trio of smaller animals burst from concealing bushes. Offering up a quick prayer she squeezed the trigger and was relieved when the weapon snapped off the first two rounds without a hitch, sending one of the creatures tumbling away down the slope. Stars above the things were fast, even scrabbling up uneven footing. Behind her Taya and perhaps Zalli were screaming but she didn’t allow it to break her concentration.  She managed to put a round into the second of the three animals a few feet before it reached her but there was no time to line up the third before it struck her. Junebug managed to parry its slashing claws with her weapon but the weight of the thing smashed her to the ground, driving the wind from her lungs.
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