The thunder rattled Luther’s ribcage. He stood still and waited for a drop of rain to land on his helmet and sizzle on the plastic.

  Nothing happened. Yet.

  Hopefully we’ll have time to find the Carnifex again.

  A cloud of conflicting emotions flitted across Erika’s face. Petra turned her face into a mask of confidence, which was how she hid her irritation. Aymeric glowered into the alien foliage, in the direction the Carnifex ran.

  “We can track it down again,” Aymeric said.

  “How long would that take?” Luther asked.

  “If this was a tiger or an elephant I could tell you off the top of my head,” Aymeric said. “With this thing, though?”

  Thunder rolled across Tartarus’s surface.

  “We can track it down, and still have plenty of time before the rain hits.” As always, Petra clung to the best-case scenario.

  The most likely scenario was one where the scientists returned to Earth with only two aliens. The SmallWorld managers would demand to know what happened and why, then they would dole out punishment. Luther didn’t think either he or Erika would be fired–both were too valuable as researchers to get rid of–but Petra and Aymeric could be replaced. SmallWorld wouldn’t find a veterinarian of Petra’s caliber, but they could find someone similar enough in skillset. There were plenty of big game hunters on Earth who could replace Aymeric. Both were good people who deserved better than to be fired for something out of their control.

  So Luther made his decision.

  “Aymeric, please hurry,” Luther said.

  “You got it.”

  Luther pulled a timer up on his helmet’s readout, and set it for ten minutes. He sent the timer to the others.

  “When this goes out, we go back to the shuttle, with or without the Carnifex,” Luther said.

  Aymeric found the Carnifex’s tracks in the mud, hidden in the grass. The prints were hard for Luther to see, though Erika and Petra seemed to have no trouble spying the footprints.

  I’m getting old.

  Luther followed a step behind Aymeric. He spun his shock spear in his gloved hand and watched his timer tick down. Erika, on Aymeric’s other side, busied herself reloading the net gun while keeping pace. Petra took the rear and scanned through the foliage in search of an ambush.

  Aymeric came to an abrupt stop, and Luther had to do the same or crash into his friend. Aymeric bent down to the ground, studied the mud, then looked into the distance.

  “We lost the tracks,” Aymeric announced.

  “There’s trees around us. The Carnifex can climb.” Erika turned around. She passed the net gun to Aymeric, then pulled out her shock spear.

  Luther glanced over the tree analogues. Their bare, fleshly limbs swayed in the breeze.

  Lightning flashed in the dark green clouds. Thunder swiftly followed.

  Five minutes passed on the timer; five minutes remained.

  Luther was tempted to order everyone back to the shuttle and get as far away from Tartarus and its acid storm as possible.

  Think about what the company will do to everyone.

  Earth and the SmallWorld managers were light years away, yet they had their hooks in Luther’s brain. He wished that he could slice those control threads. In any other scenario, returning to the shuttle was the right choice.

  “The Carnifex isn’t here,” Aymeric announced. “It went further ahead.”

  Aymeric turned to Luther.

  “We have a little more time. We keep going.” Luther projected confidence in his voice, though he didn’t feel it in his heart.

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  Aymeric nodded, then led the group deeper into the alien forest. The time passed faster. Two minutes remained. If the team caught up with the Carnifex, they would have to capture and incapacitate it within a few minutes.

  The dirt turned to mud again.

  Aymeric squatted to get a better look at the ground. He pointed to some light prints. It was fainter than the tracks from before, though it was the Carnifex’s feet.

  Only a minute and a half remained.

  “Our buddy felt safe enough to slow down,” Aymeric announced. “These tracks look fresh, too. I think we’re close.”

  “And we’ve got time to spare,” Petra said.

  The clouds thundered in response.

  “Go slow and keep your eyes wide the fuck open,” Aymeric said.

  The group trekked through the foliage.

  Luther realized that this patch alien jungle looked the same to him as the patch of jungle from before. When the mission was over, Luther would check his progress and see if he’d gone in a circle, or if it only felt that way.

  The foliage rustled and parted.

  Something was coming.

  Luther flicked his shock spear on. Before he could aim at whatever was coming, it burst from the foliage, claws ready.

  ? ? ?

  Erika threw herself to the side to avoid the arcing tail. She slammed into one of the tree analogues.

  The Carnifex lunged with a whistle.

  Erika ducked.

  Petra grabbed Erika’s shoulder and yanked her back.

  The Carnifex’s tail sliced through the tree analogue, and the severed trunk slammed into the forest floor.

  “Holy shit this thing!” Petra shouted.

  Aymeric aimed the net gun.

  The Carnifex swung its tail, forcing Aymeric to stumble back and drop his weapon.

  The Carnifex pulled its tail back, and aimed the point at Aymeric.

  “Hey!” Erika ran forward, spear ready.

  The Carnifex jerked its head to see the new threat.

  Erika readied her spear.

  The Carnifex swung high.

  Erika forced herself to stop.

  The tail cut through the air in front of Erika.

  “Everyone, stay back!” Luther ordered.

  The scientists stepped away from the creature. The Carnifex stood with its limbs bent, ready to lunge. Its tail was up and ready to strike.

  Erika kept her shock spear aimed at the creature, ready for it to lunge at her.

  What are you gonna do next?

  The Carnifex let out a whistle as sharp as its tail. Its head flicked from one scientist to the next with quick jerks. Nobody would be able to get the drop on the alien.

  “Luther, what do we do?” Erika asked.

  “I don’t know yet,” Luther said. “Aymeric, do you think you can find the net gun?”

  “I’ve been looking for it. Fucking thing fell off the face of the Earth.” Aymeric said. He should have said the net gun fell off the face of Tartarus.

  A glob of water struck Erika’s shoulder.

  She flinched.

  Where the water fell, the blue of her enviro-suit turned white.

  More rain fell.

  It streaked across Erika’s helmet and left gouges on the screen. She retreated beneath a tree, but the leaves offered little protection. The others backed into trees, and kept their eyes on the Carnifex. The alien stood in the open and let the rain run down its carapace. It didn’t change color or writhe in pain. Life on Tartarus was adapted to the acid rain.

  “We need to retreat.” Luther’s voice was flat.

  “We can still do this,” Petra said.

  “No, we can’t. We retreat now,” Luther said.

  Luther turned, and hurried back the way the group came. Aymeric followed a few steps behind.

  The Carnifex’s tail was lowered. The creature decided that the humans were no longer a threat, and it could drop its guard.

  But you’re wrong about that.

  The Carnifex’s focus was in the direction Luther went–the direction opposite of Erika.

  She marched out from under her tree. Acid pounded on her suit and left white streaks. Erika could only see indistinct shapes through her helmet. If the acid made even a little hole in that helmet, Erika would suck down Tartarus’s air.

  Don’t think about it.

  Erika readied her shock spear. The Carnifex was only a few meters away.

  The creature snapped its focus to Erika.

  Maybe it heard Erika’s footsteps. Maybe it had a sixth sense. Hell, the Carnifex might have looked in Erika’s direction by sheer dumb luck. No matter why the Carnifex saw Erika, it saw Erika.

  The creature spun around.

  Erika was too close now; it was her or the alien.

  She lunged.

  The Carnifex lashed its tail out.

  Erika connected the spear’s tip with the Carnifex’s head.

  The Carnifex writhed as electricity shot through its body. Its tail was still coming.

  Erika tried to pivot and avoid the attack, but the tail hit.

  It struck Erika’s shoulder, and came with enough force to send her stumbling to the ground.

  But I’m still alive.

  The Carnifex was still up and still convulsing.

  Erika scrambled to her feet.

  The Carnifex swayed now, like there was a breeze.

  Erika swung her spear. Her shoulder screamed in pain, and Erika screamed with it. She struck the Carnifex a second time.

  The impact jarred Erika’s shoulder, but it knocked the animal to the ground.

  Luther stopped at Erika’s side.

  “What are you doing?” Luther demanded.

  Erika’s shoulder throbbed. The pain wasn’t too bad, though, at least with adrenaline and fear coursing through Erika’s body.

  “I took the Carnifex down,” Erika stated.

  Luther looked at Erika’s face.

  She couldn’t see his expression through her damaged helmet and sheets of rain. She hoped Luther was proud of her.

  “Everyone!” Luther shouted. “We’ve got the Carnifex! We need to grab it and hurry!”