cavern was playing tricks on her. Had she just heard another odd noise? The same kind that had woken her from sleep?
Only the slow drip of water echoed back at her. She dismissed it as nerves and kept moving. Convict hadn’t given her any instructions so she could only hope doing what she liked wouldn’t anger him. She had so many questions. About the cave. How he’d found it. If he lived here. About the clothes. Who’d made those terrifying shrieks? But he clearly hadn’t been in the mood for conversation the last couple of hours. She got the unfortunate sense he might never be.
The clothes were surprisingly soft, and though way too big, she was able to roll the pants up underneath the large long sleeve shirt. It took her a while of fumbling to figure out the closure mechanism. The latest Command Council Earth suits were made of rough synthetic material and affixed with magnetic bonds that required only a finger pad along the seam to close. Like the soap, the clothes Convict had left were likely old toss offs from Earth. But they were warm and clean and a lot better than her bloody uniform. It didn’t escape her notice he hadn’t left her bra or underwear. Thankfully, her boots were still there.
Once dressed, the vibrant plants drew her eye, but she forced herself past. Of primary importance was checking on Davies and Winthrop. She needed to make sure they were okay. Plus, after a lifetime spent under Command Council protocol accounting for her movements with hourly productivity reports, it was disorienting to be suddenly so unregulated. Though meeting Davies’ knowing gaze wouldn’t be easy, she’d just have to brave it out. Like Convict had said, different rules for Dragath25. Cadet Davies would have to understand and—
A low hiss reverberated through the passageway. Eerie. Inhuman.
Bella was running before the noise came to a silent, abrupt end.
*****
“Stay back!” Convict’s furious command had Bella skidding to a halt.
Her breath strangled in her throat.
Davies cowered against the far cave wall, an unconscious Winthrop and a spilled bucket of water at her feet. Convict, dressed only in his loincloth and boots, a bleeding claw mark on his bare chest, stood in front of them. His legs braced wide apart, a large spear in one hand.
Only three arms lengths away stood an eight-foot tall, hissing, four-legged beast with huge claws. Even bigger fangs. And a striped muscular hide that looked like it would easily break the spindly piece of wood in Convict’s hand.
A musky, rank odor permeated the cave. Bella’s primitive intuition recognized it as the scent of an animal, but she had no way to confirm. Earth animals had died out long ago.
Determined not to panic, she scanned the space for some kind of weapon. A sharp rock? An even sharper stick? Damn Pogue and those other soldiers. If they’d left her a gun, she could at least have given them a chance against this creature.
Swooping down to grab a few loose nearby rocks, she took a cautious step toward the beast’s other side.
“I told you to stay back.” Convict’s low hiss made the animal’s ears flatten farther. “Get to the water. They won’t go near it.”
Ignoring him, she took another careful step. “I’m not leaving my colleagues here. If I can get around it, I’ll distract it while you take them to safety.”
“No.” Convict’s refusal was absolute.
She took another step anyway, dirt from the rocks sticking uncomfortably to her sweaty palm “How fast can this thing run?”
“Tigos are too fast. You’ll never outrun one. Get. Back. Now.”
The tone of his voice had her wondering if she should be more afraid of him or the beast. “I can help.”
“I don’t need it.”
Then before she could disagree, Convict leapt forward, he and his spear soaring straight for the tigos’ vicious fangs.
The creature’s paws swiped forward, its mouth opening wide.
She was already running forward, a scream on her lips, when Convict flipped, dodging the tigos’ claw. He slid to a halt beneath the beast. In the next heartbeat, his spear shot upward, piercing the creature’s vulnerable belly.
Hit, the creature reared back, letting loose a terrible, piercing scream. On an answering roar, Convict seized the end of the spear, jerking it out of the creature’s belly. Blood splattered onto the cave floor. It’s sickly sweet smell made Bella’s stomach jolt.
Convict raised his arm to pierce again.
But the animal was already backpedaling, slamming against the cave wall—barely missing her—before it turned and raced outside.
Resounding silence