Occasionally, Adam would make a foray to the point where they had first entered the jungle to see if the Mulinni — the Hyben police — were still looking for them. Unfortunately, the Hyben appeared to have stepped up their efforts to find the two Humans.
A section of the wire fence had been removed, allowing for a steady stream of vehicles to pass through from the shipyards, as a road was cut through the jungle all the way to Jullin Creek. Boats had been placed on the river, and eventually the search had begun to move upstream as well along the bank, rather than exclusively downstream toward Luy Lake as it had for the past several days. At this pace, Adam began to make plans to move their camp further west; they still had two days to go before Kaylor would attempt a landing. And then the two filthy and smelly Humans would have to make their way to the spaceport for the rendezvous. That was another challenge that awaited them
Adam was making his way back to the base camp after one of his surveys when he heard a strange deep, guttural-breathing sound coming from the jungle to his left. He stopped for a moment and listened. The sound was hard to hear, but it was there, lower-pitched than the constant buzzing coming from the myriad of insects that inhabited the jungle.
He continued on, his hand resting on the butt of his MK, while keeping his head cocked slightly to the left in the direction of the sound. Whatever it was it appeared to be paralleling his path, remaining hidden in the lush overgrowth.
When he entered the clearing that marked the campsite, Sherri stood up from the edge of his frond bed and narrowed her eyes at him; Poul seemed to shrink in size and began to curl up in his carapace.
“What the hell’s that?” Sherri said, hearing the sound, too. Her hand moved instinctively to the grip of her own MK.
“I don’t know. It’s been following me for a while. It’s big, whatever it is.”
Sherri looked over at Poul, whose mouth now formed a perfect ‘o’, his head the only part of his body not covered by the shell. “Do you know what-?”
Suddenly out of the darkness of the jungle, something sprang forth, flying through the air to land directly on top of Adam. He felt a tremendous weight press down upon his chest as a hot, foul breath swept over him. Something struck against his right side, and was suddenly airborne, a sharp pain piecing his chest. He landed hard, but his fall was cushioned by the soft vegetation of the jungle. And then the thing was on him again.
Now Adam could see it. The beast was about twice the size of a Bengal tiger, with dark green and brown stripes that blended perfectly with the surrounding flora. It was covered in matted fur, with a massive head, short pointed ears aimed backwards and a mouth larger than Adam’s head. The creature had him pinned to the ground, a wide, clawed paw pressing down on his chest. And then the beast opened its mouth, revealing two rows of inch-long teeth plus two pair of six-inch long fangs projecting from both the upper and lower jaws. The creature reared back its head, preparing for the kill strike.
Adam brought both his arms up and crashed his fists in the chest of the animal. Caught off guard by the severity of the blow, the creature sat back on its haunches and blinked its yellow eyes. Adam managed to roll to his left, drawing his MK as he did so. The beast saw that Adam had escaped its grasp and let out a deafening roar, a loud, guttural sound that echoed throughout the jungle canopy. And then it sprang again.
Adam jumped to his feet, lifted the MK and pulled the trigger. The beast was hit in the chest, burning away a section of the thick fur. The thing roared again, but this time the sound was much higher-pitched — the sound of pain. Adam side-stepped the creature as it landed, and was ready when the beast whipped its massive head around and jumped again. Adam pulled the trigger, striking the giant tiger between the eyes. He fired a third time, and the creature collapsed on the ground, but its forward momentum continuing to send the massive bulk hurdling toward him. Adam leapt into the air, flying easily two meters up in the light Hyben gravity. He landed on the back of the now-dead creature, his torn tunic revealing half of his muscular chest, blood dripping down his bare right arm, while gripping the MK firmly in his hand.
Sherri ran up to him with Poul right behind. Her mouth was open in shock, her eyes wide with fear.
Adam looked down at the massive creature he stood upon, and then over at his two companions. “I don’t know what it was — but it’s dead!”
Poul moved up to the creature and kicked at it with one of his small feet. “It’s a freager cat,” he said. “They’re endangered now on Hyben, but they are the deadliest animals on the planet.”
The alien then looked up at Adam, standing high on the dead beast. “At least they were — until now.”
Sherri efficiently tended to Adam’s wounds, which consisted of a four-inch long gash on his right shoulder and possibly a couple of bruised ribs.
“I can’t guarantee this cut won’t get infected, not out here. We may have to move into the town and find you some medicine.”
“I’ll be fine,” Adam said wearily. After four days of camping out in the heat and humidity of the jungle, suffering from diarrhea — and now this — Adam was thinking he sure could use a vacation.
“I guess we could start making our way toward the spaceport. We wouldn’t want to miss our ride-”
Just then the jungle ground began to shudder and vibrate as a sound louder than any departing jet airliner filled the air.
“Now what?” Adam yelled over the din.
Looking up in the sky, in the direction of the sound, they could see three dark shapes high up above. The objects were growing larger, and Adam immediately recognized them as the underbellies of three large spacecraft. Through the pain in his shoulder and side, he rushed through the jungle, with Sherri and Poul close behind. They broke through the maze of vines and fronds and into the clearing between the forest and the shipyards just in time to see the massive spaceships make gravity landings in an area to the north of them. The ships didn’t seem to care that their landings were tearing apart everything at this end of the complex, including buildings, roads and the graveyard of derelict spacecraft. The surface was being ripped up and sent roaring into the sky; but the moment the ships touched down and dissolved the wells, there came such a rain of dirt and debris back to the surface that an enormous dust cloud rose up and swept over the entire area, reaching as far west as where Adam and his companions stood in shocked disbelief. Stray bolts of static electricity arched between the three metal craft, and even from this distance, Adam could hear the creaking of the hulls as they cooled.
“Let me guess — Juireans,” Sherri said.
“You don’t suppose they’re just dropping in for an oil change, do you?” Adam said, trying to lighten the mood.
“I don’t think so; looks like they’re serious about finding you this time.”
“Juireans you say!” Poul was apoplectic, his three sets of arms flailing widely in front of him. “No, no, I’ve had enough.” And with that, the large shrimp-like creature began to scurry off to the west, squealing as he went.
“Come back, Poul,” Adam called after him. “You can’t go back now.”
“I will take my chances with my own kind. You two are on your own against the Juireans.”
Adam couldn’t blame the big shrimp for being scared, and after a moment’s thought, he decided to let him go. Besides, he and Sherri could travel much faster without him along.
The two Humans retreated back into the cover of the jungle and knelt down next to one another. “What now, Captain Cain?” Sherri asked, serious this time.