Beyond the Stars ~ Chapter 8, part 2

The light that had caught Tristan’s attention was moving in an erratic pattern beneath the ship, until it finally broke away and moved downward.  He was caught, entranced by the sight, until he realized it was picking up speed and heading directly for them.  He turned and raced back into the throng of warriors milling about their fallen leader.  “We have to move, there are more coming.”  No one really paid him much heed all beginning the process of mourning.  He tried to get their attention, but each of the frog men were turning to the sky with closed eyes.  He continued to shout at them, but instead of responding they began to fill their throat bags with air and then proceeded to let out a lingering, melodious, croak.  They rotated in chorus and filled the night air with their sorrow.  He turned to Angor whose head was still bowed over the that of the king’s.  Her lips were still moving in a silent prayer.  Splashing forward he reached out to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and then redirecting her attention over his shoulder.  Thrusting his hand into the air he pointed and then recoiled in fear.  The single light had multiplied and they were almost upon them.

Tristan jumped back up, trying to get the attention of the others around him but they were oblivious to his shouts.  He grabbed at the arm of the one closest to him, but was rewarded with a sharp shove to the chest which sent him backwards into the water.  Suddenly a shout of surprise brought his attention back to Angor.  He found her grasping at the king who had begun to sink into the water.  He wanted to help but the frog men moved in to stop them both and let the water take the dead into its embraced.  There were no ripples as he sunk below, just the constant croaking howl echoing through the woods.  Then there was silence.  The sudden change was deafening.  Tristan’s ears felt plugged with pressure as though everything had been stifled by a vacuum.  He looked around for reason and came face to face with stone faces of the frog men.  They were frozen in place like barked over statues standing guard for eternity at the resting place of their king.  Tristan and Angor were now alone.

The lights could be seen breaking through the trees, slowing as they slid beneath the canopy to be within feet of landing.  Tristan grabbed Angor by the hand and began to run.  He didn’t know what direction they were taking, just that they had only moments.  They were away from the battle field when he heard the splashes as the new attackers landed.  He didn’t know what chance they had.  While they both had nanobots to help them survive in foreign environments he knew that he was the only one who could fully adapt.  Angor could not hide beneath the surface of the water.  Having cleared what he hoped was enough distance he pulled Angor to a crouching position behind trees and looked back in the direction they had come from.  He could see the lights sweeping the clearing and then casting off into multiple directions.  He ducked back behind and settled down to catch his breath.

Neither moved, they just sat quietly listening for any sounds of pursuit.  Nothing.  Tristan ventured another peek.  Nothing.  They breathed easier.  “What do we do?”  Tristan whispered.  “I don’t know.”  Angor answered as she began patting her vest.  “What are you looking for?”  “I have a locator and remote start for the ship.  If we can locate it, I might be able to get us out of here.”  “But it was damaged when we landed.”  “Only your pod, there are four on the ship.  We can deactivate your pod, maybe even disengage it and leave it behind.  We just have to find it.  Here!”  She pulled a small device from a pocket and hit it with her thumb.  Instantly a whirring sound erupted to life.  Tristan looked around “could it really be that close.”  “I don’t know, but even if it was, it doesn’t sound like that.”  They looked at each other before peering around opposite sides of the tree that hid them.   In the clearing the lights were now focused on a single spot.  In the middle of the clearing a large machine stood with circular blades roaring to life.  The lights moved in closer and took positions at the top, shining into the depths of the trees, and then the machine moved towards them.

The blades cut through the tree trunks as though they were made of paper, bringing the forest down around it as it cut a path heading directly towards Tristan and Angor.  They scanned their surroundings for an escape.  “Over there.”  Angor was pointing off a sort distance to their left where the ground rose up like a hill lifting a portion of the forest.  The edge facing them looked be made of rock and at its base was a cave small enough to hide and protect them.  A quick nod of agreement and they were again running.  They could feel the breeze of the blade as the machine gained on them and then they were ducking and diving into darkness.  They pushed themselves as far back as they could, shielding their whereabouts and praying they would not be discovered.  The whirring of the blades stopped.

Tristan could barely make out the whites of Angor’s eyes and only hopped that she could see his.  He reached out for her hand, but she wasn’t where he expected her.  Her eyes closed and then reopened a bit higher.  They closed again and opened a bit to the right, then another set opened and another.  “Angor” he whispered, danger was all around him and he was willing to risk it.  “Angor!” he said a little louder.  He was ready to scream her name when the light hit him like a blinding spot light.  There was a shriek and then he was enclosed in long thin spindly arms.  They shut around him like a cage and when he turned to look behind he came face to face with a wall of eyes staring at him.  The ground shook and the creature that now contained him in its grasp rose from the ground.  He looked around desperate and found Angor a few feet away in the same predicament.  Now he did scream “ANGOR!”  She looked back, started to say his name, but choked on the sound as the captor began to roll away through the woods.  His cage, because that is all he could think of it, followed suit rolling back towards the clearing they had fled only moments before.

Once in the clearing the creatures rotated, turning their bodies so that where their arms locked was against the ground beneath Tristan and Angor.  Looking up all they could see were many eyes looking back at them.  Everything began illuminated as the lights took position directly above.  The one above Angor was lowering a cable that attached to back of the Angor’s captor.  He was sure the same thing was happening to his own, and then they were being lifted from the ground toward the ship that still hovered above.  Tristan’s stomach dropped as doors on the bottom of the ship open and then they were swallowed inside.

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