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  Dereniik Froze. Ahead on the track a barely definable movement rippled against the Evergreen. Kyd’s momentum continued, and he reared ended Dereniik.

  Flickering tongues of white-blue gods fire crackled irregularly throughout the forest canopy. Creatures without number provided a cacophony of background ambience. A small comfort, most fell silent in the presence of an alpha predator.

  “Some things ahead.” Dereniik mumbled a warning.

  The more intelligent animals wouldn't attack a human. Unless you startled or provoked them, invaded their territory, threatened their young, all held your mouth the wrong way. Just as deadly were the mindless animals, and the swarming buzzing winged ones, and those who acted on impulse or were carried by fickle forest breeze.

  Tired beyond belief Dereniik inhaled. Filling his lungs with dank mouldy air. Not refreshing, the putrid aroma was impossible to avoid.

  The modest branch he had strapped to the remnants of his right calf was carefully lifted and replaced into forest floor regrowth and detritus. One more step forward. A throb pain engulfed his leg stump, but as only one of multiple serious injuries competing for attention his mind no longer had the bandwidth to prioritize. His right eye was swollen, obliterating perspective, and for some obscure reason that was currently the injury foremost in his attention.

  Grasping the bamboo currently used as a crutch he swung it before him and shuffled forward. Not much of a weapon, when employed as such Dereniik lost much needed support. Frantically waving it had scared away a couple of curious Odsten and he wasn't going down without a fight. His mother had sacrificed too much for him to die now.

  “Can you see it?” Dereniik struggled to discern the faint outline.

  “Yes, colour?” Kyd scrawled the glyphs on his left arm.

  Did it have black spots. No. They and encroaching fuzzy edges were constant feature in his vision.

  “Translucent green, I think. Superbly camouflaged, or perhaps almost invisible.”

  “Describe.”

  “Floating below the canopy. Irregular body. Don't think it's a fixed shape. Long, lustrous, helical coils, or appendages. About twice the length of a man, but not as solid.”

  “Symayaan.”

  Kyd was usually right.

  As if recognising its designation the creature pulsed, becoming opaque. Flowing limb-like structures billowed and shimmered in the mottled light. It didn't appear to have a face, but Dereniik felt scrutinised.

  Dredged through numbing mind fog Dereniik searched forgotten corners. If he had ever once known anything about the animal the winds of time had eroded the memory. Although near starvation, horrific injuries, and unimaginable grief was interfering with his ability to assemble coherent thoughts.

  Kyd Made the glyph for extinct.

  Either the animal was extinct, and subsequently the nightmare had become a hallucination of epic proportions or Kyd should have made a glyph for endangered. Derek suppressed his annoyance and the rapidly following guilt.

  It wasn't Kyd’s fault. He had never been interested in linguistics, never wanted to be a Commander. Chasing down drug cartels was far from his dreams as it had been for academic Dereniik to ever wish this much exposure to the great outdoors.

  Snatches the tranquil breeze carried wafts of decay, overwhelming the other prominent foul scents.

  “Dangerous?” Dereniik noted a creeping group vine tender and wobbling precariously flicked it away with his crutch.

  “Defensive, not aggressive”

  “Defensive how, how does it defend itself?”

  “Unsure.”

  “Have you got anything, does it hunt using sight, sound, sent?”

  “Unsure.”

  “Is it a predator, scavenger, vegetarian.” The last was a little too much to hope for.

  “Unsure.”

  Stormblast. Was he being paranoid, or was there something Kyd wasn’t telling him? Dereniik dismissed the though and accompanying guilt. Used his improvised crutch to swat away one of the small multi legged flying creatures that were constantly attracted to the remnants of his lower calf. Buzzing a short distance away it's settled to stare hypnotically from a branch. They needed to move lunch was slowly coming to them.

  Dereniik turned back to the Symayaan. Some animals and plants responded to static heat signatures; he needed to move. This creature was not displaying offensive or defensive Spines, thorns, barbs, tripping or gripping tendril’s, catapults teeth or claws. But there were so many ways to kill squishy humans.

  “Think we can edge passed it?”

  “Possible,” Kyd scrawled.

  The trail they were using, not quite as wide as a man was tall, had been cleared of vegetation by a wandering Giant Gastropod. Dereniik estimated, from the forest regrowth, they were only a day or two behind the lumbering beast. Crudely parallel to a small creek, heading in the general direction he thought may eventually lead to a small settlement, following it their chances of survival had blossomed from nonexistence to now only needing the luck of the Herald. Dereniik was a sceptic, other than an intellectual exercise religion existed outside his lived experience. Kyd was a believer, so maybe someone loved him enough to give him a break. Although with each passing day injuries accumulated, and forward movement had slowed to the pace to that of a dribble.

  Shuffled forward, the vines between Kyd and himself pulling taunt as he towed his friend to the left edge of the path.

  Fleeing the Drug Cartels first attack seven teammates, their mounts, and Kyd’s feet had been destroyed. Sheltering at the long-abandoned settlement upstream with other refugees a second attack cost even more lives, Kyd’s physical form, Dereniik’s right arm, conscience and possible sanity. Infection made the amputation of his right foot necessary some time after. Dereniik was not sure how many days had passed since then. Time, no longer linear, dilated to impossible lengths, contracted to a heartbeat, froze with crystal clear clarity or disappeared in a confused fog.

  Kyd regularly begged Dereniik to leave him. Fretted he was slowing them down. Not many men survived extensive gut wounds. But after establishing that his friend was not in extensive pain, they concluded becoming stuck in the Void had saved his life. Popular opinion alleged his current condition was irreversible. But in the four rotations since completing their education they had learned exceptions existed to much of what they had been taught. Hope existed for a reason. But Kyd was essentially immobile without help, and dying alone, left to become forest folder, Dereniik couldn't have done that to his worst enemy.

  With a whoosh, green flame erupted from a bush just ahead.

  Instinctively Dereniik pulled centres, tapped the power of his lilac fractal, and shimmered out of sight.

  The world changed. Without eyes to reflect light was momentarily blind. A heartbeat later his brain adjusted. A sound vibration and energy scape emerged. Learning to interpret what he was ‘seeing’ had taken rotations practise and he was still far from an expert. Body lighter, or more correctly, reacting to the force that kept everything falling to the ground in a different way, he started to Drift upward. As muscles responded to the change in form and reacted in a different way to the physical environment, the bamboo wood dropped from fingers unable to grip. Overhead, distorted calls he recognised as screeching flitters were accompanied by bright flashes of their life energy.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  And the pain, the relentless agony of accumulated injuries, ebbed. Not evaporating completely, but the relief was profound.

  The Symayaan, more beautiful than he had imagined, distracted him from the sprouting flames that should have been a more immediate concern.

  With great reluctance Dereniik shimmered back into sight. Stumbling was followed by an inelegant roll. The animal missed a perfect opportunity to follow through with a kill shot. Kyd, jerked by the fall, impacted ground behind with a soft thud.

  Reorienting himself, groping for the bamboo, struggling to stand who took precious heartbeats. If the animal had been intent on a kill, he should have been long dead.

  The fire hadn't spread, confining itself to one dishevelled, light deprived, bush. It looked like an ordinary bush, but then, so many of them did. The forest was quieter. Not the silent treatment he had experienced when the Welcoloon had stalled them. Was that yesterday? A couple of days ago? Nine-day ago, he couldn't tell, and it probably didn’t matter. There were no convenient caves near by and he couldn’t run.

  They had to move, didn't have a choice, forward seemed the best direction. He had taken a few cautious shuffling steps before another bush exploded. To his left a faint after image, like the residual glow of phase-fire, shimmered for half a heartbeat before dispersing.

  “You see where that came from?”

  ‘Symayaan.”

  Stormblast. That's what he thought. One more animal attack them. Although was it playing with them? Or an appalling shot? That didn’t make sense, it had survived the forest for God knows how many rotations. Was it attacking? Could they be warning shots? Maybe they could cut back into this track after a short detour around the animal.

  A dense wall of greenery lined each side of the track. Closer to the river the foliage was impenetrable. Scrambling uphill, not easy in his current condition, became the most viable option.

  He couldn't die not yet. Dereniik glanced at the nine-pin securing a bandage around his torso. He’d promised, it was a stupid promise, if the child hadn't been dying he would have never contemplated saying yes. But he was committed now to its safe delivery.

  With only a slight wobble Derrick stepped resolutely over the clam-like pincers of something that could have been either flora or fauna and edged around electrically charged moss. Knocking the trunk of a tree with his bamboo sent shooting spines into surrounding foliage. He tapped it again to judge the reload time. Once negotiated, a spitting animal was avoided. Kyd’s tow ropes were untangled from a tenacious strand of Drop Vine.

  Dereniik checked there progress. A body length separated them from the path. At this rate they wouldn’t make it home before the months of Fire.

  “Leave me.” Kyd wrote.

  “Never.” Dereniik didn't have the breath to argue. It had all been said before.

  A venomous Slither fled from before them. Bathed in perspiration he would be highly offensive to its delicate sensory organs.

  “My choice.”

  “And this is mine.”

  The Glowsting creature flashed iridescent orange as a flock of purple winged Brockeen Flitters scolded him.

  Dereniik stumbled.

  “I want to die.”

  “We are on a Commission; we don't get to choose.”

  The collection of rocks morphed into a snapping animal with more teeth and eyes than a tree had leaves. Kicking it with the wooden stump attached to the remnants of his leg sent the creature spinning away. The support was now half hands breath shorter. Panting heavily, he scrambled up and remove thorns from his other leg. A viscous goo wept from the lingering puncture wounds. He was sure it should have hurt, couldn’t work out why it didn’t. Wiped the area with what, in another life, had once been a cowl.

  “Please.”

  It took a few heartbeats to formulate a reply.

  “We started this together; we finish it together.”

  Storm blast. The fall opened wounds on his side where he had removed, we had been there, leeches? Not important now, needed to keep moving.

  Step, shuffle, scan for danger.

  Step, shuffle, scan.

  Repeat.

  Each action a feat of endurance. An accomplishment. When they were approximately three body lengths from the path he turned to run parallel to it.

  Keep moving.

  Something scratched on his arm. It took a few heartbeats to recognise Kyd frantically repeating a glyph.

  “Sorry. What?” Where had his head been? Not focused that was sure.

  “Rustepheen.”

  “Where?” Deranjjk struggled to lift his head and raise bleary eyes to the canopy.

  “Left.”

  Gods light! How had he missed the animal? It was a monster. Lurking high, red on orange, it crouched tentacles extended, draping over tripwires that ran to the forest floor. Waiting for some idiot to stumble into them. Any unexpecting victim to brush one would be caught in the sticky web like snares. Once trapped prey was hoisted into the canopy, further bound and left to decomposed.

  Dereniik felt sick. A horrible slow death. Should have known. The stench. The air was rank with it.

  Stormblast. They were never going to survive if he couldn't detect an animal that obvious. Ironically, he'd received top marks when they'd studied biota. But that had been so long ago. Ancient history. Only he was still a young man, wasn't he?

  “Thanks Kyd, can you see the tripwires?”

  “Not alive,”

  It was worth asking. The almost translucent threads would be hard to pick up in the mottled light under perfect conditions. Dereniik tucked the bamboo under the stump of his right arm and rubbed his weary eye. It accomplished little, except a residual amount of glue, or something else he had touched, now stung. Another layer of discomfort, and the resulting tears further clouded his vision.

  Avoiding barbed plants and the patch of Fire Thorns Dereniik edged further from the Rustepheen. The cunning animal had positioned itself directly over the path, but accumulating evidence suggested it had lived in the general area for some time. Trip wires surrounded a specific Pendant tree and tautly wrapped decomposing carcasses were strewn overhead. Ileet swarms investigated some of the fresher cadavers.

  Dereniik’s heart sank further as sometime later a haystack nest came into view. Supporting a greater number of trip wires a larger detour would be required.

  Slick biophyte coated forest floor as Dereniik started up the incline again. Resorting to his hands and knees Keepit flowers stained his skin. Unfortunately, the stain would remain visible even when he wasn’t, negating his one defence strategy against predatory animals who hunted by sight.

  He manage to bring his bamboo around in time to ward off an electrically charged tumble Bush. With callous indifference it brushed past. Convulsive spasms shook his limbs as Kyd jerked against the ropes binding them together.

  “Sorry my friend.” Dominique whispered.

  Kyd had never been one to waste energy complaining. How much was he still suffering? What if he was being cruel, dragging his friend through this endless nightmare? It seemed the right thing to do. Maybe there was a cure for being stuck in the void. If he could just get back to civilization, surely after suffering so much Kyd had to have a chance?

  The world hushed. Flitters stopped screeching. Buzzing flying creatures stopped humming. The only sound came from a teasing breeze rustling leaves and stirring branches.

  Looking up Dereniik knew what he would see. With malevolent, lethargic, elegance the Rustepheen stirred. Dereniik watched with morbid fascination as tentacle appendages wrapped around branches and a flowing body moved with stately calm towards them.

  Stormblast. The tumble bush had become ensnared in a trip wire. When reaching this area, a profusion of binding silken threads would coat them all.

  “Move.” Kyd wildly scrawled.

  Ha!

  So, he did want to live. Self-righteous justification motivated Dereniik to ignore screaming muscles as he struggled uphill. Tearing out tufts of moss and skidding over decomposing mulch. Lanyards of a swinging spiked vine blocked his path. Dereniik crashed through. Over balancing he skid down an unexpected incline and collided with a nest of ground fitters. Squawking they took to flight. One leathery wing touched the tripwire, the creature writhed, became more entangled. It's futile struggle and cries grew frantic.

  Would the flitter be enough to distract the Rustepheen? Amazing how callous you became after a few nine-days spent in the forest. Lying on his back the canopy spread before him, another problem approached.

  The Symayaan, with enviable dexterity it flowed through the Rustepheen web and tripwires without touching a single one. Straight for them.

  Dereniik rolled. Spent precious heartbeats untangling Kyd, again. Where was his bamboo? Didn't matter. Had to move. Crawling would have to do.

  The forest floor had given way to leaves twigs and a depressing number of bones, cartilage, claws and flitter beaks. Avoiding the tripwires Dereniik ripped his hands and knees scuttling like one of the small many legged creeping animals. Few living creatures crossed his path. Not a big surprise. Almost made it back to the path, or at least where the path would have been, except the rotting remains of a huge gastropod in the early stages of decomposition hung suspended and from a spreading lilla tree.

  To slow. Filtered light faded as the Rustepheens shadow arrived above them. Dereniik desperately sought a solution. Invisibility wouldn't work. The creatures picked up vibrations. Pounding heart and erratically twitching limbs we're not doing him any favours.

  The Rustepheen started spinning web. Sleek, sticky, almost invisible threads caught the slight breeze and began to drift towards them.

  This was it.

  Using a convenient tree for support Derrick stood. The world wavered, darkness encroaching. If he was going to die, he wanted to be on his feet. Foot. Or at least standing. Leaning. Realistically couldn't have gone much longer anyway. Didn't know how long they had survived, but it had to be some sort of record.

  The Symayaan attacked.

  Spouting green fire, she blackened the drifting strands of web and continued in ark to inflame a dangling Rustepheen tentacle.

  A high-pitched delicate squeal. Dereniik startled, had expected a bellow from the monster.

  Didn’t expect to still have a chance.

  Didn’t expect the Symayaan to position its body between the Rustepheen and himself.

  “Move.” Kyd scrolled on his arm.

  Yes. He needed to move. The Rustepheen was three or four times the size of their deliver. Didn't know how a confrontation of this nature would end up. Could only hope the Symayaan knew what it was doing and hadn't entered a battle he couldn't win.

  Dereniik crawled until locating at bone, possibly a Welcoloon femur to uses a crutch. He heard rather than saw the whoosh as bush's erupted into flames behind them.

  “She knew.”

  Dereniik focused his mind. What did Kyd mean?

  “Knew what?”

  “Rustepheen ahead.”

  “Yes, yes I guess you could be right. The Symayaan wanted us off the path. Her first shots were warnings. Do you think she did it to protect us?”

  “Smart.”

  “Do you mean intelligent not just instinctively protective.”

  “Yes.”

  It was a fanciful thought. Dereniik had never heard of a forest animal protective of humans. But a few were credited with acumen.

  “You called her, is it a female?”

  “Unsure.”

  “Well, I hope she's alright.”

  “She's ahead.”

  “What? Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Dereniik couldn't see her. Pulling centres, he shimmered out of sight. Brain adjusting as life signature burst interview. Moving, almost swimming, other life energy scattered before her. It took him a few heartbeats to realise what she was doing. Clearing the path. For them? Possibly.

  Either way following would make life easier. If she was going to defend them, who knew maybe they even had a chance of survival.