Page 5 of Silver Slayer

"A Moktian vessel." Vala zoomed in on the crash site. "There might be fuel sources we can salvage."

"Moktians aren't just going to give you their fuel," Mehr said, his voice gravelly with sleep.

"If there are no survivors, we take what we find," Vala stated flatly.

"And if someone's still alive?" I asked. "We all survived our crash."

Vala gave me a hard look. "Recall when you asked if the Moktians are dangerous? We are just as dangerous to them as they are to us. And we need their fuel."

"So you plan to kill any survivors and take what you want?" I asked, appalled.

"If they aren't willing to help us," Mehr said with a shrug. "Survival of the most savvy."

"You mean the most treacherous," I huffed.

"Get your analyzer ready," Vala said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We leave at first light."

Sunrise broke over the horizon in ribbons of rose and amber, casting our shadows long across the lush landscape. We slipped from the ship's hatch into that brief, merciful window when the planet's predators retreated to their lairs and the carnivorous flora hadn't yet unfurled to full hunger. These precious hours, when death merely whispered instead of screamed, were our only window for safe travel.

I clutched the bio-spectral analyzer, its familiar weight the closest thing I had to a security blanket on a world where knowledge was the only edge that kept us breathing.

Vala moved at my side, his silver skin catching the early light in ways that made him look like a living weapon. Fluid. Controlled. His nutrone blaster raised and ready. Behind us, Brooke and Mara moved with the practiced silence forged in eight weeks of survival, where noise drew predators, and hesitation got you killed. Brooke's fingers twitched against the contours of her blaster. Mara kept adjusting her grip on hers, eyes darting to the glowing power indicator pulsing against the casing.

"The analyzer's picking up increased bioactivity to the east," I murmured, keeping my voice low.

"Stay on course," Vala replied.

We picked our way through the dense, pulsing foliage that tracked our movements. Plants here didn't just grow. They hunted. I swept the analyzer in wide arcs, watching for the telltale spikes that meant something was about to make a move.

"Movement at two o'clock," I whispered.

Vala shifted instantly, placing himself between me and the threat. We froze as a cluster of what looked like innocent flowers shuddered, revealing rows of needle-sharp barbs glistening with venom.

"Nobody breathe," I ordered.

Thirty agonizing seconds passed before they folded back into themselves, returning to their deceptively innocent state.

"Clear," I murmured, checking the screen. "They emit a paralyzing toxin when they detect carbon dioxide."

"Another delightful discovery for your catalog," Mara muttered behind me.

We continued forward, each step measured. The ground beneath our boots was unreliable. What appeared firm could, without warning, transform into a digestive pool that broke down organic matter within minutes. I'd learned that lesson in week one and never forgotten it.

"Remember when our biggest worry was finding parking at the mall on Black Friday?" Brooke whispered.

"Or whether our phones had enough battery life?" Mara added with a bitter laugh.

"Focus," Vala said. "Save the reminiscing for the safety of the ship."

The terrain shifted as we left the forest behind, following the ridgeline as it curved around a broad clearing below. The valley floor stretched open beneath us, barren compared to the lush growth above. Scattered scrubby shrubs clung to rocky soil while fallen debris from the forest littered the ground. Ahead, the analyzer vibrated more insistently as the Moktian crash site drew closer.

A series of rapid, hollow clicks, like knitting needles tapping ceramic, dropped us all into a crouch. The sound came from within the forest bordering the ridge, echoing through the blue-barked trees, followed by a wet, sticky sound like someone peeling tape from a wall, only amplified tenfold.

"Void weaver," Vala breathed. "Nobody move."

Through the dense foliage, something large moved with unnatural grace, its limbs appearing and disappearing between shadow and light like a mirage that only solidified when still. The analyzer's screen flickered wildly each time it shifted position.

We'd encountered void weavers before. Arachnid creatures with prism-like bodies that refracted light around them, their presence betrayed only by the subtle distortion in the air around them and the clicking sound they made while hunting. They dropped from above onto unsuspecting prey and fired dense strands of black webbing with terrifying speed, cocooning anything they caught before dragging it into the trees. At night,those webs looked like tears in the darkness itself, swallowing light instead of reflecting it, which was why Mara had given them the name.