A Second Chance

Stuck in a Hard Place

After spending countless days trying to repair the critical damage, Tomak was not at all pleased with the state of his ship, but he was alive to hunt another day. Of all places to have crashed on this marble, it had to have been in a frigid wasteland. The uncomfortably low temperatures forced him to wear his mesh suit to stay warm while he worked.

It would have been clear to anyone nearby that he was not in a pleasant mood. But for their sake, he was alone. He knelt down and used an advanced tool to open up the console to his ship, but as he cranked it towards himself, the tool slipped and forcefully hit his other hand.

Tomak roared in rage and hurled the tool across the room, then swiveled around and punched the wall.

No one knew where he was and his ship was too damaged to send a distress signal, so unless he found replacement parts and fixed the damned machine himself, he was stranded on this forsaken planet.

Tomak leaned his head against the wall, inhaling slowly and exhaling even slower. He needed to clear his head and perhaps hunt for some food as his rations had run low.

Rumbling softly, he went to do just that.

As the cloak was the only thing working fine on his ship, he didn't feel concerned about leaving it briefly to scout the area. So he took to the trees and followed the scented air.

Within the hour, he was at a nearby mountain. As he climbed higher, he noticed large metal contraptions sticking out from the ground every few yards. Connecting them were long, thick cables, and hanging off the cables were what appeared to be cages of some sort, steadily moving in a circuit up and down the terrain.

The purpose of it, Tomak had yet to find out, but what mattered to him most was that it was made by the species of this planet. And if humans were nearby he would need to be on the lookout. He scented the air through the filters in his mask. He couldn't smell anything unusual, but that didn't necessarily mean he was alone.

Skillfully moving through the trees, he was able to reach the peak. According to the infrared vision in his mask, there were no heat signatures nearby, so he took a risk and leapt up onto the giant metal structure that was sending the cages downhill again. From there he had a better view of the area. He could see for miles in every direction.

There didn't seem to be many human establishments, but there were the hanging cages and even further down there were a few small structures, but nothing major like in their cities. From what he could tell, there appeared to be no one around.

"Haha! Woooo!"

Tomak snapped his head in the direction of the howl, flicking his dreads over his shoulder while positioning himself on the ledge. His eyes narrowed behind his mask as he pinpointed where the voice echoed from.

Fast movement and puffs of snow captured his attention and the hunter inside sent adrenaline surging through his veins, urging him to chase the fleeting object.

Both intrigued and hungry he gave in to his primal instincts.

Keeping up was a challenge, but that was no deterrent for him. The harder it was to catch, the more fun and satisfying it was when caught. That was the thrill every hunter yearned for.

As Tomak got closer he learned that there was not one human, but two. The gender was difficult to tell due to their poofy attire, but nevertheless they both looked fit and in their prime, judging by the way they moved on their... primitive transports.

The humans finally came to a halt at the bottom of the mountain, allowing him to perch on a tree limb and get a better glimpse at his potential prey. Now it all came down to which one he wanted to have fun with. He rumbled rhythmically.