War for the Iron Planet

Chapter 14: The Wolf Serpent

"Reclan," said Vanbrook calmly. "Get that cylinder back to the shuttle. No arguing. Run. Now."

Reclan obeyed immediately, her strong Dromean legs carrying her faster than any human could hope to run. The wolf serpent's head struck out to snap her up in its jaws, but Vanbrook drew his pistol and fired at it. The serpent recoiled, and Reclan had time to exit the cave.

However, the shot did precious little damage and only served to anger the monster. It turned its attention to Vanbrook, rearing back and hissing. He dove out of the way of another strike, trying to move towards the entrance of the chamber, but the beast's powerful tail swatted him back in.

Firing blind, Vanbrook cracked off two shots as he stumbled to his feet. The sound of the gun in the small, rocky chamber was disorienting to the serpent, but the rounds did little damage.

The fanged maw shot towards Vanbrook again, and he drew his sword, slashing at the monster's face. The blade caught its nose as Vanbrook dove to the side, and the creature howled.

Vanbrook emptied the three remaining rounds into the monster's face, hoping to cripple or blind it, but none of the rounds found a particularly soft target, glancing off the beast's massive skull. Blood ran down the serpent's jaw, but it merely snarled at its would-be prey, its wolfish face contorting into a look of pure hatred as it bared its fangs.

Holstering his pistol, Vanbrook activated his buckler and faced the monster, ready to parry the next strike. When it came, it was from behind, as the serpent tried to swat at him with its tail again. This time, Vanbrook anticipated the attack and pointed his sword into the incoming tail. The momentum of the tail worked against the serpent, and the sword bit into its leathery hide. Another pained roar gave Vanbrook hope, but even though the sword found some purchase, the strike had reverberated up his arm, reminding him how powerful a foe he was facing.

He intuitively swung his shield around in a powerful backhand, anticipating the follow-up strike that came after the tail attack. The wild swing connected with the side of the serpent's head, causing it to reel back. The creature's normal tactics weren't working, and it backed up a moment to study its prey.

Taking the opportunity, Vanbrook dashed for the chamber entrance, this time making it without interference. He knew from the scream that echoed through the cave that he was being pursued, but he continued running. He hoped desperately he could make it to the exit before the creature could catch up.

***

Meanwhile, Reclan was still sprinting headlong towards the shuttle. She had left her pack at the cave entrance and was navigating the craggy path as quickly as she safely could, if not a bit quicker. Given the rocky terrain, the downhill slope and the fact that she was about fifteen miles from the shuttle, she figured she could make the run in under two hours if she didn't stop to rest or worry about conserving energy like they had on the way up. She slowed down just enough to work her comms.

"Shuttle this is Reclan, do you copy?!"

"Copy, Reclan, this is Raivyn. What's going on?"

"We found the cairn. I have a cylinder that probably has the coordinates in it, but we were attacked by some kind of serpent. Vanbrook ordered me to run and get these to you guys."

"And he's still back there?"

"Yeah. Yes, he's still back there."

Raivyn bit her lip. She was still ready to strangle Vanbrook for what he'd said, but there was no way she was leaving a squad member to die. The problem was they could barely cover their bases as it was. Between Trikac's death, D'Jarric and Drixen's injuries and the three Astralbians, there wasn't a lot of personnel to spare.