Smoke and Mirrors

Enough

'We need to find somewhere to hide, or at least somewhere defendable,' Lance muttered.

As they gazed around, they noticed the plants were beginning to glow various shades of pink and purple.

'You've got to be shitting me,' said Keith. 'That throws hiding out the window.'

'Keep moving,' said Krolia. 'We don't want to be caught standing around when that creature gets here.'

They moved as quickly and quietly as they could. The darker it got, the brighter the plants glowed, and the trees and undergrowth became denser the further away from the facility they went.

'We're going to need to circle back around so they have somewhere to land,' Nate said.

'I was hoping to find a clearing so we wouldn't have to,' Krolia said.

They heard the screaming growl again, only much closer this time than before, and there was an answering screaming growl to their left which left them confused.

'There's more than one, would they be native animals?' asked Lance.

Keith pulled out his datapad as they walked and looked up information about the planet. 'Um, we might be in trouble.'

'Why?' asked Krolia.

'This is meant to be a desert planet,' Keith said.

'Part of the planet?' asked Nate.

'No, all of it,' said Keith. 'According to this information, it only rains here for one month out of every ten, and there's no way it can sustain humanoid or animal life.'

'Then all this is part of Lotor's experiments as well?' asked Lance.

'That would be a safe bet,' Keith said.

'That means whatever's out here with us is not going to be friendly, or normal,' Lance said.

'No,' said Krolia, looking around them before looking back at Keith's swollen belly. 'We need to hope there's no residual effect from being exposed to the planet.'

'Those idiots better get here and pick us up soon,' said Lance. 'If anything happens to the baby, I'll bloody well kill them.'

No-one had time to reply because something suddenly started crashing through the forest towards them.

'Run,' Krolia ordered.

They didn't need to be told twice.

As soon as they started running, more creatures joined in the chase from either side of them.

'We're being herded somewhere,' Nate said, as they pushed through the dense undergrowth.

Krolia frantically looked around, trying to find somewhere they could take cover. She burst through another bush and skidded to a halt.

'STOP,' she yelled.

The others burst through behind her and stopped before they tumbled over the cliff's edge and into the water below. They barely had time to react when the creatures chasing them crashed through the bush. They threw themselves sideways and three dog-like animals hurtled over the edge.

They scrambled to their feet.

'Keith?' Lance looked around, but there was no sign of him. 'Shit.' He leant forward and looked over the edge in time to see Keith sink under the surface of the glowing water. 'No, no, no. Damnit.'

The creatures pulled themselves out of the water and disappeared into the trees that surrounded the lake below them.

Lance leapt from the cliff and landed where Keith disappeared. He opened his eyes under the water and searched for Keith, but the water was murky, and he couldn't see him. He then saw a dark shadow in the water below him and swam down.