Extraterrestrial Exploration

chapter 17

-Eiso-

staring down the rakthon before us, I felt uneasy. These creatures are formidable predators that cannot be taken lightly, even experienced hunters like our father always warned us not to face these beasts head on.

The only way we would stand a chance against a monster like this is with an ambush but currently that would be impossible. we can't fight it with our current weapons, we need to flee.

Eikan hissed back at the creature as it stalked forward, preparing to pounce. 'Brother we must go!' I warned him as we both took a few steps back, keeping the beast at a distance.

'not yet! we have to scare it off!' he snapped back, tightening his grip on his spear.

'This is not a fight we are capable of winning, we must flee!'

'If we flee, it will chase, it will hunt us!' he replied.

'we can escape, if we flee into the treetops it will not be able to catch us and give up-'

'No!' he snapped, glancing towards me briefly. 'If we do that it will change targets and hunt down Nala! She won't be able to escape, we must scare the creature off!' with that he turned his attention back to the beast and rushed towards it.

'Eikan!' I followed suit, determined to keep him alive at all costs. I would never abandon my brother nor allow him to be killed. I need to get us out of here.

The rakthon screeched and lunged for Eikan, snapping at him as he dodged to the side and ran around it drawing its attention. I rounded the other side looking for a weak spot in the beast's armor. our spears would not be able to pierce its scales so easily.

seeing a soft spot underneath one of its front legs I lunged for it, digging my spear into its underside.

the Rakthon screeched, and whipped around to snap at me as I dodged out of the way and pulled my spear from its body. I narrowly avoided its jaws as it snapped at me again and again until I was backed up into a tree.

Eikan busted the distraction to climb onto its back and get behind its head. The beast didn't even notice him until he thrusted his spear into a soft spot behind its ear. it cried out and whipped its head around to shake him off. Eikan attempted to hold on but lost his footing to where he was merely hanging on by the weapon embedded in the Rakthons flesh.

it noticed him hanging by the side of its face and hissed before flinging him off a short distance away. 'brother! we cannot fight this beast we must leave and fend for ourselves!'

he got to his feet growling as the rakthon pawed at the spear wedged in the side of its neck until it was freed from its flesh leaving a minor wound akin to a scratch. 'not while it endangers Nala.' he hissed.

'Brother just listen to me for once! Nala is not like us! She is not from another tribe from the north nor are her companions! she's not of our kind!' I snapped.

Eikan looked visibly shocked by my words. 'what?'

as the rakthon refocused on us and charged toward me I quickly jumped up, climbing into a tree to avoid it. 'You must see it as well! She looks too different! She speaks differently and acts differently as well! she isn't of us, she is something else entirely!'

as the rakthon screeched angrily and clawed at the base of the large tree I was in, I looked towards Eikan who was standing off to the side frozen in place.

he was too stunned by the revelation to move and was conflicted about it all, much like I was.

Nala is not one of us, as difficult as that was to believe, it had to be true. we were fighting to protect something not of this world.