12
TYRIX
I could still taste Brandi on my tongue as I jogged through the forest.
It was more than just that sense: I could remember what she felt like underneath my fingers, thighs thick and warm with muscle. And her smell: lingering soap, with the deeper scent of her human pheromones. And I could see her body laid out before me, and hear her pleasured moans...
All five of my human senses were focused on her still.
I did my best to brush it away, but it was difficult. These human bodies were so intense! Conscious thought was powerless before the baser human instincts.
Yet I could not return to my Karak form yet. The Wolvae would be able to sense me more easily that way, so utilizing this human body was my best opportunity to remain concealed. And so I jogged through the forest, shoes crunching over leaves and twigs and dirt.
But still, I enjoyed this form. Truly enjoyed it with the excitement of something new and unfamiliar. My heart rate was elevated from the exercise, which almost accentuated my vision through the forest. The wind blew my hair back, cooling my face and neck. And the sensation of my lungs pumping for oxygen, a steady ache in my chest, was comforting all its own. I felt truly alive in a way I'd not experienced in many of the other forms of creatures within the Dominion.
I wondered if this was similar to the Wolvae.
Most Karak did not shift into violent beasts. Like the great Sunken Pit warrior Dyonarix, it was easy to surrender to the primal forms, losing your consciousness in the process. Forever entombed in that body, never to return to the Karak photons again.
But the temptation was always there. Feeling this human form enticed me to attempt other transformations. I knew it consciously, and knew that I would need to be careful.
Do not lose who you are, Tyrix.
Yet try as I might, my thoughts lingered on Brandi. I felt a strange pang of jealousy at leaving her back at the cave with Kerix. I trusted by Karak brother completely, with my life and my duty and with the honor of the Dominion, but in this form all I could think about was returning to Brandi. Exploring her body while I explored my own, learning along with her. I did not mind sharing her with Kerix--there was an intimacy in that too--but I wished to be there now.
Touching her.
Kissing her.
Spreading her legs again, and thrusting my own throbbing sex into hers until our hearts beat together, hearing her scream in ecstasy--
I came to an immediate stop in the forest, and froze.
I was still a quarter mile from our craft, with the trees thick in all directions and the clearing still out of sight. The flicker of light had showed only for an instant, but it was there. I'd seen it.
Slowly, I lowered myself into a crouch, and the angle of the light made me see it again. Just out of reach ahead: a strand of wire no thicker than a human hair, connected between two trees. Glistening from the morning sun.
Taking care not to disturb anything, I leaned forward and placed my finger against it. As I expected, it was fully taut. I turned my gaze upward to look for the trap, and once I knew what to look for it was obvious.
Ignoring the human heartbeat that sounded like a drum in my chest, I moved around the other side of the tree for shielding, raised my arm, and snapped it down.
The moment the wire was struck, the payload in the trees released. The massive tree trunk swung down and through the air with deadly force, in the place I would have been standing had I accidentally tripped it. The tree branches above creaked and groaned with the weight as the payload swung backwards, then forwards again, each arc slower than before.
I approached the trunk and examined it carefully: spikes of wood had been hammered into the sides, and a green liquid coated the pointed ends. The Wolvae were a primal species, but they worked swiftly.
I made the rest of the journey with far more care, each step chosen carefully while I examined the forest all around. I came across two more trip-wire traps, disarming each in passing. Then I discovered an unusual arrangement of leaves, and when I approached and prodded it with my foot the false-floor fell away to reveal a six foot deep pit covered in vertical spikes with the same green poison.
While Kerix and Brandi and I had been playing, the Wolvae had been busy indeed.
I eventually reached the edge of the clearing with my body fully intact. Crouching low, I moved from tree to tree for cover. The Wolvae had incredible senses of smell and hearing, but their sight was slightly worse than a human's, so I was able to reach the edge of the clearing without fear. I crouched low behind a fallen log and set my eyes upon our ship.
The Wolvae had torn away the door to our ship, a jagged outline marring the otherwise perfect exterior. One Wolvae sat on her haunches outside the ship, staring out across the clearing. A second Wolvae circled the ship in what looked like a patrol.
But those were the only two I saw. The other pair must have been inside the ship, working to gain control of the flight system.
I remained in my place and watched the patrolling Wolvae. She indeed made a full circle around the ship, pausing only for a few moments to speak quietly to her comrade before continuing.
From here, they were out of range of our beam weapons, even fully-charged. We could shift forward and attempt to fire once closer, but they would be alerted to our presence by then. Attacking from the sides was impossible due to the steep terrain, but the other side might be ideal: the trees were closer on that side, giving us an opportunity to get closer before being spotted. If we could quickly eliminate one, or even two, of the Wolvae then we would have a far greater chance of succeeding.
Lazily, the Wolvae that remained on her haunches rose and circled around to the other side of the aircraft. Changing her position. Smart.
Before I could decide whether or not to circle around to check the other side to see how much room it would give us, I spotted the third Wolvae.
She was at the edge of the clearing to my left, a hundred yards away, patrolling in a wide circle around the clearing perimeter. She had not yet discovered me, but her path was taking her straight toward my location.
Thoughts raced through my head.
If I ran, she would notice me immediately. I could not outrun a swift Wolvae female, whether in human or Karak form, and within seconds she would have me pinned beneath her enormous paws and would be tearing out my spine.
I could attempt to shift into my Karak form. The moment I did she would feel it, and charge. And although I could probably get one shot off with my Karak beam weapon, I still was not fully charged from this planet's sun. At best, it would stun the beast the way it had in our earlier battle. At worst, I would miss and her photon-ring fangs would tear my Karak form apart. Or her comrades would come down from the ship and kill me while I was alone.
There was a third option, but it wasn't much better.
I laid myself flat behind the fallen log, taking care to make as little noise as possible. Those weren't the Wolvae senses that were most dangerous, however, so I extended my arms and pulled forest detritus over my body until I was covered in dirt and leaves. I hoped it would mask my scent enough, but if the Wolvae stalked right past my position I doubted it would be enough. Hopefully she would turn away before then.
Relaxing was difficult. So was slowing my breathing enough not to move the debris covering me.
Slowly, like a nearing storm, I heard the Wolvae approach. Her huge paws crunched leaves and snapped twigs, crushing them with her weight easily. I could feel the vibration of her steps in the ground, trembling the dirt across my chest.
All of my human instincts demanded that I flee. Bolt from my position and run into the forest. It was difficult overruling them with common sense, even though I logically knew that would mean my death.
The Wolvae came into view.
A mass of black fur passing over top of the fallen log, hulking and strong. She moved her head back and forth, searching but not alarmed, her yellow eyes filled with boredom. And then she was moving away, her slow patrol continuing on, and I allowed myself to feel a moment of hope.
She stopped.
For several heartbeats she did not move--she only stared straight ahead, as if she had been frozen in place. I held my breath as she raised her pointed snout and sniffed the air.
I was dead. There was no chance for me to survive, now.
Beyond running, there was one other option available to me. And although it was not a very good option, it was my only true chance.
Dirt and leaves flew in all directions as I leaped from the ground. I planted one foot on the fallen log and launched myself into the air, shift-creating a small human sword into my hand, praying such a small shift would not alert the other Wolvae from this distance.
The Wolvae turned toward me as I soared through the air, her surprise giving me a tiny window of opportunity. I gripped the blade with both hands and raised it high.
She opened her jaws, but it was too late.
Paired with the momentum of my leap, I brought the sword down with all my strength. I felt it pierce fur and skull and brain, knocking the animal down with the blow. The blade pushed her head down into the ground sprayed blood in all directions, and the rest of her body suddenly went limp.
I stood there panting, my grip on the blade still tight.
She was dead; the blow had killed her instantly. I almost couldn't believe it.
But there was no time to enjoy the moment; soon the other Wolvae would discover her death. I tried yanking the sword out but it was stuck, then realized it didn't matter, and finally let go. My hands trembled from adrenaline.
I turned and sprinted back through the woods, aware that I may not have disarmed all of the traps but not caring, as the thick Wolvae blood cooled on my skin.