The Runaway {Hunter} (WATTYS 2022)

Chapter 28

Her blood was boiling. She kicked the dirt from the ground as she breathed through her mask. It always seemed like her and Hunter would be fine, they'd work together and be perfectly fine with each other. It was always one of them who had to make it sour. Cora didn't necessarily mean to make him angry, she actually never meant it. But they got heated and now we're back to brewing for their hatred for each other. They had just gotten over the argument on Saleucami, now here she was, stuck outside with Echo and Tech.

She crossed her arms as Tech fixed the capacitor, Echo holding the light for him. She did nothing. This was a two man job, Hunter only sent Cora out here so he could get some time away from her. Which she didn't mind. She didn't want to be around him anyways. If it meant standing on a moon, in the cold darkness, with a breathing respiratory, she'd do it a thousand more times to get away from the Sergeant.

A faint snarling sound made Cora lift herself off from the side of the ship. She flicked on her own flashlight and scanned the area. "What was that?" She asked glancing back at Tech and Echo.

She was greeted with nothing but darkness. Nothing was on this moon, it was filled with nothing but rocks.

"I'm a little busy at the moment." Tech said not turning to her.

Cora stepped further away from the ship. Her flashlight was guiding her as she heard it again. The sound of something growling. She listened carefully, the sound of her respirator filling her ears. She looked around at the rocks, heading something move closer. It was too dark. Cora turned to the right, looking towards the ship. Her eyes landed on the ship.

"Uh..." she gasped out. "Tech, Echo. Come look at this." She said looking at the ship.

After a moment, their footsteps came closer and turned the corner and looked where her light was shining. "Ah. Well," Tech said standing next to her. "Those weren't there when we landed."

Cora narrowed her eyes and looked up to him. "We should get back on the ship." Echo said eyeing the two.

Cora lifted her hand and touched the ship. Claw marks lined its metal. Something had done it, meaning they weren't alone on the planet.

The three stepped back on the ship as they took off their masks. "The capacitor's in place but other systems are now failing." Tech hold Hunter.

"Something's causing damage to the exterior hull." Echo said quickly.

Hunter looked to his brothers, hesitating "You wanna narrow that down?"

Suddenly, the ship went dark. The sound of the ship powering down caused everyone to look around. The sudden sound of something climbing the ship made everyone stay quiet. They could hear it above them, moving forward towards the cockpit where Omega was sitting. It stopped for a moment, everyone waited. It came out towards the cockpit, climbing out across the window and snarled as it hurried off down the valley.

"Look!" Omega gasped standing up.

"What? What is it?" Wrecker asked as they all rushed towards the front to see.

"Some kind of creature, about this big," she extended her arms, showing the length of the monster she had just seen. "With a long tail. It ran off with the part."

Echo reached forward, past Omega. Reaching down to the computer, he turned it on and saw the ships systems. "She's right. The capacitor's gone." He turned to the group. "And that was our last one."

"The creative is most likely an Ordo Moon Dragon. A species that feeds on raw energy." Tech clicked on his wrist, looking through information. "It was probably drawn to the capacitor's electronic charge."