Dust slowly settled over the burned section of the mine. The smell of burnt metal and plasma lingered in the air.
Kael pressed himself against the edge of the rock.
"Check the status. Is anyone left?"
Rex watched the path they had escaped along.
"Everyone's on board… I think."
Zara wiped the ash from her face with her sleeve.
"I don't think anyone can catch up with me."
Lira climbed down and checked the area around them.
"The drones have returned to patrol. We have a few minutes' head start."
Taro connected the terminal to the portable device.
"But the alarm systems are still active. If anyone comes back here, they'll detect us."
Kael shook his head.
"We can't stay here. An enemy unit is waiting for us, and… something else."
Zara looked at him, smiling slightly.
"That something else sounds good."
Rex snorted.
"Don't try to provoke me, Zara."
"I'm not," she replied calmly, still holding her guns ready to fire.
Kael looked at the map of the planet.
"The nearest evacuation point is a two-hour walk from here. If we split up, we won't survive."
"Then we'll go together," Lira said, moving forward.
Zara followed her, jumping from rock to rock, her movements quick and fluid.
"Who said marching had to be boring?"
Rex walked alongside Kael.
"I don't like this place. It's too quiet."
Dust swirling around the rocks revealed movement in the distance.
Silhouettes emerged from the fog: a new group of mercenaries clearly sent to hunt them down.
Kael raised his hand.
"Take defensive positions. Quickly."
Zara leapt over the obstacle, firing as she ran. One of the enemies fell before he could raise his weapon.
Lira took aim from a distance and incapacitated another opponent with a precise shot to the legs.
Rex opened fire on the rest, his plasma cutting through the fog and striking the metallic fragments of the ruins.
Kael moved toward the nearest narrow passage.
"We're pushing through to the canyon. We'll be less visible there."
Zara smiled coldly.
"Good thing the canyons are narrow. More opportunities for me."
The mercenaries followed, but the group had the advantage of the terrain and knowledge of the planet.
Taro ran up to a rock wall, pulled out a cable, and connected the terminal to a makeshift transmitter.
"Maybe we can jam some of the communications."
Kael nodded.
"Let's do it. Move out."
Zara went first, firing her plasma gun at every turn and jumping over ruins and gunfire.
Kael, Rex, and Lira followed closely behind her, with Taro covering their rear.
At the end of the canyon, something made Kael freeze.
A shadow larger than any human moved between the rocks.
It was not a mercenary.
Kael sucked in his breath.
"That thing doesn't look good."
Zara aimed her guns.
"It doesn't look good at all."
Kael scanned the shadows. The creature was tall and black, moving with fluid, inhuman motions.
"Zara, flank left," he ordered quietly.
Zara sprang into action, leaping over the rocks. Her pistols fired bursts at the shadow.
Every shot hit, but the figure didn't flinch.
Rex aimed his rifle, but the plasma bounced off the rocks.
"It doesn't seem to be human!"
Lira climbed higher up the rock.
"It moves too quickly. We'll make it make a mistake."
Suddenly, the creature leaped, flying over part of the canyon.
Kael raised his weapon, but the shot bounced off the metallic surface.
Taro held his breath.
"We don't have time. We have to keep going."
Zara stopped on the rocks and fired another burst, forcing the shadow to retreat.
One of the mercenaries chasing them was hit by plasma and fell.
"Let's go!" Kael led the way, pulling the rest behind him.
The passageway descended into the canyon and ended at a spot where the rocks formed a natural shelter.
The mercenaries remained above, and the mysterious creature did not follow them.
Zara stopped, exhausted, but did not lower her weapon.
"It doesn't look like it's giving up. It will come back."
Kael nodded.
"I know. We have to move before it finds us."
Lira reached out to Taro.
"Quick. Let's go into the narrow crevice. We can secure ourselves there and think of a plan."
Taro connected the terminal to a makeshift energy shield.
"I'm jamming the signals for as long as it lasts."
Rex checked the rear entrance.
"We don't have much time. If that shadow comes back, it won't be pretty."
Zara slipped into the crevice, her guns ready.
"Let him try. I'm ready."
Kael looked at the group.
"Okay. We have the advantage for now, but we can't stay here long."
The canyon was bathed in the red glow of the setting sun.
Behind them was a silence that was anything but peaceful.
In the distance, above the rocks, a silhouette appeared.
It was larger, darker, and slower than they remembered.
Kael sucked in his breath.
"Damn it. It's coming back."
Zara aimed her guns.
"It doesn't look friendly. But I'm not going to let it get away."
Suddenly, the silence was broken by the roar of an explosion deep in the canyon.
Kael held his breath.
"What the fuck…"
Zara smiled coldly.
"Looks like the fun is just beginning."
Kael looked up the canyon.
The creature approached slowly, filling the air with weight and menace with each step.
"We're splitting up," Kael commanded.
"Zara, flank left. Rex, right side. Lira, take the rear."
Zara sprang into action, leaping across the rocks. Her pistols spat fire toward the shadow.
The shots hit, bouncing off the creature's steel exterior.
Rex fired a burst from his plasma rifle. The plasma lit up the dust cloud.
The creature didn't flinch.
Lira climbed higher, aiming for the shadow's head.
"We'll force it to make a mistake. Look for a point to counterattack."
Kael scanned the canyon.
"We're not stopping here. We're moving to the crevice."
The creature suddenly leaped across the pass, faster than anyone expected.
Plasma bounced off the rocks near Kael.
Zara ran between the rocks, firing accurately.
One of the mercenaries chasing them earlier fell before he could react.
"It can't be stopped!" Rex shouted as he jumped over the crevice.
Kael led the way, pulling the rest behind him.
The crevice was narrow, forming natural cover.
The mercenaries were left behind.
The shadow did not follow.
Zara stopped on a rock, guns still ready.
"It didn't look like she was giving up. She'll be back."
Kael nodded.
"We have to move before it comes back with more."
Taro connected the terminal to the makeshift energy shield.
"I'm jamming the signals… but not for long."
Rex checked behind them.
"We don't have much time. If the shadow comes back…"
Zara slipped into the crevice, guns ready.
"Let him try. I'm ready."
The canyon was bathed in red light, the silence ominous.
Suddenly, an explosion tore through the canyon.
Kael gasped.
The shadow vanished.
Then a second, larger figure emerged from the blast site.
It moved slowly.
Every movement was terrifying.
Kael looked at Zara.
"Damn it. It's not over."
Zara raised her guns, cold and confident.
"Looks like the fun is just beginning."
Dust swirled around them.
The canyon shook from distant explosions.
Above and ahead of them, something they could not fully comprehend was approaching—
ready to end their mission… or their lives.