Chapter Thirty-Four: The Chase

Ren and five others were in the woods; those with him included Sthora, two of her guards named Arpha and Oririna, Mae, and one of the guards from the ship named Vedia, who had long blonde hair and bright emerald-colored eyes. She was younger than most of the other crew members but still volunteered for this mission. Mae wanted to learn about some of the hostile wildlife nearby in order to help the village create more effective countermeasures in case of an attack.

There were three main hostile enemies that were the biggest threats to the village and its people.

First, the beast that Ren ran into on his first day on the planet, the Sogaris, a beast that, while lacking in speed, makes up for it in strength and perceptiveness. It's the second-most dangerous beast in the forest, making it a fierce predator.

Secondly are the Daihnas, who, despite being the size of an average human woman, hunt in dangerous packs with insane speed. Ashastha described them as creatures that stand on two legs with a long tail that they use to fight with; they can also jump long distances, which allowed them to catch prey that ran from the creature. Their mouths were filled with dozens of sharp teeth and a split tongue. If you somehow managed to escape from these creatures with a bite, you were doomed to die. The bite delivers a poison like snake venom that will paralyze you, and the smell of the venom is also like a tracker for the Daihna, meaning the pack will follow it to the paralyzed prey.

And lastly, the Drakzen were an endangered species but deadly all the same. Giant beings who were about 27 feet tall on average had scales all over their bodes like a dragon and had two arms on their bodies. From what Ashastha described, if you were to ever meet one, there was no fighting, only running. The strongest weapons that Ashastha had could barely even hurt it; it was said during the early wars that some would even try to lure Drakzens into the enemy villages, making them turn to nothing but rubble in a matter of minutes.

These were the biggest predators that were located in the forest that the village was in. There were, of course, other dangerous beasts on the planet, but these were the main ones they had to worry about.

Mae had Ren describe his experience with what happened with the Sogaris and asked around the village for ways to kill these creatures, making her begin planning to stop them. Next, she wanted to see what a Drakzen looked like, and their tribespeople knew where one was located. Sthora, Arpha, and Oririna volunteered to show them but were made to tell Mae, Ren, and Vedia to stay close to them and to be silent when nearby the creature.

The Drakzen, which the people named after its destruction, and the rough translation is "Weapon of Aresia, named after their goddess of war.

The group slowly approached a clearing and saw the behemoth in front of them. It had to be 30 feet in total height, red scales up and down its body, and smoke coming out of its nose as it breathed in its sleep.

"What the hell is that..." Vedia said silently.

Mae was silently observing the creature; however, even Ren could see the sweat drop coming from her forehead.

"Have your people ever killed one of these things?" Ren asked quietly.

"Not in a very long time." Sthora said in response.

"We should leave..." Vedia said.

Vedia looked as if she were having an anxiety attack just at the sight of the monster.

"Vedia, please calm down; we can't risk-" Ren said before Vedia kept backing away from the sight of it and then the worst sound possible.

*Crack*

Vedia stepped on a large branch behind her, causing the Drakzen to wake up from its slumber.

*ROAR*

The Drakzen roared in response to people waking up from its slumber.

"RUN!" Sthora yelled out, and in no time at all, the entire group sprinted in the opposite direction, running as fast as they possibly could.

However, Vedia, who was still hyperventilating from earlier, slowed down while running and fell down, just a few feet away from the Drakzen.

"VEDIA!" Ren yelled out and tried to reach her before Sthora stopped him.

"It's too late, Ren. I'm sorry, but we have to go."

Ren closed his eyes and clenched his fists in anger as he looked at Vedia, who was now right under the Drakzen, before nodding his head and continuing to run away from the beast.

All they could hear were the bloodcurdling screams from Vedia as she was crushed under the Drakzen's feet.

"I'm so sorry, Vedia..." Ren thought to himself.

"We can't lead that thing back to the village; all of you head back, and I'll distract it." Sthora said.

"That's suicide!" Oririna yelled.

"It's the only way!" Sthora yelled back.

Ren closed his eyes and said "I'm coming with you, Sthora; all of you take Mae back to the village; me and Sthora will keep this thing distracted."

"Ren, you don't-" Sthora was saying before being interrupted by Ren.

"I'm not going to let you die as long as I can help it; we can lead it away while they get Mae back home. I'm trusting you two!" Ren yelled to Oririna and Arpha.

The two guards nodded and led Mae away from the chase as Ren shot his gun at the monster, getting its attention.

"You're absolutely insane, Ren." Sthora said.

"I like to consider myself extremely caring; now what the fuck do we do now?" Ren asked, panicking while running.

"We need to find a cave that he can't fit in; we will hide out there until the Drakzen loses interest in us." Sthora said.

"Any idea where we could find a cave?" Ren asked.

"I do, but it's going to be a sprint." Sthora said.

"I'll follow you!" Ren yelled.

Ren and Sthora kept running as the Drakzen continued its chase, taking swipes at the two with them barely dodging. The two ran as fast as they could until they got to a small mountain located in the forest.

"In there!" Sthora yelled, pointing at a crack in the mountains; it was small enough for them to fit and for the Drakhzen to not be able to get in.

The two sprinted and managed to reach the crack before getting in and walking as far back as they could.

It was a small opening with a big wall at the back of it; it was about the size of an average room, giving them both space.

The two collapsed inside, hearing the Drakzen roar ferociously, knowing they had just missed out on a possible meal.

The two were sitting up against the back wall, trying to catch their breath.

"Did I say you were crazy, Ren? Because you sure as hell are." Sthora said.

Sthora had a hint of worry in her voice; she knew Ren had just risked his life to help her, and that made her happy but also worried.

"I get that...but hey, it all worked out in the end." Ren said, smiling.

"You could've died..." Sthora said.

"And so could you, and we lost someone out there already; I'll be damned if I let another person die today." Ren said.

Sthora smiled upon hearing that. "Thank you, Ren."

* At The Camp*

Bells rang as everyone gathered to see Oririna and Arpha arrive with Mae.

"What happened?" Queen Ashastha said.

Ashastha looked around and saw two important people missing "Where are Ren and Sthora?"

Lucilia also ran up and asked "Where's Ren and Vedia?"

Oririna, who was the first to catch her breath, explained what happened, and worry appeared in both Lucilia and Ashastha's eyes.

"Send out a scouting party; we need to find them." Lucilia said.

"We can't" Ashastha commented.

"Why the hell not?" Lucilia yelled out.

"It's becoming dark; we don't know where they are, and it's too dangerous to wonder around at night. We will just have to wait until morning." Ashastha said with her eyes closed.

"But we have to find them!" Lucilia said.

"I want to...more than anything, hell, I want to go out there myself, but going out right now at dusk and with an angry Drakzen running around...it's suicide." Ashastha said with a tear rolling down her cheek and her fists clenched.

Lucilia noticed the tear and relented "You're right...tomorrow at first light, we search the area."

"In the meantime, I want even more strict patrols around the village; if the Drakzen comes here, we are all in trouble." Ashastha ordered.

"Yes, my queen," the village guards said.

"I want you guys to do the same and make sure to keep an eye out for Ren and Sthora just in case." Lucilia ordered.

"Yes Princess!" The ship crew said.

*Back in the Cave*

Ren was shivering due to how cold it was in the cave; after all, they didn't want to leave in the dark to get firewood, so they were stuck.

Sthora saw this and made a decision.

"Our bodies don't get cold easily, so maybe..." she thought to herself.

Sthora took a deep breath, sat down closer to Ren, and held his body close to hers.

"S-S-Sthora....what are you?" Ren said before Sthora brought him closer.

"Keeping you warm, you suicidal idiot..." Sthora said, smiling.

"T-Thank you..." Ren said, still shivering.

Sthora just smiled as she held Ren in her arms, and the two fell asleep, nestled together for warmth.

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