Far and beyond

An enigma presents itself

Monsa was driving the lumbering vehicle towards the road. It's wide tires were turning in the deep snow still, but they were in deep. Monsa could feel the weight of the snow on them. The navigation showed that she was about a kilometer away from coming across the freshly cleared road. She could see the sun even more clear now. She knew that she needed to drive towards it. On her planet one side was always a cold night and the other side was always a blistering day. The only time that you could experience night turning into day was if you were at the very border of it. She remembered that it turned day when she was driving with Sofia on the front seat, so she must have been driving away from those... those things. She almost called them people in her mind. But people wouldn't do that. No. Her kind would never just attack someone like that in the night. While they are sleeping. While they are helpless. On the countless worlds that humans have visited they never, never did something like that. Maybe those things are not what they hoped them to be. Maybe they are just animas that were hunting. But... no animals could do what they did. She saw the wounds on Sofia. They were not bites. They were not scratches. There were no broken teeth or claws or any things stuck in her body or her armor. Those were weapons. And they were obviously not meant to be used for defending themselves. It wasn't instinct that guided them. Suddenly, she saw it. The road they had carved out. It was still not covered in deep snow. She pressed on the acceleration pedal excitedly. The vehicle jolted and sped up. But then it slowed down again. Monsa lifted her foot and tried again without giving it much thought. Again it jolted and then slowed down. She looked around, the battery low signal was on. But when? When did that happen? How could she not notice it? She touched the screen and said "battery status". A southing, calm female voice responded with "7% battery remaining". What? Only 7%? That's why the vehicle couldn't go faster, it was in battery saving mode. Then she touched the computer again, and the female voice told her that under current conditions the vehicle has an estimated 12 kilometers. What was she to do? Does she empty the trunk of the vehicle from all of it's tools to make it lighter? Should she drive slower to preserve the battery? Or should she keep going as far as she can so that she could increase the distance between her and those beasts. 

A few minutes later the decision was made for her. The vehicle suddenly stopped and powered down. It had no more battery left. It was supposed to charge when they were all sleeping, during the "night", but when the attack had happened it must have been disrupted. She had no choice but to leave the vehicle. Monsa made sure to grab the fist aid kit and all the water she had inside. Thank God she still had her air filter charged up. It had about eighteen hours of charge when it was full, and she had only charged it last night, so that part was covered. Unfortunately, when she fled the camp she did not take any communication or navigation device with her. She would have to walk back the same way that they came from. It was the only way to make sure. The idea of being followed by those beasts was filling her with fear. And only now had she noticed how cold it was. Until now her body was filled with adrenaline making her inattentive to her surroundings. She had to hurry back to Nebograd. She was walking fast. Her hands filled with the first aid kit and the water. After a while it was clear that it would be too heavy to carry all of that with her. Especially because she didn't have a backpack to put it in. She debated what would be more important to take. She tried to remember the survival guides that she was forced to learn. Remembering how she was deeply convinced that she would never need any of that because she would never be in a situation like that made her hate herself. She was so stupid. How could she be so stupid. So naïve. Sofia was right. They were to relaxed. They didn't take the situation as seriously as they should have. But... nothing like this had ever happened before. Why now? Why to them? Why did it have to be that the first time they found an alien civilization they had to be hostile to them. 

Monsa was feeling the effects of carrying the weight in her hands. Her arms were shaking and starting to go numb. She made the decision to drop the first aid kit. She was not hurt, she did not need it. Hopefully she could get to Nebograd before something happens to her. She dropped it without stopping. One foot in front of the other she was making her way back. Suddenly, as she was walking in the snowfall, she heard that sound again. The sound that shook her to her core. It were those things. They were close. She turned back to see nothing. However after a few steps she turned back again to see a slight shine coming her way. It must be them. They were following her. In what was purely an act of instinct she tossed herself in the snow and buried herself. She only left a small gap to see what was going on. As the glow got closer and closer she could finally start to see the shapes of the ones holding it. The glow seemed to come from the tip of a spear that one of the aliens was holding. All the others seemed to walk with their body horizontally against the surface and the one holding the spear was with four legs on the snow and had his torso aligned vertically. It looked like a centaur. When they came across the first aid kit that she dropped they started to touch it and pass it around. On the top of their heads they seemed to have what she assumed were some sort of eyes. However, they seemed to be keeping their eyes closed, only opening them to see look at the first aid kid for a moment and then closing them back again. The one leading them was the only one who had his open as far as she could tell. Even after she had witnessed the horrors that these beasts were capable of, Monsa still looked at them with a dose of curiosity. What were they thinking when they did what they did? Were they hunting, or was it a planned attack? They might be territorial even, and they could just have been defending their homes from what they perceived were enemies. Of course, fear was still the primary thing she felt. They seemed to not talk much. They touched each other on the arms and seemed to look at one another, but they didn't seem to talk. She didn't even know if they had mouths. But, where were their roars coming from, and what had produced them? And as soon as she asked herself that question, she heard the roar once again. However, it wasn't the aliens that made it. They seemed to be caught by surprise as well. They shook their bodies in a synchronized fashion. The one that was leading the pack now bent back down like the others that were following him. The spear he was carrying was hidden under his body. Another one rose up and lifted a spear. After a few moments the spear began to give out a glow. The glow she saw before. Then he started walking down the road. The others followed. She seemed to be safe. 

As Monsa watched them walk away, she was overflowing with a feeling of relief. She had avoided them. She was safe. For now. She went out of the snow after she did her best to make sure none of them was coming back. Maybe the dropping of the first aid kit had saved her. She looked at the opened box and all the things that were taken out and left on the snow. They didn't take anything. They didn't seem to know what any of it was. And how could they? Monsa needed to get back to Nebograd. But now, another thought filled her head that made her deeply unsettled. The creatures were walking in the path that she needed to. She had to now walk behind them. Oh God. Wasn't there another way? There had to be... She had to find another way. Except, there was none. Or even if there was one, there was no way for her to know it. She could try and walk in the deep snow, but that would slow and tire her down. She could try to go around somehow, but she didn't know where to go. The only way was for her to walk behind them, and hope that they do not notice her. It was a nerve wrecking thought, but she had to do it. She was starting to feel very cold. Also, she did not know how far she is from Nebograd and her air filter would not last forever. After facing the facts she took the first step forward. It felt like the hardest thing she had ever done. She closed here eyes and let out a sigh. Her lips were tingling. Her eyes were wide open. She was too scared to blink, fearing that she would miss something. Step after step, she made her way to Nebograd. The light green light glowed in the distance in front of her.