5 Chapter 5 No Luck Hell (1/2)

”DAMN!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.The stick he had tried to use as a weapon had been bitten clean through.His rope was gone, torn apart and scattered to the winds. How could he not have foreseen this??

Dustin sat on a branch, high in a tree.He was completely surrounded by large bat-like things.They had looked like brown, dead leaves, dangling on the branches, even when he looked a bit closer.But as he started climbing past them, they had started to unfurl.His infravision, or ability to see heat, hadn't seen their body heat through their wings.

He seethed, furious with himself, as they chittered to him. The sharp little needles sticking out of their mouths, meant a piece of fruit probably wouldn't satisfy whatever cravings they might be having, assuming he had a piece of fruit.As his scream faded, they started moving towards him again.They didn't have eyes, could his scream have stunned them?

Before he could finish sucking in a breath to test his theory, a large shadow flew overhead, and his breath caught in his throat, choking him.A deep rumble filled the air from whatever it was in the sky, and the bats seemed to scatter.Not a hair was left to show they had been there.Swallowing, he watched as it flew away from the sun, so he could see it a little more clearly.

It was flat?There was a slight bulge in the middle that was a lighter color than the rest of its body, but otherwise it looked like a glorified rug!

The thing was easily 3 yards long, and had no identifiable legs or arms.It's dark purple, circular body, seemed to shimmer and float on the air.Turning smoothly in the air, he saw it was headed back his way.There was no way, he was going to try and take on a beast more than twice his size.Grasping the trunk of the tree, he swung down to the lower branches as fast as he could.

Dustin hadn't slept since he arrived on this godforsaken planet.He slipped as he descended.Trying to grab branches, as he fell, he ended up grabbing the leg of a creature he remembered passing by earlier.

It had been slow moving, eating the leaves of the tree, and paid no attention to him.It's arms and legs were twig thin and extraordinarily long, close to several yards each. Its coarse pink fur, helped him keep his grip as he jerked on it from falling.It freaked as it started to lose its grip, and actually grabbed him, and put him on a branch.Nodding in thanks, he made a mental note to investigate these things again, when he wasn't about to be killed.

The rest of the trip to the ground was uneventful, the rug having left, and he was intensely grateful. Crouching on the ground, he looked around for killer bugs, tree vines, and animals.There wasn't water nearby for something to be hiding in, and he didn't see or smell anything hiding nearby.Could he possibly be safe here?

An arrow hit the tree, inches from his face.

Nope, no such luck. He jumped to his feet, and fled.

He was going to name this planet No Luck Hell.

Dodging through bushes, he intentionally ran through thick groups of creatures, hoping to lose the hunter among them, and avoided large bodies of water.No reason to invite more trouble from there.Looking over his shoulder, he saw a man-like figure with a bird's beak on his face.There were colorful feathers of turquoise, violet and silver, sticking out of the top of his head, and he was on a flying bike.

”No. Freaking. Way!!!!”Dustin turned, and hid behind a tree.

The guards had said there would be alien hunters here, the Josagn.He had kind of hoped to avoid them. They traveled alone, and had no problems with using dirty tactics.He waited for the thing to fly by, and jumped at it.A knife skidded over his scales, not managing to penetrate, and he sunk his sharp teeth into the guys neck.His skin was rubbery once you got past the feathers.

The scream in his ear, made him flinch, but he dug his teeth in deeper, trying to rip a chunk lose.Succeeding, he lifted his head, and he made sure to look the hunter in the face. There was blood running down his chin as he chewed the meat and swallowed it.The hunter's eyes were filled with a mixture of anger and terror.

Grinning, he grabbed the knife right before they hit a tree and careened out of control.Dustin went flying, hitting the ground hard.The bird man hit just as hard, not far away, but unlike Dustin, didn't get back up.The bike landed in a smoldering pile two yards away, causing him to dodge flying debris.Pulling the knife out of the ground, he admired it, finally feeling accomplished.