Starsnatcher - Trapped In An Alien World [COMPLETE]

Chapter 5.5

We rushed downslope into the clearing. Our scooters sprayed mud in all directions while the wind dragged us off-course.

Helix and Crick unleashed a storm of bullets and lasers onto our enemy. The humanoid, however, had jumped away before they even aimed.

My gun remained untouched.

Why are we even fighting? We should be on the same side!

Not that the Seizers would have listened. Their scooters roared with the furious buzz of a hornet swarm.

Where was the humanoid even? In this torrent of wind, rain, lightning, gunshots, and laser flashes, it was impossible to make out anything. Buckets of water spattered my sight. Even at a distance, the sounds of raindrops pummeling leaves drowned all else I heard.

"The humanoid entered the woods!" Crick transmitted.

A gale slowed me down. Without eyes and ears to guide me, I fell off the scooter. My helmet smacked into the mud while my suit hit a sharp rock. I just wanted to sink into the ground.

This shouldn't be happening. I trained in VR.

The glade was clear. Helix and Crick stood amidst the clearing, their bug-eyes searching for the humanoid's hiding place.

They're in the woods. We lost them!

Lighting struck the forest. Thunderstorms spread the sparks of flame but did nothing to extinguish them. With so much oxygen, it took seconds for a spark to burst into a full-blown inferno.

Judging from the flame's widespread expansion, they had already ignited before I fell off my scooter.

The humanoid was still here, hidden behind a tree stump, and encircled by flames.

I've gotta admit, the storm could not have arrived at better a time.

I rose back on my scooter.

The humanoid returned into the clearing. Without much delay, I followed, the right button pressed as tight as possible. Now that I could focus, I realized I had overestimated their speed. They were more like a leopard than a cheetah. Fast, but manageable for our scooters.

Despite the aim-destroying wind, Crick's slugs and Helix's lasers landed several hits. Although they couldn't beat their armor, I swore I saw the humanoid wince at the shots.

The slope became steeper, the ground rockier, the balance harder to maintain. Stupid scooters! There was a reason animals had legs rather than wheels or tracks. We'd have needed mechas for this terrain! The humanoid had a clear advantage.

The canyon zoomed in our view. It presented a rift in the landscape that I was sure not even the humanoid could have crossed with their wide leaps. The canyon wasn't their target though.

Near its edge was a pile of boulders. Most rocks lay around scattered like the contents of a junkyard. Three boulders stood out though. Their shape was egg-like and their size reminded me of hippos with their legs cut off. They touched at their tips, supporting each other to form a tent-like structure with a hole peeking through at the bottom.

The humanoid jumped into the space between them.

A perfect cover from our shots.

We slowed down. Our combots circled around the hideout like predators around a cornered animal.

It was best to send them first. There was no way one of us could survive longer than thirty seconds in an enclosed space with our enemy.

Once a robot came too close, the humanoid grabbed it by the cannon and tossed it in Helix's direction. Helix turned their scooter in an emergency brake, but it was too late.