Nothing moved on my radar, and I couldn't see any movement either. All of us remained on guard as I checked the area out. A large branch lay on the ground, which had clearly fallen from the tree above.

The muddy ground farther east caught my attention, and I stepped that way, trying to figure out what had happened. Jennifer said they got caught by the Spino coming out of the tunnel, but the Spino footsteps didn't come this far.

"I think I'm going to check this out," I said, peeking through the broken bushes. The trees were farther apart here, but the ferns grew so much taller and they had different types of leaves. These ferns didn't have giant leaves; instead, they had longer smaller leaves. Some were flat, others spiky.

Something here didn't make sense, with the broken branches and muddy ground.

"Hammy, how about you head back along the cliff face? Me and Dad should take a look at this…"

"Oh, that'd be great. I really want to get started on the prefab housing, and I'm the last person with the codes to get it set up without doing it the hard way." He then turned and started marching back the way we'd come, this time moving much faster.

I glanced at my father and the bone I'd thrown to him to talk.

He said nothing, and I shook my head, moving past the broken ferns.

"Does Jennifer's story seem a little sus?" I asked as innocently as possible.

My father jerked back like he hadn't even thought about it. "You mean, escaping from that beast?"

"Yeah, I don't even know what her class and levels are," I said, wishing I'd checked.

The indentations in the ground didn't make sense, and I knelt down, trying to figure out why. Something had happened here, but there weren't big footprints from something the size of the Spino.

"Level 21, Biochemist, I don't know what her fighting class is." He followed me into the undergrowth, also looking around. "I didn't think about it last night, since I had other things on my mind, but now that you mention it, yeah. She couldn't have outrun that thing from here to the dungeon."

"Exactly." I gazed around the trees, then kept creeping forward, reaching out with my prey sense. Nothing pinged, which still felt strange. Where were all the creatures?

Small birds flew across the sky, calling out to one another, and bugs did their thing, but nothing bigger.

We both stayed silent as we made our way through the forest using stealth. Something moved in the distance right on the edge of my senses, and I headed in that direction. It pinged as prey, but was alone.

I held a single finger up for my father, making sure to drop my stealth for a second so he saw it. Once I got a nod, I kept moving. I paused behind a tree trunk and peeked around it, trying to spot what I sensed.

A flash of bright blue-green made it easy to spot.

[Armored Lugger, Level 24, Prey, Unknown.]

The thing appeared to be a beetle with giant claws held up over its back. It held a dead Compy within those claws. It repeatedly tried to crawl under a fallen tree log, but with its claws up it didn't fit. Its armor was a bright blue green, which didn't match this forest at all with the deep greens and browns. The colors made it stand out, rather than blend in.

I snagged a rock from near my feet and tossed it to the side of the beetle.

The sound caused it to jerk to the side, away from the log, then it continued on its way.

We both followed silently behind it.

Several more pings came up on my radar. Some were headed in this direction, while others crawled away.

Another beetle appeared and went right up to this beetle. Our beetle transferred the Compie to the new one.

[Armored Lugger, Level 30, Prey, Unknown.]

Two more appeared from the bushes as the level 30 turned and marched away. The three beetles then turned around and headed in a straight line back the way we'd come.

They didn't even notice us, marching right by, and I resisted following them the way we'd come. I wanted to see where they were taking the dead Compie. If these things had a nest nearby, we needed to know.

The trees grew farther and farther apart as we traveled more to the east. I kept the beetle within the length of my senses, careful not to lose it. The bushes slowly changed to tall grasses, reminding me of an open prairie. In the distance, the sky darkened, reminding me of the coming storm.

Well-walked trails wound through the grasses, showing various paths the beetles flattened. Up in the sky, I spotted two dark shapes circling. One dove to the ground and I froze. It rose, a beetle clenched in its claws, before flying away.

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[Rhamphrhynchus, Level 40, Prey, Unknown.]

The group of fliers circled around one area in the distance, but my senses didn't reach that far. Given the direction the beetle I was tracking traveled, it was moving right towards whatever they were circling over. I didn't dare have my father join me for this, not with a flier at level 40.

I got his attention, and he joined me behind a boulder.

"Looks like they're all heading in the same direction, where those flyers are whittling down their numbers."

"Hopefully, they can eat most of them. They could carry off any of us who aren't a higher level." My father's eyes tracked the fliers in the distance. "We'll need to keep an eye out for any more of these beetle things."

"I want to go see where they're going, but it might be best if you head back to the…"

My voice stopped.

[A human has arrived at the tunnel opening from Sanctuary.]

[A human has arrived at the tunnel opening from Sanctuary.]

[A human has arrived at the tunnel opening from Sanctuary.]

"We need to run, three people just exited the tunnel!" I kept my voice low even as I turned and darted back the way we'd come. Those three beetles that had bypassed us were between levels 25 and 30. If these folks had reached the mandatory Sanctuary teleport, that meant they were only level 25, but if they had found the exit on their own, who knew what level they were at?

My father raced after me, but I quickly left him behind. It didn't take long to hear the sounds of fighting.

I broke through the bushes as Len stabbed a level 30 beetle in its side. Blood dripped from Len's side, but he tried to keep himself between the beetles and the two others behind him. Neither of them looked great.

My spear slammed into the other level 30, pinning it to the ground where it stopped struggling.

The level 25 turned to face me, but I kicked its side, crushing the armor.

I yanked my spear out of the dead one and stabbed the other level 30 in front of Len. Green ooze flowed out of the whole my spear made as I yanked it back. Its legs shuddered, then went still.

"Sorry for stealing your kill," I said, trying to not let the panic show on my face.

He wobbled on his feet and I stepped closer, my arm going around his back. Blood dripped from three giant slices in his side. His eyes found mine with relief.

"Protect…"

"Shhh… you'll be fine," I whispered, lowering him to the ground.

"He saved us from the Greater Allosaurus," said David, a mender from the mines, as he stepped forward to help. "I didn't know what else to do when the prompt popped up. I picked the human-sounding town. He can't die!"

"Don't worry," I said, reaching under my armor for my healing crystal. I lifted Len's hand to the cool stone and pushed the energy toward him.

Davids's lips snapped shut as the gashes scabbed over. "That's not…"

My father arrived moments later, breathing heavily. He burst from the bushes, rifle ready. He spotted the two dead beetles, and the one on its back still moving.

"You saved one," he deadpanned.

"I figured these guys could use the experience."

The last member of the group was Matt, who had used a cart to haul ore and crystals in the mines, what seemed like years ago.

"Matt, David, get a shot on that beetle, then Dad can finish it," I ordered as I held onto Len. "I got Len here."

Len gained a little more color to his face, and his hand clenched into a fist.

"It hurts," he whispered.

"It will, but you'll get better." I stared at him, not letting any concern show on my face. "We can even finish the healing back at the settlement."

Matt stabbed at the beetle's underside, but David didn't move.

"David, go stab the beetle," I ordered.

He flinched, but moved away from Len. Matt helped David, who shook like a leaf.

"We shouldn't move him," stated my father after he killed the beetle.

"I'll keep him safe, you can get them back to the settlement and get John over here with Sang and her healing crystal."

"I should be fine in a bit…" grumbled Len. "Increased healing."

Thunder crackled in the far distance, and I growled. We didn't want to be out here in the open during a storm, especially not if they were bad like Lenna had said. Lightning lit up in the sky in the distance, and the hair on the back of my neck rose.

"New plan, let's create a stretcher and carry him back. I need two long branches."

My father nodded and vanished back into the bushes.

Matt did his best to calm David down, whispering to the guy whose face was way too pale.

I used Insight on both. Then turned to Len.

[Matt, Swordsman, Level 25, Prey, Unknown.]

[David, Mender, Level 25, Prey, Unknown.]

[Len, Hunter, Level 25, Prey, Unknown.]

It didn't take any time at all to wrap some cloth I had between the two branches and get Len on the makeshift stretcher. I took hold of one end and let the other trail on the ground.

I took point while my father guarded the rear.

Matt and David walked beside me.

"I thought you weren't going to leave," asked my father, looking at Len.

"Could let the kids die," muttered Len, who clearly didn't like having to be carried.w His wounds kept healing, but I didn't know how long it'd take if he walked. While my crystal had closed the wounds, that was it. His insides were still messed up, and I didn't want them to reopen.

"The Allosaurus came out of nowhere," explained Matt. "We were harvesting some medical plants from the jungle, with Len keeping watch."

"You got a good shot on it," said Len.

Matt nodded his head, studying the trees surrounding us, swallowing.

I couldn't feel anything following so I wasn't concerned. Plus, as soon as we crossed the line into my territory everything felt vivid. Nothing stood between us and the opening in the fence.

"You own Lakeside Landing?" asked Matt as we crossed the boundary. "How did you find a dungeon? I got this quest I need to complete to grow above level 25."

"Yeah, we can fill you in on all of that." I glanced over my shoulder at my father. "What's going on at the colony?"

"It's a shit show," said Len. "Mars joined the council and sides with Xander every chance he gets. Hellion is public enemy number one. You guys shouldn't get anywhere near that place. Everything that goes wrong is blamed on you."

My father grunted. "I should have killed him when I had the chance."

"Probably," agreed Len.

David's eyes went wide, while Matt nodded in agreement with my father.

The thunder in the distance echoed closer, and I picked up the pace. I didn't want to get caught out in the rain with no cover. The wind slowly picked up, making the bushes in between the trees sway.

A large creature traveled along the boundary toward us, and its pace picked up as the wind increased. I hoped this wasn't going to be trouble.

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