K-10 remained motionless on the temple terrace, listening as the growl diminished somewhere in the forest below. He waited several minutes, expecting another sound to follow it, but the forest offered nothing. No birds. No insects. Not even the movement of small animals through the undergrowth.
That concerned him more than the growl itself.
A predator that announced its presence and then disappeared was difficult to track. A predator that could make an entire forest go silent was something he needed to take seriously.
K-10 turned away from the temple. The ruins offered elevation and a defensible position, but the structure was too exposed. There was only one practical route down the mountain, and whatever had produced the strange symbols inside the temple might not be the only thing occupying the area.
He needed better terrain.
K-10 descended the mountain slope, moving through the undergrowth with deliberate steps. Every few minutes he stopped and listened, using the pauses to study the terrain. The mountain gradually flattened toward a broad valley, where large rock formations had accumulated along the foothills. Beyond them, the forest became considerably denser.
The boulder field immediately caught his attention.
It provided concealment, multiple routes of movement, and enough obstacles to limit the mobility of anything larger than a man. If he encountered another threat, the rocks would give him options that the open slope did not.
He changed direction.
Rather than follow the faint animal trails through the forest, K-10 moved across broken ground, using trees and rock formations as cover. His eyes shifted constantly between the terrain ahead and the forest behind him.
He had no idea what lived in this region.
Until he understood the environment, everything was a potential threat.
He reached the edge of a clearing and stopped.
Something had changed.
The air carried a faint metallic odor, almost like the smell of a storm approaching. K-10 took another breath and recognized something else beneath it.
Ozone.
Then he heard the crackling.
K-10 turned toward the forest.
The undergrowth exploded.
A large tree snapped in half as something enormous forced its way through the vegetation. K-10 stepped backward as the creature emerged into the clearing.
His brain searched for a familiar reference.
The closest comparison was a boar.
But the comparison ended there.
The animal stood higher than a man’s chest at the shoulder and possessed a body covered in thick, dark hide. Jagged plates of hardened material ran along its back, forming a natural armor that extended from its shoulders toward its hindquarters. Its tusks were massive, curved weapons capable of tearing through anything in their path.
Electrical energy crawled across its body.
Blue-white arcs jumped between the plates along its back and traveled down its legs. Each discharge produced a sharp crack that seemed unnaturally loud in the otherwise silent forest.
The creature’s red eyes fixed on K-10.
He assessed it automatically.
Size: unknown.
Speed: unknown.
Armor: unknown.
Primary weapons: tusks, mass, possibly hooves.
Additional capability: electrical discharge.
Range: unknown.
K-10 had no useful data beyond that.
The creature lowered its head.
The ground trembled beneath its weight.
K-10’s instincts told him to move, but for several seconds he remained where he was. His training had prepared him to deal with human opponents, weapons, explosives, vehicles and hostile environments. This was different.
He couldn’t identify the threat because the threat did not fit any physical model he understood.
The boar charged.
K-10 moved immediately, sprinting toward the foothills.
The creature accelerated behind him with startling speed. Each impact of its hooves sent vibrations through the ground, and the sound grew louder as it closed the distance.
K-10 glanced over his shoulder.
Too close.
He increased his pace.
The beast lunged.
K-10 jumped.
His body left the ground with far more force than he expected. He rose several feet higher than a normal jump should have allowed, clearing the boar’s tusks as they swept through the space where he had been.
He landed hard, rolled, and came back onto his feet.
For a moment he stared at the creature.
He had no explanation for the jump.
The boar spun around.
There was no time to think about it.
K-10 ran.
He reached the boulder field and disappeared between the rocks. Behind him came the sound of the creature smashing through the first obstacle. Stone fractured and fragments struck the ground around him.
K-10 immediately understood the advantage the terrain provided.
The open clearing had favored the boar’s speed and mass. Between the boulders, those advantages became liabilities. The creature was simply too large to maneuver efficiently.
K-10 moved deeper into the rocks.
He changed direction constantly, forcing the boar to adjust its approach. The creature charged between two boulders and swung its head toward him.
K-10 sidestepped.
One tusk passed inches from his torso.
He pivoted and continued moving.
The boar struck again.
K-10 ducked beneath the attack and moved around another rock. Electricity snapped across the creature’s body, illuminating the surrounding stones for an instant.
Heat reached K-10’s skin.
The smell of ozone became stronger.
He understood the immediate problem.
He could survive a mistake against a human opponent. He could absorb a strike, recover and continue fighting. He had no idea whether his body could survive whatever the creature was capable of producing.
He couldn’t afford to find out.
The boar attacked again.
K-10 slipped sideways and watched its movement.
The creature favored a direct approach. It accelerated toward its target, committed to the attack and required space to redirect its mass.
That limitation was enough.
K-10 began using the rocks deliberately. He moved left, reversed direction, and then cut right around a large boulder. The boar followed, but every turn cost it speed.
Another charge.
Another miss.
K-10 continued deeper into the field.
Ahead, he saw a narrow passage between two large rock formations. The gap was barely wide enough for the boar to pass through.
K-10 slowed.
He looked behind him.
The creature was coming.
He deliberately exposed himself.
The boar’s head lowered.
Its red eyes locked onto him.
K-10 turned and ran toward the passage.
The creature followed exactly as he expected.
He entered the gap and accelerated.
The stone walls closed around him.
Then the passage ended.
K-10 stopped.
A ravine cut across the terrain ahead.
He approached the edge and looked down. The walls dropped almost vertically into darkness. The opposite side was at least twenty meters away.
Too far to jump.
Behind him, the passage filled with the sound of pounding hooves.
K-10 turned.
The Lightning Boar stood at the entrance.
There was nowhere left to run.
Electricity crawled over its tusks.
K-10 looked at the ravine, then at the creature. His plan had worked until the last step. He had used the terrain to control the fight, but in doing so he had allowed himself to become trapped.
The boar lowered its head.
K-10’s eyes moved across the narrow passage.
There was one possible option.
A large boulder sat beside him, partially embedded in the ground. It was easily several hundred kilograms, possibly more.
He placed both hands beneath it.
The boar charged.
K-10 pushed upward.
The boulder moved.
For an instant, he thought his grip had slipped. Then the stone came free of the ground.
K-10 stared at it.
He was holding it.
The weight should have been beyond his physical capability. Instead, his arms remained steady beneath it.
There was no time to question why.
The boar entered the passage.
K-10 raised the boulder above his head and prepared to drop it onto the creature.
The Lightning Boar stopped.
Its eyes intensified.
K-10 saw the change and immediately recognized that something was wrong.
The air around the animal seemed to compress.
Then the world turned white.
A violent electrical discharge erupted from the creature.
The boulder exploded.
It did not break apart. It did not fall from K-10’s hands.
It was simply gone.
The electrical blast struck him directly.
K-10’s body lifted from the ground and slammed backward through the air. He crossed the edge of the ravine before he could regain control.
The darkness opened beneath him.
For a fraction of a second, he was weightless.
Then he fell.
The walls rushed past in a blur of stone and shadow. K-10 twisted instinctively, searching for anything that could arrest his descent.
There was nothing.
No ledge.
No branch.
No handhold.
He crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his head as the ground rose toward him.
The impact came without warning.
K-10 struck the ravine floor with enough force to drive stones into the surrounding earth.
Then unbearable pain. Then everything went black.
Above him, the two moons remained visible between the walls of the ravine. Their light illuminated the motionless figure lying among the rocks.
The forest was silent once again.
Minutes passed.
K-10 did not move.