The sudden appearance of multiple people at the exit from Sanctuary caused me to flinch and snap awake.

  Hellion jumped, gun in hand, from the area beside me without a word, his eyes open.

  “What happened?” he asked, peering into the darkness.

  “People, so many people from the tunnel…” I yanked my clothing into place and headed to the door. “We’ll need help, I think it's the rest of the colony.”

  With those words, Hellion vanished into the darkness, heading to where the others rested in the cavern. The prefab housing we slept in only fit four people, but for now it was only the two of us in this particular hut.

  I grabbed a crystal that glowed from the table and triggered it, making it glow softly in the darkness. My eyes watered at the sudden light, but I blinked it away as I headed out the door and down the path between the four new houses.

  Hawk materialized out of some shadows, but it didn’t even make me blink. Ever since his rank up, he appeared all over the place. Yet, he was the happiest he’d ever been.

  [Hawk, Sentry, Level 55, Confidant]

  “What’s up?” he asked, eyeing me. “You aren’t one to patrol these hours.”

  “We have a group incoming from Sanctuary, it's large and… they're scared.”

  The folks at the end of the boundary didn’t notice the signs we’d etched into the mountainside. They hovered in the dark as more and more of them gathered. Something must have happened.

  Either way, they were in for a surprise, given our neighbors.

  I chuckled before adding more. “Grizzle is up that way, since two more of the forest folk used the portal to the Sisters.”

  “He likes to make sure that nothing weird happens,” replied Hawk, nodding. “And I don’t blame him. The portals are weird.”

  I agreed with him, but that didn’t change that they were here and an important resource for our community.

  By the time we made it to the fence line, a few others, including Hellion and John, met us at the boundary.

  “My guys are already scoping them out,” the young pilot was explaining to his father. “Xander is with them, along with Sasha, and a few people are hurt.”

  “Then we need to get moving.” David frowned. “Maybe take the shuttle?”

  “I have it on standby, but that lightning storm is coming in fast,” added John, who glanced at me. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Let’s go get our fellow colonists, and figure out who our friends are.” A sour taste filled my mouth as I even said it, but I knew that not all of those people were on our side. Each of us was stronger, had more experience in this new world, and had responsibilities outside of our own wants.

  Some of the newcomers would refuse to understand any of that.

  My gaze landed on Hellion. “Hellion, David, and Hawk go in the shuttle. John will monitor from the air. Pack everyone in as much as possible, especially those who need healing. The rest of us will go overland. We’ll put people in the main cavern where everyone can keep a watch.”

  I paused, not wanting to say the next part, but having to do it anyway. “They will outnumber us, but they are low-level. We don’t need another incident like Jennifer.”

  John snorted at that comment, watching something we couldn’t see. “Some haven’t gained much of anything since we last saw them.”

  Hellion and Hawk shook their heads. Both men pushed everyone in Lakeside to use the dungeon, go on hunts, and reach Rank 2. It had been worthwhile; our little community was now much more well positioned to thrive in this new reality.

  “They’ll learn,” growled Hellion. “We’ll teach them what they need to know.”

  My shoulders relaxed at that as the shuttle landed in the clearing next to the fence.

  The three guys took over, and John climbed onto his speeder and took to the air as well. I still didn’t understand how John controlled everything remotely from the drones to the shuttle.

  “Alright, let’s get some jogging in,” I said as the rest of us took off, running north faster than humanly possible.

  Rank Two had some benefits, after all. Even so, the shuttle arrived before us.

  The crying warned me that something had gone wrong as we came upon the tunnel entrance. The shuttle rested a little ways away, with a few people heading in that direction. Yet, as fast as we had been, by now it should have returned to Lakeside.

  Hellion and Hawk were in a tense standoff with Xander, Mars, and Sasha.

  Several colonists were injured, and low-leveled, which made the injuries a serious problem. David rushed from person to person, stabilizing them. He glanced up as our group approached.

  “Abby, we need to get these people back, and soon.” He motioned to the clouds.

  Dark clouds already covered the stars, and a light breeze crossed my face. We didn’t have much time before all hell broke loose in the sky.

  I marched up to the group standing in front of the shuttle ramp.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “I am the leader of these people, and I will say where they go,” said Xander with a slight smirk on his face.

  Hawk caught sight of me, and his shoulders relaxed.

  “That’s all good and fine, Xander, but I am the mayor of Lakeside Landing. Anyone who wants to join is free to do so.” I sent a notification to everyone who’d arrived from Sanctuary, asking them to join Lakeside Landing.

  The positive answers started flowing in.

  “You bitch!” Xander twisted in my direction.

  Hawk stepped closer. “Don’t make me smack you.”

  “You can’t hurt someone lower level than you,” replied Xander. Spittle flew everywhere.

  “Actually, you can when they are trespassing on your land,” added Hellion with a grin.

  We didn’t have time for this.

  “Decide, Xander. Are you staying here, or are you going to play nice?” I asked as sweetly as possible.

  People behind me started helping the injured, while some were just picked up and carried to the shuttle.

  In the far distance, the clouds rumbled, and real fear crept up my spine. We all wondered about what lurked in the storm clouds. Only Wolper dared to remain outside during the destructive storms to face, or maybe talk to, the strange creatures they contained.

  I stared at Xander, knowing we’d happily leave him behind if needed.

  ###

  Fucking spiders. Why was it always spiders?

  Strange hid in my shadow as my spear cut into one leg of the crystal spider. Somehow, they were made of thin glass, and in the darkness, it made them almost impossible to see. If it had over 8 legs, was it really a spider?

  My aura skill kept me one step ahead, dodging the spiked legs that jabbed right at me.

  [Crystal Crawler, Sticky Web, Level 73, Predator, Unknown.]

  I rolled away as it rose its ass in the air and ran as fast as I could down the sandy pathway. Thankfully, Strange’s map remained inside my head, and I knew the way to go. This path had the option of looping back on the creature, yet this entire area we needed to mark off.

  Sticky was an understatement for that web. Each area it was sprayed in we couldn’t retreat back to, and it didn’t dissolve until the spider, well, the crawler, died.

  Worse yet, poison, heat, and cold didn’t work on the thing. Breaking its legs, then stabbing its head, worked. But we couldn’t bleed it out, since blood didn’t come out of cuts or wounds.

  A high-pitched click filled the air, and something dove from above. At the last second, I dove to the ground, letting it fly by overhead before glancing up at it.

  [Echo Bat, Echolocation, Level 74, Prey, Unknown.]

  Leathery wings stretched out from either side, reminding me of a flyer from Lennas' world. Yet it had claws on the tips of its wings, and thick legs with talons. No beak, but giant ears.

  The pitter-patter of many feet on the rocks got me back to my feet and searching for something to help us.

  The Bat circled back around, and the crawler paused its travels.

  A pulse of clicks hit me, making my ears painfully ring. I resisted clapping my hands over my head. Instead, I started running at one of the nearby boulders. The bat circled around at the scattering of gravel, and I leaped up onto the rock.

  It dove at me.

  I put my knife away as I waited.

  One, two, three!

  I leaped up moments before it reached the boulder and aimed for its back.

  I missed, yet I snagged one of its wings with my claws, before grasping at the last second on the long, whip-like tail that stretched out behind it. Gravity took hold, dragging both of us toward the ground even as it flapped its wings in panic.

  My feet touched the ground, and it stopped struggling with its wings.

  Instead, it landed and twisted in my direction, with its enormous mouth open.

  I slammed my fist into its face, my knuckle weapon wrapped around my fist and already pulsing with fiery energy.

  It crunched.

  Strange yipped a warning as the crawler dashed at us at full speed.

  Without even thinking about it, I dove behind the bat, putting it between me and the crawler.

  The Bat regained its senses enough to scream at the crawler right before the two collided. The sound wave hit the spider-like creature, shattering half of its legs and making it stumble in its charge.

  Yet neither gave up.

  One wing slammed into the crawler's other side, taking out another leg. A leg pierced the bat's other wing.

  That’s when Strange joined the fight, leaping up and slicing at the crawler's underbelly.

  I added to the chaos with my knife, my focus on the Bat, who was currently winning the confrontation.

  My knife cut off the corner of its wing with the claws attached from behind.

  It flopped to the ground, and the Bat lost its shit, screaming. This time the scream shattered half the spider.

  Instantly, Strange freaked out. Pain rippled up the bond.

  I ignored the notification of the crawler's death as I slammed my knife in the back of the bat's head, ending the sound.

  I sped around the carcass, searching for my little guy with the bond.

  A whimper came from under the shards of the spider, and I dug the dude out.

  “Hey…” I held him up and yanked out my healing crystal before touching him with it. The cool energy rushed into him, almost completely emptying the stone. Everything inside me panicked as it healed him.

  Strange had to be okay.

  “Tired.” He chirped once.

  Yet the bond felt better, and the pain was gone.

  [Strange, Bonded Baby Compy, Level 61, Bonded]

  “Sleep, I’ll make sure you're safe.” He passed out in my arms, and I tucked him into the sling.

  A large sigh escaped me as I knelt in the darkness. I took a few seconds to center myself before I turned to the carcass of the bat. Hunger clawed at my stomach, and my mouth watered. Yet, anger that it had hurt Strange kept me from losing my shit.

  I butchered the dead bat quickly, digging the heart out and biting half of it off in one go. A faint tangy flavor filled my mouth as I chewed, but I didn’t know what I’d call it. I swallowed and finished it off. My focus remained on stats.

  [You have devoured an Echo Bat and gained 6 stat points in Charisma.]

  I resisted growling in frustration before moving on to the crawler. Just so bland. Like licking a piece of crunchy paper. My brain swore it should be sugary like candy.

  [You have devoured a Crystal Crawler and gained 4 stat points in Flexibility and 1 in Charisma.]

  That was much better, though the last crawler had given me 2 in flexibility and 2 in charisma. So the stat gain depended on the specific creature, as well as the creature type.

  There wasn’t anything else to eat on the crystal crawler, so I pivoted back to the bat. I sliced off the wings, and that was it. The body just wasn’t big enough for all of the potential work.

  At least I knew where to go.

  Before we ran into the crawlers, we’d found an exit from the many twisting paths to take, which had just been covered in the sticky web. That should be gone now.

  I went into stealth mode as I traveled back the way we’d come, following Strange’s map. Our growth from traveling through this area hit the mark.

  Strange had grown to level 61, while I hit 80. The bond between us felt different, but I didn’t dare try to check out our stat sheet. Not until we found somewhere to rest.

  The hearts kept me going, but I felt tired. Hopefully, the webbing had cleared up with that last death.

  It hadn’t.