Chapter 8

The sky began to grow dark earlier than Yaliana expected, and she made camp hastily. She hoped that the forest creatures would be scared of fire, and she proceeded to build a small campfire outside her lean-to tent she’d built by leaning broken branches against one tree trunk and covering it in forest foliage.

The ration pack tasted divine after having gone all day without anything to eat. She was used to ration packs, because sometimes the supply ship was late in its delivery, forcing them to eat emergency rations. However, nothing had tasted as good as still being alive in the jungle.

She was just finishing her dinner when she heard a sound. A rustle in the undergrowth caused her to spin in that direction. There was another rustle, and Yaliana took out her spear in place of her normal saber, readying it for attack.