Star Alliance by Ken Lozito Page B

lead.”
    Zack bobbed his head that he understood.
    Loud thumps of something large stomping through the forest came closer. The treetops shook violently as the giant mutant burst through. The giant leaped from the tree line and closed the distance to the silent hunters guarding the makeshift tunnel. The breath caught in Zack’s throat as he got his first glimpse of the creature that had almost killed him the previous night. He couldn’t tell what it was. The mutant was easily twice as tall as any Nershal he’d ever seen. It had a long dark tail that ended in a large stinger. Zack recognized the stinger from the protokars he’d seen. The mutant was bipedal, like the Nershals, and its skin appeared dark green, with deep crags across its massive torso that reached up its neck like armor. The giant mutant roared, swinging its head from side to side. It had the blazing orange eyes of the Nershals, with three blue glowing points forming a triangle on its forehead. The shape of the head was significantly wider above the jawline, which was both alien and familiar.
    “Oh my god,” Zack gasped. “That mutant looks like it’s part Boxan.”
    Etanu leaned forward to get a better look, then turned back toward Zack with wide eyes, as if he didn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
    The silent hunters stood between the giant mutant and the makeshift tunnel, and something shimmered in each of their hands when it caught the sunlight. Zack squinted and saw that the silent hunters had elongated claws.
    Other mutants gathered behind the giant and began to press forward. The giant spun around and grabbed hold of the nearest mutant while the others scrambled to get out of reach. The giant flung its victim into the silent hunters, who scattered out of the way. With the way cleared, the giant mutant leaped forward and slammed its massive fists onto the shafts. Bolts of lightning lashed out from the shafts at the behemoth, but the electric current only seemed to enrage the creature as it kept slamming its fists onto the metal shafts. A deafening gong sounded, and the metallic shafts withdrew back into the wall. A huge supply cache was left in their place, and every living thing nearby sprinted forward.
    Zack stood rooted in place while the chaos before him unfolded. Mutants large and small darted in, trying to claim some tiny portion of the foodstuffs that would keep them alive until the next feeding. Next to the supply cache was a large basin of water. The water sloshed and soaked the ground as the frenzied mutants fought around it. The giant mutant tore into the supply cache, dumping small canisters on the ground. Zack watched in silent horror at what the Xiiginns had reduced intelligent creatures to. Even though they were genetic experiments, there was still something of their old selves buried beneath the madness.  
    Etanu raced forward and fought his way to some of the canisters that had been flung away. Several dead mutants littered the ground. Zack glanced up at the tower where he knew the Xiiginns were watching and swallowed hard.  
    The giant mutant howled, grasping a large green canister. The creature slammed the canister onto the ground and then pried the lid open. Several mutants got too close to the giant and were swatted back by a massive fist. The giant tossed the lid to the side and emptied the canister’s contents into its mouth. Zack couldn’t get a good look at what it was. Without a backward glance, the giant mutant returned to the woods from which it had come. Smaller groups of mutants rushed in to snatch whatever was left. The dead were carefully avoided, as if the mutants couldn’t bear to face the victims of the chaos. Zack took several steps toward the remnants of the supply cache. Etanu was heading toward him with several canisters clutched against his chest.
    “Why didn’t you follow?” Etanu asked.
    The feeding grounds were quiet but for a few small mutant scavengers. Zack didn’t answer the