Page 7 of Mated to the Vikings

Then there was a single growl.

The deep bass note reverberated in a manner that wasn’t possible, stopping everyone in their tracks.

“What. The. Fuck?” I heard one of the scientists exclaim even over the whistling wind.

Greg threw out his arm, stopping our progression, turning sharply in the direction of the noise. I could tell by the concerned look on his face that we were in trouble. We’d been told there were nocturnal animals on the planet, but predators? Were we actually being hunted? “Shit,” he muttered only loud enough for me to hear.

I shielded my eyes from the falling snow, scoping the surrounding perimeter. If we were being watched, there was no sign of the beasts.

Crack!

“Get moving!” Greg finally shouted, motioning us forward. Everyone was in a panic, completely frozen. Our illustrious leader refused to wait, picking up his speed, his long, muscular legs allowing him to get further ahead than the majority of the group.

Preservation kicked in and I attempted to keep up, exhaustion already draining my strength. The snow was getting deeper, drifts preventing any real speed. The air froze as I breathed, ice crystals forming on my lips and chin, beads sticking to my eyelashes.

An ominous howl floated above us but this time, there was more than one. Greg didn’t bother stopping or looking back, even managing to pick up his pace.

“Wait!” The single word left my mouth and went nowhere.

Silence.

The calm before the storm.

The group stopped, searching in every direction.

There was no way to describe the sound, the enraged bellows coming from the depths of the forest.

“Fuck. I hear them!” The voice sounded like the reporter, but there was no way to be certain.

“Oh, God!” A whimper from Dr. Atkins cut through the din.

The earth rumbled beneath our feet, cracking branches occurring everywhere. Suddenly trees began to fall, crushing everything in their path.

And whatever was coming was happening in a straight line.

There was so much electricity in the air, hissing and crackling unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Even the shadows had turned bluish in color, the neon glow twisting and turning in the snow.

“Run!” Greg called, but by this point, chaos had erupted, wind whipping, the crunching and cracking escalating.

My hands were numb, my fingers unable to disengage the old-fashioned safety on the gun. I stopped long enough to scan the area. A blizzard-like whirl of snow appeared from behind, the tornado of ice storming toward us.

“We have to get out of here,” Dr. Consuelos muttered over and over again.

The whirling moved to a booming rumble, thunderous noise occurring all around us. My eardrums hurt from the volume, the anguish forcing me to cover my ears. What in God’s name was chasing us? Queasy, I doubled over, watching areas in the frozen snow crack like fissures, crevices expanding. This was more like an earthquake.

Then there was nothing.

Silence.

Utter and complete silence.

Almost everyone stopped cold, taking deep breaths, stunned from what had occurred. We huddled in a circle formation, remaining close but in our own worlds filled with terror of the unknown. I knew better than to hang around.

They were coming and this time, there would be no second chances.

“Run. Run!” No one heard me. A surge of adrenaline jetted into my system, another round of self-preservation kicking in.

We were going to die.