Ben Hammott: Ice Rift

The Mimic paused on the tip of a rock outcrop that stretched precariously out over a sheer drop, and watched the flying object swoop down like a giant graceful bird. For a few moments it hung in the air above a clearing in the forest before it slowly descended to the ground, raising a cloud of dust and forest debris.

Keen to examine the unexpected anomaly closer, the Mimic dived into the void and plummeted toward the ground. Her stretched out arms morphed into wings and like a hell spawned angel, she glided through the air in a gentle curve to the forest far below. She dipped through the canopy and weaved a path between tall ancient trees. When she glimpsed the object ahead, she swooped up the length of a large tree trunk and landed softly on a branch. As soon as she landed the wings morphed back into arms. She moved aside a branch so she had a good view of the strange object and watched to see what would happen.

Thundering footsteps accompanied the pilot’s breath-heaving sprint through the thick undergrowth. He risked a glance behind. Though he heard the beast’s roars and its noisy pursuit through the forest, he was thankful it was still far enough behind him to remain absent from his sight. He’d underestimated its speed and was forced to leave the forest track to prevent it from catching him. So far the plan seemed to be working. The limited gaps between the gnarled trunks of the ten yard thick tree trunks left little room for the gigantic beast to easily pass through.

He raced across a clearing and glanced up at the orange glow of the dawn sky peeking through the canopy of impossibly tall trees. Large, eight-limbed creatures skulked menacingly along their boughs as they followed him. The tree creatures gave the pilot an idea—an opportunity to slow the beast further. Without halting his stride, he grabbed the small weapon from the holster fixed around his waist, aimed the lethal end at one of the tree creatures, fired and re-holstered the weapon. The small ball of light struck its target. As the dead animal crashed into branches during its fall, the pilot dodged around another of the large trees to find himself on the track again. He sprinted along it.

The huge beast broke into the clearing its prey had recently vacated and snatched the falling creature from the air with massive jaws crowded with long, thick teeth. Bone crunched and blood sprayed when the animal was bitten in two. One gruesome, innards dripping piece was thrown into the air while it chewed and swallowed the portion in its mouth. The remaining remnant it plucked from the air was devoured just as swiftly. By the time it had crossed the clearing the devoured animal was already in the beast’s large stomach, but there was plenty of room for more. It rushed onto the track, slammed into a tree, regained its balance and continued the hunt of its next meal. It rounded a curve in the track and stared at its food leaning against a tree.

The pilot heard the rapidly approaching creature and casually waited for it to arrive. A nervous smile played on his lips when the beast bounded around the corner and looked straight at him. Though the beast seemed to be of low intelligence, it had surprised him before. He trusted his crew to have set up everything according to plan, but things had gone wrong before; two deaths were the result of that botched trap.

The ground shook with each contact of the beast’s six powerful legs when it rushed at him with bloodstained jaws wide open to let out a loud, rumbling growl. The beast was so large it was as if a mountain rushed at him. When it drew closer, the pilot saw his reflection in the beast’s single, large eye set in the center of its massive head. A loud crack rang out. In the blink of an eye the beast was encased in netting that tightened to squeeze its limbs together and force its powerful jaws shut. It stumbled to the ground and pushed a wave of soil and forest debris before it when it slid toward the pilot. The pilot lifted a leg as the beast’s head ground to a halt inches away and placed it on the beast’s wide flat snout. He stared into the beast’s eye that stared back at him. “You did well,” he commended the beast. “You nearly had me once or twice. Perhaps I am getting too old for this lark?” He grinned. “What do you think?”

The beast growled angrily.

“Why thank you. Yes, I do look younger than my years.” He looked up when two of his crew appeared. Sensing other creatures approaching, he stared into the gloomy forest, catching glimpses of things moving in the shadows. “Let’s get this thing aboard the ship.”

One of the crew walked around to the rear of the creature and picked up the length of cable attached to the netting that encased the beast. The other looked to his right and whistled. Almost immediately, a small craft, hovering a foot off the ground, appeared out of the forest driven by a small life-form at the control.

The creature, a different species to the crew, glanced at the trapped beast and then at the pilot. “Another successful hunt, Master.”

The pilot gazed at the hill-sized beast and smiled. “Yes, Haax, it’s the biggest one we’ve caught so far. It should provide the crew with a welcome change from the usual diet we’ve endured for so long.”

Haax reversed the hover close enough to the trapped beast to enable the cable to be hitched to the vehicle. The pilot and the two crewmen climbed aboard the hover.

Haax glanced at the pilot sitting beside him. “To the ship, Master?” After receiving an affirmative nod, Haax moved the vehicle off along the track.

The beast dragged along the ground behind, groaned.

The pilot shook his head in dismay, tapped Haax on the shoulder and pointed a thumb back at their cargo. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Haax glanced behind at their payload. “Sorry, Master.” He pressed a button on the dashboard control panel. The beast rose a short distance off the ground. They headed off along the track weaving through the ancient forest.

The Mimic had watched the four life-forms emerge from the flying object and head into the forest. Though it wondered why they were here, she hadn’t followed them; they would return. She was interested in what they left behind. She glanced into the sky lit with dawn light and fading stars. Because they weren’t from this world, she surmised there must be other planets. She would like to visit them. Her eyes wandered back to the object that could take her there. She waited for her chance to sneak inside.

At the approach of the hover vehicle and crew, the large door at the back of the spacecraft rose and a ramp slid out.

The Mimic saw her chance. She mimicked her surroundings and moved closer, her camouflage changing constantly to keep her invisible as she crept nearer. When the hover glided up the ramp with its huge cargo in tow, the Mimic leapt onto the beast’s back and immediately imitated its skin colour and texture, as well as the netting that bound the beast.

Haax pulled the hover to a stop and glanced behind to ensure the large beast was fully inside the ship. He pressed a button on the dash. The ramp retracted and the door closed. Another button lowered the hover and beast gently to the ground.

The pilot and crew climbed off the vehicle.

The pilot glanced at the beast and then at Haax. “Stow the creature ready for transport.”

“Yes, Master.”

The pilot and crew headed for a nearby door leading to the front of the cargo shuttle craft.

Haax strolled around the beast; he’d never seen such a huge creature. He paused and placed a hand on its rising and falling chest and felt the rapid beat of its no doubt huge heart. When Haax moved to its head, the large eye turned in his direction. Haax smiled kindly. The beast growled angrily. Haax could understand the beast’s anger. He too had been snatched from his home world and forced to serve others. The beast though would serve the crew differently—on platters in the dining room.