Unicorn Riders - Pinch (English)

Chapter 8: The strangers

Night came slowly upon the mountains, and slowly Vera started to loose her courage.

Finally the dent on the back of her head had stopped pulsing. But the oncoming darkness made her nervous, and she came to realize that she would hardly make it to a safe place that night. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to walk through the night to find civilization, or whether she'd rather look for a place to sleep in the wild. Both options didn't please her, so she dragged out her final decision as long as possible.

But it kept getting harder to find a way through the darkness. The little light of dusk still remaining was barely enough to make the silhouettes of the mountains visible, but everything else sank into dim creepy darkness. Although Helen had packed her daughter a bag full of provisions enough to survive hiking around the world, it didn't contain a sleeping bag or a blanket. Not that it was really cold, but Vera shivered and tightened the collar of her jacket. She didn't like spending the night away from home at all, and spending it on unknown territory, far away from any settlements was nothing to look forward to.

When the ground under her feet became increasingly rocky she realized that she soon wouldn't be able to go any further. It was too dangerous to climb rocks or mountains in the dark. She couldn't even see whether this gloomy stripe before her was the plain or a deep abyss. Then, just as she tried to remember whether she had come across a passable place to sleep, she noticed a faint, but warm light in the distance, flickering in orange-red, illuminating the night. It didn't seem to be far. Vera gained new hope and headed for it.

Apparently other humans had come to this part of the world, too.

The path towards it wasn't difficult at all, she could almost walk it like a road. Sometimes Vera stumbled, but that was due to her tiredness, not because of an obstacle. Soon she could make out more. It was an open fire, apparently some campfire, with several shadows moving around it. It could only be humans! They would certainly offer her a place to rest. Maybe even the dog was with them.

But the closer she came, the queasier she started to feel. An inner voice seemed to whisper words of warning to her. What if those people were not friendly? Didn't her father always say that this job created enemies? Vera shook her head vigorously about this thought. She was thirteen, she was too young to have enemies. Who would ever wish her harm? Still, the queasy feeling stayed with her. And the shuttle crash came to mind once more - someone had fired on her, for whatever reason.

Being approximately 300 feet away she said to herself that it could not hurt being careful. She crouched the last part of the way and ducked behind a big rock from which she could examine the camp unseen.

The shadows she had noticed were indeed humans. She could make out two of them, a man and a woman. The woman was pacing restlessly from one point to another. the man sat quietly by the fire and looked like he was studying something. Vera took a closer look and tried to find out who or what they exactly were. But then her breath caught. Those people carried weapons! Laser pistols, like Vera had seen lots of at the academy, but without the obvious markings identifying them as stun guns. Besides, she could make out the handles of two knives on the woman's belt, each one big enough to cut Vera completely in half.

It was not a good idea to have come here. She had to leave now!

On her guard Vera crawled slowly away from the rock, trying her best to stay in the dark and the shadows. The rustling of the bushes behind her she noticed too late.

Suddenly she was grabbed by her upper arms. Hands big as bear claws kept her in a merciless grip as if she was welded into it. She screamed in fright and terror. A deep raspy voice sounding like it came from six feet above her grumbled: "Gotcha!"