As the creature stalked the camp, it studied the group with a cold, predatory intelligence.
Five of them. Three sleeping. Two standing guard.
From the safety of the dark, it watched as the small, four-armed guard began to succumb to exhaustion, his wistful watch finally giving way to a shallow sleep. The creature's gaze shifted immediately to the object clutched tightly in the leader's arms.
Its prize.
A low, guttural growl rumbled in its throat as it began creeping toward the firelight. Then, it stopped. The tall chitinous one was rising again.
The creature withdrew instantly into the shadows.
The Vescrin stretched his long, spindly limbs, scanning the darkness with his crystal eye. "Hey, Boss?" he called out. "Want me to go see what it is?"
The leader thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I need everyone here in case something happens."
The Vescrin shrugged and continued to stretch, preparing for his shift. He dragged his left arm across the thick plates of chitin covering his torso, his hand reaching out blindly past the large rock where the slaves had been huddled hours earlier.
Suddenly, he jerked his arm back. A wave of searing, white-hot pain shot through his nervous system.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
He stared down in horror. A chunk of his hand was simply gone. Two of his three fingers had vanished completely, as if sheared off by a biological press. Thick, dark blood poured down his arm, staining the pale chitin.
"AW, WHAT THE FUCK?! IT TOOK MY FUCKING FINGERS!!!"
The moment the Vescrin's flesh was ripped away, the creature bolted from the camp at a staggering, unnatural speed. The entire camp jolted awake. Everyone stared in shock at the mangled hand, realizing that whatever had done this was powerful enough to maim a Vescrin in a heartbeat.
Kestin, the Flufftar, spun toward the leader. "See?! I told you there was something big out there, Boss! That's the thing I was talking about!"
The leader didn't look at the wound. He stared down at the object clutched against his chest, greed flickering in his eyes like a dying coal. "We're using it."
The entire group froze. They all knew what those words meant.
The injured Vescrin clutched his arm, hissing in pain while the slaves hurriedly tried to wrap the stump in cloth. "You sure you want to use that?" he asked through clenched teeth. "You know the ris—AH!" He backhanded Evrin aside with his good hand. "You little shit! That hurt!"
Kestin was already frantically gathering the most valuable supplies. "Don't bother, Rist," he said grimly to the wounded Vescrin. "Once he makes up his mind, it's too late."
The leader pointed his hook-arm toward the darkness. "Exactly!" His voice trembled, though whether from fear or excitement was unclear. "And the thing I saw out there is supposed to be DEAD!"
He clutched the object tighter. "It's an Adaptic."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the camp.
"Those vermin were supposed to be EXTINCT!" the leader spat.
Rist's single crystal eye widened. "Wait… isn't that the species people were talking about a few years ago? The monsters from Dome Four that adapt to whatever they consume faster than anything else?"
The leader slowly shook his head. "Yes… but this one is from Dome Three."
Rist's eye widened even further; even the slaves looked stunned. The Flufftar moved with frantic speed now, all four arms blurring as he stuffed supplies into his pack.
"How is that possible?" Rist asked. "Those things are supposed to be weak unless they're part of a swarm."
The leader sat down heavily, placing the prized object between his legs before digging into the dirt with his hands and his mechanical hook arm.
He continued digging, the earth flying behind him in a frantic spray. "It came from Dome Three with its Apex," he muttered, his voice low and jagged. "It should have died by now. It's probably one of the lesser members… maybe even an evolved one."
He paused, glancing at the darkness. "Or it hatched from a dormant egg. A higher-tier swarm member could've hidden one extremely well. Humans and the like hunted that species to extinction across all three domes after the Apex fell."
A grim, jagged smile crossed his face as he looked back at his wounded guard. "But I guess… we missed one."