14 – Cries of the PredatorAs he sprang to his feet, Hector unloaded his magazine on the closest reaper; at the same time, he poured three aura into a Speed Boost. The bullets, designed to penetrate and then fragment, tore large sections of the creature’s back into hamburger, and it screeched, leaping up into the branches, giving Frederick some breathing room. The thing’s cry was like some kind of industrial whistle, echoing through the forest, loud enough that it triggered the automatic noise-dampening feature on Hector’s helmet.He dove to his left, dodging the first of the converging reapers, rolling through more acid. His poncho absorbed most of it. The stuff in the mulch wasn’t as bad as the fresh droplets falling from the trees. Even so, the armor on his legs and arms sizzled. The second reaper slid to a halt, spinning to face him, but Hector was already tracking it; as he rolled, he’d slammed a new magazine into his rifle and was already firing.Again, he tore chunks off the reaper, and again, it darted away, screeching like a dropship turbine, weaving between trees to block Hector’s fire. Frederick’s gun blazing told him the kid was still alive, and when he spun to check on the third reaper, he saw Frederick chasing it with bullets as it, too, loped between trees, using low-hanging branches to swing itself up out of sight in the dense, acid-coated leaves.“Wait,” he said into comms, then, louder, “Hold your fire!” Freddy, chest heaving, breaths ragged through his helmet’s filter, stopped shooting, and Hector jogged close and put his back to the kid’s. “Wait for them. Use your stunner on one.”“Which—” Freddy heaved in a couple of ragged breaths. He was hurt, but Hector didn’t think too badly; besides, the kid had Royal-class nanites. He tried again: “Which one?”“Any—” Hector didn’t get a chance to explain more; the three reapers acted together, coming from three different angles. None of them seemed (...)