text: With the thunderous sound of chase behind them they ran hand in hand into the thick boughs of undergrowth and over the knotted roots and damp soil. Thorns and wet flowering leaves poked, scratched and whipped across the exposed skin of their faces, hands and feet as they made their way through the endless green maze. Above within the criss-crossed lattice of branches, leaves and vines the hooting of tiny beasts could be heard. The sounds were a chorus of deep and undulating incantations which almost sounded encouraging as if the tree-bound creatures wanted the them to survive. He imagined that they were the same primate analogues their team had encountered earlier. He risked a glance at his wrist to see his holo-sleeve flickering, the thick canopy which loomed above them like a verdant umbrella had limited the solar recharge rate. At this point he'd be surprised if it'd last another two minutes. But two minutes- that was more than enough to place them back on board the capsule. There he could insta-charge and bring up the shields, then get them back to where they needed to be. Which was anywhere but here, away from this horrifying and terrible place of such unimaginable beauty. A sternum shaking roar from behind lit all of his senses on fire. He turned to look back trying to gauge their chances of survival by how far away the abomination, the pure and utter terror that was the dominant life form on this- His foot snagged on a thick root and hand in hand they were flying, their inertia tumbling them through the air like ragdolls. He slammed into an upright log thick with green moss, studded with tiny red and white mushrooms. They turned to pulp across his face and into his nostrils, a pungent and musty taste and smell that jolted him back to reality. His fingers closed onto nothing but themselves and thick, wet air. He couldn't see her. A onerous breath left him, he'd broken at least three ribs. It hurt to breathe, to exist. He willed the stars out of his eyes and stood weakly, bracing himself against a gnarled and decaying trunk. His holo-sleeve was screaming, medical warnings emblazoned in red and orange flickered across the rapidly fading display. He blinked it away, shutting off the annoying and location betraying klaxon that signaled serious impairment. The pain in his chest was so severe that he didn't but barely notice the bites being taken out of his fingers by the tiny insectoids which swarmed over his hand, frenzied by the smell of blood. The holo-sleeve began to emanate a pulsing sound, the signature tone which meant the homing beacon on the capsule was close. Another bone shaking roar sprung forth from the green labyrinth. The beast was getting closer. They were in trouble. He called out to her, scanning the foliage - limping forward he reached a break in the treeline. Before him he saw the opalescent capsule laid out perfectly upon a patch of flattened white grass like a porcelain teacup atop an equally elegant saucer. It's canopy was sealed and she was already inside. She'd left him. His holo-sleeve chirped again, this time it was her voice. The area around the capsule began to shimmer, he saw her as a flickering myth, a mirage across the sea of time and and his heart sank. The choir in the trees abruptly ceased and the heavy air was silent save for the ragged pounding of his own heartbeat. The nightmare burst forth from the green hell they'd found themselves in. It's horrible maw open wide, ready to receive him. He closed his eyes to embrace a mercifully swift and hopefully painless journey into eternity- his only regret that he never told her. As the four sets of jaws closed around their prey the holo-sleeve chirped one last time. He expected to hear an apology, only she said she loved him.