Scott somehow managed to stay on his feet as he ran down the loose rock and sand of the slope and straight at the creature. A sudden burst of light struck the predator and a large black striped arm was blown off. However; even with the loss of an appendage the creature didn’t stop; instead it flailed wildly and let out a high pitched whine. He suddenly jerked back to avoid the tail of the creature but stumbled and lost his footing falling down onto his knees.<br/><br/>He watched as Randall ran around the creature toward him but the flailing tail of the creature struck her from behind and she went sprawling in a heap of dust beside him. The panther-spider, only steps away, seemed to sense victory and lunged at her. Scott squeezed the trigger but there was only silence; his rifle was empty. In one fluid, lightning motion he dropped his rifle as if it were a useless stick and drew his pistol firing at point blank range into the creatures open jaws.<br/><br/>One, two, three, four, five…he kept firing, round after round found its mark as the spider things face erupted in a spray of flesh, bone and blood. Finally the creature stopped; dropping lifeless onto the doctor. Randall scrambled to her feet pushing the creatures head off of her legs as he stood slowly still aiming at the things head.<br/><br/>Scott felt the adrenaline dump and began shaking as Dr. Randall hugged him. A wave a relief washed over him and he took several deep breaths trying to regulate the anxiety and tension from the fight. Katherine was safe, they were both safe and he was glad for that of course but there was something else… He thought back to the moment the creature struck her and she went down; for a split second he had feared the worse. And in that moment he had felt a powerful, heart-breaking loss.<br/><br/>He closed his eyes and shook his head as he holstered his pistol and fought back the anger and fear. He watched Katherine as she studied the creature and then looked to the sky. She was safe and he was… Damn. Whatever was bothering him he didn’t have time to analyze it. He stared at her blankly as she spoke at length about their next step. He started to interrupt her but she stopped herself and turned to face him.<br/><br/>She was close now; he could barely hear her voice as he looked into her eyes. Her words were unnecessary however; he could tell what she was saying just by looking at her. Scott felt her hand on his face as if he had never been touched by another human being; her soft fingertips tickling slowly across his jaw. He reached up and placed his hand on hers as his free arm wrapped around her to pull her closer. With his heart pounding in his chest, he leaned forward with parted lips to kiss hers.<br/><br/>