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Thump thump thump
Hot sun
Humid air
Thump thump thump
Three figures ran though the undergrowth. Well, two were running, the third bounced under the human's arm.
Thump thump thump
The air hummed with the wir and roar of aircraft engines.
The human hefted the volatus to the other arm, struggling to push through muscular exhaustion, feet pounding against the ground.
The air was thick with fear. The volatus could smell it, as she floped under the humans arm. Fear, and the sickly sweet smell of adrenaline laden moisture oozing from the human's pores. It would be gross, if it weren't for the white-hot static of terror.
The soldiers watch the heat signatures of the runners through the gaps in the foliage. No one could run this long, it just didn't happen. Overwatch was constantly updating their estimates, chattering in their ears.
The human glanced at the volatus under his arm, thank goodness it was light. He looked to his right, at his companion running alongside him. It looked far to warm, warm and dry, the normaly shiny skin turning dull, almost burnt. The sweat poured down the human's face, dripping into his eyes, before being wiped off.
The ground suddenly dropped away, sheer glassy cliffs blocking their path. It looked almost as if a giant had gouged a deep scratch in the rock. Deep below, the ragged party could see deep blue water. With the soldiers close behind them there was only one option.
The second runner hit the water first, the human moments later, back first, curled around the volatus.
He felt the force of the impact drive every last bubble of air from his lungs. He tried to hold on his passenger, but the current ripped the volatus away.
The volatus watched as their little group approached the cliff, and felt terror as she saw the deep blue water beneath them. In a moment they were falling, wind rushing past them. The human took the brunt of the impact, and they penetrated deep into the water. The rush of the impact dazed the volatus, and ripped the her out of the humans grip, before the icy water surrounded her. The cold started to seep into her veins like a poison, she felt her heart pound, fighting the cold. This was the end.
A hand grabbed her.
Two ground-force aircraft hovered at the edge of the cliff, watching the runners disappear into the water, and then turned back satisfied. Nothing survives that drop.
The human was terrified, drowning does that to a person. He started to thrash towards the surface, lungs burning, brain starving. Suddenly, a powerful arm wrapped around him, and he felt himself born aloft, upwards and upwards, before blackness took his mind.
Three heads broke the surface, nearly simultaneously.