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Jake woke slowly and realized his back was being rubbed gently by Mak, who was still beneath him.

He lifted his head and smiled down at the young bull, who was looking up at him with a smile on his face.

He kissed the young bull and rubbed his cheek affectionately against Mak's.

It was nearly dark, but not quite fully. It must be almost time to get going towards the camp.

Jake looked around but could see no sign of Rhokki anywhere.

"Where's Rhokki?" he asked.

"I don't know. I woke up almost a half hour ago but haven't seen him the whole time. I think he might be out scouting the camp to make sure it will be safe for us to go in and take the ship," Mak replied.

"Most likely, I doubt he'll want to go in until it's completely dark. There's no point taking any unnecessary risks. He might be checking to see how many stayed behind to guard the camp. He's the stealth expert so it's best if he does all the recon alone. He's less likely to be caught then the three of us together."

Mak nodded and said, "Yeah. That's sort of why I woke you up. We probably have at least a half hour before he gets back. I really missed you, Jake. I need you."

Jake suddenly became aware of the massive tool that was stretched out beneath him between their bodies and he smiled and said, "I missed you too."

He moved his face in and kissed the young bull more passionately. Mak's wide, soft tongue immediately emerged and entered Jake's mouth and the two began to neck deeply and desperately as the lust between them began to rapidly build to new heights, driven by their enforced separation over the past two weeks.

Jake quickly felt his cock being painfully bent within his shorts as it grew with astonishing speed in response to his passion for the bull.

He rolled off of Mak onto his back and reached down and undid his shorts and pulled them down and off. He then looked at the young bull in the dim light and saw his incredibly thick and long tool had stretched right out of his shorts and was lying along his belly.

Jake smiled at the sight. He sat up leaned in and kissed the oozing tip of the thick tool while his hands moved in to untie Mak's leather shorts.

"Hurry," Mak breathed, "I need you so bad I feel like I'm gonna blow if you just breathe on it again."

Jake quickly untied the shorts and pulled them smoothly down the young bull's massively thick and muscular thighs, and then worked them over his hiking boots and off and tossed them aside.

He moved up between Mak's legs and moved his face in to breathe the wonderful scent of the bull's heavy balls. He rubbed his face on Mak's massive sack and kissed and licked at it. He ran a hand up the leathery base of the bull's thick tool until it reached the fleshy top half of it and he squeezed it gently while he moved his face in and licked at the base of it.

He worked his mouth upward, kissing and licking all along the shaft of the hot, hard tool. When he reached the blunt head of it, he opened wide and slid his mouth over it and gently sucked.

Mak bent his knees up on either side of Jake to pull his big feet towards his butt as he moaned loudly, and his two large hands came down on Jake's head and pushed it further onto his cock as he thrust his hips upward at Jake's face.

Jake knew the bull was not going to last long because he began to pant in short gasping breaths almost immediately and began to buck his hips at Jake's face in short, hard thrusts. Suddenly he stopped and groaned as he pulled Jake's head off his cock.

"I want to shoot inside you," Mak said.

Jake quickly lay back while still between Mak's legs and the bull sat up and got on his knees and moved forward between Jake's legs and placed his big hands under the man's thighs and pushed them up and slightly apart to expose his lover's anus.

Mak moaned as he moved his face in and began to lick furiously at Jake's crotch. He'd missed the smell and the taste of his lover so much he was desperate to lick it all up. His wide tongue lapped at Jake's balls, lifting them up and letting them drop again and again as he licked them from the underside to the front repeatedly. He licked at the patch of pubic hair and then along the length of Jake's cock several times.

He groaned and ran his long tongue down along Jake's crack, past his anus to his tail bone, then took a long, leisurely lick back up all the way to the base of his balls, savoring the taste of his man. He licked his lover's crack again and again until it was completely clean and then focused his tongue on Jake's anus and probed at it, trying to push his tongue right in.

Jake relaxed and pushed slightly to open himself up and Mak moaned as several inches of his tongue slid up inside his man.

The bull's breathing became faster and more urgent and he pushed at Jake's thighs to bring his ass up higher while he forced his tongue as deep as it would go and lapped at the silky smooth walls of Jake's rectum repeatedly.

Mak's amazingly huge cock was harder and more fully engorged than it had ever been in his life and it was dripping slick precum steadily now. He could wait no longer and he lifted his head and worked his knees forward to bring the wide, blunt head of his massive tool into position at Jake's wet anus.

The bull pushed Jake's thighs forward more and Jake reached up and grabbed the back of his knees to keep himself ready and to allow Mak to use his hands.

The bull grabbed his thick cock with one hand and held the head of it right at Jake's anus but not quite touching, as though he were savoring the moment and thinking about the fact that he was going to be plunging himself deep into his lover at last.

Mak's cock oozed steadily and Jake could feel the slick lubricant dripping onto his anus. The young bull then pushed the head of his cock against Jake's anus and began to wiggle it around in a tight circle with his hand to completely coat the head of his cock and Jake's asshole with the precum.

He then pushed firmly and steadily, forcing Jake's anus to open up and accept the massive cock that was about to invade it.

Jake groaned at the sensation of his lover's thick cock spreading him open and stretching his hole to its absolute limit. The nerves in his anus began to fire intense waves of pleasure at him as the young bull continued to push and his cock began to run its length along Jake's sensitive sphincter.

Mak moaned as he continued to push himself into his man and he could feel the wide, blunt head of his massively engorged penis bumping up against the rings of muscles in Jake's rectum one after another and forcing them to open wide and let it through. He wanted to bury himself fully into Jake and feel the incredible sensation of the strong muscles in his lover's rectum working his tool hard.

At last Mak groaned long and loudly as his massive balls bumped up against Jake's ass and the full eighteen inches of his thick cock was stretching out the man's rectum all along its length.

Jake let go of his knees and let his calves settle on the young bull's powerfully muscled shoulders.

Mak worked his knees forward a bit more and brought himself up over Jake and placed his big hands on the ground on either side of the man in preparation to pound him hard. He savored the moment, feeling the tight rings of muscle in Jake's rectum squeezing and pulsing against his cock and then finally he smoothly pulled his hips up and back until his cock head nearly emerged from Jake's stretched anus, and then moaned as he powerfully and smoothly thrust the full length of his cock back in.

Jake did his best to resist shouting out loud from the rapid-fire explosions of pleasure that slammed into him as the nerves in all of the rings of muscles in his rectum began to send jolts of exquisite electricity through him one after another as the wide, blunt head of Mak's thick penis hammered past them.

His own cock was throbbing and yearning for attention now and his hands were free so he grabbed the shaft of his straining member and began to jack it while the young bull built up a strong rhythm, fucking him hard.

Mak's fat tool was sending wave after wave of pleasure through him as Jake's breathing began to shorten and he gasped, and then grunted as his powerful orgasm slammed into him and his cock began to shoot jet after jet of thick semen onto his own chin and neck, then his chest.

Jake moaned and groaned as the intense orgasm battered his body and the thick tool that was being slammed repeatedly into him milked his prostate and pushed every bit of fluid in him up the long shaft of Jake's cock to explode out of the slit of the swelling head onto him.

Mak moaned as he watched his lover shoot his seed beneath him and then he suddenly tensed and grunted loudly and slammed his hips against Jake's ass hard and held the position as his own orgasm washed over him and his wide cock head pulsed and sent a long stream of his cum up into his lover's bowels.

He moaned loudly and held tight until the stream of cum paused and then he pulled back and grunted once more as he bucked against Jake and shot another jet of thick semen into him as the most satisfying orgasm the bull had ever felt continue to work his powerful young body.

Mak bucked and moaned and thrust at his lover for what seemed like an eternity as waves of electricity blasted through him and he completely emptied his balls into Jake's bowels through his thick, pulsing cock and finally the orgasm began to fade away and he started to regain control over himself.

He pushed into Jake once more firmly and held it as he enjoyed the feeling of having his cock right where he felt it belonged, deep inside the love of his life, spilling its seed into him.

There were tears of happiness welling in the young bulls eyes as he gazed down at a smiling Jake.

The two of them were spent, but would be ready to go again in just minutes. They'd been waiting so long to have each other that neither was ready to quit just yet.

"They're somewhere in the trees over there," an unfamiliar voice said from out in the field toward the camp.

Jake's heart began to hammer in his chest at the sound and he jumped slightly as Mak quickly pulled his still softening cock out of Jake's ass with a sucking sound.

The two held still for a moment and listened closely.

They heard what sounded like a series of beeps and the voice said, "Right over that way. They can't be much further. Spread out and don't let them get away again or he'll tear us to pieces when he gets back."

"Why the fuck were they dumb enough to come back here?" another voice asked.

"Who cares? We would have found them anyhow, but this just makes it easier. The old man always has something up his sleeve," the first voice replied.

"There are three of them in there and there are only four of us. That fucking cat is dangerous. Shouldn't we have brought the others from the camp?" a third voice asked.

"They're guarding the ship, stupid. You heard what the old man said. The kid could steal it if they have the missing part. They're unarmed other than the knife the kid has, so don't be such a coward. Just don't kill them. The old man wants them for himself. Now shut up, we're getting close."

Jake scrambled for his shorts and Mak did the same and they yanked them up and tied them off quickly and they began to work their way deeper into the forest as quietly as they could, away from the approaching voices.

Jake couldn't believe this was happening. How the hell did they find them out here in the trees in the dark? How did they know they'd come back to the camp? They didn't catch Rhokki so they hadn't learned it from him. They said there were three in here so they figured Jake, Mak and Rhokki were all together still. He wondered where the lion was and how they would hook up again now that Jake and Mak were on the run again.

There was no time to dwell on how this was happening, they had to move fast.

"We need to change direction and try to shake them," Mak whispered and he shot past Jake and veered to follow the tree line that curved slightly back towards the camp while staying within the trees.

Jake followed. It was getting darker and they could see lights behind them now as the bulls who were stalking them waved flashlights forward, scanning the forest as they entered it and approached the spot where they had made love.

Jake and Mak ran as silently as they could and nearly crashed out of the trees into the open as they reached the edge of the forest that bordered the open field once more.

Suddenly Jake heard more beeping and looked back to the source and saw one of the lights behind them point in their direction and he heard a voice say, "They're on the move! It shows they're somewhere over there now! Let's go!"

Mak grabbed Jake's arm and pulled him back deeper into the forest and they began to run headlong into it, crashing through the trees and brush. It didn't much matter if they made noise now. Somehow the bulls were able to track them.

"Did they put something on you?" Mak asked as they ran along, "Some kind of tracking beacon?"

Jake realized his shorts had been somewhere else for two weeks and Rhokki had only just brought them to him the night before. He checked the pockets and felt around on them and couldn't find anything unusual.

"I don't know, I don't think so," he said.

"Somehow they have a tracker on us. That's how they found us so easily. There can't be one on Rhokki or they wouldn't think he was with us. They never got a chance to put one on me because I just came from our home world and even Troska never touched me. So, it's either on you, or in you, Jake. If it's in you, there's not much we can do."

Jake nodded his agreement but Mak likely couldn't see him as it was nearly pitch black now.

"Yeah, it could be somewhere in my shorts I guess. I don't see how they could have got one inside me without me knowing," Jake said, "Should I take my shorts off?"

"No, let's use it to our advantage," Mak said, "You keep running in the same direction. I'm gonna move off to the side behind the trees here and come up behind them when the tracker leads them towards you. I'll try to take them out one by one from the back. There's only four of them and Troska will kill them if they kill us, so they won't be fighting their hardest. We can gain the upper hand if I can take at least a couple of them out from behind."

"OK, be careful," Jake said as the young bull veered off into the trees.

Jake continued to run headlong through the brush. He wasn't comfortable with all three of them getting split up, but there was nothing else they could do. Somehow the bastards were tracking him and no matter where he went the bulls would track them down. They had to make a stand and stop these four bulls at least, and then maybe try to make a play for the scout ship, though it sounded like it was now under guard.

As he ran through the brush he began to wonder why the sound of pursuit had faded and he slowed to a stop and listened carefully. The bulls should have passed Mak by now and should be getting close to Jake.

"Here, right here! They changed direction again!" he heard a voice shout from well behind him back towards the young bull's hiding spot, "We're right on them!"

Jake suddenly realized the bulls weren't tracking him, they were tracking Mak!

He started to run back towards the young bull in a panic. He had no idea what he could do against four huge bulls while he was unarmed but he had to try to do something. He just hoped he could get there before they got Mak cornered.

He saw the flashlights bobbing around in Mak's location. They knew he was there and they were searching for him.

Suddenly, he heard a scream of pain that was cut short and the beam from one of the flashlights flipped around a few times and ended up pointing straight up.

There were some sounds of struggling briefly and then a voice shouted, "Gotcha! Hold still, you fucking pain in the ass! Where are your friends?"

"They're long gone. Let me go or I'll kill you!" Mak yelled.

Jake's heart pounded in his chest. They had Mak!

He slowed down as he approached the scene and made as little noise as he could as he moved from one tree to the next trying to get close enough to see without giving himself away.

He got close enough to hear their breathing and he stopped behind a large tree. He peered around the trunk and saw three bulls standing around Mak. One was behind Mak and had his massive arms up under the young bull's armpits forcing his arms up into the air. Mak still had his ceremonial knife in one hand and it was bloodied. The guard had his hands locked behind the young bull's head and was pushing it forward, keeping Mak controlled. Another bull was facing Mak and brandishing a large night-stick like weapon. A third bull was quickly panning his flashlight around, looking for Mak's companions.

At one point Jake saw the light pass over the body of a fourth bull who had blood spreading from a wound in his chest. The bull's flashlight was sitting on the ground and caught in some roots and pointing up in to the air. It looked like Mak had managed to take one of them out with his knife.

The bull facing Mak chuckled and said, "They may be gone, but not for long. The idiots will come right to us to try to get you back. I'll take that now..."

The bull reached forward to take the knife that was still in Mak's hand but just as he reached for it Mak pushed backward against the bull that was holding him and his knees came up and he twisted his body as he snapped his muscular legs straight out to smash the approaching bull in the chest while twisting out of the other's grasp.

Jake rushed out of his hiding spot and headed straight for the third bull to tackle him as the bull rushed toward Mak to help his comrades, but even before Jake could reach him he heard a snarl and there was a blur of movement and suddenly the third bull was on his back and Rhokki's jaw was clamped down on his throat.

The bull didn't get a chance to make a sound as the powerful cat crushed his windpipe.

The lion opened his jaws and blood began to spurt from the bull's neck as Rhokki turned and the cat's muscles bunched up and released as he pounced forward and was on the first bull that Mak had knocked down before he could get fully back to his feet.

The lion roared as he came down on the big bull, claws raking his back and opening long rents in his flesh as the bull cried out. The cat went into a killing frenzy as he clawed at the big bull and sank his teeth repeatedly into him and tore chunks of his flesh away as the bull howled in pain.

Rhokki's claws continued to tear at the bull as he pulled him back down to the ground and finally as the bull turned on to his back to try to bring his billy club around to crack Rhokki's skull, the lion went straight for his throat and tore it right out.

Mak had already spun out of the second bull's grasp and brought his knife up under the guard's chin and sunk it up into the bull's head to the hilt and the large blade slid into his brain.

Mak pulled the knife out and the bull fell limply to the ground. The young bull turned to look around for Jake and relaxed as soon as he saw him emerging from the trees.

Rhokki seemed to come back to himself immediately and calmed right down and said, "I believe we may have been discovered."

Mak chuckled and said, "I think you might be right. How the hell did they track us?"

Rhokki picked up the billy club from the guard he'd just killed and came towards Mak. He took the ceremonial knife from Mak's hand as the young bull protested. The lion crouched down and held the knife by the blade while placing the bone handle against a large rock on the ground and began to bash at it repeatedly with the club. The handle cracked and then shattered. The handle had been hollowed out and inside there was a small electronic device that fell to the ground.

Rhokki picked up the device and said, "I will be back shortly."

He disappeared into the dark forest.

Mak and Jake picked up the flashlights from the dead guards and turned them off, but held on to them. They searched the guards for anything else useful but found nothing.

They heard an odd squeaking sound off in the forest and a bit of thrashing, then silence once again.

Shortly afterward, Rhokki emerged from the deep shadows, still holding the billy club he'd used to smash the handle of the knife.

He tossed the club aside and said, "There is an odd, but fairly fast moving three-legged animal that is native to the area. One of them now has an electronic tracking beacon firmly shoved up its backside. I used the club to push it as far up as I could, so I suggest you do not touch that stick. For some reason, the creature didn't seem pleased with its treatment and is now running like mad away from here. It should buy us some time when the next group of Troska's men begin to try to track us. They will ultimately catch up to it and know that we are in the wind again but they will hopefully waste a great deal of time before they come back and try to pick up our trail the old fashioned way."

"Fucking Troska! That guy is sick, but too damn smart!" Mak exclaimed.

"Yes, it appears the mad bull was one step ahead of us. He likely wasn't comfortable with the idea of leaving you alone and free here, so he took steps to ensure you could be easily located if you weren't at your designated pick up spot when the others came to get you," Rhokki said.

"How did you know they had a tracker on us, Rhokki?" Jake asked.

"I went to scout the camp in preparation for our incursion. I was surprised to find at least eight guards still there and I observed as several patrolled the perimeter of the camp. They were not as stupid as we assumed they would be and they kept a sufficient force back to guard the camp. We still would have likely succeeded in stealing the ship as the camp was mostly dark and the patrols were spread out, and there was no guard on the ship itself, which the bulls must have thought of as disabled and useless. I saw another guard suddenly run out of the communication tent and, within minutes, lights all over the camp were lit and four armed guards were placed around the ship facing outward. It was right around the time Troska would have been arriving back at their home world, so he likely contacted the camp immediately and gave them instructions.

"A guard went into the scout ship and came back out with the ignition module and took it away somewhere. Troska is an unusually clever man. He must have realized when he was told how we'd disabled the scout ship that Mak would be able to fly it and he must have ordered them to disable the ship so that we couldn't use it. I'm afraid that avenue of escape is no longer available to us."

Rhokki then pointed at the dead guards and said, "I saw these four leave the camp out the other side and I skirted around the perimeter and followed across the field but they had a long head start. It was clear they were using a tracking device to home right in on your position. I knew as I followed them that it must be the knife. It passed right from Troska's hands to Mak and the old bull must have considered the possibility that Mak might try an escape, or might somehow get lost before he could be picked up, and Troska wanted to be sure he could be located again if he did. The old bull had all of the corners covered."

"Shit!" Jake exclaimed, "It's my fault! I let that crazy fucker see me at Mak's ceremony so he was able to warn the camp!"

"No, do not berate yourself," Rhokki said, "The result would have been the same regardless. He had no idea we would be there before he planted the tracker in the knife back on their home world, so clearly he was being careful and thorough all along. He would have contacted the camp as soon as he got back to his home world to check to make sure they had picked Mak up, and to let them know he was heading back here. They would have had to tell him of our escape and that we had disabled the scout ship, and Troska would still have given them the exact same instructions. It is in no way your fault and it was unavoidable. The old bull may be mad, but he is also clever and clearly he is quick on his feet. He knew our best chance of escaping them was to steal their ship and you and I couldn't fly it, so he must have guessed immediately that our plan would be to return with Mak and have him fly us out."

"So what do we do now?" Mak asked, "Should we go into the camp and try to take down the guards that are left?"

"It is an option, but I do not think we stand a chance of success. These four were armed only with clubs to ensure you wouldn't be killed. Troska knows they can hunt us down at their leisure if we are forced to run on foot. He also knows that if we succeed in taking the scout ship we will slip from his grasp forever and he will not take that chance. The guards at the scout ship are on high alert and are armed with plasma rifles and would not hesitate to shoot us on sight. We would have to take them out along with any other guards that might still be in the camp, and then locate the ignition module before we could get away. Our odds of success are exceedingly slim.

"I think our best option now is to run, and try to stay out of their reach until we can be picked up by my people's ship. At least we know now that they can no longer track us. All of the guards that were searching for Jake and me, and the ones who would have been sent off on foot to retrieve Mak, would be heading back to the camp now. It will likely be some time yet before they get back and begin their pursuit of us again. They will likely use a tracking device again and will place all of their confidence in it. It will take them some time to realize that was a mistake, so we still have a chance to get a good head start," Rhokki said, "We should go immediately."

"Which way?" Jake asked.

"Do you have the rucksacks?" Rhokki asked.

"No, they're still on the ground back where we were hiding."

"Then let us go there first and retrieve them. We need the food and water so we can strike out over land. The river is no longer an option for us. There will be large parties coming back to the camp from both directions along the river. One from the search for us along the false trail we created, and the others that had been heading out to pick up Komakwa as well as any that might have been sent to search the banks of the river along the other direction. We should strike out in another direction from where we were hiding and angle back towards the mountain on the other side of the volcano.

"When the next search party eventually catches up to the creature with the tracking beacon in its bowels, they will realize they are forced to search for our trails. They will start back at their camp again and will ultimately track these four guards out to the hiding location where I left you. From there they will likely split up as they will see three sets of tracks going out in three directions, one leading back where we came from to get Mak, another to this spot here, and a third to wherever we end up going. It's not much, but at least if they are forced to split up it will reduce the numbers of the ones following the correct trail slightly, and that would be to our advantage. We need to find deep cover before full daylight. Troska will likely be pushing hard and will be here with the other scout ship not long after dawn, and from that point they will be able to search for us from the sky."

"What do you think of our chances now?" Jake asked.

The lion shook his head and said, "I cannot lie. We are not in good shape. We should have no problem evading them for the night but once they begin to get better organized we will have trouble staying out of their grasp for long. In the morning light they will have no problem following our trail unless we can find some way to mask it. I wish I could have gotten a message off to my people somehow last night before our escape. Our ship is very fast. If they were to accelerate as hard as possible from that time, they could have been in orbit by some time tomorrow, but even that may be cutting it close. Troska's people could crowd several men into the one scout ship that Troska will return in by morning, and race forward to drop them close to us to search the ground while the scout ship continues to search from the air. We will have a great deal of trouble keeping ahead of them once they are able to move that quickly. Our only saving grace is that they could bring no more than five or six total in the small scout ship and not their entire force. In any case, we need to use the time we have before they can get organized to put a great deal of distance between us and this camp and get into an area where it will be more difficult to track us."

"Let's get going then," Mak suggested.

They all broke into a run and headed back to their original hiding spot and retrieved the rucksacks. Mak and Jake carried them and they headed out to the tree line again to run along it. The grass was not quite as thick and long there, so they would not leave as obvious a trail, and the trees were not as thick either so the going was fairly quick.

They followed it through the dark night for hours as it curved around and back towards the mountain range again.

Rhokki suggested the mountains might be their best bet if they could reach them quickly. The rocky terrain would leave little trace of their passage and if they could get into it soon enough it would be much harder for Troska's men to track them. They might also find cover in a cave or overhang that might protect them from being seen from the air if they needed to stop and rest.

Onward they went through the night. They had no idea how much of a head start they had. For all they knew some bulls might be just minutes behind them, or they might be hours back and still tracking the big, three-legged bunny with a bug up its ass. It all depended on when the first group would arrive back at the camp and strike out after them. They might have been arriving even while they were struggling in the woods with the first four, or they might only just be arriving now. It was anybody's guess.

Even after the bulls realize their mistake and give up on the tracking device, the bulls would have to follow their aging trail carefully, while Jake and the others could run headlong. It was unlikely that Troska's people would gain on them quickly at first, but rather would continue to fall behind even if they were on the right trail.

Of course, once they had a scout ship to chase them in, all bets would be off. Any distance they gained on the bulls could vanish in a heartbeat once the ship was brought into play if they had some idea which direction to send it.

If they could only get to a place where they would leave no trail they could change direction and would have a better chance of shaking off any pursuers so that even the scout ship would have to do a slower and more thorough grid search.

They finally caught a break just as the sky was lightening very slightly; indicating dawn was just an hour or so away. They had been angling towards the mountain range where it came out past the other side of the volcano, and as they reached an open area where the forest ended they found that the ground sloped slightly toward the volcano and was covered in what appeared to be an old lava field from a large eruption long ago. The ground was black and barren and covered with hardened lava and chunks of black rock. They would leave absolutely no trace here.

They raced across it as quickly as they could and as it widened, they changed direction and angled away from the volcano and more toward the mountains.

They moved quickly now as there was absolutely no grass, brush, or trees to slow them down in the slightest.

They were completely exposed on the open lava field so they had to be sure they were across it and into the mountains before Troska got back with the scout ship and the search for them from the air would begin.

The sky had become quite light and just before the sun rose they reached the far end of the old lava flow. They started to come across scrabbly brush and short grasses as they approached the base of the mountain range.

The land ahead was rocky and very rugged as it sloped up toward the steep mountains quickly. The going would get harder now and they would leave more obvious tracks in the dirt from this point until they could get into the rockier areas, but it should become more difficult to spot them from the air as the terrain got jagged and rough and dotted with massive boulders and stands of trees that resembled pine and fir.

As the sky lightened to blue in the early morning they saw that they had one other small bonus that might play in their favor. During the night, they had crossed under the perpetual, thick trail of smoke that issued steadily from the summit of the volcano and was carried downward and outward in a wide stream by the prevailing winds coming down from the mountain range. It would hinder the search for them from the air at least somewhat as the scout ship would have to stay closer to the ground to stay out of the smoke which would limit the range of their vision.

As they approached the mountains they switched directions again and cut into a small canyon at the base of the nearest mountain. It was the dry remnants of an old river that must have come down from the mountains at some point in the past and been redirected later on by the changes to the landscape when the volcano first erupted.

They were starting to become exhausted and would be in need of a rest soon, even if only for a few hours. At least they had covered a great deal of ground.

Troska was back by now and the bulls were likely in the air and searching already. The narrow canyon afforded them the perfect hiding spot so they could rest without being seen from a distance in the air. They followed the canyon as far as the other end of it to be sure they wouldn't be boxed in, and found it emerged right at the base of a large, steep mountain. There was some open ground beyond and then beyond that a thick stand of fir trees.

They decided that since it was still early, their best bet was to use the last of their strength to run across the open ground and use the cover of the fir trees to rest instead of the hard, exposed ground of the canyon. The canyon kept them well hidden from view from the air, but only if the ship didn't pass directly overhead. They could easily be trapped and cornered in it by others coming in on foot and they were not comfortable with that possibility.

They made it to the stand of fir trees in just a few minutes and still saw no sign of the scout ship. They should be safe here for quite a while and they felt they absolutely had to give their bodies some time to recover before they tried to press on.

The ground deep in the stand of trees was soft and covered with old needles and moss. They made their way deeper into the shady coolness and settled in to rest.

They ate some of their rations and drank some water.

They sprawled out on the soft loam and looked at each other without saying much of anything.

Jake looked over at Rhokki and saw the big cat staring back at him.

Jake realized that since their admission of love for each other the day before they had not even spent a single moment in contact with each other. He loved the cat and he had never yet had a chance to express it physically.

He got up and went over to where the big cat lay stretched out and lounging on his side, and Jake sat down in the crook near the lion's belly and began to stroke the beautiful, soft, charcoal grey colored fur on the lion's side.

Rhokki looked at him and smiled.

Jake smiled back and moved his hands down to scratch at the big cat's chest and belly.

After a moment Jake felt a deep vibration that alternated in pitch slightly and he realized that Rhokki had begun to emit a strong, low-frequency purr.

The massive lion leaned back and lifted his front and back leg slightly to expose his underside more and Jake smiled and began to scratch at his chest in earnest and Rhokki's eyes half closed and his purr got louder.

Jake looked over at Mak and the young bull was lying on his side with his head propped up on one hand and he grinned as he watched Jake enjoying himself.

Mak wanted very much to get involved, but he felt it wouldn't be appropriate right now. He realized this would be the first time Jake and Rhokki had a chance to enjoy each other fully, and he decided he should make himself scarce and give them some time to themselves.

He stood up and said, "I'm gonna leave you two alone for a while. I want to go and keep an eye out for that scout ship."

Jake smiled at him and nodded and the young bull winked at him and then walked off through the trees.

Jake turned his attention back to the big cat whose chest he was scratching.

He thought about all the times Rhokki had spent washing him thoroughly from head to toe just to get close to him physically. This was the first time Jake had a chance to enjoy Rhokki physically in the same sort of way.

He began to stroke and scratch at the big, beautiful cat's fur all over his body. It was amazingly soft.

He plunged his hands into the lion's luxuriously thick, jet black mane and scratched at his neck. He scratched behind his ears and on top of his wide head and under his chin as the big cat kept his eyes closed and purred his pleasure at the attention.

Jake moved his face in and kissed the lion on the nose and rubbed his face against his Rhokki's cheek.

"I love you, my sweet man," Rhokki whispered.

"I love you too," Jake said and he kissed the cat on lips and then looked into his smoky grey eyes, "You are so stunning beautiful to me. You take my breath away."

The lion smiled and said, "Would you make love to me? Could I have the pleasure of feeling you inside me? I've dreamed of it so many times in the past two weeks. We are in a truly precarious position and I do not wish to die without having had that connection with you."

Jake smiled and said, "We'll get out of this mess somehow. I would love to make love to you for the first of many times. I want to explore you a bit first, if that's OK."

Rhokki smiled and lifted his back leg up more to expose his private area.

Jake untied his shorts and quickly slipped them off and tossed them aside, then he repositioned himself so his head was back near the big cat's crotch and he saw the red tip of Rhokki's penis was already showing at the end of his sheath.

Jake's face was near the lion's massive rear paw that was being held up in the air to expose himself and he caught a whiff of the light foot odor coming from between the cat's pads. It was a wonderfully warm and rich and earthy smell that immediately curled Jake's toes. He put his nose right under Rhokki's foot between the big middle pad and the others and he inhaled deeply.

He smelled terrific.

Jake wanted to find out how the rest of him smelled so he moved his face down and into the lion's crotch and sniffed at his large, leathery sack. The cat smelled incredibly good. The light sweat between his legs around his balls mingled with an earthy, masculine, musky scent that made Jake's heart beat faster as he felt his body become electrified with arousal.

He realized he was the first person ever to get so close to Rhokki's private area and it made him feel incredibly lucky. He leaned in and kissed the big cat's sack and discovered that it wasn't really leathery at all. It was covered with an incredibly short and extremely soft fur that made it feel like the softest suede. The cat's balls were large and clearly defined in the big sack and Jake gently moved them around with his lips and nose to get a feel for their size and weight.

Jake brought up his right hand and stroked Rhokki's thick, soft sheath and he could feel the powerful tool concealed within it.

Rhokki's purring grew even louder until Jake could feel the pressure of it in his eardrums and even in his chest.

The cat had never been with anyone intimately before. This was the first time he'd been touched in this way and he was very much enjoying it.

Jake continued to stroke at the sheath while he kissed and licked and sucked at the lion's big balls and he moved his left hand up under Rhokki's tail to play with his anus.

Rhokki's purring intensified even more as Jake worked a finger in a circle around the big cat's warm, lightly sweaty anus.

Rhokki's purring suddenly stopped as the cat's head came up and he looked back at Jake.

"Please, I want you inside me," Rhokki pleaded and he rolled to lay down flat on his belly and Jake had to move out of the way.

The big cat hunkered down flat and on his chest and belly and looked back at Jake.

Jake realized this must be the position a lioness takes when she wants to be bred.

He smiled at the beautiful cat and moved around behind him. He lifted Rhokki's long tail and gazed at the cat's pucker beneath it.

The same lighter grey colored soft fur that covered the big cat's underside continued up past his balls and right up around the anus. The cat's sphincter was very dark in contrast and it pulsed lightly as if in anticipation. Rhokki was relaxing it and trying to push it open so Jake could take him.

Jake moaned and moved his face in and kissed the cat's sphincter and Rhokki jumped slightly. Jake extended his tongue and probed at the dark hole. It was slightly dirty and sweaty and it tasted tangy and rich.

Rimming was one of his favorite activities and he loved the intimate access to the lion's most private area.

Rhokki let out a long and low moan as Jake pushed his tongue right into the snug hole and began to work it around to stimulate the nerve endings. Occasionally he would pull back and spit at the hole then push the saliva in with his tongue as he got Rhokki to relax even more while Jake lubricated him.

This was a completely new sensation for the lion and he was amazed at how good it felt. He began to purr loudly again as his eyes closed and his front paws began pushing and pulling alternately left and right while extending and digging his claws into the soft soil as he pushed, then retracting them as he pulled, like he was kneading dough.

Jake lifted his head and watched the cat with a smile as he continued to stimulate Rhokki's anus with his thumb, occasionally pushing it in and helping Rhokki to relax and open up more.

The cat was entering an almost trance like state as he purred and rhythmically kneaded the soft ground with his front paws.

Seeing the big, powerful lion in this vulnerable, adorable and almost kitten-like state made Jake's heart swell with love for the beautiful cat. He was thrilled to finally be able to show the gorgeous lion the affection he'd been feeling for him for weeks.

He continued to gently work Rhokki's anus with his left thumb while he quietly spat on his right hand and began to lubricate his achingly erect penis as much as he could until he could wait no longer. He was so in love with Rhokki and he wanted him so badly he wanted to waste no more time.

He worked his knees forward and moved the head of his penis into position against the lion's big, warm anus.

Rhokki looked back at him with a dazed smile and waited.

Jake gently but firmly pushed himself forward and Rhokki relaxed and allowed himself to be opened up as his man's penis spread him and entered.

As soon as the head of his cock breached Rhokki's tight hole and the cat's anus gripped the shaft just behind it, Jake stopped and held his position to see if Rhokki was OK.

The cat moaned and wiggled slightly and pushed himself backward as if to urge Jake to give him more.

Jake wanted this so much he had to fight the urge to plunge himself in and he slowly and carefully pushed forward until almost half of his long tool was inside his new lover.

Rhokki moaned again and said, "Give me more, my love. Do not worry. It feels so wonderful."

Jake pushed forward again and to his surprise the big cat's rectum hungrily took the entire length of his thick cock.

Jake was buried to the hilt and his big balls hung down and bumped up against Rhokki just above the lion's bigger, furry balls.

Rhokki moaned again and faced forward with his eyes half closed and once again he began to purr and knead at the ground in front of him.

Jake held his position briefly and then slowly pulled back a bit and smoothly pushed forward again to elicit another soft moan from Rhokki that interrupted the purring.

Jake could feel his orgasm quickly beginning to build. Rhokki was so snug and warm and the massive cat was so incredibly beautiful that Jake felt he was not going to be able to hold out long.

He began to take longer and more powerful strokes as he began to feel the familiar tingle in his groin.

He leaned forward over the big cat and put his hands on Rhokki's back, touching as much of his naked skin against the amazingly soft fur as he could, and he started to buck at his lover with abandon as he began to lose control.

Rhokki moaned his pleasure at the sensation of having his man inside of him and lifted his butt slightly off the ground to make a better angle for Jake as the man started to piston his cock in and out of the big cat while his breathing became ragged and gasping.

Jake began to groan and then suddenly the orgasm smashed into him and he yelled out as he slammed forward and shot a jet of hot cum deep into his beautiful, furry lover.

Rhokki moaned at the thought of his man giving him his seed and he squirmed beneath Jake in pleasure at the sensation of the long penis rubbing against his sensitive anus and the feeling of the big head of Jake's cock pulsing and shooting warm, thick fluid into him.

Jake pumped and bucked against Rhokki as the orgasm hammered his body and he shot jet after jet of his thick cum deep into the big cat's bowels while the lion's tight anus clamped and squeezed the shaft of his penis.

Jake's orgasm was long and intense and finally he began to feel it ebbing as he slowed down and thrust himself one last time deeply into his lover and held the position to feed every last drop of his seed into him.

Rhokki began to purr softly again as he sat completely still, not wanting his lover to pull out of him yet. He wanted to feel Jake inside of him for as long as he could.

Jake settled onto his knees with his thick cock still buried deep into Rhokki and he began to stroke the soft fur of the big cat's rump and scratch at him there.

Rhokki loved it and purred his pleasure loudly as he sat with his eyes half closed, mouth slightly open, and drool dripping off the tip of his wide, soft tongue as he panted lightly, and he began to knead the ground in front of him once more.

The big cat had never felt so good in his life and he was in no hurry for it to end.

At last Jake's cock softened almost completely and he gently pulled out.

Rhokki looked back at him and smiled sadly. He felt that this was the only real intimacy the two would be able to share and he felt a sense of loss that it was over already.

Jake moved beside the big cat and pushed him over on his side again and then began to scratch at his chest and belly once more.

Rhokki instinctively lifted his front and back legs again and Jake saw that his thick, hard, reddish-purple cock was almost fully extended from his sheath.

The bulbous head was fully engorged and the incredible tool was straining for attention.

Jake reached in and lightly touched the barbed part of the head and Rhokki jumped at the contact.

The cat looked back at Jake and smiled sadly.

Jake moved his face in and extended his tongue and touched it to the head of the lion's penis. To his surprise he found the barbs were not pointed like needles but just hard and rough. He ran his tongue along it and felt that it was like a rasp, almost like the cat's tongue felt when it licked him but slightly rougher.

Rhokki moaned at the sensation.

Jake was sure his strengthened rectum could handle Rhokki. The sensation might be a bit intense but there should be no damage. He was more than willing to try it out. He wanted Rhokki to feel fulfilled and happy and he wanted the big beautiful cat inside him.

Jake kissed the wet tip of Rhokki's cock and then moved aside and he got on his hands and knees then hunkered back, settling his butt down on his feet as he lay forward in much the same position Rhokki had assumed earlier.

He looked over at the big cat and smiled.

Rhokki got a look of surprise on his face and seemed unsure whether he should proceed or not.

Jake just nodded and continued to smile.

The big cat got up and moved around behind Jake and then stepped over top of him and put his two massive front paws on the ground to either side of Jake while he curved his back and lowered his back end and brought his cock into position at Jake's anus.

"I will be as gentle as I can but I might lose control. I want this so badly and I have never done it before. Do not hesitate to let me know if I hurt you and I will stop," Rhokki said quietly.

Jake nodded and braced himself. He wasn't sure how much this was going to hurt but if he could stand it, he wasn't going to say a peep to Rhokki.

Rhokki began to lightly jab the hard, pointed tip of his cock at Jake as it probed for the entrance. It found it and Jake could feel Rhokki's hot breath on his back as the big cat gasped and pushed forward a bit, forcing the head of his cock in.

The way the barbs were arranged allowed the big, bulbous head to smoothly enter as it spread Jake's anus wide. It felt fantastic as it ran past Jake's sensitive anus and the wide head passed through and his sphincter clamped down on the smooth, wet shaft. It was coming out that was going to be more of a problem as the hard barbs faced backwards to allow smooth entry, but a rough exit.

Rhokki was well aware of that, and he resisted the urge to pump in and out. He slowly but steadily pushed himself deeper into his lover and moaned at the amazing sensation as the rings of muscle in Jake's rectum began to do their thing.

The massive lion began to feel himself losing control as the amazingly powerful and deeply instinctual urge to rut kicked in. He thrust himself forward harder until the full length of his thick, ten inch penis was buried inside of his lover and he began to emit a series of low grunts as he rapidly began to buck his hips back and forth in short, powerful thrusts.

The sensation for Jake was incredibly powerful as the raspy tool ran back and forth along the inside of his rectum. It was nearly painful, but not quite. It was hard to take but he held on without making a sound. He wanted Rhokki to cut loose and enjoy himself, no matter how it felt to Jake.

Rhokki really started to lose control now and his back curved as he thrust himself harder and harder at Jake, bouncing the man slightly forward beneath him as he plunged his cock in repeatedly as far as it would go.

The massive lion's two front legs were locked straight on either side of Jake and his head was down with his hot breath blasting on Jake's bare back. His lower legs were spread out and his back was curved as he pumped his hips at Jake's rear end. His big, furry balls swung back, then forward to slam into Jake's balls as the cat pushed his thick cock so deeply into his man that his thick sheath bunched up against him.

He brought his muzzle down and began to nip gently at the back of Jake's neck and he growled softly as the powerful orgasm began to build.

His claws extended and dug into the soil and his grunting increased in volume as the rhythm of his short, jabbing thrusts increased and the powerful pulses of electricity suddenly began to burst from his loins and the lion roared as his orgasm washed over him.

He slammed himself hard into Jake and began to squirt a massive volume of seed from the pointed tip of his hard cock repeatedly to fill the man's bowels.

The sensation of the raspy head rubbing inside of him was so intense Jake nearly passed out, but as soon as the hot, slick cum began to fill him up it became much easier to take. He clenched his teeth and hung on while Rhokki hammered him even harder and bucked out the last of the orgasm.

Finally the big cat began to slow down and then pushed all the way in. He kissed Jake lovingly on the back of his neck and then settled right down on top of him.

When his breathing slowed and he fully regained control Rhokki asked, "Did I hurt you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It was incredible," Jake said.

"I have never felt so amazingly good in my entire life," Rhokki breathed, "Thank you so much my sweet, wonderful man. I love you, Jake. I have never felt more complete and satisfied and I wish I could stay here like this, inside you, forever."

"I love you too. I'm thrilled to finally have you inside me," Jake said.

The big lion kissed the back of Jake's neck again and said, "My instinct is driving me hard to pull out of you now and rake you. I will stay in you until my penis goes down on its own. It may be too painful if I attempt to pull out now as once my orgasm hits, the barbs engorge and extend even further."

Jake nodded beneath him and stayed still.

After several minutes Jake could feel Rhokki's penis begin to shrink down inside him and retract back into its sheath. It slipped out surprisingly easily now that Jake's rectum was slick with the big cat's seed. It seemed that as the big head softened and shrank, the barbs softened too and almost vanished into the flesh.

The thick cock slipped out and back into the sheath completely and Rhokki lifted himself up off of Jake.

Jake rolled around to face up at the cat, and instead of moving off of him Rhokki smiled and settled right back down to lay over top of his lover.

He nuzzled Jake's face and rubbed his furry cheek lovingly against the side of Jake's face and kissed him and licked at him as he began to purr again.

"I love you so much. I am happier than I could ever have imagined myself feeling," Rhokki said as he gazed into Jake's eyes.

Jake smiled up at him and said, "I feel just as happy to have you here on top of me. I love you too."

He reached up and put his arms around the big cat's mane and clung to him for a while as the two basked in their deep emotions for each other that had finally been fully realized.

After a short while Rhokki moved off of Jake and lay down on his side again and Jake moved over to him and curled up and spooned his back against the warm, furry cat.

The lion pulled himself into a tighter ball and wrapped himself around Jake, using his front paws to pull him in tightly and hold him to his chest.

They lay together in complete contentment as they contemplated their deep feelings for each other.

They rested quietly and comfortably with each other for nearly thirty minutes when Mak suddenly burst into the clearing and said, "They're coming! They're close!"

Jake jumped up and got his shorts and stepped into them and pulled them up while Rhokki followed Mak back through the trees. Jake followed while he tied his shorts.

They came to the edge of the stand of trees and just out in the open area near the exit of the canyon they'd come through, a scout ship was settling into a landing.

Four bulls emerged from the ship and began to fan out and search the area for signs of them.

"How the hell did they find us so quick?" Jake asked, "Do they still have a tracker on us somewhere?"

"Not likely, or they would be landing right here next to us," Rhokki said, "They would have no problem locating us with the ship. No, chances are they were on our trail much quicker than we anticipated and followed it as far as the lava flow. From that point they could send the ship quickly ahead to the other side and likely picked the trail up again and tracked us to the canyon. They flew to this side of the canyon to search for our direction from there. We never stood much of a chance once they had a functioning ship to search for us with. They can jump across large stretches and land again to quickly search for tracks in the most likely areas we might go. Our luck, what little we had of it, has simply run out. We need to get moving and try to get back into the mountains from the other side of the trees before the scout ship takes off again. We have to cross the open ground before they get past the trees and see us."

"Too late, I think they spotted our trail!" Mak said.

Two of the bulls had moved forward from the scout ship toward their hiding spot and were looking straight in their direction and pointing at the stand of trees. They turned and ran back towards the scout ship as they called to the other two. The four bulls entered the ship and it began to take off again.

"They will have to land near here and search to see where we entered the trees. They will likely send some on foot through while the ship moves around to the other side to see if we emerged there. We must run or be surrounded in the trees!" Rhokki said.

They ran as fast as they could back through the trees as the sound of the scout ship approached the clearing and settled in to a landing.

They burst out the other side of the tree stand and ran as hard and as fast as their legs could carry them across the stretch of open ground towards the large boulders and rocks at the base of the mountain ahead of them.

They heard the scout ship rising up again and moving out over the trees so they ran behind some large boulders and hid. They knew it would have to land again to search for their tracks around the trees and that's when they could start moving again.

Rhokki slunk down low and moved quickly back towards the mountain among the rocks to scout ahead while Jake and Mak watched the scout ship land and three bulls emerged.

One of them was Troska!

Rhokki came back quickly and said, "It is hopeless. I'm afraid we've backed ourselves into a corner. There is a wall of cliff behind us and no way to climb it. There is a large rock fall to the side from a recent landslide. We could climb it but it would take a long time and they could pick us off easily from below. We are boxed in here. We will have to move back out into the open to run along the rock fall towards the mountain or stay here and split up among the large boulders and try to fight them."

They watched as the two bulls and Troska scanned the ground and found their tracks leading away from the trees and the three bulls all began to walk quickly in their direction. They may have guessed that their quarry was trapped against the mountain.

Troska was carrying the large staff he'd had at the ceremony. He must have been fantasizing about bashing Jake's head in with it just as the man had surmised, and he'd brought it along to use it for that bit of entertainment.

He could be easily taken down by Rhokki, but the other two bulls both had what looked to be some sort of large and long, high-tech looking rifles. They must be the plasma rifles Rhokki had mentioned.

Jake couldn't see any way they could fight their way out of this, and there was certainly no chance of outrunning bolts of plasma if they came out from hiding and tried to run along the rocks back towards the mountains.

As Troska's party approached Jake felt the ground shaking slightly. At first he thought it must be the volcano again, but it seemed almost rhythmic.

Before he could figure out what it was he then noticed a brown figure racing across the open ground from the exit to the canyon back past the stand of trees.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed in the direction of the canyon.

"I don't believe it! It's the zeth!" Rhokki exclaimed, "He has a disrupter rifle! He must be coming to our aid!"

"What does a disrupter rifle do?" Jake asked.

"You'll see if he gets in range and uses it against them," Rhokki said with a wicked grin.

Jake looked more closely at the zeth. He was very tall and had a slender, almost angular structure. He was light brown in color and sort of translucent such that even from this distance Jake could see parts of his internal structure. He had very long legs and he was loping across the ground at an incredible speed. Jake imagined that with the bright sun shining down on him the zeth must have unlimited energy and his movement was fast, steady and efficient.

He carried a rifle that looked different from the ones the two bulls carried. It was stubby and fat and the zeth's right hand slipped right inside of it so that it looked almost like an extension of his body.

The zeth was moving fast and angling towards Troska and the two bulls, but they had not noticed him well behind them yet.

Jake noticed the rhythmic thumping of the ground increasing in volume and he saw movement from the corner of his eye coming from the other side of the stand of trees, behind the scout ship.

"Holy fuck!" Mak yelled just as Jake realized what it was.

One of the twenty foot tall, bird-like predators had sniffed out a meal and was running out from behind the trees. It hopped onto the scout ship and nearly utterly destroyed it as it came down hard, then hopped forward and began to run again when it saw the three bulls running across the open ground. This was the scent it had been tracking.

The bulls turned at the sound of its approach and Troska immediately yelled something to the guards and broke into a hard run to try to close the gap to where Jake and the others crouched, hidden behind the large boulders.

One of the bulls started to run to follow Troska while the other stood his ground facing the predator and raised his plasma rifle.

"We must run!" Rhokki shouted to Jake and Mak.

Troska and the other bull would be on them in a minute if they stayed here, but it was a dead-end back behind them. They moved out from their hiding position and began to run as fast as they could sideways along the rocks and back towards the mountain and away from the threat of Troska and the giant predator.

Troska spotted them immediately and changed direction.

The bull who had stayed back fired his plasma rifle at the massive predator that raced towards him. A green bold of energy shot out and raced across the narrowing gap between the bull and the large bird, but it went wide and the predator kept coming. It would be on the bull in a heartbeat.

The bull steadied himself and shot again and this time the bolt hit, but it was a glancing shot that cut a furrow along the predators shoulder just above its wing. The bird did not miss a beat and screeched as it came upon the bull and ran right over him. He was utterly crushed under the creature's massive foot.

The predator barely slowed and it screeched again as it turned, changing direction, and barreled towards the other bull who was trailing behind Troska.

Troska looked back and saw what was happening and he shouted something at the other bull.

The bull stopped and turned to bring up his rifle, but it was too late. The predator was already on him and it reached its head down and opened its beak wide and brought its mouth down over the bull's torso and snatched him up.

The massive creature slowed to a stop as it jerked its head back a couple of times to bring the bull to the back of its throat and as it bit down the arm carrying the plasma rifle was severed and fell to the ground and the rest of the bull was swallowed.

Troska was not looking back and just kept racing towards Jake with a crazed look in his eyes. He was determined to kill the man himself before the predator took care of them all.

Jake had been looking back at the scene as he ran and stumbled briefly and as he flailed his arms to right himself he heard a loud 'bang' from ahead of him and he spun and looked.

Rhokki was gone! Mak stopped and looked around in shock.

"Where is he?" Jake shouted.

"I don't know he was here beside me," Mak said.

The two looked around and Jake yelled, "Rhokki, where are you?"

"He was right beside me, Jake!" Mak shouted, "He was there and then he was gone, and I heard a..."

There was another 'bang' as right before Jake's eyes, Mak vanished.

Jake's heart began to hammer in his chest. What the fuck was going on?

He suddenly remembered the zeth. Did he shoot them? Was that what a disrupter does?

He looked over to where the zeth was but he'd been obscured from Jake's view by the large predatory bird that was now racing towards Troska.

Troska was close now and he shouted, "You will die at my hands!"

Jake was so stunned at the sudden loss of his two lovers he was frozen in place.

Troska was getting closer, but the predator reached Troska first.

Just as Jake had seen one of them do yesterday, the predator turned its head sideways as it raced in towards Troska from behind and it opened its massive beak. Troska was about to reach Jake and he grinned as he lifted his long, black staff over his head to bring it down on Jake's skull, but just as he was about to swing, the predator snapped its jaws shut and Troska's face twisted into a mask of pain and shock as he fell to the ground in two halves.

Jake leapt aside and rolled as the massive predator barreled past, narrowly missing him.

Jake was on the ground and he heard a gurgling sound and he turned and looked in horror as Troska's top half was still moving and twitching and his face sneered as it looked at Jake. Blood bubbled out of the old bull's mouth as he tried to speak, but then his one good eye glazed over and he went completely still.

The mad bull was dead.

The ground began to shake again and Jake turned as he saw the massive predator had stopped and turned, and was now walking slowly back towards him.

Jake began to scramble backwards over the ground but then realized it was all over. He could never outrun this thing. He was doomed.

He'd lost Rhokki and Mak and somehow it didn't matter to him anymore if he died, so he just stayed down on the ground as he was and waited for his end. As he watched the predator cock its head and screech as it approached him, he smelled the putrid stench of carrion on the giant creature's breath.

He was about to die, and the thought suddenly crossed his mind that somewhere, out in space, another version of him was still cooking in the resurrection pot, and in about two and a half months he would yet live again on board the Slirkstrith with Srythryn, with no memories of anything that had happened since the crash with Mak.

He let out a wry chuckle as he realized that all hope for the Jakes now lay in the other one. This version was about to reach his end inside the belly of a monster, to be swallowed and then mixed with the remains of Troska and the other bulls, and finally shat out as a pile of bird droppings in a day or two.

The massive predator loomed over him and brought its massive head in and opened its large beak to reach down and snatch up Jake, but just before it could do it there was a strange sound, almost like a deep electronic roar, and suddenly the huge bird seemed to go almost transparent and then vanished in a puff of smoke that smelled of burnt flesh and singed fur.

As the smoke dissipated Jake saw the zeth, with his disrupter rifle, walking up behind the location that had just been vacated by the vaporized predator.

It had to have been the zeth that had vaporized Rhokki and Mak, and now he'd blasted the predator. The plasma rifles shot bolts of energy that made holes in people, but the zeth's weapon made things disappear.

Jake resigned himself to death by vaporization, even while he wondered why the zeth had decided to turn on Rhokki.

Jake's resignation was unnecessary it turned out because, as the alien approached, instead of raising his rifle again to shoot Jake, he lowered it to his side and put his other hand in the air out in front of him palm forward, in a sort of peace gesture.

Jake wondered why his life was being spared, but before he could think about it any longer there was another loud 'bang' as the zeth vanished right before his eyes.

Jake stared, stunned, at the place where the alien had just been standing. If it wasn't the zeth vaporizing everyone then who the hell was it?

He stood and looked around. He was utterly alone now and he couldn't for the life of him imagine what the hell was going on.

As he surveyed the scene trying to see if there was someone else with a disrupter weapon somewhere, his eyes came to the stand of trees they'd been hiding in earlier.

Past the wreckage of the scout ship he saw two more bulls emerge from the trees. They were armed with plasma rifles too. These must be the ones the scout ship had dropped on the other side of the trees to search inward for them while Troska and the others flew over the trees to search this side.

The bulls stopped and stared in shock.

They saw the wrecked ship, the squashed body of their comrade ahead on the ground, the arm of another further along, and the two halves of their leader just past Jake, and then their gazes settled on Jake himself.

A look of rage crossed their faces as they brought their rifles up and they began to run towards him.

Jake realized this was how he was going to die.

He didn't even feel the urge to try to run. He was all alone now and it had all gone to shit and it was time to give up. He quietly hoped that the other Jake would have better luck.

He dropped to his knees and closed his eyes and thought of Mak, Rhokki and Srythryn. He wanted his last thoughts to be of the ones he loved.

Suddenly, there was a loud 'bang' as the planet's atmosphere rushed in and smacked together to fill the space that had been previously occupied by the molecules of Jake Smith.

He was gone.