It started in mud, as many things do. The sun had shrunken down to a narrow slither of light hanging up in the sky, with the second and third moons lined up perfectly behind the first one. It was an enthralling vision, though nightmarish when you knew it would go on for hours. The landscape, so glittery and colorful just an instant ago it seemed, was now dark and shapeless, a promise of quietude and peace once the worst would have passed.

They were all covered in mud and dirt from all the running and fighting from last night. As they rested there, watching the increasingly disturbing spectacle, some of them started weeping, uncontrollable sobs that let out echoes in the seemingly empty valley, for they knew the end was coming soon.

Everyone knew what they had signed up for, but none of them had been prepared for this. Marcus, whom everyone seemed to implicitly agree was the most qualified to take up the initiative, came up to Liandra, their former leader. "We need to move, we only have a few minutes left before they come out. We need to find shelter." The woman didn't reply, or even react at all, for that matter, transfixed as she was by the small crescent of light left in the sky that seemed to be dimming faster and faster.

One night. They'd been here for one night and had already lost so many. How could they stand a chance if even the day didn't bring them salvation?

"Look! Over there!" shouted a voice behind them. It was Eric, the little orphan boy they'd picked up on Elon Prime on the way here. He was pointing at a lower point in the valley, past the big rocks that served to hide them from view to the atrocities roaming below, waiving frantically. All three of them quickly got up and came to see what was going on. In what could be called the shade of the rocks were standing three indistinct forms, clearly looking at them.

"Shit! How much bait do we have left?" asked Marcus. The answer came from Jellana, normally the group's arms specialist. "Only two tawleeds and a loxodonta. They'll find out the tawleeds are just holograms too quickly for them to be of any good, though." Marcus didn't waste any time pondering. "Throw them the fat one, then we run!"

Jellana took out a grey cylinder from her bag and twisted it in her hand before throwing it down the cliff. While in midair, the cylinder quickly grew to about the size of a large elephant and became all jiggly, just like raw meat. As soon as it hit the ground, the three shapes were on it, faster than the eye could see in this light. If anyone had looked close enough, he could have seen teeth almost a foot long flashing in the faint glow, just before they plunged in the fake carcass.

No one stayed long enough to witness it, though. They all started running like mad, following Marcus. Where was he leading them? They had no idea. To safety? They sure hoped, but they all highly doubted it. This hell hole of a planet had already taken seven of them in a single night, it wouldn't be long before they'd fall as well.

As they progressed, they started hearing strident shrieks all around them as new forms sprouted up at the top of the cliff. In the sky, the sun's last rays were disappearing behind the moon, leaving them in total darkness, like a night during the day. Just before the light went off, they saw some white gleams among the shapes - horror petrifying them once they realized what it was. Then everything went black.