Lana got them to the next spot then positioned Nis so that the entire area was new. She stood by the teacher waved her hands out, "have fun!" she smiled at Nis and he turned on the scanner. It didn't take long before the scanners were going off like crazy. This area was quite different from the other. They passed a mountain that was covered in greens and purples. It was quite beautiful but the plants were vehement that she stay away from that area.
This area had no grass. It was covered with something that resembled sorrel on earth but it had yellow and blue flowers that spiraled like a pinecone. They were soft under the feet and Lana noticed an insect was attracted to these flowers. She wondered if they were this planet's version of bees. She had been watching these insects and not even realizing the teams were almost done in the area. She called them all together to get those last few done. They had just finished when they heard a loud sound like a gunshot.
Almost immediately, the plants told her to leave the area. She relayed that to her classmates and teacher. "Follow me and jog QUIETLY" and she turned further into the unknown area. She instructed Nis to turn off the scanners. She got to where she was told she was safe then stopped and told everyone to get behind her and get low just as a huge beast crashed through the area they were just in.
This thing was as big as a two-story house and was leaving everything destroyed in its wake. Trees, bushes, nothing withstood the strength of this mammoth beast that resembled a dinosaur after a fashion. It didn't seem to care where it was stepping but it meandered along as though it didn't have a care in the world. It had a long neck with no fur. There was a pink flower on its back that had multiple buds which ran from the base of its neck all the way to the base of its tail. The plants told her this thing was called a Flora saur.
She heard nothing but silence behind her as this beast passed before them. She wondered if they were even breathing. When she was told it was safe, she let the class know. The plants also told her there was terrible danger and she should act if she could.
She stood up and went another 200 meters motioning Nis to follow her. "Stand here." She then motioned her team to come over. They looked exceedingly pleased. She did not. To the class, "for now, you are safe to continue exploring this area. I'm told it will come back this way but it should return on the same path. You all heard the amount of noise and destruction it made so you should be okay. The plants are telling me this thing is heading for the next class over which is Del's class. This means, I will be heading that direction." She looked at Nis to see if he intended to challenge her.
"I think you are the safest person on this planet. Stay safe."
She nodded. "A couple of things. Listen carefully to the surrounding area. There are some beasts that look like rocks that come alive when it rains. If it starts raining, don't stand near a rock. These things are fast. You can't outrun them. If it appears you have gotten lost, Kattie has Sven with her. He can help you find the way back. And most importantly, I have the plants monitoring the situation and giving me updates. If things get bad and we are recalled back to the shelter, go but don't leave the planet without me. I'm not going to die here and I have more to learn at school!" She smiled and was off in the direction the beast had gone.
She had not gone far when she found what was once a panther beast of some sort. It was black and had tentacles. She was noticing this was a theme on this planet. The panther was squashed by the beast that just came through. She bent down to examine how such a thing happened. Lana realized she had just given birth and all but one baby perished with her. Lana picked up the baby and shoved it in her cleavage to keep it warm, intending to ask Kattie about it when she got back.
Lana caught up to the beast way too quickly. It was just starting to engage in combat with the other class. The buds on the back opened up and 6 tendrils came out of each bud. One grabbed a student with a suction-like end and placed the student in the mouth and the beast ate the student. She had seen enough. There was nothing she felt she could do.
The plants informed her they could smell rain and if she wanted to be proactive, there was something she could do because the students were in danger in more ways than just this beast. They directed her to what looked like rolling hills or even a mountain. The plants told her these were plant-based beasts. She decided to try her wither skill and it worked. She could hear behind her the beast walked forward more toward where she had seen some students run.
She decided to stay where she was and check out what she could do on this planet. She was able to wither a "rock" and noticed there was a hole in the middle of the ground where this thing was. She leaned over just a bit not wanting to dally too much and noticed some dried flat something in the bottom of the hole. Remembering she was told rain would be upon them soon, she ran around the area in a wide circle hitting each one of these beasts with wither. She brought out a vine to whip the crystals back to her because she didn't want to fall down these holes.
She got the area clear just as the rain started. That was when she was informed people were being swallowed. She ran as close as she dared get and prayed she could save some of them. She didn't know if the bottom was solid but her gut was telling her that it looked like a dried membrane. She had read a lot of medical books in trying to learn her ability to be able to make such a guess.
If she went in now during the rain, she would go down with them. She was getting ready to go in as soon as the rain stopped but then she saw Leo and knew he'd take her back if he saw her so she ducked behind a rock face. She was getting antsy knowing what lack of oxygen would do. Finally, she heard them starting to move away and she darted to the farthest rock-beast-thing.
The plants called it a Dumping Bait Beast. Lana wondering where they were being dumped to and what were they baiting? On second thought, she didn't want to know. These beasts were covered in green grass but their heads had blades of purple grass. She saw how fast and squirmy they were when the rain was coming down and she aimed to not be near them if the rain started again. She hit all of the dumping mounds with her wither, grabbed the crystals with her whip and moved on. In total, she found three students clinging to the withered entrails inside the holes.
She lowered her vine down to help them out. She was right about the bottom. One student had broken through and almost fell through but was able to grab something more solid. It was clear to her, these were the last to get swallowed. They told her Quinn, Fex, Vorden, and Layla got swallowed before them. They listed off other names as well but these were the only ones she knew. She wanted to panic but remembered Layla's ability was telekinesis and knew they likely survived.
Lana had acquired 35 crystals in the act of saving these people so she could not complain. Her man was alive. The question was, could he be found? She sent his description to the plants to have them be on the look out for him.
They let her know the man with no hair that was just there had called all the classes back to the shelter so she decided they should head that way as well.